Amazilia Travel

Yuliana provided the perfect itinerary for our family - she listened to our concerns about having small kids and picked the best activities that they would enjoy.

We got a good mix of rainforest and adventure in La Fortuna and then beach and relaxing in Tamarindo. The hotels were beautiful and the excursions were on time, safe, and fun.

Everything on the trip went so smoothly and we never had to stress while in Costa Rica! Pura Vida!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Los Lagos Spa & Resort

La Fortuna

Authenticity & Character

Great view and so much to see on property

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Loved the pull out beds for the kids. Rooms were clean and spacious.

Tamarindo Diria Beach Resort

Tamarindo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Loved how everything was close by and multiple pools to choose from.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Traditional Cooking Class - Dinner

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our favorite activity of the whole trip. Ended up being the only family on the tour and they were just so nice. They were so helpful to our kids and letting them try new foods and even help with the cooking! The dinner turned out muy delicioso!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Aww we

This was our first time to Costa Rica and we wanted to bring family from several places to join including in-country and from three spots in the US. After some reasearch, we chose KimKim as the company to help us have an all-inclusive trip through the highlights of Costa Rica. Olman was assigned as our travel advisor and, in short, he did a bang-up job arranging our trip and getting everyone gathered into one spot smoothly. We gave KimKim a budget, a wishlist of activities, quality of hotels and asked for private transfers between places as it was the rainy season and the driving sounded iffy. Olman listened carefully and was very patient in revising our itinerary many times before it was set. It became increasingly apparent that who you know is important. Olman connected us with local services, guides, tours, restaurants and hotels that enabled us to not worry about the details and just enjoy ourselves. Any issues we did have, Olman and his team were fairly responsive and got back to us within hours, if not sooner. We never tried the emergency number, so have no info on that service.

Itinerary (8 days): San Jose - La Fortuna and the Arenal volcano. - Monteverde (cloud forest) - Manuel Antonio (beach)

Travel: Private driver (Leo). Olman arranged transport from the San Jose airport to each of our hotels and back again. It went perfectly. I want to put in a kind word for our driver Leo, who stayed with us almost the whole trip and was fantastic. He was unerringly on time, careful, thoughtful, courteous and friendly. He would stop when he saw wildlife he thought we'd like to see, he planned stops and suggested restaurants and was generally flexible and helpful for the whole trip. Leo made going from place to place seamless and stress free (and there is a lot of driving). If you do use a private transport, be prepared to tip your driver $10 - $20 per person, per day depending on your experience.

Hotels & Places:
> La Fortuna and Arenal volcano. We stayed at the Arenal Montechiari hotel, which had bungalows which blended with the landscape and had a terrific view of the Arenal volcano. We took a tour of the volcano area and local waterfall led by the local tour guide Franklin (as recommended by KimKim). Franklin was a character - full of knowledge and stories. We highly recommend him, especially for those who want to know about the local plants and wildlife. This was one of the highlights of our trip.

> Monteverde. We stayed at the El Establo Mountain Hotel. Beautiful hotel with unbeatable views of the clouds and countryside. It has extensive wildlife paths on the property. In the area we enjoyed a tour of the local coffee, chocolate and sugar cane farm as hosted by Don Juan Monteverde - again, the local and deep knowledge of the process was really interesting. We also went to the zip line adventure park including cloud forest canopy bridges and gondola ride. This was another fantastic day. You really get a sense of how naturally diverse the area is. Finally, we also did an amazing night hike at the Monteverde Wildlife Refuge which you MUST have a guide for. Our guide, Mario, did an incredible job spotting snakes, spiders, birds, owls and bats. This was a longer hike with lots of ups and downs - a poncho, flashlight and binoculars come in handy.

> Manuel Antonio. Our last location was at the Kahari Beach Hotel. The hotel is a beach hotel and was a little plainer in it's amenities than our other hotels, however Olman told us to give it a chance and he was right. The staff, food, access to the beach and views were terrific and we would come back again. Beach is a wide swath of volcanic sand n which you can walk into the waves a good distance. They also had beach life guards which we were glad of. Hotel is surrounded by wildlife with sloths, monkeys, iguanas and more hanging around the property. Drinks and lunch on the beach was very relaxing and staff was attentive. We also took a day hike in the nearby Manuel Antonio preserve. Olman had said we did not need a guide for this one, and again, he was right. Paths are clear, wide and well mapped. It's a circle, so you won't get lost.

We ended our trip with a ride back to San Jose and the Hampton Inn by the airport which has shuttles to the airport every 15 min or so. Good hotel, comfortable rooms and a good choice for our last night.

Bottom line was this was a memorable family trip that went amazingly smoothly given all the moving parts. Thank you, Olman and KimKim!

Hotel Reviews

El Establo Mountain Hotel

Monteverde

We loved our stay here. While very spread out, the views were wonderful. There are walking paths on the grounds, a nice pool with a bar and a decent restaurant.

Authenticity & Character

Loved the stone facade and integrated nature.

Location

Up on the hill side, views were beautiful and often dramatic.

Staff

Friendly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very nicely appointed rooms. Could use screens on windows to enjoy the views but keep insects out.

Hotel Arenal Montechiari

La Fortuna

Authenticity & Character

Bungalow style was fun an made you feel integrated into the surrounding nature.

Location

Within walking distance of La Fortuna with a good view of Arenal volcano.

Staff

Friendly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms are bungalow style. AC is each, which was nice. Bathrooms are open air vented. Room was clean and comfortable.

Karahé Beach Hotel

Manuel Antonio

Hotel is adequate, but amenities, grounds, and staff upgrade the whole experience. Higher floor rooms seem nicer than lower rooms. Rooms are basic, but clean and comfortable. Restaurant, staff and beach are terrific. Food was good, standard Costa Rica fare, drinks were good and staff went the extra mile. Direct beach access is a big bonus and the beach itself is lovely. There are life guards, which we liked, and you can go out a long way because it is shallow. Playing in the waves was terrific and you can rent surf boards and boogie boards right there. There are roaming beach vendors, but they were always nice and backed off immediately if you said no. There is lots of wildlife right on the grounds with sloths, monkeys and birds. Would definitely stay again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Direct beach access and only 1.5 miles from entrance to Manuel Antonio Park entrance.

Staff

They did a great job taking care of us.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms are very clean. Beds are comfortable. Furniture is basic. Remember that it is a beach hotel and salt eats everything.

Hampton by Hilton San José Airport

Alajuela

Good place to stay by the airport. Very comfortable rooms and dining was fairly good. Shuttle to airport runs 24/7 every 15 minutes. Great place to start or end a trip.

Authenticity & Character

It's a Hampton.

Location

10 minutes to airport.

Staff

Very attentive and friendly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Arenal 1968 Hike & Visit to La Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

Rustic and outdoorsy. Our guide, Franklin, really made the difference as he knew an amazing amount of info about the volcano, plants, insects and animals. Amazing views and well worth it.

Quality of Experience

Food

A very nice coffee shop by the entrance. Wonderful views from the roof terrace.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide, Franklin, was excellent. Took his job very seriously and had a great amount of knowledge of the area and the natural surroundings.

Transport

Coffee, Chocolate & Sugar Cane Experience

Monteverde

We didn't know what to expect at Don Juans, but turned out great. Our guide was entertaining and was very knowledgeable about the process, uses and market of the chocolate, coffee and sugar cane farms. Lots of opportunity to smell, touch and taste.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Night Excursion at the Wildlife Refuge in Monteverde

Monteverde

One of the best excursions we had. You really feel a part of the nature and night time is when you can see the animal and insect world in full swing. The walk is about 2 hours and is up and down, so be ready for a good walk. Our guide, Mario, was excellent and we saw far more than I expected.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

TreeTram, Self Hanging Bridges & Zipline Adventure

Monteverde

We almost skipped this but turned out to be one of the favorite things we did as a family while in Costa Rica. Wonderful guides, terrific views, and it really gave us a chance to feel part of nature. Zip lines were high above the forest, were fast and a long distance so you had time to look around as you went. Suspension bridges were right at tree top level and we spent time with butterflies, monkeys and birds. Walking paths were great to meander along and take time to look around. There is a cafe at the end for a quick lunch, if interested.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Damas Island Boat Tour

Costa Rica

This was at the tail end of our vacation and we’d already taken several nature walks, so we were looking for a different experience. Going through the mangroves by boat gave us an entirely different cut at Costa Rica’s nature. The guides were very knowledgeable and went out of their way to make sure that we saw plenty of birds, iguanas, and snakes, as well as gave us detailed information about the ecosystem. The boat ride was very pleasurable and a great way to take in the nature around at a slower pace. Be sure to bring binoculars for the best experience.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wow. We worked with KimKim to create a 7 day trip for four friends traveling together, and from first to last this was Ana awesome experience. Yuliana (and the local team of travel specialists) was very helpful in creating draft itineraries and then changed and adapting them the more we talked. We ended up with enough activities for fun and adventure and seeing the country, but time for rest and relaxation and exploring on our own. We found it easy to navigate and drive throughout Costa Rica, and every single one of of our reservations went off with no problems, on time, and as planned. Thank you for this kindness!

We visited CR for 8 days and traveled to La Fortuna/Arenal, Monteverde and Manual Antonio. Creating the itinerary was very easy. Transfers to and from every location were on time with friendly drivers/guides.
Hotel in La Fortuna (Lomas del Volcan) was beautiful and amazing. Grounds were lovely and food was wonderful. Loved the hot springs and Wildlife Refuge Boat Safari. The hike up to the volcano (El Silencio hike) was not impressive and not as described. This was the only guide the entire trip who seemed like he didn't want to be there.
Enjoyed the Rainforest chocolate tour - it exceeded our expectations.
Shuttle and lake crossing to Monteverde = lake was beautiful, but roads were tedious.
Hotel & Spa Poco a Poco: not as nice or roomy as first hotel. Nice staff, decent breakfast, clean.
Night Excursion at the Wildlife Refuge in Monteverde: nicely run and enthusiastic guide. Just rained so hard that we didn't get to see much.
Selvatura Park Self-Guided Hanging Bridges & Zip Lining: very unique zip lining adventure - beautiful and well run. The zip lines were very long and high above the tree tops, and also had a "Tarzan" swing. Great guides. Hanging bridges were lovely.
Hotel Playa Espadilla in Monteverde was pretty standard, small room, just ok food, clean. Staff was friendly.
Catamaran Adventure with Snorkeling in Manual Antonio was on a huge boat with about 50 other people. Enjoyed the ride and swimming. No snorkeling because there was no visibility due to rain/sediment issues which was disappointing. Had to eat lunch back at the marina because waves were too choppy. Nice and professional staff.
Transfers to and from San Jose airport were on time, comfortable with experienced drivers.

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My sisters and I had an amazing experience with your crew! From pick up to drop off it was well organized and planned. We could not have asked for a better experience, your staff in every step of the way were professional and prompt.

We highly recommend anyone who is not sure how to plan a trip to Costa Rica to book with you!!!

Thank you, thank you again. For our next vacation and experience we are already considering your services.

Hotel Reviews

Volcano Lodge, Hotel & Thermal Experience

San Carlos, Alajuela

Great place. The rooms could use a little bit of an upgrade but it was very clean and grounds along with hot springs were super enjoyable!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Bosque del Mar

Playa Hermosa

Great location and quaint hotel!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Safari Float & Hike to La Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal 1968 Hike & Visit to Ecotermales Hot Springs

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Catamaran Sailing Excursion

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Yuliana prepared a great trip for us. She adjusted the plans to our needs and preferences according to the number of days we were in Costa Rica. The places she suggested to stay were very comfortable and easy to reach, and the activities she planned were exactly what we wanted. Thanks Yuliana, Adrián, and Graciela for our wonderful vacation in Costa Rica. Pura Vida!

Hotel Review

El Silencio del Campo Hotel

La Fortuna

Charming place, excellent service, very clean, and good food. Highly recommended!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Coffee, Chocolate & Sugar Cane Farm Experience

Arenal/La Fortuna

David is an amazing guide. His explanation and tour was fun and educational at the same time. Thanks!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano to El Castillo Mountain Bike Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

It rained a bit at the beginning, but we decided to continue and it was a very good decision. It was an excellent tour and the guides were very friendly and knowledgeable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had an amazing time in Costa Rica, visiting Arenal Fortuna and Manual Antonio. We enjoyed our stay at the Volcano Lodge and were blown away by how beautiful Los Altos Hotel was. Everywhere we went we were met with polite, friendly and helpful staff. The Kimkim team was very helpful in planning our trip and making the vacation relaxing.