Kimkim Trip Reviews for Costa Rica

Very professional and talented chef

All of the tour operators were kind and helpful

We had wonderful raft captains

Great views of the ocean and sunsets. A very large and comfortable pool. We enjoyed breakfast, dinner and desserts at Le Papillon Restaurant. The room was very spacious and well-laid out, with a wrap-around balcony overlooking the pool and bar.

Beautiful grounds. We enjoyed our two breakfasts and two dinners at the restaurant, which was just a few steps from our room. There was no pool or exercise room, but there was a shuttle to a sister hotel a few minutes away with those facilities. The only issue with the hotel is that the room was freezing the entire time. The staff told us that there is air conditioning but no heat in their rooms.

Beautiful grounds and room. We had fine dinners at their two restaurants and swam in the "hot springs" pool. And the first thing we saw when we left our room was a view of the Arenal Volcano among the clouds.

The breeze made the ride very comfortable on a hot and humid day. We had great views of the towns, beaches and islands and got to see a few dolphins when we went out a few miles. Then we stopped at a cove for swimming and snorkeling. One of us did a little swimming with a life jacket, while the other took pictures of videos of all the younger passengers jumping or sliding into the water. Then we had a very tasty dinner of beef and vegetables on a skewer, pasta and fruit.

It was very crowded, even at 8:00 in the morning - it took us 20 to 30 minutes just to get through the entrance to the Park. Ivan was an outstanding guide. He was able to identify many kinds of animals through his long Zoom lens and took pictures with our cameras through the view finder - so we have great photos of sloths, monkeys, crabs and many other forms of wildlife, along with palm trees. We stopped at the cafeteria a little over halfway through our walk and he got fruit and a fruit drink for us there. The best part was seeing close-up female monkeys carrying their babies on their backs through the trees near the beach.

There were a lot of people at the reception building and it wasn't clear to us for a while that we would walk around the cloud forest and the hanging bridges on our own - and then have a guided group tour of the sloth, butterfly and reptile buildings. We saw a monkey and a quetzal on our walk, by noticing where guides were pointing their zoom lenses. We had a very good guide (didn't catch his name) in the sloth and butterfly buildings.

Our guide Marvin was very patient and thorough in making sure we were safe walking in the dark and showed us many animals, such as lizards, birds and an armadillo. We had a little trouble adjusting to walking up and down in the dark, but we made it "out of the woods" safely.

Randy, the Don Juan tour guide, was very friendly and knowledgeable. We learned a lot from him on the process of growing coffee beans and cacao and how they turn into coffee and chocolate. We had a few hands-on activities, such as making our own chocolate bar or cookie. And we bought about 10 bars of chocolate at the gift shop to bring back to our friends and relatives.

There was a lot of up and down hill walking. Mariano recommend the best hike for us so that we went over 3 of the covered bridges and saw a fair amount of wildlife.

The volcano hike was very strenuous for us, but we did the best we could. We saw ants, butterflies and a toucan. One of us went down the 500 stairs to the waterfall and swam a bit in the pool on the left, while the other stayed on top and took pictures.

exceeded our expectations in every way. Perhaps the nicest lodge we've stayed at overall. The bungalows are extremely private and designed so well I found myself photographing many features of them to perhaps implement some of those ideas in my own house someday. The outdoor shower, the lava exfoliating tiles on the floor, the copper trough bathroom sink. Just wonderful. Couldn't believe the privacy we had in everything we did. Had the thermal river to ourselves, the hiking paths to ourselves and even the restaurant almost to ourselves. So much so that I questioned if they were perhaps not very booked and was stunned to hear they were at 100%.

Very personal intimate experience, especially with the staff. Excellent food choices and quality. Loved the fireplace! Property is impeccably maintained and offers nice hiking, bird watching and other amenities.

One of the best dining experiences I've ever had. The waiter was a true professional who really added to the experience. Not only did we enjoy 9 gourmet foods and wines but we learned a lot about the country. The setting was as unique and beautiful as the photos.

I'm not usually much into such planned and organized activities as this but figured when in Rome. I've done hanging bridges and ziplines before so expected about the same. I was wrong. The Hanging bridges put you in or above the canopy which is other- worldly and a must see in Costa Rica. The ziplines are very fast and with the clouds present gave us the experience of plunging into a fog bank! Exciting and un-nerving at the same time.

Good description overall. Swimming on this hike should not always be expected. We had 4 layers, raingear and muddy boots on. Horseback ride was cool!

Great quiet place. Excellent staff. Excellent breakfast. Beautiful pool area and lovely room overlooking the Ocean.

Great location, friendly staff and lovely room. Excellent breakfast!! Our room was on a very busy/noisy street that was under construction. Didn’t get much sleep

The people here were friendly and the breakfast was good. This hotel was outdated and we had water damage/mold in the bathroom. It was farther away from most Arenal activities. Pool was in poor condition.

