Kimkim Trip Reviews for Costa Rica

Amazing hotel with a lot of character. Only complaint is that the bed was so hard.

Really cool experience. It rained most of the hike at the hanging bridges but that was a cool part of the experience in the rain forest! A lot more animals came out with the rain. The waterfall had lots of stairs but it was worth it!

I have been zip lining before but this place was much bigger and had better views. Very fun experience.

We could tell at the dock this the boat was going to be the best and most fun. Drinks and food were a bonus! Very comfortable ride with good music and vibes.

Gorgeous beaches with lots of wildlife! It rained on us towards the end which was a little disappointing.

A bit spartan but very comfortable & super friendly. Nice pool.

Hotel has 2 separate areas - the one closer to the beach was much nicer. Super friendly and helpful staff, from front desk, to cleaning staff, to the maintenance guy who fixed our TV. The included breakfast was a bit underwhelming but location by the beach was great.

The hike was nice and a good intro/first activity to Costa Rica. Trail was a bit crowded. Hot Springs was fantastic and my kids especially loved that part.

Bridges and wildlife were fun, but the trail was way too overcrowded and too much time spent navigating around other tour groups. The guide was good and lively but ours was a mixed Spanish/English group and it felt like the English speakers didn't get as much attention.

Did this with my kids, age 10 and 14, and the chocolate making was their favorite activity of the whole trip. I was not expecting much from this but it was a great experience. Loved tasting chocolate at the different stages along the way.

enjoyable, easy

Kayaking was fun & beautiful but snorkeling site was way too crowded. Guides were very nice and helpful, but they did not have a life vest small enough to properly fit my 10-year-old son. It would also have been nice to have flippers for the snorkeling.

This was enjoyable if a bit boring. The trail was very crowded with other groups. As the guide does all of the spotting of wildlife, and you see everything through his telescope, it feels like there is little to do but just follow along. We did get to see a sloth though.

Wildlife did not cooperate and we did not see that much.

From the moment we met our guide, Eric, we knew this was going to be a special experience. We sadly only got to spend 24 hours here, and one of my biggest regrets of our entire trip was not getting to spend more time here. The lodge is secluded and nestled in a gorgeous little area, close to the village. The activities offered were some of our favourites of our entire trip, and our morning “rockstar” canoe excursion was SO WORTH the 5:30am start time. The food was wonderful, the property was great and the staff were amazing.

We barely got to stay at this hotel, as our flight was severely delayed and we checked in at 3 am and checked out at 6am. The staff were absolutely lovely and the room was clean and quiet. I wish we’d had more time here!

In a very bad part of San Jose, not safe to walk in or at least we did not feel comfortable doing so. No hot water in our two rooms, but staff was nice and restaurant was great!

So while a cute, quaint hotel… there were ants and mosquitos and other bugs in the two rooms we had. The front door glass was shattered, making us question the safety of the hotel. Has good potential.

Fantastic exhilarating white water raft trip! Very good and safe guides, highly recommend!

A good location. The hotel itself was okay, the food was okay. The AC was appreciated!

Loved the location and value for this hotel. The area was extremely quiet...an oasis literally in the middle of town. The room was very large and could easily have accommodated 3 more guests. The breakfast was VERY good and we LOVED the coffee!

The grounds are amazing! We saw so many beautiful birds from the comfort of our deck! It had a fabulous view of the volcano and the mineral springs were very nice! The 24/7 coffee in the lobby was not 24/7. The food was pretty good for breakfast but only adequate for dinner. Contrary to advertising, there was NOT a lunch option. The staff was friendly. Coffee was not very good for a country known for amazing coffee....probably the worst coffee we had in a hotel during our stay. The hotel is fairly far from the town, but we considered that a positive. A taxi is needed if you wish to visit the town.

An absolutely wonderful hotel! The views were incredible, the food was AMAZING and the staff was extremely helpful!

Adequate hotel. The AC worked well. Beach front is a relative term....you could "kind of see" the beach if you squinted. The room was very dark but reasonably clean. The food was adequate.

The guide was new and not experienced. One other guest pretty much monopolized the whole hike. They needed to book a birdwatching tour since they were only interested in that. The guide ignored the needs of the other guests. She was nice and tried to be helpful but it was by far, the weakest of our tours.

Very good guides who were patient and very helpful! We really enjoyed our first experience rappelling!

We had a late start to the excursion, but after that it was very good. We saw many nice birds in a short amount of time

This was the most amazing thing EVER! I have been a certified scuba diver since 1976 and I have NEVER experienced anything like this basic snorkeling experience. We literally ended up in a huge bait ball of sardines while hundreds of dolphins and a 35 foot Bryde's Whale feed very close to us! This was not the guide's intent, but the bait ball moved towards us for protection from the feeding frenzy.....truly a National Geographic experience of a lifetime!

This was VERY fun! The runs were awesome, long and had amazing views! Even in the rain it was SO worth it!

LOVED the animals and the guide was outstanding! The park is WELL worth the effort and expense to view! The boat ride is about an hour from Drake Bay

The weather severely impacted this tour. It was raining very hard.

We really enjoyed the experience. The 3 1/2 hour drive each way was tedious, but the rafting was amazing!

We stayed at this hotel twice--once on our arrival from SJO, and again the night before we departed. The first room we stayed in was way too small and a bit run down, but the second night we stayed we asked for an upgrade and the room was very nice. If the hotel were based on the second night alone, it would be five stars. The hotel is a bit out of the way so not near many restaurants if you don't have a car, but the onsite restaurant is good. The hotel was very peaceful and the grounds are beautiful.

The hotel was a large, beautiful property in a great location in La Fortuna. The property was well maintained and had plenty of places to explore for walks, swims, or soaks in the hot spring pools. Our room was large enough for a family of four, and the huge patio made it feel even bigger. The onsite pizza restaurant and the daily breakfast buffet were excellent. My only complaint about the hotel was the beds--they were zero stars awful. I've never slept on a less comfortable mattress. Even with the bad bedding, the hotel was amazing but if they could get better beds it would be sublime.

The hotel was on a sprawling property that felt like an escape but was still within walking distance of different shops and restaurants in Santa Elena. The room we were given was perfect for a family of four--it had three beds, a loft, and a balcony, so it felt spacious and comfortable, which was much-needed after being in the same room as everybody for the past week. The hotel had a lovely pool, a good breakfast, and peacocks! We also had a bonus cat in our hotel room--there's a resident cat who makes the rounds, and she appeared a few times and gave us a few laughs.

The hotel was an unusual and quirky place but overall a good experience. The grounds are impressive--you have multiple swimming pools, several airplanes, and oversized accommodations, which is excellent for a family of four. However, the hotel was a bit dated, and the room smelled musty. I imagine it is a tough climate to manage between the heat and moisture. The daily breakfast was great and it was so fun to see monkeys every morning. I can't believe all the monkeys at this hotel!

The hotel was on a beautiful grounds away from Uvita with a clear ocean view. The swimming pool is the centerpiece of the hotel and is large and deep. It was refreshing after spending the days in the heat during our activities. The hotel room was a bit small for four people, but the room was clean, and the balcony made for a bit of extra space. The hotel staff were very professional. The waiter in the restaurant went above and beyond to make our stay comfortable. He was so kind. Overall, it was a lovely place, but it felt a bit dated, and some things were in need of repair.

Nice big rooms with lots of windows which we loved Easy walking to restaurants etc

Very friendly and attending hosts. Awesome breakfast and wonderful place to watch birds, sloths etc. right from their deck overlooking the forest.

great location right on the beach with easy walks to restaurants and bars. Very nice staff and clean place. Our room faced the ocean on 2nd floor and was very roomy with a kitchenette making our stay even better. The continental breakfast was set in front of the door at allotted time.

Great place to stay for all kinds of activities

They cancelled even though it was clear and sunny.

Perched up on hill, room great, views incredible. Deck area great. Restaurant & Bar enjoyed

Agency booked. We needed to do more homework about hotel and location.

We kind of raced through as busy with large groups blocking way. But still fun

Private and thoughtful guide, learned lots, saw lots.

2 hour drive each way. Tour guide not available when arrived, lots of sitting and waiting. Almost 8 hr day for 1.5 hour tour + lunch. Place was amazing though once got going.

Short 45 minutes but learned lots.

Should be added to Hacienda Day as basically in same area, repeat long drive. Pottery demonstration was fabulous.

We did not do due to extremely long day prior

If you're looking for a quiet, more private feel for your accommodation, The Beach Bungalows fits the bill! Nico and Kim are the owner and manager of this beautiful bed and breakfast spot just up the street from the main streets in Tamarindo. The grounds are clean, safe, and there are thoughtful touches throughout (water bottle daily replenished in our room, a full breakfast provided each morning, shared kitchen space, towels for the pool, etc). Each bungalow is private access, has a fully functioning toilet, and a/c. We loved our stay here!

The Mar Inn is very nice. We only spent a couple of nights here and were fairly busy during our stay, but it fulfilled the need for a quiet, clean place to sleep. The staff were helpful at check-in and in helping us figure out the included breakfast.

Our guide, Micha, was so great. He took us to all the best spots he know for seeing birds and wildlife and was so knowledgeable and kind. He went out of his way to show us the beauty of his hometown. It was exciting for us to be able to see so many birds even though it was really windy that day. We even got to see a Motmot!

We weren't sure what to expect for this tour but it turned out to be a fun adventure! The boat tour itself was lovely. Lots of birds and wildlife to see. Our guide, Mauricio, was fabulous! We spent quite a bit of the day on the bus travelling to the boat and also picking up other guests, but he did his best to help us see wildlife from the bus along the way and tell us about the areas we were driving through. The included lunch was so cool. We stopped at a local ranch to enjoy a traditional Costa Rican lunch, cooked right there over wood. followed by Costa Rican coffee. It was lovely! We also got a bonus stop at a town known for traditional pottery where we were given a demonstration.

If you're looking for a beach experience away from the crowds and clubs, this is it. The surf was beautiful and the waves so much fun to play in. Getting to Playa Langosta from Tamarindo is definitely a bit of a walk up the beach and around the point. So be prepared for a long walk. But the beach was beautiful and there was lovely views all the way up and tide pools to explore at low tide on our walk back to town.

Cristian , thank you so much for making our stay so wonderful! You have created a magical place to stay in Puerto Viejo! Thank you for your hospitality, comfy beds and rooms, the delicious breakfast and coffee every morning and for every suggestion you made! We will only stay with you on any future trips to Puerto Viejo! Absolutely fabulous !!

Junior is the best ! We learned so much and had an amazing time! We have a new friend in Monteverde for sure!!

We loved this day !!

Great lesson !! so patient ! great instruction , we really learned a lot and enjoyed every moment!! Thank you Misael!! and the lunch suggestion was one of our favorite meals of our entire trip !!

Good overall. We were the only people on the tour, which gave us personalized attention. The hot springs were nice, but it would have been good to have more instruction about which pools to visit in what order. Dinner here was just okay - nothing wrong with it but also nothing special.

Great tour. We were in a small group (1 guide, 4 guests), which made the walk really interesting - we had time to ask questions and have personalized experience. (guide told us that sometimes the have groups of 20... that may not have been as enjoyable.) We was coati, snakes, spiders, and learned a lot about the plants and trees in the rainforest. One downside - there were only 2 hanging bridges on our walk. Given that it was called a "sky walk", we expected that there would be more bridges than that.

We didn't really learn anything here. It was a big group (~20 people) and really just 1 big cooking station, so we ended up watching a lot and not doing much cooking ourselves. Everyone helped chop some vegetables and made our own tortilla, but not much else in the way of cooking. The menu.. Rice - we measured some rice and water into a rice cooker Vegetable saute - chopped a few vegetables, but that was it Beans - cooked ahead of time Chicken (main course) - cooked ahead of time. No information about how it was made, ingredients/seasoning, etc Tortillas - we got to make these, which was good Fried plantains - a couple of people (on the other end of the kitchen) fried these without the rest of us knowing/seeing anything about it. The food was decent, but overall we just really didn't learn much about the local cuisine and we didn't actually do much cooking for ourselves. (We've taken classes in other countries where we each had our own cooking station and made everything ourselves.) May be an okay activity for college-aged people or people just looking to fill an itinerary, but really not good for people know love to cook and want to learn.

Fun to learn about 3 different products in a single tour. This was informative and interactive - we got to actually press sugar cane and crush/mix chocolate ingredients. The guide was fun and informative. The only downside was that we had a pretty big group (10-12), so sometimes there was side chatter and people who seemed to distract or slow down the group.

Fun way to see the rainforest. Our guide did an amazing job of finding wildlife we would have never found on our own.

Great experience. Our guide taught us a lot about both the animals and plants/trees in the cloud forest. We saw many cool birds and trees, and even a couple of monkeys. Moved at an appropriate pace and got a good sense of the forest.

Good trip to a really remote area that many people don't get to visit. We had good guides who helped us see wildlife. We saw many monkeys and a sloth, also some really cool birds. (We hadn't seen these elsewhere in Costa Rica.) Only 2 drawbacks: at the start we were in a pretty big group which made it difficult to hear the guide; it's a 90 minute boat ride each way, which makes for a long day. Instructions said to bring bathing suit and towels, but we didn't actually swim on this trip. (There was a very short opportunity to swim in a pool in a stream, but nowhere to change from hiking clothes to swimwear.)