Costa Rica Travel Agents

I had a wonderful experience and fell in love with Costa Rica!

Hotel Review

Casa del Sol

Manuel Antonio

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Río Savegre Whitewater Rafting Adventure

Manuel Antonio

We had wonderful raft captains

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

El Santuario Canopy Adventure Tour

Manuel Antonio

All of the tour operators were kind and helpful

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset Catamaran Adventure with Meal

Manuel Antonio

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ocean Kayaking Adventure

Manuel Antonio

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

-Private Chef Service-

Manuel Antonio

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Hike

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Loved the tour guide

Villa Vanilla Spice Tour

Manuel Antonio

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Chef Service

Manuel Antonio

Very professional and talented chef

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The itinerary that was planned for us enabled us to see three of the most interesting areas in Costa Rica - Arenal, Monteverde and Manuel Antonio. All three hotels were luxurious and we used their restaurants and pools. All four drivers taking us between the airport and the three hotels were timely and efficient. The activities were strenuous for us older folks but we saw beautiful scenery, lush rain and cloud forests and all sorts of exciting spotting of animals and birds.
Bela led our first tour of hiking up Arenal Volcano and going down to the waterfall, with just one other couple. We had a private tour with Mariano to the Hanging Bridges near Arenal. We enjoyed the coffee and chocolate tour with Randy at Don Juan. Marvin guided us through the dark at the Children's Eternal Forest and showed us many nocturnal animals and birds. We walked around the Hanging Bridges on our own at the Selvatura Park and got a tour with a group of the Sloth, Butterfly and Reptile buildings. We had a very good private tour with Ivan at Manuel Antonio and got close-up views and pictures of sloths, monkeys and all kinds of other creatures through his long Zoom lens. The catamaran ride was very lively and fun, with dinner and dancing around the boat. Finally, Alex was very informative on our ride back to the airport.
There were only two minor inconveniences. We didn't get a note that the Hanging Bridges tour on Monday was changed from 8:00 to 10:00 but we found out when our concierge called the Serendipity Office. And our room (and apparently all the rooms) at the Sibu Lodge was much too chilly.

Hotel Reviews

Arenal Springs Resort

La Fortuna

Beautiful grounds and room. We had fine dinners at their two restaurants and swam in the "hot springs" pool. And the first thing we saw when we left our room was a view of the Arenal Volcano among the clouds.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Lush surroundings, a spacious room and views of the volcano.

Staff

Great breakfasts and dinner and the concierge called the Serendipity office to find out the starting time for our toor.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sibū Boutique Hotel

Puntarenas

Beautiful grounds. We enjoyed our two breakfasts and two dinners at the restaurant, which was just a few steps from our room. There was no pool or exercise room, but there was a shuttle to a sister hotel a few minutes away with those facilities. The only issue with the hotel is that the room was freezing the entire time. The staff told us that there is air conditioning but no heat in their rooms.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Good views of the surrounding areas. I walked into town one day and it was extremely hilly.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Warmer rooms!

Hotel La Mariposa

Manuel Antonio

Great views of the ocean and sunsets. A very large and comfortable pool. We enjoyed breakfast, dinner and desserts at Le Papillon Restaurant. The room was very spacious and well-laid out, with a wrap-around balcony overlooking the pool and bar.

Authenticity & Character

Location

The highest point in town, for great views.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Huge king-size bed and a great shower - and the views!

Activity Reviews

Private Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Hike

Costa Rica

It was very crowded, even at 8:00 in the morning - it took us 20 to 30 minutes just to get through the entrance to the Park. Ivan was an outstanding guide. He was able to identify many kinds of animals through his long Zoom lens and took pictures with our cameras through the view finder - so we have great photos of sloths, monkeys, crabs and many other forms of wildlife, along with palm trees. We stopped at the cafeteria a little over halfway through our walk and he got fruit and a fruit drink for us there. The best part was seeing close-up female monkeys carrying their babies on their backs through the trees near the beach.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day at Selvatura including Hanging Bridges and Fauna Exhibitions

Costa Rica

There were a lot of people at the reception building and it wasn't clear to us for a while that we would walk around the cloud forest and the hanging bridges on our own - and then have a guided group tour of the sloth, butterfly and reptile buildings. We saw a monkey and a quetzal on our walk, by noticing where guides were pointing their zoom lenses. We had a very good guide (didn't catch his name) in the sloth and butterfly buildings.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We didn't know in advance that Selvatura Park provides bus transportation back to the hotels in town. We thought we would have to look for the same bus that picked us up.

Arenal Volcano Hike & La Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

The volcano hike was very strenuous for us, but we did the best we could. We saw ants, butterflies and a toucan. One of us went down the 500 stairs to the waterfall and swam a bit in the pool on the left, while the other stayed on top and took pictures.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Bela was very respectful of what we could and couldn't do.

Transport

Arenal Hanging Bridges Guided Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

There was a lot of up and down hill walking. Mariano recommend the best hike for us so that we went over 3 of the covered bridges and saw a fair amount of wildlife.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee & Chocolate Tour

Costa Rica

Randy, the Don Juan tour guide, was very friendly and knowledgeable. We learned a lot from him on the process of growing coffee beans and cacao and how they turn into coffee and chocolate. We had a few hands-on activities, such as making our own chocolate bar or cookie. And we bought about 10 bars of chocolate at the gift shop to bring back to our friends and relatives.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Night Walk at Children's Eternal Forest

Monteverde

Our guide Marvin was very patient and thorough in making sure we were safe walking in the dark and showed us many animals, such as lizards, birds and an armadillo. We had a little trouble adjusting to walking up and down in the dark, but we made it "out of the woods" safely.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Catamaran Tour with Meal

Costa Rica

The breeze made the ride very comfortable on a hot and humid day. We had great views of the towns, beaches and islands and got to see a few dolphins when we went out a few miles. Then we stopped at a cove for swimming and snorkeling. One of us did a little swimming with a life jacket, while the other took pictures of videos of all the younger passengers jumping or sliding into the water. Then we had a very tasty dinner of beef and vegetables on a skewer, pasta and fruit.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The van that picked us and others up from various hotels had mostly young and very loud passengers. When we got to the marina, it was unclear for a while where we should go - and where we would be picked up at the end. But it was well-organized and we made it on the boat and back to our hotel.

Using a travel agency/booking guides to plan, organize and adjust our itinerary and logistics for our trip to Costa Rica was a huge departure from our usual do it yourself travel. It was a first for us actually. So we obviously had some fears and trepidations in how it would all work out. We needn't have worried. Everyone we dealt with was professional and quick to adjust our plans as needed. From early on there were changes that had to be made. Perhaps most notable though were the cancellation of two of our planned and paid for activities due to weather conditions. I am very pleased those were refunded in full. The rental car seemed a little sketchy as we neared our departure day as I was unable to find much information or reviews on them but Sun Valley Rentals turned out to be a pleasure to deal with and we especially liked the pick up and drop off right at the airport. No un-nerving shuttle to deal with. The only glitz was the rep was not waiting for us when we arrived and I ended up paying a local who could see I was searching for awhile for them to call Sun Valley for me. I take the blame here though as apparently he sent us a message via Watts App which we missed. Still, he wasn't there with a sign as planned.
You really listened to what we wanted in Costa Rica and picked two perfect lodgings for us based on those wishes. We really feel we had two vacations in Costa Rica thanks to the dramatic differences between our lodges in Monteverde and Guanacaste. We experienced all the experiences we asked for, when the weather cooperated. We experienced a tropical storm and winds, rain and heavy rain our first three days there. Thanks in part to your help, we were able to salvage much of what could have been a disaster. I suppose you could suggest that folks vacationing in the cloud forest may experience significantly harsher weather conditions than expected. We had temperatures in the upper 40's (F) and winds in excess of 70mph! We took it in stride and even had some good laughs with other good natured tourists as we all admitted we had been wearing all the clothes we brought with us for three days in a row now :)
Our favorite highlights of our trip were the el tigre waterfall, tree top dining and everything about Rio Perdido, especially the thermal river and the overall complete lack of crowding (we hiked to miles without seeing anyone) and incredible privacy of our lodging.
Our planner was Gustavo and Kate assisted us while in Costa Rica.

Hotel Reviews

Cloud Forest Lodge

Monteverde

Very personal intimate experience, especially with the staff. Excellent food choices and quality. Loved the fireplace! Property is impeccably maintained and offers nice hiking, bird watching and other amenities.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Río Perdido Hotel & Thermal River

La Fortuna

exceeded our expectations in every way. Perhaps the nicest lodge we've stayed at overall. The bungalows are extremely private and designed so well I found myself photographing many features of them to perhaps implement some of those ideas in my own house someday. The outdoor shower, the lava exfoliating tiles on the floor, the copper trough bathroom sink. Just wonderful. Couldn't believe the privacy we had in everything we did. Had the thermal river to ourselves, the hiking paths to ourselves and even the restaurant almost to ourselves. So much so that I questioned if they were perhaps not very booked and was stunned to hear they were at 100%.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Treetop Dining Experience with Wine Pairing

Monteverde

One of the best dining experiences I've ever had. The waiter was a true professional who really added to the experience. Not only did we enjoy 9 gourmet foods and wines but we learned a lot about the country. The setting was as unique and beautiful as the photos.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

El Tigre Waterfalls Excursion

Monteverde

Good description overall. Swimming on this hike should not always be expected. We had 4 layers, raingear and muddy boots on. Horseback ride was cool!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

TreeTram, Hanging Bridges & Zipline Adventure

Monteverde

I'm not usually much into such planned and organized activities as this but figured when in Rome. I've done hanging bridges and ziplines before so expected about the same. I was wrong. The Hanging bridges put you in or above the canopy which is other- worldly and a must see in Costa Rica. The ziplines are very fast and with the clouds present gave us the experience of plunging into a fog bank! Exciting and un-nerving at the same time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip to Costa Rica was absolutely amazing! I have heard nothing but positive comments! El Lugar was so beautiful and the activities and the schedule were spot on. I think what also topped it off was your staff from Serendipity; everyone was so friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and we were all impressed with their keen eyesights as they could spy any bird from any distance!
Elana, Charlotte, Adrian, Jose and all the others were the BEST!

Hotel Reviews

Costa Rica Marriott Hotel Hacienda Belen

San José

The hotel was OK, but our room was very mildewy and caused us to wake up very congested. Also the lighting in our room was too dark.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room smelled like mildew, and didn't feel as clean as it should; maybe a bit dated???

El Lugar

Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí

BEAUTIFUL grounds! Our room was fabulous! Very clean and beautiful view. The property looks like there is still construction to be done. I hope it is able to get finished...it is beautiful there and having the horses and stables added a nice touch too.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Privately Guided Tour at La Paz Waterfall Gardens

Costa Rica

Beautiful property. I could have spent more time there!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tirimbina Chocolat Tour

Costa Rica

Very interesting tour and presesntation. Loved the interaction. It just got a little bit too long.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mistico Hanging Bridges, and Ecotermales Hotsprings

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I've travelled to other Central and Latin American countries, and Costa Rica was by far the easiest and friendliest. All the moving parts of the trip that kim kim set up worked smoothly (except one that was quickly fixed).

Ride CR transportation was prompt, friendly and scenic. The drivers gave us multiple rest stop opportunities that we usually didn't take, and also pointed out sights and scenic/photo opportunities that we did take. The best ride was between Monteverde and Arenal on a somewhat stormy day that made for great views passing over the mountains and across the lake. The hugely time saving and beautiful option to cross the lake instead of driving around it was brilliant!

Accommodations at the Cloud Forest Lodge and the Arenal Manoa were comfortable and convenient in a way that was very appropriate for the location. Very friendly and helpful staff certainly helps, but the addition of monkeys and toucans in the trees around the hotels was a wonderful surprise. Our favorite moment in Arenal was when the woman checking us in asked if there was anything more she could do, and we jokingly said we were really hoping to see a sloth. She turned to a young staff member nearby and said "Kevin, can you please show them the sloth", so he walked us across the parking lot, gave us his binoculars, and pointed to the sloth moving through the tree twenty feet away. We also especially enjoyed the trails available at the Lodge in Monteverde. Both places had good restaurants with amazing views and plenty of dining options that highlighted Costa Rica (but also played American/British instrumental pop music covers, aka elevator music, that was distractingly un-Costa Rican). It wasn't on the itinerary, but the San Lucas Treetop Dining Experience in Monteverde was one of the most enjoyable meals we've ever had.

All of the guides were knowledgable and excited about their work, balancing detailed wildlife information with local history and culture. Surprisingly consistent considering there is no formal training. The guide at the Hanging Bridges in Arenal was pretty quiet, but that was a much more commercial venue and it was pouring rain most of the time. If we were doing it all again, we would ask for longer tours. Our last day there, the tour company had our reservation, but didn't put us on their operations schedule, so no one picked us up. Since everyone else had been so prompt, I called after about 10 minutes, and they quickly got a driver and guide out to us and added a trip to some nice hot springs to the tour. The important thing was the guide offered us the option to take a much longer trail than normal, and that was a more thorough and satisfying experience.

We certainly enjoyed the lower stress and workload of having kim kim take care of all the arrangements. We're looking forward to using your service again, especially for trips like this where the area is unfamiliar and there are a lot of moving parts. Thanks!