Multi-Day Tour
9 Day Costa Rica Family Luxury (9 days)
Kensington Tours
San José To Welcome To Vara Blanca To Papagayo
Valid for Departures Now Through: 31 Dec 2019
9 Day Costa Rica Family Luxury (9 days)
Day 1
San José To Welcome To Vara Blanca
Day 2
Vara Blanca
Day 3
Vara Blanca To Arenal
Day 4
Arenal, Costa Rica
Day 5
Arenal, Costa Rica
Day 6
Arenal To Papagayo
Day 7
Papagayo
Day 8
Papagayo
Day 9
Papagayo
Itinerary
DAY | LOCATION(S) | HOTEL | MEALS | DESCRIPTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Day 1
|
San José To Welcome To Vara Blanca |
Peace Lodge | Breakfast |
This information was not provided.
|
Day 2
|
Vara Blanca |
Peace Lodge | Breakfast |
This information was not provided.
|
Day 3
|
Vara Blanca To Arenal |
The Springs Resort & Spa | Breakfast |
This information was not provided.
|
Day 4
|
Arenal, Costa Rica |
The Springs Resort & Spa | Breakfast |
This information was not provided.
|
Day 5
|
Arenal, Costa Rica |
The Springs Resort & Spa | Breakfast |
This information was not provided.
|
Day 6
|
Arenal To Papagayo |
Andaz Peninsula Papagayo Resort | Breakfast |
This information was not provided.
|
Day 7
|
Papagayo |
Andaz Peninsula Papagayo Resort | Breakfast |
This information was not provided.
|
Day 8
|
Papagayo |
Andaz Peninsula Papagayo Resort | Breakfast |
This information was not provided.
|
Day 9
|
Papagayo |
Depart (Int'l Airport) | None |
This information was not provided.
|
Tour Features
Experience(s)
Experiences have not been selected at this time
Description
Introduce your kids to the wild kingdom of Costa Rica on this nature-focused adventure with a luxury twist. Zipline through the jungle, meet exotic creatures, make your own chocolate from scratch, visit volcanoes, and frolic on some of Central America’s best beaches.
About Us
Kensington Tours specializes in custom tours to over 90 countries worldwide. Our tailor-made journeys are carefully crafted to deliver a personalized adventure like no other. We build in extraordinary, enriching experiences and put the best private guides at your service. We do all this with award-winning attention to detail and unbeatable value for your travel dollar.
Insider Tip
Contact your Virtuoso Travel Advisor for insider knowledge to help enhance your experience.Terms & Conditions
Please visit our website for full terms and conditions.
The trademarks VIRTUOSO, the Globe Swirl Logo and SPECIALISTS IN THE ART OF TRAVEL are registered trademarks of Virtuoso, Ltd. Virtuoso, Ltd. has a U.S. copyright registration for the Globe Swirl Logo, ©2000. All rights reserved. Virtuoso CST#2069091-50. California CST# 2069091; TA# 808 - Registered Iowa Travel Agency; Washington UBI # 601 554 183. Registration as a seller of travel does not constitute approval by the State of California.
Reviews and Recommendations for Kensington Tours
94%
of 55 guests
recommend
recommend

Virtuoso Verified Traveler
All reviews are from confirmed guests sharing exclusive insights
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Recommended
Highly Recommended
By: Linda
Reviewed on: 30 Jan 2014
The food, ambiance and lodging accommodations were fabulous! Only on the Stella Australis did we find the food to be suboptimal but plenty of drink helped overcome that.
The explorations and staff were wonderful.
However, the "luggage storage" while we went to the desert did not happen--no-one from the tour agency knew about it. We survived anyway.
Recommended
Highly recommend
By: Not provided
Reviewed on: 28 Apr 2014
I went on this trip with my son who was 12 at the time. My husband was unable to attend. Our personal guide and driver, Sam, was amazing and took us under his wing. We felt very safe and well cared for. He was patient with my son's energy level and also very knowledgeable about the wild life and culture. The lodges that we stayed in and the wild life viewing were amazing. The "kidtastic" tour that we took struck the right balance and my son had a great time! One of his favorite activities was hunting with the Aransai bush tribe people. Thanks
Travel Advisor:
Stephanie Miller Murphy
Recommended
Great service with follow-through
By: Sgailey
Reviewed on: 18 Aug 2014
Kensington did a stellar job of helping us through a few issues we ran into while overseas. Without their great customer service, we would have spent a few days being totally bombarded by stress; instead, we were able to hand off the issues and trust that Kensington would resolve them.
