Kimkim Trip Reviews for Costa Rica

I am speaking for my whole family when I say this was a 5 star experience. The lodging and activities planned by the Kim Kim Group from initial selection to the actual experience were excellent. What was particularly amazing was how well everything was coordinated and how prompt all the guides/activities were. It would have been very difficult to put such an itinerary together especially when visiting a location for a first time. We look forward to using Kim Kim again in the near future.

Pura Vida

BOB

My family (2 adults, 2 kids ages 9 and 11) spent 9 days in Costa Rica. We started in Arenal/La Fortuna. Our hotel, Tifakara Lodge, was amazing. The room was very private and comfortable, the included breakfast was wonderful, and the pool/hot tub area was very relaxing. While we were there, we went to Sky Adventures for zip lining. It was very fun, but we all felt like we had missed out on some of the amazing views because it was raining and pelting our faces as we made our way down. I would definitely do it again though. We also did a hanging bridge hike there that was great, and then had lunch at their cafe. The second day we went on a tour of the Arenal volcano and the lake. Again, it was raining, so our view of the volcano was limited but the guide was interesting and we all enjoyed it. The third day we traveled to Monteverde, but before we left we walked up to the La Fortuna waterfall from the hotel. The trip to Monteverde took about 3 hours, and included crossing Lake Arenal by boat. We stayed at El Establo Mountain resort. Our room was a family suite, and had a good amount of space. However, the hotel is on a hillside and requires either very steep walks to the room or other buildings, or waiting for a shuttle. I would not recommend this hotel for anyone with any kind of mobility issues. Otherwise, it was very large compared to our first hotel and felt less special and more like a large (somewhat rundown) resort. The next day we toured the cloud forest with a guided group, and then went to Don Juan’s chocolate tour in the evening. It was so much fun, and my kids loved all of the chocolate and coffee samples. We also did a little night hike there and saw some different wildlife. The following morning we toured the Children’s Eternal Rainforest in the morning with a guide. He showed us some very unusual birds, snakes, and plants and helped us get pictures of everything. In the afternoon we were driven to Manuel Antonio. There we stayed at La Mariposa hotel, which was lovely. We had a two bedroom “apartment”, which included a kitchen area that we didn’t really need, two bedrooms, and a large balcony overlooking the pool/ocean. The view was amazing. This was the only hotel that did not include breakfast in the price, but they did offer a large buffet breakfast where we ate both mornings. The first day there we spent the morning in the national park. This tour was a little disappointing because our guide was asked by someone to add several people to our group while we were getting started, so our group went from 8 people to 15 in about 5 minutes. That’s a lot of people to look through a scope anytime he spotted something interesting- most of the time the animal had moved before everyone got to see whatever it was. Also, it was very hot and crowded in the park. For what ended up being a fairly short tour, I felt really drained afterward. The tour rather abruptly ended at the beach, and we were left on our own there. We stayed and swam for about two hours, then took a taxi back to the hotel. Be aware that this was by far the most chaotic city that we visited - but it was Holy Week before Easter and we were told that everyone was on vacation. On our last full day we toured the Kids Saving the Rainforest facility. If you have young children, possibly 8 and younger, this is a great tour for them to see some wildlife in a more zoo-like setting. Most of the tours we went on involved looking through a scope at wildlife, but this is a rehabilitation center where the animals are in large cages. It’s not a long tour either, but I found their program interesting and was impressed by what they are accomplishing. From their we had one last drive to San Jose, and flew home the following morning.

Hotel Review

Tifakara Boutique Hotel

La Fortuna

This hotel is beautiful, the employees are so friendly and accommodating, and the rooms are private. The breakfast is amazing - not the standard buffet. You choose off of a menu, plus there is a buffet of breads, juice, etc. There is a fancy coffee machine available all the time. We all took advantage of grabbing a coffee and sitting by the pool in the afternoon. They also include a night walk every evening, where you can see amazing frogs and insects. My only negatives- the rooms have metal roofs, and it gets really loud when it rains (often). Bring ear plugs. Also, the bathroom includes an outdoor shower, which we loved, but it essentially means that the bathroom is always damp and humid, so nothing dries. Neither of these things would keep me from going back - this was my favorite hotel that we stayed in.

Authenticity & Character

The landscaping is beautiful, the wildlife is right there, and it felt very relaxing.

Location

The hotel is not “in town”. It costs us $10 per taxi ride to go to La Fortuna for dinner. That was a fair trade for getting to be in a serene location.

Staff

The staff were accommodating and friendly. Everyone spoke to us as we walked around. I used the WhatsApp number to ask several questions, and always got a prompt response. They arranged taxis, etc. whenever we asked.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room was very clean, and housekeeping did a good job every day. The furnishings, etc. are pretty basic, but comfortable. The outdoor shower was open to the bathroom, which kept it quite humid and nothing ever got dry in there (bathing suits, towels, etc.).

Activity Reviews

Chocolate & Night Hike Experience

Monteverde

This was so fun - probably my kid’s favorite tour of the trip! Our guide was great. In addition to learning all about making chocolate and coffee, there were lots of samples. We also did a little night walk and saw sloths, kinkajous, a snake, etc. There is also a store for stocking up on chocolate and coffee.

Quality of Experience

Fun, guide had great energy, included my kids

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Nature Hike

Manuel Antonio

This was my least favorite tour of our trip. There were too many people in our group - most tours we had between 4-8 people, this was 15. Every time the guide stopped to show us something, it took forever for everyone to take a turn looking through the scope - many times the animal had moved before everyone saw it.

Quality of Experience

Limit group size to 10 max

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

It seemed like we were left at the beach. Fortunately it was easy to get a taxi, but tge tour ends pretty abruptly.

The transportation team was great, they gave us enough time to gather together; mostly on time.
Tacotel receptionist was most helpful; I believe she is the assistant manager. She made sure everyone was taken cared off; she helped us book extra tours; the kids love the Baldy Hotspring side trip; overall they enjoyed every moment.
Maria one of the tour guides on the rainforest hike in Fortuna, left in the middle of the hike and just directed us to go to the waterfalls.
Be that it may we made it back

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Heliconia

Monteverde

Stunning views, sunset was amazing seen from balcony;, saw some exotic birds, from the balcony and from the dinning room ; food was excellent

Authenticity & Character

Love the architecture,

Location

Quite, away from main business areas

Staff

Friendly and courteous

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cleaning ladies came in everyday, spa was excellent

Hotel Lavas Tacotal

Fortuna, San Carlos

We had a hard time with the door locks, need to turn 4x clockwise or counterclockwise to open the room; otherwise everything was great

Authenticity & Character

Away from the main city, nice quiet

Location

Beautiful scenery, away from crowds, best sushi and ramen place next door

Staff

Friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Garden maintenance was superb, laundry room not for guest -needs organization; pools were fun

Hampton by Hilton San José Airport

Alajuela

Spacious rooms, front desk smells like chlorox

Authenticity & Character

Spacious rooms and bathrooms

Location

Close to airport 10-15 minutes, walking distance to Dennys

Staff

Friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bathroom is clean

Holiday Inn Express San Jose Airport

San Jose

Clean and spacious

Authenticity & Character

Easy access to elevator

Location

Close to airport 10-15 minutes

Staff

Friendly and accomodating

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean bathroom

Activity Reviews

Venado Cave Spelunking & Exploring

Arenal/La Fortuna

Mainly the kids enjoyed it; I’m basically claustrophobic; I did not finish the entire route; but the guide was nice enough to come back for me and Protima Beautiful cave though

Quality of Experience

Natural rock formations inside

Guides, Drivers and Staff

He was fun and entertaining

Transport

On time

Arenal Volcano Horseback Adventure

Arenal/La Fortuna

Kids loved it, it was one of his favorite things to do

Quality of Experience

Perfect shape of the volcano

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly and knows the types of fruits that grow around

Transport

On time and clean

Sky Adventures Hanging Bridges

Arenal/La Fortuna

Fun and beautiful, hanging bridges were a treatsa

Quality of Experience

A chance to connect with nature and reset perspective of life

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly

Transport

On time,friendly

Río Peñas Blancas Safari Float

Arenal/La Fortuna

The local term for jip-bo-Jip - means land to water to land; Fortuna to the lake to Monteverdi; delightful ride, with the sailor stopping at interesting points to show us more birds and fauna

Quality of Experience

Fun, refreshing and great sight seeing

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendliness and points out interesting sighting along the way, birds

Transport

On time , clean and friendly have extra water for passengers

Children's Eternal Rainforest Night Walk

Monteverde

Fireflies, frogs, dense forest exciting night walk

Quality of Experience

Worth the walk and experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly and enthusiastic

Transport

On time

Sloth Observation - Day or Night Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

Did not see much sloth

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cloud Forest Reserve Hike

Monteverde

Guides were good at pointing out interesting birds, tarantulas and fauna

Coffee, Chocolate & Sugar Cane Experience (English Tour)

Monteverde

3 in one tour is the best coffee, chocolate and sugar cane; we even get to meet Don Juan the owner of the ranch; educational, fun and tasted sugar cane; freshly made chocolate from the seeds

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a fantastic trip to Costa Rica! Our guide, Bryan, was fantastic. He was super responsive before and during the trip, and he was very patient in answering all of our questions. The KimKim service was well worth the fee and led to a more relaxing, enjoyable vacation for our family. We would not hesitate to use KimKim again for our next trip!

Our trip was a father/son adventure entitled Passion Pursuit. It was conceived to explore the natural and environmental interests of my 14-year-old son, Theo. Given the incredible breadth of what's on offer in Costa Rica, we quickly became overwhelmed with how to put this trip together. Then we discovered kimkim and were introduced to Charlotte. With her tenured experience in the area and her responsiveness to our preferences, she built out a dream trip for us spanning from the Osa Penninsula and Corcovado, up the coast through Manuel Antonio and on to Monteverde, and ultimately concluding in the Arenal volcano region. Over 16 days we enjoyed a perfect balance of scheduled activities and time to explore and chill out on our own. I could write a novel to describe the details, but here are some of our trip highlights:
- Flying in over the beach at Drake Bay between the palm trees and watching the horses run alongside the old runway as we touched down. Following this our driver told us to hang on as we crossed the bridge. Of course there was no bridge and we drove the 4-wheel-drive through the river to the other side. This was exactly the kind of adventure we were after.
- The stunning hotel Copa del Arbol (water access only)became our base as we explored the region with guided experiences for the next four days — all beginning with being scooped up off the beach each morning around 6am for jungle hikes and snorkelling adventures. Two days straight we found ourselves surrounded by pods of False Killer Whales, an incredibly uncommon experience. One amazing highlight was to watch flying fish skimming the surface alongside our boat, only to see them being chased by a Sailfish — the beautiful translucent purple fin flying at full speed alongside us. We finished each day body surfing along one of the many pristine beaches reached by short trails from the hotel.
- We then picked up our car in Sierpe and started our self-guided drive up the coast. More wonderful wildlife sightings and amazing kayak adventures in the mangrove forest outside Manuel Antonio. Stunning clean beaches and beautiful views. All of the locals we encountered were very friendly and helpful. It became clear to us that Pura Vida was not simply a marketing tagline but an authentic descriptor woven into their way of life.
- About midway through the trip I started to experience a loss of hearing. I texted Charlotte before 8am on a Sunday morning and within the hour I had an appointment at a modern full-service clinic in Uvita where the staff were waiting for me. A quick procedure and all was well — apparently this is quite common with the heat and humidity (and the surf play) to cause the ears to plug. I was so impressed with Charlotte's attention and responsiveness. This was unexpected and really appreciated.
- Leaving the coast behind, the drive through the foothills up to Monteverde was stunningly beautiful. Our base for the following days was the lovely Hotel Belmar and it felt as though we had entered a completely different world in the mountains. Cool, breezy and with sunset views for hundreds of miles. We really enjoyed this portion of the trip. We had super informative guided experiences and many significant bird sightings.
- On our tour of the hanging bridges through the tree canopies, we spotted the amazing Resplendent Quetzal. Over two days we were so fortunate to spot both a male and female! An addition, our guide Andreas brought us on a tour of the jungle after dark and, as a bonus, gave us a lesson on nighttime photography which made our images remarkable.
In conclusion, we found Costa Rica to be safe, friendly and easy to navigate. We loved how each area was unique and unspoiled from tourism development. Charlotte put together an amazing and diverse itinerary with truly lovely hotels (we often found that we had the best rooms on offer) and terrific culinary experiences. It was a trip to remember and I would highly recommend kimkim to anyone.

Sergio and KimKim did a fantastic job personalizing a trip for us. They listened to what we preferred and tweaked our itinerary to match our preferences. They found great local tour guides for a couple of our hikes (Kenneth and Oscar), which made the hikes more interesting and see more creatures. The hotels they picked our were very nice -- especially the Rio Celeste Hideaway.

It was an amazing time!

Hotel Reviews

Rio Celeste Hideaway Resort

Bijagua

BEAUTIFUL ground and rooms (bungalows.) Everything was beautiful, staff was very friendly and accommodating. The restaurant is really good. Favorite place we stayed in Costa Rica. The no toilet paper in the toilet (instead a garbage can) was a bit weird, but understand. They should install exhaust fans.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Our back patio was literally in the rainforest.

Staff

Very friendly and accomodating.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Arenal Kioro Suites & Spa

Fortuna

Great view of Arenal! Staff were friendly and accommodating. The hot springs weren't that "hot," unfortunately.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Presidente

San José

Great location and very comfortable. The rooftop restaurant had great views.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

W Costa Rica - Reserva Conchal

Guanacaste

Typical resort. The bar area and views of the beach were great. The beach was not that large and was grown over a bit. Everything is pricey (as expected at a W resort).

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sky Adventures Zip Lines

Arenal/La Fortuna

I believe seven zip lines in total. Great views. Staff friendly.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanging Bridges and La Fortuna Waterfall Guided Hike

Arenal/La Fortuna

We had a tour guide go with us -- highly recommend that. He was able to find creatures we would have never seen and gave great background.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset Catamaran Sailing Tour

Costa Rica

The beverages and food were great -- staff very accommodating. We didn't expect the cruise to have 25-30 people. The views were amazing -- got great pics of the sunset.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Night Hike in the Forest

Arenal/La Fortuna

Got to see many creatures -- spiders, snakes, and frogs. It was not an intense "hike" -- more of a walk around the hotel grounds.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rio Celeste & Tenorio Volcano Guided Rainforest Hike

Costa Rica

A really great hike in the rainforest. We had a guide, which helped a lot. This is an intense hike—lots of steps. But the views are worth it!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a great family trip to Costa Rica at the end of March 2023. KimKim made the planning process a LOT easier. We were a bit overwhelmed when we started to plan it because there are so many different options, and the good hotels (if you can identify them) also fill up fast. KimKim helped us narrow down options, book hotels and activities, and made the process significantly less stressful overall.

We – myself, my wife, and our two kids who are 7 and 5 – spent four nights at an all-inclusive resort at Playa Conchal (the Westin, which we booked before contacting KimKim) and then two nights in a hotel near Rincon de la Vieja (Hacienda Guachipelin Volcano Ranch Hotel, which KimKim recommended). We did activities almost every day (and one at night) which KimKim recommended and helped arrange. Here are our impressions of each one.

• PALO VERDE NATIONAL PARK BOAT TOUR. This activity was highly recommended, but we were underwhelmed, mostly because the trip to the launch point was 2.5 hours and we had to take two buses each way (and we also stopped at a ceramic workshop on the way back, which was fine but lengthened the trip). That was a lot of travel for my five-year-old, especially on bumpy roads. The boat tour itself was fine but you are rarely out of view of the dock and it would have been nice to go deeper into the park, or perhaps get out of the boat at some point. But we did see lots of wildlife.

• NIGHTTIME PACIFIC GREEN TURTLE NESTING. This was great and a truly memorable experience (and a short trip from our hotel). First, it is rare to hike on any beach at night with no man-made light around, and it was great to see so many stars. But most importantly, we saw both adult sea turtles coming ashore to try and lay eggs as well as some newly hatched turtles heading to the ocean. That is a once-in-a-life time wildlife sighting. The guides (appropriately) took their jobs of making sure the turtles are comfortable (e.g., no flash photos, do not get close) very seriously, as they should.

