Yuliana Valverde

Our trip to Costa Rica was wonderful. We visited a historic theater in San Jose. The next day we were off to Arenal. The hotel was nice and had a lovely pool. We hiked down and back up 500 stairs to enjoy an amazing waterfall. We had a coffee and chocolate tour that was interesting and delicious. Our tour guide David was awesome. We drove to Monteverde and had a night time wildlife tour. We saw a poisonous snake, frogs, tarantulas and a scorpion. We went to a sloth sanctuary during the day. Then we drove to the beach near Jaco. We didn’t like the hotel but the beach was beautiful.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Punta Leona

Tárcoles

We didn’t like it at all. We had an apartment upstairs with no elevator. The condition was bad. The shower faucet didn’t work. No breakfast included

Authenticity & Character

Location

The roads were awful

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa Luna Hotel & Spa

La Fortuna

We loved the room. There were so many birds in the beautiful gardens. The pool was lovely too.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Auténtico Hotel

San José

The room, restaurant and pool were very nice. I enjoyed the open air lobby.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Coffee, Chocolate & Sugar Cane Farm Experience - Self Drive

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our guide David was wonderful. He was very knowledgeable and entertaining. It was amazing to see the cocoa fruit and taste it. The different stages of the chocolate making process was interesting. The plain chocolate was bitter but the chocolate as you add milk and sugar was delicious. The coffee segment of the tour was just as enjoyable. Watching the lady roast the beans was intriguing. David ground the beans and brewed the coffee . It was very tasty. The farm had many different plants including pineapple. Also we saw a “blue jeans” frog on the property. Everything was fabulous.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had a great time in La Fortuna, Costa Rica!
Yuliana from KimKim planned out a great itinerary for us, it was our first time to Costa Rica and she made it very easy with hotels, transport and tours

Hotel Reviews

Buena Vista Chic Hotel

Alajuela

We were there for 1 night at the end of our trip to be closer to the airport. It is a very charming hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Lots of charm

Location

Close to San Jose airport

Staff

Everyone was very nice

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms were clean and pretty

Hotel Los Lagos Spa & Resort

La Fortuna

This hotel had amazing hot spring pools, swim up bar. Everything was very tropical. Breakfast included every day was very good. Lots to do and see on the property - did horseback riding, a very nice spa. Room was spacious and cleaned every day.

Authenticity & Character

Tropical

Location

Close to town

Staff

Friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

The whole property

Activity Reviews

Peñas Blancas River Floating Safari Adventure by Raft

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Hanging Bridges & La Fortuna Waterfall Hike with Lunch

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Lunch at La Finquita restaurant

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rainforest Night Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

The rainforest night walk was fun, saw lots of night critters. Dinner at the Mendez family home was welcoming and delicious.

Quality of Experience

Food

Delicious Costa Rica style meal

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tour guide very knowledgeable

Transport

Very timely and safe driving

Kimkim put a wonderful family trip together for us. Costa Rica was amazing and we enjoyed every place we visited, activities in the areas, and our resort stays. This is our second time using kimkim and we plan to use it in the future!

Hotel Reviews

Shana by the Beach Resort

Manuel Antonio

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sibū Boutique Hotel

Puntarenas

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arenal Country Inn

La Fortuna

Authenticity & Character

Location

lol

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Crowne Plaza San Jose La Sabana by IHG

San José

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Catamaran Adventure with Snorkeling

Manuel Antonio

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Selvatura Park Self-Guided Hanging Bridges & Zip Lining

Monteverde

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Night Excursion at the Wildlife Refuge in Monteverde

Monteverde

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

EcoTermales Hot Springs Experience with Meal

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sloth Trail Watching Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hike to La Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This trip was definitely an experience for sure... Sadly due to numerous factors, I cannot say that it was really the best experience or that it compared to my previous trips via KimKim. Yuliana was quick with getting our initial planning done but Im providing the lower rating I am this time for the reasons below.
As for Costa Rica itself, though still obviously quite a beautiful country, I think that it is pretty clear that large scale tourism is having some negative effects on things there somewhat. I was in Costa Rica for the first time in February 2025 for a shorter trip than this one that I also booked with KimKim and had such an incredible time then- my friend and I saw tons of animals and had a very nice balance of getting up early & going on hikes/etc. on some days as well as having some more chill days where we could get a little more sleep and relax. This year, despite being in the country for a longer time (almost twice as long) it was clearly much more expensive and crowded overall and we saw perhaps ~1/3 of the animals I did last year.
Additionally, the changes that took place regarding park entrances and needing to purchase tickets ahead of time was both something I was not aware of at all, nor told about by Yuliana, which in all honesty, was a pretty big goof/mistake for a company that I am literally paying to know such things and keep me informed of in my planning.
We started in the La Fortuna area and visited Baldi Hot Springs, Monte Verde Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna waterfall and El Silencio. I had mentioned that I went to the hot springs last year but our time there had been cut short due to the number of other passengers that needed picked up/dropped off and I made clear that this time I really wanted to spend more time there and hoped that would not happen again. I actually also added that we were wanting to get a massage at the spa potentially too but was told that we would need to book that ourselves and get our own transportation back to our hotel, which we wound up doing. Not a huge expense but, in our itinerary it stated that we had prepaid for entrance, dinner, a locker, and towels at Baldi. When we got there we had to pay for our locker and were told that this was incorrect so we essentially paid for transport we didn't use and paid twice for our locker.
We spent several days near Manuel Antonio park and were, quite sadly, unable to go into the park at all due to the entry changes since last year. Visiting the park was the entire reason for us being in that area. I had so hoped and wanted to bring my husband there, as it was my favorite park from my previous visit. This trip was to celebrate his 50th birthday and I wanted it to be special and knew he would love it (ironically we were in CR for my 43rd birthday and not on his, as we opted to travel before his birthday to avoid the rainy season). We would have much preferred skipping this area entirely had we known that we would not be able to enter the park, especially as our hotel was a 30 minute drive to the beach or any other activities in the area and we did not have our own vehicle so subsequently spent a ton of money on ubers/taxis while we were there too and all for a much more mediocre experience then last year or then we had hoped/anticipated. What's even sadder in my opinion, especially for native Costa Ricans, is that they must also purchase tickets ahead of time for park entry and, from what everyone there I spoke to was saying, it seems that the tour companies scoop up pretty much all of the tickets so that they can then books tours that cost 80-150 USD/person and prevent most people from being able to easily or successfully buy their own, much cheaper, self guided entrance tickets.
Being that we were feeling discouraged and wanted to make the best of it, we spent a while searching for and attempting to find other experiences in the area to do while there which, again, it was a holiday week and very busy so there weren't many options. If we had known ahead of time that our situation would be what it was, even if we could not have gotten in to Manuel Antonio, we could have planned much better and it would have been easier to secure tickets for something else. After many attempts, we finally did get tickets for a night jungle tour and that experience turned out to be a total nightmare (I have already addressed this with the involved companies and this was not something booked via kimkim but I am including for others to be aware of). The tour offered to pick people up at certain hotels only and ours was not one of them because we were pretty far from everything. Alternatively it said you could arrive at the meeting point for the tour if you had your own transportation. We paid for an uber to go to the meeting spot... A remote place at sunset... And NOBODY showed up. I attempted to call and then text the number on our tickets and, not until 15 minutes after me trying to reach someone, did we received a message that our tickets had been cancelled as the tour was full. At this point it was dark and we were unable to get any transportation back to our hotel. There were some sketchy dogs nearby that were clearly not happy with us being there as well as some locals that were clearly giggling at the stupid gringos being somewhere they don't belong. We proceeded to walk the 2.5 miles back to our hotel which included walking next to a highway with no sidewalk and needing to jump off the road when cars were coming. Thankfully we made it back OK but this situation could have been EXTREMELY DANGEROUS, especially if it were to happen to a young solo female traveler, older travelers, etc. We were refunded for the tour and our uber as well as offered a different tour for free by this company. I stressed how if they are unable to process online tickets correctly that they should not be selling them in the first place and pointed out the potential dangers and liability issues with this whole situation as being the most important take away as I don't want anyone getting hurt in the future... The company owner was very nice and was extremely sorry/horrifies that this had happened + vowed to no longer use the booking platform "Get Your Guide," as he stated that the tour had been full for weeks already prior to us buying our tickets and he had no clue why they allowed them to be purchased when we got them in the first place. All in all just another example of how over tourism moving too quickly can cause problems.
Moving on to our final location in our itinerary, the Oso peninsula. We knew we would be taking a boat to get there but did not realize that this would be a fairly small motor boat that we would be taking out in to an area with fairly big waves, nor did we realize that there would be no boat dock when we arrived. It was a full moon/king tide and the waves were large enough that the boat crew was quite clearly debating if passage would be safe enough or not, as they had to make several passes prior to making it over the wave breaks to get to the bay. When we were finally dropped off at pur destination I was horrified! The boat almost capsized repeatedly and at 1 point was ~80% on its nose. There were 2 people trying to stabilize the boat in the rear as the boat was backed up close to the beach and at one point a wave came and knocked one of them backwards in the water + I was truly afraid that the boat was going to crush him. Add on to all of this that I had unfortunately injured my back a month ago and was on the mend but the extreme jostling around so much in the boat resulted in my back issues flaring up again. The communication from the boat crew was very poor, basically no existent. Initially everyone thought they were getting off the boat at the same location, so all the bags were offloaded and all passengers started to get off to then have some people and their bags need to get back on the boat, the whole while with the waves making ot fairly treacherous. It was extremely chaotic and I was quite shocked to know that this is something that happens there regularly and that it had not inspired adding a dock yet
When we were greeted by the hotel staff they had 2 drinks waiting for us and proceeded to tell us that we needed to be awake and ready to go see the park/meet up the following morning (my birthday) at 540am... I was less than thrilled. We had been getting very little sleep the entire trip already and were exhausted. We got up, thinking that we were already in the park and would just be driving somewhere nearby, we found out that we had to get back on a boat again and deal with being jostled around... again (thankfully it was not quite as bad as the first trip but still was not the best way to wake up at all).
That night the hotel staff said that they had made me a birthday drink and gave me a mojito with dinner. When we checked out of the hotel the following day I was charged for 3 drinks despite me never actually ordering any of them and the staff just presenting us with them, which I thought seemed rather petty/distasteful. I will say that the hotel staff were all extremely friendly and kind and the hotel itself was at least beautiful.
We were brought to the small airport nearby that would be flying us back to San Jose when we left the hotel the following day and we were brought there 2 hours before our flight. The airport was empty/there was no security and clearly only very small planes use it, so we proceeded to just sit there wishing we could have spent a bit more time enjoying the beach before leaving instead, as arriving so early seemed very unnecessary.
As for the rest of the trip, in La Fortuna our guide for the waterfall and for the Monte Verde hanging bridges, Monica, was very personable, knowledgeable and pleasant. It was extremely busy at both locations though so we didn't see a ton of wildlife and it felt like people were being rushed through in repeat guided tour groups at the hanging bridges. It was beautiful and would have been nice to have more time to absorb it all.
In all honesty, after having a guided tour once at any of these places, it would really be better in my opinion, to just go through them on your own afterwards/for any subsequent visits. All of the parks are pretty easy to navigate and you can go at your own pace that way + avoid any large crowds/tour groups, therefore giving you a much better chance to see more things, as the animals clearly are less inclined to venture near a ton of people. That said, with the new rules on park entry Im not sure how easy this will be moving forward unfortunately.
We also went on a hike at El Silencio preserve, which I didn't realize until we got there was the same place/hike that I had already gone on last year. The tour guide (I unfortunately don't remember his name) was nice and also knowledgeable but, I probably would have skipped this and opted for a something different this trip having already done it once before, as it didn't add much more this time then it had during my initial experience.
Lastly was our hike in Corcovado, which is a very beautiful area that I wish we had spent more time in (and especially instead of being 30 minutes away from Manuel Antonio and the beach the days we were there). The guide was nice (I unfortunately don't remember his name either) and we had a good group of fellow travelers with us but my back was pretty sore from the boat ride, we were exhausted from lack of sleep and I was cranky having to meet so early in the morning, especially on my birthday, which all detracted from the experience. I don't feel personally that I gained a ton from the guided tour other than him pointing out puma tracks at one point that I probably would have overlooked. I think that this tour world have been every bit as good (better really) if it didn't require meeting at 540am and I don't see how having it so early was a benefit in any way at all.
If I ever return to Costa Rica again, which I can say is a very big if at this point, I would skip all guided tours and would probably stay only in the Corcovado area as it is the least developed and crowded and was also extremely beautiful. We didn't realize until after our guided tour that there was actually a park trail within walking distance of our hotel, which would have been nice to know. We briefly got to walk a short way on it before leaving but would have loved to spend more time exploring on our own if we had the opportunity.

Hotel Reviews

Auténtico Hotel

San José

Fairly standard hotel, clean.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Rancho Corcovado

Drake Bay, Puntarenas

Beautiful location and extremely friendly staff

Authenticity & Character

The staff makes this place top notch, they were lovely

Location

Gorgeous views of Drake Bay

Staff

Every person I interacted with was extremely kind and personable

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Foresta Nature Resort

Quepos

The hotel itself is nice enough but the best part of the place is the nature trails. It would be nice if there was some seating outside the rooms so you could sit outside at night. The drinks were kind of pricey and the food was mediocre.

Authenticity & Character

I like the nature trails

Location

Its a bit of a trek to most things in the area from this location - 30 mins to the beach or Manuel Antonio park

Staff

Not really the friendliest

Cleanliness & Comfort

Seating outside

Hotel Magic Mountain

Fortuna

Beautiful views, clean hotel

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Self-Guided Visit to Manuel Antonio National Park

Costa Rica

Our plan to visit Manuel Antonio National Park didn't go as expected due to the rule changes since my last visit. I was disappointed to find out upon arrival that pre-booking tickets is now required, which wasn't communicated with me, leading us to miss out on visiting the park. Additionally, our hotel was far from amenities, causing us to spend a lot on taxis. This was quite frustrating and affected our plans significantly.

Yuliana was prompt & easy to work with. Her trip recommendations and guidance were a perfect fit for our family. We enjoyed every moment our trip!

Hotel Review

Hotel Arenal Montechiari

La Fortuna

Great spot for our group of 12. The pool was a hit.

Authenticity & Character

The tropical gardens & views of Arenal were beautiful.

Location

Easy to get to, within walking distance of town center

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Traditional Cooking Class - Dinner

Arenal/La Fortuna

The Traditional Cooking Class was my personal favorite activity of the trip. We had a private garden tour to taste various plants and learned about their uses. Cooking with my family was simple, stress-free, and so enjoyable. We even got to press sugar cane and try different things. This activity was perfect for our large group, and everyone loved working together in the kitchen!

Rainforest Chocolate Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

The Rainforest Chocolate Tour was one of the highlights of our trip! The guide was hilarious, making the experience both fun and educational. Our group couldn't stop laughing throughout the tour. It was a unique experience where we learned a lot about the chocolate-making process while being entertained. Highly recommend it for all ages!

I found Kimkim while looking to book a birding trip to Costa Rica. I love that they put us in touch with local experts while providing an easy-to-use planning platform. We just got back from a Costa Rica birding trip planned by Yuliana and I can say that she put together a thoughtful, well-planned out trip that delivered exactly what we were looking for - birding experiences, off-the-tourist track, ecolodges, and the feel of Costa Rica, on a limited budget. The trip included a well, thought-out driving schedule and pre-booked birding guides along with enough free time to do some hiking or extra tours on our own if we felt like it at the time. Yuliana answered my questions that I dropped in the chat box in a timely manner. The only negative that I had was that I did not get the detailed package drop as soon as I would have liked. I think at least 2 weeks before a trip would be a better timeline than one week.

The very best of Costa Rica!
Meeting our driver Esteban at the airport was very convenient. He was very accommodating and friendly. He gave our group valuable advice and recommendations. The hotel in La Fortuna was very clean and within easy walking distance to the town square. Included daily breakfast was good. Kids enjoyed the pool.
All activities were awesome - the horseback riding, hike to Fortuna waterfall, chocolate tour, cooking class, Ecotermales hot springs (the best buffet dinner ever!), hanging bridges, zip lining, and the catamaran cruise in Tamarindo. What a great variety of experiences! Costa Rica is the best. Pura vida!

Hotel Review

Hotel Arenal Montechiari

La Fortuna

Very clean, comfortable. Friendly staff. Good breakfast included daily. Close to the town square.

Authenticity & Character

Cute individual cabins surrounded by beautiful greenery.

Location

Easy walking distance

Staff

Very friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Catamaran Sailing Excursion

Costa Rica

This sailing excursion was more than I anticipated! Good drinks, great food, friendly crew.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Traditional Cooking Class - Dinner

Arenal/La Fortuna

So much fun! The cooking class was well-organized. Doña Rosa and her assistant were very good with the kids by letting them take part in the preparations.

Rainforest Chocolate Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

Fun and informative! Kids loved our presenter.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Guided Hanging Bridges & Aerial Tram

Arenal/La Fortuna

Very friendly and knowledgeable guide. Interesting hike.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

EcoTermales Hot Springs Experience with Meal

Arenal/La Fortuna

Very clean pools. Awesome buffet meal included.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano Horseback Riding Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

Horses were well-trained trail horses. Staff were very helpful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had an amazing time in Costa Rica experiencing so much wildlife and different places. It was very daunting planning the 2 week trip ourselves with so much we wanted to pack in so we are very grateful we used kimkim to help. Yuliana put together a great plan and we worked through some options to make it even better. Responses were very fast including last minute adjustments during the trip. Will definitely use kimkim again!

Yulianna put together an amazing itinerary covering San Jose, Jacó, Quepos, and La Fortuna/Arenal that flowed perfectly from start to finish. Every detail was thoughtfully planned. The right mix of adventure, relaxation, and local flavor at each stop.
I almost cancelled the hot springs in La Fortuna, and I'm so glad I didn't. It ended up being one of my favorite nights of the entire trip. Soaking in the warm volcanic waters.
Her recommendations were spot on and she was responsive and flexible throughout. If you want someone who truly knows Costa Rica, book with Yulianna. Pura vida! 🌿🌋

Hotel Reviews

Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, San Jose Aeropuerto

San José

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Wyndham San José Herradura

San José

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Lavas Tacotal

Fortuna, San Carlos

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Villas Lirio

Quepos

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Catamaran Adventure with Snorkeling

Manuel Antonio

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Zip Lining & Self-Guided Visit to La Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport