Kimkim Trip Reviews for Costa Rica

Hotel Pasatiempo was a very good experience for the cost. The grounds and pool were amazing. The room was adequate, and the staff was very friendly. The breakfast burrito was incredible. The only downsides are Saturday night can be a bit loud (most of Tamarindo is if you're centrally located) and you need to bring bug spray as there can be days with a few mosquitoes.

Bosque del Mar is one of the most relaxing hotels I've ever stayed it. It is located right on the beach, the accommodations are incredible, the rooms are very, very well done, the pool was very scenic and relaxing, and all of the food was great. The staff was very friendly, remembered my name, and were very accommodating with my requests.

I took the Private Surf Lesson and enjoyed it so much I came back for the group lesson (slightly less cost) and then three other days to just rent a board (you get 50% off if you take a class). I kept coming back because the staff was incredible and treated me like family. It is very professional and a great place to take your first surf lesson.

Amazing. I visited 12 beaches (I'm a bit crazy so I don't recommend going this far). The sand and beaches are amazing, you will love them!

Can't beat Guanaste for beaches :)

Amazing hotel to be based to explore the area. The hotel is the closest to Rincon de la Vieja volcano which was our goal. What we didn't realize was that the hotel itself has so many waterfalls, and hiking trails to explore. Our favorite was the Orenpendola Waterfall, which is a huge fall that drops into amazing clear turquoise water!! The kids loved the hike down with the hanging bridges and cool water! The only downside of the hotel is that the food gets a bit repetitive after 3 days. While there are 3 restaurants, they are all from the same kitchen.

Amazing location, you are almost in the center of Tamarindo, and can pretty much walk everywhere. The hotel itself has some updated rooms, and some older rooms, see if you can get a room with the renovations. My only complaint is that. they need to spray the dinning area for bugs. You can't really lounge in the bar area without being eaten alive by the mosquitos.

Great hotel in the center of Arenal. Good location if you don't have a car. The rooms are newly renovated, and have great comfy beds, and a view of the volcano. The downside is that you don't really feel like you are in the rainforests, instead you are in the middle of a town.

My 8 year old needed to see a Toucan before he left Costa Rica. Given we didn't see one in the wild, we decided to visit Diamante on our last day. Well his wish came true! We saw 4 toucans! And what was even more amazing was seeing the sloths up close! We've seen a couple of the sloths before in the wild, and they were always just in the distance, but here at Diamante, at the feeding time, the sloths are actually moving - it was amazing. There was also a jungle gym obstical course that my son went on multiple times, so all in all a good day.

Was super fun! The instructors were all very helpful to make sure that you were able to stand up on your first wave. I wouldn't have been able to do that with out their help.

They are not joking when they say you might see giant Manta Rays!! The Manta Rays were 15 ft across. I wasn't expecting it, since we didn't come in the peak season for seeing them, but was spectacular.

Pretty good tour, and we definitely saw lots of wildlife such as monkeys and the most amazing thing was the bats hanging on the tree trunk that looked like pieces of bark. The guide was very knowledgable, and was able to spot the animals that even with his direction we had to really search for to see. However, the boat part of the trip was pretty short, probably an hour. And the rest of the tour was the restaurant, pottery etc. Which is not really our cup of tea.

Good for a quick stop over on the way through Liberia. We only spent 20 minutes at the waterfall, took a quick dip and left. There is no hiking or anything like that, you are really just coming for the waterfall. Worth it if you are passing by, not worth it if you are coming just for the waterfall.

Super fun for the kids to see the volcanic activity. Come early as it can get really hot during the day. Lucky there are some pretty nice trees to shade a good portion of the hike. It was just the right length for our kids (8 & 10).

Super fun! The hot springs range from 100 degrees to 145 degrees. So take your pick. The hot springs are set on the banks of the river, so it was nice and peaceful to look out at the river as you are soaking. We came at the end of the day and was nice to walk back with the twinkling lights lighting the path for the short hike back. The volcanic mud was also fun. Kids had fun painting themselves.

Easy hike down to the waterfall, and a nice place to spend an afternoon. It can get pretty busy though, as everyone seems to have the same idea.

The beach was amazing, I can see why it is known as the best beach in Costa Rica. Pure white and squeaks as you walk over it (because of the broken shells). I came super early, so I had the whole place to myself, and did a bit of snorkeling too. Lots of fish in the water, but that day the water clarity wasn't the best.

