Gustavo Camperos

Using a travel agency/booking guides to plan, organize and adjust our itinerary and logistics for our trip to Costa Rica was a huge departure from our usual do it yourself travel. It was a first for us actually. So we obviously had some fears and trepidations in how it would all work out. We needn't have worried. Everyone we dealt with was professional and quick to adjust our plans as needed. From early on there were changes that had to be made. Perhaps most notable though were the cancellation of two of our planned and paid for activities due to weather conditions. I am very pleased those were refunded in full. The rental car seemed a little sketchy as we neared our departure day as I was unable to find much information or reviews on them but Sun Valley Rentals turned out to be a pleasure to deal with and we especially liked the pick up and drop off right at the airport. No un-nerving shuttle to deal with. The only glitz was the rep was not waiting for us when we arrived and I ended up paying a local who could see I was searching for awhile for them to call Sun Valley for me. I take the blame here though as apparently he sent us a message via Watts App which we missed. Still, he wasn't there with a sign as planned.
You really listened to what we wanted in Costa Rica and picked two perfect lodgings for us based on those wishes. We really feel we had two vacations in Costa Rica thanks to the dramatic differences between our lodges in Monteverde and Guanacaste. We experienced all the experiences we asked for, when the weather cooperated. We experienced a tropical storm and winds, rain and heavy rain our first three days there. Thanks in part to your help, we were able to salvage much of what could have been a disaster. I suppose you could suggest that folks vacationing in the cloud forest may experience significantly harsher weather conditions than expected. We had temperatures in the upper 40's (F) and winds in excess of 70mph! We took it in stride and even had some good laughs with other good natured tourists as we all admitted we had been wearing all the clothes we brought with us for three days in a row now :)
Our favorite highlights of our trip were the el tigre waterfall, tree top dining and everything about Rio Perdido, especially the thermal river and the overall complete lack of crowding (we hiked to miles without seeing anyone) and incredible privacy of our lodging.
Our planner was Gustavo and Kate assisted us while in Costa Rica.

Hotel Reviews

Cloud Forest Lodge

Monteverde

Very personal intimate experience, especially with the staff. Excellent food choices and quality. Loved the fireplace! Property is impeccably maintained and offers nice hiking, bird watching and other amenities.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Río Perdido Hotel & Thermal River

La Fortuna

exceeded our expectations in every way. Perhaps the nicest lodge we've stayed at overall. The bungalows are extremely private and designed so well I found myself photographing many features of them to perhaps implement some of those ideas in my own house someday. The outdoor shower, the lava exfoliating tiles on the floor, the copper trough bathroom sink. Just wonderful. Couldn't believe the privacy we had in everything we did. Had the thermal river to ourselves, the hiking paths to ourselves and even the restaurant almost to ourselves. So much so that I questioned if they were perhaps not very booked and was stunned to hear they were at 100%.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Treetop Dining Experience with Wine Pairing

Monteverde

One of the best dining experiences I've ever had. The waiter was a true professional who really added to the experience. Not only did we enjoy 9 gourmet foods and wines but we learned a lot about the country. The setting was as unique and beautiful as the photos.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

El Tigre Waterfalls Excursion

Monteverde

Good description overall. Swimming on this hike should not always be expected. We had 4 layers, raingear and muddy boots on. Horseback ride was cool!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

TreeTram, Hanging Bridges & Zipline Adventure

Monteverde

I'm not usually much into such planned and organized activities as this but figured when in Rome. I've done hanging bridges and ziplines before so expected about the same. I was wrong. The Hanging bridges put you in or above the canopy which is other- worldly and a must see in Costa Rica. The ziplines are very fast and with the clouds present gave us the experience of plunging into a fog bank! Exciting and un-nerving at the same time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a great time spending two weeks in Costa Rica

Highlights and best memories:

1. Frog night tour with Kendry our first night in country outside of La Fortuna.
2. Saw and heard 133 species of birds using Merlin ID app - highly recommend downloading the Costa Rica bird data
3. Saw 2- and 3-toed sloths, howler and squirrel monkeys, white-faced capuchins, coati mundi, agouti, squirrels, bats, peccaries and skunk! Also crocodiles (at Tarcolos), iguanas, lizards, venomous snakes, tarantulas, mango crabs and wonderful small hermit crabs in all sorts of seashells at Manuel Antonio beach,
4. Excellent and memorable dinner at San Lucas Treetops in Monteverde. Also enjoyed the farm to table cooking class outside Quepos with Caesar and Crystal and the foodie tour in San Jose with Andrea. Dinner at Sikwa in San Jose and food at Hotel Guachipelin were also memorable.
5. Covered rain forest, cloud forest and dry forest habitats at La Fortuna, Tenorio, La Finca Farm, Monteverde, Santa Elena, Rincon de la Vieja and Manuel Antonio with excellent guides Kendra, Melany, Olman, Fatima, Olivier & Corey.
6. Orchid garden and hummingbird feeders at Cloud Forest Lodge and the hummingbird gallery in Monteverde; butterfly gardens in San Jose (Spirogyra and National Museum), El Jardin Orotina (best place to see 100s of Morphos and it’s free), and Manuel Antonio.
7. National Museum, Jade Museum and Museum of Precolumbian Gold in San Jose
8. Seeing cloud forest canopy and epiphytes from a different perspective at Treetopia
9. Good choices of hotels overall with breakfast free and good dining options at almost all.
10. Good hike seeing waterfalls and hot springs on the grounds of Hotel Guachipelin with one of our favorite guides, Olivier. The Montezuma Oropendulas, Amazons and two different owls calling at night there were also memorable
11. The chocolate, sugar cane and coffee tour at Don Juan’s was much more informative and fun than I was expecting. Seeing the cacao beans during fermentation and tasting them before and after roasting was really instructive. If you’re lucky, they will prepare some Mayan Xochol for you to drink with freshly ground beans. Sampling fresh frogwater after squeezing one’s own sugar cane was also great fun.

Disappointing or not as enjoyable or memorable:

1. Overall, the fauna in the Cloud Forest (Monteverde, Tenorio, Santa Elena & Tretopia) was more disappointing and/or elusive than in other areas. Not sure if this was because of the time of year or our guides.
2. Snorkeling trip to Isla del Canos. The drive and boat trip took >2 hours each way and the snorkeling was not that much better than we could experience with less effort in Hawaii. Also, 1.5 hours in the water was quite tiring.
3. Not enough time to explore Papagayo beaches. Not sure that going to the coast from Rincon de la Vieja and then going back inland for a long round trip to Tenorio was the best planning.
4. Los Lagos Resort in La Fortuna was the hotel at the bottom of our list: too touristy, tired rooms and poor food. Birds on site and landscaping were good though. I think we would have enjoyed a smaller boutique hotel in town.
5. Lots of driving! Next time, we’ll stay in fewer places and drive less
6. It was REALLY, REALLY wet in La Fortuna. Not KimKim’s fault, of course!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Los Lagos Spa & Resort

La Fortuna

Resort was a little tired and touristy. Food was not the best

Authenticity & Character

Rooms and food

Location

Would prefer to have been in town

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Hacienda Guachipelín

Liberia

Great place to stay for a few days with good wildlife, lots of activities and two restaurants to enjoy.

Authenticity & Character

Architecture and wildlife on site

Location

Situated adjacent to Rincon de la Vieja National Park

Staff

Servers in restaurant were great

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Bosque del Mar

Playa Hermosa

Nice hotel right on beach at Playa Hermosa

Authenticity & Character

Location

Beach

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cloud Forest Lodge

Monteverde

Very quiet and well appointed hotel away from the more touristy parts of Monteverde. Food was excellent and the bird feeders at the restaurant were a treat

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Si Como No Resort & Wildlife Refuge

Manuel Antonio

Very nice grounds with a great pool, view of the ocean and great wildlife including scarlet macaws and toucans. Food at both restaurants was above average

Authenticity & Character

Location

There were a lot uneven steps down to get to our room

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Presidente

San José

Very well located in center of town although the entrance is not very obvious. Rooms and food were great. Free breakfast

Authenticity & Character

Location

In the middle of the city so there was city noise

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full-day Waterfalls Expedition

Rincón de la Vieja

We hiked for several hours with a very pleasant young man called Olivier who was knowledgeable about the flora, fauna and geography of the area. Saw howler monkeys and white faced capuchin and some great birds. Saw three waterfalls which were each spectacular. The first two we had completely to ourselves. The last one had a great swimming hole but there were quite a few people. It was nice to relax in the hot spring pools at the end after the hike, but they were also quite crowded. Beware: the no-see-um bugs in the parking lot were the most vicious bugs we encountered during the whole trip. The bites stayed with us for 2 weeks.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Olivier was very knowledgeable, polite and pleasant. After talking with others, we realized how lucky we were to get private transport between the Oropendula waterfall and the hot springs.

Transport

Sloth & Bird Hike

Arenal/La Fortuna

Very wet hike. Saw bedraggled specimens of both 2- and 3-toed sloths high up in trees, but they were huddled up and not moving much. It’s good sloth habitat. Also saw a BoatBilled Heron who was rather splendid. Good coffee at the place they took us after the hike and it was great watching birds eat plantain pieces while staying dry!

Quality of Experience

Boat Billed Heron.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Melany was our guide and she was an experienced spotter.

Transport

Private Rio Celeste & Finca Verde Nature Farm

Gulf of Papagayo

Hike through Tenorio National Park with great views of Arenal volcano and great cloud forest vegetation. Wildlife was a bit sparse however, and there was a very long wait with lots of people to see the waterfall, because of a landslide Finca Verde Nature Farm was excellent and we got to see a couple of sloths on the move as well some great birds.

Quality of Experience

Helmeted iguana. Keel billed Toucan. Sloths Great vegetation

Food

Good food and coffee at La Finca

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Olman spotted the helmeted iguana which was a great find although difficult to photograph. Fatima was a great spotter at La Finca.

Transport

Hanging Bridges Adventure

Monteverde

Best thing about the trip was seeing the rain forest canopy from above and getting a closeup view of all the epiphytes living high up on the tall cloud Forest trees. Also got to see a forest millipede and our first tarantula.

Quality of Experience

Guide was a wise guy and not very knowledgeable outside of his prepared spiel. Couldn’t distinguish moss from lichen

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Someone with more natural history expertise and less wisecracks

Transport

Nocturnal Frog Excursion & Traditional Costa Rican Dinner

Arenal/La Fortuna

One of the best nature hikes on our trip. Saw quite a few species including the Blue Jeans poison frog and the eponymous Red Eyed Leaf Frog

Quality of Experience

Beautiful garden with ponds and vegetation perfect for finding frogs

Food

Good chicken and rice; home made CR cuisine

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Kendry was good at finding frogs

Transport

Driver did a great job driving in pouring rain along potholed roads

Local Flavors Cooking Experience

Manuel Antonio

Got to prepare a great Costa Rican style meal with stewed chicken, rice, beans, salad, hand made tortillas, and plantain ceviche. Chef showed us exactly what to do and it turned out wonderful. Nice tour of farmers market in town and a beautiful farm with rabbits, goats, sheep, turkeys, hens, ducks, geese, peacocks, guinea hens and an enormous riding bull recuperating from a horn surgery. Also saw their organic garden, a vanilla plantation with pepper, cacao and coffee plants. Nice to see squirrel monkeys and a great toucan along with a gorgeous sunset

Quality of Experience

Picking our own produce from the organic garden and participating with our chef in making a great Costa Rican meal.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Caesar was a great guide and participant in the cooking class. Our chef was great too,

Transport

Snorkeling at Isla del Caño Biological Reserve

Manuel Antonio

Two snorkeling sites were selected, one with low visibility and lots of sand, where we saw several small sharks and a turtle, and the other which was shallower, had better visibility and more coral and nice reef fish. Overall, the snorkeling was not much better than some places in Hawaii and I was disappointed. I also got a mild foot cramp from so long in the water. Overall the trip was overrated for me: too much effort without enough return.

Quality of Experience

Food

Fruit, poor banana fruit and burritos with too much rice and not enough protein

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Driver showed up at 2pm but we were done by 1pm. We also had a 5:45am start from Manuel Antonio, but could have comfortably left 45-60 minutes later. Coffee on the drive in would have been appreciated

Manuel Antonio National Park Nature Hike

Manuel Antonio

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Treetop Dining Experience

Monteverde

A decadent gourmet dining experience in a glass wall treetop cabin at sunset. Well worth the splurge

Quality of Experience

Ambience and quality of the meal and service.

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our server was polite, personable and informative

Transport

Taxi overcharged us a lot on the way there. Ok on the way back

Food, History & National Museum Experience

San José

National Museum is not included in this tour so it should be renamed. Tour focuses on the Mercado Centrale and Costa Rican food primarily. There was some historical commentary and brief visits to the Cathedral and the lobby of the National Theater which was being renovated during our visit.

Quality of Experience

Sampling fresh and exotic fruits in the Market.

Food

Sampling local exotic fruits in the Mercado Centrale. Excellent mushroom coffee and tamales prepared by Eric. Lolo Mora ice cream.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Andrea was a little hard to understand at times especially in city traffic. Maybe a microphone for her and Bluetooth headsets for the attendees would help? That said, both she and Eric were informative and very personable

Fantastic, friendly, knowledgeable, thoughtful, engaged, as curious as those of us who had never been here before!

Day 1: airport shuttle from San Jose to LaFortuna: Ride Cr, driver, Christopher. He was waiting for us with a sign, barely spoke English, did not offer water, did not explain what the drive would be , minimal comments on the 3 1/2 hour drive, we had to ask to stop for a break.
ROyal Corin REsort was EXCELLENT!! Extremely clean, very helpful staff, most spoke English, Daily breakfast was a huge buffett with many items, food was delicious. room was large, comfortable and clean. thermal pools offered a variety of temps. However, there was no hydro massage, the jets were weak. restaurant up stairs has fabulous service and food. lower level, main restaurant was closed, but offered gthe menu on top floor restaurant

Day 2: sloth & bird hike in La Fortuna, La Jacamar Natural Tours, Rodney. HE WAS FABULOUS! spoke English, truly an expert guide, spent extra time with us, provided a scope to see the animals, shared photos. offered additional information about the area and Costa Rica.

Eco Termales Hot Springs,Jacamar driver was great. The Springs staff was not friendly or welcoming and did not offer explanation of the facilities, offered minimal comments, there was nice variety of springs and all appeared to be clean. Nice that drinks were offered at the springs, the food was medium quality and variety.

Day 3: safari float, Jacamar driver and guides spoke English and offered much information. the boat itself was uncomfortable. I would suggest a stop along the way for a small break. the guides were helpful and well informed of the area and the river.

Lake Arenal sunset cruise, Jacamar Tours, guide was good, cheese, snacks & drinks were good. they pointed out several birds and offered a lot of information about the area. It was a little boring and lasted a little long for us. I understand it was designed to be that way and relaxing, but it is my personal choice, I woul not do it again or recommend it.

Day 4: sky tram, sky adventures. zipline experience was excellent, guides gave very good instruction, views were amazing. sky adventures scheduled too much time between the zipline and the hike. Therefore, we had to shorten the hike in order to get back to the bus for the return. Maria, our hike guide was fabulous. offered much information and spoke English.

Day 5: shuttle from La Fortuna to Manuel Antonio, Interbus Costa Rica. Larger more comfortable bus, was full of passengers (approx. 12) David was our driver, he did speak minimal English and did not comment or point out much on the drive. There were 2, 20 minute stops which made the trip more comfortable. He did not offer water.

arrived as Issimo, If I knew it was such a small seculed hotel, I would have nt chosen it. Angie, our travel agent, indicated she thought it was within walking distance to attractions & town.
the Jr. Suite was very disappointing. extremely small, not place to put away clothes, had to walk down several very steep steps to get to the room. the room smelled, ac wasn't working properly, sink area super tiny, shower floor was slippery. I spoke with Olivia from Kimkim and requested to be moved to another hotel. She said this could not be done. We spoke with hotel manager about being moved to another, possible larger & more comfortable room. Gustavo did reply on Jan 26th and was able to confirm us moving to a different room. The new room was much more comfortable, smelled better and was larger. Fortunately, we were able to taxi into the nearby town. AGain, if we knew it's location and the size of the room in advance, we would have asked for a different hotel before traveling. The staff at Issimo were fabulous, most spoke English, the breakfast every morning was delightful. Our new room was clean as well as all the facilities. I will say though, that I did see a spider and ants in our room. The view, was the best part about the hotel. The did offer complimentary hotel golf cart shuttle to very nearby beaches or bank, pharmacy.

day 6: national park nature hike, Paddle 9: Korry, our guide was definitely a 10 our of 10. He took much time to explain a lot of things alonge the way, pointed out many animals, birds, etc. He spent extra time with us, shared much information about the country and the town. and shared his photos with us. he provided binoculars and the scope to see animals. small group was best, as only 4 of us with Korry. He spoke fabulous English.

day 7: catamaran adventure, Tucanes Tours. comfortable boat, drinks included were poor quality, had to buy our own beer. I called Tucanes tours in advance and was told beer & cocktails were included. Only the poor quality cocktails were included. (watered down) great views, offered snorkeling, swimming and waterslides. The guide who did the talking to the entire boat, spoke mostly in spanish and very little in English. The quaity of the bbq, was medium. pre-cooked skewers of fish and peppers & onions. the views were amazing, saw whales. sunset was amazing and the ride was impressive.

Day 8: transfer to San Jose, Ride CR: david was our driver, he did a great job with a nice stop and break along the way. AGain, they did nor provide water, but I prepared and took my own.
He poited out points of interest, his English was minimal, but we managed to communicate well.

summary, we loved Costa Rica and learned so much from the locals and guides. I will go back, and now that I know more, will plan a little differently. Gustavo, I geatly appreciate your assistance. We always felt safe, hotels were so welcoming.

John & Susan Boggess

Hotel Reviews

The Royal Corin Thermal Water Spa & Resort - Adults Only

Fortuna

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Issimo Suites Boutique Hotel & Spa—Adults Only

Manuel Antonio

somewhat seculed, had to shuttle or taxi everywhere, very quiet & small. would be perfect for those who want quite, calm. no entertainment, staff was extremely friendly and helpful.Don't get a Jr suite, pool was 5 ft deep, then a large drop off to deeper water. No shallow area.

Authenticity & Character

Location

views were amazing,

Cleanliness & Comfort

spider and ants in my room

Activity Reviews

Río Peñas Blancas Safari Float Experience

Arenal/La Fortuna

boat was uncomfortable, suggest a short break

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sloth & Bird Hike

Arenal/La Fortuna

guide was fabulous, saw so many animals

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

EcoTermales Hot Springs Experience with Meal

Arenal/La Fortuna

staff was not welcoming and did not tell us what the experience would be, food was medium quality, the springs were a good experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

better communication by the staff at the facility.

Transport

Lake Arenal Sunset Cruise with Wine & Cheese

Arenal/La Fortuna

views were amazing and guides were very informative. it was a bit long, we thought it would be a small groupl

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sky Tram, Ziplines & Sky Walk Adventure

Arenal/La Fortuna

a must do in Costa Rica, guides were excellent in giving information and instruction.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manuel Antonio National Park Nature Hike

Manuel Antonio

our guide was fabulous, spent extra time with us and offered so much information about the coungtry and the town. pointed out many animals, offered the scope to see better and shared his photos.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Morning Catamaran Adventure with Barbecue

Manuel Antonio

the main guide spoke mostly in Spanish, minimal communication in English, The quality of the food was medium, only watered down cocktails were offered. We had to buy the beer, even though I called ahead and was told beer was included. HOwever, the experience, the views, the activities were great. Sunset was amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our entire experience was amazing. From our drivers, to the activities and the choice of accommodations!
We had a holiday we will never forget!
I/We were highly satisfied with Gustavo and KimKim.......I will recommend them over and over again!

Hotel Reviews

Occidental Tamarindo All Inclusive

Tamarindo

Second stay here - highly recommend for family holiday

Authenticity & Character

We like the charm of a smaller area

Location

We were happy with the location. A simple Uber ride into Tamarindo when we wanted to head out. We had a variety of animals that we saw right on site which was a thrill...monkeys, racoons, iguanas, and a large variety of birds

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Our room was taken care of every day early. We had 3 rooms between the family, and the other 2 mentioned that there rooms could have been cleaned more often, or earlier. The sliding doors on the bathrooms do not slide well. Ours was particularly loud and difficult to close. One other room had the same issue.

Hilton Garden Inn Guanacaste Airport

Liberia

The check in time was quite lengthy, but the accommodations were great

Authenticity & Character

Location

One night stay near the airport...had a great location

Staff

Only issue was time to check in .....well over half an hour....even if they had offered a complimentary drink while in line, or a "sorry for the wait" would have been nice

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arenal Paraíso Resort, Spa & Hot Springs

La Fortuna

Highly recommend! The rooms were great - each family with our own bungalow was wonderful. The spring fed pools were very enjoyable. The food was good (in some cases a little pricey) but not having to leave resort to eat is a bonus. The Uber to La Fortuna was a great option. Definitely recommend Restaurante Fortuneno.....we spent New Years Eve with them for dinner and it was amazing! Tomahawk steak was a highlight.

Authenticity & Character

Authenticity & Character

Location

Location

Staff

Great service for meals......as in many swim up bar situations.....the bartenders OFTEN pretended not to see you, so service there was sub-par

Staff

Great service for meals......as in many swim up bar situations.....the bartenders OFTEN pretended not to see you, so service there was sub-par

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sky Tram, Ziplines & Sky Walk Adventure

Arenal/La Fortuna

Amazing for 10 y/o to 60 y/o. Quite an adventure. The length and heights were thrilling!! Our granddaughter (15) was feeling ill at the beginning of the adventure. Light headed and faint (found out during holiday she had pneumonia)! The first aid care there was top notch. Our daughter is a nurse and she said they were absolutely professional and spot on with care. They took her aside, gave her juice and chocolate, and kept her until vitals were all regulated. She was an amazing trooper and was able to finish all of the ziplines and the walking tour after. They allowed us to carry on even though this made us a bit later than scheduled. The walking tour afterwards was supreme!! Our guide was so knowledgeable and we found many, many animals and plants. Eyebrow snakes, monkeys, tarantulas, bat falcon and more!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We waited a while longer than we would have liked for return transport. Minor inconvenience, so no real issue

Transport

Self-Guided Hike to La Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our family enjoyed this very much!! Swimming at the bottom of the waterfall was unforgettable!

Quality of Experience

Self-Guided Beach Day from Tamarindo

Tamarindo

We walked along the beach - it does go into Tamarindo that way, we did not go all the way this time, we had on a previous trip and it is great. Taking an Uber into Tamarindo was inexpensive and very convenient. There is much to see there

Quality of Experience

Lost Canyon Waterfalls & Rappelling Adventure

Arenal/La Fortuna

Adventurous and soo much fun! A treat from 10 y/o to 60 y/o

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Self-Guided Snorkeling Day

Tamarindo

We used this as a free day and a couple went to town, 4 went deep sea fishing, and we took a estuary tour on a boat to see monkeys and crocodiles

Self-Guided Visit to the Tamarindo Market

Tamarindo

We went to the food truck area and enjoyed different meals before heading out on a nigh walk about. Friendly and safe town for the whole family

Quality of Experience

Kimkim put together a fantastic trip to visit the volcano, the cloud forest, and then the beach. We did not have to do a thing! The lodges they selected were terrific especially the Cloud Forest Lodge and the Lagarta Lodge in Nosara. The food at Cloud Forest Lodge was truly gourmet. It was wonderful to watch the bird life on the breakfast patio while eating delicious French toast. The highlights besides the accommodations were the wildlife opportunities. We booked on our own a zip line and hanging bridges experience at Treetopia which was great. We saw a group of howler monkeys: moms, babies, and males. A real highlight. At Nosara we went to the beach where the Olive Ridley turtles hatch one early morning. This was an unexpected treat and the highlight for our 9 year old grandson. It was a magical trip.
We opted out of a planned trip on our last day to take a boat to an island for snorkeling. The setting at Lagarta Lodge was just so spectacular that we did not want to leave that for our last day. Instead we swam in the beautiful infinity pools at the lodge, watched the coatis, and took a boat excursion up the river from the lodge. Kimkim agents Gustavo and Kate
kept in contact with us through the trip and we always felt like they were there to help us in any situation. I am very impressed with Kimkim after this trip. I accidentally found them while searching on the internet and will look into other trips with them in the future. Every meeting point was always met — we never had to wait or worry. Rather than take a group tour with another company this family tour for us worked very well. I highly recommend!

Hotel Reviews

Montaña de Fuego Mountain Resort & Spa

La Fortuna

This hotel was nice, but the rooms were rather basic. Evidently we got a room upgrade for one of our rooms which worked well for our son and his family because it had two bedrooms. We, the grandparents, stayed in the more basic accommodation. The pool and warm springs were very nice. The night walk was a highlight.

Authenticity & Character

Location

La Fortuna is extremely crowded. Traffic is very bad. The hotel is a bit away from the town center so that was good.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Boutique Lagarta Lodge

Nosara

The views alone are worth it!! Also, set in a more quiet location from other beach resorts that I have heard about. This was our hope and Gustavo met it. Loved the different pools — none of which were ever crowded. The hotel could offer more options for shuttle rides into town. Somewhat limited but we never even went into town because the hotel was so great. Excellent service at meals — food was also very good. Lovely room — very quiet and private and wonderful view of the coast and the river. From this hotel we booked an excursion to see the baby sea turtles hatching. This was probably the highlight of the whole trip. I have always wanted to witness this phenomenon and for my grandson it was the crown jewel of the whole trip!! When possible this should be offered as part of the trip. Staff always friendly and helpful!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Peaceful and quiet setting; not surrounded by other developments

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cloud Forest Lodge

Monteverde

Rooms were lovely with big outside deck overlooking the forest. Food was truly gourmet here. 5 star meals. Exceptional staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Self-Guided Nature Walk in Ecological Park & Butterfly Garden Danaus

Arenal/La Fortuna

This was a nice first nature walk. We opted for a guide in training who was very good. The bird life was good. We saw one sloth and lots of butterflies. Otherwise not too much else. Are there other nature walks closer to the hotel that might offer a similar experience?

Quality of Experience

Private Arenal Volcano & 1968 Reserve Hike

Arenal/La Fortuna

A good overview of the volcano and surrounding area. Glad there was shade a lot of the way. Beautiful views and we were lucky with the weather.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was good but seemed a bit preoccupied. Perhaps because there was some confusion about the trip. We were not aware that we would be going to hot springs and lunch after the hike. So we needed to get more gear before we headed out and that perhaps distracted him. Otherwise good information about the volcano. Sometimes repetitive.

Transport

Private: Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve Guided Hike

Monteverde

This was a good trek through the cloud forest. Our guide was exceptional! Very good and patient. We did not see too much but we enjoyed the experience. Tarantulas and millipedes!

Quality of Experience

Guide was very knowledgeable.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Self-Guided Visit to the Monteverde Butterfly Gardens

Monteverde

We did not do this.

Self-Guided Day at the Monteverde Hummingbird Garden

Monteverde

We did not do this. Instead we opted to go to Treetopia and do both the zip lining and the hanging bridges. This was amazing!!

Self-Guided Beach Day in Nosara

Nosara

We did the turtle excursion offered by the hotel which turned out to be the highlight of the trip!! We also hiked down to the beach which is a bit of a trek. We think the hotel should offer better means of accessing the beach — develop a better route and shuttle.

Quality of Experience

Private Isla Chora Private Boat & Snorkeling

Nosara

We opted not to do this trip. It was too early in the morning for us knowing we had to get up very early the next day for our departure. I also think this is not a necessary trip for this area. You can rent kayaks or take a boat up the river from the lodge which is fine rather than traveling over the bumpy roads to get to the snorkeling area.

We had only 5 days in Costa Rica and the trip planned by kimkim was excellent. We arrived in San Jose late and were picked up for a van ride to La Fortuna. The hotel was very nice and had an excellent restaurant, great masseuses, and several thermal pools. We visited the Arenal Volcano and walked up the 1968 Lava Tube trail. This trail was rocky, slippery and difficult, especially for older people or people not in good shape. This was not mentioned or discussed in planning or by the guides. That being said, the guides were helpful and knowledgeable. The noctural frog excursion with traditional dinner was our favorite part of the trip. The hosts were gracious, the food excellent, and the guides found lots of creatures to point out. We then went by van to Manuel Antonio National Park. The hotel was beautiful with stunning views. Our guide through the park was excellent. We were in a van for many hours getting to La Fortuna and then to Quepos then to San Jose. We often shared with others and 1-2 times were picked up first and drove around picking up others for 1.5. hours instead of moving on to our destination. The trip went on schedule and everything was on time until the last day of our trip. We were supposed to visit a spice farm outside Quepos but the tour never showed up. The number provided to contact the spice farm tour never connected. Our van to San Jose wasn't to pick us up for many hours and we had already checked out of the hotel. We did not want to sit in the heat for many hours so we asked kimkim to get us transport back to San Jose as soon as possible. We did this via their app (we did not have a phone number for direct contact). Kimkim could get transport but not for hours and the hotel told us they could arrange transport earlier which they did. We asked kimkim to reimburse the cost of the transport and refund the spice tour, which they did within 3-5 days after our trip. Our flight was very early in the am and our transport was late. There were celebrations in the city and traffic was horrible at 10 pm at night. Still, the transport van should have accounted for these delays. Overall, the trip was well planned, but we did not enjoy the long van rides or the gaffs with transport. An option would be to rent a car and drive yourself between sights.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Presidente

San José

Lovely hotel with good restaurants. We never spent time off the property except in a van because we were only in San Jose at night or early morning and were told not to walk around at night.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Paradise Hot Springs Thermal Water Resort

La Fortuna

This was a very nice hotel and all the staff were helpful and courteous. The thermal pools were either warm or really hot (so hot none of us could get in).

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel La Mariposa

Manuel Antonio

Incredible views and service. This hotel limits towels which I have never experienced before. If your towel was wet and you wanted a clean one, you had to turn in the wet one to get the clean towel. The views were stunning from the room which was spacious and clean.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Nocturnal Frog Excursion & Traditional Costa Rican Dinner

Arenal/La Fortuna

Terrific experience all round.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano & La Fortuna Waterfall Hike with Lunch

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manuel Antonio National Park Nature Hike

Manuel Antonio

Guide was very good and we saw lots of things in the park.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport