Kimkim Trip Reviews for Costa Rica

We started out with Sergio and he was amazing. He was very responsive and helped us plan an amazing trip for a very diverse group - we had vegans in the group and we also had some elderly people, including my dad who had mobility challenges. He also helped select restaurants. We were celebrating a life event and Serendipity scheduled an amazing private dinner at La Divina Comida in San Jose. I could not have been happier with the restaurant and private room. It exceeded our expectations. Sergio laid the framework for managing this diverse group. Charlotte wasn’t as responsive as Sergio (I would have liked her to respond to messages more quickly) but the transition was pretty smooth overall.

Our guide was Willy. He was outstanding. He was incredibly friendly and flexible. He handled our diverse group so well and the trip was really seamless. At times serendipity brought in additional guides to allow the group to enjoy activities despite some mobility challenges. Our favorite activities were the hanging bridges, the raft tour, the catamaran cruise and horseback riding. The only constructive feedback I have is to not do the lava hike in Arenal on the same day as the hanging bridges. We ended up shifting toe La Fortuna Waterfall hike to another day because we were exhausted after the hanging bridges and lava hike - and ran out of time. There’s no way we could have handled all 3 activities on the same day.

We would definitely recommend Serendipity and would work with them again.

Hotel Reviews

Grano de Oro Hotel

San José

This hotel was so beautiful. It feels like a classic hotel from the turn of the 20th century. The rooms are lovely, included breakfast wonderful and staff friendly. We absolutely loved the gardens outside with the covered walkways. We even enjoyed the jacuzzi on the roof one evening!

Authenticity & Character

The old world feel and friendly boutique service makes this hotel stand out.

Location

Staff

Staff was friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

The rooms were charming. The restaurant was beautiful.

Baldi Hot Springs Resort, Hotel & Spa

Fortuna

We loved the hot springs. We had a nice room On the fourth floor but the first floor rooms my relatives had weren’t as nice. The hotel was very stingy with towels and the shower had no water pressure. It took forever to bathe and the water was never warm. If you lost your room key (a plastic card), they charged $10. Toiletries were cheap. The food at breakfast was decent but we ate dinner in the restaurant one night and it wasn’t great. I wouldn’t stay at this hotel again.

Authenticity & Character

The hot springs were awesome! Our room was great but room quality is uneven.

Location

The location was fine. It wasn’t in the middle of town but wasn’t far either.

Staff

Staff was friendly but the hotel rules were not. They were very stingy with towels.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The beds weren’t that comfortable, the showers had no water pressure and were never hot enough and the toiletries were cheap. It felt like we were roughing it.

The Westin Golf Resort and Spa, Playa Conchal

Playa Conchal

We loved this all Inclusive! The rooms are lovely and the grounds are beautiful with lots of wildlife. We enjoyed the pool and beach and we thought the food was pretty good. We would consider returning to this resort.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Staff was attentive and friendly and went the extra mile

Cleanliness & Comfort

Comfortable beds, nice toiletries and excellent water pressure in the shower!

Activity Reviews

Museum of the Jewish Community of Costa Rica

San José

This isn’t for everyone but we loved it! We really enjoyed the artifacts documenting the journey of the founders of the Jewish community from Poland to San Jose and the tour of the synagogue.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jade Museum Tour

San José

The carvings are interesting to see, but the experience is similar to other museums I have been too. It reminded me of a smaller version of the Museo de Oro in Bogota

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Willy was great

Transport

Explore Barrio Amon with your Dedicated Guide

San José

We loved this! I learned a lot about the history of Costa Rica and enjoyed seeing the old part of the city.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee & Chocolate Tour

Costa Rica

This was a very interesting experience. Our tour guide was great and we loved learning about chocolate and coffee making. We preferred the Chocolate part of the experience because the coffee grown at this location isn’t actually the coffee sold or tasted during the tour. The best coffee is grown at higher elevations. It’s also quite hot and there are lots of mosquitos!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was great!