Recommended
Great
By: glo
Reviewed on: 30 Aug 2014
We had two tours one in Copenhagen and the other in London. Both were great. Very knowledgable guides
Travel Advisor:
Terri Stanfield
Recommended
A Great trip with a few trips and falls
By: Michaelzstuff
Reviewed on: 14 Sep 2014
We had a great time overseas with plenty to see and plenty of time to see them. A wonderful experience but terrible service with the connections overseas. We had made arrangements for pick-ups at every train station at the time of our arrival and rides from out hotel to the train stations.. Unfortunately, many times there was no one waiting to pick us up and times when there was no one to take us back to the train station. We made several international calls to reach someone while standing at the station with our family and baggage and were told that they would get back to us but never heard from them again. One of the drivers who did arrive took us to the wrong departure location and we had to pay for a cab to the airport. The only other blip was when we arrived at one of our stops along the way and were told that we had to pay for the tickets even though we later found a document that confirmed our payment.
Travel Advisor:
Eleanor Hardy
Not Recommended
Barcelona
By: Kate
Reviewed on: 26 Sep 2014
Good guide and driver. Poor communication with the "office". We asked the "office" to change our airport pick-up time and that was never communicated.
Recommended
Amazing marathon trip of a life time
By: Ellie and Rick
Reviewed on: 17 Oct 2014
Very impressed with the Kensington guides, drivers, hotel choices and tour choices. The cultural dinners and shows were great. Well done!!!
Travel Advisor:
Mary Ann Tiemeier
Recommended
Expert Friendly Service
By: Nancy3961
Reviewed on: 28 Oct 2014
Nora was great and the tour was perfect for our needs
Travel Advisor:
Krista Wissinger
Recommended
Excellent (Ausgezeichnet)
By: Prosit!
Reviewed on: 28 Aug 2015
Many thanks to all of the Kensington staff that made out visits to Vienna, Salzburg and Munich so memorable. Our private tours in each city was incredible. Katerina in Wien was incredible as was our private tour in Munich, where the guide decided to drive us around to beat the heat instead of taking the walking tour was most appreciated, As well as some the extra touches we received such as the small "Lederhosen" purses for the children. You have an amazing team and we look forward to meeting you again in the future. Well done!
Travel Advisor:
Wayne Muhlstein
Recommended
"Norman" was AMAZING
By: Pooz
Reviewed on: 11 Sep 2015
Once in Bali, my wife and I didn't have to worry about a thing. Norman, our English speaking guide, catered to our every request and suggested even more we never would have thought of. Norman and his driver took us to all the sites we planned to see plus some we didn't even know about. We always felt safe, that they had our best interests in mind, and never felt pressured to buy anything. We learned lots about the culture, history, and language. Wonderful trip!
Recommended
great planning
By: 1434
Reviewed on: 02 Sep 2015
Trip came off as planned ---was a great experience. Excellent attention to detail.
Travel Advisor:
Marlene Zabel
Recommended
Exactly what we asked for.
By: Patty
Reviewed on: 17 Sep 2015
This is the second time we have used Kensington and again they were excellent. Noel, our guide was fabulous. Extremely knowledgable, friendly, attentive be took very good care of us.
Travel Advisor:
Alyse Cori
Recommended
Local pros!
By: kd58
Reviewed on: 02 Nov 2015
We used Kensington guides in Budapest, Prague and Vienna. Each driver and guide was professional, knowledgeable and accomodating. We learned both the history and special points about key sights, without them going into too much detail or information overload. We will recommend Kensington to our friends traveling to these locations.
Travel Advisor:
Michelle Bemis
Recommended
Brilliant, funny, thorough, flexible, creative,
By: MPH1960
Reviewed on: 16 Nov 2015
Our tour guide Mordi Zissman our guide and driver is Brilliant, funny, thorough, flexible, creative, informed and passionate about his country. Israel could not have been seen any other way than by Mordi's guidance and driving! What a tour!
Travel Advisor:
Florence (Flo) Banks
Recommended
Friendly Welcome in a Foreign City
By: Alina
Reviewed on: 31 Dec 2015
It was such a peace of mind to have Kensington Tours waiting for us at London Heathrow International Airport upon our arrival. Sigita and her driver met us at the airport with a nice welcome package and drove us to our hotel. Enroute to the hotel, Sigita answered all of my questions, explained the itinerary for the week and gave me the tickets for our tours/events. She also gave me an excellent city map and 24/7 emergency phone numbers, should we have any problems during our stay. Kensington Tours also ensured we had a ride back to the airport at the end of the week. That was a huge relief since we needed a driver at 4:30am on Christmas morning. Sigita's recommendations, the tours, the agenda, the location of our hotel, all were spot on. Our trip to England was absolutely the BEST vacation we have ever been on. This was largely in part to the efforts and services of Kensington Tours.
Travel Advisor:
Jeannine Bottorff
Recommended
DUBAI ADVENTURE
By: DARLENE AND RUBEN
Reviewed on: 04 Feb 2016
THEY WERE VERY FRIENDLY AND VERY INFORMATIVE
Travel Advisor:
Gail Harada
Recommended
Expert relaxed advice!
By: Stacy
Reviewed on: 01 Feb 2016
I clearly screwed this up and reviewed everyone at first. Kensington Tours was fantastic. We'll definitely use them in the future. The tour guides, the vehicles and the knowledge were first rate. They really made the trip for us.
Travel Advisor:
Louisa Gehring
Recommended
Hilarious Guide
By: Emily13
Reviewed on: 15 Apr 2016
I believe we went on two tour with Kensington. The first was to the Ghibli museum. It was really cool to see this museum if you are an anime lover! The guide just talked to us about the museum on the way there. The second tour to shrines and the golden palace was amazing. We had a male tour guide who was beyond hilarious. He obviously loves his job and meeting new people. He was the best guide I have ever had, oh and did I mention HILARIOUS already? I regret that I do not remember his name but I would recommend a guided tour with him if you have the option.
Travel Advisor:
Nanci Cain
Recommended
Personable Professionals
By: Wise4315
Reviewed on: 18 Jun 2016
This was my first experience with Kensington Tours. My wife and I commented nearly daily on the personable professional service highlighted by dependability and subject area experts with exquisite social skills. Kensington played a major role in fulfilling a lifelong dream to visit the exact site where my father came ashore on Omaha Beach 0700 on June 6, 1944 (D-Day). An example of my expectations being exceeded was my desire to have a highly qualified military historian providing the tour the Normandy beach heads. Expectations were exceeded by having a guide possessing a doctorate in history (Colin Taylor, PhD, Objective D-Day tours). We had superior guides in Paris, to Versailles and seamless transfers between hotels trains and airports. Our hotel in the Latin Quarter on the left bank in Paris was an easy stroll to the Notre Dame Cathedral. Our experience Kensington gave me an opportunity for me to honor my father and loving memories for both my wife and I.
Travel Advisor:
Tara Nielsen-Rise
Recommended
Great European Experience
By: Bill
Reviewed on: 22 Jun 2016
The Kensington Tours people did an amazing job. Our family of 4 visited 3 cities in Europe and everything was perfect!
Travel Advisor:
Deborah Barth
Recommended
Great service
By: Yvette22
Reviewed on: 22 Aug 2016
Our tour guides were fantastic and we really enjoyed our time with them and learned so much from them. The hotel we were in was so well-protected that we felt very safe
Travel Advisor:
Katie McCormack Krinkie
Recommended
Jewish tours
By: judyandhowardRus
Reviewed on: 18 Sep 2016
Transfers to and from the airports were fabulous! They were on time, waiting for us and wanted to do anything for us that was needed. Prague Jewish tour was fantastic. Very informative, very interesting, very well presented. Liat Navi was wonderful and I would hgihly recommend her. Budapest tour was not so great. The tour guide walked us around very rotely and gave us information as he had learned it. When asked any questions about the significance about certain figures or actions, he did not know the answers. Even when we went to the Jewish cemetery, he directed us to the Holocaust area but really didn't know answers again to our questions. We walked around ourselves and tried to find the answers ourselves. Our smaller guides in the Old Jewish Synagogue and the Jewish Museum were much more informative for us.
