Kimkim Trip Reviews for Costa Rica

My girlfriend and I work rather long days and by the time the night or weekends roll around, we don't want to be bothered with doing anything that requires effort. We made a few attempts at planning trips on our end (we both struggle to make decisions), kept going circles, months had passed, and finally we just decided to have someone else do all the work.

We found KimKim doing a quick google search, noticed that they wanted to ask you about what type of holiday you wanted, but then also had sample itineraries. We chose the first sample we saw for Costa Rica and was put in contact with Brittany. She reached out to us shortly after and was really responsive with any questions or concerns that we had.

She literally did everything for us including arranging our inbound transfer the day before our itinerary began and extending our stay one day beyond the planned itinerary.

I don't really remember any of the other guides names but I think Ride Costa Rica was the primary transportation provider that took us around. Each driver was punctual and chatty enough.

We would have missed quite a bit of the city of San Jose if we didn't choose to do the walking tour. The guy who took us around showed us several neighborhoods that we probably would not have found on our own.

All the hotels were nice. The hotel we chose in Arenal had individual hot tubs and a good restaurant on site. The hotel in Manuel Antonio had amazing views of the sea.

I can't really say I had a favorite place (each was as nice as the previous) but the ocean temperature was incredibly pleasant (I typically find most oceans to be too cold to swim in).

Overall, if you want someone else to do the legwork for you, consider booking with KimKim. We are already planning on booking another trip with them.

Thanks, Brittany!

Todd & Annie

What an amazing experience. Charlotte did a fantastic job of taking our wish list and making it come true. Everything was smooth from car rental and hotels to suggested detours and excursions. Thank you for making our dream vacation a reality. We will definitely turn to KimKim for our next vacation.

Hotel Reviews

Cristal Ballena Boutique Hotel & Spa

Playa Ballena

Paradise. The grounds, room, spa, restaurant, view and staff were amazing. And the Mix Massage was the best I've ever experienced. Thank you for turning our dream vacation into a reality.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa Luna Hotel & Spa

La Fortuna

What a beautiful hotel! The grounds were amazing and the view of the volcano was perfect. The staff was incredibly kind and helpful. We loved our stay and will definitely suggest Case Luna Hotel & Spa to our friends!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The detail to the grounds. The plants were amazing and the morning birds were a sight (and sound) to experience.

Activity Reviews

Canopy Zip Lining Adventure

Arenal/La Fortuna

We had a great time. We ended up being the only two people on the tour and enjoyed getting to know our guides and learning more about the area.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Night Hike in the Forest

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our guide's knowledge was amazing. Loved listening to the sounds of the jungle and seeing some amazing animals.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ecotermales Hotsprings

Arenal/La Fortuna

Most relaxing evening ever! And in a beautiful environment.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sea Kayak or Outrigger Tour in Playa Agujas

Costa Rica

Would have been 5 stars if the weather was better. It was a little too rainy and choppy for me and the water was dark from all the rain.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Scuba Diving at Isla del Caño Biological Reserve

Uvita

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Canyoning in the Arenal Area

Arenal/La Fortuna

I've never experienced anything like this and it was amazing. Fun, beautiful and exhilarating.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Stand-Up Paddle Boarding on Lake Arenal

Costa Rica

Marcos was our favorite tour guide on our trip. His knowledge of the area was amazing and his passion for birds fun to hear about. I wasn't a bird lover at the start of this excursion, but listening to Marcos and seeing his passion for the birds made me realize beauty I have been missing. He even suggested some additional excursions to fill our trip AND on the return home stopped at the location to make sure we got signed up. He also took a few detours on our return trip to the hotel to point out restaurant and a few other locations we had inquired about.Thank you, Marcos!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sorry it's taken sooooooooo long to reply to this however ive only just found this email in my junk folder while looking up the old trip details... Hope it's still good with Randal and all you guys ?

I'm glad we used KimKim! The site was interesting to use since it takes your interests, timeline and and budget and makes suggestions to get you started, but also allows you to make selections and modifications. It was great not having to book each transfer, hotel, and tour on our own. When we needed to make changes, Brittany was great at getting back to us quickly and making things happen.

Hotel Reviews

The Falls at Manuel Antonio

Manuel Antonio

It is unfortunate I cannot give 5 stars. The grounds are lovely with a nice pool and seating areas, and a great bar. The bar/restaurant staff were really great, and the food was excellent. The animals that came through the grounds in the afternoon were a real treat-Agouti, Iguana, and the squirrel monkeys. Most of the rooms in the back of the property seemed lovely, but we had a "front side" room. These rooms face the front of the building and the main road. The room was basic-not aesthetically pleasing or anywhere you'd want to spend any time. The lamps were broken. On our last night we came back to the room and found it flooded from a backup in the shower (we hadn't used the shower yet that day). Of course things happen sometimes, but the woman in charge did not know how to handle the situation. It took persistence on our part to get the management to set us up in another hotel for the night since they could not accommodate us with an equivalent room. They did end up moving us to another lovely hotel nearby for no charge and waived our food and beverage charges-which was nice. If we were in a better room, and had been taken care of promptly when the shower issue happened, then I would give 5 stars.

Tips for future travelers

do not pick the "front side" room

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Lomas del Volcán

Fortuna

This hotel was beautiful-online photos don't do it justice. Everyone was extremely friendly and helpful. The view of the volcano from our back patio couldn't be beat (room 503). The restaurant and bar had very good food and drinks. The pool area was very nice and relaxing. The covered jacuzzi was great to sit in during the evening rainstorms. The grounds were beautiful-it seemed the staff were tending to it throughout the day. The front desk staff were helpful with every question or need we had, and were very helpful in arranging transport into town. I would stay here again.

Tips for future travelers

If you want to be close to "the action" of town this is not the place for you-you'd need to take a taxi.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful grounds

Location

Everything

Staff

Everyone was friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything was clean and beautiful

Activity Reviews

Sloth Observation - Day or Night Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

I can't review this tour because it was cancelled due to a lightning storm. Brittany with Kimkim handled the refund process for us with no problem.

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Nature Hike

Manuel Antonio

Carla was a very nice naturalist guide. We were able to see several animals, and she was very informative and patient.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano Hike & Tabacon Hot Springs & Meal

Arenal/La Fortuna

Nice hike around the 1968 lava field. The hot springs were nice, but the grounds were difficult to negotiate at night. The dinner provided was really good.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip was very last minute and Kimkim made it really easy to not miss out on any activities. Brittany was also so amazing, she was available at odd times and checked in on us when we needed her.

Hotel Reviews

Arenal Country Inn

La Fortuna

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Igloo Beach Lodge

Manuel Antonio

The pictures were misleading about the hotel location. It is located by a main road. Units are way too small and they're not practical. the reception desk and the bar are the same. our room was lacking simple and necessary equipment, such as luggage table or closets or even a safe.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Monteverde Lodge & Gardens

Monteverde

Very clean, amazing food and beverages located in a lovely location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Arenal Hanging Bridges Guided Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano Hike & EcoTermales Hot Springs Visit

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cloud Forest Reserve Hike

Monteverde

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee Experience and Nighttime Nature Walk

Monteverde

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Nature Hike

Manuel Antonio

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Scuba Diving at Isla del Caño Biological Reserve

Manuel Antonio

One of the most organized PADI certified crew I've ever been with. everything from their side was amazing. everything was calculated and everyone had their own cups and water bottles with names and etc. Dive instructor and crew were also super professional and helpful.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trip was amazing. However, I was a little disappointed not to have gotten to meet Olman in person. He was very responsive to any questions and solved any issues immediately. He was absolutely correct about only needing one night in Jan Jose. I was a little worried about not having air conditioning in Tortuguero but it was no issue and we slept well. All of the meals provided were excellent. Most of the transportation was private - quite a luxury.
I think the one suggestion I might have is that the hiking around the Arenal Volcano was a little more exertional then described. My 75 year old husband struggled keeping up and it made us late for the hot springs that evening.
I ended up testing positive for Covid at the end of our trip in Tamarindo - what a beautiful place to be stuck! Olman once again assisted us as much as possible with getting testing and letters from the Minister of Health so that we could return to the US. He also assisted with making sure we had transportation back to the airport. The resort had one of the best breakfast buffets - beautifully located that I have ever been to. They were very accommodating delivering my breakfast every day while quarantining. The pools - the beach - just beautiful.

Kimkim made our trip wonderful, worry free, comfortable and beautiful!!
We are sooo happy we found you guys! Rosa was available for every request and last minute changes, getting us the hotels and experiences we wanted and making our trip so wonderful!
We starred Kimkim and will absolutely use Kimkim in our next adventure. Thank you Rosa and Kimkim :]

Private drivers and our guide Andy were fantastic. The hotel for the first night was very nice and great customer service. Unfortunately, the second hotel, los Lagos, I believe that was the name, had extremely low customer service. Especially the front desk and bar. They treated you like a bother. The lodge and grounds was beautiful. The room was very clean. The bar area was dirty. The other two resorts were very nice and friendly. The snorkel trip was the only activity that was a disappointment. They mixed divers with snorkeling which resulted in a focus on the divers ( which should be it is dangerous if everything isn't checked and rechecked) the area was not really a good area to snorkeling. Also, we were picked up at 630, missed breakfast to go and wait at the dive office for over an hour. They were waiting on a diver to be certified in a pool, so the entire group had to wait. By the time we left the dive office for the boat three hours had passed, it was almost 930. The staff was very nice. I would look for another snorkeling company. All other activities were very good.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Presidente

San José

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Los Lagos Spa & Resort

La Fortuna

Tips for future travelers

Yes, they do not provide coffee in the room except the first day unless you request and pay for it. Some of the bar staff do not speak any English.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Front desk staff bar staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel & Spa Poco a Poco

Monteverde

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Capitán Suizo Beachfront Boutique Hotel

Tamarindo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hampton by Hilton San José Airport

Alajuela

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Cloud Forest Reserve Privately Guided Hike

Monteverde

Andy was great

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Río Peñas Blancas Safari Float

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal ATV Adventure

Arenal/La Fortuna

It representated lunch no lunch.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cooking Class with Organic Farm Fresh Ingredients

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tabacon Hot Springs Full-Day Visit & Meals

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Coffee & Chocolate Tour

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Canopy Zip line tour or fauna exihibitions at Selvatura

Monteverde

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tamarindo Mangrove & Estuary Boat Tour

Tamarindo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Snorkeling at the Catalina Islands

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The driver never spoke to anyone and played his music the entire time

Transport

Engage, less waiting

The easiest trip I ever booked.
My original trip to Japan was canceled at the last moment (with another travel company) because Japan is still closed to tourists, and I really wanted to get away from work for a few days. It was so last minute, so I didn't think it would be possible. Luckily, I found Kimkim and they were incredibly easy to work with. After booking everything, I actually didn't think that I was done, I figured it would be more complicated, but it was soooo fast and easy to book.
They really included all the things I loved. I would 100% recommend this for anyone that wants to travel but doesn't want to hassle researching transportation, hotels, etc.

Costa Rica was a wonderful experience for me! Yuliana did a wonderful job planning the itinerary with all of my interest. Even some excursions/tours were included in the reasonable price.
I will come back to KimKim when I would decide to return to Costa Rica.

So happy that we booked our trip with Kimkim!

After cancelling multiple trips over the past 3 years due to covid and having spent months preparing for each of them, we needed someone else to do the heavy lifting and kimkim nailed it.

Rosa was so responsive and helped us update our itinerary to meet our exact needs. We used a pre-built itinerary to start with and changed a few things around for our particular tastes. It was a special relief to know that we could show up at a hotel or for transportation between locations and not have to worry about providing documents or proof of purchase. Everything went very smoothly.

We particularly appreciated our guide on the Hanging Bridges of Monteverde where got a rare look at the ellusive quetzal and bellbird. We also really appreciated the drivers, especially Christopher who went out of his way to adjust for our changing schedule and even booked us a covid check at the last minute.

Overall, we were very satisfied with our experience with Kimkim and plan to use them again.

Thanks for the trip of a lifetime!

From the beginning, Olman listened to our wishes for the trip and worked hard to make our experience a memorable one. There were a few minor issues that were quickly resolved. While we were in Costa Rica, Olman was very responsive to questions we had. The excursions he arranged were great. We especially liked the ziplines in Monteverde. The hot springs of All the accomodations were first rate and contributed to our overall experience of Costa Rica. Would definitely use KimKim again.

Hotel Reviews

Espadilla Ocean Club

Manuel Antonio

The villa had a Bohemian feel, not like a regular hotel. The outside shower and toilet were unexpected, but we adjusted. The beds were not comfortable. The parking was bad, just not enough space for 4 cars. The place was hard to find.

Tips for future travelers

Be sure to get clear directions before going

Authenticity & Character

Location

It was a further walk to the beach than shown in the villa information, had to wade through water to get to the beach, it would be better to have a walkway that goes over the water

Staff

not many of the staff spoke English, so it was difficult to get information from them

Cleanliness & Comfort

beds were uncomfortable

Hampton by Hilton San José Airport

Alajuela

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Koora Hotel

Monteverde

The staff at Koora was second to none. From the moment arrived, they called us by name and made sure we were cared for. The food was great, view was exceptional. The room was like living in a treehouse.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Amazing view from the restaurant

Staff

The staff were exceptional, everyone we encountered was top notch

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Los Lagos Spa & Resort

La Fortuna

Phenomenal property, would like a little more variety in the breakfast buffet, but the food was good. Loved all the hot pools!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Selvatura Park Self-Guided Hanging Bridges & Zip Lining

Monteverde

Great experience! All the guides were helpful, they paid great attention to detail and safety

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Hike

Costa Rica

Danny was our guide and took a lot of time to help us to view the animals of the park. It was not a strenuous hike and we had time to enjoy the beach.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Danny was excellent

Transport

Arenal Volcano National Park by Arenal Lake

Arenal/La Fortuna

Elaina, our guide was amazing, a wealth of information. She clearly loves her job and is very enthusiastic. Miguel was our driver and Juan drove the boat. All were kind, helpful and made sure we enjoyed our visit.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit to Ecotermales Hot Springs

Arenal/La Fortuna

The hot springs were amazing. Beautiful and relaxing. They could have used more help at the bar. There was only 1 bartender, to his credit, he worked quickly and stayed focused. The buffet meal was delicious.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Damas Island Boat Tour

Manuel Antonio

This is the only experience that we didn't like. It was not what we expected. We saw more of the amimals on the hike than on the boat tour. The breakfast was not good. The food was cold and seemed to be more of an afterthought.

Quality of Experience

Food

would like to have a made to order breakfast, our food was sitting on the table when we arrived and was not hot.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee & Chocolate Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

Interesting to learn about chocolate and coffee, got to make our own chocolate

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip was fantastic! The trip started badly with one of the worst aircraft delays I have ever experienced (24 hour delay with 12 hours sitting on plane). We were worried about meeting our driver at 12am as the flight kept getting pushed, as well as missing our morning tours, and being too late for hotel check in. Our local specialist, Brittany, however, made the experience easy and she ensured our driver was waiting for us (even with the delay), that our hotel knew we would be very late, and cancelled our morning tour on our request. The rest of the trip was amazing-we are passionate about wildlife and Brittany's suggested tours were perfect! We saw sloths, toucans, monkeys, crabs, snakes, scorpions, tarantulas, dolphins, deer, and so much more all in the wild. My son really enjoyed the night sloth tour, the hike through the Cloud Forest, and snorkeling off the catamaran. We had a great time and will be definitely going back!

Hotel Review

Hotel Belmar

Monteverde

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Sloth Observation - Day or Night Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our guide was so outgoing and knowledgeable! She was great with my son and helped us spot so many creatures we wouldn't normally have seen. My family enjoyed learning about the animals, plants and insects and appreciated hearing about our guides childhood and life in Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our entire experience from start to finish with Charolette and kimkim was fantastic. She made herself available throughout our whole trip, replied quickly and checked in often. No complaints. Will definitely use this service again.

I am so grateful to Kim kim . They truly took the stress out of my trip to Costa Rica . I knew it was a difficult country to traverse but wanted to see as much as possible. The team at KK helped plan 9 different locations over a 2 week period . They even picked us up from our 1st week planned by ourselves in Nosara so we didn’t have to worry about transport . Every driver / shuttle bus was courteous, on time and sometimes even offered humour and added facts about Costa Rica along the way . KK even organised a PCR test for us at our last hotel last minute when we discovered we needed it to fly home via USA . Always helpful and polite and took the stress out allowing us to fully immerse ourselves in enjoying the trip knowing everything that had been planned would flow smoothly and without delay or mishap . I can’t recommend them enough !!!

First of all, our many many thanks to Olman for organizing our trip and looking after us along the way when we had any inquiries!!!

We enjoyed Costa Rica thoroughly in spite of a lot of driving, we had time to rest and discover each area we went to.
I would highly recommend Tifakara Boutique Hotel as the room and staff were lovely and the chef outstanding! We wouldn't recommend the El Establo Mountain Hotel. Although the grounds are beautiful, the rooms had paper thin walls and every word, whisper, movement could be heard day and night.
In addition we especially enjoyed Monteverde - and the Hanging Bridges and Ziplining in Selvatura Park as well as the lovely Nammbu Bungalows. I would recommend a great Argentinian restaurant only a 200 meter walk from there. We enjoyed the cocktails by the pool, but were disappointed inthe dinner in their dining room.

We will definitely use Kim kim again!

Hotel Reviews

Pachira Lodge

Tortuguero

We spent only one night at the lodge and we were happy with the rooms and service. I would definitely recommend it.

Authenticity & Character

Nice views and built to

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tifakara Boutique Hotel

La Fortuna

Great room, with a feeling of being right in the middle of a forest, outstanding staff and chef. We also enjoyed a free night walk to view colorful frogs on the premises! Well located - away from crowds but easy driving access to all around.

Tips for future travelers

Enjoy!!!

Authenticity & Character

Very friendly and accommodating staff

Location

close to all by car but away from crowds, walking distance to waterfall

Staff

Coffee machine, balcony, surroundings

Cleanliness & Comfort

Couldn't ask for more

Activity Review

Wildlife Boat Tour in Tortuguero

Tortuguero

It's a longish drive, there from San Jose, so I would consider 2 nights rather than one - or not doing this tour the morning after a flight... But is was worthwhile. It was also amazing that KimKim arranged to have our car rental from a drop off spot so we didn't have to back track to San HOse just carry on travelling from there.

Quality of Experience

Hotel was fine and everything went smoothly

Guides, Drivers and Staff

On time

Transport

All connections were quite well timed, just a wait for bus at port on way back

I’m usually very sceptical about booking vacation packages, but i have to say that i was really impressed with Randall and his service!

Whenever i go somewhere i’ll always look up top things to do, things to see, places to visit etc… Costa Rica seemed to have many top attractions depending on if you’re going to be staying on the Caribbean side vs the Pacific side. Randall helped us decide & pick hotspots that fit what we wanted to do.

We went right between the transition from the dry season to the rain season so we came prepared with raincoats and extra shoes (i suggest you bring a raincoat because weather is quite unpredictable, especially in the Pacific coast) . Weather was hot & humid. Usually starting off the morning with a bit of rain, some sun throughout the day, rain again in the afternoon, and a calm night.

As for the excursions, they were well planned and the guides were super friendly.

For those who have time to fully plan your trip, i would say you can easily look up pre-made travel itineraries (and tbh, i think this is what we’ll do if we ever go back to Costa Rica), but if you’re tight on time, or simply want an expert to plan your trip, Kimkim is amazing.

Tips if you’re travelling to CR:
- rent a car… just do it. The drive through the mountains and the forest itself is worth it
- pay in colones
- don’t know expect things to be “cheap”
- bring a raincoat
- go to eat where the locals eat… if you go to your typical tourist traps, food is 2x-3x the price, for literally the same food
- Visit Manuel Antonio

Hotel Review

Arenal Country Inn

La Fortuna

Cozy bungalows with breakfast included. View of the volcano.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Arenal Volcano Hike & Baldi Hot Springs & Dinner

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had Pablo from Arenal Star pick us up from the airport, show us around, and take us on tours the first few days of our trip. He was friendly, knowledgeable and accommodating. He was wonderful! He brought us delicious fruit he grew himself, including a pineapple that took two years to grow! He also knew the best sodas to take us to eat. He had his friend, Victor take us on a hanging bridge tour that was amazing. We had a private tour, so could go slow , be quiet, and actually see animals instead of scaring them away or missing them. The other tour guides actually stopped to see what Victor was showing us. Victor had amazing spotting abilities. He actually saw a glass frog somehow on a leaf far away. The frog was transparent other than the eyes so he looked like an outline of a frog on a leaf. He showed us a red blue-jean dart frog, which was tiny, and a viper on a tree, which blended into the tree. We also saw bats and monkeys. Both Victor and Pablo helped us take pictures using their zoom scopes. Pablo showed us the only sloth we saw on our trip and got me a great photo of it. We wished we had Pablo for our whole trip. We also went on a safari raft trip. We saw bats, monkeys, owls, and of course lizards. Charlotte booked Los Lagos at Arenal for our first two nights and it was so nice. So many hot springs that we had our choice of many private. Breakfast was included and delicious. We were so lucky and got many pictures of the whole Arenal volcano! We even saw the top with steam clearly. Pablo also took us to a coffee tour that was great! He is a really good driver and a warm and caring person. We messed up on our ATV tour because we forgot we had locked our drivers licenses in the safe. It turned out ok though because they let us switch to an off road vehicle driven by a guide. It was fun and we saw some great mountain views but not much else. Our next transport driver and tour guide were Jose and Alejandro. We took a boat ride and saw Capuchin monkeys, bats, and many baby crocodiles. We ate at a hacienda on a sugar plantation which had a wonderful breeze, good views and great food. We asked for sangria and the server made it fresh for us. My only complaint is that I really wanted to stop at at least one local craft or artisan shop, but Alejandro said I could get that stuff at our resort on the beach. I explained that I wanted to buy from the artists and not a gift shop or mass produced, maybe not even Costa Rican made, type vendor. I said I wanted to buy wood crafts and maybe jewelry from a local place. There are those places, including a traditional pottery shop close to where we were. He insisted I would find it all on the beach. I had asked at the very beginning when they picked us up to make sure we had time, but I could tell he just didn't want to bother. I already know about pushy vendors on beaches and their string bracelets and trinkets and knew that's not what I wanted. The beach people were mostly pressuring us to get massages from them or to book a tour. The couple of vendors sold touristy beach scarves and cheap bracelets, just like I thought. I ended up buying a wood bowl at the gift shop for about $100 USD. I am disappointed because I was specifically looking for a jewelry box similar to a marked-up $540 USD one I saw in the hotel gift shop. Alejandro had binoculars he looked through to see things on the boat tour but used them for his own nature watching as if he were just another person on the tour. He pointed some things out but we really couldn't see them. The reason we saw anything up close was due to our boat driver pulling over and stopping. Maybe it was that Pablo and Victor set the bar high, but I wouldn't recommend Three Monkeys Tours (where Alejandro was from). I just felt like we were inconveniencing him. Our aereal tour was the worst of our tours, but not because of the tram, that was cool. It was just very strange. The guide would scare off frogs and then tell us what he had seen. We got a few glimpses. He stopped the tram to talk about the plants and trees even though he kept talking about the same ones. Then he took us through the medicinal and edible plants and did the same thing. He was nice, but he seemed like he didn't plan or know what was there. He would see a plant and say "oh another surprise" here is the such and such plant and then look around and randomly walk to and fro. Even at the top of the observation platform he said well you can see all the trees here, are you ready to go back down? At the end the gift shopped was closed, we weren't offered the option to grab snacks or drinks at their restaurant and we were not offered access to purchase the pictures they took of us. They obviously took the pictures to sell as they showed them on a screen and had a place you could buy them, but just shuffled us back onto the van. It was early in the day and there were only a handful of Zipliners there, so I am not sure why they wouldn't want to sell us souvenirs, pictures, snacks or beverages. The whole experience was strange, which everyone was saying on the van. The other two places we stayed were places we had booked. I would recommend KimKim to everyone because they listened to what we wanted and our limitations before our trip and helped us plan well, all our transportation was on time and reliable, Charlotte often checked on us throughout our trip, and we didn't have to worry about anything. The reviews I gave above really don't reflect on KimKim as they made sure we had the tours we asked for and made sure everything went smoothly.

We enjoyed the welcome arrival with Roy, our Driver. The resort was great, very relaxing and food at the bar especially the pizza was something we will remember.
The coffee tour was very informative and fun with Rafael. The hiking at Tenorio National Park was ok because we thought we are also going to Celeste River but we didn't.

Hotel Review

Hotel Los Lagos Spa & Resort

La Fortuna

Good for family and couples

Authenticity & Character

No King Bed available

Location

A bit far from town and not as secluded like the other resort that are more close to nature

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Coffee & Chocolate Tour

Costa Rica

Great tour if you want to learn chocolate and coffee

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a fantastic time in Costa Rica thanks to Diego. He had planned out a trip for my wife and I, and we paid for it with a credit card. 10 minutes later as we were filling out the forms on Kim Kim’s website we noticed that our passports expired the previous month. We called Diego and he managed to put a hold on the hotels. We received an expedited passport on a Monday and called Diego that day and he rescheduled the whole trip that day and we flew out on Tuesday. The trip went smoothly in spite of the last minute preparations. We can’t thank Diego enough. Pura Vida!