Kimkim Trip Reviews for Costa Rica

All of the guides were knowledgeable and articulate about the wonderful biodiversity we were seeing. All of the transport drivers were punctual to the minute according to our itinerary. The entire trip went exactly as planned. Great work by the entire Serendipity/KimKim team.

Hotel Reviews

El Establo Mountain Hotel

Monteverde

Nice view from our room. Good food at the restaurant. The shuttle service to the rooms from the reception was dependable AND NECESSARY because of the steepness of the slope the hotel was built on.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arenal Springs Resort

La Fortuna

The view of Arenal volcano from our room was like a picture on a postcard.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tortuga Lodge & Gardens

Tortuguero

We loved this hotel. Great staff, excellent food, knowledgeable friendly guides and excursions.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private: Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve Guided Hike

Monteverde

Great personalized guide for just our private group. Forest Alive. Very informative and in depth walk through the cloud forest.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Super knowledgeable guide.

Transport

All Day Adventure at Selvatura, including Zipline, Hanging Bridges, and Fauna Exhibitions

Costa Rica

Selvatura was very well organized and well worth the day we spent there.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Coffee & Chocolate Tour

Costa Rica

Great tour. Very worthwhile with lots of details and hands on experiences throughout the tour. Fascinating to see the processes of coffee, sugar cane, and chocolate cultivation.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Safari Float on the Peñas Blancas River

Arenal/La Fortuna

Friendly knowledgeable guide who really took time to show us the plants and animals along the river.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Guided Hike in Arenal Volcano Park 1968

Arenal/La Fortuna

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Look

Transport

Guided Boat Excursion Through the Tortuguero Canals

Tortuguero

Great boat trip with lots of animal and plant sightings. Great guide — he really took time to point out details of the environment.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Incredible guides for all excursions. Everyone was so helpful and friendly

Hotel Reviews

Karahé Beach Hotel

Manuel Antonio

A bit disappointed in the room. No coffee maker, not always hot water. Ceiling fan very dusty. We didn’t spend much time in the room, so it was satisfactory.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arenal Paraíso Resort, Spa & Hot Springs

La Fortuna

So pretty! It was advertised as a place to see the volcano, but sadly, rain and fog obscured it. The restaurant meals were good. Their breakfast was amazing. Not a negative thing to say about the Lodging.

Authenticity & Character

The surroundings, staff, cleanliness of facilities.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sunset Sailing Cruise on the Brisa Elegante

Costa Rica

It was so good. Beautiful sunset, plenty of time to jump in the water and enjoy the ocean great dinner and drinks.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

ATV Adventure Manuel Antonio

Manuel Antonio

Because there was a miscommunication with the pick up time with the driver, we missed the tour. Requesting a refund. Except for this bump, everything was very smt

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Because of driver not on time, we were unable to do the adventure

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Nature Hike

Manuel Antonio

A great guide! He loved what he does! Very informative tour. Highly recommend!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Let us choose our time for pick up so we’re able to shop and eat in the area.

Private Sloth Observation Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

Personal guide worked very hard to find the sloths and birds in area. Refreshing fruit during the tour. Take bug spray.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sky Tram, Sky Trek & Sky Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

It was so good! Equipment was top notch. Exciting. Even as an 80 year old, I was able to experience the thrill of it Staff so good.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

L

Transport

Private Organic Cooking Class

Arenal/La Fortuna

I learned a lot about herbs and organic gardening. Guide was so knowledgeable and shared much information with us. We collected many of the items found on farm. They were added to a sugar cane drink. Dinner was good. We cut up the items for our meals. Made corn tortillas. Fun

Quality of Experience

K

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Río Balsa Whitewater Rafting Adventure (Class II-III)

Arenal/La Fortuna

It was fun. Water was low on the river, so maybe not as exciting as other times of the year. But still worth it. Fresh fruit served to us in the middle of float and a good meal after was included

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This trip was definitely an experience for sure... Sadly due to numerous factors, I cannot say that it was really the best experience or that it compared to my previous trips via KimKim. Yuliana was quick with getting our initial planning done but Im providing the lower rating I am this time for the reasons below.
As for Costa Rica itself, though still obviously quite a beautiful country, I think that it is pretty clear that large scale tourism is having some negative effects on things there somewhat. I was in Costa Rica for the first time in February 2025 for a shorter trip than this one that I also booked with KimKim and had such an incredible time then- my friend and I saw tons of animals and had a very nice balance of getting up early & going on hikes/etc. on some days as well as having some more chill days where we could get a little more sleep and relax. This year, despite being in the country for a longer time (almost twice as long) it was clearly much more expensive and crowded overall and we saw perhaps ~1/3 of the animals I did last year.
Additionally, the changes that took place regarding park entrances and needing to purchase tickets ahead of time was both something I was not aware of at all, nor told about by Yuliana, which in all honesty, was a pretty big goof/mistake for a company that I am literally paying to know such things and keep me informed of in my planning.
We started in the La Fortuna area and visited Baldi Hot Springs, Monte Verde Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna waterfall and El Silencio. I had mentioned that I went to the hot springs last year but our time there had been cut short due to the number of other passengers that needed picked up/dropped off and I made clear that this time I really wanted to spend more time there and hoped that would not happen again. I actually also added that we were wanting to get a massage at the spa potentially too but was told that we would need to book that ourselves and get our own transportation back to our hotel, which we wound up doing. Not a huge expense but, in our itinerary it stated that we had prepaid for entrance, dinner, a locker, and towels at Baldi. When we got there we had to pay for our locker and were told that this was incorrect so we essentially paid for transport we didn't use and paid twice for our locker.
We spent several days near Manuel Antonio park and were, quite sadly, unable to go into the park at all due to the entry changes since last year. Visiting the park was the entire reason for us being in that area. I had so hoped and wanted to bring my husband there, as it was my favorite park from my previous visit. This trip was to celebrate his 50th birthday and I wanted it to be special and knew he would love it (ironically we were in CR for my 43rd birthday and not on his, as we opted to travel before his birthday to avoid the rainy season). We would have much preferred skipping this area entirely had we known that we would not be able to enter the park, especially as our hotel was a 30 minute drive to the beach or any other activities in the area and we did not have our own vehicle so subsequently spent a ton of money on ubers/taxis while we were there too and all for a much more mediocre experience then last year or then we had hoped/anticipated. What's even sadder in my opinion, especially for native Costa Ricans, is that they must also purchase tickets ahead of time for park entry and, from what everyone there I spoke to was saying, it seems that the tour companies scoop up pretty much all of the tickets so that they can then books tours that cost 80-150 USD/person and prevent most people from being able to easily or successfully buy their own, much cheaper, self guided entrance tickets.
Being that we were feeling discouraged and wanted to make the best of it, we spent a while searching for and attempting to find other experiences in the area to do while there which, again, it was a holiday week and very busy so there weren't many options. If we had known ahead of time that our situation would be what it was, even if we could not have gotten in to Manuel Antonio, we could have planned much better and it would have been easier to secure tickets for something else. After many attempts, we finally did get tickets for a night jungle tour and that experience turned out to be a total nightmare (I have already addressed this with the involved companies and this was not something booked via kimkim but I am including for others to be aware of). The tour offered to pick people up at certain hotels only and ours was not one of them because we were pretty far from everything. Alternatively it said you could arrive at the meeting point for the tour if you had your own transportation. We paid for an uber to go to the meeting spot... A remote place at sunset... And NOBODY showed up. I attempted to call and then text the number on our tickets and, not until 15 minutes after me trying to reach someone, did we received a message that our tickets had been cancelled as the tour was full. At this point it was dark and we were unable to get any transportation back to our hotel. There were some sketchy dogs nearby that were clearly not happy with us being there as well as some locals that were clearly giggling at the stupid gringos being somewhere they don't belong. We proceeded to walk the 2.5 miles back to our hotel which included walking next to a highway with no sidewalk and needing to jump off the road when cars were coming. Thankfully we made it back OK but this situation could have been EXTREMELY DANGEROUS, especially if it were to happen to a young solo female traveler, older travelers, etc. We were refunded for the tour and our uber as well as offered a different tour for free by this company. I stressed how if they are unable to process online tickets correctly that they should not be selling them in the first place and pointed out the potential dangers and liability issues with this whole situation as being the most important take away as I don't want anyone getting hurt in the future... The company owner was very nice and was extremely sorry/horrifies that this had happened + vowed to no longer use the booking platform "Get Your Guide," as he stated that the tour had been full for weeks already prior to us buying our tickets and he had no clue why they allowed them to be purchased when we got them in the first place. All in all just another example of how over tourism moving too quickly can cause problems.
Moving on to our final location in our itinerary, the Oso peninsula. We knew we would be taking a boat to get there but did not realize that this would be a fairly small motor boat that we would be taking out in to an area with fairly big waves, nor did we realize that there would be no boat dock when we arrived. It was a full moon/king tide and the waves were large enough that the boat crew was quite clearly debating if passage would be safe enough or not, as they had to make several passes prior to making it over the wave breaks to get to the bay. When we were finally dropped off at pur destination I was horrified! The boat almost capsized repeatedly and at 1 point was ~80% on its nose. There were 2 people trying to stabilize the boat in the rear as the boat was backed up close to the beach and at one point a wave came and knocked one of them backwards in the water + I was truly afraid that the boat was going to crush him. Add on to all of this that I had unfortunately injured my back a month ago and was on the mend but the extreme jostling around so much in the boat resulted in my back issues flaring up again. The communication from the boat crew was very poor, basically no existent. Initially everyone thought they were getting off the boat at the same location, so all the bags were offloaded and all passengers started to get off to then have some people and their bags need to get back on the boat, the whole while with the waves making ot fairly treacherous. It was extremely chaotic and I was quite shocked to know that this is something that happens there regularly and that it had not inspired adding a dock yet
When we were greeted by the hotel staff they had 2 drinks waiting for us and proceeded to tell us that we needed to be awake and ready to go see the park/meet up the following morning (my birthday) at 540am... I was less than thrilled. We had been getting very little sleep the entire trip already and were exhausted. We got up, thinking that we were already in the park and would just be driving somewhere nearby, we found out that we had to get back on a boat again and deal with being jostled around... again (thankfully it was not quite as bad as the first trip but still was not the best way to wake up at all).
That night the hotel staff said that they had made me a birthday drink and gave me a mojito with dinner. When we checked out of the hotel the following day I was charged for 3 drinks despite me never actually ordering any of them and the staff just presenting us with them, which I thought seemed rather petty/distasteful. I will say that the hotel staff were all extremely friendly and kind and the hotel itself was at least beautiful.
We were brought to the small airport nearby that would be flying us back to San Jose when we left the hotel the following day and we were brought there 2 hours before our flight. The airport was empty/there was no security and clearly only very small planes use it, so we proceeded to just sit there wishing we could have spent a bit more time enjoying the beach before leaving instead, as arriving so early seemed very unnecessary.
As for the rest of the trip, in La Fortuna our guide for the waterfall and for the Monte Verde hanging bridges, Monica, was very personable, knowledgeable and pleasant. It was extremely busy at both locations though so we didn't see a ton of wildlife and it felt like people were being rushed through in repeat guided tour groups at the hanging bridges. It was beautiful and would have been nice to have more time to absorb it all.
In all honesty, after having a guided tour once at any of these places, it would really be better in my opinion, to just go through them on your own afterwards/for any subsequent visits. All of the parks are pretty easy to navigate and you can go at your own pace that way + avoid any large crowds/tour groups, therefore giving you a much better chance to see more things, as the animals clearly are less inclined to venture near a ton of people. That said, with the new rules on park entry Im not sure how easy this will be moving forward unfortunately.
We also went on a hike at El Silencio preserve, which I didn't realize until we got there was the same place/hike that I had already gone on last year. The tour guide (I unfortunately don't remember his name) was nice and also knowledgeable but, I probably would have skipped this and opted for a something different this trip having already done it once before, as it didn't add much more this time then it had during my initial experience.
Lastly was our hike in Corcovado, which is a very beautiful area that I wish we had spent more time in (and especially instead of being 30 minutes away from Manuel Antonio and the beach the days we were there). The guide was nice (I unfortunately don't remember his name either) and we had a good group of fellow travelers with us but my back was pretty sore from the boat ride, we were exhausted from lack of sleep and I was cranky having to meet so early in the morning, especially on my birthday, which all detracted from the experience. I don't feel personally that I gained a ton from the guided tour other than him pointing out puma tracks at one point that I probably would have overlooked. I think that this tour world have been every bit as good (better really) if it didn't require meeting at 540am and I don't see how having it so early was a benefit in any way at all.
If I ever return to Costa Rica again, which I can say is a very big if at this point, I would skip all guided tours and would probably stay only in the Corcovado area as it is the least developed and crowded and was also extremely beautiful. We didn't realize until after our guided tour that there was actually a park trail within walking distance of our hotel, which would have been nice to know. We briefly got to walk a short way on it before leaving but would have loved to spend more time exploring on our own if we had the opportunity.

Yuliana was prompt & easy to work with. Her trip recommendations and guidance were a perfect fit for our family. We enjoyed every moment our trip!

Hotel Review

Hotel Arenal Montechiari

La Fortuna

Great spot for our group of 12. The pool was a hit.

Authenticity & Character

The tropical gardens & views of Arenal were beautiful.

Location

Easy to get to, within walking distance of town center

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Traditional Cooking Class - Dinner

Arenal/La Fortuna

The Traditional Cooking Class was my personal favorite activity of the trip. We had a private garden tour to taste various plants and learned about their uses. Cooking with my family was simple, stress-free, and so enjoyable. We even got to press sugar cane and try different things. This activity was perfect for our large group, and everyone loved working together in the kitchen!

Rainforest Chocolate Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

The Rainforest Chocolate Tour was one of the highlights of our trip! The guide was hilarious, making the experience both fun and educational. Our group couldn't stop laughing throughout the tour. It was a unique experience where we learned a lot about the chocolate-making process while being entertained. Highly recommend it for all ages!

I found Kimkim while looking to book a birding trip to Costa Rica. I love that they put us in touch with local experts while providing an easy-to-use planning platform. We just got back from a Costa Rica birding trip planned by Yuliana and I can say that she put together a thoughtful, well-planned out trip that delivered exactly what we were looking for - birding experiences, off-the-tourist track, ecolodges, and the feel of Costa Rica, on a limited budget. The trip included a well, thought-out driving schedule and pre-booked birding guides along with enough free time to do some hiking or extra tours on our own if we felt like it at the time. Yuliana answered my questions that I dropped in the chat box in a timely manner. The only negative that I had was that I did not get the detailed package drop as soon as I would have liked. I think at least 2 weeks before a trip would be a better timeline than one week.

Our family of four (two adults, two kids ages 11 and 12) just returned from an 8-day trip to Costa Rica — our first time — and it was incredible. Elena, Nancy & Adrian at Serendipity Adventures planned everything: airports transfers, two fantastic properties (Arenal Springs Resort and Hotel La Mariposa), and a full slate of daily adventures across Arenal/La Fortuna and Manuel Antonio.

