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A father treats his daughter to a Costa Rica adventure

La Paz Waterfall Gardens in Costa Rica. La Paz Waterfall Gardens in Costa Rica.

I’m AAA Explorer editor in chief Jim Benning, and I recently traveled with my daughter, Lucia, 12, to Costa Rica. I hoped it would be the perfect way to introduce her to traveling in Latin America.

After a five-hour flight from Southern California, we landed in San José, the capital of Costa Rica, on a sunny morning.

Jim and Lucia Benning in Costa Rica.

Jim and Lucia Benning in La Paz Waterfall Gardens in Costa Rica.

We soon headed to La Paz Waterfall Gardens outside of San José and spent a few hours exploring the misty waterfalls.

A rescued toucan at La Paz Waterfall Gardens.

A rescued toucan at La Paz Waterfall Gardens.

We also spent time with the gardens’ rescued wildlife, including friendly toucans.

Villa Punto de Vista in Costa Rica.

The view from Villa Punto de Vista.

Then we headed west to Quepos, on the Pacific coast. We stayed at Villa Punto de Vista (villapuntodevista.com), a six-story, 10-bedroom luxury villa. It’s available for rent to groups of up to 27 people and offers jaw-dropping views of the Pacific.

A howler monkey in Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica.

A howler monkey in Manuel Antonio National Park.

We used the villa as a base to explore Manuel Antonio, a national park with white-sand beaches, three-toed sloths, and a variety of very curious monkeys

Tabacón thermal pools in Costa Rica

Tabacón thermal waters.

Then we headed north to La Fortuna and the Arenal Volcano. The highlight: two nights at Tabacón (tabacon.com), a resort set amid thermal hot springs that are heated by the volcano’s magma. We spent most of an afternoon soaking in paradisiacal pools alongside waterfalls.

Lucia Benning in a thermal pool at Tabacón.

Lucia Benning in a thermal pool at Tabacón.

We loved soaking in the pools even when the sky opened up and a warm, tropical rain fell.

Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica.

Arenal Volcano in the distance.

From La Fortuna, we took a boat across Lake Arenal and looked back at the cone-shaped volcano rising behind us.

Jim and Lucia Benning in protective equipped before the zip line ride.

Daughter and dad suited up for their zip line adventure.

At Lucia’s insistence, we also went zip lining nearby at Sky Trek (skyadventures.travel/skytrek). 

Lucia Benning ziplining in Costa Rica

Lucia ziplining over the jungle.

Zip lining turned out to be a great way to end our trip. Lucia, who is soaring over the jungle in the photo above, loved it—and Costa Rica. 

Jim Benning is Travel editor of Westways and editor in chief of AAA Explorer magazines, and writes frequently for both publications.

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