Kimkim Trip Reviews for Costa Rica

We really enjoyed Monteverde forest walk and zip lining. The sloth trial was amazing and the guide there was super knowledgeable but low key. Traffic was horrendous, so hats off to our drivers who dealt deftly with the mayhem.

The trip conformed well to what I had desired to do. the hotel accommodations were good, the shuttle buses were exactly on time and took me to where I needed to go. All in all I was very pleased with the service.

We spent two weeks traveling around to multiple areas in Costa Rica. Randall helped us with a tremendous itinerary enjoying different climates and activities along the way. Some of the recommendations for dining were expensive and we didn't go to them as there were many choices available in each town. Beware the tour to Osa Pennisula is very remote, don't compare the accommodations to your standards! Drake Bay has only had electricity since 2007 and building codes are something they are not familiar with. That said, it was perfect and unspoiled.

The trip was marvelous. Yenyi was very responsive, attentive and made a real effort to understand what we were looking for and arrange it for us.
Our particular favorites were the all day ride through the countryside around Monteverde with Horse Trek Monteverde. Flavio, who rode with us, was friendly and informative and pleasure to spend the day with. The owner, Marvin, was very generous in showing us the stable and his horses at the beginning of the day. He is a skilled, knowledgeable, passionate, charismatic horseman and was incredibly fun to talk to. And, the country side was magnificent!
Another highlight was a rafting trip in the tenerio area which was super fun with a great guide.
With one small exception which was quickly remedied, all of the plans and pick ups worked perfectly.
Thanks, Yenyi!

There was an issue with one of our excursions in Monteverde where the sky adventures park never received the reservation from desafio tour company and we had to reschedule the tour, which was a little disappointing

Carlos was very communicative with us and flexible. He made our itinerary changes whenever we requested them and did his best to accommodate our schedule and interests. He made himself available via text message as soon as we arrived and was very helpful whenever I needed some local advice.

We had an absolutely wonderful time in Costa Rica. All the events and lodging were impeccably planned and were first rate. All of our prearranged transportation was on time and friendly. We could not have had a smoother or more enjoyable vacation and we would use kimkim again in a heartbeat!

The trip was well-planned by KimKim staff, and was very enjoyable. The few snags we ran into were quickly corrected. Randall was very attentive.

We especially enjoyed our time in Monteverde, perhaps because the chilly wind and clouds are what we're accustomed to in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. The day at Selvatura was fabulous - the nature hike, led by Juan, introduced us to many plants and symbiotic systems. Zip-lining was fabulous (team of about a dozen energetic guides). Grace and Renzo were excellent hosts at El Viandante, and gave very helpful advice on getting around the town.

We also enjoyed the hike at Volcan Arenal, led by Esteban. Our driver kindly stopped the van on the drive there so we could see howler monkeys and coati. Jimmy, another driver, was happy to answer our many questions, and he stopped so we could see a sloth up close at a produce stand. The chocolate-making tour and Proyecto Asis were interesting (guides Kyle (?) and Hector, respectively).

At Manuel Antonio we loved seeing all the animals right outside our hotel room. We never tired of watching iguanas and birds. Our tour of the national park, on Christmas Day, was too crowded to properly enjoy it. Our guide, Milo, was very good.

Rancho Corcovado was complicated. Our itinerary did not specify how we were to get from Sierpe to Rancho Corcovado, and our driver did not know where to leave us. When he learned where we would be staying, he knew which of the two boat landings we needed to get to. But we didn't know when our boat would arrive or how to recognize it. Between Randall's help and a call to the hotel, we got there. Boating on the river was pleasant, but getting through the surf was scary and unexpected (it took the driver two tries to make it through the waves). The hotel room had either no hot water, or scalding water. Sometimes no water at all. The food was very good, the trip to P. N. Corcovado was wonderful (Luis was an excellent guide) and the snorkeling was spectacular (excellent guides - Carol and a woman whose name I did not catch). There was an upsetting incident one night when angry people visited our next-door neighbors. All in all, the trip to Corcovado involved very good times and the least pleasant times, as well.

Our drivers were all good - Ricardo, Christian, Andres. The Hotel Don Carlos was a lovely secluded place in San Jose. We found a very good lunch at Cafe Rojo near the hotel, and spent a pleasant morning at Zoologico y Jardin Botanico Nacional.

We had a wonderful experience booking through KimKim and Adriana for our 10-day Honeymoon to Costa Rica! Adriana was professional, responsive and accommodating. We wanted a mix of adventurous yet relaxing, cultural but touristy, romantic but casual, and Adriana planned THE perfect vacation for us. My only hiccup was not receiving our arrival packets 2 days before our departure, as noted, but someone else from the KimKim team stepped up and responded to our message stating that Adriana out of the office. Those thoughts when booking through a website always pop into your head, "What if no one shows to pick us up? What if this is too good to be true?", but we truly felt both safe and taken care of upon arrival - in the shuttles, at the hotels and everywhere in between. We flew into San Jose with an overnight stay, then spent 2 nights in La Fortuna, 2 nights in Monteverde and 3 nights in Manuel Antonio. During our trip we hiked a volcano, swam in a natural hot spring, went ziplining, took a sunset/snorkling catamaran, visited a National Park and somehow still had plenty of time to sit by the pool and ocean to rest. Our activities were perfectly spaced out, allowing us enough time to not feel rushed with travel, check-in or excursions. Our transportation to and from the airport as well as to each city and excursion was timely, professional and labeled with their respective companies. Some of our favorite parts of the trip were simply traveling between cities! Our guides were knowledgeable, fun and even gave us suggestions for local cuisine and hang out spots. Thank you to KimKim & Adriana for helping us create such a memorable trip, we will be booking again in the near future!

We had an amazing adventure trip from start to finish.
Great communication from Rendell who took on board what we wanted to do. It was far better than we expected.
Fez our guide was absolutely fantastic along with our drivers and extra guides especially Martine who guided us on our long hike.
All food, all accommodation was brilliant.
Everyone was so friendly and made our trip truly wonderful. Thank you all at coast to coast.

Always available
Can make things happen for you
Tailored needs
books only with most reliable companies and guides
Overall I would suggest Carlos for my friends and families.

This was an incredible trip all thanks to Adriana! I was able to see so much of Costa Rica and enjoy the unique vistas and wildlife experiences that only this country can offer. I feel like I was able to get off the beaten path a little bit and really experience the country. From relaxing in hot springs in Arenal to gliding through the Monteverde canopy on a zipline, to watching dolphins play behind our catamaran on a sunset cruise in Manuel Antonio, Adriana took care of all of the back stage logistics so that I could focus completely on living Pura Vida.

The trip was terrific and we had a great time. Beautiful country and hospitable people. THe hotels and the activities (ziplining, white water rafting, hikes with guides) were fascinating and run by knowledgeable experts.

This is the second time we have used kimkim and would readily use your services again. Bill

Everything was very well organised from the time we arrived in Costa Rica to the moment we were taken to the airport for our return home. Randall listened to what we wanted and came up with a trip that suited all of us in the timescale that we had. We enjoyed staying in all different types of accommodation from hotels, lodges, a boardinghouse and campsites. Some of the best meals we had were home cooked, using fresh local produce. It was a great way of seeing this amazing country, the activities were far from easy (cycling, hiking and rafting) but we had a real sense of achievement when we reached the end. Fez was an excellent guide, full of knowledge as well as being encouraging and understanding. He made sure we always had everything we needed and was happy to arrange any other activities we wanted to do. He always had time to chat, joined in with card games in the evening and generally made us all feel welcome.
I would thoroughly recommend this holiday to anyone looking for a more active break, I never thought I would be cycling through a banana plantation and crossing bridges and rivers or hiking through a jungle but the scenery is breathtaking and all the animals you see along the way is an added bonus.

Thank you so much kimkim for connecting us with Sylvia. She helped us put together a magical adventure in Costa Rica. It really was the trip of a lifetime with my son and daughter-in-law. With Sylvia's guidance we had a diverse itinerary chock full of adventure that immersed us in the beauty and culture of this most amazing country. Sylvia was very responsive on the kimkim platform and arranged for several phone conferences during our planning stages. She listened to our preferences and several times we tweaked and fine tuned the itinerary to get the experience we wanted. When we were "in country" she was available to help us with any issues that arose. We enjoyed private transport the entire trip, and the drivers and ALL the guides were friendly and extremely knowledgeable. Pura Vida!!
Gracias kimkim.
Gracias Sylvia.

