Kimkim Trip Reviews

Staying in this resort is an incredible experience on its own merit. It is located next to the national park. You cannot reach it unless by boat. We took a private road trip to the port near Sierpe and from there a met the hotel team. Then a beautiful river ride (2h stopping along to observe animals) and final ocean ride to hotel beach (30m). On the way back we took a 30m boat ride to Drake bay and 30m to the Drake airport back to San Jose to our international flight same day. All of it organized by the hotel, impeccable planning and execution. The hotel borders the national park and has beautiful beaches of its own. There are many nature and eco activities to be done here. There are 2 restaurants all great, one with stunning view of the pacific. We had a regular bungalow and was excellent. Thank you LUIZ at the restaurant for tables with beautiful views and MARISA and SOL at front desk and coordination of everything including our perfect return trip. In this resort everyone of their staff is focused on a delightful and awesome experience for all their guests.

The views from the top of the hill down to the ocean are stunning. Very good restaurant and pool with same great views. Front desk staff not as friendly (not even a smile upon arrival) as we learned to expect in Costa Rica, including a discussion due to a disappointing lack of room cleaning on the first day (had to call at 3:30pm to clean room, though we had been out of it since 7:00am on our activity). The restaurant staff was great, thank you to JOHN and MAGALY for getting us an awesome view table twice. The hotel is relatively far from the beautiful beach below, hotel offers rides 4x/daily (walking is 25min down and 40min up if you are fit - which is what we did - also taxi is $10).

A beautiful bungalow hotel located within its own park, with jacuzzi overlooking the forest/mountain. Plenty of animals around the wonderfully manicured gardens. Very good food and drink options. Quiet, and isolated from the town. Great pool. GIORGIOLINA at the front desk was wonderful, providing us with the mountain view bungalow we thought we were getting (but some miscommunication between the travel agent and the hotel prevented us to have that on first night). Spending time here was a blessing immersion into the Arenal park forest setting.

Great resort, across the street from the beautiful beach. Pool opened 24h with a good happy hour. They have a restaurant right on the beach, we had dinner there everyday given the beautiful view and atmosphere. Water filters conveniently placed around the property. Competent staff and friendly front desk. Beautiful forest/garden setting embedded around the rooms.

The location of the Valverde is excellent, with beautiful river views, including from the open dining room. Our bedroom was better than a glamping experience, as we had a hotel style room with a very large bathroom and AC. What made the greatest difference was the awesome staff attention to details and extreme friendliness. We felt truly welcome. Thank you to manager RONNY and restaurant team and captain JASON. This hotel offer guided trips to the park multiple times of day, with their own boat, super convenient. This was a simple hotel but had an interesting character being directly on the river and a great attentive staff.

This tour was programmed by our Corcovado Wilderness Lodge and it was better than expected. RALPH was our lead along with STEPHEN captain. On the way to the island, the captain spotted a number of boats circling and he promptly headed a bit out of our way to check it out. What a great decision, because we came to a female humpback whale and her calf playing around. SUPER! The snorkel was great, we saw 3 species of turtles, a giant manta-ray (another further out excursion from the snorkel site, AWESOME!) and innumerous fishes. The water is not the most clear, but good enough. There were many boats around, including divers below, so we followed our leader around to avoid them. Still a great experience and included short stop at the island.

This tour was programmed by our hotel Corcovado Wildness Lodge, and it was great. TIDI was a great guide. We hiked through the jungle and along beaches and along the beach. Many animals and birds around and a very beautiful forest and coast. Unfortunately we did not get to the waterfall because some members of the group became tired.

This was hosted by Tucane Tours. The guide was just average, based on our previous guides, but we did get to see some birds and monkeys and sloth. This park is very beautiful, lush forest and breathtaking ocean side, with an isthmus connecting two wonderful beaches. At the end of the regular tour we decided to stay behind at the park (optional) and hiked the trail at the end of the beaches

This trip was hosted by North Adventures again and it was excellent. Our guide BYRON was very knowledgeable and attentive. We were luckily the only ones on this activity, so it was perfect logistics. This visit is an amazing display of nature, when 2 rivers meet and due to the drastic Ph change causes Alumina Silicate particles to expand and thus reflect blue light. We did also hike through the Tenorio volcano park and saw many birds and animals. This was an incredible tour, and though far from La Fortuna, it is definitely worth it.

NOTE: This rating is based on all the transports we had by Exploradores Outdoors, not just this one. On this trip there were 2 parts, the first bringing us from S. Jose to their bus hub, not very eventful, as leader Roberto could not even muster a "good morning" at pick-up, and spent most of the time on his phone, with some occasional comment where we are and making jokes at the expense of clients. After a basic lunch, taking us from the hub to the port where we joined a boat to our final destination, we were led by CARLA. She was very entertaining and provided a lot of useful and insightful information about banana growing and harvest. The boat trip was good, passing through the beautiful jungle. It was not guided, just transport. This poor rating is based on further issues we experienced with Exploradores Outdoors: they overcrowded the buses (not a small group as advertised, but packed us like sardines with 20+ people), so needless to say it took forever for each guest to be delivered to their hotel. In one case we arrived 3.5 hours later than the estimated time.

This was a double tour from North Adventures. First we hiked in the Arenal volcano park, great tour with the very experienced Marlon guide. Identified sloths and many birds. The park setting is very beautiful with forests and mountains. Second we went to the Mistico park site with the exciting hanging bridges. Here again our very experience guide Marlon identified many birds and animals, as we hiked through the forest. We were lucky that the volcano was clear of clouds so we had a picture perfect experience with the mountain.

We wanted to experience the hot springs and booked this event in the evening. The food buffet was very extensive. We were lucky to have a driver to ourselves, as we chose to leave earlier than scheduled. Maybe a daily event would have been better for us, so we could see more. But it was great to relax in the hot pools after a long journey.

This is a very beautiful park. The tour was excellent, we saw many birds (too many to list) and animals (sloth, snake, monkeys). Our guide was great and even ventured on beautiful locations before entering the park that where remarkable. We hiked all the way to the tip and spend there another 30min swimming.

This tour (or better, multiple tours) are arranged by our Valverde Lodge, with their own boat and hired guide. Ronny was great at managing everything and captain Jason and guide Jairo. This made the Valverde location a great choice, as it was very convenient to join to join early tours. The hotel also offered regular trips (5min) to the Tortuguero town, as we were down the river. We felt great being in a quiet place with river views, but also able to join the lively town as we wanted. In the tour we saw a lot of birds (too many to list) and other animals, including 2 types of monkeys, sloths and cayman.

Incredible setting, every detail in the hotel was perfectly thought out. We were amazed by the views and the luxury.

Our time at the hotel was spent in a beautiful setting. We were amazed by the “jungle” atmosphere. The breakfast was wonderful, with a plentiful and fresh selection.

A beautiful hotel, modern and clean. Everyone was very kind to us, and we were completely satisfied. The breakfasts had a wonderful atmosphere.

We had a wonderful day, visiting beautiful places. The island tour was very well organized, and I loved swimming together with small fish.

It was an amazing experience to be up close with the tigers. We felt a bit sorry for the animals because they were kept in strict enclosures (of course, we understand why). It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

We probably spent our favorite day here. We were happy with how the caretakers treated the elephants. It was exciting and unforgettable. Maki has a really great style; we loved the way he talked about the elephants and the staff's work.

The White Temple amazed us—it was one of our most fulfilling days. We really enjoyed the temple tour and got to experience new cultures in the village of the long-necked women.

Chiang Mai offered us different experiences. We enjoyed delicious food and were glad to try dishes from the local vendors.

I loved the atmosphere of the place; it was wonderful. Completely different from Bangkok—calmer, quieter, and a more nature-connected experience.

We had a full and exciting day, visiting incredible places. Monks, a long boat tour—it felt like we had stepped into another world. It was truly a wonderful start to our trip.

Very cute and comfortable place.

It was a hotel. Nothing special and that’s okay.

The people running this B&B were so kind and welcoming! I’m incredibly grateful for their patience dealing with our disoriented, jet lagged selves.

I really don’t know how to describe the level of this place. Their sustainability efforts are remarkable, the staff are a joy to be around and the food was delectable. Absolute favorite of all the places we stayed.

The glowworm caves were magical. Using red lights instead of the bright white for cave features in the way in could have helped our eyes adjust to the dark better and would have improved the experience. I loved the lack of cell phones and the request for silence. It made the experience a lot more memorable. I would have appreciated more time to read all of the info signs that are up everywhere and enjoy the put part of the cave. I felt very rushed and a bit like cattle being herded.

Cruising the Milford Sound wasn’t really our cup of tea. It’s a beautiful fjord, but the boats were overcrowded and moved too quickly to really allow us to soak it in. It felt more like a cell phone photography tour than anything special. Everywhere we tried to just exist and enjoy the ride for a while, someone else's phone ended up in our faces as they tried to get their perfect photo. It did have a small magical moment where the boat got close enough to the falls to get everyone very very wet. It was chilly so everyone (except my husband and I) ran for shelter. We loved the feel of the water and the seclusion it allowed. It was well worth being cold. Just for that moment, I’d recommend doing it once especially if you have limited mobility. The little walk was lovely though and I really enjoyed learning so much about the local plant life. Our guide for that was a joy to be around and really seemed to have a wealth of knowledge to share. She tried her best to make it a memorable experience for us. Also, the lunches were delicious and well balanced!

Our stargazing tour in Mt Cook was surprisingly spectacular. We actually dropped it from our trip and re-added it after more consideration. It turned out to be one of our favorite activities. The guides were knowledgeable and fun to interact with. It was truly a surreal experience I’d recommend to anyone and everyone.

The Banks Track was a delight! It felt like walking through several different worlds. We did the quicker paced option which was a perfect taste of the area. I’d love to return for a full meal…or 2…or 3.

Beautiful old hotel.

This was a beautiful boat with great food.

Great way to see the elephants in their natural environment. No exploitation here.

Excellent show. Good evening activity.

Great site and great guide.

Very interesting and well done.

Beautiful boat with a great staff.

Too much traffic getting there and back.site was crowded.

Minh was a great guide.

Wonderful, friendly and caring staff. Delicious breakfast.

Wonderful staff, beautiful property

Personable, engaging and knowledgeable guide. Frankie provided a charming journey through the streets of Buenos Aries tasting some of the local treats along the way.

Well organized. Quality equipment. Competent and engaging guides. We were up close and personal with icebergs. Perfect day on the river in an amazing place.

Great view of glaciers but a little too much boat time. Hard to hear commentary over the sound system. Crowded on deck

Comfortable, relaxing, charming and welcoming atmosphere. Authentic home cooked meals.

Staff was awesome and made extra recommendations and accomodations for us. Great location. Would stay here again.

Such a beautiful space. Our family loved this one the best. Breakfast plentiful. A little bit of a walk to the sites, but we did not mind. We still talk about this place and would definitely stay again!

Location is great. It is walking distance to many of the sites.

So amazing. We got to hands-on participate in the forging process. The owner of the shop was great as well as our English translator. My favorite part of the trip.

It’s a tour of the different neighborhoods in Madrid while on a tuk tuk.

So much to see! Carlos was a great guide. Our kids enjoyed it too!

Yohanna was great! She chose some delicious tapas for us. The flamenco show was amazing.

Great history walk from Damian.

Our guide Jose Luis was great! The kids loved it. Beautiful area. We came here because our son really likes aviation, and this is where you can walk across airplane runway for a cool experience.

Beaches are stunning well worth the trip north. It’s a family hotel so there will be kids running around, but it’s a large area not really in walking distance of anything but a great escape.

This is a quiet place in Phuket. The beach sand is good, but it’s rocky when you go out into the ocean. It’s a great area for a family and to get away from the party scene.

This is very touristy they pack you on a large speedboats and move all around the islands. It feels rushed. Recommend a small tour when possible.

The elephants sanctuary makes it all worth it

This was an amazing wedding and coordinated gracefully. Flowers were stunning photographer was amazing.

So much fun. Nis was an amazing guide

The staff seemed a bit lackluster.

Absolutely amazing, our favorite place, especially the yoga and food!

The rooms were lovely. I appreciated its boutique feel. The only small issue was that the restaurant prepared the beef ultra rare and did not really fix the issue when asked to do so (another patron appeared to return her steak to the kitchen for the same reason).

Short but worthwhile, quite warm though.

There was some confusion re: pick up, but the dive master was great even if the vis was limited (no one's fault obviously).

So much night life!

This was my favorite activity, loved getting out and hiking in the national park with a private gruide, who was quite knowledgable.

Loved our private tour of this area, our guide was very knowledgable.

One of the most amazing parts of the trip. We didn’t even stop walking as we went through the Hanoi airport and passport control. Our guide took our passports, took care of the entry stamps while we went straight to baggage claim and picked up our bags. We were out of the airport before many of our fellow passengers even cleared passport control.