• KAYAY AND SNORKEL TOUR IN TAMARINDO BAY . This was a pretty standard tour – a 20-minute canoe ride from a beachside resort to a small island and then snorkeling around it – but it was perfect for a 5- and 7-year-olds first snorkeling experience. The guides were also great. So a good recommendation for our family.

• VANDARA HOT SPRINGS ADVENTURE. This was the highlight for my kids. The park was not very crowded at all, which was great, and they have also recently redone many of the attractions so everything was modern and professional. We did the ziplines (8 in total), horseback riding, long water slide (440 meters), and hot springs. Again, a bit of a trek to get there on back road (which was rough for my 5-year-old) but my kids called it “the best day ever”. Their only disappointment was not being able to do the water slide twice.

The logistics that KimKim organized were also pretty perfect - on-time, reliable, and professional. My only mild frustration with KimKim is their technology platform -- it not super-intuitive and seemed to have errors at times, which frankly made me question the service overall. But once you are in touch with a travel planners that problem is manageable.

I would definitely use KimKim again. In my view, they fill a gap between offering cookie cutter tours and DIY travel, and my experience they were knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Hacienda Guachipelín

Liberia

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Westin Golf Resort and Spa, Playa Conchal

Playa Conchal

Great location, pool, and rooms, and the all-inclusive approach made it very easy for us to relax and get around. But very much like other all-inclusive resorts.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Palo Verde National Park Safari Cruise with Lunch

Costa Rica

This was highly recommended, but we were underwhelmed, mostly because the trip there was 2.5 hours and we had to take two buses (and we also stopped at a ceramic workshop on the way back, which was fine but lengthened the trip back). That was a lot of travel for my five-year-old. The boat tour itself was fine but you are rarely out of view of the dock and it would have been nice to go deeper into the park, or perhaps get out of the boat at some point. But we did see lots of wildlife. I would give the guides a five though, and my three stars is largely a function of the distance and the age of my kids.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Nighttime Pacific Green Turtle Nesting Experience (Seasonal)

Costa Rica

This was great and a memorable experience (and a short trip from our hotel). First, it is rare to hire on any beach at night with no man-made light around and it was great to see so many stars. But most importantly, we saw both adult sea turtles coming ashore to try and lay eggs as well as some newly hatched turtles heading to the ocean. That is a once-in-a-life time wildlife sighting.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kayak & Snorkel Tour in Tamarindo Bay

Costa Rica

This was a pretty standard tour – a 20-minute canoe ride from a beachside resort to small island and then snorkeling around it – but it was perfect for a 5- and 7-year-olds first snorkeling experience. And great guides.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day at Vandará Hot Springs & Adventures

Rincón de la Vieja

This was the highlight for my kids. The park was not very crowded at all, which was great, and they have recently redone many of the attractions so everything was modern and professional. We did the ziplines, horseback riding, long water slide (440 meters), and hot springs. Again, a bit of a trek to get there on back road (which was rough for my 5-year-old) but my kids called it “the best day ever”.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a great time in your country, but had issues with some of the accommodations. We loved Congo Bongo, but had only one night stay in the 1 story dream deluxe cabin., which we liked. The other 3 days was in the bigger 2 story river dream cabin. Had to climb stairs to the kitchen. As we requested we got a bungalow at Selva Verde. The view from the Bungalow was of the roof of the path leading to the bungalows and was about a mile from the main lodge. Upon our request they moved us to the main lodge room, which we enjoyed. The Luna Superior room at the Casa Luna Hotel was nice you could hear our neighbors next door thru the wall between the two rooms. The hotel knew about the problem and moved us to a standard room and enjoyed it very much. We had no problems with the Los Pinos Cabanas and Jardines. We enjoyed the tours and drives throughout our trip.

We had a wonderful time on our customized trip to Costa Rica. We loved the Los Lagos resort with the trails, butterflies, and hot spring pools. We added on a hike to the Sloth Park, what a great place! We enjoyed some of the restaurants in La Fortuna for fresh fish and seafood. We wished we would've known to bring swimwear to the La Fortuna waterfall. We jumped in with our clothes anyway. Monteverde was really unique. My favorite excursion here was the night hike! Don't skip it! We also loved the zip lining. We added on a tour of La Trapiche coffee, sugar cane, and chocolate. Lots of tasting and really enjoyable. Next we went to the Manuel Antonio area. Our hotel had a great location right outside the park with a 2 minute walk to the public beach. We really enjoyed the beach a lot. We added on a Mangrove boat tour here which we all loved. Our catamaran tour included snorkeling but we didn't see anything. I wouldnt recommed it. The water was cloudy and it was hard to swim because they didn't provide fins! Our drive to the San Jose Airport was uneventful except we didn't realize the car needed to be returned in a nearby town vs the airport. Once we figured that out the process was smooth.

Activity Review

Night Excursion at the Wildlife Refuge in Monteverde

Monteverde

This was my favorite excursion. Our guide was amazing and showed us so much. We saw 2 kinds of toucans and a toucanet, a mot-mot, other birds also. We also saw a tarantula hunting, 2 types of viper, and many interesting insects. I wouldn't skip this one!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was very good at finding the wildlife and had a telescope to zoom in.

Transport

Olman put together a great trip plan for our 25th anniversary/delayed honeymoon trip. I asked him lots of questions before we went and he answered all of them promptly. I had never been to Costa Rica previously. I just knew we wanted a birding trip with snorkeling and ziplining. Our guide, Abelardo, was THE BEST! He is an avid birder and loves doing birdwatching trips. We are mid 50's, out-of-shape women, and he gently encouraged us to go further when we were tired. The result was 302 bird species seen! After speaking with Abelardo, I am very happy I chose to book a private tour and not do a group trip. I feel we saw many more birds, had a much more personalized experience, and got to see things we would not have seen with a group. The hotels Olman chose were wonderful. The only improvement would have been if Abelardo was staying at the same hotel with us every time. Overall, it was an amazing trip and we are looking forward to coming back to see the rest of the country!

Hotel Reviews

Poas Volcano Lodge

Vara Blanca

The hotel was very nice. I only wish we had more time there to explore the grounds and the trails. The food was very good, the staff was friendly, and the room was very clean.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tirimbina Rainforest Lodge

Sarapiquí

The hotel was nice and the trails were well-maintained. Walking on the hanging bridge over the river was amazing! We saw poison dart frogs and learned how cacao is processed.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Maquenque Ecolodge

Boca Tapada

LOVED the treehouse room!! We were in the furthest treehouse from the lodge, and being old and out of shape it made getting to the treehouse a challenge, but it was worth it! We loved the outdoor shower option. It rained one day we were there, so we spent the day in the treehouse listening to the rain. Coming back from dinner, we had bats circling under the tree house catching insects. The next morning, they were under the eaves of the treehouse - very cool! The staff was super friendly and accommodating.

Authenticity & Character

The treehouse in the jungle was amazing

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Lomas del Volcán

Fortuna

I liked having an individual cabin, but the room had a slightly moldy smell when we entered. We turned on the air conditioner to moisture removal mode and the smell cleared up. The restaurant was very nice and the food was delicious. We only walked part of the trail because we did not see many birds and it was very steep.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Natural Caño Negro Lodge

It was convenient to walking trails and we saw monkeys on the premises. The food was good and the staff seemed friendly. The air conditioning unit was being replaced in the unit next to ours, so a breaker appeared to trip repeatedly and we lost air conditioning. The repair staff made sure our air conditioner was working before they left for the evening.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

We noticed centipedes in the room.

Hotel Hacienda Guachipelín

Liberia

The hot springs with the mud were interesting. Unfortunately, the hot springs got very crowded and the walk from the lockers to the hot springs was very long. The rooms were very nice. We tried all the restaurants and were pleased with the food. The staff was very friendly.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Coast Beachfront Hotel

Tamarindo, Guanacaste Province

The hotel is right on the beach and is away from most of the other hotels and restaurants. It was easy to walk down the beach to get to the busier part of town. Breakfast was delivered to the table outside our room. We were next to the pool, which was convenient. The hotel did not have a restaurant, but there were several restaurants nearby.

Authenticity & Character

A nice, small hotel that did not feel super "touristy."

Location

Not in the middle of the busy section, but close.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cala Lodge

Monteverde

It was nice to be able to watch the birds at the feeder while we were eating breakfast. Also, the menu explained the local sources of the food we were eating. They also had products for sale made by local artisans. The room was spacious and airy, but very dark at night. Maybe we should have brought a nightlight.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Villa Lapas Rainforest Eco-Resort

Tárcoles

The grounds of the hotel are very nice. We were in the treetop room. The room smelled of mold when we first entered. The other treetop room was closed (presumably for repairs). The room was showing its age in that the floor sloped and the ground could be seen between the floorboards. I enjoyed the private patio, but the floor was badly scraped by opening and closing the patio door. The staff seemed friendly and the restaurant was good. We did not use the pool, but there appeared to be several hot tubs available. The walking paths were easily accessible.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Parador Nature Resort & Spa

Manuel Antonio

This is a very nice hotel. They have a variety of activities for all types of guests. We went to walk the Monkey Trail, but part of it appeared very steep and not well-maintained. We got to the scenic overlook, but could not continue because a tree had fallen over and was blocking the path. We enjoyed watching the antics of the monkeys. We experienced massages in the spa. The staff and the experience were wonderful and extremely relaxing. Breakfast was very crowded and seating was difficult one day. I appreciated that there was an adults-only pool. Unfortunately, the pool bar was in the family pool. The room was very nice and the patio was a nice place to watch the sunset.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Trogon Lodge

San Gerardo de Dota

I enjoyed the grounds of the hotel with the water, paths, and fish ponds. Most of the staff did not seem happy or friendly. Breakfast was unimpressive and we arrived 15 minutes early and were ignored. The paths were slippery, despite the rocks for traction, and I fell while going to our room in a light mist. The paths were also slippery when completely dry. The trail was not well-maintained and went sharply up a mountain in a series of switchbacks. The gift shop, where we were supposed to be able to buy glass water bottles, had a disappointing lack of merchandise. The nightly hot water bottles were a nice touch, but they arrived too early. By the time we went to bed, the bottles were merely lukewarm. There was a note to take short showers because the water was heated by natural gas. I waited longer for hot water than actually showering.

Authenticity & Character

Very rustic

Location

Staff

None of the staff seemed very friendly or happy.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Park Inn San José by Radisson

San José

We stayed here one night before leaving Costa Rica. It was the Easter week holiday, so nothing was open near the hotel. We ate lunch in the restaurant while waiting for our room to be ready. It was OK. We both ordered pizzas and the bottoms were not well cooked. The room was nice, but nothing special. A noisy party arrived late in the evening and I could hear everything they were saying, so the walls are not well soundproofed.

Authenticity & Character

It was like any other large chain hotel.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Selvatura Park Self-Guided Hanging Bridges & Zip Lining

Monteverde

The walk through the jungle and over the hanging bridges was a strenuous trip. It was raining by the time we finished the walk. We were expected to immediately then transition to ziplining and be able to climb to the platforms. We decided that ziplining in the rain did not sound like fun. Instead, we were able to exchange our ziplining tickets to be able to see the sloths, the butterflies, or the reptiles. It seems like we should have been able to do more than just one activity.

Visit La Paz Waterfall & Gardens

Costa Rica

The waterfalls were beautiful and I am glad we went to see them. I wish I knew better to expect so many stairs! I don't think we made it to all of the waterfalls. I enjoyed seeing so many hummingbirds and lunch was very good.

Visit to Ecotermales Hot Springs

Arenal/La Fortuna

The hot springs were wonderful and I am glad that only a limited number of people are allowed to visit each day. The hot springs were not overcrowded. We were able to visit all of the pools and had a wonderfully relaxing experience.

Snorkeling to Catalina Islands

Costa Rica

I felt like an outsider on this trip. We were not really greeted at the dive shop, we were not offered wetsuits like other guests (not that I wanted one, but still, it's the principal). It seems like the guides on the boat were more concerned with those going scuba diving than those going snorkeling. Once in the water, the snorkeling guides did not do much as far as guiding. It would have been nice to have some idea of what kind of fish we were seeing as we swam. Plus, a lot of the other swimmers were oblivious to what was going on around them. I had adults swim into me multiple times. It would have been more understandable if it were a child, but it was adults! The second time we were in the water, a girl was stung by a jellyfish and wanted to return to the boat. The guides pushed the group out into deeper water, away from the jellyfish, but we were just waiting in the water for the boat to come back around to pick us up. They had no way to signal the boat for the girl who had been stung.

Quality of Experience

I loved snorkeling, but the guides could have offered more

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had no insight as to what fish we were seeing

Guided Nature Walk at Danaus Ecological Park

Arenal/La Fortuna

Great location for a bird walk. We were able to see lots of new birds.

We had a very positive experience with our planning through Kim Kim. Our trip planner, Yuliana, was extremely responsive, and recommended interesting excursions, and good lodging. We visited San Jose, and really enjoyed the Museo Del Oro. We went to the waterfall Gardens at La Paz, and really enjoyed that. We visited the Arenal volcano and La Fortuna. We’d recommend a hotel in the town of La Fortuna to have access to more shopping and dinner options. We really enjoyed the sky adventures experience in Arenal. We went to the Monteverde cloud forest. Cute town nearby and we had great lodging. We enjoyed a sunset, horseback riding tour that we arranged on our own, and that was a really memorable experience. Then we went to Manuel Antonio and enjoyed the beach and the national park. That was where we saw the most animals. Overall, we had a tremendous trip, appreciated the ongoing support from the Kim Kim, and Amazilia ongoing Travel Support while we were in Costa Rica, and would definitely recommend their services and a visit to Costa Rica. The private transfers that they arranged were great and the drivers were always on time and very nice! Pura Vida!

Hotel Reviews

Parque del Lago Boutique Hotel

San José

More of a hotel for business travelers. Didn’t have a swimming pool. But close to a nice park. If you’re going to spend time in San Jose, you may want to be closer to the town center where the museums are located. But the hotel was well maintained, comfortable beds, nice staff, and good breakfast buffet.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to park but 30 minute walk to museums.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Montaña de Fuego Mountain Resort & Spa

La Fortuna

Far ($15 can ride) from La Fortuna. Very dated. Some amenities were closed. Hot springs pool needed to be skimmed cleaner. Nice breakfast buffet with omelette station.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel & Spa Poco a Poco

Monteverde

Gorgeous grounds. Wonderful spacious room. Terrific restaurant. Made to order breakfast. Beautiful, well-maintained, short trail on the property. Lots of outdoor seating and picnic tables to enjoy the views. Extremely friendly and helpful staff. Very nice pool area. Our best hotel by far!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Walkable to town.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Extremely comfortable beds. Very clean. Immaculate property. Spacious room.

Shana By the Beach Resort

Manuel Antonio

Good hotel. Very steep climbs on premises. Access to the beach on a private trail. The beach is where all of the snorkel excursions take you, so you can just rent a kayak and snorkel on the beach and save yourself a lot of money. Nice breakfast. Rather expensive Dinner menu. Good pool including adult only pool. Lots of monkeys on the property (balconies). Lots of birds. We saw toucans on the property! The rooms were a little dated and in need of some maintenance.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Difficult to get to restaurant options on foot, but the golf cart driver was able to shuttle us to the Korean BBQ restaurant, Carambola, up the hill. It was delicious.

Staff

When the air-conditioning didn’t work in our first room, it took quite a bit of negotiating to get a new room.

Cleanliness & Comfort

We had two king beds for a family of four, which was nice.

Hampton by Hilton San José Airport

Alajuela

Good location, close to airport, easy shuttle to airport. Pool on site. Clean and comfortable rooms. Very serviceable. Recommend a top floor room because the hotel guests wake up early and make a lot of noise above you.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

San José - Arenal - Visit to La Paz Waterfall & Gardens

Costa Rica

Nice hike. We were self guided. Nice lunch buffet included. Enjoyed the waterfalls and animals.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Zip Lining - Hanging Bridges & Aerial Tram

Arenal/La Fortuna

Great nature guide, beautiful scenery, amazing zip lining. Nice lunch included.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve Guided Hike

Monteverde

The cloud forest was beautiful. However, we were underwhelmed by our guide. Expect to see more flora than fauna in the cloud forest. Spent too much time milling around the gift shop and café areas and then in the cloud forest.

Quality of Experience

More time in the park. Wish the guy had used his scope to point out more interesting flora and fauna.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Spent too much time milling around the gift shop and café areas and then in the cloud forest.

Transport

Nuria was great - I wish we could work with her for all our trips!
Normally I book everything myself; but this trip came together on short notice, and I don't have any knowledge of Costa Rica, so I found KimKim and got connected to Nuria. She sent a first itinerary almost immediately, and it was very close - one iteration, then all booked, which was a good experience to start with. And I thought it would be done there. But as it turned out, there were some unforeseen issues on my side that required adaptation on-the-fly, and Nuria came through again in amazing fashion, saving what could have been a ruined trip. I truly don't know what we would have done without her. Thanks so much and pura vida!

Hotel Reviews

Tamarindo Diria Beach Resort

Tamarindo

Very large property. Three pools, lots of rooms, big breakfast area, several different restaurants. Beachfront. Service was good, breakfast was good, and even though it was the most crowded time of year the only thing in short supply was pool chairs in the shade - everything else was quick and easy and comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Kokoro Mineral Hot Springs

La Fortuna

Very pleasant small hotel (a dozen rooms or so). Onsite hot spring. Beautiful lush setting and very friendly staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Snorkeling at the Catalina Islands

Costa Rica

José and the whole crew were great - extremely helpful and gregarious. But, there just wasn't that much to see; the water wasn't that clear, and apart from some reef fish nothing much showed itself. They definitely know what they're doing, so I'm confident they picked the best spot, and the equipment and everything else was great - so my guess is that the conditions around Tamarindo just aren't that great in general. If you're dying to go snorkeling, by all means go with this group; but if you've snorkeled elsewhere then maybe consider other activities around Tamarindo (of which there are many).

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Horseback Ride to La Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

A great experience all around. Our guide was fantastic (I think his name was Joshua but I am not sure); the horses were delightful; the waterfall is very impressive. We did get rained on quite a bit, since it's the rainforest, even though it's the "dry" season. You will love it - and, do bring a poncho!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This trip was supposed to happen in 2020 so it was big deal to us to finally make it happen in 2023! Partly because with our kids finishing school and schedules not likely to align easily again it could be our last chance to have a full family vacation. I can't say enough about the organizing and how completely all the details were handled which started with Yuliana. And once in Costa Rica we were also fully supported by our local contact, Graciela. We had the best time and I am so grateful to everyone who made this happen. We loved the hotels in Tamarindo and the Arenal region. We have nothing but praise for our drivers, Gustavo Lopez, Greivin, Fernando and Lee. Having someone else do the driving made the trip that much nicer and these guys know how to navigate Costa Rican traffic! A special thanks to Greiven for stopping to show us a Macaw, Sloths, Coati and Lake Arenal (where we also had a great lunch) along the drive.

The Hotel Tamarindo Diria was beautiful, with great staff and location. Each day we enjoyed the amazing breakfast while taking in the view over looking the ocean as well as from our room and while chilling on the cabana bed (!!!).

The Hotel Los Lagos in the Arenal region was also beautiful with its multiple pools and the walking path up to the observation point. In this area we went on a guided hike with Mauricio, who is a wealth of knowledge on local animal and plants and a lot of fun to hang out with too! That day was full of Howler Monkeys, Sloths, birds of all kinds and an unbelievable amount of edible plants! Mauricio is full of knowledge including historical and current information.

While in this area we also had a great day of Ziplining and White Water Rafting where we also saw wildlife including a Tucan, both of which were amazing, totally safe and done with incredibly friendly and knowledgeable guides.

We will go back, even if we won't all go together. We fell in love with the country and the people.

Hotel Reviews

Tamarindo Diria Beach Resort

Tamarindo

Beautiful location, wonderful breakfast overlooking the ocean, great staff, awesome pools, cabanas and right on the beach!

Authenticity & Character

It's a lovely property with cool decorations as well.

Location

Right on the beach and in the heart of town.

Staff

So polite and friendly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean, nice rooms with everything you need.

Hotel Los Lagos Spa & Resort

La Fortuna

Very beautiful property as well as location with the volcano in view and the natural hot springs.

Authenticity & Character

Great food and gardens.

Location

Wildlife around the property, walking paths including to Los Lagos and a view point for the volcano although you can see the volcano from practically anywhere on the property.

Staff

Friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

The rooms were very clean and the beds were great. They even made up some great towel animals for us each day!

Activity Reviews

Arenal 1968 Hike & Visit to Ecotermales Hot Springs

Arenal/La Fortuna

The guide, Mauricio, is a wealth of knowledge, personable and fun to hang out with. The area was great to walk through, but with the guide, it became a real experience.

Quality of Experience

Food

Eco Thermales buffet was awesome!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fernando was waiting for us at the end of each of the activities - no waiting and such a great singer too!

Zip Lining Adventure & White Water Rafting Class II & III

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Olman provided very helpful planning for an interesting visit to Costa Rica. We especially appreciated the insights on motels and the private transfer arrangements (to/from airport and other locations). Roberto was an excellent driver. I do like to get my details farther ahead of time than was Olman's usual practice, but the assurance of having an agent who spoke the language to help with any needs that came up, was worth it.

The weekend at the Mawamba Lodge provided a relaxing and beautiful surroundings with very tasty food, in addition to the wildlife tour by boat with sightings of monkeys, birds, and crocodiles. I only wish we were visiting during turtle season as I would have loved to see the turtles there to lay their eggs. In the area of LaFortuna I recommend the Hanging Bridges outing as it is so unique with good views.

We had a lovely trip and recommend this KimKim agent... you will be in good hands!

We had an amazing time in Costa Rica. Manuel Antonio was definitely our favorite. We saw tons of wildlife. Our guides in the parks were incredible, Jeremy and Karla. We saw sloths, monkeys, and tons of birds, even scarlet macaws. On our snorkeling trip to isla del cano, we saw so much. Turtles, sharks, sting rays, plenty of colorful fish, even dolphins jumping on the way back. Our guide Nacho was great.

We probably could've spent one less night in Monteverde. It is green and beautiful and the town of Santa Elena is very walkable. Many restaurants and coffee shops. We enjoyed learning about the different environment in the cloud forest. Our guides on the night and day walk were excellent, very passionate about the ecosystem they were showing us. The zip lining was a very unique experience.

Tamarindo was probably our least favorite part of the trip. We stayed about a half hour north in Playa Flamingo, which is a beautiful beach. However, I wonder how our experience would have been different in the surf town. The area is very Americanized, it did not necessarily feel like we were in Costa Rica. We did an estuary tour and turtle watching, which was with the same guide. Moses was very knowledgable and prepared. We saw nine (!!) turtles on the beach.

Snorkeling in the Catalina Islands was very disappointing compared to what we saw before. The conditions were very windy, which made the water rough and currents strong. I was surprised that we were not required to wear lifejackets - especially as it was easy to drift away quickly. The water was cold - which is not their fault, they offered us wetsuits. But if I had known how many jellyfish were in the water, I would've taken them up on it. Thousands, though most were small but still did not feel good if you happened to be stung. I was twice and I know others on the boat were. This was with Pacific Coast dive company. We could've skipped this outing and stayed at the hotel beach.

On our final day we went to Sensoria, which was gorgeous. Our guides Rod and Jesus were excellent. The pools were incredible and like nothing I have ever seen before. This place is truly a gem. However, if I had known how far this was from our location, I would not have chosen to do this excursion that day. We spent 5-6 hours in the car on our last day in Costa Rica.

That is the only thing I wish I knew before booking the excursions - how far they were from the hotel/location. If I knew some of them were 2+ hours, I might have chosen a closer activity. Costa Rica is a gorgeous place with much diversity, so much to see and do. I highly recommend exploring this country. Also - whoever says rent a car and drive, don't listen to them. Would have been so much more stressful. Thank you Jessica for all the planning and the transfers were stress free. I only wish on the downloadable itinerary it said the lengths of the activities. That was only online, but as I had minimal access to wifi/no cell service, I downloaded the itinerary and referenced that.

Activity Reviews

Scuba Diving at Isla del Caño Biological Reserve

Manuel Antonio

This was probably the best activity of our trip. Can not recommend enough.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sensoria: Land of Senses Full Day Tour

Costa Rica

This place was incredible. Truly special. Our guides were great, really enjoyed the area and knowledgable. Taught us about costa rica and let us customize the experience to what we wanted. Food was good also.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

San José City Tour

San José

Oscar was great. It was a great start to our trip - we learned so much about Costa Rica. And had a great dinner!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Nature Hike

Manuel Antonio

We saw so much. Really made the most of our time in the park. Jeremy was well prepared and knowledgable. Beach was gorgeous, as described.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Carara National Park Guided Hike

Costa Rica

Karla was very passionate and excited about what she was showing us. Her enthusiasm was contagious. We saw a lot of cool birds.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Snorkeling at the Catalina Islands

Costa Rica

As I mentioned in our full review, we probably could have skipped this experience. The winds were very high, making the water conditions difficult. Life jackets were not required, and a family got into the water, realized they were not strong enough swimmers, and the boat had already drifted away. We had to help call for attention to them and get lifejackets and assistance. The water temperature was cold, they offered us wetsuits. I did not mind the temperature as much as the jellyfish. Thousands, unavoidable. I would have taken a wetsuit for extra protection had I known. The sting was not unbearable, but not pleasant. I was not the only one to get stung. Also there was not much to be seen, a few pufferfish.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Did not offer much about them - if they were from costa rica, how much experience they had. More interested in interacting amongst themselves.

Transport

Nighttime Pacific Green Turtle Nesting Experience (Seasonal)

Costa Rica

I had never done an experience like this. Moses was in contact with our groups, giving us the best chance of seeing turtles. We saw nine. It was great. He was very respectful of them, teaching us to be as well.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The guides in general were friendly, funny, accommodating and helpful in giving us information on restaurants. We got to see sloth bears, few snakes, monkeys, hummingbirds, toucans etc.

However, towards the end of the trip we found out that many of these guides are not well informed about the subjects they are talking about. For example the guide from Don Juan tours (coffee, cacoa and sugarcane plantation tour) explained how caffeine is removed from coffee and that chemicals are used to do this. I researched this information only to find out that chemicals are no longer used but newer technologies that are much safer are being used.

I also asked another guide who was with us on the cloud forest tour if he was trained in identifying species of animals and birds. He told me that he was not trained. We got to speak to another tourist who told us that he requested a guide who was trained as a bird watcher and knew about the different species and their habitats and got to see the elusive "Quetzal" bird. We then realized that it is important to request for guides who are trained in their job.

We were happy with the transport service as they were prompt and accommodating.

Hotels were clean and tidy.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Heliconia

Monteverde

Great views, spacious and clean rooms and comfy beds. The hotel looks like a chalet built in dark wood. Good restaurants close by. Not an ideal hotel for people with reduced mobility as it quite steep to get anywhere around the complex.

Authenticity & Character

Location

5-7 mins away from town center by car.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Lavas Tacotal

Fortuna, San Carlos

Beautiful views of Mount Arenal. Clean, spacious rooms with comfortable beds. There is a great restaurant next door to this hotel that serves delicious Korean and Japanese food. This was a break from eating beans, rice and plantains for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Further away from town and costs $15-$20 per trip to town and back.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hampton by Hilton San José Airport

Alajuela

Spacious, clean with comfortable beds. Free shuttle service to and from the airport with Denny's next door that is open 24/7.

Authenticity & Character

Location

close to airport

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Holiday Inn Express San Jose Airport

San Jose

Clean and spacious rooms with comfortable beds. Breakfast was good too.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Denny's is right next to the hotel which is open 24/7.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Arenal Volcano Horseback Adventure

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our horses were a bit out of control and poorly trained. For somebody who has had multiple horse riding experiences, my horse was either galloping or stopping for a chomp. It was the same for most horses in our group. Scenery was beautiful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sky Adventures Hanging Bridges

Arenal/La Fortuna

Saw howler monkeys, snakes, spiders and other critters. Our guide Maria seemed to be in a hurry to return home and did not continue with us to the waterfall (half of the tour). Nature was beautiful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Río Peñas Blancas Safari Float

Arenal/La Fortuna

We got to see iguanas, an elusive animal called Tira and birds. We had a very informative guide. This float was on a raft. It had rained heavily the night before and the river was quite full of water.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Venado Cave Spelunking & Exploring

Arenal/La Fortuna

Cave is on private property with a river running through it. Expect to get drenched. You are told to expect snakes in the cave in the rainy season. We saw lots of spiders and bats. Water was about 1 feet deep with narrow passageways good enough for a slim person to crawl through. Our guide spotted a toucan. Pineapple snacks were bursting with flavor.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Road to and from the caves is graveled and uneven. It was a long tedious ride.

Sloth Observation - Day or Night Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

Saw sloth bear with baby, frogs and lots of other creatures. It was good experience. Important to note that night walks are similar in Arenal and Monteverde so doing both was a bit of an overkill.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Children's Eternal Rainforest Night Walk

Monteverde

Children got to see a huge Tarantula and bioluminescent beetle. Overall a great tour. Only recommend doing one night walking tour if you are visiting Arenal and Monteverde.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cloud Forest Reserve Hike

Monteverde

Great hike. Was extremely busy with bus loads of tourists everywhere on the trail. If possible book a tour at 6 or 6:30 am with a knowledgeable and trained bird guide. We could hear the legendary but elusive bird "Quetzal" but couldn't see it. The group that went earlier in the morning saw it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee, Chocolate & Sugar Cane Experience (English Tour)

Monteverde

This is a good tour if you are traveling with children. It is packed with activities and information about cacao, sugarcane and coffee. Many of the guides have outdated information so doing a little research and reading on these before you get there helps. They have a wonderful store at the plantation but we had very little time to taste the different varieties of coffee, teas and chocolates.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Good morning. I wanted to provide some feedback.
Firstly, all the drivers and tour guides were lovely, knowledgeable and accommodating. The country is beautiful and hotels have been good.
In terms of the activities, we have mixed reviews.
Rafting and zip lining were great. I will add though that the transfer from our private van to the group van which took us from rafting to lunch was a bit chaotic. Too many people crammed into the van and we easily could have left something behind in the first van. We didn't even have a chance to say goodbye and thank our driver or raft guide.

The horseback was ok. The waterfall experience was pretty although packed with people. I would explain in the description that the 500 meters distance to the waterfall is very steep and quite tiring to climb back up.
In the afternoon we followed Chris' (local emergency contact) advice and did the Volcano hike. It was a very nice hike. We opted out of the hot springs as when we arrived, there were hoards of people lined up. I later ran into someone who said it was awful- super crowded, dark, and dinner was bad. Needless to say, I’m glad we skipped it.
On to the sunset cruise, which was advertised as a small group. First of all, once we got to the marina, we all had to line up, check in, present passports(which we did not have- fortunately we had driver’s licenses), and proceed to wait for 45 minutes before boarding. There were about 100 people on the boat and by the end, half the people were drunk and acting inappropriately in front of our kids. The music was blaring the entire time (and not lovely Latin music but party music). It was basically a party boat or booze cruise. This was a major disappointment.
The surf lesson was great! The instructors were super friendly and prioritized safety for the little ones.
Overall, we’ve enjoyed our visit, but next time we’d appreciate more authentic experiences (read:less touristy) with fewer people. Also, the descriptions of activities are too vague. For example, they need to include the timing of things. Thank you. I hope this information is helpful.

Day 1-Starting in San Jose, we were greeted by our driver, Mario with Ride CR for our transfer to La Fortuna and our hotel, Lavas Tacotal. On the way, we stopped at the La Paz waterfall for photos and for local fruit from a roadside vendor. We tried a caimito or milkfruit, it was delicious! Upon arrival at Lavas Tacotal we were directed to our bungalow which had a lovely view of Arenal. The room was very clean and the beds were comfortable. We really liked the separate rooms for the toilet area and the shower. Water pressure and temperature were also very good. It would have been nice to have a reading lamp in the room, however. There are two restaurants very close to the hotel. We chose the steakhouse across the street. The food was ok but not great.

Day 2- Our tour to Arenal was scheduled for 2:30pm on our agenda but we learned the the tour operator, Jacamar Tours, had us scheduled for a 3pm departure. Our tour guide took us on a moderate hike around Arenal where we spotted a howler monkey, montezuma oro birds, and a screech owl. After our hike we were transferred to Ecotermales for dinner and a soak. The buffet was very good and we really enjoyed our time relaxing in various pools.

Day 3-Tour operator, Ride CR picked us up for our transfer to Monteverde promptly at 8:30am. A brief car trip brought us to the shore of Lake Arenal for our boat transfer. Once on the other side of Lake Arenal, we were greeted by our driver Bryan who drove us for the remainder of the journey to Monteverde. We were not allowed to check into Hotel Heliconia until after 3pm so we chose to have lunch in the hotel restaurant and then walk into town and explore until check in time. The hotel's lobby and restaurant area have been recently renovated and were very clean and pleasant. Our room was clean and the beds were comfortable, however, again, a table lamp would have been nice for reading before bed. Water pressure in the shower was plentiful as was the hot water. We did notice a strange sewage like smell in the bathroom that seemed to be worse at certain times of the day. We enjoyed the complimentary coffee in the room and the quiet location. The breakfast offerings at the Hotel Heliconia were by far the best of the three hotels we stayed at. That evening we had a tour to the Children's Eternal Rain Forest with Ocotea Tours. Our guide Walter did his best to find animals hidden in the jungle but given the high winds the area was experiencing this proved difficult. We did see a side striped palm pit viper, an orange kneed tarantula, and some scorpions, however.

Day 4-An early start for our tour to the Cloud Forest with Ocotea Tours. Our guide, Daniel, was very knowledgeable and helped us spot a family of spider monkeys, a hummingbird in her nest, a black faced solitaire bird, and the resplendent quetzal (both male and female!). The hummingbird gallery after our hike was truly spectacular-a must see!

Day 5-We were greeted by our driver, Matthias, promptly at 7:45am for our private transfer to Quepos. The ride was long but Matthias made time for us to have a rest at a roadside restaurant and shopping area. Upon arrival to Karahe Beach Hotel we were too early for check in so we hiked up the hill for lunch at Rafael's Terraza's Restaurant. The hotel had assigned us a sea view room that was renovated but we learned that we had one bed and not the two we had anticipated. Our agent Brittany was helpful in securing us a small refund for our trouble which we appreciated. The hotel is broken up into two sections, the hill side and the beach side, separated by the main road. Our room was on the hillside. It was very clean and the bed was the best of the three hotels but were not able to use the safe, it was broken. One of the two table lamps stopped working on the second day. The water pressure and temperature here was not good. The A/C was very cold and welcomed for such a warm and humid destination. The last thing I would mention is that there was no tv in room-I did not care about this but wanted to mention it. It looked as though there were plans to add one because the one electrical outlet in the room (not even an outlet in the bathroom) was six feet up the wall. Luckily, we positioned a chair to balance our cell phones on but it made charging them a bit more complicated.

Day 6- The breakfast at this hotel was the worst of the three by far. It started after 7am which made it impossible for us to even get a cup of coffee before departing for our tour to Manual Antonio. The presentation of the food and the food quality was not good. We did enjoy having a beach bar and loungers on the beach for our use as hotel guests. That afternoon we were picked up by Tucanes Tours for our Damas Island Kayak trip. Our tour guide, Cesar was very nice. We did spot some white faced capuchin monkeys on the tour but nothing else. I am not sure I would recommend this tour again as I found it underwhelming and the water we kayaked in looked very polluted. Dinner was provided after kayaking at the Tucanes Tours restaurant rest stop. It was a classic Costa Rican casado which gets the job done but was overall pretty flavorless.

Day 7-We learned of a special bird watching area called Esquipulas and made a decision to change our tour from Caracara to Esquipulas. Tucanes Tours was kind enough to switch our tour for no additional charge. We were met by Carla at 5:00am for a private tour to this special bird watching area only around 30 minutes from Quepos. She was very enthusiastic and knowledgable! We saw so many birds! Esquipulas is a really lovely area and quite a bit cooler than Quepos. We spotted a stick bird and it's chick, two species of toucans, honey creepers, king vulture, wood peckers, and many others. It was a very good tour.

Day 8-
We were picked up by Olandro from Ride CR promptly at 6:30am for our transfer back to San Jose for our flight home. We made it to the airport for plenty of time to do last minute shopping and have brunch.

Overall, everything was just about what we expected. However, I would mention that Costa Rica is not a place for those who get car sick. The roads are very bumpy and often windy. Monteverde and Quepos are very hilly, so you should be in reasonably good shape to get around on foot. You also must be fit enough to bring your bags to your room up steep hills. And, having some Spanish speaking knowledge would be very useful! Luckily for me my travel companion is a pretty good Spanish speaker.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Heliconia

Monteverde

New restaurant has great food and lovely decor. Our room was clean and comfortable but if you like to read at night, there is no table lamp. Coffee maker with coffee in room was nice and the coffee was good. Bathroom had good water pressure and hot water. Strange sewer smell in bathroom but maybe that was just in our room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Being so close to town was great. Steep walk to get back to hotel, however.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Lavas Tacotal

Fortuna, San Carlos

Great views of Arenal, bungalow room was clean and beds were comfortable. Good water pressure and very hot water. The breakfast options were good but the coffee was just so so. There is no lamp in room so if you like to read at night this hotel might not be for you. No safe in room. Sushi restaurant near hotel and steakhouse across the street. You can walk to a traditional SODA in about ten minutes. All other restaurants are a taxi ride away.

Authenticity & Character

Location

View of Arenal

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Karahé Beach Hotel

Manuel Antonio

Newly renovated room had the best bed with terrific pillows and linens. Safe in room was broken. Table lamp stopped working after first night, luckily there are two lamps in room. One electrical outlet in entire room-none in bathroom. AC was very good. Water pressure and temperature were subpar. View from room was very nice. Our room did not have a TV but that was not a problem for us.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Across street from the beach with beach bar and loungers. Great restaurants close by.

Staff

We left the housekeeper a tip in the room and she did not take it. We had to chase her down to ask her to take the tip!

Cleanliness & Comfort

The bed was the great. AC was very good.

Activity Reviews

Arenal Volcano Hike & EcoTermales Hot Springs Visit

Arenal/La Fortuna

Great buffet dinner and the pools at Eco Termales are wonderful!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Children's Eternal Rainforest Night Walk

Monteverde

It was very windy when we were there and this made it hard to hear animals. This made the experience rather underwhelming but it's not a zoo so you have to expect that you might not see much. The guide did the best he could given circumstances.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cloud Forest Reserve Hike

Monteverde

This was one of our favorite hike. The cloud forest was so beautiful and we spotted so many animals and birds. The hummingbird gallery was so much fun. You will never see more hummingbirds in one place.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Damas Island Kayaking

Manuel Antonio

This was just ok. Saw some monkeys at the beginning of the tour. The water appeared quite polluted.

Quality of Experience

Food

The food was pretty bland.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Carara National Park Guided Hike

Costa Rica

I did not go on this tour.

Our family took its first trip to Costa Rica, opting for the 9 day itinerary to experience as much of the country during our children's winter break in the U.S. northeast. First, many thanks to our excellent KimKim travel planner Jessica for her responsiveness and advice pre-trip and the same availability and support during our trip. Over the 9 days we were able to cover the lush rain forest in La Fortuna/Arenal, the cloud forest high atop the mountains in Monteverde and the breathtaking Pacific coast beauty of tropical Manual Antonio. This itinerary allows you to fully experience each of the diverse climates in Costa Rica while traveling from the low altitudes in San Jose, up to the cooler and wind swept peaks and descend back down to finish the trip on sun drenched beaches.

RIDE CR provided all our transfers and we cannot recommend them enough for customer experience, timeliness and willingness to share history and knowledge of Costa Rica during our rides. To set expectations, the transfers between locations can be long ranging from 2-4 hours and often on windy roads with mind bogglingly steep inclines. If you are prone to motion sickness, it is worth preparing. This said, the long transfers are - ABSOLUTELY - worth every second and DO NOT let it deter you from making the journey.

The ride from San Jose took approximately 3 hours ascending through very windy and foggy roads (zero visibility at times) up the mountains and down into La Fortuna. In La Fortuna we stayed at the Tabacon Resort and Spa for 3 days. Tabacon's grounds are meticulously maintained and seemingly carved into the rain forest with perfect views of the breathtaking Arenal Volcano. Without a doubt, the gem of the Tabacon resort are the healing natural hot spas. Tabacon offers constant shuttles just around the corner to the spas only minutes away. I recommend walking to the spas (in your bathrobe ;)). The walk is 5-7 minutes and surrounded by gardens and the rain forest. The Tabacon hot spas are amazing, and it features many (often hidden) pools with an average temperature of approximately 98 degrees F. We elected to forgo an excursion to fully experience the spas for a day, even our teenage boys were happy with the decision. As a Tabacon guest you have access to ‘private’ pools in the Shangri La section of the hot spas. Less crowded and totally worth it.

Tabacon offers good options for food, but I recommend heading to downtown La Fortuna and eating at one of the local ‘sodas’. Eating at a ‘soda’ can feel like being invited into someone’s kitchen, the food is delicious and it’s a great experience, in addition to being much less costly than hotel restaurant prices. The Arenal Hanging Bridges tour is a must, and our tour guides were informative and greatly enhanced the experience by pointing out the flora and fauna. Walking the (6) hanging bridges is a ‘bucket list’ item and the spectacular views are inspiring.

On our 3rd day we left La Fortuna for a boat/bus trek across the man made lake surrounded by towering mountains and jungle, and up the mountain to Monteverde. The ride from La Fortuna to Monteverde is approximately 4 hours. Oscar from RIDE CR is a talented driver and navigated the impossible hills and turns in the bus effortlessly (at least it seemed that way). Oscar took a stop half way at a small soda in the mountains, where we got empanadas and stretched our legs. The stress of the grind quickly became a distant memory as we stood outside the soda surrounded by green mountains and deep valleys thousands of feet below.

Monteverde is special and worth every second of the journey to get there. Monteverde is windy (expected being a mile from sea level), and suggest packing some cool weather gear. The cooler temps of Monteverde is a welcome change from the more tropical climates below. Similar to La Fortuna, it is worth keeping a rain slicker in your backpack for the unexpected rain shower. Our original reservations were at Los Pinos - Cabanas & Jardines, but due to increased wind and fallen trees our cabin was no longer available. The staff at Los Pinos was extremely accommodating, found a room at another hotel and covered the cost. Our relocation was serendipitous, and we were fortunate to spend the next two wonderful days at Valle Escondido.

Valle Escondido offers 2 miles of cliff side trails with vistas of towering waterfalls and sheer cliffs. Access to the trails, the prime view to watch the sunset or endlessly stare miles away down the valley leading to the Pacific Ocean makes every moment at Valle Escondido precious. The onsite restaurant serves food made from ingredients grown on site, which also offers educational tours of the permaculture practice at the property. The food and the staff are excellent. While in Monteverde we visited Cloud Forest for a walking tour. Our guide Marvin was an encyclopedic compendium of information explaining the daily contributions many of the plants and inhabitants play in its life cycle. The Cloud Forest does contain a few hanging bridges, with equally stunning views as we experienced in Arenal. We were fortunate to see burrowing tarantulas sleeping during the day, millipedes slinking through the brush and toucanets eating on a branch.

With 4 days to go we left Monteverde trekking down the mountain to the ocean with our final stop in Manual Antonio. On our way down our driver stopped at the Tarcoles Bridge where you can view prehistoric crocodile sunbathing in the muddy beaches 40 feet below the bridge. The crocodiles are enormous and worth the stop (we also stopped on our way back to the airport from Monte Verde). At the Tarcoles Bridge there are a few options for food and souvenirs. The ride to Manual Antonio was short of 3 hours. We finished our trip at Tulemar in Manual Antonio, and we could not have asked for a better way to end an already amazing trip. Tulemar offers multi-level studios with full kitchens and multi room houses all carved into the steep jungle descent down to the warm Pacific Ocean.

Tulemar is fully immersed in the jungle, and we awoke each morning to have coffee on our deck to enjoy the views of the ocean, while watching a troop of 50 spider monkeys gather food for the day. The property is filled with wildlife including spider and howler monkeys, sloths, toucans, giant iguanas and capybaras. The beach is truly a hidden cove at the base of the hill below the resort. Tulemar offers shuttle service up and down the steep hill to the beach, but walking is a fine alternative and good exercise to work off the food and drinks. The downtown is fully accessible by foot from the hotel, with great grocery stores only minutes away. I recommend stocking up on snacks and making a daily trip to the grocery to cook in the more than adequate kitchens of each unit. Although we were on ‘vacation’, cooking meals in this gorgeous setting is a nice change and we enjoyed the ‘home away from home’ feel in such a special place. We spent 3 memorable days on the beach at Tulemar, and elected again to forgo some activities to soak in the beauty and vibe of Costa Rica.

The ride from Manual Antonio was a ‘quick’ two and half hour ride back to San Jose, which included a second stop at the Tarcoles Bridge.

The Pura Vida value of the Costa Rican people, the geography and simply stunning beauty of the country won my family’s heart and we fully intend to make this a recurring trip. I am counting the days to watch the sunset at Valle Escondido again. Truly appreciate KimKim and Jessica for organizing a great trip and all of our hosts in Costa Rica. Much love and Pura Vida!

This was the first time I had travelled in my ow like this, I am extremely grateful there were no glitches and everything was perfectly planned.

There are a couple things I learned for next time and I am looking forward to planning my next trip with KimKim!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Los Lagos Spa & Resort

La Fortuna

I would give this hotel a 3.5, the facility was beautiful and the hot springs were very nice, but we couldn’t sleep here for a few of reasons: our a/c unit would not stay running I had advised the hotel, but they indicated there was nothing they could do, we had to get up multiple times in the night to reset it. The beds were quite uncomfortable for me, I would wake up multiple time in the night because my hips would get sore, worked out though so I could reset the a/c 😂. Also we were on a main floor and someone was above us, this isn’t the hotels fault, but the people above us stomped around from 6 am until 2am we had to call the front desk, so as a tip ask for a second floor room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean, just not comfortable for me.

Ficus Sunset Suites

Monteverde

Loved this hotel it was quite amazing. It was beautiful and well taken care of, it was also easy walking access to shops and restaurants. The restaurant was also very good for breakfast. 2 things I would note for other travellers: 1 - there is no a/c (I did ask specifically about this and was told there was a/c but there is not.) thankfully it cools down there quite nicely at night but my girls didn’t want me to open the windows because there are no screens and they were worried about bugs coming in. 2nd - there is no pool, I didn’t ask about this, I just assumed there was, if it was just me travelling, it would have been fine but I had a child with me and it’s always best to have a pool when travelling with children, from my experience.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tamarindo Diria Beach Resort

Tamarindo

This was a great hotel for us, close to the beach, great facilities, beautiful pools. As a tip, we had a room near the back of the hotel facing the pool but backing on to a street, it was quite loud due to the music playing at the restaurants, across the way, it was also near the entrance to the pools so we would often hear people in the hallway, yelling, playing, or trying to access the pool (there was a loud buzzer). Also, I’m not sure why but we had difficulty getting towels in our room, we had to constantly ask for them to be replaced and replaced in an amount for all of us.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Selvatura Park: The Sloth Sanctuary

Monteverde

We loved our time with the sloths and we were lucky to see them moving about and eating, it was shot but sufficient. This should be a self drive activity.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna Waterfall, and Arenal Volcano

Arenal/La Fortuna

Such a great day, the guide and driver were awesome and very accommodating!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

So great!! Funny and engaging!

Transport

Sky Adventures Zip Lines

Arenal/La Fortuna

Probably one of the top highlights of our trip!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve Guided Hike

Monteverde

This was a nice hike but, there was a lot of stopping looking for birds, which is not really our thing. The guide was very knowledgeable and kind but was not engaging for my daughters. We would have just preferred to hike and stop when there was actually something to see. I know the people we were with were very interested in the birds so I’m sure it was good for them .

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Children's Eternal Rainforest Night Walk

Monteverde

This was cool, however, I was disappointed we didn’t see too much. I did expect to see more, but I guess it’s the luck of the draw :)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tamarindo Mangrove & Estuary Boat Tour

Tamarindo

This is not a reflection of the guide or the tour, however, this tour was filled up by a group of Swiss travellers, who made this tour uncomfortable for us. We saw several birds and some crocodiles! Maybe not a trip for a tween, she was a little bored and then when she talked, they other tourists shhh’d her 😳🙄.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Enjoy the Thermal Hotsprings at your hotel

Arenal/La Fortuna

The hot springs were nice! We really enjoyed having access at our hotel!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had issues getting towels, there was often a wait as no staff were available.