Monica our guide was amazing!!

The view was exceptional, the food was mediocre, and the rooms were minimally acceptable

The staff was warm and truly exceptional in every way. The room was gorgeous, the hot springs were clean and truly hot, the spa was exceptional and the food was very good.

BEAUTIFUL grounds! Our room was fabulous! Very clean and beautiful view. The property looks like there is still construction to be done. I hope it is able to get finished...it is beautiful there and having the horses and stables added a nice touch too.

The hotel was OK, but our room was very mildewy and caused us to wake up very congested. Also the lighting in our room was too dark.

Very interesting tour and presesntation. Loved the interaction. It just got a little bit too long.

Beautiful property. I could have spent more time there!

Beautiful living space. Bedrooms were spacious and living areas relaxing. We had fun using the pool table and pool area. Housekeeping was daily and always done well. Also able to have our clothes washed when needed. Andreas was the host for the house. He was very helpful with questions and helped to coordinate the chef who made dinner for us two nights. The location was close to grocery stores and were walkable distances. Also able to walk to nearby restaurants and small shops to look around in. We were picked up at the end of the driveway for our tours which made it so very easy for us. Local wildlife included monkeys and beautiful birds. The scarlet Macaws were my favorite.

Please see my earlier comments about this service. This was our second chef prepared meal. W e had it on the evening before we left to go home. Again, a wonderful experience and meal.

Very fun experience. Our tour was not crowded and staff were very attentive. We chose not to snorkel as we had been in this area earlier in our visit. Instead we enjoyed the slide and jumping into the ocean. The boat captain was able to located a pod of dolphins and they were very entertaining to watch chasing along the side of the boat. The sunset at the end of the trip was beautiful and we were able to take several really nice pictures. The meal was good.

The spice tour was in a beautiful setting. Our guide shared the spice farm's development and current crops that included many spices, cacao, and vanilla beans. As we walked through the farm/gardens she would share the various spices and the organic growing practices. There was a tasty treat at the end of the tour as well.

This was my first time doing a zip line. I had a lot of fun doing the different lines and was impressed at the safety precautions that staff used.

White water rafting was the highlight of the trip for me. Orlando was the guide who talked with us on the ride in. It took an hour and a half to get the area on the river where the rafts could be launched. He shared many stories about the countryside, the people and the surrounding industry and farming. He kept us all entertained. David was the guide for the raft I was in. David made the trip so very fun and memorable. He was a good judge of our capabilities and would find fun areas to go over and get a good splash of water. We were able to get out of the raft and swim in a deeper area. Also go into a waterfall and splash around a bit. Mario, our driver, was also a gem. Not only was he a good driver, he had a beautiful snack set up for us when the trip ended. Mario also shared several local plants and their uses with us. The meal at the end of our trip was a buffet and was very good.

I would definitely recommend using a guide service when visiting the national park. Our guide found many animals, insects, birds, and flowers that we would have not seen. Also, he had a viewing lens that he could take pictures on our smart phone. We have many fun pictures because of this. Also our guide was so knowledgeable about the park and beautiful nature in it.

Wonderful meal! Chef Germaine's dinner for us was delicious and beautifully presented. Everything was prepared fresh. Chef Germaine and his staff set the table, served the food, cleaned up the dishes and kitchen. It was awesome to have a gourmet meal prepared and served in the house we were staying at.

The kayak portion was fun. However, snorkeling was limited as there were so many people in the snorkeling area due to other tours using the same reef area. Caesar and Joseph were our guides and were very helpful. My thanks to Joseph for snorkeling with us and helping us to find an octopus to see.

El Lugar provided very comfortable accommodations for our group. There were minor issues, such as room allocation, but they were promptly addressed. Although the casitas were spread out (as described in their literature), the resort provided quick service via golf carts, picking up guests to get them around. They also anticipated when we would move to meals and kept the carts available outside the reception or dining area. Feeding 66 people 3 meals a day, buffet style, was challenging. The meals did get a bit repetitive, but they tried to change it up. The staff went above and beyond and provided dance lessons, free carriage rides around the resort, and a dancing horse send-off as we boarded the buses to say goodbye. It was a very pleasant stay.

Our short stay at Costa Rica Marriott Hotel Hacienda Belen was well-received by most of the group. There were minor issues due to a long line at check-in, but they quickly resolved that by adding another agent. The grounds were beautiful and allowed us to stretch our legs after a long day of travel. We had a group dinner, and the service was quick and efficient. Overall, it was a good start to the trip.

The Mistico Hanging Bridges and Ecotermales Hot Springs tour was another highlight. Despite the long day, it was a worthwhile experience. We started early with the zip lining option, which many participated in, and ended the day with a relaxing time at the hot springs. The flexibility of choices made it enjoyable for everyone.

