This is our son Julien when he was four years old. We took two weeks to travel through Costa Rica in September, during the rainy season. It’s a great time of year to go because you avoid the crowds, and the rains mostly came in the afternoon, around 3 p.m., once we had finished our day’s activities. We enjoyed seeing lizards and monkeys on the beach at Manuel Antonio National Park.

We rented a car and drove from there to plenty of other locations along the same stretch of ocean, and then went inland to visit and hike around the volcano, splurging a little on a beautiful resort there. Seafood, sand, volcanoes, swimming pools, and riding on cables through thick rainforest. Costa Rica is gorgeous and has a lot to offer.