I wanted to visit the town of Guaitil but didn't get a chance, so was super excited to do a pottery lesson. Was super fun to learn how to use the tools (such as a corn husk) to help shape my piece. The lesson took 3 hrs, one hr each day, so it was easy to schedule into the rest of my schedule.

A beautiful hike through the jungle. The waterfall was amazing,, and as blue as it looks on the photos. But what was even more amazing was the hike to the start of the color pigments. At the origin (mixing point) you can see where the clear river suddenly turns to a turquoise blue! That was amazing.

This hotel exceeded our expectations. While the room decor is pretty basic, the bathroom is beautiful, the grounds are very nicely manicured and host many birds and wildlife, and the location was an easy walk to town but also at the top of a hill which afforded stunning sunset views. The staff was incredibly friendly and helpful.

The hotel and hot springs are nothing short of stunning. The grounds are beautiful. The walk to the pool, main building and hot springs are easy and so pleasant. The fact that the hot springs open to hotel guests two hours before the general opening allowed us to visit feeling like we had the place to ourselves. The secluded areas with cabanas and the plethora of flora makes it seem like you’re in a magic rainforest setting.

The Westin was a great place to relax after 8 days of adventure in Monteverde and Arenal/La Fortuna. The grounds were very nicely maintained, the many restaurants ensured we didn’t get bored with the food over the course of a week, the staff were absolutely amazing - really friendly and helpful. Just a shout out to a few: Ruddy was a fun and knowledgeable instructor of yoga and water aerobics (do this! It’s so fun!), and Christopher, Bryan, Gabriel and Christian were incredible bartenders who knew our names and always greeted us with a smile, were really fun to chat with and also were great bartenders.

A great way to start the vacation! The cloud forest is gorgeous and looks spectacular from the top.

It was interesting and delicious!

The guides were super but unfortunately the nocturnal animals were not cooperative.

Our guide was friendly and took a lot of great pictures. The setting is pretty spectacular.

This was my family’s favorite adventure. The canyoning was gorgeous, in the cloud forest and down a waterfall through a series of rappelling and zip lining and features with walks along the river in between. The whitewater rafting was exciting. There were class 2-3 rapids which were just adventurous enough (a couple of us did bounce out into the water but it was fine). Mario was our whitewater rafting guide, and he was SO fun. This adventure also came with a meal which was delicious.

The volcano hike and waterfall hike (two different hikes in different locations on the same day) were both beautiful. They have completely different views but are equally nice. The power of the waterfall and the fact that you can swim in the water near it is really cool. Mariano was our guide, and he was awesome! He’s a seasoned guide with a deep knowledge not only of the flora and fauna but also the history and politics of the region. He took great photos and was patient while we swam. He also took us to some great restaurants.

This was a great trip. You can’t believe how blue this water is until you see it in person. Stunning.

Good location right on the beach. Wildlife just outside the rooms.

You can find places with fancier rooms or facilities but you won't find a staff anywhere that's nicer, friendlier and more attentive. Super recommend.

We only stayed 2 nights but it was lovely. Awesome hot springs with bar. Very friendly and helpful staff.

Mariano was awesome. Very knowledgeable and funny, showed us beautiful places and took us to a great spot for lunch. I had told him I really like ceviche so he called the place in advance and they made up a ceviche recipe on the spot just for me! It was delicious :) The waterfall visit was one of our favorite activities.

Rappelling was so much fun. Thrilling but also felt very safe at all times. The waterfalls and hike through the forest were just beautiful. The whole staff was amazing. Rafting was also great (the favorite by far of our 15y boy). One of us fell off the raft but thanks to Christofer's guidance we were able to pull her back safely and she enjoyed the rest of the trip. Great lunch spot as well (best coffee).

We really enjoyed our night walk. Our guide, Walter, was incredibly knowledgable, and we learned so much. We saw a lot of tarantulas which our 11y old daughter was very excited for.

We enjoyed the hike and aerial bridges. Our guide was great and we learned a lot about the forest. The zip-lining was a ton of fun. My 60+ aunt and 70+ uncle both loved the experience. And our 15y old son loved the optional free-fall at the end.

We loved this activity with Brian and Mario. Smooth boat ride with drinks and delicious fruit and snacks. We snorkel a lot but this was our first time in a tropical location and loved to see different kind of sea life, including holding an octopus in our hands :)

This is a very unique hotel, right next to a Thermal River. We had a center bungalow and an east bungalow. The bungalow is nested in the jungle. It has a rustic feel outside, however, once you get in, everything is ultra model. There are windows along 3 sides of the room. The outdoor rain shower is super cool. Center bungalow gives a more unique experience with the out-door shower.

From our bungalows, there is a great view of Arenal. The ground is amazing, we didn't use any of the pool facility as we were busy with the activities. The menu of the onsite restaurants is on the pricy side.

It is a very small boutique hotel (14) rooms. Free laundry service is also great. The view of the hotel is magnificent.

It was a nice day walk. The guide told us due to the rain, the sloth went up high and curled into a ball. We were lucky enough to catch a 2 toe-sloth in a slight lower position. Was able to see a red frog, lizzard and few other birds.

The activity is super cool and something to brag about. Love the man-made Dam effect, got a really cool video out it.

The springs resort is beautiful, the spa setting is beautify. I am glad that Gaustavo picked the activity here for us to enjoy the view and food without needing to pay the exorbitant hotel room.

Maybe it is during the low season, it is like a private tour. There were no other people around the first 2 waterfalls, it was a bonus.

This is our favorite activity of the trip. It has the right balance of thrill and easiness. It was our kids first time rafting, the level 1-2 rapids are good learning ground. The river is warm and beautiful, there were good swimming spots a long the way. As the end, there were 3 level 3 and 1 Level 4 which adds the thrill.

The guide is knowledgeable about the animal. We were able to see a lot of water birds and crocodiles. The fresh coconut water is very refreshing.

Rooms had no Air conditioning and no fans were provided. N o nprivacy in the rooms open toilets. Guest service not upto the mark.

Beautiful room and view from the hotel and great service and food.

Nice large rooms and great service and freindly staff. Great buffet breakfast

Very good expereince and very good explanation by the staff

Evening tour was good but most musems were close and everthi g was in the dark

Great e xpereince but things were being rushed. Need to ntrain staff a bit more

Hotel was clean and the beds were very comfortable.

The hotel is an eco lodge meaning there’s no air conditioning. The flora and animals that surround you make sweating it out more than worth it! We saw monkeys and sloth right outside our door. We loved doing the Turtle nesting experience and the hotel made the experience very easy to book.

One of the highlights of our trip. We opted to drive our rental car and the journey to San Gerardo hotel savegre was definitely not something you should try if you are not confident with your driving skill. We called the last 3-4 miles stretch down to the valley to the hotel “road to hell”, the unfortunate part was we got slightly delayed at the airport with looking for our rental car and getting sim card activated and wasted maybe 2 hours prior to leaving SJO, we got to San Gerardo when it was dark and that was definitely an adventure to get down to the valley. We couldn’t see much because it was dark but we definitely saw a huge tapir on our way to the hotel. Once we got to the hotel, we were immediately greeted by the security guard who guided us to the reception and from there we had our first meal in the hotel. Let me say, this hotel is very well kept, the restaurant is clean and upscale provided pretty good food and service. Our rooms were beautiful and cleaned daily. The following day when we have sunlight, we were amazed at how beautiful and serene the valley was. We did bird watching and some hikes around the hotel. Definitely a place we will revisit. Wish we have more time to do more of the hiking trail.

I think this hotel has a lot of potential. It is sitting in a beautiful land with lots of vegetation but not maintained enough. When we get there, we immediately had a bad feeling at the entrance compare to our experience from hotel savegre. We got into the our rooms, we have 2 rooms, both rooms bedsheets were not very clean, 1 if the rooms smell very damp and the bathroom were leaking. This location is definitely not as comfortable compared to hotel savegre. 1 night were so hot even with fan going, but I guess we cannot really change the climate. The food quality in their restaurant were pretty bad. We relayed our experience to travel agent, who then spoke to the owner/manager of the hotel and they acknowledged they knew about the leak in the bathroom and immediately change our room to a better room that smell much better with clean linen, they brought us a bottle of wine and cancel our bill of dinner the night before. We appreciate them trying but I think this location is a good location if they have enough staff and maintain better.

This is an amazing location in the reserve. The people were nice and friendly, very helpful. The housekeeper washed our clothes daily and clean the villa. We were sleeping with the sound of wildlife. Saw lots of wild life, howler monkeys and many type of birds. The hammock was the highlight of this villa. We live in sweet dream house, it has 3 rooms, 1 of them has a/c. The location is cool enough, we did not use the a/c too much. A full function kitchen, outdoor sitting, dining, bbq area, walking trail and a waking path to the beach. Easy access to everywhere else. Will definitely return to this location.

We just stay here 1 night before our flight back home. Very standard Hampton in , clean, good breakfast and close to airport.

Our guide brought binoculars and the super birdwatching magnified spotting scope. We were able to see several quetzals. Learn about them from the guide. Again just a beautiful place to be in.

To be honest we went there with little to no expectations because the coffee shop where the coffee plantation tour attached to had some mixed review from google review. But once we met our guide everything changed, very knowledgeable guide, amazing tour with so much information from the fruits of coffee to the process and tasting of coffee. We learned so much!!

A nice detour between San Gerardo to turialba. My husband said it feel like a heated pool rather than hot spring. The weather was not so friendly, it was raining. It is a beautiful place, the lunch attached was descent.

This is the description we have from the travel agent: Today you will visit the iguana zoo farm of the KEKOLDY territory, where an indigenous family is dedicated to the reproduction of the Green Iguana, a species that was in danger of extinction, and thanks to initiatives like these it has been recovering. Next, in the Bri Bri territory, you will visit an indigenous family that grows medicinal plants and will guide you through the usage of several tropical plants, followed by a demonstration of the production of chocolate. Cacao (chocolate) within the Bribri culture is very important since they use it for purification, food, and medicine. In the last stage of the tour, you will visit a waterfall where you can take a bath and have a small fruit-based snack. Finish the tour in a typical restaurant in the area where you have typical lunch. Our actual trip: only include the last stage hike of primary and secondary forest to the falls, our guide is very nice and knowledgeable, this is not an easy hike. Very slipper from rain night before, we saw wild life. The guide Mynor, driver fofo and host Hermano? Who serve us lunch were are amazing people. We love this adventure.

One of the highlights of our trip. The guide were very knowledgeable and helpful. We felt very safe. And a nice lunch!

Very nice hike, unfortunately it was raining and foggy. But we love it. Very nice guide Gloria was very informative.

Again we had no expectations of this tour. We thought just another farm with lunch. We were so wrong!! We learn so much from this organic farm from zero to a full education center. So much knowledge and passion of the owner. We love learning her passion. Great lunch!

Again slightly different from what was described in our itinerary, Itinerary: You will go snorkeling for about two hours in the most important Coral Reef of Costa Rica… You will discover the National Park by White Beach sector, up to Cahuita point, crossing through beautiful beaches to relax and swim in the calm water of the Caribbean Sea for a while. In spots between Cahuita Point and the town of Cahuita (3.5 km), you will be able to see various types of snakes (boas, bocaraca, bushmaster, eyelash vipers, etc.), sloths, white-faced and howler monkeys, anteaters, armadillos, raccoons, blue morpho butterflies among others, birds and many more such as medicinal plants, orchids, trees, ferns, vertebrates, invertebrates, sea, and earth shellfish. Our actually experienced were hopped on the pick up van, drop off, get on a boat to do snorkeling. It was a nice trip still. Maybe the exploring the national park part is on our own? But our ride got us back immediately? Maybe in the future better description eg we can take our own ride to the boat, a snorkel and explore the national park on our own?

Great rooms, roof hot tubs, historic yet very comfortable and fantastic breakfast!

Highlight of the trip! I wouldn’t have gone here without a tour guide, he truly made the experience worth the visit. The views of course were beautiful but we got to see a lot of different animals and nature with tons of information surrounding. Highly recommend this

Very good place to be for the first and last night. A walk around the area was OK - the other end of Sabina Park would probably be better as behind this hotel were a lot of garages and opposite a very deserted building with broken glass etc.. The hotel itself lovely, good breakfast just situation could perhaps be better. BUT as we were hardly in San Jose we did not have the chance to get a good feel for the area really.

Fantastic place with great facilities, food, tours on offer and staff. Only thing - if being incredibly picky was the very dark lighting in our room BUT that was a minute thing and really is of no consequence. Very clean, great pick up, as with all places great boat men and the turtle tour and lagoon tours were both really well managed and very much enjoyed. Food delicious and whilst off the same menu each day it was still hard to choose from what we had already eaten or trying a new dish. Location brilliant. Loved it.

Our favorite place - well in the top 2- the situation, the vibe of the area, the wild life on site - Poison Dart Frogs, 3 Toed Sloth, Green Macaws, Agouti.... Despite heavy warnings of security for the area, it is clear that if you do not go out as a rich tourist, you do not court unwanted attention. Lovely cocktails changed daily for happy hour, fantastic tours of 2ereserves close by. In a way a shame it was so close to the start of out tour as we loved the area and the feel of this place.

This was a much bigger complex than we would have chosen complete with wrist band! BUT our cabin was in a great position and really enhanced our experience here - we had a lovely view from the back that had no cabins in....had we been in another area this would not have been the case. BUT we all gained a little digestive issue - so rather than finding a SODA in La Fortuna we ate in and the food was very nice and just what those who ate needed. Good hot tube - shame some people don't have the social skills to not have loud speakers in the pools but that is the fault of the tourist and not the venue. great position for a view of the volcano and also to get to the tour site.

Was a simple room and fine for what we needed. Nothing flash and on the ground floor a lot of noise in the morning BUT that was the tour group also staying there and not the fault of the property. Suit cases wheeled by the window at 6am seemed a little loud!

Our room was fantastic with pacific views. Great AC. This was certainly more upmarket than we are used to. Phoning for a lift to a restaurant is not what we are accustomed to! Or to getting food delivered from the restaurant to our room after a late night tour. In a good location 10 minutes chilled walk from the beach. More monkeys than people was a logo and a truth, lots of wildlife in the area around our cabin - we had a fabulous time here. While the area is touristy - more so than anywhere else we had been, the hotel is great because all cabins are spread out.

Wow what a jewel, in our top 2 - BUT the top one for the all round package. We left the best to last. Great cabins - very clean, super views across Drakes Bay. Tours exceptional lead by brilliant staff - even the bar staff looked for wild life to show us in the evenings - Green frog snake eating a frog was a highlight of the in site non formal sitings. BUT Daniel and Mauricio were great on tours to Corvovado and Isle de Cano. Boat drivers were excellent in choppy conditions and also very respectful when we met Humpbacked whales. All food and drink was stunning and we could not have asked for anything more. Every thin is thought of without being upmarket if that makes sense. Even on our departure a boat to our taxi had a wet landing so they had a bottle to rinse our feet and a towel to dry them off before getting in the taxi. We would love to go back...

Good coach pick up and excelent transfer to boat and boat trip to Mawamba Lodge. Breakfast en route also lovely. All good

Really loved this place. Great night tour to see turtles - saw 6 which was really special - 1 was awesome. This was an exciting night of moving through bush and beach fast, following red lights and seeing an incredible event all in highly regulated circumstances.

Great guide and we saw so much and realised how much you need a guide to maximise what you see. Sloth, various snake species, many reptiles, primates all seen and explained really well by our guide. Great walk, lovely cool of in the sea half way around. Really good experience.

What a walk, what views and a great guide. "Mummy Nature is amazing" was the mantra of franklin. This was a great walk through the volcanic area where we were taught about the geology - pictures drawn on the floor by Franklin that the photos of will be used in our lessons in the UK. Great botanical knowledge and we smelt so many leaves and fruits and heard what they were for. Really was a great and well informed walk.

The butterfly garden was really good as were sightings of frog - our first ones. BUT this garden seemed a little over managed really - compared to others, water features etc.. are not natural.. We had a good guide but it certainly was not a 3 hour trip - well it was when we re walked it on our own. Possibly the least impressive of all our activities.

Really god tour - heart sank as loads of people were waiting but all sorted into small groups and as luck would have it ours was just the 4 of us. Great guide and despite similarities of species seen we heard now things about them. Also saw fire flies, a snail eating snake and a kinkajou which caused much excitement as it raced across the canopy. What was great was our guide also took us to a dark area, we switched off all lights and then witnesses phosphorescent fungi on tree roots. Guides worked together to share sightings, side striped viper, sloth all hidden high up but all shared and seen.

Whilst a real honey pot, this activity was so smooth and well run. All instructors at all points super efficient and friendly. Experience through the canopy was brilliant and we all loved it. Tarzan Swing fab, tandem zip lines great and then our daughters loved the superman. All in a fantastic location. Followed by a more serene but much enjoyed hanging bridge tour. With a guide we may have seen more but we had a magical Coati encounter on a path and actually it was great taking in the views we saw having been guided quite a lot already.

Really busy compared to all other sites we were on. The guide we had was great and despite the numbers of groups managed to evade much of the tripod wars going on for best sightings. Saw a number of new species, enjoyed lovely views and had a quick cool off in the sea half way around. Certainly a huge amount of people here compared to else where made this feel a little over crowded having enjoyed much quieter tours in the Caribbean area.

When you see an anteater while drying your feet from getting off the transport it is a good omen! This was a great walk and we were actually taken to Sirena station deeper into the park which was fantastic. So much to see and hear. Daniel our guide was excellent and seeing Tapir was excellent near the end of our walk. All aspects were really enjoyed and standing and listenning to the sound of frogs mingling with howler monkey was magical. Peccaries foraging, primates, reptiles, birds all added to a day not to be forgotten. Even Humpback whales on the way and on the return.

As with all aspects of Drake Bay Wilderness resort, this was a brilliant trip - well guided and stunning in our experience of turtle and a fabulous Humpback Whale siting - 10 minutes of mother and calf. The fish were mesmerising and very varied. Despite a big storm we were able to enjoy this experience a lot and visibility was good. Daniel, Mauricio and team were really helpful through out and all equipment super clean.

Consider the location before booking. I like that fact that it’s outside of town, so it’s relatively quiet except for the loud diesel trucks that roar down the road. On the downside, I was without a car and had to walk into town (20 min each way) to find lunch and dinner (the inn only serves breakfast). The room was good. Hot rain shower, everything was clean, breakfast was good, and towels were changed daily. I didn’t care for the $16 charge for laundry (even though I only had 2 items),

Lirio is like at the midpoint between Manuel Antonio National Park and Quepos. Quepos is the town next to the boat harbor and feels like a legit Costa Rican town. The restaurants and inns towards Manuel Antonio all feel like overpriced tourist traps. As for the hotel itself, I thought the “towel card” was strange. It’s a laminated card that says if you lose the card, you’ll be charged $20. I never used the pool, but it did look nice. The room was very clean, and the housekeeping came daily. The bed felt old and was made of springs. I appreciated that they had a restaurant since I arrived late in the evening, I was able to eat dinner and stroll back to my room. The wifi doesn’t cover all rooms. I was in room 303, and I had to sit next to the window with my iPhone in order to get signal. Forget about cellular; even with full bars, you don’t get squat. I like that they let me park my locally-rented moped in the garage for free.

The family that owns this farm is so sweet and hospitable. I would absolutely book this farm experience again just to make another piece of homemade chocolate and freshly-pressed sugar cane juice.

Beautiful hotel was great restaurant, right at the edge of a nature preserve.

Nice downtown hotel with rooftop restaurant and bar.

Great hotel, all-inclusive food, nice rooms and boat tours for wildlife viewing are included.

Very large complex, somewhat crowded not a boutique hotel. Having the restaurant and the vast hot tubs area was convenient though.

Hotel right at the edge of the national park, nice to have pool downstairs where you could order food and we enjoyed the restaurant at the top of the hotel with the great view.

IMPORTANT: if you are going to stay at this hotel, make sure you have all their contact information and the ability to call them from the airport if you are a little bit late arriving in case your driver decides to leave. When I arrived at the airport, the driver was not there - this was not Serendipity's fault (they reimbursed me for my taxi), it was the hotel's - my flight was delayed by forty-five minutes so I arrived according to that - not very late. Besides, their responsibility is to check flight times or wait! It was late, I was tired, I had all my luggage and limited Spanish. Thankfully I found someone who could speak English and they were very helpful - I managed to arrive. No real explanation as to why the driver wasn't there - he had actually been there and just left, apparently. This could have been an absolute nightmare. The hotel itself was a very nice, mid-range standard city center hotel.