Our family trip to Costa Rica was an incredi...
Costa Rica
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Mar 21 - Apr 2, 2024
Our family trip to Costa Rica was an incredible experience. We originally planned it for March of 2020. The world shut down a day before we were scheduled to leave. Our travel experiences did not disappoint and more than made up for the fact that we had to put our trip on hold. We are appreciative for Kimkim for honoring our plans and letting us postpone our trip. The itinerary for our replanned 2024 adventure was adapted to the fact that our kids are older and we had many adventures.
The first lodging we stayed at was Las Brisas de Arenal, a family owned hotel that consists of separate lodging buildings. Carlos and his family are kind and we still exchange what’s app messages with him. Our daughter (8 years old) fell in love with their dogs and we all loved the parrot Matilda. The picturesque surroundings are amazing and relaxing. Lounging in the hammock on the patio outside our room overlooking the Arenal volcano puff stream into the air was a wonderful way to siesta in the afternoons. The breakfasts of fresh fruit, coffee with warm milk, eggs and toast sustained us before our adventures daily.
Out first experience was a river float tour on las Peña Blancas. We saw so many animals including sloths, iguanas, toucans, monkeys, piranas, and other beautiful birds.
Other favorites was zip lining above the canopy and soaking in the hot springs. The volcano hike was a bit much in the heat of the afternoon for our kids.
After La Fortuna, we traveled south to Manuel Antonio. La Mariposa hotel was accommodating and we all love the breakfasts and swimming in the infinity pool each day. The view of the ocean, seeing the parrots and monkeys in the trees was like a dream. The surrounding beaches are beautiful. Restaurants are within walking distance. We went in a waterfall daylong adventure that was a family favorite, exploring 5 different waterfalls that included a natural waterslide, and a delicious lunch.
We learned so much information and history about Costa Rica on all of our planned trips. Everyone we met was kind. The culture and people are welcoming and shared so much of their beloved country.
We highly recommend traveling to Costa Rica, planning a trip with KimKim and learning about our world. Our trip expanded our horizons and we will look to take another family adventure in the near future.
Hotel Reviews
Las Brisas de Arenal feels like our home away from home. A family owned and operated hotel that is surrounded by the beauty of Costa Rica! We would stay there again! Carlos and his family (including dogs) are friendly and made us feel welcome. We were able to relax there in between daily adventure around La Fortuna. We highly recommend Las Brisas.
La Mariposa is within walking distance to many restaurants. We were comfortable in our room and loved the beautiful view of our room overlooking the ocean. The breakfasts were delicious . The staff were kind and accommodating.
The Park inn was a good stop overnight in San Jose before going out the next day back to the US.
Activity Reviews
We ended up relaxing at the hotel, opting for the pool over more adventures to the beaches.
We loved the river float. We saw so many animals, sloths, monkeys, iguanas, lizards, fish, and birds. Our kids loved paddling the rafts and even had a chance to take a cold dip in the river. The river float was a perfect first adventure in Costa Rica. It was fun, relaxing, and we learned so much.
The volcano hike was in the heat of the afternoon and was a bit much for our 8 year old. We learned a lot! Would probably spilt this up as an excursion separate from others if doing it again.
The rainforest hanging bridges tour was a chance to see poison dart frogs in their natural habitat. We learned about the primitive and secondary forests and the importance of tourism in Costa Rica.
This was a family favorite! What an exhilarating experience! The whole excursion was fun and we highly recommended it.
The park was crowded given it was Easter week. We had already seen so many animals on our trip. The guided tour was worth it as we met people who visited the park without a guide and had trouble seeing animals.if we were to go again we would go for the beach alone. It was beautiful!
The catamaran trip was a chance to be out in the ocean. We didn’t see any dolphins. The crew was friendly. The snorkeling portion was fast and we would have liked more time in the water. The slide in the boat was fun for the kids.
