Smooth, trustworthy and high-quality trip planning partner
Costa Rica
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Jun 14 - Jun 23, 2025
Overall, the trip was great. kimkim helped us design the perfect itinerary and identify ideal hotels for our trip. Everything went smoothly with all rides and pick-ups right on time and where they should be. The activities were all high quality. Costa Rica is a beautiful place filled with both the friendliest people and great adventures to do. Kimkim was a great trip planner and guide. Always replying quickly and helping with any questions.
Hotel Reviews
Rooms were nice and big. The wide variety of hot springs filled pools were a tremendous experience. On-site breakfast has a great variety and tasted good. Would probably recommend going into town for dinner though. Staff was very helpful.
Beautiful setting up in the cloud forest. If it's clear, you will have a beautiful sunset from their deck. It is pretty quiet, almost like a private camp with top notch amenities. The rooms are big with very comfortable beds. And the restaurants is one of the best meals in the area - a culinary experience.
Activity Reviews
We had fun, but there are some positives and less positives when it comes to this activity. Things you need to know: First, the less positives: -If you are staying in Manuel Antonio, the excursion is an hour drive, and you need to leave the hotel at 5:40 AM -Because this is a national reserve, to load onto and unload from the boat, you need to walk out/in at the beach, and the ground is very rocky in spots and pretty painful on bare feet. -The ride to the island is on open ocean and can be pretty choppy if there are swells. The ride for us was very bumpy and took about 90 minutes. This was tough, especially if you have kids. -There are not really bathrooms on the island. If you gotta go, you are pretty much going in the water. -Overall, it is a long trip. Note, this activity will take a big chunk of your time in this area. We left the hotel at 5:40 AM and returned at almost 4 PM. Now the positives: -If you love snorkeling or scuba, this is pretty much the main option on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. There are not really any other close reefs, and this particular location is a great one. -We saw tons of tropical fish, turtles (tortugas!), sharks (safe ones), dolphins, and unique birds -The guides were all very passionate and great at their job. They took great care with safety, concerns about sea sickness, and instruction in the water. -If you get a calm day, the boat ride is likely not quite as taxing and a bit shorter. (But that's a crapshoot.) -The burritos for lunch were very tasty So if a snorkel or scuba is a must in your stay on the Costa Rican coast and you have the time, I recommend this one. If not, or if you have younger kids or sea sickness concerns, maybe skip this one.
Highly recommend the Desafio rafting trip out of Fortuna. A great group of simultaneously fun and highly qualified guides took us down the river. Our guide Emanuel (aka Fluffy, aka Pelusa) was friendly, funny and skilled. The transportation was smooth, the rapids were the perfect size for family, great mix of adventure moments and chill moments, and the lunch afterward was a tasty Costa Rican meal. A must do.