Kimkim Trip Reviews for Costa Rica

The trip was seem less as it pertains to the travel arrangements and punctuality of all of the transportation vans that were provided to us. All of the drivers were courteous and Proffesional.
We had many memorable moments. The hike to the volcano was beautiful and our guide Mariano was excellent. He was funny and engaging. He gave us many tips as to what to do and what to be careful of.
The River excursion was also memorable. Stopping and taking a break was fun while Mariano provided us with cut Pineapple and other fruit.
The beach at Manuel Antonio state park was amazing. The water was warm and had many places to take wonderful photo opportunities.
All in all it was a memorable trip. We will come back again and use Kim Kim as our service provider.

Activity Review

Canopy Zip Lining Tour, bridges, and Fauna Exihibitions at Selvatura

Monteverde

Super fun activity for all ages. The views are amazing. The ride was thrilling.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Olman was very informative and always available to answer our questions. Each part of the trip took place without any issues and the itinerary was great. Our guide for the Arenal Volcano Park hike, Mauricio, through Amazilia was AMAZING! He knows so much and the children learned many things about the plants, wild life, and history of the area. Fun was had by all!

Hotel Review

Hampton by Hilton San José Airport

Alajuela

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Arenal Volcano Extreme Zipline

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Hike in Arenal Volcano Park 1968

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our guide for the Arenal volcano hike, Mauricio, through Amazonia, was AMAZING! He knows so much and the children learned many things about the plants, wild life, and history of the area. He was patient and took the time to show all of us the different plants and how they can be used in everyday life. He was really great and we highly recommend getting him for the guided tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Mauricio was Amazing and the driver was great!

Transport

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

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had the most amazing vacation trip to Costa Rica in June 2023. Our trip coordinators, Jessica and Brittany did an amazing job. Our family trip was originally planned for 2022. However, something came up and we were not able travel. Brittany helped to coordinate with the hotels, activity exclusions, & our transportation to postpone for 2023. Jessica came onboard & took over from Brittany. We stayed in Arenal/La Fortuna in the mountains at a very cool resort called Lavas Tacotal. Their villas were absolutely beautiful, tucked away in LA Fortuna mountains. It felt like we had paid a million bucks for our stay. This place was so amazing my kids loved it so much. We toured the La Fortuna waterfall, visited Baldi hot spring & spa resort; was so amazing. Transferred to Monteverde, we toured the sugar, cocoa & coffee farm. My kids did zip lining, we did trim cars, walking on the hanging bridge; which we were told is the longest hanging bridge. We went hiking, visited Montrverde orchid garden which houses about 460 majority of Costa Rica's native species. Then we transferred to Antonio Manuel were we took a yacht & went snorkeling. I would highly recommend anyone to book a Costa Rican vacation, it's such a beautiful country. Our iternary was packed with super fun activities which we planned then kimkim coordinated so well. We had private air conditioned transportation: various pickups & drop-off for our activities, including airport. The whole trip was well planned by kimkim. I will definitely use them from now moving forward for any international vacations. We loved everything about Costa Rica! Anybody trying to figure out their next vacation, I would recommend to consider Costa Rica and please use kimkim, you won't regret it. One advice if you consider Costa Rica, plan your exclusions through an agency like kimkim before you go. Because if you deceive on what to do when you are there; it will cost you alot more. Goodluck on your vacation. Onto our next vacation!

I will definitely use Kim Kim again for our next trip. Communication, options, convenience and reliability were spot on.

Hotel Reviews

Grano de Oro Hotel

San José

Authenticity & Character

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Monteverde Lodge & Gardens

Monteverde

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ti-fakara Boutique Hotel

La Fortuna

Best shower, best location, the best!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

EcoTermales Hot Springs Experience with Meal

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

We

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Río Balsa Whitewater Rafting Adventure

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our guide David was knowledgeable and fun! We had scheduled a more advanced white water experience, but my husband hurt his neck and working through Kim Kim we were able to adjust to an easier journey. We reallly appreciated that.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sloth Discovery Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Every guide and every driver was timely, friendly and knowledgeable. Carlos, in Monteverde was particularly outstanding. Our rainy season your was filled with activities for every member of the family. Weather never interfered. The hotels were very good and with everyone locations and staff.

We had an amazing time in Costa Rica. It was great to work with KimKim on the planning and execution of this trip. We visited 4 regions and stayed at 4 resorts so the logistics were significant. The resorts we stayed in were terrific. Loved the hot springs at Los Lagos. We stayed in the villa at Los Lagos and there was plenty of room for the 9 of us. We greatly enjoyed the white water rafting. Our guides were awesome! The experience was a ton of fun for kids and adults. The river was clean and the food was very good for a lunch buffet.

Mariano was out guide through the rain forest and he was so knowledgeable. The lunch location was beautiful as it was at the base of the volcano with a terrific view, although the service was the slowest we experienced on the trip. The hike down to the La Fortuna waterfall was no joke. We are all fairly fit and able to do it but I think you need to make sure you forewarn people of how strenuous both up and down are. But how worth it!!! That was quite the experience.

The boat ride to Monte Verde was simple and had it not been foggy we would have had great volcano views. You also need to warn people that they need to be physically able to carry luggage long distances as we had to carry our luggage from the boat to the bus which was parked quite a distance away. The ride to Monteverde was very picturesque. El Establo was a terrific resort. We loved the pool area every afternoon during the rain. You have to get used to the fact that you are basically in a tree house while staying there but the views when the clouds cleared were awesome. Breakfast was delicious as well. Our zipline experience was top notch. Lots of fun and lunch after was nice.

The trip from Monteverde was a long one but we enjoyed the view. The biggest negative I have is that we were forced to stop at a seafood spot that was 10 minutes from our resort. We were in the van for 4 hours and I had asked to stop in Jaco or somewhere closer before we left. I was told the other place would be better but it is insane to be in the car for 4 hours and stop 10 minutes from the resort. The food was not very good. In fact my husband and 2 sons did not order and I did not eat my salad. You cant even get a beer there after a 4 hour car ride. This was the only time I felt frustrated that we were being taken advantage of because there must be some kind of kick back for someone otherwise I have no idea why we were taken to this place.

Los Altos and Manuel Antonio were our favorite. The penthouse was amazing. Views were breathtaking. The resort was so nice as were all of the workers. Our guide in manuel antonio was so enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Highly recommend him. We loved our kayak tour also although it was very physical with having to paddle against the current. The guides were terrific.

I would suggest limiting some of the back to back to back excursions. We were not able to do the cooking class - I honestly cannot imagine if we had tried after that long ride. We also canceled the catamaran because it literally takes people to the same spot we had been on in the kayaks. I would make sure you let people know so they can pick another option or at least are aware it will be the same excursion. Also it looks like there was a larger speed boat that was rentable and would have fit our group. That boat allowed for jet skis, tubing, snorkeling etc and would have been something our group would definitely have been interested in.

The food and the people were wonderful. Costa Rica is a truly beautiful country. We appreciate all of the help and support we received from KimKim during our planning and traveling. I would definitely recommend KimKim to friends and family!

It took some time to shorten this review because we had such a great experience, from the initial planning with Gustavo through the entire trip itself. Never having had help like we did with kimkim I was a little nervous but they exceeded all my expectations in every way and we're so grateful for their meticulous organization, planning, attention and responsiveness. My family of five spent 8 days in Costa Rica, spending 2-3 nights in three different areas and it all went so smoothly. I would have been fine with some hiccups but there were none. Drivers were so friendly, on time, transportation was new and clean, hotels were exactly as described and expected, adventures were perfect selections for our family. And the guides all along the way were a highlight. We did Horseback Riding at the Base of Arenal Volcano, which ended up being in a crazy storm, but one of the most memorable activities of the trip. In Monteverde we did Sky Adventures: Tram, Zip Lines & Hanging Bridges. Roy who took us on the bridges was a delight! He was so knowledgeable and pointed out things we never would have seen on our own. All the ziplining guides, too many names to recall, were awesome! So funny and we knew we were safe with them. We also did the Don Juan Chocolate & Night Hike Experience. Our guide Alex was fantastic, sharing lots of information and displayed dogged determination to find interesting things to show us in the dark. At our last stop, Manuel Antonio, we did a day at the National Park and on our last full day we did the Full Day Waterfall Adventure with Paddle 9. Ken, Andres, Elliott and driver Cumi (sp?), thanks for an exhilarating day of facing our fears and pushing our limits! Hotels, restaurant recommendations, activities, transfers, all perfect! My immense and sincere gratitude to Gustavo at kimkim who took care of us every step of the way and to Jessica who came in to help once we booked. I would recommend kimkim to anyone and would definitely use them again for future travel!

Bryan and his team were great. They made planning our Costa Rica trip easy and fun. When we were there all of our guides, and transportation were on time, very nice and professional and very knowledgeable of the towns we were staying in. The adventures we booked were so much fun and run by reputable companies.
When we had questions we messaged the kimkim team and someone responded very quickly with an answer. Using this company literally took all of the stress out of traveling with a 2 families and kids.
We will definitely use this company again to help with our next adventure.

Hotel Reviews

Buena Vista Chic Hotel

Alajuela

Perfect location on our last day to get us close to the airport for traveling home. The restaurant staff was the best and bent over backwards to have food options for picky kids.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Los Altos Resort

Manuel Antonio

Wow. This was our favorite hotel by far while we were in Costa Rica. Location, views, food, access to walk to some local restaurants, shops and bars was the best. The rooms were very nice and the view of the ocean from the balcony was superb. Location of hotel restaurant and pool was spectacular and monkeys visiting periodically was the icing on the cake! Would 1000% stay there again and recommend to friends and family!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

El Establo Mountain Hotel

Monteverde

The location was amazing and the pool area and bar were fun, although the pool needed a few repairs. The staff and van drivers were very nice and at your door as soon as you called for a shuttle. The restaurant food was pretty good and the views from every location was stunning.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Los Lagos Spa & Resort

La Fortuna

The hot springs were amazing and the kids loved the slides. The pizza at the restaurant was amazing and the swim up bar was fun. I would recommend this place for sure!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sport Fishing Inshore

Manuel Antonio

Deep sea fishing is always one of those experiences that is unpredictable. We staff and captain was great and the views from the boat were very nice. We went out for a half day and only caught 3 fish. So it was an expensive boat ride but we made the best of it. The rooster fish that we caught was huge and put up one hell of a fight, so that was our highlight.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ocean Kayaking Adventure

Manuel Antonio

This was fun but the kayak was no joke and a lot of work. We definitely felt like we had accomplished a great work out when we were back on shore. The snorkeling was pretty good for this time of year. The food for lunch was good and one of our favorite chicken and rice dishes we had in Costa Rica.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manuel Antonio National Park

Costa Rica

Our guide was amazing and very passionate about the wildlife in the park. We got to see sloths, monkeys, lizards, butterflies, spiders, dragon flies, hummingbirds, crabs, grasshoppers……… The beautiful beach at the end of the guided tour was wonderful and the icing on the cake.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

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

Costa Rica

This was so much fun and full of adventure. All of the kids ranging from 9-15 years old loved it. The staff was great and made everyone feel safe.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanging Bridges and La Fortuna Waterfall Guided Hike

Arenal/La Fortuna

The waterfall was seriously unbelievable and so amazing that we could get in and swim. This was one of my favorite experiences while we were in Costa Rica.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Whitewater Rafting on the Balsa River

Arenal/La Fortuna

We were in Costa Rica for 12 days and did many adventures. This rafting adventure was the absolute favorite of all 5 of our kids!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Scuba Diving Manuel Antonio

Costa Rica

The visibility was very bad and one of the guides was not very experienced.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Eternal Rainforest Night Walk

Monteverde

We had rain and thunder and had to turn back and leave after 10 mins….. this was no fault of anyone obviously…..just Mother Nature and bad luck

I wanted to take the time to praise the experience we have had with Kim Kim Travel. The whole trip was seamless and amazing! We traveled to 4 destinations throughout the course of our vacation and the booked private transportation has been phenomenal! During the vacation, we made two small changes to the itinerary and Kim Kim made those changes happen without hesitation. I highly recommend using Kim Kim to book your next travel experience if you do not want to stress and worry about how to make the most of your vacation.

We had an amazing trip with KimKim’s help. All of our experiences were well planned and the travel was seamless. Our guide David on our volcano hike was extremely knowledgeable as were all of our guides. Planning couldn’t have been easier with Gustavo and Jessica’s advice and guidance.

Hotel Reviews

Karahé Beach Hotel

Manuel Antonio

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arco Iris Lodge

Santa Elena

This place was amazing! So beautiful, clean, and conveniently located.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Fortuna Downtown Boutique Hotel

La Fortuna San Carlos

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Arenal Volcano Hike & Paradise Hot Springs Experience with Meal

Arenal/La Fortuna

Loved this! Our tour guide David was very knowledgeable and fun. The hot springs were the perfect too off after the hike.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We really enjoyed our trip! The kimkim team had everything lined up for us with no hiccups to the schedule. We enjoyed talking to all our guides ( Charlie, David, Junior, Julio just to name some). All the guides/drivers were really knowledgeable and provided amazing conversations and service. It was quite an adventure for our family and we will always remember the beautiful landscape, wildlife and people of Costa Rica.

Hotel Reviews

Karahé Beach Hotel

Manuel Antonio

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arco Iris Lodge

Santa Elena

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Fortuna Downtown Boutique Hotel

La Fortuna San Carlos

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Treetopia Hanging Bridges

Monteverde

I regret I can’t remember our guides name but she was extremely knowledgeable and excited to show us the wildlife of her country. Great with our kids, who loved seeing the Orange kneed tarantula and millipedes. The cloud forest is beautiful and we learned a lot on this short hike. The bridges are waaay up there.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano Hike & Paradise Hot Springs Experience with Meal

Arenal/La Fortuna

David was very knowledgeable and really passionate about the wildlife and landscape. He was great/patient with our kids, fielding a million questions. Really nice guy and provided a lot of information about the volcano and history of the area.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee Experience and Nighttime Nature Walk

Monteverde

Junior was awesome. He was incredibly knowledgeable about coffee and proper brewing methods. Lots of history and conversation about coffee and chocolate. The tastings were amazing. The night walk through the jungle was really cool. We were surrounded by so much wildlife. My son finally got to see scorpions and tarantulas in the wild. Even a pit viper made an appearance. Highly recommend Junior and his coffee and jungle experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Children's Eternal Rainforest Preserve! Even from the moment we pulled into the parking lot and our guide was pointing out white faced monkeys, we enjoyed walking around and seeing nature. He showed us birds and many other creatures, including 2 tarantulas, frogs and other insects. As we walked back to our cars we saw a Kinkajou. I know seeing wildlife is hit or miss, and while I was hoping to see more animals, I enjoyed the hike a lot. I also enjoyed learning about the history behind the area, and the students that came together to preserve it. This is a must do activity if you are in Monteverde!

Activity Review

Eternal Rainforest Night Walk

Monteverde

We enjoyed having a guide on the trail with us- he was able to identify animals and insects that we would have missed otherwise.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I simply loved my trip to Costa Rica. My experience with KimKim was amazing. They really worked hard to work with my budget and created 3 different itineraries for me until I was finally happy. That to me is amazing. They were so quick to respond and they worked with me in a rush last minute to quickly book my stays and tours. ALL the tour guides were amazing! And I really appreciated that the tours were kept to small groups. It made my experience more intimate and enjoyable. It was my first time working with a travel agency and they did not disappoint. Thank you for making my trip an amazing one and accommodating my refunds quickly when 2 of my tours got cancelled due to matters out of our control. I look forward to working with you again and will recommend you to friends and family.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Playa Espadilla

Manuel Antonio

This was my favorite stay out of the three I visited! The receptionist here is amazing! The food wasn't great, but there are so many restaurants literally 2 mins away walking. I loved the pool, breakfast was included, the bar was awesome, their laundry service is a fair price, and the ambience in general is really nice here.

Authenticity & Character

Location

walking distance from national park, the beach, and plenty of restaurants

Staff

The receptionist was my favorite person

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa Luna Hotel & Spa

La Fortuna

The rooms and staff were really nice. The only negative would be that the hot tubs were definitely not hot. Although they were beautiful, we couldn't really enjoy them because of how cold we were.

Ficus Sunset Suites

Monteverde

This hotel is a very nice hotel. Only negative aspect is that there is no AC in the rooms & they make you sign off in renting their fans. However, the view from the rooms is amazing. I only stayed one night here so I can't really comment much on anything else.

Activity Reviews

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Hike

Manuel Antonio

Andres from Endemic Bird Expert was my favorite tour guide to have met. His knowledge of the animals and the jungle is incredible. His personality was just the most amazing. I felt like he was spotting so many animals that others weren't catching. I strongly recommend this tour with this particular guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Andres from Endemic Bird had such an amazing personality!

Transport

Arenal Volcano & La Fortuna Waterfall Hike with Lunch

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our tour guide, Mariano from Serendipity Adventures, was AMAZING. He was so real and down to earth and had so much knowledge to share. He really made this an amazing experience. The restaurant he took us to was my favorite restaurant from the whole trip! Definitely an experience I would encourage others to take.

Quality of Experience

Food

This was the best restaurant I tried in my whole trip. I wish I could visit this restaurant again!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Mariano from Serendipity Adventures was amazing. Great knowledge, great food recommendations, and great attraction recommendations.

Transport

We absolutely loved La Fortuna and Monteverde. We especially likes the tour guides with Desafio Tour company in La Fortuna. They were always on time, professional, very personable, friendly, accommodating, safety conscious, and best of all knowledgeable about the flora and fauna and really caring about the environment and climate change. Some of the awesome tour guides from Desafio were Samantha, Arturo, Ronnie, Hosea, and so many others. Loved the lunches, too. We extremely loved all the hikes, water fall, and canyoning!
The hotel was great, with a good breakfast, and convenient to all the restaurants and amenities in town. They were also very accommodating by creating a boxed breakfast for us because we had an early excursion one day.
We also loved Monteverde and and the beautiful country lodge. We has an awesome night hike with our knowledgeable guide, Brandon, who tried his best to find night life in the pouring rain. We loved the 2 mile jungle hike by a river. We felt like we really in deep rain forest. The El Trapiche Tour was awesome and beautiful. It was so much fun to taste all the stuff. I can't remember our guide's name but she was wonderful, knowledgeable, talked about how they try their best fairly pay and treat seasonal migrant workers, and the environment. She was also made the tour interesting and fun to listen to! We also were really impressed by our zip liners, Mauricio or Marco ?and his partner (forgot his name), who were very safe, patient, professional, helpful, and fun. We wished we would have brought more cash with us to buy the pictures. We were a bit disappointed That we didn't have enough cash to purchase any. Oh well, next time. Pura Vida!
Overall, the whole trip was well planned, organized, perfect to our liking ! Our drivers were also awesome and brought us to the perfect places to eat breakfast or lunch with good food and a place to walk, stretch, view the scenery, or shop around. Our drivers were all very professional ans excellent and safe drivers, but for some reason i can't remember all their names, except for our driver from La Fortuna to Monteverde, Rolando. I think the first driver from San Jose to La Fortuna was Mauricio ? Anyway, they were all wonderful! We had a memorable trip of a lifetime ! Thank you so much!
Warm regards,
Emelyn and Bob Judge

Hotel Reviews

Monteverde Country Lodge

Monteverde

Love the location and environmentally beautiful place, land scaping, and great breakfast every morning. Very accommodating and friendly staff. The housekeeping people were great!

Authenticity & Character

The Place blends in well with the environment. Beautiful and peaceful and relaxing to be in.

Location

Love the location and environmentally beautiful place, land scaping, and great breakfast every morning.

Staff

Very friendly, professional, caring and accommodating.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room was great, with a nice window and porch, and view! The bed was comfortable and bathroom very nice. Great housekeepers !

La Fortuna Downtown Boutique Hotel

La Fortuna San Carlos

We really enjoyed that there was breakfast every morning. They also made a box breakfast for us one morning since we had an early excursion. The pool was nice and cool to go to after a long day. We had a nice view of the park, church, and side view of the Arenal Volcano. The place was a bit noisy at night but very convenient and walking distance to restaurants, and cafes. We really enjoyed our stay there. The staff were very accommodating and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Yes! A lot of character and nice lobby star with local arts and crafts.

Location

Great place to be if you want to be in downtown. Very convenient and walking distanceto restaurants, church, post office, pretty park with fountain, and stores.

Staff

I can't remember their names but the two ladies were helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bed was comfortable. Nice window view. Bathroom needed a bit updating or remodeling. But still useful and the housekeepers did a great job keeping our room and the hotel clean and tidy.

Activity Reviews

Coffee, Chocolate & Sugar Cane Experience

Monteverde

Awesome and informative tour about Costa Rican coffee, chocolate, and sugar. Excellent knowledgeable and interesting guide. Beautiful farm, plantation, and views. Great info on Sustainable and ethical practices.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna Waterfall & Arenal Volcano Hike

Arenal/La Fortuna

Loved our guide, Samantha! So knowledgeable, environmentally aware of climate change, and wild life viewing land really watched out for all of us. Loved that we were able to view sloths, and other flora and fauna. Love the beautiful Volcano hike, wished we could have hiked more. Also, the falls was very refreshing and just the right amount of time. Really enjoyed the snacks of fresh fruits and authentic lunch!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cloud Forest Reserve Hike

Monteverde

Loved this hike! Carlos, our tour guide for the Monteverde Cloud Forest , was excellent, knowledgeable, and very interesting to listen to, and cared about climate change! I recommend this to everyone! You will learn a lot!

Quality of Experience

I also like the souvenir shop that supports the cloud forest and indigenous people.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Very well planned. All our guides we top notch. It was a fantastic trip!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel La Mariposa

Manuel Antonio

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Chira Glamping Monteverde

Puntarenas

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tabacón Thermal Resort & Spa

Fortuna

Very accommodating to our special needs diets (vegan, no gluten)

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Studio Hotel

San José

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Damas Island Mangrove Forest Kayak Tour

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manuel Antonio National Park

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

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

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Monteverde Cloud Forest Guided Hike

Monteverde

Bernie was a very knowledgable guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sloth Discovery Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our guide, Luis was outstanding!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano to El Castillo - Half Day Mountain Bike Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mambo Combo: Canyoning and Rafting

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All of our guides were Amazing!
They were very knowledgeable and they Could literally spot animals from the boat and car.

First time working with kimkim and I loved it! Yuliana was my local specialist in Costa Rica who worked on all the details of my itinerary until I was happy with it. Answered all of my questions and concerns immediately. She booked the hotels, transportation and excursions and supplied me with confirmation numbers and all the specific details I needed so I didn’t worry about anything during the trip. The drivers were punctual, helpful and friendly, with A/C and clean vehicles. Hotels were great and we had the best time on all the activities/excursions. Definitely recommend.

Hotel Review

Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs

Fortuna

Our family of four really enjoyed our stay here. Clean and spacious room with strong A/C and amazing view of the volcano. 2 main pools were really nice, although not as numerous as other nearby hotels, as only one pool was hot spring. Breakfast is amazing, we also ate lunch/dinner poolside and in the restaurant which has breathtaking views. Depending on your room location, you need to be prepared to walk a bit or call for shuttle service around the property.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful property, rooms are spread out

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Comfortable mattresses!

Activity Review

Night Excursion at the Wildlife Refuge in Monteverde

Monteverde

We did this tour in the rain but it still turned out great! We didn’t have flashlights so the guide provided us with some. A bit scary walking into the forest in the dark but we had our trusty guide who led the way and found us some amazing wildlife.

Quality of Experience

Saw things we never thought we’d see!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Drivers arrived on time.

Transport

Overall amazing trip planned by Randall. Would highly recommend. All the transports were almost flawless. My son even lost his suitcase at a restop and chris from kimkim found it and got it delivered to us.

First andlast night in san jose, hotel was great. We took a tour of san jose on our own which was nice.

Only major issue was Tortuguero. Hotel was horrible (no AC (sweltering hot temps) room full of bugs/lizards, stray dogs everywhere (including every meal) and kids hated the food). It was a cabin, not a hotel. Nobody slept for two nights due to heat and bugs. Worst part was that turtle nesting season not until July, so there was nothing to see.. was a horrible experience. We went kayaking on our own there which was fun.

Arenal was fantastic, the hiking tour to volcano was just average. The rio celeste tour was amazing. Wished we had gone tubing/rafting, many other families had done that.

Trasnfer to monteverde was interesting. A boat ride to a muddy area and we all dragged our luggage through puddles and mud to get to a bus. Monteverde was beautiful, hotel poco a poco was amazing. Zipline and night tour fun. We did a coffee/chocolate tour on our own which was great.

Manuel antonio was also beautiful. The hotel costa verde was fine. We paid for middle of the range hotels, so couldnt ask for anything amazing. The guided tour if national park was fun, but we had done so many hiking/walking tours that kids were a bit restless by the time we got to that tour.

We enjoyed an amazing family vacation in Costa Rica thanks to Fiorella's trip planning guidance. Our teenagers loved the adrenaline rush of white water rafting on the Pacaure River's long rapids, including a class IV section as well a howling with the howler monkeys while hiking on the Arenal 1968 Volcano hike. We saw a lot of wildlife in Manual Antonio, were surrounded by Capuchin monkeys, swam in the ocean under the Toucans, and with the help of our guide had some excellent views of sloths and roosting bats. My husband and I most enjoyed the biodiversity in the rugged Corcovado National Park. It took a boat ride through a mangrove forest to get there and a small plane to return to San Jose, but was worth the effort. Our guide Manfred with the Corcovado Wilderness Lodge was an excellent storyteller about the interdependence of the wildlife in the rainforest. Our family was lucky to spot an immense mother and tiny baby tapir on our gorgeous hike. Many great memories of our 12 day adventure.

Our trip to Costa Rica was even dreamier than I imagined. Our specialist provided a great itenerary, including several adjustments I requested and he also answered all my questions about logistics, the culture, expectations, etc. The lodging options we ultimately landed on were wonderful, really unique spaces with decent amenties, great food and high quality service. He provided a couple of different options for the hot springs near Arenal volcano and we opted for the more luxurious option for our anniversary, sooooo glad we did! He also recommended great sites to see like the Fortuna waterfall, and suggested a bike company to rent our own bikes since we didn't want to do any group tours and be on our own schedule. He was very patient and understanding through the planning process and we had absolutely no hiccups on our travels. The wildlife park in Manuel Antonio was also really cool, and the beaches there as spectacular as he described. It was truly a trip in paradise!

Hotel Reviews

Lomas del Volcán

Fortuna

This place is VERY cool. It was slightly separated from the town La Fortuna, but only about 3 min. drive - wiht its own private road that leads you through the tropical forest and to a beautifull landscaped paradise. Each dwelling is a lovely mini house with 2 very comfy beds, tv, min fridge and coffee maker, many outlets including USB, good tv, big closet & drawers, AC, large bathroom with huge shower area and bidet. Best part is covered porches front and back with seating to observe the wildlife, view the volcano, eat and relax. There is also a nature trail at the end of the property into the forest, we saw toucans and heard the howler monkeys here! The pool with waterfall and big spa/jacuzzi is fantastic, the bar and restuarant was great with a tremendous breakfast buffet with both American and Costa Rican foods, pastries, custom chef bar, and fresh juices and fruits. Excellent service! We didn't have time to try the spa services but be sure you visit a hot springs at a neighboring hotel and also the Fortuna waterfall.

Authenticity & Character

submerged in local foliage that is well manicured

Location

secluded and lush surroundings, RIGHT at the base of the volcano with amazing views!

Staff

room was sparkling, front desk very nice, funny and great bartender

Cleanliness & Comfort

cozy beds, just enough amenities, private space

Hampton by Hilton San José Airport

Alajuela

pretty standard for a hampton.

Authenticity & Character

Location

easy shuttles to the hotel, nearby resturants in walking distance.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Espadilla Ocean Club

Manuel Antonio

This place was really cool and unique. We had our own 2-story house, with AC, two bathrooms & bedrooms, outdoor shower and rinse areas to clean off after the beach, and full kitchen. There is a great covered patio in the back outdoor dining set, hammock and a fun, cool little splash pool with jets! Lovely local flora and well lendscaped yards in between the bulidings. Nice open, covered hangout pad with basket chairs, games, grill, and security. They even have onsite laundry machines for you to use. The trail leads right to the beach through a short forest path. We heard howler monkeys in the surrouding trees each morning.

Authenticity & Character

cool decor, very tropical feeling

Location

close to beach and restuarants, also walking distance to the national park

Staff

The host was amazing, giving us great dinner recommendations and ordering a taxi for us. Security greeted us every day, helped us park and made sure the gate was open/ closed when we needed it.

Cleanliness & Comfort

clean service daily, even did the dishes.

Parque del Lago Boutique Hotel

San José

I like the local, unique feel of this hotel. The room was basic but nice and clean. The typical Costa Rica breakfast was decent. The surrounding streets in the area were a bit rough and it is near a busy/loud road, though we didn't hear it at night and they have locking gates/fence all around so we felt safe. We had a view of the town and mountainous backdrop from our room. There was a causal and tasty restaurant within walking distance, also a bank to exchange local currnecy

Authenticity & Character

older hotel but nicely maintained.

Location

in the center of several activites, near a big park with art museum

Staff

very nice and helpful people

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Visit Club Rio Hot Springs

Costa Rica

This place is TOTAL WOW!!! We lived like kings, enjoyed every single unique, beautiful and relaxing pool. The luxurious faclilites and amenities were out of this world and unlike anything we have experienced. Comfy seating and chairs everywhere, wide open spaces. We had a day pass and opted for the dinner package, the food was delicious. - a 3 course menu including dessert with plenty of tasty options. We orderd two differnt dishes and tasted eachothers, both were fantasitc. The swim up bar had good drinks, not too outrageous in cost and there were tvs everywhere. They also gave us second day access and we were happy to return.

Quality of Experience

This is a very special place, a windy road through the forest leads you here and reveals a world of luxury with views of the volcano and surrounded by lush forest.

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport