Self Drive Tours in Costa Rica

BEST VACATION OF MY LIFE.

Traveling with KimKim is a dream. No stress about making big decisions, getting reservations or planning activities. In the past, I've hit a wall vacation planning - not knowing what hotels to stay out, what to do - I would just get overwelhmed and shut down. I plan to travel the world now with KimKim.

Our trip to La Fortuna, Monteverde and Tamarindo was beyond exquisite. I was travelled with my 15 year old daughter and we came home closer than ever before. Hiking, white water rafting, ziplining, sloths, hotsprings, anteaters, rare birds, climbing a volcano, surfing, watching baby turtles hatch, shopping, sun tanning, kayaking, eating, making friends, and most importantly memories that will last a lifetime.

Our local guide Elena was beyond extraordinary. She was available at the drop of the hat via Whats App. She provided fantastic recommendations and helped with last minute reservations.

For the hotels : The Arenal Springs Resort was fantastic. PERFECT for families and for couples. Rooms were the best on our trip. You get your own private condo like structure which provides a sense of privacy - with a view of the volcano. Breakfast was great. Hot springs were to die for. Location fantastic.

Sibu Hotel Lodge was boutique and had a gorgeous restaurant. All teak tables and interior that rivals an NYC hotspot. You get access to a nearby sister hotel with a pool, jacuzzi and spa. View was fine but very centrally location.

Diria Hotel in Tamarindo was great. Elena booked us a beachfront room with a view. I would've NEVER done that on my own and it made all the difference. We were right on the beach with astonishing sunsets. She connected us with a local surf instructor who took us sea kayaking and then taught us how to surf the next day. Nico was so awesome. We were both able to actually surf at the end of the lesson. Priceless. The turtle tour was fine. I gave Elena my feedback and she handled it immediately.

Elena also rented a car for us. I was hesitant to drive on roads, but she encouraged us to do it (plus its cheaper than a driver). BEST DECISION. We had freedom when traveling between cities and got to stop and take pictures of the breathtaking landscape. People do not drive fast so you can really control the car on the roads up and down the mountains. My only criticism is that I would've driven to the zipline park in Monteverde instead of getting picked up at the hotel by a shuttle bus. It would've given us more freedom to leave when we wanted to.

Activity Reviews

All Day Adventure at Selvatura, including Zipline, Hanging Bridges, and Fauna Exhibitions

Costa Rica

I would've driven to the location instead of taking the shuttle bus.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Whitewater Rafting Sarapiqui River (Class III-IV)

Costa Rica

We had our tour guide Bella again. He was so much fun and awesome. Challenging - but not too challenging. LOTS OF LAUGHS.

Quality of Experience

Bella

Food

SO GOOD. Real Costa Rican food.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledgable and kind.

Transport

Arenal Volcano Hike & La Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our tour guide Bella was outstanding. He was able to spot animals and birds that were SO FAR AWAY. The hike was fantastic. Very interactive and fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My family's trip to Costa Rica was exceptional. We used Kimkim to get it set up and found it was a very easy process. Bryan Leon, at Serendipity Adventures, helped to plan, organize, and manage our trip. Bryan, Nancy, and Adrian, among others, worked diligently to make sure everything ran smoothly.

Truthfully, I was very impressed. Our goal was to enjoy the vacation itself, not all of the minutiae normally required. We flew into Liberia, got picked up immediately and had a 3 hour drive (after a 5 and half hour flight) that felt like it was about 15 minutes long. The driver, Alex, was super friendly and was telling us stories all the way to our first resort. Every transport or activity was handled punctually and professionally. We stayed at 3 separate resorts over 8 days and each resort had it's own unique and interesting flavor. Every single guide was great and made the activities very engaging. Completely worth the cost, I've never had this much of a stress free vacation. The only thing I had to do was to show up and enjoy myself.

Serendipity Adventures set up an itinerary that was great. Transports were always 15-20 minutes early, and we had no issues the activities. Every guide was friendly, knowledgeable, and very engaging. I've never been on guided hikes with tour guides before and this trip spoiled me. It's so much more fun to go with someone who knows the area and can fill in so many details about the land and animals.

Shout out to all of the tours/guides:
Esteban at the North Fields Coffee tour (my wife now loves to mix light and dark roasted beans)
Bryan at the Arenal Volcano Park hike, thank you for being so engaging. The coconut drinks at the end of the hike were perfect.
Sergio at the Arenal Hanging Bridges walk, thanks for pointing out so many different animals and the history of the area.
Jorge at the Tapir Valley Nature Reserve Night walk. Such a beautiful area, seeing the Tapirs so close was great. Walking through the Tapir Valley at night is an incredible experience.
Manny at the Rio Celeste hike. Thank you for guiding my family on the hike and finding all of those small snakes and insects we never would have seen otherwise.
Kevin from the Patron fishing boat. I can still taste the tuna you and the crew prepared, one of the most delicious meals I've ever had.

Activity Reviews

Introduction to the Gulf of Papagayo

Gulf of Papagayo

Absolutely beautiful area.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Fishing Tour with Patron

Gulf of Papagayo

Great time, was my first time fishing in the ocean. Enjoyed it immensely. Caught a tuna and Kevin and his crew prepared the best meal from it I've ever had.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rio Celeste & Tenorio Volcano Private Hike

Bijagua / Rio Celeste

Beautiful area, great hike.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tapir Valley Nature Reserve Night Walk

Bijagua / Rio Celeste

Possibly the highlight of the entire trip. Walking through the forest at night was incredible. Starting the hike in the daylight and then watching the sun set before continuing was amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Jorge was an incredible guide. So very knowledgeable about the area and it's history.

Transport

Arenal Hanging Bridges Guided Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

Everything was great, walking over the hanging bridges was an incredible experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sergio, the guide was excellent and extremely knowledgeable.

Transport

Private Guided Hike in Arenal Volcano Park 1968

Arenal/La Fortuna

So much fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee, Chocolate and Sugar Cane Farm Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

So much fun, eating chocolate and drinking coffee in the morning, what more can one ask for?

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide, Esteban, definitely can talk coffee and the best way to prepare it. You're definitely in good hands if you want to learn how to brew a perfect cup of coffee.

Transport

Our guides, most of them, were outstanding, knowledgeable, and helpful on educating us. One guide in Manuel Antonio Park was fairly new and he was basically following the other guides and setting up his scope near them, relying on their information. He was very energetic, though and we could tell he loved his job.

Our hotel in Quepos, Tabacon -- was simply outstanding and our room was THE NICEST SUITE we have ever had. The view of the volcano from our balcony was beautiful.
We realize now that we should have stayed longer in some areas, and less in others.

I so appreciate your on the spot messaging... it was nice to receive your emails quickly and you were so on top of everything. Great trip. We want to do more trips with KimKim!!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel La Mariposa

Manuel Antonio

Once again, the view from our room and balcony was awesome. Quite beautiful and luxurious.

Authenticity & Character

Really a great place, but probably more so for younger people... we are retired and go to bed early, but the bar noise was a bit much. If we had been situated further away, it would have been better, I think.

Location

Staff

Very accommodating to us. However, some seemed a bit burned out to deal with tourists. Just a hunch.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cloud Forest Lodge

Monteverde

This hotel was very nice. However, in comparison to Tabacon, the staff here really avoided us and were not that helpful nor kind. Often in entering the lobby, I felt like I was interrupting their day, and that they did not really want to assist us or offer any touristy information. I did leave a review of this and gave it to the front desk.

Authenticity & Character

Noise from the personnel working there.

Location

Staff

They need attitude adjustments.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room was clean and comfortable.

Tabacón Thermal Resort & Spa

Fortuna

We had the honeymoon suite (been married 31 years!) but what an experience this room was. The balcony view of the volcano was simply amazing. The hotel offered everything we needed and more. Everyone was so knowledgeable and kind to us.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Hiking is nearby.

Staff

The cleaning staff were so accommodating and loved us being there.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Manuel Antonio National Park Nature Hike

Manuel Antonio

This tour was crowded with so many people. So many people on tours with guides, and our guide, unfortunately, did not really seem expert. He followed the other guides and seemed to just view from their perspective. He was very nice and energetic.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve Guided Hike

Monteverde

Very good experience and saw some monkeys and birds. I enjoyed going over the 5 bridges in the clouds. Unique experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Eternal Rainforest Night Walk

Monteverde

Unfortunately, this guide did not speak English well and had a tendency to speak to just the one in front of the group. So we often had to ask him to repeat and say again...

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

TreeTram, Hanging Bridges & Zipline Adventure

Monteverde

Ziplining was FANTASTIC. THOSE GUYS REALLY EARN THEIR PAY. I simply loved this activity and so glad that I did the "freefall," too. Very knowledgeable and happy personnel.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano & La Fortuna Waterfall Hike with Lunch

Arenal/La Fortuna

Great hike. Our guide did not ensure that we all had water before we left for the hike, though. Thankfully, one of the hikers gave me a bottle of water.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sloth & Bird Hike

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our guide, Diego was just outstanding. He knew so much and showed us everything important.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport