Kimkim Trip Reviews

We just got home from the most incredible trip to Japan, meticulously planned by Cannon. Every detail was thoughtfully handled—from seamless transportation to and from every destination to perfectly curated excursions.

The tours were not only fun, but genuinely interesting and informative, making the entire experience feel effortless and immersive.

Midway through the trip, we decided to head back to Tokyo from Kyoto early, and Cannon handled all the changes—bullet train tickets, transportation, everything—completely seamlessly.

We couldn’t have asked for a better experience and are so grateful for the care and attention that went into every part of our trip.

Great trip. Thanks for being flexible when we needed to change things because of my mom's medical emergency.

Our two guides were great. Sebastian, in particular, was one of our favorite guides of all time.

Iceland was my bucket list destination and I was super excited from the moment I booked this trip and it turned out to be just what I expected, absolutely amazing! It wouldn't have been such a great trip, if not for Gummi! He made sure to include every single experience/attraction that I had asked for, in our itinerary. His meticulous and detailed planning was one of the reasons we were able to cover at least 90% of what we wanted to do! And he was extremely responsive via chats/calls, despite the time of the day! One specific thing I wanted to specifically thank him is for the Aurora sighting alerts he sent me! I was able to experience them 3 out of the 8 days I was there! This was a bucket list dream for me and thanks to Gummi, I was able to realize it! Considering the fact that it was not even super peak Aurora viewing season and that it rained/snowed/hailed almost every single day I was there, the fact that I was able to experience it was an added bonus! Special shoutout to Gummi for that!

There is a recommendation/suggestion that I want to make. Please note that, this is a generic suggestion and not targeted to Gummi....he was awesome and he gets five stars!

Recommendation/suggestion:

For people like us, who don't live anywhere near the Artic circle, Spring begins after March 15th! Which means we start seeing warmer weather! I expected the same in Iceland, which was one of the primary reasons I booked this trip after March 15th...Unfortunately it was a totally different scenario! The temparatures were still freezing and some of the parking lots that were listed in our itinerary were closed because of the snow! Same with a couple of the attractions/experiences...we had to skip them completely because of the severe weather. Also we experienced very heavy snow, hail,and very strong winds throughout our trip...and twice or thrice, we had very poor visibility during certain portions of the drive and we thought we were going to be in trouble!

So if you could tell your prospective clients that Mid March/Early April is still winter in Iceland, and that they should expect extreme weather...that would be great!

I know that it is on us to check/ be aware of the weather, but if you could advise too, when planning the trip, that will be great! I was expecting greenery everywhere and it definitely was not the case!

But overall, we had a fantastic time and looking forward to coming back and exploring the rest of iceland!

Hotel Review

Fosshotel Baron

Reykjavík

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Right in the heart of the city!

Activity Reviews

Víðgelmir Lava Cave Experience

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Breiðamerkurjökull Ice Cave Small Group Adventure

Iceland

Our guide was super awesome and we had a great experience!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Working with Cory was a pleasure for planning and booking our trip. Cory was able to integrate our ideas with her expertise of Japan to give us the style of trip we preferred. From setting us up with local and inter city transportation to helping us experience the cultural elements of Ikebana, lacquerware, cooking, dining, tea ceremony, confection production, and sumo, Cory laid it all out. While traveling through Japan can be tricky and challenging we found Cory's directions, advice, and the trip planning notes and links made our 17 day, 5 city trip very enjoyable.

Lucie planned an incredible and unforgettable trip to France for my family: 2 adults and 2 children, 11 and 9. She listened to what we were looking for and took time to find the right accommodations to make us most comfortable abroad. The best part of this trip were the outstanding guides and tours that were private/small group allowing easy travel through the sights. What stands out most: Sidecar tour in Paris! Must do! Amazing way to see the sights. Normandy American Cemetery and tour and visiting and biking through Honfluer. Scavenger hunt in the Louvre was a great way to avoid lines and crowds and engage young children. Loved working with Lucie as she was local and able to communicate in real time while we were there.

Hotel Reviews

Renaissance Paris Nobel Tour Eiffel Hotel

Paris

Beautiful hotel in a great neighborhood! Very spacious rooms for Europe!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Le Castel & Au Loup

Bayeux

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Paris Marriott Opera Ambassador

75009

Fabulous hotel in beautiful neighborhood! Quick walk to Eiffel Tower. Many room options for families and great breakfat.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Self-Guided Visit of the Eiffel Tower with Access to the Summit (Entrance Tickets included)

Paris

Very easy to navigate into the tower and a great experience!

Quality of Experience

A day at the Mont Saint Michel with a small group

Bayeux

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day excursion to Honfleur and Deauville, from Bayeux

Bayeux

Beautifully and personally tailored excursion day!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Jeremy was an amazing guide!

Transport

Half-day visit of D-day beaches afternoon - U.S. sector (group tour)

Bayeux

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Lucie was an incredible guide!

Transport

Half-day trip to Giverny and Monet’s Garden

France

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

French Croissant Baking Class

Paris

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Louvre Treasure Hunt

Paris

Amazingly engaging for children. Great to be able to skip line to the museum and get right in!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Adventure aboard an authentic sidecar to uncover Paris

Paris

Best experience ever! Perfect tour for anyone!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Adeline created a comprehensive itinerary for our recent Japan trip that included everything we wanted to see and do, including the famous Guitar Street in Tokyo, temples/shrines in Kyoto and beautiful cherry blossoms in Kanazawa. Adeline's insight and guidance has been invaluable to us. She prepped us on how to navigate the complexities of the metro system in Tokyo, organized our bullet train tickets for Kanazawa and Kyoto and even booked us a seat on the side of the train for one of our train trips that allowed us to luckily see Mount Fuji! Our guides Carol (in Tokyo) and Nao (in Kyoto) were wonderful - so incredibly knowledgeable and kind! Our private tour with Nao was particularly memorable as he took us the outskirts of Kyoto to the lesser known temples and shrines where there were no crowds and we were able to enjoy the peace and tranquility of being in those religious spaces. He also expounded on the philosophical and religious traditions (namely Shintoism, Taoism and Zen Buddhism) that impact Japanese culture and practices. It was a very eye-opening and informative tour! We are already excited to book another trip to Japan in the future!

Ashley was amazing! Always quick to communicate with us, very clear on everything, and went the extra step to make sure we were okay throughout our trip. We felt that if anything came up, we could reach out to her and get quick advice or suggestions on where to go in every city we visited. If any friends/family visit Vietnam, I would definitely recommend Kimkim to them to book the whole trip - we had an amazing, easy, stress-free time and could focus on enjoying ourselves!

With one exception, everything ran very smoothly. All the guides were highly knowledgeable, and we enjoyed each of the hotels. I was amazed at the size of the Mezquita in Cordoba, and we got to the Generalife in the Alhambra right when it opened, so I have numerous pictures without any other people in them! Special kudos to our driver/guide Carlos of Not Just A Tourist on the Ronda day trip. He was informed, solicitous, and funny. The glitch: the train you reserved for the Cordoba-Granada leg did not run the day we planned, so I had to book one leaving three hours later and tell our afternoon guide we wouldn’t be there for the tour. Be sure to recheck shortly before. But again,, overall it was well organized by kimkim.

Our 12 days in Morocco were fantastic, well-planned and worry-free. Much of the credit goes to Said, whose communication was prompt and helpful, and to our driver, Oussama, with whom we spent many hours on the road. I cannot say enough good things about Oussama! His driving skills were impeccable: he navigated us expertly throughout the trip. He was never late, always reliable, always considerate. His calm and cheerful personality — and his selection of Moroccan music— made the trip so much more fun. A huge thank you to him for keeping us safe and happy! Highlights of the trip: hearing the call to prayer throughout the incredible, blue city of Chefchaouen; riding a camel at sunrise in the Sahara; touring the exotic and ancient markets in Fez; lunch and mint tea with the gracious local family in Skoura; and having one of the best massages ever at the Hassam in Marrakech . Favorite hotel by far was the Palais Amani, a beautiful 17th century riad with opulent rooms and excellent customer service. Overall, we were very pleased with our Kimkim experience and would not hesitate to recommend it.

Some parts were good and others not so good. I would skip some parts knowing what i know now. We got to see a lot of the country but it became a little too much of the same thing. Would have liked some advice on what to do and not to do and why.

The transit in country was ok but had some issues like waiting at a airport 5 hours before boarding because they were worried about traffic. Killed an entire day to avoid traffic that was never there.

Noga was great! Plus, Nick was fantastic while we were on the trip. He responded so quickly, and made everything very easy

Hotel Reviews

Hótel Grímsborgir by Keahotels

Ásborgir

It was pretty tight, and there was no lounge so you were stuck in the room. The room also wasn’t as clean as the previous two hotels, and it had an odd smell. The restaurant was good, but I wouldn’t stay there again.

Authenticity & Character

The rooms weren’t very clean, and they were really tight. It would be nice if they had a lounge to escape the room

Location

Nice location

Staff

They were very nice

Cleanliness & Comfort

Too tight and not clean. There was blood on the lamp by the bed, and the windows were really dirty. I’d have booked a second room here, but I don’t think I’d stay there again

Hótel Búðir

Búðir

What an experience! Incredible remote location that was so beautiful. The lounges and staff were a real highlight, and the rooms were beautiful and so clean.

Authenticity & Character

The location! There’s nothing for miles, but it’s like being on another planet. Incredibly beautiful

Location

Remote, but stunning.

Staff

Friendly and accommodating

Cleanliness & Comfort

So great on both. Not a speck of dirt to be found, and the lounge was so comfortable with great views

Hotel Odinsve

Reykjavik

Great location, room was perfect.

Authenticity & Character

Great rooms and restaurant

Location

Very central, tons of shops and restaurants nearby.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

SO CLEAN!!

Activity Review

Borgarnes Settlement Center

Iceland

This wasn’t the best tour, and the building is under construction

Quality of Experience

It was just sort of meh. The building is also under construction. But the staff was very nice

My guide felt with my changes of plans and internet surfing. He was amazing and made my trip better than imagined.

Our family trip to Laos was great. Our guides, Mr Viengkhaam and Mr Khaansoum, were kind and knowledgeable. All of the activities that Steve had planned were perfect for us as a family, especially the village visits on our last day.

We plan to return asap.

Thanks you!

Hotel Reviews

Riverside Boutique Resort

Vang Vieng

Lovely old hotel with great views

Authenticity & Character

Nice old hotel that has been well maintained

Location

Right in the middle of vang vieng but set back from the road so a little quieter than other places

Staff

Very professional. Many of the staff trained at the hospitality school in vang vieng and it shows.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Extremely clean

My Dream Boutique Resort

Unique hotel a little outside of the town centre

Authenticity & Character

Very unique and prettybhotel

Location

Nicely located just a short walk outside of the town centre so quiet and peaceful

Staff

Very friendly and always available

Cleanliness & Comfort

Extremely clean. The paths between buildings were constantly maintained

Mintra Hotel

Vientiane

Very comfortable and well placed in a quiet part of town.

Authenticity & Character

Older building that has been updated and refurbished

Location

Right on the banks of the Mekong

Staff

Courteous and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean

Activity Reviews

Kuang Si Waterfall with zipline experience & Laos Buffalo Dairy

Luang Prabang

My children enjoyed the zip line whilst I was terrified. The buffalo centre was delightful. They are very friendly and cuddly.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ock Pop Tock with lunch

Luang Prabang

The Ock Pop Tock weaving centre was beautiful and interesting. The guide let my daughter play with the silkworms for as long as she wanted to keep her interested. She found it fascinating. The food was delicious. The shop was quite expensive but everything there was very high quality.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Living Lands Organic Farm

Luang Prabang

Lots of fun planting, harvesting and preparing g sticky rice with our guide Sai.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Garavek Theatre

Luang Prabang

Lovely evening. The stories were fascinating, the storyteller was extremely engaging and the Khene player was incredibly talented.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Evening tuk tuk Night Market Tour

Vientiane

The night market was a lot of fun with delicious food and unique experiences.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half day afternoon city tour

Vientiane

Lots of temples and fascinating history about Laos and Buddhism

Quality of Experience

The visit to Patuxay just as the sun was beginning to set was really enjoyable. The COPE centre was very affecting and my daughter and I spent a lot of time reading about Laos' recent history.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Khmu Culture Unraveled

Vang Vieng

Best day of our trip. Loved visiting the villages and meeting local people.

Quality of Experience

The interaction with local people was fascinating

Food

Lovely home cooked meal

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide for the day is a fascinating and admirable guy. He helped us to understand the culture and challenges of the Hmong and Khmuu ethnic minorities in Laos.