The itinerary was perfectly paced. We hiked Arenal Volcano and the La Fortuna Waterfall and walked the hanging bridges above the rainforest canopy with our excellent and personable guide Mariano, we went whitewater rafting on the Sarapiquí River (Flow Trips was great!), flew through the trees on Sky Adventures zip lines, explored Manuel Antonio National Park with a guide (big shoutout to Soccio and his son/CR's next best guide, Luther, from Endemic Birds), and wrapped up with a catamaran cruise. Every activity was age-appropriate and kept the whole family engaged. All pickups, transfers, and logistics were handled seamlessly — we never had to figure anything out on our own.

There was one minor hiccup on our first full day where a miscommunication about pickup time caused us to miss an excursion, but Elena and Adrian jumped on it immediately and made adjustments to make it right. That was the only issue across the entire trip, and how they handled it actually reinforced our confidence in them.

If you're considering Costa Rica and don't want to deal with the stress of coordinating everything yourself, I'd highly recommend Serendipity Adventures. Elena was responsive, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and clearly knows the country inside and out. We'd book with them again without hesitation.

The very best of Costa Rica!
Meeting our driver Esteban at the airport was very convenient. He was very accommodating and friendly. He gave our group valuable advice and recommendations. The hotel in La Fortuna was very clean and within easy walking distance to the town square. Included daily breakfast was good. Kids enjoyed the pool.
All activities were awesome - the horseback riding, hike to Fortuna waterfall, chocolate tour, cooking class, Ecotermales hot springs (the best buffet dinner ever!), hanging bridges, zip lining, and the catamaran cruise in Tamarindo. What a great variety of experiences! Costa Rica is the best. Pura vida!

Hotel Review

Hotel Arenal Montechiari

La Fortuna

Very clean, comfortable. Friendly staff. Good breakfast included daily. Close to the town square.

Authenticity & Character

Cute individual cabins surrounded by beautiful greenery.

Location

Easy walking distance

Staff

Very friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Catamaran Sailing Excursion

Costa Rica

This sailing excursion was more than I anticipated! Good drinks, great food, friendly crew.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Traditional Cooking Class - Dinner

Arenal/La Fortuna

So much fun! The cooking class was well-organized. Doña Rosa and her assistant were very good with the kids by letting them take part in the preparations.

Rainforest Chocolate Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

Fun and informative! Kids loved our presenter.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Guided Hanging Bridges & Aerial Tram

Arenal/La Fortuna

Very friendly and knowledgeable guide. Interesting hike.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

EcoTermales Hot Springs Experience with Meal

Arenal/La Fortuna

Very clean pools. Awesome buffet meal included.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano Horseback Riding Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

Horses were well-trained trail horses. Staff were very helpful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We stayed in San Jose, La Fortuna, and Tamarindo. Each accommodation was exactly what I was looking for, it had local flare but enough accommodations and food choices for my children. I saw lots of wildlife, had great guides, the transports were on time and friendly, everything was as I expected. The kimkim team was very easy to work with and had great recommendations to guide me to what I wanted. It was a great planning experience with Kat in particular, she revised our plan like 6 times until it was exactly what I wanted!

We had an amazing time in Costa Rica experiencing so much wildlife and different places. It was very daunting planning the 2 week trip ourselves with so much we wanted to pack in so we are very grateful we used kimkim to help. Yuliana put together a great plan and we worked through some options to make it even better. Responses were very fast including last minute adjustments during the trip. Will definitely use kimkim again!

Everything went as planned. Drivers were courteous and always waiting for us on time. Whitewater rafting was great, our guide, Alejandro was fun. The waterfall rappelling was something I don't think any of thought we would do. It was really cool. All the hikes around Arenal were great. Manuel Antonio is a bit confusing at first, we ended up getting a guide to get into the park. It was worth it though since they knew where the animals are. The night walk was fun too.

Thanks for all the work setting the trip up.
Shane

Hotel Reviews

Hotel La Mariposa

Manuel Antonio

Unbelievable view

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa Luna Hotel & Spa

La Fortuna

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Morning Catamaran Adventure with Barbecue

Manuel Antonio

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manuel Antonio Jungle Night Walk

Manuel Antonio

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Self-Guided Manuel Antonio Beaches

Manuel Antonio

Manuel Antonio park is a bit confusing at first since we hadn't book out entrance fee before hand and had to get a guide to get in.

Quality of Experience

Sky Tram, Ziplines & Sky Walk Adventure

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano & La Fortuna Waterfall Hike with Lunch

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Río Balsa Whitewater Rafting Adventure (Class II-III)

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

L

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lost Canyon Waterfalls & Rappelling Adventure

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This trip was amazing. I was not sure what to expect going through KimKim and the local specialist, Serendipity Adventures, but was thoroughly pleased with everything. Our tour guide during the Turrialba Volcano Hike, Gloriana, was amazing, well informed and an absolute delight to hike along side. Living in the community brought real stories and experience to our hike. She was most accommodating. We had a tour of the National Monument with Manuel and he was extremely knowledgeable as well. He informed us of the history and brought his scope and found a sloth for us to see. I was so excited as I have never seen a sloth up close. Our next adventure was a night tour at Catie Botanical Gardens. I was amazed at the amount of Costa Rican wildlife. Jorge and Gato were exceptional guides. Our accommodations were outstanding and all the support staff were friendly and most spoke English. We moved from Turrialba to San Geraldo de Dota and had amazing views at the Dantica Cloud Forest Lodge... loved the weather. Early in the morning we went birdwatching with Carlos, an extraordinary guide, who grew up in the area. His knowledge about birds was amazing and he knew the Quetzal patterns which allowed us to see our first Quetzal. The horseback riding is a must to the waterfalls. We are avid riders and loved every minute. Our last visit was to Uvita.... the weather was just like Louisiana, hot and humid but we're very used to it. The view from Tiki Villas Rainforest Lodge and Spa was breath taking. We added spa treatments for us 4 and it was incredible. Tired after 7 days of hiking, horseback riding and tours, we were soooo happy the Mangrove & Wildlife tour was in a boat. It was so peaceful and we were able to see all the birds we wanted to. Exceptional as well.

Booking through KimKim and Serendipity was the BEST decision we ever made and will most assuredly be recommending this group to everyone. As a retired military member, I like order and punctuality and that is exactly what we had... no hiccups. The only way to visit going forward. I can't wait to book my next country visit with them.

Hotel Reviews

Tiki Villas Rainforest Lodge & Spa

Uvita

EXCEPTIONAL!! Amazing view, massages in room when purchased and great ambiance.

Authenticity & Character

Fantastic pool and view..... EXCEPTIONAL.

Location

Very close to tours and beaches.

Staff

Friendly and accommodating.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Excellent king size beds and very cool outside shower and bath. MUST STAY AGAIN.

Dantica Cloud Forest Lodge

Copey

Amazing views, wonderful spa bathtub and great restaurant.

Authenticity & Character

Incredible views and walking paths.

Location

Location near our tours which was awesome and a great cafe for birdwatching and a pizza cafe too.

Staff

Fabian and Selena were fantastic.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Great support staff and very clean.

Casa Turire

Turrialba

Great lodging, friendly staff and wonderful location

Authenticity & Character

Lush landscaping

Location

Beautifully tucked away but close to the city.

Staff

Very friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean and spacious.

Activity Review

Private Hike Turrialba Volcano

Costa Rica

Our guide was Gloriana who lived around the tour area which made the hike even more interesting as she was able to share her childhood experiences along the way. The hike was the perfect amount of exertion and exercise and the view was amazing.

Quality of Experience

Knowledgeable tour guide

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Gloriana was exceptional.

This was an outstanding trip planned by Holden and Adrian at Serendipity Adventures with only two months’ notice. We made sure to be where we needed to be and everything happened like clockwork. This is our third trip through kimkim, and as always the kimkim platform made all of the planning and payment easy. This time we especially liked the new kimkim app that made it handy to pull up our daily itinerary and see what was happening when. Costa Rica was exceptionally beautiful, and the easy logistics really allowed us to enjoy the views, great food and world-class wildlife.

Guides were all excellent throughout our trip, making every stop along the way a really educational experience. One of the big advantages of having a guide is meeting and getting to know a local person in the place you are traveling. We always learn so much more than we would just on our own. The guides have a lot of infectious enthusiasm for Costa Rica and the area they live in. Things are so varied throughout the country, and each new ecosystem is a new opportunity to learn about unique plants, animals, geology and ecology. From hollow trees filled with water that sound like a drum when hit, to hand-grinding freshly-roasted coffee beans, to stopping on the side of the road on the way to the airport to see how a cashew grows, we were constantly coming in contact with new and interesting subjects.

Our list of new-to-us animals, birds and plants is huge from this trip - some standouts were howler monkeys, spider monkeys, two & three-toed sloths, agoutis, coatis, quetzal, eyelash pit viper, scarlet macaw, caimans, motmots, sea eels, morpho butterflies, and special mention to all the various hummingbirds at Monteverde and the nighttime spider eyes watching us in La Fortuna. The plant and insect life is an important part of the experience as well, especially at Amor Arenal where you are surrounded on all sides by amazing jungle vegetation, and the cicadas, birds and wind are the constant backing track.

We met so many friendly and helpful people at all of the hotels and attractions, it made for a welcoming trip. Adrian from Serendipity kept track of us through WhatsApp - and provided some critical help over the phone when we became too absorbed in the Monteverde cloud forest and had to change plans quickly. The hotels were all noteworthy because of the helpful staff and the excellent facilities. Every guide was a stand-out, and really every guided activity was rewarding and worthwhile. The naturalist guides were invaluable - Bryan at Arenal, Joe on the Peñas Blancas River, Andy in Monteverde, and Kenneth in Nosara all really knew their areas well and gave us real insight into the natural world of Central America.

Transfers were timely and seemed like a necessity, not an option. There were quite a few rough roads and tricky turns, it was great to have locals driving. They were all excellent.

We would recommend Costa Rica without reservation, and this tour made it great.

We really appreciated all the transfers during our trip, given road conditions and signage. All the drivers were friendly and on time, if not early. All the lodging arrangements were great. We had excellent nature guides in Monteverde. When there was a glitch in reserving a guide at Treetopia, having our confirmation # came in handy, and someone from KimKim called us in the moment. The only change I would make is to spend 2 nights vs 3 at Hacienda Guachipelin. It was a great place, but there wasn't enough hiking in the local area.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Hacienda Guachipelín

Liberia

Great location. There was a feel of a resort without all the fanciness. If you're not into ziplining, rapelling and tubing, there are fewer hiking options, though.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Hotel Guiones

Nosara

Great location- walking easy to beach and town, very helpful and friendly staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cala Lodge

Monteverde

great location, beautiful setting, nice breakfasts

Authenticity & Character

helpful staff

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

perfectly clean, room was a bit tight

Activity Reviews

Rincón de la Vieja Volcano Hike & La Oropendola Waterfall

Rincón de la Vieja

This park is VERY busy and there are limited trails but very interesting to see fumaroles, mud pots and water pots. Our group was fairly large and the guide was fair, but not superb. The Oropendola waterfall hike was great!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Birdwatch Hike in Nosara Biological Reserve

Nosara

Our guide, Rio, was born and bred in Nosara and his family goes back generations there. It was worth getting up for a 6 am birdwalk. Rio's spotting scope was broken, but he was able to spot birds easily since he's so experienced.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve Guided Hike

Monteverde

Our guide, again- it was Marcella- was wonderful. Santa Elena was a busy place but going with a guide allowed us to see way more birds and have a good understanding of the ecosystem.

Quality of Experience

the guide makes it worth the trip

Guides, Drivers and Staff

It's a pretty bumpy ride getting there, but worth it

Transport

Hanging Bridges Adventure

Monteverde

Nice and quiet and we had a great guide, Roberto, all to ourselves. He was into birds, trees, spiders- couldn't have asked for more.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Walk at Curi-Cancha Reserve

Monteverde

Our guide Marcella was great. The waiver process was cumbersome and didn't seem necessary

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

BEST VACATION OF MY LIFE.

Traveling with KimKim is a dream. No stress about making big decisions, getting reservations or planning activities. In the past, I've hit a wall vacation planning - not knowing what hotels to stay out, what to do - I would just get overwelhmed and shut down. I plan to travel the world now with KimKim.

Our trip to La Fortuna, Monteverde and Tamarindo was beyond exquisite. I was travelled with my 15 year old daughter and we came home closer than ever before. Hiking, white water rafting, ziplining, sloths, hotsprings, anteaters, rare birds, climbing a volcano, surfing, watching baby turtles hatch, shopping, sun tanning, kayaking, eating, making friends, and most importantly memories that will last a lifetime.

Our local guide Elena was beyond extraordinary. She was available at the drop of the hat via Whats App. She provided fantastic recommendations and helped with last minute reservations.

For the hotels : The Arenal Springs Resort was fantastic. PERFECT for families and for couples. Rooms were the best on our trip. You get your own private condo like structure which provides a sense of privacy - with a view of the volcano. Breakfast was great. Hot springs were to die for. Location fantastic.

Sibu Hotel Lodge was boutique and had a gorgeous restaurant. All teak tables and interior that rivals an NYC hotspot. You get access to a nearby sister hotel with a pool, jacuzzi and spa. View was fine but very centrally location.

Diria Hotel in Tamarindo was great. Elena booked us a beachfront room with a view. I would've NEVER done that on my own and it made all the difference. We were right on the beach with astonishing sunsets. She connected us with a local surf instructor who took us sea kayaking and then taught us how to surf the next day. Nico was so awesome. We were both able to actually surf at the end of the lesson. Priceless. The turtle tour was fine. I gave Elena my feedback and she handled it immediately.

Elena also rented a car for us. I was hesitant to drive on roads, but she encouraged us to do it (plus its cheaper than a driver). BEST DECISION. We had freedom when traveling between cities and got to stop and take pictures of the breathtaking landscape. People do not drive fast so you can really control the car on the roads up and down the mountains. My only criticism is that I would've driven to the zipline park in Monteverde instead of getting picked up at the hotel by a shuttle bus. It would've given us more freedom to leave when we wanted to.

Activity Reviews

All Day Adventure at Selvatura, including Zipline, Hanging Bridges, and Fauna Exhibitions

Costa Rica

I would've driven to the location instead of taking the shuttle bus.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Whitewater Rafting Sarapiqui River (Class III-IV)

Costa Rica

We had our tour guide Bella again. He was so much fun and awesome. Challenging - but not too challenging. LOTS OF LAUGHS.

Quality of Experience

Bella

Food

SO GOOD. Real Costa Rican food.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledgable and kind.

Transport

Arenal Volcano Hike & La Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our tour guide Bella was outstanding. He was able to spot animals and birds that were SO FAR AWAY. The hike was fantastic. Very interactive and fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My family's trip to Costa Rica was exceptional. We used Kimkim to get it set up and found it was a very easy process. Bryan Leon, at Serendipity Adventures, helped to plan, organize, and manage our trip. Bryan, Nancy, and Adrian, among others, worked diligently to make sure everything ran smoothly.

Truthfully, I was very impressed. Our goal was to enjoy the vacation itself, not all of the minutiae normally required. We flew into Liberia, got picked up immediately and had a 3 hour drive (after a 5 and half hour flight) that felt like it was about 15 minutes long. The driver, Alex, was super friendly and was telling us stories all the way to our first resort. Every transport or activity was handled punctually and professionally. We stayed at 3 separate resorts over 8 days and each resort had it's own unique and interesting flavor. Every single guide was great and made the activities very engaging. Completely worth the cost, I've never had this much of a stress free vacation. The only thing I had to do was to show up and enjoy myself.

Serendipity Adventures set up an itinerary that was great. Transports were always 15-20 minutes early, and we had no issues the activities. Every guide was friendly, knowledgeable, and very engaging. I've never been on guided hikes with tour guides before and this trip spoiled me. It's so much more fun to go with someone who knows the area and can fill in so many details about the land and animals.

Shout out to all of the tours/guides:
Esteban at the North Fields Coffee tour (my wife now loves to mix light and dark roasted beans)
Bryan at the Arenal Volcano Park hike, thank you for being so engaging. The coconut drinks at the end of the hike were perfect.
Sergio at the Arenal Hanging Bridges walk, thanks for pointing out so many different animals and the history of the area.
Jorge at the Tapir Valley Nature Reserve Night walk. Such a beautiful area, seeing the Tapirs so close was great. Walking through the Tapir Valley at night is an incredible experience.
Manny at the Rio Celeste hike. Thank you for guiding my family on the hike and finding all of those small snakes and insects we never would have seen otherwise.
Kevin from the Patron fishing boat. I can still taste the tuna you and the crew prepared, one of the most delicious meals I've ever had.

Activity Reviews

Introduction to the Gulf of Papagayo

Gulf of Papagayo

Absolutely beautiful area.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Fishing Tour with Patron

Gulf of Papagayo

Great time, was my first time fishing in the ocean. Enjoyed it immensely. Caught a tuna and Kevin and his crew prepared the best meal from it I've ever had.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rio Celeste & Tenorio Volcano Private Hike

Bijagua / Rio Celeste

Beautiful area, great hike.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tapir Valley Nature Reserve Night Walk

Bijagua / Rio Celeste

Possibly the highlight of the entire trip. Walking through the forest at night was incredible. Starting the hike in the daylight and then watching the sun set before continuing was amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Jorge was an incredible guide. So very knowledgeable about the area and it's history.

Transport

Arenal Hanging Bridges Guided Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

Everything was great, walking over the hanging bridges was an incredible experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sergio, the guide was excellent and extremely knowledgeable.

Transport

Private Guided Hike in Arenal Volcano Park 1968

Arenal/La Fortuna

So much fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee, Chocolate and Sugar Cane Farm Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

So much fun, eating chocolate and drinking coffee in the morning, what more can one ask for?

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide, Esteban, definitely can talk coffee and the best way to prepare it. You're definitely in good hands if you want to learn how to brew a perfect cup of coffee.

Transport

Our guides, most of them, were outstanding, knowledgeable, and helpful on educating us. One guide in Manuel Antonio Park was fairly new and he was basically following the other guides and setting up his scope near them, relying on their information. He was very energetic, though and we could tell he loved his job.

Our hotel in Quepos, Tabacon -- was simply outstanding and our room was THE NICEST SUITE we have ever had. The view of the volcano from our balcony was beautiful.
We realize now that we should have stayed longer in some areas, and less in others.

I so appreciate your on the spot messaging... it was nice to receive your emails quickly and you were so on top of everything. Great trip. We want to do more trips with KimKim!!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel La Mariposa

Manuel Antonio

Once again, the view from our room and balcony was awesome. Quite beautiful and luxurious.

Authenticity & Character

Really a great place, but probably more so for younger people... we are retired and go to bed early, but the bar noise was a bit much. If we had been situated further away, it would have been better, I think.

Location

Staff

Very accommodating to us. However, some seemed a bit burned out to deal with tourists. Just a hunch.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cloud Forest Lodge

Monteverde

This hotel was very nice. However, in comparison to Tabacon, the staff here really avoided us and were not that helpful nor kind. Often in entering the lobby, I felt like I was interrupting their day, and that they did not really want to assist us or offer any touristy information. I did leave a review of this and gave it to the front desk.

Authenticity & Character

Noise from the personnel working there.

Location

Staff

They need attitude adjustments.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room was clean and comfortable.

Tabacón Thermal Resort & Spa

Fortuna

We had the honeymoon suite (been married 31 years!) but what an experience this room was. The balcony view of the volcano was simply amazing. The hotel offered everything we needed and more. Everyone was so knowledgeable and kind to us.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Hiking is nearby.

Staff

The cleaning staff were so accommodating and loved us being there.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Manuel Antonio National Park Nature Hike

Manuel Antonio

This tour was crowded with so many people. So many people on tours with guides, and our guide, unfortunately, did not really seem expert. He followed the other guides and seemed to just view from their perspective. He was very nice and energetic.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve Guided Hike

Monteverde

Very good experience and saw some monkeys and birds. I enjoyed going over the 5 bridges in the clouds. Unique experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Eternal Rainforest Night Walk

Monteverde

Unfortunately, this guide did not speak English well and had a tendency to speak to just the one in front of the group. So we often had to ask him to repeat and say again...

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

TreeTram, Hanging Bridges & Zipline Adventure

Monteverde

Ziplining was FANTASTIC. THOSE GUYS REALLY EARN THEIR PAY. I simply loved this activity and so glad that I did the "freefall," too. Very knowledgeable and happy personnel.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano & La Fortuna Waterfall Hike with Lunch

Arenal/La Fortuna

Great hike. Our guide did not ensure that we all had water before we left for the hike, though. Thankfully, one of the hikers gave me a bottle of water.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sloth & Bird Hike

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our guide, Diego was just outstanding. He knew so much and showed us everything important.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fabulous trip all around
Tours guides EXCEPTIONAL!!!

Hotel Reviews

Le Cameleon Boutique Hotel

Puerto Viejo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Paradise Hot Springs Thermal Water Resort

La Fortuna

Great hot springs s as nd beautiful setting

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Bribri Chocolate & Waterfall Excursion

Costa Rica

Enrico was great

Quality of Experience

Enrico

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kayak Adventure & Rainforest Hike in Punta Uva

Puerto Viejo de Talamanca

Lots of animals- sloth, monkey, turtle etc…

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Night Excursion in Rainforest and Wild Frog Sanctuary

Arenal/La Fortuna

Boring

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Mambo Combo Canyoning and Rafting

Arenal/La Fortuna

Staff was superb!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sky Tram, Sky Trek & Sky Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All tours and guides were excellent. We would recommend all of the activities on our itinerary.

Special mention to Grievin and Andrea from Uvita Night Tours. We spent two days with them and they were fantastic!

Would recommend adding Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary to your tours.

This was the first time using Kimkim and we would absolutely use them again. Our trip itinerary was customized for our family and included super unique experiences and hotel stays that we don’t believe we would have been able to find ourselves. The clear and thorough instructions in the daily itinerary were easy to follow and reflected the appropriate amount of downtime between excursions and traveling between cities. Overall super happy with the trip and thank you guys very much!

This was a great trip for us and our 13 year old grandson. Kim Kim was so helpful in planning everything and all the details were taken care of with no glitches. The local guides were absolutely amazing. Roy who took us around the park at Arenal was very friendly and knowledgeable. Our grandson said how much he learned from him. Socio was absolutely the best at Manuel Antonio NP. He was so quick to locate and point out animals in the trees and on the ground. Numerous other guides we met that day all said that Socio was the best guide around, and we agree. The events we booked (white water rafting with Waves and zip lining at Sky Adventures) were exciting and conducted in a professional manner. This is the 4th trip that Kim Kim has put together for us and we will definitely keep using them in the future. We have recommended them to numerous people (and think we should be getting a finders fee!).

Hotel Reviews

Hotel La Mariposa

Manuel Antonio

Fantastic view of the bay and beach below. Very caring staff. Clean and well appointed. Very nice swimming pool. The cat in residence was a nice touch as well as the young sloth that slept above the veranda. They were also very accommodating with us hanging out at the pool till it was time to leave for our late night flight back to the US.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arenal Springs Resort

La Fortuna

Beautiful facilities and grounds. Very attentive staff. Great view of the volcano. Excellent pools.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Catamaran Tour with Meal

Costa Rica

We had a nice calm day. Were able to see dolphins close to the boat. The staff was very helpful when learning that our grandson has celiac disease and can't have gluten. The snorkeling was good and the food was too,

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Hike

Costa Rica

This was one of the highlights of the trip. The park is filled with many different kinds of animals. We wouldn't have seen many without the expertise of Andres Martin Socio, our guide. I can't say enough positive things about him and what he shared with us. He showed us sloths, igauanas, bats, land crabs, numerous birds, lizards, orchids, and all sorts of plants. The park is beautiful, and if you can request him as a guide, absolutely do so.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sky Tram, Sky Trek & Sky Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

I was impressed by the thoroughness of the staff in getting us ready and checking the equipment at each transfer point. There are 7 zip lines, one that is a half mile in length, so it was exciting! Definitely something we would do again,

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Whitewater Rafting Sarapiqui River (Class III-IV)

Costa Rica

Great fun in excellent weather. Our boatman, Antonio was skilled and gave us a terrific experience. The water level was a little low so we scrapped over some rocks, but had a very fun time.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano Hike & La Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

The hike was very interesting. Roy was a great guide. The walk down to the base of the waterfall was memorable because the 515 steps down and back up contributed to sore legs the next couple of days, but totally worth it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport