Kimkim Trip Reviews for Costa Rica

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

Nighttime Pacific Green Turtle Nesting Experience

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Activity Reviews

Coffee, Chocolate & Sugar Cane Experience

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

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

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

Sloth Discovery 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

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.

Río Peñas Blancas Safari Float Experience

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Activity Reviews

Carara National Park Guided Hike

Costa Rica

I did not go on this tour.

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

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

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

Arenal Volcano Hike & EcoTermales Hot Springs Visit with Meal

Arenal/La Fortuna

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

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

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

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

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

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.

Activity Reviews

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.

Mangrove & Estuary Safari by Boat

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

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

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

Sky Adventures Ziplining

Arenal/La Fortuna

Probably one of the top highlights of our trip!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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

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

I really enjoyed Kim Kim! Everything was set up perfectly for us and all the hikes we did had really great guides who were knowledgeable of the area!

The only thing I would suggest it to request a hotel with a pool in Monte Verde if possible! Hotel Fikus was really nice, but we were told a lot of hotels do not have pools do it it being “cold” for them up there. For us Canadians it was still so hot! We had also requested this prior to the trip being planned.

If this happens to you, contact Pico Pico hotel and use their pool for the day with any spa treatment! We got massages and they were incredible!

I had an overall great experience and we will be using Kim Kim again for this September in Iceland!

Brittany’s recommendations were spot on! She was such a huge help and knew Costa Rica so well that we experienced the best.

Hotel Reviews

Issimo Suites Boutique Hotel & Spa—Adults Only

Manuel Antonio

Authenticity & Character

Location

Fabulous view

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

El Establo Mountain Hotel

Monteverde

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Fortuna Downtown Boutique Hotel

La Fortuna San Carlos

Wonderful hotel in the heart of the city. Fabulous restaurants all with in walking distance.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Traditional Cooking Class with Dinner

Arenal/La Fortuna

Fabulous experience!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Damas Island Kayaking

Manuel Antonio

Loved our knowledgeable guide who pointed out wonderful wildlife allow our journey!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

La Fortuna Waterfall Hike with Lunch

Arenal/La Fortuna

Fabulous hike with an outstanding guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chocolate & Night Hike Experience

Monteverde

Wonder hike with a fabulous guide! Experiencing the rain Forrest at night was truly magical.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Treetopia Zip Lines

Monteverde

One of the most fabulous experiences I have ever done!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano Hike & EcoTermales Hot Springs Visit with Meal

Arenal/La Fortuna

Fabulous hike!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This trip was perfect. Costa Rica was absolutely breathtaking.

I will never plan another vacation alone!! I heard about KimKim through a friend and was blown away by how easy it was to make our birthday trip to Costa Rica a reality. Olman provided excellent recommendations, was super responsive, and booked us the perfect combination of adventure and relaxation. When one of our hotels needed to be changed, not only did Olman call and email me, but he upgraded our room at the new hotel and also gave us free passes to an eco-spa. All for the “inconvenience” of moving to a different hotel - which ended up being exactly what we were looking for. From having our rental car dropped off at our hotel, to zip lining and white water rafting, to delicious meals at every turn, to gorgeous sunsets, to howler monkeys chattering the night way - we could not have asked for a more perfect celebratory vacation.
Thank you to Olman and the entire KimKim team for making our trip so memorable - you will definitely be hearing from us again.

A huge thank you to Sergio and the KimKim team. Although not all hotels met our standards we could tell there was a lot of care and planning that went into choosing the tours/guides and transfers as everything was pretty seamless. For a first big trip with the kids it was important to have local insight and someone on standby to help us even while we were traveling in the event we needed to change something on the fly. This type of service was invaluable. Thank you !

Hotel Reviews

Si Como No Resort & Wildlife Refuge

Manuel Antonio

Hotel is really dated, not so great as the room we had looked out over a dead tree and roof with bird poo. The room doors have frosted glass letting light in all night long. No tv again making it hard for the kids at night and the pool is more for small kids so they didn’t use it either. The online pictures make the resort look amazing but it was quite disappointing to arrive here after staying at the previous locations including Arenal Springs. The restaurants are not great and we got sick from the food here. The only saving grace was the experiences we took in while staying here, otherwise we would stay somewhere else given the option.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hampton by Hilton San José Airport

Alajuela

Great hotel close to the airport. Staff are great!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Monteverde Lodge & Gardens

Monteverde

Although beautiful grounds it is not so family friendly with noise able to be heard throughout hallways and rooms along with no bar fridge or tv. Restaurant is too fancy for us so struggled with eating while here. Otherwise rooms are clean and modern, grounds are beautiful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Springs Resort & Spa at Arenal

La Fortuna

Fantastic property. Would have loved to stay here longer as they are a semi all inclusive resort and pur guide had us booked on a tour outside the resort for an entire day. Definitely need 3-4 days here!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tamarindo Diria Beach Resort

Tamarindo

Great property! They take a lot of care in the up keep of the grounds and assisting you with the local surroundings. Breakfast was so so but overall great experience.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Snorkeling at the Catalina Islands

Costa Rica

Fantastic guides. Made us feel comfortable even though we are not great swimmers. We saw tropical schools of fish, manta rays, sharks, puffer fish and more!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Hike

Manuel Antonio

Highlight of our trip! The guide was truly the best at what he does! We saw more animals, insects etc than all the previous tours in the trip. The beaches in the park are truly spectacular and if done again I would make sure we were prepared for a longer stay at the beach at the end of the tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee Experience and Nighttime Nature Walk

Monteverde

Great informational tour! We learned how coffee was produced and how chocolate is grown, and sampled 2 different recipes. The guide was great in including everyone in the group. We ended this tour on a nightwalk with scorpions, kinkajou, sloths, spiders and a lot of exploration. Great experience and my kids loved the educational parts!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

TreeTram, Hanging Bridges & Zipline Adventure

Monteverde

Great adventure, the guides were extremely personable and helpful. We did the ziplining and given an option to either repel or freefall off the final platform. The bridges have beautiful views.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Enjoy the Thermal Hotsprings at your hotel

Arenal/La Fortuna

Great variety and number of hot springs, beautiful views and scenery

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna Waterfall, and Arenal Volcano

Arenal/La Fortuna

Would have loved to have the Volcano hike as a separate day as we did not get to do it due to it being at the end and hottest part of the day and we had alreadybeen going for 6 hours. The hanging bridges are super busy but a great experience with the guide and driver. Pointed out and explained a lot of things we would have never seen on our own. Had a great snack prepared for us. The waterfall was also beautiful but very crowded. View of the volcano was great but we did not get to do the hike which was disappointing as it is what we wanted to do the most.

Quality of Experience

Food

The lunch restaurant was not somewhere we would ever eat.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Excellent trip planning and execution by KimKim. Adam and Jessica communicated effectively and organized all elements of the trip with superb professionalism and responsiveness. Once in Costa Rica, the tour guides were all very well informed and knowledgeable across all locations with transfers, volcano hikes, ocean kayaks and nature tours. Brittany was also of superb help in accommodating last minute modifications. Kudos to the KimKim team we had a great experience and would engage them all over again.

This was our first time using kimkim, and it worked out well. The trip was wonderful, and the activities and accommodations set up fit our family well based on our initial requests. Yuliana did a great job answering our questions and getting everything set up for us, and we just showed up and enjoyed everything!

Hotel Reviews

Volcano Lodge, Hotel & Thermal Experience

San Carlos, Alajuela

We really liked this hotel; the setting was amazing, with a view of Arenal out our window and wildlife all around, especially birds. The included breakfast buffet was delicious, with many options, and the staff was all friendly and took great care of us.

Authenticity & Character

Location

The location was excellent, the only downside was walkability to other locations, but it was easy to get transportation.

