Amazilia Travel

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

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

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.

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.

Activity Reviews

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

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

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

Amazing Family Vacation!

Our trip to Costa Rica was amazing! Yuliana did a great job of planning out great excursions while giving us plenty of time to relax and explore all while staying within our budget.

We spent 3 night in LaFortuna at the Arenal Country Inn. It was a beautiful property. The rooms were nothing fancy but we loved being walking distance to the town and the breakfast was delicious! While there we did a zip lining tour. There are so many different adventure parks that we passed that all offer zip lining but Yuliana set us up with one that I think has to be one of the best with views of the waterfall and the ability to swim near the waterfall. We also did a volcano hike and went to the hot springs. This was a good excursion but the weather didn’t cooperate for us.

After this we traveled to Playa Hermosa and spent 3 night at Bosque Del Mar. This hotel was amazing! Right on the beach and very small. No having to get up early to save beach chairs. It was quiet and peaceful. If you’re looking for bars or party scene, this is probably not the right place but for our family vacation it was great for us. While there we did a catamaran tour/sunset cruise with snorkeling. The trip with Marlin del ray tours was great - awesome food and drinks.

All transportation that Yuliana arranged arrived on time. I really like how we didn’t have to travel too far for any of the activities. Our catamaran tour that was scheduled for Tuesday was moved to Wednesday- no issue. Kimkim sent me a message and also notified the hotel of the change and they informed us as well.

I’m so happy I used Kimkim. It took all the stress out of planning and I’m sure I could not have planned a better trip. I had 3 very happy teenagers which says a lot!

Working with Yuliana was very easy. She listened to my needs and we worked around my husband’s limited mobility to still have a great vacation. Every pick up, whether it was for a transfer or an activity arrived just when Yuliana told me it would. We were very impressed with the organization and coordination of our vacation from start to finish!

Hotel Reviews

Gran Hotel Costa Rica, Curio Collection by Hilton

San José

Pretty hotel, very comfortable. Great location. Lots to do nearby.

Authenticity & Character

Not much character. Just an upscale place to be before heading home

Location

Great places to eat nearby.

Staff

Very helpful with recommendations

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean, quiet and within walking distance of resturants and sights

Hotel Locanda Samara Beach

Samara

This was our least favorite hotel. The room was dark and damp. There was really nowhere to go and sit during the rain storms other than our room. The dining area had so many flies that it was hard to enjoy our meals. Our room 2B didnt have a safe. My husband had $160 taken from his wallet on our last day there while we were at breakfast. The hotel was in a great location but i wouldn't recommend it for future guests. The horsebackriding excursion on the beach and thru the jungle was the best one that o have ever taken. The hotel excursion gal was super helpful in helping us plan this.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Great walking distance to other places to eat that were close by.

Staff

Very slow service in dining area.

Cleanliness & Comfort

More places to sit, other than in our room during rain storms. There was a lot!

Hotel & Spa Poco a Poco

Monteverde

Great hotel! Very cute decor. Nice pool with a swim up bar and hot tub area. There was still some construction at this property but it wasnt a problem. Good breakfast and menu for lunch, snacks or dinner.

Authenticity & Character

The decorations. The cute area that we could hang out and watch the NBA game without being stuck in our room.

Location

Great location. Lots of places to eat other than the hotel right across the street

Staff

The pool waiter. I dont remember his name

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything

Volcano Lodge, Hotel & Thermal Experience

San Carlos, Alajuela

Very basic, but comfortable. Big property, too spread out. Long walk to front desk for excursion pick up. Food okay.

Authenticity & Character

Very basic

Location

We would have liked to be closer to town

Staff

Friendly, but communication gap

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Horseback Riding to La Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

The two men that led the horseback ride were very good about keeping a close eye on everyone and make sure we were safe. Bratiful ride to the waterfall through the jungle. The walk to the waterfall and back was too strenuous for us to do.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

EcoTermales Hot Springs Experience with Meal

Arenal/La Fortuna

Beautiful place, amazing setting to have a cocktail and chat with fellow travelers from around the world. Good buffet dinner afterward.

Quality of Experience

Lovely setting

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

On time! Very nice

Coffee, Chocolate & Sugar Cane Farm Experience

Arenal/La Fortuna

Very knowledgeable guide, she was funny and made the tour special. Many different station to see , feel and taste the coffee process.

Quality of Experience

Very organized

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly, funny and knowledgeable

Transport

On time, AC and clean.

Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge Boat Safari

Arenal/La Fortuna

Great guide on the river. Pointed out a lot of wildlife and helped us get good pictures on our cameras. Very knowledgeable!