The privately guided tour at La Paz Waterfall Gardens was a favorite. Our group loved the variety of activities offered there. Some of us enjoyed the entire tour, while others opted to explore only parts of it according to their comfort levels. It was well organized, and everyone had a fantastic time!

Very well located in center of town although the entrance is not very obvious. Rooms and food were great. Free breakfast

Very nice grounds with a great pool, view of the ocean and great wildlife including scarlet macaws and toucans. Food at both restaurants was above average

Very quiet and well appointed hotel away from the more touristy parts of Monteverde. Food was excellent and the bird feeders at the restaurant were a treat

Nice hotel right on beach at Playa Hermosa

Great place to stay for a few days with good wildlife, lots of activities and two restaurants to enjoy.

Resort was a little tired and touristy. Food was not the best

A decadent gourmet dining experience in a glass wall treetop cabin at sunset. Well worth the splurge

Two snorkeling sites were selected, one with low visibility and lots of sand, where we saw several small sharks and a turtle, and the other which was shallower, had better visibility and more coral and nice reef fish. Overall, the snorkeling was not much better than some places in Hawaii and I was disappointed. I also got a mild foot cramp from so long in the water. Overall the trip was overrated for me: too much effort without enough return.

Got to prepare a great Costa Rican style meal with stewed chicken, rice, beans, salad, hand made tortillas, and plantain ceviche. Chef showed us exactly what to do and it turned out wonderful. Nice tour of farmers market in town and a beautiful farm with rabbits, goats, sheep, turkeys, hens, ducks, geese, peacocks, guinea hens and an enormous riding bull recuperating from a horn surgery. Also saw their organic garden, a vanilla plantation with pepper, cacao and coffee plants. Nice to see squirrel monkeys and a great toucan along with a gorgeous sunset

National Museum is not included in this tour so it should be renamed. Tour focuses on the Mercado Centrale and Costa Rican food primarily. There was some historical commentary and brief visits to the Cathedral and the lobby of the National Theater which was being renovated during our visit.

Best thing about the trip was seeing the rain forest canopy from above and getting a closeup view of all the epiphytes living high up on the tall cloud Forest trees. Also got to see a forest millipede and our first tarantula.

Hike through Tenorio National Park with great views of Arenal volcano and great cloud forest vegetation. Wildlife was a bit sparse however, and there was a very long wait with lots of people to see the waterfall, because of a landslide Finca Verde Nature Farm was excellent and we got to see a couple of sloths on the move as well some great birds.

We hiked for several hours with a very pleasant young man called Olivier who was knowledgeable about the flora, fauna and geography of the area. Saw howler monkeys and white faced capuchin and some great birds. Saw three waterfalls which were each spectacular. The first two we had completely to ourselves. The last one had a great swimming hole but there were quite a few people. It was nice to relax in the hot spring pools at the end after the hike, but they were also quite crowded. Beware: the no-see-um bugs in the parking lot were the most vicious bugs we encountered during the whole trip. The bites stayed with us for 2 weeks.

Very wet hike. Saw bedraggled specimens of both 2- and 3-toed sloths high up in trees, but they were huddled up and not moving much. It’s good sloth habitat. Also saw a BoatBilled Heron who was rather splendid. Good coffee at the place they took us after the hike and it was great watching birds eat plantain pieces while staying dry!

One of the best nature hikes on our trip. Saw quite a few species including the Blue Jeans poison frog and the eponymous Red Eyed Leaf Frog

This lodge was interesting. Work has been done on it but the bathroom is huge which made no sense - our room could have been a suite if a bit of thought had gone into the planning. The staff was amazing, but the menu wasn't varied enough for more than a couple of days stay. Because it was isolated, getting out for a meal would have required extra effort. However, the view was spectacular.

Beautiful hotel with amazing hot springs and a variety of restaurants.

Amazing vantage point of Monteverde from the tram. It had rained and the trail was slick so we chose not to hike back to the entry which might have been nice. The hanging bridge trail was well maintained and the bridges were really impressive.

Though we didn't see much beyond frogs and tarantulas, our guide was so cute, sweet and excited that it didn't matter. How often do you have the chance to traipse through the rain forest, flashlight in hand and enjoy being in the dark sleuthing for critters?

Our guide Andy was a wealth of information about birds, botany and the rain/cloud forest. We enjoyed him so much that we extended our tour by two hours and then took him to lunch!

Our guide Ron was so excited about seeing birds and being in nature - he made getting up at 4:30 worth it!

Our guide was just putting in the hours.

The restaurant lacks character and comfort. Food was just OK. Close to the airport with a speedy shop shuttle. Desk staff were very nice.

Beautiful views and a beautiful place to see monkeys. The staff were not quite as friendly as in other hotels the room was a bit antiquated. The facility is very close to a loud road and it is noisy with a lot of diesel fumes at times the restaurant seems to want to rush you in and out quickly.

The restaurant staff here were amazing, friendly and proficient. The chef was great. The setting wonderful with plenty of bird and monkey sightings.

Nice hotel, friendly staff,nice setting, beautiful wildlife. The room was fine with one exception. The shower was exceptionally hard to use. It was a hanging unit above a hot tub, you really need three hands to use it.

Socio was an exceptional guide. He navigated us so that we saw numerous spectacular plants and wildlife. He was very skillful with photography and identification of species.

Just just the worst. Horrific Guide.

Nice guides. Safe and fun experience. Lots of adrenaline.

It was educational. We did feel it actually went on a little longer than it should have.

Gabriel was an incredible guide, we saw a wide variety of birds which he helped to identify and locate. Spectacular setting, lots of fun.

Fun , cool bridges, some wildlife, and some bird sightings

Beautiful grounds and helpful staff.

Late night arrival so limited exposure. We did wander to the rooftop bar for a drink - beautiful patio and gardens as well as interesting speakeasy decor inside.

No lunch or dinner on site. Most days lunch wasn’t needed however, was presented as 3 meals available on site. Room was sparse but functional - suggest adding a chair or two so there is more seating than the bed. Campus was beautiful and the resident chickens and cat were entertaining.

We all loved the family and staff!

Excellent and very hands on! Still waiting for our recipies!

Very informative and fun!

Hotel was quite run down and needs repairs. Great location and views but bedding was torn, sink had leaks and the water pressure on the shower was very low. There was a shortage of towels and issues with the dryers being broken. Breakfast was tasteless and bland. Tables not cleared at breakfast and dirty.

Crew was so friendly and views were amazing

Great wildlife and wonderful guide. We saw and learned a lot

A pretty hotel at the top of the hill in Manuel Antonio. There were rooms spread out. Our room was one flight up stairs for top floor room with beautiful ocean view. A shuttle is offered several times a day to the public beach. The hotel has a beautiful pool and restaurant overlooking the Pacific ocean.

A beautiful hotel spread out over lush gardens and the hot springs are a blessing to have on rainy (rainforest) days espedcially after rigorous hikes. The staff is especially accommodating, with transport offered to get around if needed, umbrellas provided in rooms and main buildings, and several excellent restaurant options for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Lots of beautiful birds to be seen, as well as a sloth or two.

The park, while beautiful has a trail that is not as well maintained with railings . It included steep climbs and hanging bridges ( unexpected) that were also not in good condition ( as Mystico). It was difficult to enjoy the beautiful scenery of waterfalls and forest as we made our way through the more difficult trail. our guide, Alex, was very good, and very supportive and patient. He was very knowledgable of the area and we learned alot. He stopped to show anything he thought might be of interest, - animals, insects, etc. Also, the activity was longer than expected as the travel to the park was over 30 minutes.

A fun and very well orchestrated tour of a local chocolate and coffee farm. Very thorough, lots of sampling! The tour guides are very enthusiastic and great with public speaking.

We enjoyed the walk through the beautiful garden with Ron, who is very enthusiastic about birding. unfortunately, the birds were not as accommodating as he would have liked, though we/he did see many and shared the list with us afterwards. We had a wonderful time speaking with him over breakfast and learning more about nature in costa Rica. The activity was scheduled for 5:30-7:30. It was actually longer, as we had breakfast after the walk.

Mariano picked us up along with another couple who shared our walking tour of the farm with Huber. He shared his family's history and experience operating the small farm . We learned about their local plants, produce, spanish names - it was very inclusive and immersive experience. We then joined a cook and other volunteers in the kitchen for some chopping, prepping and tortilla making, before sitting down with them to a delicious meal of orroz con pollo with fresh salad from the garden.

We arrived to find the lake choppy due to raining. The guide was very patient, offered to use the pontoon if we felt uncomfortable. We tested the water, rain stopped and we had a very enjoyable kayak ride for 2 hours, close to shore

Mariano guided through this beautiful reserve. It was more rigorous and steep than we expected, but Mariano was patient. Very enthusiastic and informative, stopping to find insects, reptiles and other animals native to the forest. The reserve is very well maintained and we felt very safe on the bridges. We enjoyed our time with him

Nice large corner room with balcony and views on 2 sides. Nice views to the ocean. Easy to get to other restaurants and shops by a short walk or the local bus ($1 per passenger, every 15-20 minutes). Very good breakfast. Did not seem like dinner choices were authentic/local.

Pleasant and welcoming staff. Large room. Emphasis on sustainability. Nice dining room. Good menu with varied, authentic options.

Adequate, small room. Beautiful grounds. Thermal pools were very enjoyable. Great breakfasts and enough choices of local dinner options.

Saw whales and dolphins. Surprisingly good meal.

We had a great guide and saw lots of wildlife.