Staff

All of the staff were wonderful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hampton by Hilton San José Airport

Alajuela

Great location for our early flight out the next morning.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Costa Verde

Manuel Antonio

Great location near the beach and with great views out over the ocean!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Birdwatching at Arenal Mundo Aventura Natural Park

Arenal/La Fortuna

We had a great morning looking at birds with our guide. This trip isn't a hard-core birding experience and is meant for a mixed group of birdwatchers, but we knew that ahead of time, and the guide pointed out many great birds and knew places to stop for specific species that they had pre-prepared. The guides had extra binoculars for anyone who didn't have them along.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Hike

Costa Rica

This guided hike was so crowded that it wasn't our favorite. Our guide was excellent and knowledgeable about the wildlife and the park. The main trouble we had was that at every place along the trail where something was interesting to look at, there was a crowd of people and several guides, which made it hard to get in to take a look. With all of the people talking loudly, it was often hard to hear our guide to know what we were looking for up in the trees or off in the jungle. It seemed like there was a lot less wildlife than, especially birds, than there would normally be due to the sheer number and volume of the people as well. The main path is wide, which allowed the crowds to pass each other, but further on the trails get narrower, and the number of people walking along them made it hard to stop and look at any wildlife without people jostling by or asking to pass.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sky Tram, Sky Trek & Sky Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

The hike portion was really great, our guide knew birds well and helped us find several that we were interested in. We could have spent all day on the hanging bridges looking at birds!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Río Peñas Blancas Safari Float Experience

Arenal/La Fortuna

We enjoyed this experience! Getting to see the wildlife from the water gave a whole different view and we saw some animals up close that would have been hard otherwise, including two types of owls. The food at the end was delicious!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The van driver and the river guides were all great! The folks who prepared the food at the end were also awesome!

Transport

Great trip!
KimKim did a great job in setting us up with a trip we didn't have to think much about, it was all taken care of for us.

Wow! What an amazing trip our family had in Costa Rica! I want to first thank Jean Carlo for providing us with the best itinerary. We wanted to have an adventurous week and he delivered beyond our expectations! He was always available for suggestions and answered all our questions and concerns immediately. He stayed in touch with us from day 1 up until we landed at home. JC you exceeded our expectations! Well done my friend! Now, let's talk about Costa Rica! I have never experienced a trip like this with so many moving parts in just a weeks time! I was amazed to say the least, how everyone involved was so extremely organized! It was very impressive to say the least! Not one leg of our trip was late, delayed, or canceled. We hopped around to a different town every 2 days and it was amazing how well organized everyone was. From vans, buses, boats & more vans! Well Done! All the hotel staff, drivers, restaurant staff was so pleasant, accommodating and nice! Some of the worlds nicest people in Costa Rica! Shout out to Gabriel at La Senda. We felt like his family in just 2 days! Another shout out to Diego at Leyenda Hotel! You also did amazing job at making us feel at home and catering to all our meals! He even suggested the kitchen would prepare our fish from the fishing trip for us for dinner! And man, did the all kitchen/restaurant staff at Leyenda Hotel produce! We had the best Mahi dinner to date! Also, let's not forget the spa at Leyenda, Oblivion. You treated us to the best start of our day for a mother/daughter spa experience while the boys fished. Thank you Lawlin (excuse spelling). She was the best! And to the fishing Charter crew, you were awesome! Thanks to William who got us to back to the airport. Even though we didn't want to leave! Another fun part of the trip was white water rafting! A huge shout out to the crew and staff at Whitewater on Pacuare River from Arenal/La Fortuna. Grailin (oops spelling) you all were the best! Thanks to 💯 Aventura Nature Park for a thrilling canopy/zip lining experience! What a thrill!!!! And the hikes for our nighttime walk and day hike to hanging bridges in Monteverde, cloud forest . We ended our trip at Leyenda Hotel and visited one of the most beautiful beaches in the world! What an amazing 2 days at Carillo beach. How pristine and beautiful! Thank you everyone that made our week so special and I apologize for not mentioning everyone's name! We loved visiting the countryside of Costa Rica! It was so clean and beautiful with the nicest people! You truly live by your words- Pura Vida! We are so blessed to have experienced it with you! Pura Vida!! The Wulf Family, NC

Hotel Reviews

Senda Monteverde Hotel

Monteverde

Thank you for an amazing stay! You have a very special place! Thank you Gabriel for making us feel like family! You and all the staff were amazing! Pura Vida!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Volcano Lodge, Hotel & Thermal Experience

San Carlos, Alajuela

Thank you for an amazing stay! The hotel staff is amazing!! What a beautiful place and awesome views of the volcano!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Leyenda Boutique Hotel and Spa

Hojancha Guanacaste

Thank you for an amazing stay at your beautiful hotel! Such a special place! The grounds were beautiful! Shout out to Diego, restaurant staff & Lawlin, at the spa! You and the hotel staff are amazing!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Fishing at Samara

Sámara

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Rafting Trip on the Río Pacuare

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanging Bridges & Zip Lining

Monteverde

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Night Walk

Monteverde

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

KimKim’s team was fantastic. Great communication, prompt responses. The team helped our group plan some tours in Costa Rica, no question would use their services again. Thanks Kimkim team.

We had the best trip ever! Everyone was so nice. The attention to detail was amazing. I highly recommend Team KimKim. Their communication and accessibility was on point. We could have never organized the adventure that we had, without them. They were so organized with every excursion, driver, event, and anything else that you wanted to do. Truly an amazing experience.

Hotel Reviews

Senda Monteverde Hotel

Monteverde

This place is the best!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Leyenda Boutique Hotel and Spa

Hojancha Guanacaste

This place was amazing! Diego was the best. We went deep see fishing and brought back Mahi Mahi filets and the prepared us cerviche for appetizer, phenomenal garlic butter filets for my wife and I, and fried fish fingers for my kids. It was phenomenal.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Volcano Lodge, Hotel & Thermal Experience

San Carlos, Alajuela

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, San Jose Aeropuerto

San José

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Fishing at Samara

Sámara

Great time. Reeled in some monsters!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Rafting Trip on the Río Pacuare

Arenal/La Fortuna

Phenomenal trip. Perfect rapids and a ton of fun for the whole family

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanging Bridges & Zip Lining

Monteverde

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Night Walk

Monteverde

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I started with Alberto and he helped me plan an amazing trip that was the right balance of activities and down time. While on the tour, Jean Carlo, took care of me. He helped me when there were little hiccups along the way. It was great to be able to contact him when a problem arose. He was able to smooth things out and make whatever issue that came up go away. He was great!

Hotel Reviews

Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, San Jose Aeropuerto

San José

This was a good place to stay as you were making the transition in or out of the country. It was a perfect place for me to stay for one night when my vacation ended and needed to catch an airplane the next day.

Authenticity & Character

Exactly what I would expect from a Raddison hotel

Location

Close to the airport with an airport shuttle service

Staff

Very helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room was clean and well maintained.

Si Como No Resort & Wildlife Refuge

Manuel Antonio

Loved everything about this resort! My room was fantastic. It had a little seating area where I could sit and relax after my activities of the day. My view of the ocean was just awesome. Can’t say enough nice things about the resteraunt. The staff was always friendly and helpful. The location was great and I could walk to little stores close by.

Authenticity & Character

The place had a tropical setting and feel.

Location

The resort is part of a wild life refuge and there were amazing animals to be seen at the resort, including monkeys, iguanas, and birds.

Staff

The staff was great, very knowledgeable and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The whole place was clean and well maintained.