Transport

Private: Safari Float on the Peñas Blancas River

Arenal/La Fortuna

This raft safari was another highlight of our trip. We loved seeing howler monkeys and white faced capuchins and other wildlife. We also loved the picnic our guides set up on an overturned raft with fresh watermelon, pineapple and Costa Rican candies.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ella's Bat Mitzvah Ceremony

San José

Sloth Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

It was a lot of fun to “hunt” for sloths in La Fortuna and see them in their natural habitat. We had a specialty guide for this tour and he taught us a lot about sloths and was great at spotting them!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private: Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna Waterfall, and Arenal Volcano Visit

Arenal/La Fortuna

The hanging bridges was possibly our favorite activity of the trip. Warning: the bridges are a bit scary. But the views are incredible. We saw lots of wildlife - spider monkeys, pit vipers, and lots of birds. The lush rain forest is classic Costa Rica. We thought the lava hike of Arenal Volcano was challenging - a tough activity to do after the hanging bridges. The views were pretty but the path was tough for our group. We ended up shifting the La Fortuna waterfall to the next day.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve Guided Hike

Costa Rica

We loved the cloud forest and wished we had more time there! We saw lots of wildlife including a quetzal, three wattled bellbird, capuchins, and agouti. The trail was walkable and the views great. I wish we had more time in Monteverde.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We were able to get a golf cart for my parents so they could enjoy the trail too!

Transport

Horseback Riding Beach Tour

Playa Conchal

We loved the horseback ride on the beach. The sights were beautiful. The beaches were practically empty and the guides took great photos. However, I had to knock off a star because we had a horrific experience getting back to the resort. We were driven around for almost an hour only in a crowded van to return to the horseback riding place. The driver then refused to drive us back to the resort and we had to beg to get taken back.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guides were great but the driver was rude and unprofessional.

Transport

Private Sunset Catamaran Sailing Tour

Costa Rica

This cruise was spectacular. The food and drinks were good and plentiful, the catamaran clean and beautiful, the swimming cove pristine. We saw whales and dolphins, a double rainbow and beautiful sunset. This was a magical end to our trip.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Serendipity Adventures (Sergio and Charlotte) were amazing! Building the custom itinerary to match our specific needs, and being available during the trip for questions and assistance.

The KimKim platform is excellent and super helpful during the planning stage, but there are a few things that can be improved during the trip itself when we wanted to look up our next destination and plan details:
1) accessing the trip details requires an active internet connection, which isn't always available.
2) There's no way to access the plan details directly, it requires several clicks and is quite annoying!
3) Especially for longer trips (ours was 24 days), because each time you have to load the trip details from scratch it's a pain to scroll through the itinerary to get to right place, it would be nice if the page opened on the current date :)
4) A dedicated app, or integration with another app (like TripIt) would be a super valuable feature!

This trip was planned pretty well! The tours were great, as were the guides and transport. We had a wonderful time. Gustavo was great at helping me customize a trio perfect for our tour.

A special shout-out to our white water rafting tour guides- Roberto, Eduardo. They were wonderful! As we’re the canyoning guides as well.

The only thing I would mention is the hours were not planned perfectly. Some days we had too much time to kill and wasted some hours we could have had filled. Maybe in the future, Kim Kim can provide better hour to hour information. But overall we had a fantastic time and a lot of fun. I would recommend any friend to use this service in the future!

Activity Reviews

Whitewater Rafting on the Pacuare River

Costa Rica

Wonderful guides and had an absolute blast! I just wish the times were more clear but had a wonderful time.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sky Tram, Sky Trek & Sky Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

The zip lines were amazing! Hanging bridge tour was a bit boring though

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Canyoning in the Lost Canyon

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Proyecto Asis Wildlife Rehabilitation Center - Volunteer Experience

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private: Sloth Observation - Day or Night Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee & Chocolate Farm Experience

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The trip was seem less as it pertains to the travel arrangements and punctuality of all of the transportation vans that were provided to us. All of the drivers were courteous and Proffesional.
We had many memorable moments. The hike to the volcano was beautiful and our guide Mariano was excellent. He was funny and engaging. He gave us many tips as to what to do and what to be careful of.
The River excursion was also memorable. Stopping and taking a break was fun while Mariano provided us with cut Pineapple and other fruit.
The beach at Manuel Antonio state park was amazing. The water was warm and had many places to take wonderful photo opportunities.
All in all it was a memorable trip. We will come back again and use Kim Kim as our service provider.

Activity Review

Canopy Zip Lining Tour, bridges, and Fauna Exihibitions at Selvatura

Monteverde

Super fun activity for all ages. The views are amazing. The ride was thrilling.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Olman was very informative and always available to answer our questions. Each part of the trip took place without any issues and the itinerary was great. Our guide for the Arenal Volcano Park hike, Mauricio, through Amazilia was AMAZING! He knows so much and the children learned many things about the plants, wild life, and history of the area. Fun was had by all!

Hotel Review

Hampton Inn & Suites San Jose Airport

Alajuela

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

San José - Arenal - Visit to La Paz Waterfall & Gardens

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Hike in Arenal Volcano Park 1968

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our guide for the Arenal volcano hike, Mauricio, through Amazonia, was AMAZING! He knows so much and the children learned many things about the plants, wild life, and history of the area. He was patient and took the time to show all of us the different plants and how they can be used in everyday life. He was really great and we highly recommend getting him for the guided tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Mauricio was Amazing and the driver was great!

Transport

Arenal Volcano Extreme Zipline

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had the most amazing vacation trip to Costa Rica in June 2023. Our trip coordinators, Jessica and Brittany did an amazing job. Our family trip was originally planned for 2022. However, something came up and we were not able travel. Brittany helped to coordinate with the hotels, activity exclusions, & our transportation to postpone for 2023. Jessica came onboard & took over from Brittany. We stayed in Arenal/La Fortuna in the mountains at a very cool resort called Lavas Tacotal. Their villas were absolutely beautiful, tucked away in LA Fortuna mountains. It felt like we had paid a million bucks for our stay. This place was so amazing my kids loved it so much. We toured the La Fortuna waterfall, visited Baldi hot spring & spa resort; was so amazing. Transferred to Monteverde, we toured the sugar, cocoa & coffee farm. My kids did zip lining, we did trim cars, walking on the hanging bridge; which we were told is the longest hanging bridge. We went hiking, visited Montrverde orchid garden which houses about 460 majority of Costa Rica's native species. Then we transferred to Antonio Manuel were we took a yacht & went snorkeling. I would highly recommend anyone to book a Costa Rican vacation, it's such a beautiful country. Our iternary was packed with super fun activities which we planned then kimkim coordinated so well. We had private air conditioned transportation: various pickups & drop-off for our activities, including airport. The whole trip was well planned by kimkim. I will definitely use them from now moving forward for any international vacations. We loved everything about Costa Rica! Anybody trying to figure out their next vacation, I would recommend to consider Costa Rica and please use kimkim, you won't regret it. One advice if you consider Costa Rica, plan your exclusions through an agency like kimkim before you go. Because if you deceive on what to do when you are there; it will cost you alot more. Goodluck on your vacation. Onto our next vacation!

I will definitely use Kim Kim again for our next trip. Communication, options, convenience and reliability were spot on.

Hotel Reviews

Tifakara Boutique Hotel

La Fortuna

Best shower, best location, the best!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Monteverde Lodge & Gardens

Monteverde

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Grano de Oro Hotel

San José

Authenticity & Character

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sloth Observation - Day or Night Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Whitewater Rafting on the Balsa River

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our guide David was knowledgeable and fun! We had scheduled a more advanced white water experience, but my husband hurt his neck and working through Kim Kim we were able to adjust to an easier journey. We reallly appreciated that.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

EcoTermales Hot Springs & Meal

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

We

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Every guide and every driver was timely, friendly and knowledgeable. Carlos, in Monteverde was particularly outstanding. Our rainy season your was filled with activities for every member of the family. Weather never interfered. The hotels were very good and with everyone locations and staff.

We had an amazing time in Costa Rica. It was great to work with KimKim on the planning and execution of this trip. We visited 4 regions and stayed at 4 resorts so the logistics were significant. The resorts we stayed in were terrific. Loved the hot springs at Los Lagos. We stayed in the villa at Los Lagos and there was plenty of room for the 9 of us. We greatly enjoyed the white water rafting. Our guides were awesome! The experience was a ton of fun for kids and adults. The river was clean and the food was very good for a lunch buffet.

Mariano was out guide through the rain forest and he was so knowledgeable. The lunch location was beautiful as it was at the base of the volcano with a terrific view, although the service was the slowest we experienced on the trip. The hike down to the La Fortuna waterfall was no joke. We are all fairly fit and able to do it but I think you need to make sure you forewarn people of how strenuous both up and down are. But how worth it!!! That was quite the experience.

The boat ride to Monte Verde was simple and had it not been foggy we would have had great volcano views. You also need to warn people that they need to be physically able to carry luggage long distances as we had to carry our luggage from the boat to the bus which was parked quite a distance away. The ride to Monteverde was very picturesque. El Establo was a terrific resort. We loved the pool area every afternoon during the rain. You have to get used to the fact that you are basically in a tree house while staying there but the views when the clouds cleared were awesome. Breakfast was delicious as well. Our zipline experience was top notch. Lots of fun and lunch after was nice.

The trip from Monteverde was a long one but we enjoyed the view. The biggest negative I have is that we were forced to stop at a seafood spot that was 10 minutes from our resort. We were in the van for 4 hours and I had asked to stop in Jaco or somewhere closer before we left. I was told the other place would be better but it is insane to be in the car for 4 hours and stop 10 minutes from the resort. The food was not very good. In fact my husband and 2 sons did not order and I did not eat my salad. You cant even get a beer there after a 4 hour car ride. This was the only time I felt frustrated that we were being taken advantage of because there must be some kind of kick back for someone otherwise I have no idea why we were taken to this place.

Los Altos and Manuel Antonio were our favorite. The penthouse was amazing. Views were breathtaking. The resort was so nice as were all of the workers. Our guide in manuel antonio was so enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Highly recommend him. We loved our kayak tour also although it was very physical with having to paddle against the current. The guides were terrific.

I would suggest limiting some of the back to back to back excursions. We were not able to do the cooking class - I honestly cannot imagine if we had tried after that long ride. We also canceled the catamaran because it literally takes people to the same spot we had been on in the kayaks. I would make sure you let people know so they can pick another option or at least are aware it will be the same excursion. Also it looks like there was a larger speed boat that was rentable and would have fit our group. That boat allowed for jet skis, tubing, snorkeling etc and would have been something our group would definitely have been interested in.

The food and the people were wonderful. Costa Rica is a truly beautiful country. We appreciate all of the help and support we received from KimKim during our planning and traveling. I would definitely recommend KimKim to friends and family!

It took some time to shorten this review because we had such a great experience, from the initial planning with Gustavo through the entire trip itself. Never having had help like we did with kimkim I was a little nervous but they exceeded all my expectations in every way and we're so grateful for their meticulous organization, planning, attention and responsiveness. My family of five spent 8 days in Costa Rica, spending 2-3 nights in three different areas and it all went so smoothly. I would have been fine with some hiccups but there were none. Drivers were so friendly, on time, transportation was new and clean, hotels were exactly as described and expected, adventures were perfect selections for our family. And the guides all along the way were a highlight. We did Horseback Riding at the Base of Arenal Volcano, which ended up being in a crazy storm, but one of the most memorable activities of the trip. In Monteverde we did Sky Adventures: Tram, Zip Lines & Hanging Bridges. Roy who took us on the bridges was a delight! He was so knowledgeable and pointed out things we never would have seen on our own. All the ziplining guides, too many names to recall, were awesome! So funny and we knew we were safe with them. We also did the Don Juan Chocolate & Night Hike Experience. Our guide Alex was fantastic, sharing lots of information and displayed dogged determination to find interesting things to show us in the dark. At our last stop, Manuel Antonio, we did a day at the National Park and on our last full day we did the Full Day Waterfall Adventure with Paddle 9. Ken, Andres, Elliott and driver Cumi (sp?), thanks for an exhilarating day of facing our fears and pushing our limits! Hotels, restaurant recommendations, activities, transfers, all perfect! My immense and sincere gratitude to Gustavo at kimkim who took care of us every step of the way and to Jessica who came in to help once we booked. I would recommend kimkim to anyone and would definitely use them again for future travel!

