Costa Rica

Costa Rica decided decades ago that its rainforests were worth more standing than cut, and travellers have been the beneficiaries ever since. A quarter of the country is protected, and the density of life is astonishing: sloths draped over roadside trees, scarlet macaws commuting overhead, four species of monkey providing the soundtrack. Arenal's perfect volcano cone rises above hot springs where you soak after ziplining through cloud forest at Monteverde, walking hanging bridges in the canopy, or rafting jungle rivers. The coasts double the offer: Pacific surf towns and superb wilderness lodges on the Osa Peninsula, the wildest corner of the country, and Caribbean beaches where turtles nest by the thousand. Family-friendly, adventure-rich and run on the national philosophy of pura vida. It is a happiness machine.