Trip to Costa Rica

Costa Rica | Feb 10 - Mar 1, 2019

When my family decided we wanted to visit Costa Rica we were at lost to where to go and what to do until we discovered kimkim and decided to try it out after reading some very positive reviews. It was a great tool to use and it made paying for our trip very easy and I plan to use it again for future travel as it really is a great way to connect with a local expert in the country you plan to visit. They do not bombard you with tons of emails and when they send email they have some very interesting ideas for travel in unique places.

Sylvia with Horizontes Travel was our Costa Rica specialist and she was able to craft an amazing trip four our family. She patiently worked with us until we had an itinerary that was what we wanted. She also called us a few days into our trip to make sure everything was ok and we had contact information to call Horizontes if we needed anything. There was a little problem with an incorrect pick-up time and Horizontes paid for our supper one night. Having not used kimkim and an out of country specialist we were a little nervous but from the time we arrived in Costa Rica we were blown away by the custom trip and we felt like royalty from the moment we arrived at the Liberia airport. We were greeted by a company representative who took us to our private transport with a welcome package and snacks and drinks for our voyage to Monteverde and the Fonda Vela Hotel which had a great buffet village and stunning views looking down to the gulf of Nicoya. The personal guided walk through the Children's Eternal Rainforest was very good and our guide Marcella with Ocotea tours was very knowledgable and we managed to see and learn about many of the cloud forest treasures. Another highlight was zip lining and the hanging bridges through the cloud forest with Sky Adventures. Next we went to Manuel Antonino and stayed at the Costa Verde Hotel with outstanding views of the national park and its beaches. We had a fantastic guided tour of Manuel Antonio park with Iguana Tours and our guide Andry was absolutely amazing, his passion for his work and skill for finding wildlife and talking up the treasures was awesome. From Manuel Antonio we went to Arenal La Fortuna and stayed at the Arenal Manoa Hotel. A little isolating location if you didn't have your own vehicle but views of the Arenal Volcano were amazing and the grounds of the hotel were gorgeous. Highlights were to the Rainforest Chocolate experience and the guide Chapo was very funny and informative. Rafting the Balsa river with Wave rafting and our boat guide Horacio was very fun afternoon and a highlight. Canyoning with PureTrek canyoning was excellent and the staff helped my youngest daughter calm her fears of rappelling so that she had a fantastic time. We went to Rincon de la Vieja and stayed at the Hacienda Guachipelin and we did the 1 day adventure pass with horse back riding, river tubing, zip lining a canyon and finishing with a soak in volcanic hot springs. The staff for the adventure were excellent and we had guided tour of butterfly gardens and serpentarium. We capped off our 20 day visit to Costa Rica at the fantastic Tamarindo beach and stayed at the amazing Tamarindo Diria Beach resort.

All of our transportation to the different areas we visited were with very safe and conscientious drivers. The transportation was always on time. The vehicles were spotlessly clean and the drivers would usually point out points of interest and stop when asked. Rene from Jacamar Naturalist Tours was a great ambassador for Costa Rica explaining interesting things about Guanacaste province and life in Costa Rica.

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Costa Rica and we couldn't be happier with the personalized trip that Sylvia created for us and I would highly recommend her to anyone looking to travel to Costa Rica and I am trying to get my parents to plan a trip through her for next year.