El Establo Mountain Hotel

Monteverde

The hotel is beautiful and in a beautiful setting. My room was in one of the buildings at the top of the hill, so I had an amazing view. From the reception up to my room is a steep climb about a mile long, so the property is not really walkable, but they do have a shuttle service that will take you anywhere you want to go on the property. I found the room itself to be beautiful, but there was only one chair in the room. It could have used a second chair and a small table. Also, the walls between the rooms are very thin and I could hear everything that went on in the next room, even quiet conversations. I used ear plugs to help me sleep.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful view from my balcony.

Location

Seemed to be close to the sights I wanted to visit

Staff

Staff was a little hit and miss. There were some that were friendly and helpful and some who were not.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The resort and my room were very clean, but there was a noise issue with the room

Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs

Fortuna

Amazing resort with friendly and helpful staff. Loved the setting, and the private patio garden area. The room was spacious and clean. The restaurant was great. It has wonderful food and a beautiful setting. There are lots of activities at the resort and wonderful walking paths in a quiet setting. I would definitely stay there again

Authenticity & Character

I loved all of the bird sightings at the property. The resort has a tropical garden setting, but is surrounded by forest.

Location

The resort was back away from the road and it was quiet, but a short taxi ride would tak you into town.

Staff

They were all so nice and went out of their way to be helpful. Many of them took the time to learn my name and my preferences

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything was very clean and well maintained

Activity Reviews

Mangrove Boat Tour

Manuel Antonio

This was a fun relaxing tour. We saw a lot on the gentle boat ride through the mangroves to the sea.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Nature Hike

Costa Rica

Awesome experience. The variety of the animals from white tail deer to bats, just great.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee & Chocolate Tour

Costa Rica

Loved learning about chocolate, coffee and sugar cane in Costa Rica. The tour guide was just great!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Birdwatching Tour in Monteverde (5:00 am)

Monteverde

Loved the tour.

Quality of Experience

Very knowledgeable and helpful guide..

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Horseback Riding in the Cloud Forest

Monteverde

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Paradise Hot Springs

Arenal/La Fortuna

It is a beautiful setting and the restaurant was good. I found the water in most of the “hot spring” pools to be on the cool side.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Birdwatching tour by the Arenal Lake

Arenal/La Fortuna

My guide was so knowledgeable. I really learned a lot from him.

Quality of Experience

Very knowledgeable guide

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very helpful

Transport

Good clean and comfortable vehicle

Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna Waterfall & Arenal Volcano Hike

Arenal/La Fortuna

Beautiful setting and amazing wildlife viewing.

Quality of Experience

The hike itself was great, but my guide made it even more special!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

They were both very knowledgeable and planned the perfect level of activity for me.

Transport

My driver would see something and make a point of stopping so I could get a picture

The moment we decided in November 2022 that Costa Rica was going to be our honeymoon adventure vacation set for March 2023, I set out to create an itinerary that would be a blend of natural, cultural, and heart-pumping experiences that would fit our time and budget considerations. Since this would be our first visit to Costa Rica I sought the expertise from a couple of tour agencies which included kimkim. At kimkim we were introduced to Bryan, a specialist on his home country of Costa Rica. Before, during, and now, a few days returned from the trip, it's clear that planning with Bryan through kimkim was the best thing to happen for us in creating our getaway.

From the jump, Bryan listened to our ideas, asked all the right questions, made wonderful recommendations, provided incredibly prompt and personal responses to our itinerary requests and considerations, and within a short amount of time put together a personalized, 11-day, self-drive, "we can't wait to go," Guanacaste adventure.

Pura vida! We can say it now, each and every check-in along the way was flawless and anticipated by the receptionist; from car rental pick up and drop off, to each of the 4 hotels we stayed, and all 10 tours we booked.

The accommodations that fit our budget and were available at time of booking included Hacienda Guachipelin in Ricon de la Vieja; Volcano Lodge in Arenal; Fondavela in Monteverde, and Golden Palms Papagayo.

Below is a listing of the notable, day by day highlights*, raves*, and faves* of our 11-day Costa Rica adventure:

After touching down in Liberia we picked up our rental car and dined next door at *La Choza de Laurel

Rincon de la Vieja:
*Hacienda Guachipelin breakfast buffet and dining area
*Hike to Las Pailas and Oropendola Falls with guide *Johnny
*Hacienda Guachipelin tubing the Rio Negro with guides
*Hacienda Guachipelin room and balcony

*Rio Celeste self-hike

Arenal:
*Volcano Lodge flora and fauna
*Volcano Lodge private hot tub and view of Arenal Volcano
*Variety of birds gathering at "banana breakfast buffet" at Surá Restaurant
*Volcano Lodge grounds yoga pavilion, out door workout area, and pool
*The welcoming energy of the entire receptionist staff of Volcano Lodge
*Robert at Surá Restuarant
*La Fortuna Waterfall hike with guide *Kenneth (Arenal Star), sighted 3 toucan species, Deivar providing fresh fruits
*Sloth family viewed at Volcano Lodge parking area
*Ecotermales Hotsprings with buffet dinner
*Arenal 1968 hike w/ *Kenneth, anteater encounter, Pablo providing fresh fruits
*Great cups of coffee on Don Juan’s Coffee and Chocolate tour
*Dinner at Pollo Fortuneño in the city of La Fortuna, *Marlon offering great service

Monteverde:
*Santuario Ecologico visit and hike
*Night Walk: Children’s Eternal Forest with guide *Marvin
*Fondavela Hotel perimeter walk
*Selvatura Park: Canopy tour with *zipline guides, hanging bridges, sloth and butterfly tour. Great lunch and best cup of coffee of the entire trip.

*Palo Verde National Park Boat tour with guide, *Ulysses and Capt. Miguel.
*Great lunch served at Hacienda El Viejo

Papagayo:
*Golden Palms Papagayo resort: receptionist *Angie; comfortable room, lovely pool; easy access to Playa Buena; great rocky beach walk around point
*Kuna Vela morning “sail” and snorkel in Culebra Bay with *Capt. Israel and *First mate Andres.
*Lunch and dinner at Hacienda Blu Beach near Golden Palms
*Lunch at Eco Camping Papagayo

*Suzuki Vitara 4x4, Sport Mode setting, total miles driven about 340

We wanted to plan a memorable family vacation to Costa Rica, but felt daunted by the task. We decided to use KimKim and were connected with Fio who helped turn our ideas of areas we wanted to see and things we wanted to do, into a manageable itinerary.

Some of the highlights were the guided tour at Manuel Antonio National Park with our guide, Socio (with Endemic Bird tours). We ended up being the only family on his tour so we had a very personalized experience. His knowledge and ability to spot wildlife in the jungle was extraordinary. We also enjoyed our hotel Costa Verde - we had wonderful ocean views from our balcony and saw toucans and macaws, as well as monkeys and sloths. The room was nice and the grounds were enjoyable - beautiful views from the Anaconda restaurant for breakfast. We also enjoyed evening dining experiences at Cafe Milagro and Claro Que Si. Wonderful food and atmosphere in both.

We were glad to have a rental 4x4 vehicle for the trip - which made it easier to see more areas and definitely needed 4x4 as the roads were not easy in many of the out of the way places like Monteverde.

We enjoyed zip lining in Monteverde at Selvatura Park, but unfortunately we had our first attempt at doing so canceled due to lightning. So one thing we learned is to plan activities for the morning hours to avoid potential rain and maybe storms in the afternoon. The morning weather mostly seemed to be predictably clearer than the afternoon. Selvatura let us reschedule our zip lining tour for the next morning, so we were able to squeeze it in before leaving for Arenal Volvano the next day - and we thoroughly enjoyed the zip line experience so it was worth it to squeeze it in. We enjoyed our hotel - Fondo Vela (again we were glad for the 4x4 as it was tough to get there). It was beautiful, peaceful and the rooms were very nice. We also enjoyed St Elena and Taco Taco restaurant there. We wished we had more time to spend there as it was a very beautiful area with just the right amount of tourist action (didn't feel over touristy).

