Fiorella Miranda

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 enjoyed an amazing family vacation in Costa Rica thanks to Fiorella's trip planning guidance. Our teenagers loved the adrenaline rush of white water rafting on the Pacaure River's long rapids, including a class IV section as well a howling with the howler monkeys while hiking on the Arenal 1968 Volcano hike. We saw a lot of wildlife in Manual Antonio, were surrounded by Capuchin monkeys, swam in the ocean under the Toucans, and with the help of our guide had some excellent views of sloths and roosting bats. My husband and I most enjoyed the biodiversity in the rugged Corcovado National Park. It took a boat ride through a mangrove forest to get there and a small plane to return to San Jose, but was worth the effort. Our guide Manfred with the Corcovado Wilderness Lodge was an excellent storyteller about the interdependence of the wildlife in the rainforest. Our family was lucky to spot an immense mother and tiny baby tapir on our gorgeous hike. Many great memories of our 12 day adventure.

Wow--what an incredible holiday in Costa Rica! We had a wonderful experience and are very pleased with kimkim--we would definitely recommend working with their team again. Fio was attentive to our requests and connected us with a fantastic local travel agency and expert, Nancy (Serendipity Adventures). Both Fio and Nancy were prompt to answer questions and help facilitate our travel needs--even when we were in the middle of traveling.
-3Monkies transportation was excellent. Drivers were always on time (usually 5-10 minutes early). Vans were spotless. Drivers were all very friendly and willing to accommodate any unscheduled stops. They were knowledgeable local resources and could answer any questions we had.
-Hacienda Guachipelin was EXCELLENT. Accommodations were very comfortable, restaurant options and food were fantastic, staff was very friendly and helpful. It was so convenient to have the activity center on the property--there was absolutely no feeling of a "vacation factory" (as I had read ahead of time). The activities were well organized and were thoughtfully integrated into their natural settings. The zip line through he canyon was fantastic. Waterfalls felt like a Costa Rican Shangri-La. Edward was a fantastic guide on the Las Pailas loop hike. The tubing was a blast.
-Hotel Mosque del Mar and Playa Hermosa was lovely. The pool area felt like a jungle oasis...but was dense with mosquitos.
-Kuna Vela sailing was NOT a catamaran...but rather a very nice sailboat. Our reservation was incorrectly made for 2 (instead of all 4 of us), but the staff was very accommodating and welcomed us all aboard. We had some higher swells on our sail, so the kids stayed in the back of the boat with the captain. He-and the entire Kuna Vela staff-were so friendly helpful, they really made the trip a hit with our family.
-The estuary mangrove tour in Tamarindo was excellent. The naturalist/boat captain was very knowledgeable and was able to point out many birds, plants, and crocodiles that we would have missed! This was a great activity that felt off the beaten path.
-Coco tours transportation was also excellent. Our driver was able to make a great lunch recommendation for us in Tamarindo.
-Nummbu Bungalows on Playa Carrillo was absolutely beautiful. Hotel staff was very friendly. Unfortunately our stay coincided with a group fitness retreat that dominated the property for the weekend--including a late night, thumping DJ party. Not the vibe we were hoping for. We were told this retreat is annual, so keep this in mind when booking in early June.
-Isla Chora ocean kayaking and snorkeling with Samara Adventures was a highlight!! We loved the open-air ride to the beach. The paddle to Isla Chora was so fun--we had turtles popping up to greet us along the way. The guides were very safety oriented and friendly. This was a fantastic family excursion--would highly recommend this.
We had such a wonderful time--Costa Rica, the beauty of the land, ocean and people, is truly a treasure of this planet!!

Hotel Reviews

Nammbú Beachfront Bungalows

Sámara

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Hacienda Guachipelín

Liberia

Excellent!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Bosque del Mar

Playa Hermosa

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

One Day of Adventure in Hacienda Guachipelin

Costa Rica

Hike to Las Pailas, Rincon de la Vieja National Park and La Oropendola Waterfall

Costa Rica

Sunset Catamaran Sailing Tour

Costa Rica

This was NOT a catamaran tour, rather a sailboat

Tamarindo Mangrove & Estuary Boat Tour

Gulf of Papagayo

Isla Chora Ocean Kayaking & Snorkeling Tour

Costa Rica

Everybody was kind and considerate.
Our guide for one day was Wilbur. He was great and my wife and I were comfortable with our interactions.
Our guide for 3 days was Jose. He was beyond great. His wealth of knowledge was amazing and we really enjoyed our time spent with him.
All the people at every resort we stayed at was excellent. I have never enjoyed a vacation more then this one.

Hotel Reviews

Poas Volcano Lodge

Vara Blanca

Our stay at Poas Volcano Lodge was peaceful and quiet. The staff was incredibly kind and accommodating.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs

Fortuna

We loved our stay at Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs. The hot springs were relaxing, the food was excellent, and the staff was friendly and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Aguila de Osa Rainforest & Marine Adventure Lodge

Drake

Our stay at Aguila de Osa Inn was great. The staff was very accommodating and concerned when my wife came down with food poisoning. The resort was remote but beautiful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Presidente San Jose City Center

San José

Our stay at Hotel Presidente San Jose City Center was pleasant. We enjoyed exploring the city, visiting museums, and picking up mementos to take home.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Senda Monteverde Hotel

Monteverde

Senda Monteverde Boutique Hotel was lovely. The staff was attentive and went above and beyond to help when I lost my cell phone during our stay.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Tour to Poas Volcano

Costa Rica

I had an amazing time during the Poas Volcano tour. The guide, Wilbur, was really good, and the experience was fantastic.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

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

Monteverde

Our visit to La Fortuna Waterfall, Hanging Bridges, and Arenal Volcano was incredible. The Hanging Bridges tour was one of the top experiences, and the wildlife we saw was amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private: Chocolate & Night Hike Experience

Monteverde

The Chocolate & Night Hike Experience was enjoyable. We had a great time exploring and learning about chocolate.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Caño Island Snorkeling Excursion

Corcovado National Park

I had fun snorkeling at Caño Island. The excursion was enjoyable, and I saw beautiful marine life.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

2 Weeks in April

The best guides were Chris in Guanacaste and Marianos in La Fortuna (swimming in the waterfall was highlight for me) also the night hike in Monteverde, but I forget his name. Least interesting hike was the Arsenal volcano hike.

The hotels in Monteverde, La Fortuna and Tamarindo were the best. Food at La Fortuna was excellent (deserts were 1 Michelin star! Breakfast buffet was the best too).

Loved the cottage (hot water bottles!), food and local hike in Monteverde (roasted garlic soup and the local limoncello was brought by bartender without even asking for it). Staff was especially great there.

Loved the pool (!) and the food in Tamarindo - sunset happy hour on the beach was fantastic.

Guanacaste was OK and unpretentious, but food options were limited. Back porch listening to all the birds was exceptional.

The hotel in Papagayo was the worst — room door to the outside didn’t close well, even after we got it repaired. Hot tub wouldn’t hold water, AC just didn’t really work and made a loud noise. Food was mediocre. Pool was tiny. Water stopped working one morning. Snorkeling tour was great although the fish weren’t that interesting. The footprint of the hotel was great, but really needs work.

Don Juan coffee and chocolate tour was Jane’s highlight - she called it phenomenal.

All the drivers were great and prompt. Roads were terrible and many under construction — 4 hours from Monteverde to Tamarindo. Tourist dollars would be well spent to improve them going to the parks.

We tried tipping everyone who gave us excellent service, but kept running out of small bills. Would highly suggest you recommend getting them before you leave. Most hotels could break a $20, but not all. All the staff at all facilities were great.

Hope this is helpful — I’m trying to be honest. We would have paid more to stay at a better place in Papagayo — maybe the Andaz? Also the heat was just a bit much for us San Franciscans. Could have used some more fog! ;-) Next time the Caribbean side?

Hotel Reviews

Senda Monteverde Hotel

Monteverde

Hotel Senda was amazing - the staff was awesome, and they even provided a heater and hot water bottles in the bed! The cloud forest guided hike and the night walk were both great, and our guide for the night walk was especially knowledgeable. There's a nice national park near the hotel with beautiful old strangler fig trees. We didn't go into town because it was quite steep, but we loved our stay at this hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Hacienda Guachipelín

Liberia

We had a really good guide in Rincon de la Vieja. Chris, a naturalist, took us on a nice long tour. He even had bird calls on his phone! Overall, we enjoyed our stay at this hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs

Fortuna

My wife especially loved the dessert at the restaurant in Arenal. The breakfast and meals were generally pretty good, and she thinks they were close to Michelin star quality. The guided hike in the Arenal Volcano Park was a bit steep and not as nice as some of the other hikes, but overall, we had a good time at this hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cala Luna Boutique Hotel & Villas

Guanacaste

We really liked the Cala Luna Boutique Hotel in Tamarindo. The pool was great, the food was awesome, and it had a nice, relaxed vibe. We enjoyed watching the sunset over the beach and walking into town along the beach. This might have been our favorite hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Bosque del Mar

Playa Hermosa

The Hotel Bosque del Mar in Gulf of Papagayo wasn't the best ending to our trip. The food was a little worse than mediocre, and we had some technical problems with our room. However, we were able to walk up and down the beach and find nice little restaurants, so we had some alternatives to the hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Monteverde Cloud Forest Guided Hike

Monteverde

The cloud forest guided hike was good, although it was a bit crowded. We enjoyed being in the cloud forest and exploring the area.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Night Walk in the Children's Eternal Forest

Monteverde

The night walk was a highlight of our trip. Our guide was very knowledgeable and showed us some cool stuff. We appreciated being on our own during the walk and exploring the nighttime forest.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Morning Snorkel & Sailing Tour

Gulf of Papagayo

The snorkeling experience was good but not great. We enjoyed being out on the water, and the crew was great, but we didn't see as many fish as we had hoped. The spiky sea creatures were a bit intimidating, and the snorkeling spot wasn't as crowded as we expected. However, overall, it was a fun experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee & Chocolate Tour

Costa Rica

This was a highlight of our trip. We had a great guide, and we got to make our own chocolate bars and drink roasted coffee. We would highly recommend this tour, as it was well-done and enjoyable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a fantastic trip to Costa Rica that was made easy through Kim Kim.
We loved our three hotels and our transport between locations was seamless.
We are not in the habit of pre-booking tours, but really enjoyed all the tours selected.
I wouldn’t hesitate to use Kim Kim again!

Hotel Reviews

Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs

Fortuna

A beautiful hotel with fantastic views of the volcano. Friendly staff who went out of their way to ensure we were enjoying our trip.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Ficus

Monteverde Costa Rica

Stunning views, beautiful gardens and an excellent breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Bosque del Mar

Playa Hermosa

A nice hotel in an excellent beach location. Helpful staff and nice rooms.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Boat tour to Las Catalinas Islands

Costa Rica

A fantastic day out. An excellent tour guide, delicious lunch, great snorkeling and wildlife and plenty of drinks available!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve Guided Hike

Monteverde

A great experience with our guide Bernie. I would definitely recommend.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanging Bridges and La Fortuna Waterfall Guided Hike

Arenal/La Fortuna

An enjoyable trip with our guide Mariano. Beautiful scenery, a swim and great lunch. Mariano was knowledgeable, good company and flexible. Would definitely recommend.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We wanted to plan a memorable family vacation to Costa Rica, but felt daunted by the task. We decided to use KimKim and were connected with Fio who helped turn our ideas of areas we wanted to see and things we wanted to do, into a manageable itinerary.

Some of the highlights were the guided tour at Manuel Antonio National Park with our guide, Socio (with Endemic Bird tours). We ended up being the only family on his tour so we had a very personalized experience. His knowledge and ability to spot wildlife in the jungle was extraordinary. We also enjoyed our hotel Costa Verde - we had wonderful ocean views from our balcony and saw toucans and macaws, as well as monkeys and sloths. The room was nice and the grounds were enjoyable - beautiful views from the Anaconda restaurant for breakfast. We also enjoyed evening dining experiences at Cafe Milagro and Claro Que Si. Wonderful food and atmosphere in both.

We were glad to have a rental 4x4 vehicle for the trip - which made it easier to see more areas and definitely needed 4x4 as the roads were not easy in many of the out of the way places like Monteverde.

We enjoyed zip lining in Monteverde at Selvatura Park, but unfortunately we had our first attempt at doing so canceled due to lightning. So one thing we learned is to plan activities for the morning hours to avoid potential rain and maybe storms in the afternoon. The morning weather mostly seemed to be predictably clearer than the afternoon. Selvatura let us reschedule our zip lining tour for the next morning, so we were able to squeeze it in before leaving for Arenal Volvano the next day - and we thoroughly enjoyed the zip line experience so it was worth it to squeeze it in. We enjoyed our hotel - Fondo Vela (again we were glad for the 4x4 as it was tough to get there). It was beautiful, peaceful and the rooms were very nice. We also enjoyed St Elena and Taco Taco restaurant there. We wished we had more time to spend there as it was a very beautiful area with just the right amount of tourist action (didn't feel over touristy).

Our hotel in La Fortuna was nice - it was right off the main road through Fortuna so it was a little underwhelming location wise....but the grounds were pretty and they had a nicely maintained pool and we at at Puira, the adjacent restaurant which was very good. It'd a nice view of the volcano. Fortuna is very touristy feeling - more so than Monteverde and St Elena - but we still enjoyed it. Put your guide Kenneth and driver Roy were fantastic for our La Fortuna waterfall guided hike and the hanging bridges (again we were wishing that we'd had these activities scheduled in the morning as it down poured through out our hanging bridges tour (we consequently didn't see much and we were soaked thru), but it was interesting to be in the middle of the rainforest in the middle of torrential rain so our guides helped us make the best of it. We also thoroughly enjoyed the chocolate and coffee tour while in Fortuna at Don Juan (our guide Yen was very knowledgeable and it was a great tour). We also did our own hike at Arenal Volcano National Park (nice views and easy hiking, pricey entrance fee though for our family of four). Lake Arenal is really pretty and we were once again grateful for the car as we took our time as we drive toward Bijagua, and stopped a few places along the drive around the lake. Unfortunately our son left his iPad at the hotel (Arenal History Inn) in La Fortuna so we had to make the drive twice to go back and get it (I messaged Fio and Nancy thru KimKim and they very wonderfully made the connection with the hotel management to help us get the iPad back from the hotel room he had stayed in). They definitely went above and beyond to assist and it was comforting to feel that they had our backs if something came up that we needed some help with.

Bijagua was very peaceful and felt very authentic- not very touristy. Our tour guide, Freddie, on our Rio Celeste hike was also very skilled at locating animals and spotting things in the jungle including some varieties of beautiful birds and a tapir! We all noted that many of these hikes can be done without guides, but the guides do offer a significant benefit to seeing all sorts of wild creatures and have so much knowledge to offer so it really was worth it to go with guides. We loved our bed and breakfast accommodations in Bijagua - Sueno Rio Celeste (the owners - Marci and Bryant were so hospitable and kind - they recently purchased the Inn but had many valuable suggestions for us including a visit to a jaguar sanctuary about 30 min drive away). If they hadn't told me they'd only been there less than a year, I never would've guessed with how seamlessly they ran the B&B and the wonderful wealth of knowledge they had to share about the area. The grounds are gorgeous - I did yoga and qigong on their newly built yoga deck and was surrounded by monkeys and birds and lovely jungle views. It was so peaceful and another place we wished we had more time.

Our last full day in Costa Rica we spent driving to and exploring Tamarindo - it was very busy and lots of beach/surfer action and tourists. We are at Ocean right on the beach which was nice. Our hotel and overall experience of Tamarindo was underwhelming- our hotel Pasatiempo was just okay - the pool area was nice and the beds were comfortable, but there was bass thumping and music from adjacent bars into the very early hours - lots of partying and tourists which is what some want, but it's not our scene so we were left underwhelmed by Tamarindo. We did thoroughly enjoy our Turtle Night Viewing Tour with Reynolds and Bernie. They drove us to the National Park/protected beach at sunset and filled us with an exceptional amount of information about turtles in our way there. This was our absolute favorite part activity/tour in Costa Rica - they guided us on the dark beach with red lights only and we witnessed baby turtles hatching and several turtles coming out of the water in various stages of digging and prepping their nests for laying eggs. We even saw one turtle laying eggs. It was amazing and a must do activity (but it seemed that having a knowledgeable guide was essential - Bernie and Reynolds seemed to know much more than many of the other guides and so our experience was better - we were the only group to see the turtle lay eggs - the others had all left before this occurred...we felt very fortunate to have Bernie and Reynolds as our guides). Our turtle experience is something none of us will ever forget! Pura Vida!

Overall our trip was fantastic and it was very helpful to use KimKim and have Fio and Nancy's assistance. It was a memorable trip for sure and we appreciated the hassle free planning and organization from Fio.