Bryan and his team were great. They made planning our Costa Rica trip easy and fun. When we were there all of our guides, and transportation were on time, very nice and professional and very knowledgeable of the towns we were staying in. The adventures we booked were so much fun and run by reputable companies.
When we had questions we messaged the kimkim team and someone responded very quickly with an answer. Using this company literally took all of the stress out of traveling with a 2 families and kids.
We will definitely use this company again to help with our next adventure.

Hotel Reviews

Buena Vista Chic Hotel

Alajuela

Perfect location on our last day to get us close to the airport for traveling home. The restaurant staff was the best and bent over backwards to have food options for picky kids.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Los Lagos Spa & Resort

Fortuna

The hot springs were amazing and the kids loved the slides. The pizza at the restaurant was amazing and the swim up bar was fun. I would recommend this place for sure!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

El Establo Mountain Hotel

Monteverde

The location was amazing and the pool area and bar were fun, although the pool needed a few repairs. The staff and van drivers were very nice and at your door as soon as you called for a shuttle. The restaurant food was pretty good and the views from every location was stunning.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Los Altos Resort

Manuel Antonio

Wow. This was our favorite hotel by far while we were in Costa Rica. Location, views, food, access to walk to some local restaurants, shops and bars was the best. The rooms were very nice and the view of the ocean from the balcony was superb. Location of hotel restaurant and pool was spectacular and monkeys visiting periodically was the icing on the cake! Would 1000% stay there again and recommend to friends and family!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Night Walk in the Children's Eternal Forest

Monteverde

We had rain and thunder and had to turn back and leave after 10 mins….. this was no fault of anyone obviously…..just Mother Nature and bad luck

Scuba Diving Manuel Antonio

Costa Rica

The visibility was very bad and one of the guides was not very experienced.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Whitewater Rafting on the Balsa River

Arenal/La Fortuna

We were in Costa Rica for 12 days and did many adventures. This rafting adventure was the absolute favorite of all 5 of our kids!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanging Bridges and La Fortuna Waterfall Guided Hike

Arenal/La Fortuna

The waterfall was seriously unbelievable and so amazing that we could get in and swim. This was one of my favorite experiences while we were in Costa Rica.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All Day Adventure at Selvatura, including Zipline, Hanging Bridges, and Fauna Exhibitions

Costa Rica

This was so much fun and full of adventure. All of the kids ranging from 9-15 years old loved it. The staff was great and made everyone feel safe.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manuel Antonio National Park

Costa Rica

Our guide was amazing and very passionate about the wildlife in the park. We got to see sloths, monkeys, lizards, butterflies, spiders, dragon flies, hummingbirds, crabs, grasshoppers……… The beautiful beach at the end of the guided tour was wonderful and the icing on the cake.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ocean Kayaking & Snorkeling

Manuel Antonio

This was fun but the kayak was no joke and a lot of work. We definitely felt like we had accomplished a great work out when we were back on shore. The snorkeling was pretty good for this time of year. The food for lunch was good and one of our favorite chicken and rice dishes we had in Costa Rica.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sport Fishing Inshore

Manuel Antonio

Deep sea fishing is always one of those experiences that is unpredictable. We staff and captain was great and the views from the boat were very nice. We went out for a half day and only caught 3 fish. So it was an expensive boat ride but we made the best of it. The rooster fish that we caught was huge and put up one hell of a fight, so that was our highlight.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I wanted to take the time to praise the experience we have had with Kim Kim Travel. The whole trip was seamless and amazing! We traveled to 4 destinations throughout the course of our vacation and the booked private transportation has been phenomenal! During the vacation, we made two small changes to the itinerary and Kim Kim made those changes happen without hesitation. I highly recommend using Kim Kim to book your next travel experience if you do not want to stress and worry about how to make the most of your vacation.

We had an amazing trip with KimKim’s help. All of our experiences were well planned and the travel was seamless. Our guide David on our volcano hike was extremely knowledgeable as were all of our guides. Planning couldn’t have been easier with Gustavo and Jessica’s advice and guidance.

Hotel Reviews

La Fortuna Downtown Boutique Hotel

La Fortuna San Carlos

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arco Iris Lodge

Santa Elena

This place was amazing! So beautiful, clean, and conveniently located.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Karahé Beach Hotel

Manuel Antonio

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Arenal Volcano Hike & Paradise Hot Springs & Meal

Arenal/La Fortuna

Loved this! Our tour guide David was very knowledgeable and fun. The hot springs were the perfect too off after the hike.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We really enjoyed our trip! The kimkim team had everything lined up for us with no hiccups to the schedule. We enjoyed talking to all our guides ( Charlie, David, Junior, Julio just to name some). All the guides/drivers were really knowledgeable and provided amazing conversations and service. It was quite an adventure for our family and we will always remember the beautiful landscape, wildlife and people of Costa Rica.

Hotel Reviews

La Fortuna Downtown Boutique Hotel

La Fortuna San Carlos

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arco Iris Lodge

Santa Elena

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Karahé Beach Hotel

Manuel Antonio

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Coffee Experience and Nighttime Nature Walk

Monteverde

Junior was awesome. He was incredibly knowledgeable about coffee and proper brewing methods. Lots of history and conversation about coffee and chocolate. The tastings were amazing. The night walk through the jungle was really cool. We were surrounded by so much wildlife. My son finally got to see scorpions and tarantulas in the wild. Even a pit viper made an appearance. Highly recommend Junior and his coffee and jungle experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano Hike & Paradise Hot Springs & Meal

Arenal/La Fortuna

David was very knowledgeable and really passionate about the wildlife and landscape. He was great/patient with our kids, fielding a million questions. Really nice guy and provided a lot of information about the volcano and history of the area.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Treetopia Hanging Bridges

Monteverde

I regret I can’t remember our guides name but she was extremely knowledgeable and excited to show us the wildlife of her country. Great with our kids, who loved seeing the Orange kneed tarantula and millipedes. The cloud forest is beautiful and we learned a lot on this short hike. The bridges are waaay up there.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Children's Eternal Rainforest Preserve! Even from the moment we pulled into the parking lot and our guide was pointing out white faced monkeys, we enjoyed walking around and seeing nature. He showed us birds and many other creatures, including 2 tarantulas, frogs and other insects. As we walked back to our cars we saw a Kinkajou. I know seeing wildlife is hit or miss, and while I was hoping to see more animals, I enjoyed the hike a lot. I also enjoyed learning about the history behind the area, and the students that came together to preserve it. This is a must do activity if you are in Monteverde!

Activity Review

Night Walk in the Children's Eternal Forest

Monteverde

We enjoyed having a guide on the trail with us- he was able to identify animals and insects that we would have missed otherwise.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I simply loved my trip to Costa Rica. My experience with KimKim was amazing. They really worked hard to work with my budget and created 3 different itineraries for me until I was finally happy. That to me is amazing. They were so quick to respond and they worked with me in a rush last minute to quickly book my stays and tours. ALL the tour guides were amazing! And I really appreciated that the tours were kept to small groups. It made my experience more intimate and enjoyable. It was my first time working with a travel agency and they did not disappoint. Thank you for making my trip an amazing one and accommodating my refunds quickly when 2 of my tours got cancelled due to matters out of our control. I look forward to working with you again and will recommend you to friends and family.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Playa Espadilla

Manuel Antonio

This was my favorite stay out of the three I visited! The receptionist here is amazing! The food wasn't great, but there are so many restaurants literally 2 mins away walking. I loved the pool, breakfast was included, the bar was awesome, their laundry service is a fair price, and the ambience in general is really nice here.

Authenticity & Character

Location

walking distance from national park, the beach, and plenty of restaurants

Staff

The receptionist was my favorite person

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Ficus

Monteverde Costa Rica

This hotel is a very nice hotel. Only negative aspect is that there is no AC in the rooms & they make you sign off in renting their fans. However, the view from the rooms is amazing. I only stayed one night here so I can't really comment much on anything else.

Casa Luna Hotel & Spa

La Fortuna

The rooms and staff were really nice. The only negative would be that the hot tubs were definitely not hot. Although they were beautiful, we couldn't really enjoy them because of how cold we were.

Activity Reviews

Arenal Volcano Hike & La Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our tour guide, Mariano from Serendipity Adventures, was AMAZING. He was so real and down to earth and had so much knowledge to share. He really made this an amazing experience. The restaurant he took us to was my favorite restaurant from the whole trip! Definitely an experience I would encourage others to take.

Quality of Experience

Food

This was the best restaurant I tried in my whole trip. I wish I could visit this restaurant again!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Mariano from Serendipity Adventures was amazing. Great knowledge, great food recommendations, and great attraction recommendations.

Transport

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Hike

Manuel Antonio

Andres from Endemic Bird Expert was my favorite tour guide to have met. His knowledge of the animals and the jungle is incredible. His personality was just the most amazing. I felt like he was spotting so many animals that others weren't catching. I strongly recommend this tour with this particular guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Andres from Endemic Bird had such an amazing personality!

Transport

We absolutely loved La Fortuna and Monteverde. We especially likes the tour guides with Desafio Tour company in La Fortuna. They were always on time, professional, very personable, friendly, accommodating, safety conscious, and best of all knowledgeable about the flora and fauna and really caring about the environment and climate change. Some of the awesome tour guides from Desafio were Samantha, Arturo, Ronnie, Hosea, and so many others. Loved the lunches, too. We extremely loved all the hikes, water fall, and canyoning!
The hotel was great, with a good breakfast, and convenient to all the restaurants and amenities in town. They were also very accommodating by creating a boxed breakfast for us because we had an early excursion one day.
We also loved Monteverde and and the beautiful country lodge. We has an awesome night hike with our knowledgeable guide, Brandon, who tried his best to find night life in the pouring rain. We loved the 2 mile jungle hike by a river. We felt like we really in deep rain forest. The El Trapiche Tour was awesome and beautiful. It was so much fun to taste all the stuff. I can't remember our guide's name but she was wonderful, knowledgeable, talked about how they try their best fairly pay and treat seasonal migrant workers, and the environment. She was also made the tour interesting and fun to listen to! We also were really impressed by our zip liners, Mauricio or Marco ?and his partner (forgot his name), who were very safe, patient, professional, helpful, and fun. We wished we would have brought more cash with us to buy the pictures. We were a bit disappointed That we didn't have enough cash to purchase any. Oh well, next time. Pura Vida!
Overall, the whole trip was well planned, organized, perfect to our liking ! Our drivers were also awesome and brought us to the perfect places to eat breakfast or lunch with good food and a place to walk, stretch, view the scenery, or shop around. Our drivers were all very professional ans excellent and safe drivers, but for some reason i can't remember all their names, except for our driver from La Fortuna to Monteverde, Rolando. I think the first driver from San Jose to La Fortuna was Mauricio ? Anyway, they were all wonderful! We had a memorable trip of a lifetime ! Thank you so much!
Warm regards,
Emelyn and Bob Judge

Hotel Reviews

La Fortuna Downtown Boutique Hotel

La Fortuna San Carlos

We really enjoyed that there was breakfast every morning. They also made a box breakfast for us one morning since we had an early excursion. The pool was nice and cool to go to after a long day. We had a nice view of the park, church, and side view of the Arenal Volcano. The place was a bit noisy at night but very convenient and walking distance to restaurants, and cafes. We really enjoyed our stay there. The staff were very accommodating and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Yes! A lot of character and nice lobby star with local arts and crafts.

Location

Great place to be if you want to be in downtown. Very convenient and walking distanceto restaurants, church, post office, pretty park with fountain, and stores.

Staff

I can't remember their names but the two ladies were helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bed was comfortable. Nice window view. Bathroom needed a bit updating or remodeling. But still useful and the housekeepers did a great job keeping our room and the hotel clean and tidy.

Monteverde Country Lodge

Monteverde

Love the location and environmentally beautiful place, land scaping, and great breakfast every morning. Very accommodating and friendly staff. The housekeeping people were great!

Authenticity & Character

The Place blends in well with the environment. Beautiful and peaceful and relaxing to be in.

Location

Love the location and environmentally beautiful place, land scaping, and great breakfast every morning.

Staff

Very friendly, professional, caring and accommodating.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room was great, with a nice window and porch, and view! The bed was comfortable and bathroom very nice. Great housekeepers !

Activity Reviews

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve Guided Hike

Monteverde

Loved this hike! Carlos, our tour guide for the Monteverde Cloud Forest , was excellent, knowledgeable, and very interesting to listen to, and cared about climate change! I recommend this to everyone! You will learn a lot!

Quality of Experience

I also like the souvenir shop that supports the cloud forest and indigenous people.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna Waterfall & Arenal Volcano Hike

Arenal/La Fortuna

Loved our guide, Samantha! So knowledgeable, environmentally aware of climate change, and wild life viewing land really watched out for all of us. Loved that we were able to view sloths, and other flora and fauna. Love the beautiful Volcano hike, wished we could have hiked more. Also, the falls was very refreshing and just the right amount of time. Really enjoyed the snacks of fresh fruits and authentic lunch!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee, Chocolate and Sugar Cane Experience

Monteverde

Awesome and informative tour about Costa Rican coffee, chocolate, and sugar. Excellent knowledgeable and interesting guide. Beautiful farm, plantation, and views. Great info on Sustainable and ethical practices.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Very well planned. All our guides we top notch. It was a fantastic trip!

Hotel Reviews

Studio Hotel

San José

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tabacón Thermal Resort & Spa

Fortuna

Very accommodating to our special needs diets (vegan, no gluten)

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Chira Glamping Monteverde

Puntarenas

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Mariposa Hotel

Manuel Antonio

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Mambo Combo: Canyoning and Rafting

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano to El Castillo - Half Day Mountain Bike Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sloth Observation - Day or Night Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our guide, Luis was outstanding!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Monteverde Cloud Forest Guided Hike

Monteverde

Bernie was a very knowledgable guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All Day Adventure at Selvatura, including Zipline, Hanging Bridges, and Fauna Exhibitions

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manuel Antonio National Park

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Damas Island Mangrove Forest Kayak Tour

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All of our guides were Amazing!
They were very knowledgeable and they Could literally spot animals from the boat and car.

First time working with kimkim and I loved it! Yuliana was my local specialist in Costa Rica who worked on all the details of my itinerary until I was happy with it. Answered all of my questions and concerns immediately. She booked the hotels, transportation and excursions and supplied me with confirmation numbers and all the specific details I needed so I didn’t worry about anything during the trip. The drivers were punctual, helpful and friendly, with A/C and clean vehicles. Hotels were great and we had the best time on all the activities/excursions. Definitely recommend.

Hotel Review

Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs

Fortuna

Our family of four really enjoyed our stay here. Clean and spacious room with strong A/C and amazing view of the volcano. 2 main pools were really nice, although not as numerous as other nearby hotels, as only one pool was hot spring. Breakfast is amazing, we also ate lunch/dinner poolside and in the restaurant which has breathtaking views. Depending on your room location, you need to be prepared to walk a bit or call for shuttle service around the property.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful property, rooms are spread out

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Comfortable mattresses!

Activity Review

Night Excursion at the Wildlife Refuge in Monteverde

Monteverde

We did this tour in the rain but it still turned out great! We didn’t have flashlights so the guide provided us with some. A bit scary walking into the forest in the dark but we had our trusty guide who led the way and found us some amazing wildlife.

Quality of Experience

Saw things we never thought we’d see!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Drivers arrived on time.

Transport