Our hotel in La Fortuna was nice - it was right off the main road through Fortuna so it was a little underwhelming location wise....but the grounds were pretty and they had a nicely maintained pool and we at at Puira, the adjacent restaurant which was very good. It'd a nice view of the volcano. Fortuna is very touristy feeling - more so than Monteverde and St Elena - but we still enjoyed it. Put your guide Kenneth and driver Roy were fantastic for our La Fortuna waterfall guided hike and the hanging bridges (again we were wishing that we'd had these activities scheduled in the morning as it down poured through out our hanging bridges tour (we consequently didn't see much and we were soaked thru), but it was interesting to be in the middle of the rainforest in the middle of torrential rain so our guides helped us make the best of it. We also thoroughly enjoyed the chocolate and coffee tour while in Fortuna at Don Juan (our guide Yen was very knowledgeable and it was a great tour). We also did our own hike at Arenal Volcano National Park (nice views and easy hiking, pricey entrance fee though for our family of four). Lake Arenal is really pretty and we were once again grateful for the car as we took our time as we drive toward Bijagua, and stopped a few places along the drive around the lake. Unfortunately our son left his iPad at the hotel (Arenal History Inn) in La Fortuna so we had to make the drive twice to go back and get it (I messaged Fio and Nancy thru KimKim and they very wonderfully made the connection with the hotel management to help us get the iPad back from the hotel room he had stayed in). They definitely went above and beyond to assist and it was comforting to feel that they had our backs if something came up that we needed some help with.

Bijagua was very peaceful and felt very authentic- not very touristy. Our tour guide, Freddie, on our Rio Celeste hike was also very skilled at locating animals and spotting things in the jungle including some varieties of beautiful birds and a tapir! We all noted that many of these hikes can be done without guides, but the guides do offer a significant benefit to seeing all sorts of wild creatures and have so much knowledge to offer so it really was worth it to go with guides. We loved our bed and breakfast accommodations in Bijagua - Sueno Rio Celeste (the owners - Marci and Bryant were so hospitable and kind - they recently purchased the Inn but had many valuable suggestions for us including a visit to a jaguar sanctuary about 30 min drive away). If they hadn't told me they'd only been there less than a year, I never would've guessed with how seamlessly they ran the B&B and the wonderful wealth of knowledge they had to share about the area. The grounds are gorgeous - I did yoga and qigong on their newly built yoga deck and was surrounded by monkeys and birds and lovely jungle views. It was so peaceful and another place we wished we had more time.

Our last full day in Costa Rica we spent driving to and exploring Tamarindo - it was very busy and lots of beach/surfer action and tourists. We are at Ocean right on the beach which was nice. Our hotel and overall experience of Tamarindo was underwhelming- our hotel Pasatiempo was just okay - the pool area was nice and the beds were comfortable, but there was bass thumping and music from adjacent bars into the very early hours - lots of partying and tourists which is what some want, but it's not our scene so we were left underwhelmed by Tamarindo. We did thoroughly enjoy our Turtle Night Viewing Tour with Reynolds and Bernie. They drove us to the National Park/protected beach at sunset and filled us with an exceptional amount of information about turtles in our way there. This was our absolute favorite part activity/tour in Costa Rica - they guided us on the dark beach with red lights only and we witnessed baby turtles hatching and several turtles coming out of the water in various stages of digging and prepping their nests for laying eggs. We even saw one turtle laying eggs. It was amazing and a must do activity (but it seemed that having a knowledgeable guide was essential - Bernie and Reynolds seemed to know much more than many of the other guides and so our experience was better - we were the only group to see the turtle lay eggs - the others had all left before this occurred...we felt very fortunate to have Bernie and Reynolds as our guides). Our turtle experience is something none of us will ever forget! Pura Vida!

Overall our trip was fantastic and it was very helpful to use KimKim and have Fio and Nancy's assistance. It was a memorable trip for sure and we appreciated the hassle free planning and organization from Fio.