Travel Done Right!
Costa Rica | Feb 12 - Feb 18, 2026

Aparna
Aparna N.
San Jose, CA | Reviewed on Feb 20, 2026

First time using KimKim and oh, the experience was par excellent!! Right from start to finish- Kat and Kate were super helpful, professional, courteous, prompt, and simply amazing.

The itinerary that Kat created for us was perfect. The communication was on point. Kate from operations did an incredible job. The private taxis, private wildlife tours, the hotels … everything was great!

Midway we wanted to change taxi pickup timings. But it was the weekend and I thought oh we’ll probably hear back on Monday. But lo behold, both Kat and Kate responded and that was really kind of them. Mary helped with our last minute request. Thank you!

Their partner operators in Costa Rica, Javier and Sharon, were very kind and helpful too. All the taxi drivers were wonderful too! Okay, in gist- everyone was simply wonderful!

The accommodation arrangements were fantastic. The weather in one place wasn’t quite what we enjoyed, but that’s just Mother Nature! As for the wildlife (our main interest)- absolutely breathtaking! Vibrant toucans, sleepy sloths, caiman, and more! On the last day of our stay there, a monkey actually tried to open our room door! I caught it on video. That was epic!!

In gist, booking our Costa Rica trip with the help of KimKim was totally worth it. Highly recommended!

Hotel Reviews
Ficus Sunset Suites
Monteverde

Gorgeous location, gorgeous suite, gorgeous sunsets!! We didn’t want to leave!! Close proximity to the lovely downtown. We could literally walk to everything. Close yet away from the noise. 5 stars! The front desk people were awesome. We weren’t fans of the breakfast though. The guy there wasn’t exactly giving off pura vida vibes, if you ask me! The options too were kinda eh. The accommodation itself was excellent!

Authenticity & Character
Beautiful interiors, great coffee in room
Location
Sunsets!! Downtown
Staff
Smiley, friendly, courteous
Cleanliness & Comfort
Great housecleaning, lovely furniture and decor
Holiday Inn Express San Jose Airport
San Jose

Eh, basic Holiday Inn Room. Okay for one night stay. Room was smelly. Proximity to airport: excellent! Just 5 mins away.

Authenticity & Character
Location
5 mins from airport
Cleanliness & Comfort
Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs
Fortuna

Lovely jungle lodge. Breakfast was great! People were great. Birds galore! Caiman too!! Overall nice.

Authenticity & Character
Beautiful lush greenery and a ton of birds!!
Location
Well nothing to improve! Personally we found it to be far from the downtown. That’s just personal preference.
Staff
Helpful and nice
Cleanliness & Comfort
Very well kept!
Activity Reviews
Private Guided Walk at Curi-Cancha Reserve
Private Guided Walk at Curi-Cancha Reserve
Monteverde

Our guide Oscar was brilliant! Knowledgeable and knew exactly where to take us so we could see the beautiful CR birds. Including the endangered Quetzal!! Didn’t realize how fast the 4 hours went by!!

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Private Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve Hike
Private Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve Hike
Monteverde

Okay, I’m probably being a bit snooty here. But having lived in Seattle for a major part of my life, the rainforest walk itself wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be. If you’ve never been to a rainforest, you should probably go and experience. Our guide Will Nunez though- oh what a brilliant guide!! He has a ton of knowledge on all flora and fauna of Monteverde and CR in general. He showed us two tarantulas!! That was the highlight, really! As for birds, they were there alright, but hard to spot because of the dense forest. We did see a beautiful hummingbird chick in a nest. I think we enjoyed Will’s company more than the rainforest itself!

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Will Nunez rocks!!
Transport
Traditional Cooking Class with Dinner
Traditional Cooking Class with Dinner
Arenal/La Fortuna

The cooking class was fun because of the company we had. Two other travelers were in our little group. The cooking class itself seemed a little “let’s wing it” kinda thing. Would have liked it to be more organized and upbeat. Perhaps some music in the background. Proper recipe cards for each participant, some hey let’s take pictures … that kinda thing. Upon one of the participants’ request, the cooking instructor emailed us the recipes later. There was also some confusion on a dancing class post dinner. Also it wasn’t a 2hr50 min activity. More like under 2 hours. All in all, a little disappointing. The food was yummy though.

Quality of Experience
Food
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Local specialist: Kat Johnson
Kat
Kat Johnson
Local specialist in kimkim HQ | Replied on Feb 20, 2026

Thank you so much for the wonderful review, Aparna! I’m absolutely thrilled your first kimkim experience felt par excellent from start to finish. It means so much to hear that the itinerary, communication, private transfers, tours, and hotels all came together seamlessly for you.

I truly appreciate your kind words about the weekend timing change as well; we’re always here when you need us. It was such a pleasure planning this adventure. Pura vida, and thank you for traveling with kimkim! 🇨🇷✨