Costa Rica Travel Agents

We had a fantastic trip! Yuliana came up with the initial itinerary and was very helpful and responsive with modifications. Even though our booking was relatively late, she got the four of us on all the adventures we asked for as well as hotels and transportation. All the transportation was on time and friendly. The adventures (rafting, jungle walk, zip line, etc...) were great and well planned. Overall, I would highly recommend the Kim Kim team (especially Yuliana) to plan a trip to Costa Rica.

Hotel Reviews

Crowne Plaza San Jose La Sabana by IHG

San José

It was fine, only stayed there overnight and left at 5:30 in the morning for the rafting adventure.

Hotel Faro Arenal

Fortuna

Nice grounds with a trail through the rainforest and a view of the Arenal volcano. The rooms were very basic, but clean.

El Establo Mountain Hotel

Monteverde

Beautiful setting. The buildings with the rooms are scattered over the huge property. You have to take a shuttle to get around. The shuttles were fairly prompt. Nice room with a view. They have trails through the rainforest ($20) and other amenities that we did not get a chance to use. We would have liked to stay here for a few more days!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Whitewater Rafting on the Pacuare River

Costa Rica

Awesome! The guides were great. The rafting was amazing through the rapids! The thrill of the whole trip!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

El Silencio Volcano Hike & Visit to La Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

It was overcast and we weren't able to ee the volcano. The guide was very informative and it was educational to learn about the region and the volcano.

Night Excursion at the Wildlife Refuge in Monteverde

Monteverde

fun night walk through the rainforest. We saw some interesting bugs and a snake. Not much more wildlife. There were a lot of people in several groups during the walk. The guides were very informative.

Selvatura Park Self-Guided Hanging Bridges & Zip Lining

Monteverde

Thrilling to go over the rainforest. A highlight for the teenagers.

My college-age son and I had an incredible time!
La Paloma Lodge was a pearl -- accessible only by boat, it is nestled in the rain forest and the experience of staying there was both novel and comfortable. My leg was eaten by sand fleas at the local beach, but otherwise we had a wonderful tour of Corcovado National Park, and the Cano Island snorkeling was fun. The only thing I would comment on is that the snorkeling trip ends with lunch on a beach (we were at San Josecito Beach) but there is no bathroom available there (which was surprising). I was also stung by multiple jellyfish larvae while snorkeling, so that was a bit rough. I was itchy due to the sand fleas and larvae stings for a full week afterwards. I would have appreciated a heads up about these in advance, as I did not adequately protect myself.
Manuel Antonio was awesome, but in particular, our hotel (Hotel Mariposa) was spectacular. The resort is breathtakingly beautiful, and there are monkeys and macaws surrounding the property. I went for a daily swim in the pool because it was so beautiful and comfortable. The food at Le Papillon is a bit overpriced but it is delicious.
The Manuel Antonio hike with Andres (an ornithologist and naturalist) was incredible. He can spot a dragonfly from 100 feet away. It was a privilege to learn from him, and his powerful scope was instrumental in getting some incredible photos. We LOVED the whitewater rafting, even though water levels were low. In retrospect, I would have wanted to go in a full raft (not a raft for just the two of us and our guide), as the heavier raft leads to a bumpier ride. The guides at Amigos Del Rio were excellent.
The surf lesson with Sebastian (who works for Glen) was good, even if there was as much chatting as there was surfing. The Manuel Antonio beaches are perfect for learning to surf. The only unfortunate aspect was that our driver to and from the lesson never showed up so we had to rely on alternate mechanisms. Also our itinerary listed the lesson as "2 hours" in one place and "3 hours" in another place. Turns out it was only 2 hours, but that was plenty.
All in all, the team at Serendipity did a great job, and Adrian was accessible on WhatsApp at all times. That was hugely helpful.
Here are my suggestions:
1. More specificity on what to expect and where to be. It's great if a tour starts at 7:50am. Where should we be at 7:50am? Hotel reception? Security gate in front of hotel? Who should we look for? There are times when multiple tour guides approached us, but we were not the right clients. It would have helped for us to have a name/company to look for.
2. Lay out where we will and will not have access to internet. At La Paloma, there is no cell service, and the only WiFi provided is in the central restaurant.
3. Warn people of sand fleas and jellyfish (golden line) possibilities.
4. Recommend tours like the mangrove tours or the night tours. We did not book these in advance but word of mouth indicates that they were amazing.
All in all, we had a great time, and I appreciate Serendipity Travel very much for booking such excellent guides and experiences.

Excellent support from Randall. Only suggestion would be to keep the phone numbers for local tour operators up to date (some numbers were no longer in service) and include the pickup info in the confirmation details. Thanks!