Transport

Comfortable and air conditioned

We spent two dreamy weeks in Portugal and are thrilled with our kimkim experience! Marisa, our travel specialist, listened closely to our interests and crafted a base itinerary, which we finalized after a helpful phone call to ask questions and get her advice. Leading up to the trip, she was communicative and proactive, and we knew we were in good hands. Once in the country, we had phenomenal knowledgeable, friendly, and humorous guides who were proud to share their culture with us. Ricardo in Porto, the Douro Valley, and our driver from Porto to Lisbon was like having an old friend take you around their hometown. Andre delivered a very interesting walking tour in Porto, showing us hidden gems and sharing suggestions for things to see and do when we had time on our own. Lastly, Claudia in Lisbon helped us get our bearings, told us jokes, and answered our many questions! In the early afternoon each day, we received a Whatsapp message from Marisa checking in and explaining what to expect for the following day so we always felt prepared for each activity. We would absolutely recommend kimkim for your next adventure.

Activity Reviews

Lisbon's Historic Odyssey on a Private Walking Tour & Tastings

Lisbon

Claudia was a wonderful and knowledgeable guide. We enjoyed learning so much from her, she is truly and expert on her city (and very funny to boot). And the wine and cheese tasting at the end was delicious!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The Essence of Douro - A River, Wine, and Gastronomy Experience with a Private Driver

Portugal

We lucked out with a beautiful day and had a marvelous time in the Douro Valley - from the picturesque drive, relaxing boat trip, and delicious lunch and winery tour at Quinta da Pacheca, it was a travel day we will remember for years to come. Ricardo was a wonderful driver who shared interesting facts along the way, and he felt like an old friend by the time he dropped us at our hotel in the evening. Antonio was our boat guide who was funny, personable, and knowledgeable about the wine industry and landscape of the Douro Valley.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Porto's Historic Odyssey on a Private Walking Tour

Porto

Andre took us all around Porto and shared hidden gems along the way. He even added an extra stop at a church I wanted to see and then gave us suggestions on how to spend the rest of our afternoon.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had a great trip to Spain. The hotels were nice and tours were good. However I am quite disappointed in the service provided by Kimkim and would not plan another trip with you all again. My main issue is that we needed to make a change during the trip, and I was never told that Kimkim would not support overnight changes. As a result we had to do this all on our own. But furthermore, you all weren’t even able to cancel existing reservations even after I said we were making a change. So our drivers were waiting for us and texting me wondering where we were, and we didn’t receive any refund for services that we didn’t use. I think one of the big value adds for agencies like yours is to help with flexibility during a trip. With current technology and especially AI, the trip planning is easy and I can do this entirely on my own. For the fee we are paying I expect better service during the actual trip- and I’d highly recommend you adapt and provide this otherwise I’m not sure your company will survive.

Insider Athens planned an amazing 2-week trip to Greece for my husband and me! They provided a custom itinerary that met our exact interests and priorities, including having tours and activities focused on history, mythology, culture, and food. They also removed the typical friction and stress associated with travel by selecting great hotels, providing restaurant recommendations, and setting up transportation. They provided great information on places to check out including common sites and lesser known spots. They also developed an itinerary that had many great activities, but wasn't overly packed so were able to enjoy ourselves and relax a bit.

A few of our highlights were a private tour of the Acropolis and Parthenon, a private tour of the Palace of Knossos, a food tour in Chania, and walking around Athens on our first day and just experiencing how the modern and ancient co-exist.

Our trip included about 5 days in Athens, 5 days in Crete, and a 4-day mainland tour. We had originally looked for small group tours but did not find an option that fit our priorities. Insider Athens developed a custom itinerary that led to an amazing vacation. Thank you to Anna for all your help in planning and providing real-time support when we were in Greece!

Our guide Mohammad was the best!!!! He took great care of us and was a ton of fun. His van was very clean and comfortable with WiFi. He went above and beyond and made our trip perfect. We saw so much in 15 days, beaches, mountains, farms and of course the Sahara. Our accommodations were top notch. I cannot imagine trying to do this trip any other way. Thank you!!

Activity Reviews

Camel trek to your camp

Merzouga

Once in a lifetime experience, it was wonderful

Food

It wasn’t great but then again you are in the desert

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fes walking guided tour : No drive

Fes

I don’t know how you would do Fez without a guide. Our guide was very knowledgeable and well known in the area.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Berber Hike to Akchour Waterfall Lunch by the river

Chefchaouen

Quality of Experience

Food

Best tangine of the trip

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very knowledgeable guide

Transport

Half-Day Private Sightseeing Tour in Rabat

Rabat

Great tour guide

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I will for sure use Kim Kim again, they were great!! Salome was so helpful and so patient with me. We had a few hiccups, nothing Kim Kim did wrong and she was super helpful and made sure everything still worked out as planned!!! All the tour companies they picked for us were great. The drivers always on time and communicated very well with us. The Privilege dinner cruise in Paris was the best dinner cruise I have ever experienced. We had a great family trip!! High Point, Paris Trip, A la Francasise Paris, London Country Tours and Evan Evan's were great, all of them were, I am sure I am forgetting some of the companies Kim Kim used, but I could not be happier with all the tour companies they picked for us.

Hotel Review

Georgian House Hotel

Pimlico

This hotel was very clean, very cute, staff was very friendly, the breakfast was delicious! The only reason I am giving it 4 stars vs 5 is our room did not have a shower, just a tub, my husband is 6'4", so that was not a good situation for him, our sons travelled with us, there was a shower in their room, thank goodness we had two rooms! Also, for us, we like to have options for snacks and drinks to buy in our hotel, they did provide pitchers of water, but with two boys, they eat a lot, to buy snacks it was a good 10 minute or so walk one way. This hotel only had a breakfast option, no snacks, no lunch or dinner option. But a very cute old English style hotel, I would highly recommend it, just be prepared to buy some drinks and snacks if you need them!! And if you are really tall, ask for a room with a shower!

Authenticity & Character

If you are looking for an English Style not commercial hotel, this one is perfect for that!

Location

Nice area and close enough to most everything we did, and only about 40 mins from the airport.

Staff

Very friendly and very helpful!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Super clean and comfortable, the rooms are a little small, but fine for 2 people! We took a family of 4 and had two rooms!

Activity Reviews

Stonehenge and Oxford Private Tour with Pub Lunch

London

This was a great day, our tour guide Charles drove us to all locations, in a very comfortable vehicle, he was so knowledgeable and friendly, we felt like we spent the day with our friend.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Privilege Dinner Cruise on the Seine

Paris

Best Dinner Cruise Experience! Lots of food, lots of drinks, very pretty down the river!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This trip was definitely an experience for sure... Sadly due to numerous factors, I cannot say that it was really the best experience or that it compared to my previous trips via KimKim. Yuliana was quick with getting our initial planning done but Im providing the lower rating I am this time for the reasons below.
As for Costa Rica itself, though still obviously quite a beautiful country, I think that it is pretty clear that large scale tourism is having some negative effects on things there somewhat. I was in Costa Rica for the first time in February 2025 for a shorter trip than this one that I also booked with KimKim and had such an incredible time then- my friend and I saw tons of animals and had a very nice balance of getting up early & going on hikes/etc. on some days as well as having some more chill days where we could get a little more sleep and relax. This year, despite being in the country for a longer time (almost twice as long) it was clearly much more expensive and crowded overall and we saw perhaps ~1/3 of the animals I did last year.
Additionally, the changes that took place regarding park entrances and needing to purchase tickets ahead of time was both something I was not aware of at all, nor told about by Yuliana, which in all honesty, was a pretty big goof/mistake for a company that I am literally paying to know such things and keep me informed of in my planning.
We started in the La Fortuna area and visited Baldi Hot Springs, Monte Verde Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna waterfall and El Silencio. I had mentioned that I went to the hot springs last year but our time there had been cut short due to the number of other passengers that needed picked up/dropped off and I made clear that this time I really wanted to spend more time there and hoped that would not happen again. I actually also added that we were wanting to get a massage at the spa potentially too but was told that we would need to book that ourselves and get our own transportation back to our hotel, which we wound up doing. Not a huge expense but, in our itinerary it stated that we had prepaid for entrance, dinner, a locker, and towels at Baldi. When we got there we had to pay for our locker and were told that this was incorrect so we essentially paid for transport we didn't use and paid twice for our locker.
We spent several days near Manuel Antonio park and were, quite sadly, unable to go into the park at all due to the entry changes since last year. Visiting the park was the entire reason for us being in that area. I had so hoped and wanted to bring my husband there, as it was my favorite park from my previous visit. This trip was to celebrate his 50th birthday and I wanted it to be special and knew he would love it (ironically we were in CR for my 43rd birthday and not on his, as we opted to travel before his birthday to avoid the rainy season). We would have much preferred skipping this area entirely had we known that we would not be able to enter the park, especially as our hotel was a 30 minute drive to the beach or any other activities in the area and we did not have our own vehicle so subsequently spent a ton of money on ubers/taxis while we were there too and all for a much more mediocre experience then last year or then we had hoped/anticipated. What's even sadder in my opinion, especially for native Costa Ricans, is that they must also purchase tickets ahead of time for park entry and, from what everyone there I spoke to was saying, it seems that the tour companies scoop up pretty much all of the tickets so that they can then books tours that cost 80-150 USD/person and prevent most people from being able to easily or successfully buy their own, much cheaper, self guided entrance tickets.
Being that we were feeling discouraged and wanted to make the best of it, we spent a while searching for and attempting to find other experiences in the area to do while there which, again, it was a holiday week and very busy so there weren't many options. If we had known ahead of time that our situation would be what it was, even if we could not have gotten in to Manuel Antonio, we could have planned much better and it would have been easier to secure tickets for something else. After many attempts, we finally did get tickets for a night jungle tour and that experience turned out to be a total nightmare (I have already addressed this with the involved companies and this was not something booked via kimkim but I am including for others to be aware of). The tour offered to pick people up at certain hotels only and ours was not one of them because we were pretty far from everything. Alternatively it said you could arrive at the meeting point for the tour if you had your own transportation. We paid for an uber to go to the meeting spot... A remote place at sunset... And NOBODY showed up. I attempted to call and then text the number on our tickets and, not until 15 minutes after me trying to reach someone, did we received a message that our tickets had been cancelled as the tour was full. At this point it was dark and we were unable to get any transportation back to our hotel. There were some sketchy dogs nearby that were clearly not happy with us being there as well as some locals that were clearly giggling at the stupid gringos being somewhere they don't belong. We proceeded to walk the 2.5 miles back to our hotel which included walking next to a highway with no sidewalk and needing to jump off the road when cars were coming. Thankfully we made it back OK but this situation could have been EXTREMELY DANGEROUS, especially if it were to happen to a young solo female traveler, older travelers, etc. We were refunded for the tour and our uber as well as offered a different tour for free by this company. I stressed how if they are unable to process online tickets correctly that they should not be selling them in the first place and pointed out the potential dangers and liability issues with this whole situation as being the most important take away as I don't want anyone getting hurt in the future... The company owner was very nice and was extremely sorry/horrifies that this had happened + vowed to no longer use the booking platform "Get Your Guide," as he stated that the tour had been full for weeks already prior to us buying our tickets and he had no clue why they allowed them to be purchased when we got them in the first place. All in all just another example of how over tourism moving too quickly can cause problems.
Moving on to our final location in our itinerary, the Oso peninsula. We knew we would be taking a boat to get there but did not realize that this would be a fairly small motor boat that we would be taking out in to an area with fairly big waves, nor did we realize that there would be no boat dock when we arrived. It was a full moon/king tide and the waves were large enough that the boat crew was quite clearly debating if passage would be safe enough or not, as they had to make several passes prior to making it over the wave breaks to get to the bay. When we were finally dropped off at pur destination I was horrified! The boat almost capsized repeatedly and at 1 point was ~80% on its nose. There were 2 people trying to stabilize the boat in the rear as the boat was backed up close to the beach and at one point a wave came and knocked one of them backwards in the water + I was truly afraid that the boat was going to crush him. Add on to all of this that I had unfortunately injured my back a month ago and was on the mend but the extreme jostling around so much in the boat resulted in my back issues flaring up again. The communication from the boat crew was very poor, basically no existent. Initially everyone thought they were getting off the boat at the same location, so all the bags were offloaded and all passengers started to get off to then have some people and their bags need to get back on the boat, the whole while with the waves making ot fairly treacherous. It was extremely chaotic and I was quite shocked to know that this is something that happens there regularly and that it had not inspired adding a dock yet
When we were greeted by the hotel staff they had 2 drinks waiting for us and proceeded to tell us that we needed to be awake and ready to go see the park/meet up the following morning (my birthday) at 540am... I was less than thrilled. We had been getting very little sleep the entire trip already and were exhausted. We got up, thinking that we were already in the park and would just be driving somewhere nearby, we found out that we had to get back on a boat again and deal with being jostled around... again (thankfully it was not quite as bad as the first trip but still was not the best way to wake up at all).
That night the hotel staff said that they had made me a birthday drink and gave me a mojito with dinner. When we checked out of the hotel the following day I was charged for 3 drinks despite me never actually ordering any of them and the staff just presenting us with them, which I thought seemed rather petty/distasteful. I will say that the hotel staff were all extremely friendly and kind and the hotel itself was at least beautiful.
We were brought to the small airport nearby that would be flying us back to San Jose when we left the hotel the following day and we were brought there 2 hours before our flight. The airport was empty/there was no security and clearly only very small planes use it, so we proceeded to just sit there wishing we could have spent a bit more time enjoying the beach before leaving instead, as arriving so early seemed very unnecessary.
As for the rest of the trip, in La Fortuna our guide for the waterfall and for the Monte Verde hanging bridges, Monica, was very personable, knowledgeable and pleasant. It was extremely busy at both locations though so we didn't see a ton of wildlife and it felt like people were being rushed through in repeat guided tour groups at the hanging bridges. It was beautiful and would have been nice to have more time to absorb it all.
In all honesty, after having a guided tour once at any of these places, it would really be better in my opinion, to just go through them on your own afterwards/for any subsequent visits. All of the parks are pretty easy to navigate and you can go at your own pace that way + avoid any large crowds/tour groups, therefore giving you a much better chance to see more things, as the animals clearly are less inclined to venture near a ton of people. That said, with the new rules on park entry Im not sure how easy this will be moving forward unfortunately.
We also went on a hike at El Silencio preserve, which I didn't realize until we got there was the same place/hike that I had already gone on last year. The tour guide (I unfortunately don't remember his name) was nice and also knowledgeable but, I probably would have skipped this and opted for a something different this trip having already done it once before, as it didn't add much more this time then it had during my initial experience.
Lastly was our hike in Corcovado, which is a very beautiful area that I wish we had spent more time in (and especially instead of being 30 minutes away from Manuel Antonio and the beach the days we were there). The guide was nice (I unfortunately don't remember his name either) and we had a good group of fellow travelers with us but my back was pretty sore from the boat ride, we were exhausted from lack of sleep and I was cranky having to meet so early in the morning, especially on my birthday, which all detracted from the experience. I don't feel personally that I gained a ton from the guided tour other than him pointing out puma tracks at one point that I probably would have overlooked. I think that this tour world have been every bit as good (better really) if it didn't require meeting at 540am and I don't see how having it so early was a benefit in any way at all.
If I ever return to Costa Rica again, which I can say is a very big if at this point, I would skip all guided tours and would probably stay only in the Corcovado area as it is the least developed and crowded and was also extremely beautiful. We didn't realize until after our guided tour that there was actually a park trail within walking distance of our hotel, which would have been nice to know. We briefly got to walk a short way on it before leaving but would have loved to spend more time exploring on our own if we had the opportunity.

Working with Alexsandra was excellent.

My only negative was the high price charged per day given the fact that the only thing provided was lodging and a total of about $20 each for a few tickets. I probably would have saved close to $1000 booking the lodging myself. Also, on a similarly outfitted trip to Iceland, a detailed road itinerary was part of the package. Only a brief description of possible highlights was provided by Kimkim.

Hotel Reviews

Knockaguilla House Bed & Breakfast

Doolin

Beautiful spacious room. Breakfast OK but no eggs.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Temple Gate Hotel

Ennis, Co. Clare

Excellent in all respects.

Ashfield B&B

Kenmare

Nice room, good breakfast.

The Plough B&B

Ventry

Small room and a smaller bathroom. Matress and pillow uncomfortable. Breakfast good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to little village of Ventry with its restaurant and music.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

As above.

The K Kinsale

Kinsale

Had to be a bit fit to walk the hills, but a nice room and gracious host.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Kissane Sheep Farm

Ireland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff