It’s a jungle out there: Costa Rica with kids

It's dark in the rainforest, the air thick with strange croaks and chirps, and our group moves slowly, following José's torchlight. As he gestures for us to stop, we gather around in silence, the adults as keen as the children to see what he's spotted. There on a leaf, with its bulging orange eyes, neat green body and comically big tangerine feet, sits a Costa Rican tree frog. Cue delighted squeals all round.

"It's so cute!" whispers my niece, Georgia, and I nod, partly relieved it's not a boa constrictor or tarantula.

We're halfway through a night safari at Maquenque Ecolodge in the far north of the country and the jungle feels tangibly alive. Caiman eyes shine at the edge of the lagoon and frogs and toads of all colours and sizes add to the howler monkeys, turtles and toucans we'd seen earlier in the day.

For somewhere the size of Denmark, Costa Rica packs a powerful punch when it comes to wildlife. A quarter of its land is protected and, with half a million species, it's one of the world's most biodiverse countries.

A wild natural playground with decent tourist infrastructure, it seemed the perfect choice for an adventure to remember with a 12-year-old. It is our first trip together, my first time alone in charge of a child (I don't have kids) and the longest Georgia has been away from her parents. My plan is to show her a world away from life at home – and get her back in one piece.