AMAZING !! is the one word to express our trip to Costa Rica !!
Costa Rica
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Jul 1 - Jul 8, 2023
AMAZING !! is the one word to express our trip to Costa Rica. We just returned from one of the most memorable trips we've taken in years - my wife and 2 kids (19 and 14 yrs).
And it all started with KimKim and Gustavo. I have never used a travel agency for any vacation before -- and after this trip, I'm already recommending my family and friends - this is the way to book your travel.
The team at KimKim was very knowledgeable, and i'll have to say very patient with all the changes i'd made in our itinerary over the couple weeks of planning. The trip from the start of the pickup at the Airport, with our private transfer from San Jose Airport to Arenal - was very professional, the car was very clean, and the overall trip felt very safe and comfortable.
We spent 8 nights, with 3 in Arenal, 3 in Monteverde, and 1 in San Jose. We loved both Arenal and Monteverde - completely jam-packed the 1st half of every day with activities -- well, you have to do that with young boys ;-).
We did Canyoning and White Water rafting with the Defasio team - and none of us had done either activity previously. The Defasio team was great - they picked us up at the hotel. took absolute care in the safety of the activities, without sacrificing the fun !!! we had great local food - delicious. On the White Water rafting activity, we had fresh fruit as part of our activity, lovely fruit along with all the amazing sights all around. We were a group of 6 on the raft. Lots of fun!!
We did the guided tour at the La Fortuna Waterfalls - and our guide was great !! he was very knowledgeable and patiently let us stroll around and took all the wonderful pictures for memories and we were swimming there with the fishes ;-). The water was great !!
In Montevede, we did the Zip Line - wow - amazing fun -- the team at SkyAdventures was super. They were so much fun !! And again our ride back from Monteverde to San Jose was comfortable in a nice clean vehicle and our driver was very courteous and safe driver - which is important given the roads ;-).
Our 1 day in San Jose was ok. Maybe because we were so pumped with action, a rest day did not align with our mindset. However, our resort in San Jose made up for the lack of activity there - we stayed at the Marriott Hacienda - an absolutely lovely property.
And KimKim helped us manage all of this via their planning site - i could always quickly get to my itinerary and the daily details. Looking to have KimKim help us with our next vacation.
Note, we did not book everything via KimKim; they had the flexibility for us to book directly with a hotel if we wanted - which i thought was quite helpful.
Activity Reviews
This was amazing !! We had never done Canyoning - like rappeling - but I'd not done that either. Everyone in the family loved this activity. I would definitely recommend it to anyone active.
This was so much fun !! My 14-year-old son said this was the best activity for our entire trip -- and we did a lot of activities. We had never done White Water Rafting before -- so this was a true highlight. The team at Defasio was awesome - very professional, safety oriented and knowledgeable.
This was such a lovely waterfall -- the sights are just amazing !! We also did swim in the bottom of the falls -- and next to the falls there is a smaller area where the water is more suitable to swim - we were literally swimming with the fish it was so clear.
The falls were so majestic - and the hike down was pretty easy - although some folks took time climbing back up -- We also did swim in the bottom of the falls -- and next to the falls, there is a smaller area where the water is more suitable to swim - we were literally swimming with the fish it was so clear. At one time we did see a Toucan so that was a bonus ;-).