Costa Rica

Costa Rica is the small Central American country that turned conservation into an identity and then, improbably, made it pay. A quarter of its land sits under some form of protection, the army was abolished in 1949, and a remarkable share of the planet's known species crowd into a landmass the size of Switzerland. The cliché — pura vida — is doing real work.

The geography rewards a slow itinerary. The Pacific coast runs from the Nicoya Peninsula's surf towns down to the Osa, where Corcovado National Park holds the country's densest wildlife. Inland, the cloud forests of Monteverde and the volcanic cone of Arenal sit within a half-day's drive of each other. The Caribbean side — Tortuguero's turtle-nesting canals, the Afro-Caribbean rhythm of Puerto Viejo — is a quieter, wetter, distinct country.

The hotel stock leans, naturally, toward the eco-lodge — but the better properties have moved well past the word, running on small grids and kitchen gardens, on land that was cattle pasture a generation ago.

December through April is the dry season and the reliable window, particularly on the Pacific. The green season from May onward is wetter but far from a write-off: afternoon rains, thinner crowds, and the forest at its most alive.