Travel Advisor:
Wayne Muhlstein
Recommended
Great Tour and Guides
By: LindaO
Reviewed on: 21 Oct 2016
The planned tours and guides were just great. Knowledgeable, personable and aware of any needs that we had.
Travel Advisor:
Joy Cottrill
Recommended
Their guides are excellent
By: LouLou
Reviewed on: 27 Oct 2016
Having local guides from the countries we visited made a huge difference in our experience and we truly appreciated that aspect of our tours. We were able to learn even more from a locals perspective that went beyond the guide book
Travel Advisor:
Wayne Muhlstein
Recommended
Fantastic guides and the best driver ever.
By: Molly
Reviewed on: 05 Feb 2017
My independent tour with Kensington was the first I have taken. Hope it won't be my last! I was able to easily see all the places and sights I wanted to see in much less time than it would have taken with a traditional group tour. I saved enough in hotels and meals (and time off from work) to more than compensate for the luxury of a driver and car for my group of two. And the flexibility we gained was priceless. Our driver was with us the whole time, he had been with the company for 16 years and was fantastic. When my niece asked about seeing a temple her high school teacher recommended that began with an "A", he knew it! In each city we were greeted by a company rep and had a very experienced guide. The guides were smart and worked very hard to find us shops for textiles we desired and fill our days since we were a little more efficient than the planners expected! Thank you!
Travel Advisor:
Randie Rosenberg
Recommended
Solid Planning from Start to Finish
By: Jamie and Josh
Reviewed on: 13 Feb 2017
Kensington Tours operated with the utmost professionalism when picking us up, escorting us to our activities and providing us with wonderful and capable tour guides. Our honeymoon was truly enhanced by the service that Kensington provided!
Travel Advisor:
Wayne Muhlstein
Recommended
Europe
By: bald eagle
Reviewed on: 05 May 2017
Very good, However they need a English speaking phone number to call with questions as they occur when out of the USA.
Travel Advisor:
David Mellon
Recommended
Great Tour
By: Anonymous
Reviewed on: 21 May 2017
It was great. I enjoyed all the tours and activities.
Travel Advisor:
Anne Crawford
Recommended
From Milford Sound to Auckland in 10 days
By: Zorro
Reviewed on: 01 Jun 2017
Kensington tours provided us with the best tour guides, vehicles, accommodations and sightseeing locations we could imagine. Their guides were polite, knowledgable and concerned for our comfort and welfare. We were delighted by the locations that were selected by our tour guides when they were off script and needed to fill a void once a planned tour was completed but the day wasn't done. We learned a lot about NZ that wasn't in the guidebook and appreciated everything they did for us. Even the little off beat eating experiences were delightful and we couldn't imagine having a better time. They even got the weather right. The only part of the trip that wasn't top drawer was to the whale watch off Kaikoura. Because of a recent earthquake the normal route wasn't available and the alternative was a very narrow busy road that had a great deal of construction going on. It made for a long day with the last 2 hrs done in the dark and rain. Probably wouldn't do it again under those conditions.
Travel Advisor:
Jennie Jensen
Recommended
Kensington Tours review
By: VJay
Reviewed on: 05 Jun 2017
Fabulous! We had a wonderful time in New Zealand. The drivers/guides were wonderfully helpful and knowledgeable. They were always on time. They provided ample stops for photos, food, and other necessary breaks. They could talk about the history, the cultures, the birds, animals, and plants, as well as current topics. The hotels that were selected were very nice. We would definitely use their services again.
Travel Advisor:
Jennie Jensen
Recommended
Paris
By: Mike Geary
Reviewed on: 12 Jun 2017
expensive BUT GOOD. Never asked age of kids and we had extra Museum and transit tickets as a result (free under 18)
Travel Advisor:
Lisa Salloum
Recommended
South Africa Adventure
By: Sonny
Reviewed on: 10 Jul 2017
The Tour company did an excellent job of organizing transfers and was well organized.
Choice of lodging was exceptional.
Travel Advisor:
Diane Stickney Scholl
Recommended
Turkey trip
By: Steve
Reviewed on: 17 Jul 2017
Well planned and executed. Not one issue with Kensington. They provided an excellent guide (Erol Savda) who accompanied us through the entire trip.
Travel Advisor:
Tracey Shara
Recommended
Clutch assistance
By: Andrew
Reviewed on: 18 Jul 2017
First, we have a fantastic trip to Croatia.
However, KLM lost my wife's bag on the way in. KLM and the airport we're terrible about getting us the bag in a timely manner, which was very important because we we're supposed to go island hopping a couple days into the trip and not having her luggage for that would have been deal breaking.
Kensington worked with the airport and arranged a special driver to get the baggage delivered to us much faster than the airport would have. Fantastic!
Travel Advisor:
Lynn Stevens
Recommended
Eastern Europe
By: Rusty
Reviewed on: 01 Aug 2017
We took 6 private tours during our recent trip to Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, and Prague. All of our tour guides were excellent and quite knowledgeable about the cities we visited. We got to see all the important sites and were given additional information about other places we could see while we visited the various cities. We had a great time and look forward to the next trip!!
Travel Advisor:
Jennifer Hicks
Recommended
Family Adventure in Iceland
By: Adventure-bound
Reviewed on: 08 Aug 2017
Our travel planner with Kensington Tours is very knowledgeable about Iceland. She was able to recommend things to see and activities to do that I had not read about in all my travel research. My primary travel planner Kathy Moran, arranged several extremely helpful conference calls with our Kensington Tours consultant so that we could talk through options for my trip. Kensington Tours recommendations to take the Inside the Volcano tour and the all day Jeep tour to Landmannalaugar were two highlights of our trip that I can't imagine having missed. The only disappointment was some miscommunications with Kensington Tours and the tour operator in Iceland. No guide showed up for us for our 1/2 day private tour of Reykjavik. Our hotel called the local company and got a substitute guide for us within about an hour of when we were scheduled to leave. Unfortunately our sub guide had never been to the National Museum. Also there was no record of our driver for the Blue Lagoon and airport.
Travel Advisor:
Kathy Moran
Not Recommended
Spain
By: Europe
Reviewed on: 23 Aug 2017
Primarily because of the Spain experience!!!!
Recommended
When in Rome... and beyond
By: KJo
Reviewed on: 03 Sep 2017
Kensington Tours took care of us! Every aspect of our trip, from transports to tours, were exceptional. Rome & Tuscany are amazing destinations, made even more amazing by the people at Kensington Tours!
Travel Advisor:
Kathy Moran
Recommended
Very prompt with follow up
By: Imajoon
Reviewed on: 29 Aug 2017
At first we were not given the room we requested. Hotel said maybe tomorrow, they were totally booked. After a text to Debbie, hotel came up with a room. Our Panama Canal cruise started at 6:30 am. We requested that hotel pack a small breakfast as the restaurant was not open. We were told that there would be an additional charge even though breakfast was included. Again, the hotel called to say we would get breakfast. I don't know if Kensington was involved. However, what no one seemed to be aware of was that the boat served both breakfast and lunch. Even Panama Trails was not aware of this.
The Marriott Resort in Playa Blanca was a tired hotel in need of refreshing. There was only one operational restaurant for the resort due to the low guest count. I would have preferred another resort.
Travel Advisor:
Debbie Rosenberg
Recommended
Well Done
By: Steve
Reviewed on: 17 Sep 2017
We did a private tour in Germany. I'd give them an "A". Few things could have been sharper but in the context of a week with private drivers and guides, all went very well. A little more clarity on exactly where to meet guides and how to get in a few places would have reduced momentary anxiety hit worked well. Drivers were very good, watched speed and driving conditions and were helpful. Guides were knowledgeable and good.
Travel Advisor:
Georgia Schley Ritchie
Recommended
Superb
By: Larry's Africa Trip
Reviewed on: 05 Oct 2017
Every aspect of our Kensington tour was outstanding. The accommodations provided, and the staff which attended to our local tours and transfers were as good as they could possibly be.
I could not recommend Kensington Tours more highly.
Travel Advisor:
Bobbi Nappi
Recommended
Recommended
No stress vacation
By: Kathy
Reviewed on: 14 Oct 2017
All prior arrangements worked out without a hitch. Thank you!
Travel Advisor:
Lorraine Young
Recommended
Kensington Tours
By: KJ
Reviewed on: 10 Oct 2017
All transfers & local guided tours were excellent. All tour guides had great command of English & were very knowledgeable of their local area. Well organised & very hospitable.
Travel Advisor:
Georgia Schley Ritchie
Recommended
Smiley
By: Smiley
Reviewed on: 17 Oct 2017
Trip was wonderful and attention to details was reassuring.
Travel Advisor:
Lisa Salloum
Not Recommended
(No title)
By: Rob
Reviewed on: 30 Oct 2017
I would not recommend Kensington Tours to other travelers.
Recommended
Well worth it.
By: Well worth it
Reviewed on: 13 Dec 2017
Unbelievable service. Knowledgeable tour guides who were eager to fine tune our trip to our needs and cater to anything that we needed. Highly recommended
Travel Advisor:
Laura Cole
Recommended
Kensington and Adreas were fantastic
By: Munich Group
Reviewed on: 16 Jan 2018
LOVED our guide Andreas. He was knowledgeable, flexible, fun and attentive when we had a medical issue. Our trip was excellent because of his walking tours and vast knowledge of German history. We all enjoyed him and would highly recommend him.
Travel Advisor:
Michelle Ellis
Recommended
Excellent Customization
By: Mark
Reviewed on: 13 Jan 2018
Kensington planned out my Costa Rica trip. It was truly excellent, as they found great tour operators ... and more importantly, they put the tours on the right days, understanding how much activity we could take from one day to the next.
Travel Advisor:
Stuart Stone
Recommended
Impressive
By: Myda
Reviewed on: 14 Jan 2018
Our experience with Kensington in Spain was very good. Loved the hotels that were chosen for us, as well as the personal guides, drivers, etc. They also called to check in to make sure we were happy with the arrangements.
Travel Advisor:
Deborah Pulliam
Recommended
Kensington
By: crutsie
Reviewed on: 02 Feb 2018
They were so easy to deal with and the details of the trip were perfect
Travel Advisor:
Sara Krutsinger
Recommended
Australian/New Zealand Tour Companies
By: Beck
Reviewed on: 09 Mar 2018
Our experience was very good. They showed up everywhere they supposed on-time and professionally. A couple of the tour operators mentioned that Kensington sent multiple confirmations to them leading up to the tours which seemed very professional. The private tours were unusual. We got a good feel for the indigenous peoples of both countries. The public tours that they had us go on were excellent - I think they made good choices in helping with our itinerary.
Travel Advisor:
Nancy Seiter
Recommended
Fantastic service
By: Denise
Reviewed on: 20 Mar 2018
We were unfamiliar with Kensington and were pleasantly surprised. They kept searching and providing options till I was happy. They got us into a hotel we really wanted with an upgrade! Bravo! The drivers and tour guides were on time, flexible and very courteous. I will go out of my way to use Kensington again.
Travel Advisor:
Sarah Strand
Recommended
Argentina
By: Suzilee
Reviewed on: 07 Apr 2018
Very Good Experience!
Travel Advisor:
Georgia Schley Ritchie
Recommended
not bad
By: clan
Reviewed on: 16 Apr 2018
We used Kensington in 2 different countries on our trip. The guides in Rome were fantastic! It was evident that they loved their job and country, and the tours were amazing.
The guides in Barcelona, however, were not as good. It all seemed a bit less organized and less informing. They are much more casual about issues that happen, such as one planned event being canceled and unable to reschedule and another that was completely scheduled incorrectly and ended up being in a van that broke down, stranding us in a truck stop for 2 hours.
Overall I appreciated the assistance of the tour operator and would use them again - but next time a bit more educated on details than this time.
Travel Advisor:
David Mellon