What an incredible first time ever experience with a travel agency and to luck upon Kimkim and Yenyi in particular was a real dream come true. Yenyi was available 24:7; was incredibly resourceful and pleasant all at the same time. Her ideas and creativity made our excursion to Costa Rica an incredible vacation. It's not easy traveling with almost grown children but Yenyi made suggestions (including separate rooms) and fun activities like rafting into and out of an eco lodge one of the best family experiences ever. She and Kimkim are the true dream makers. Thank you Yenyi (and Kim Kim) we won't travel anywhere without you!

Our Costa Rica trip was awesome and excellently put together and organized by Randall. Everything went exactly according to plan and the quality of the guides on the various tours and activities were first class.
Everything from our pick up at the airport, to our final drop off was precisely on time and all guides and drivers spoke excellent English which made communication so much easier.
We have absolutely no issues or complaints regarding any aspect of the trip and would absolutely recommend kimkim to anyone seeking a high quality tailor made trip to an exotic destination.

Trip was 12 days (month of March) for a family of four including two teenage girls. We flew in and out of Liberia and spent time in Rio Celeste, La Fortuna/Arenal, Monte Verde, Nosara and then just north of Tamarindo. Yenyi was fantastic in helping to plan the itinerary and activities from the beginning to the very end with a wonderful attention to detail. It was an interactive process and Yenyi's patience, resourcefulness and willing to answer or investigate all o four questions was a wonderful asset. Our family trip was an activity packed adventure by choice that included hiking, swimming, waterfalls, rainforest, volcanoes, zip lining, jet skis, canopy bridges, white water rafting, surfing, fishing and driving Costa Rica's roads the entire way (SUV w/ 4WD required). A truly fantastic and memorable experience with most activities organized by Desafio - a first class company whose guides and staff were wonderful to interact with - highly recommend both Desafio and kimkim for planning your next visit to CR.

Randall and Kim Kim planned the perfect trip for my family of myself, my husband and three grown kids. It was just the right mix of adventure, exercise, nature, discovery and relaxation.

We particularly enjoyed the Mistico hanging bridges tour with Carlos (of Pura Vida Tours) near the Arenal Volcano area, which included seeing monkeys, snakes, tarantulas and so much beautiful scenery.

We also really liked our raft trip in that same area with George "2" as our guide from Canoa Aventura. He was a pro at spotting all kinds of wildlife including fascinating birds, monkeys and even a crocodile. He was very knowledgeable and accommodating.

One of my favorite places was Tabacon hot springs. I wish we had gotten there earlier in the day so we could see it in the daylight, but even sitting in the hot river and pools at night was wonderful! I wish I had known to bring water shoes here, the bottom is rocky.

We loved our hotel, Montana de Fuego, with lovely pools, spa and individual bungalows overlooking the volcano. The staff there was very helpful and friendly, especially Veronica.

Our two days in the Monteverde Cloud Forest were also fun and fascinating.
One of our favorite activities was the zip line tour at Selvatura park. Even my husband who is afraid of heights felt secure enough to do the zip lines. This is a huge and very well run operation and even with lots of tourists they moved us through quickly and safely. It was amazing "flying" over the forest. We also took the short butterfly walk there which was interesting and the butterflies were incredibly beautiful and even landed on your hand if you were still enough.

We took a night hike with a guide at the Monteverde Wildlife Reserve and got to see a sloth in (slow) motion thanks to the eagle eye and strong flashlight of our guide there.
Our final day was a nature hike with Javier of Monteverde Experts, and he certainly was one. He knew every tree, every bird, every reptile and again helped us spot a sloth high up in the canopy.

And finally, we took several lovely drives with the Coast to Coast driver, Jose, who navigated very bumpy roads and long distances with a happy attitude and willingness to answer all questions and stop whenever we wanted to take photos.
This was really a fantastic Costa Rican advanture.

Except one Hotel, all Hotels we stayed at were below average, I imagine that is because we booked only 6 to 8 weeks before the trip(?).

All adventure trips that were booked were very good.

In some places, reservations were made in local specialist name and the vendors had a tough time looking up the customer's name and only to realize it is in the travel specialist name.

Overall, Costa Rica experience was above average.