Kimkim Trip Reviews for Costa Rica

We had a wonderful vacation in Costa Rica! Every site we visited was stunningly beautiful. The side trips to the coffee and living farms were interesting and fun to experience.

Alex and Alejandro (local specialist) made every effort to understand what we were looking for and did an amazing job planning out the itinerary in detail. I had a mix of phone/email interactions to finalize our plans.

I cannot say enough good things about Alejandro our guide. He was fantastic! He was incredibly flexible and creative to deal with the situations on the ground between the Covid restrictions and protests that were going on in various parts of the country. He took us to a range of interesting eateries where we experienced tasty local food.

Costa Rica is taking Covid seriously. Masks are very widely used and you have to wash your hands before entering any place. We are in the early 60ish age group and felt that we were not being put at risk.

We were one of the first international travelers that the country was seeing in seven months. They warmly welcomed us and were very appreciative that we were visiting.

For those of you thinking about going to Cost Rica, jump in! You will have a fantastic holiday with warm, positive memories in the year of Covid.

It was very easy to plan our trip with the trip planner. We were able to choose the types of things that we wanted to do like hiking & eliminate those that we weren’t interested in doing such as no shopping. We could also choose the areas that we wanted to visit. Randall coordinated everything so we didn’t have to worry about transportation or guides. It was all included. It’s a great way to explore such a beautiful country. Our hotels were all very nice. I would recommend KimKim to arrange a trip to Costa Rica.

Where to start! This trip was perfection. From the greeting at the airport by an incredibly knowledgeable driver who gave us such insight into the area that we already felt at home by the time we arrived at Tabacon. Every tour guide we had was on time, extremely informative (not only about the specific adventure but about the country) and each one had an amazingly warm personality. We saw every animal that we had hoped to see and some we didn't even know about! We started in Arenal; then to Monteverde and finished in Conchal. It gave us such an amazing appreciation of so many different aspects of Costa Rica.

When I started thinking about this trip, I had a fairly specific idea of what we wanted to do. This was a trip for me and my 24 year old daughter. Alex and Francisco came up with a custom itinerary that far surpassed anything I could have thought up. They listened to everything I said and turned my ideas into a trip that became a trip of a lifetime. During the planning process they were with me the whole time. Always available by email and phone, to go over any question I had. We were there when the Corona virus just started to impact the US. By the time we left we were one of eight guests at our hotel. During the last week of the trip, the Costa Rican government closed their borders to incoming non-residents. Not only did everything go as planned, but as they were trying to get people home and deal with all of the cancellations, we never felt like we weren't being taken care of.

I could write a book about this trip and how amazing it was and I have Alex and Francisco to thank for that. If I could - I would go back tomorrow morning and have them plan everything. I plan to do just that next year as soon as I possibly can.

We had a great time in Costa Rica. Carlos did an excellent job organizing our trip. All of the hotels were wonderful and check-in was seamless. I am usually a do-it yourself travel planner, but would highly recommend KimKim for a work free trip if you would like to go multiple places.

Our trip was wonderful. We saw heaps of fauna and flora and were well looked after by knowledgeable, friendly guides & drivers.
Randall's activity suggestions were appropriate for our group, we enjoyed all of them.
Thanks Randall.

Our first driver Otto with Desafio was great! He practiced Spanish with us the whole time so we could converse better the rest of the time. Loved our white water rafting with Steven as our guide. Then Otto safely got us to the Baldi Hotel with s restaurant recommendation in LaFortuna—LaStreet—which we tried one night—wonderful. Really enjoyed the Hot Springs at the hotel! Had a nice hike on the lava flows of the volcano and then a nice dinner at Tabacon Springs and enjoyed their springs for an hour—not as hot as Baldi and more crowded. Crowded bus to Monteverde and very bumpy !! But got to Fonda Vela Hotel and enjoyed our Noctural Hike—didn’t think we got to see as much as we expected after we compared our evening with other at our hotel that had done a hike with another company, Really enjoyed the zip lining and since we were the last stop for the bus driver he kindly drove us another 1.5 km to the entrance to the Cloud Forest so we could see it and get a hike in. Were sad to have to head home—but in light of COVID-19 we timed our visit perfectly.

Everything Adriana planned was exactly what we were looking for - we somehow managed to zip line, snorkel, go rafting, AND lay around on the beach. Schedules went smoothly, and when there was an update to our excursion (because of the tides), a new voucher was delivered to our hotel and we didn't miss a beat.
This was an incredible vacation. The transportation was great, the hotels were lovely, and the activities were perfect. I can't imagine planning another trip like this to Costa Rica without Adriana's guidance.
I cannot recommend this service highly enough.

Kimkim made my trip to Costa Rica a dream come true. I will be using them for my next trip—for sure!! My transportation, hotels and activities were first class, and they were not possible without Kimkim’s guidance and expertise.

The guides were great. Getting to different locations was frantic.
We saw some great birds.

We really enjoyed the itinerary suggested by Carlos. Our favourite place to stay was Senda, Monteverde.

We had top notch service with kimkim and have already recommended them to several friends. I was a bit leery using this service without firsthand knowledge of what we were getting into. But I was worried for nothing. Kristy put together a great 12 day Costa Rican itinerary for our family of five, including three teenagers! And Monica booked all
of our lodging, excursions, and in-country transportation (we took three Sansa flights...an easy and quick way to get around...and had private drivers everywhere). Even when I had questions while on our trip, Monica was available and promptly responded to our needs. We started at Manatus in Tortuguero on the Caribbean and we loved our quaint bungalow there. In fact, we loved everything about the Manatus resort; the service, food and included wildlife tours. Next we went to the LaFortuna/Arenal area and stayed at the Arenal Lodge. We loved the area and all of our excursions (zip lining with Sky Adventures and volunteering at Proyecto Asis), but we were not fans of the Arenal Lodge. It’s pretty run down and in need of some major renovations and repairs. With only breakfast included there, we were interested in trying different restaurants for lunch and dinner. But the lodge is also extremely remote and was an expensive and long cab ride into town. Seems like there are plenty of nice places to stay that would have been a better choice. Next we went to Rafiki Lodge outside of Quepos, and this was a major highlight...camping in the rainforest. The owners and staff were wonderful, and the included excursions and food were outstanding. What a unique and neat experience at Rafiki! And finally we spent the last three nights of our vacation in Manual Antonio at Tulemar Resort. Wow. This was a perfect way to end our trip with some beach time, relaxation, and a last opportunity to see sloths and monkeys up close. Views here from our Villa were amazing. We did do one excursion in this area, the Damas mangrove tour. I’d probably skip that if I could do this trip over, mostly to give us more time at the amazing Tulemar beach. And it wasn’t all that well done.
All in all, we were extremely happy with our vacation, experiencing a new place we’ve never been, and will now most likely return, thanks to kimkim!

Our Pura Vida guide in Arsenal, Christian was awesome and we were the only two people in our group that included hikes of Arenal and the hanging bridges.

Every aspect of our itinerary either met or exceeded our expectations. The one exception would be the night tour in Monteverde. We were not the only ones to say it was over-hyped. There were over 100 tourists in groups of 6-8 walking the same paths that reminded me of a “snipe” hunt.

Lodging at Arsenal was superb! Great complimentary breakfast and on-site hot spring.

Carlos was so great! He gave us a ton of options before we booked our trip, and then made sure everything went smoothly thereafter. He also quickly jumped in to help out with any bumps in the road while we were on our trip.

We recently used kimkim.com for our recent 11-day trip in late February/early March, 2020 to Costa Rica. Alberto Molina, the local specialist, was really easy to work with and easy to contact with any questions. A few days into our trip, we had a few questions and Karol with Green World Adventures, and she was very quick to get back with us. She helped us several times during our trip and adjusted our tours when we had questions. She was always handy and helpful.
The following tour guides were standouts on our trip:
Felipe with Green World Adventures: Great walking downtown tour of San Jose! He graciously gave us his own recipe of ceviche, and kept us entertained our our drive to and from the airport.
Axel and Victor with Desafio Adventure Pioneers: Hanging Bridges tour, Aerenal Volcano hike and La Fortuna waterfall. What a fun filled day with these guys! They were so accommodating during these fun adventures!
Javier with Iguana tours, our nature guide at Cari-Canche Private Reserve. He was full of knowledge about this beautiful area.
Yenaro Suarez, our guide who conducted our tour at the Don Juan coffee, chocolate and sugar cane plantation. That was such a wonderful, tasty treat!
"Professor" Andres, our very informative nature guide who conducted our tour at Manuel Antonio National Park.
Hector Altamirano of HecTours. He was our ultimate nature guide at Carara National Park. He was a marvelous tour guide, along with our driver Eddie, who spotted the macaws at the very beginning our our trip. This was our last tour and was such a memorable day.
We all hated to leave beautiful Costa Rica, but hopefully will return sometime soon.

The trip was beautiful. We saw amazing places and were very happy with location, activity and settings. However going from Manuel Antonio to Arenal takes 5h and might be too ambitious for those on shorter trips

Carlos was very responsive.

What an unbelievable trip! I’m not sure what was better; Costa Rica or Carlos! This was my first time using KimKim and it won’t be my last. Carlos planned the perfect trip. From starting out in the rustic Corcovado national park to the cloud forests and then ending at one of the nicest/relaxing hot spring resorts in Arenal. The trip had everything; rainforests, jungles, wildlife, zip lines, bungee jumping, volcanos, delicious food, amazing resorts, beaches, 6 seater airplanes, snakes, night hikes, monkeys, birds, hanging bridges...I could go on and on. The best part was it was all planned by Carlos. We didn’t have to worry about anything. Pickups, transfers, logistics, all the boring stuff no one wants to take care of but needs to be done/planned for trips, Carlos did it. Whatever KimKim is paying Carlos, they should double it. What an amazing trip, all thanks to KimKim and Carlos. Pura Vida!!!!

Truly the best trip ever!! From planning to execution everything was flawless. 10 days 2 teens and a single Mom not a single argument, PRICELESS!!. Every excursion was amazing. Waterfall rappelling was our adventure highlight. Relaxing in Manuel Antonio was the cherry on top. Between the high end accommodation, fabulous food, wildlife and beaches couldn’t have asked for anything better. Can’t wait to book our next trip.

Adriana was very resourceful and helping us plan our memorable trip to Costa Rica. The logistics was amazing we were picked up at our hotel at the specific times and dropped off as well.

The planning from Adriana was amazing. Everything was planned to the dot.

We both had an amazing experiences in Costa Rica. From the hike to Arenal Volcano, to the waterfall, hanging bridges, cooking class to the sea kayaking and snorkeling in Manuel Antonio beach.

We would like to thank for all the planning and logistics from Adriana.

From start to finish - the initial enquiry, through the planning and amendments to delivery and experience - just brilliant. Randall responded to my every enquiry, request and for reassurance. The mix of activities, rest days, hotels and places was just perfect. Driving ourselves gave us added freedom to see more of the beautiful country that is Costa Rica. We met lovely, welcoming people, ate good food and enjoyed the stunning scenery along the Caribbean coast, interior and Pacific coast. We loved the laid back feel of the Caribbean, the spinal mountain range, the warm waters of the Pacific coast and the fabulous OSA peninsula with all its wildlife above ground and below the sea. All the guides who took us on our hikes and snorkelling were gracious, knowledgeable, considerate and professional. Thank you for making sure our holiday was everything we wanted it to be.

Adriana did an extremely good job at tailoring the trip to my desires. All the tours, hotels and transfers were excellent that were set up. Since I emphasized hiking and outside activities, all was perfect. She was receptive to my overall plans and her picks for my activities were excellent.
Thanks for you work on setting this up!