Charlotte Törnqvist

I wouldn't have planned a trip to Costa Rica any other way than using the Serendipity team and KimKim to organize and help us with all the logistics. Everything ran smoothly and we had wonderful experiences in three or four different provinces, visiting La Fortuna, Monte Verde and Manuel Antonio. The pre-planning team of Fio, Charlotte and Nancy was fantastic and I greatly appreciated their responsiveness to our questions and requests. They adjusted the trip plan and itinerary as needed and even changed hotels for us when we wanted to do something a little unique. We were really happy with their final recommendations and everything from the accommodations to the activities, transportation arrangements and all else was phenomenal. I will absolutely use them again for our next trip.

While in Costa Rica, we were so impressed with the guides. I hate to name them as I will undoubtedly miss some, but Mariano Salazar was particulary incredible with his knowledge and experience as well as his sense of humor and we all became fast friends. Alvaro (spelled incorrectly I believe) who transported us from Monte Verde to Manuel Antonio also stood out- he recommended sights and stops that we never would have known about, including stops for food and much less expensive souvenirs. There wasn't a single guide or driver who wasn't extremely knowledgeable, friendly, helpful and they all went out of their way to make sure that we were comfortable and had our questions answered thoroughly. Can't wait to get back and use Serendipity and KimKim again. It's a great business model and experience. So much better than if we had done the planning and organizational work on our own and the value relative to the cost was extremely high. Thank you so much to the entire team for making it a wonderful experience for the four of us in our group. We have many memories and many of those were thanks to you and for making it such an easy vacation.

Charlotte and the team were always responsive and answered all of my many questions prior to the trip.

Hotel Reviews

The Westin Golf Resort and Spa, Playa Conchal

Playa Conchal

The Westin was a great place to relax after 8 days of adventure in Monteverde and Arenal/La Fortuna. The grounds were very nicely maintained, the many restaurants ensured we didn’t get bored with the food over the course of a week, the staff were absolutely amazing - really friendly and helpful. Just a shout out to a few: Ruddy was a fun and knowledgeable instructor of yoga and water aerobics (do this! It’s so fun!), and Christopher, Bryan, Gabriel and Christian were incredible bartenders who knew our names and always greeted us with a smile, were really fun to chat with and also were great bartenders.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The rooms seem to be partly updated. Nice bed and bathroom sink area, but the tables were scratched up. Minor, but worth noting.

Tabacón Thermal Resort & Spa

Fortuna

The hotel and hot springs are nothing short of stunning. The grounds are beautiful. The walk to the pool, main building and hot springs are easy and so pleasant. The fact that the hot springs open to hotel guests two hours before the general opening allowed us to visit feeling like we had the place to ourselves. The secluded areas with cabanas and the plethora of flora makes it seem like you’re in a magic rainforest setting.

Authenticity & Character

Location

You can definitely spend several days here without having to leave the facility; however, if you’re interested in going to La Fortuna, you’ll need a car or an Uber. It’s about a 15 minute drive.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Ficus

Monteverde Costa Rica

This hotel exceeded our expectations. While the room decor is pretty basic, the bathroom is beautiful, the grounds are very nicely manicured and host many birds and wildlife, and the location was an easy walk to town but also at the top of a hill which afforded stunning sunset views. The staff was incredibly friendly and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Rio Celeste & Tenorio Volcano Guided Rainforest Hike

Costa Rica

This was a great trip. You can’t believe how blue this water is until you see it in person. Stunning.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Mariano is great. We loved having him as our guide for this trip as well as for the Arenal Volcano and La Fortuna waterfall hikes.

Transport

Arenal Volcano Hike & La Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

The volcano hike and waterfall hike (two different hikes in different locations on the same day) were both beautiful. They have completely different views but are equally nice. The power of the waterfall and the fact that you can swim in the water near it is really cool. Mariano was our guide, and he was awesome! He’s a seasoned guide with a deep knowledge not only of the flora and fauna but also the history and politics of the region. He took great photos and was patient while we swam. He also took us to some great restaurants.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We really enjoyed our time with Mariano. He’s a very interesting and funny person. We learned a lot, and got to enjoy some great music on our trips with him.

Transport

Mariano was a great driver. He arrived on time and always knew where he was going.

Mambo Combo: Canyoning and Rafting

Arenal/La Fortuna

This was my family’s favorite adventure. The canyoning was gorgeous, in the cloud forest and down a waterfall through a series of rappelling and zip lining and features with walks along the river in between. The whitewater rafting was exciting. There were class 2-3 rapids which were just adventurous enough (a couple of us did bounce out into the water but it was fine). Mario was our whitewater rafting guide, and he was SO fun. This adventure also came with a meal which was delicious.

Quality of Experience

It was the perfect combination of beautiful scenery and adventure. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

Food

This was some of the best food we had on the trip. Get the chicken. It doesn’t disappoint.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Stand-Up Paddleboarding on Lake Arenal

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our guide was friendly and took a lot of great pictures. The setting is pretty spectacular.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Night Walk: Children's Eternal Forest

Monteverde

The guides were super but unfortunately the nocturnal animals were not cooperative.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee, Chocolate and Sugar Cane Experience

Monteverde

It was interesting and delicious!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sky Adventures: Tram, Zip Lines & Hanging Bridges

Monteverde

A great way to start the vacation! The cloud forest is gorgeous and looks spectacular from the top.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had an amazing time in Costa Rica. The people at KimKim (Fio, Nancy, and Charlotte) that put everything together, answered all of our questions, and helped us while we were there- they were just fantastic. Mariano from Serendipity took us on a hike over the lava fields in Fortuna and to the base of a waterfall to swim. He was incredibly funny and knowledgable and shared a delicious lunch with us at the Red Frog. We absolutely loved our canyoning tour and the whitewater rafting trip that followed. The canyoning gave an amazing perspective of the jungle. Christopher was a great white water rafting guide. The Arenal Manoa hotel was very comfortable and the breakfast was delicious. We enjoyed our time at Monte Verde. The Cloud Forest Lodge was our favorite hotel. The staff were so attentive and the restaurant was amazing. Feeders right outside the dinning area let us watch tons of beautiful hummingbirds while we ate. Wilmer, one of the servers there, was the best and the kids adored him. We really enjoyed the aerial bridges and ziplining at Sky Adventures. We also had a blast going on the night walk in the Children's Eternal Forest. Walter was the best guide and taught us so much. We also really enjoyed our time at the coast at Playa Hermosa. The beaches were beautiful and we loved seeing the monkeys and iguanas in the trees. We had a wonderful snorkeling tour with Brian and Mario where we saw sea turtles and even held an octopus. The only drawback of the trip was that the roads at times were a little rough for driving, but our KimKim reps set us up with the right vehicle, so that it wasn't a big problem.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Bosque del Mar Playa Hermosa

Playa Hermosa

Good location right on the beach. Wildlife just outside the rooms.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs

Fortuna

We only stayed 2 nights but it was lovely. Awesome hot springs with bar. Very friendly and helpful staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cloud Forest Lodge

Monteverde

You can find places with fancier rooms or facilities but you won't find a staff anywhere that's nicer, friendlier and more attentive. Super recommend.

Authenticity & Character

Location

A bit hard to get to especially at night but that's all of Monteverde. Amazing views from the restaurant.

Staff

Everyone was fantastic from the reception to the whole restaurant staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Whitewater Rafting on the Balsa River, Class II-III

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Snorkel Tour Catalinas

Costa Rica

We loved this activity with Brian and Mario. Smooth boat ride with drinks and delicious fruit and snacks. We snorkel a lot but this was our first time in a tropical location and loved to see different kind of sea life, including holding an octopus in our hands :)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sky Adventures: Sky Trek, Tram, and Walk

Monteverde

We enjoyed the hike and aerial bridges. Our guide was great and we learned a lot about the forest. The zip-lining was a ton of fun. My 60+ aunt and 70+ uncle both loved the experience. And our 15y old son loved the optional free-fall at the end.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Night Walk in the Children's Eternal Forest

Monteverde

We really enjoyed our night walk. Our guide, Walter, was incredibly knowledgable, and we learned so much. We saw a lot of tarantulas which our 11y old daughter was very excited for.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Mambo Combo Canyoning and Rafting

Arenal/La Fortuna

Rappelling was so much fun. Thrilling but also felt very safe at all times. The waterfalls and hike through the forest were just beautiful. The whole staff was amazing. Rafting was also great (the favorite by far of our 15y boy). One of us fell off the raft but thanks to Christofer's guidance we were able to pull her back safely and she enjoyed the rest of the trip. Great lunch spot as well (best coffee).

Quality of Experience

Food

Best coffee I had in Costa Rica

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano Hike & La Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

Mariano was awesome. Very knowledgeable and funny, showed us beautiful places and took us to a great spot for lunch. I had told him I really like ceviche so he called the place in advance and they made up a ceviche recipe on the spot just for me! It was delicious :) The waterfall visit was one of our favorite activities.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sergio our initial contact person did a great job making our travel itinerary. Since I do not know much about the country, I gave him a very vague description of what we like and do not like and from there he managed still to create a pretty well rounded list of activities for us to get to know Costa Rica.

Nancy and charlotte: both of them took over since Sergio has a family leave, both of them were very responsive to our questions when we were stuck. Eg had a couple of questions and issues arise during our trip and they managed to smooth it out for us to move on.

Overall I would definitely recommend Kim Kim and use Kim Kim again, it definitely has saved me from doing all the homework and research prior to the trip and just enjoy my vacation without trying to juggle too many things.

Hotel Reviews

Hampton Inn & Suites San Jose Airport

Alajuela

We just stay here 1 night before our flight back home. Very standard Hampton in , clean, good breakfast and close to airport.

Authenticity & Character

Very standard Hampton in

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Congo Bongo EcoVillage Costa Rica

Manzanillo, Limon

This is an amazing location in the reserve. The people were nice and friendly, very helpful. The housekeeper washed our clothes daily and clean the villa. We were sleeping with the sound of wildlife. Saw lots of wild life, howler monkeys and many type of birds. The hammock was the highlight of this villa. We live in sweet dream house, it has 3 rooms, 1 of them has a/c. The location is cool enough, we did not use the a/c too much. A full function kitchen, outdoor sitting, dining, bbq area, walking trail and a waking path to the beach. Easy access to everywhere else. Will definitely return to this location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Villa Florencia

Turrialba

I think this hotel has a lot of potential. It is sitting in a beautiful land with lots of vegetation but not maintained enough. When we get there, we immediately had a bad feeling at the entrance compare to our experience from hotel savegre. We got into the our rooms, we have 2 rooms, both rooms bedsheets were not very clean, 1 if the rooms smell very damp and the bathroom were leaking. This location is definitely not as comfortable compared to hotel savegre. 1 night were so hot even with fan going, but I guess we cannot really change the climate. The food quality in their restaurant were pretty bad. We relayed our experience to travel agent, who then spoke to the owner/manager of the hotel and they acknowledged they knew about the leak in the bathroom and immediately change our room to a better room that smell much better with clean linen, they brought us a bottle of wine and cancel our bill of dinner the night before. We appreciate them trying but I think this location is a good location if they have enough staff and maintain better.

Authenticity & Character

It is a good location with lots of vegetation, need improvement project

Location

Need multiple improvement projects

Staff

The first night receptionist who checked us in were not very helpful or friendly with little help but once we complained, the new staff were friendly and nice.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Need lots of work.

Hotel Savegre

San Gerardo de Dota

One of the highlights of our trip. We opted to drive our rental car and the journey to San Gerardo hotel savegre was definitely not something you should try if you are not confident with your driving skill. We called the last 3-4 miles stretch down to the valley to the hotel “road to hell”, the unfortunate part was we got slightly delayed at the airport with looking for our rental car and getting sim card activated and wasted maybe 2 hours prior to leaving SJO, we got to San Gerardo when it was dark and that was definitely an adventure to get down to the valley. We couldn’t see much because it was dark but we definitely saw a huge tapir on our way to the hotel. Once we got to the hotel, we were immediately greeted by the security guard who guided us to the reception and from there we had our first meal in the hotel. Let me say, this hotel is very well kept, the restaurant is clean and upscale provided pretty good food and service. Our rooms were beautiful and cleaned daily. The following day when we have sunlight, we were amazed at how beautiful and serene the valley was. We did bird watching and some hikes around the hotel. Definitely a place we will revisit. Wish we have more time to do more of the hiking trail.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very serene, beautiful location. But the road to get there is not easy.

Staff

Everybody was very friendly, helpful and nice.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very well maintained.

Activity Reviews

Exploring the Underwater Wonders of Cahuita National Park

Costa Rica

Again slightly different from what was described in our itinerary, Itinerary: You will go snorkeling for about two hours in the most important Coral Reef of Costa Rica… You will discover the National Park by White Beach sector, up to Cahuita point, crossing through beautiful beaches to relax and swim in the calm water of the Caribbean Sea for a while. In spots between Cahuita Point and the town of Cahuita (3.5 km), you will be able to see various types of snakes (boas, bocaraca, bushmaster, eyelash vipers, etc.), sloths, white-faced and howler monkeys, anteaters, armadillos, raccoons, blue morpho butterflies among others, birds and many more such as medicinal plants, orchids, trees, ferns, vertebrates, invertebrates, sea, and earth shellfish. Our actually experienced were hopped on the pick up van, drop off, get on a boat to do snorkeling. It was a nice trip still. Maybe the exploring the national park part is on our own? But our ride got us back immediately? Maybe in the future better description eg we can take our own ride to the boat, a snorkel and explore the national park on our own?

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kekoldi Indigenous Reserve & Waterfall

Puerto Viejo de Talamanca

This is the description we have from the travel agent: Today you will visit the iguana zoo farm of the KEKOLDY territory, where an indigenous family is dedicated to the reproduction of the Green Iguana, a species that was in danger of extinction, and thanks to initiatives like these it has been recovering. Next, in the Bri Bri territory, you will visit an indigenous family that grows medicinal plants and will guide you through the usage of several tropical plants, followed by a demonstration of the production of chocolate. Cacao (chocolate) within the Bribri culture is very important since they use it for purification, food, and medicine. In the last stage of the tour, you will visit a waterfall where you can take a bath and have a small fruit-based snack. Finish the tour in a typical restaurant in the area where you have typical lunch. Our actual trip: only include the last stage hike of primary and secondary forest to the falls, our guide is very nice and knowledgeable, this is not an easy hike. Very slipper from rain night before, we saw wild life. The guide Mynor, driver fofo and host Hermano? Who serve us lunch were are amazing people. We love this adventure.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Organic Farm Tour with Lunch

Turrialba

Again we had no expectations of this tour. We thought just another farm with lunch. We were so wrong!! We learn so much from this organic farm from zero to a full education center. So much knowledge and passion of the owner. We love learning her passion. Great lunch!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hike Turrialba Volcano

Turrialba

Very nice hike, unfortunately it was raining and foggy. But we love it. Very nice guide Gloria was very informative.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pacuare River Rafting

Turrialba

One of the highlights of our trip. The guide were very knowledgeable and helpful. We felt very safe. And a nice lunch!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Thermal Hotsprings Hacienda Orosi

Costa Rica

A nice detour between San Gerardo to turialba. My husband said it feel like a heated pool rather than hot spring. The weather was not so friendly, it was raining. It is a beautiful place, the lunch attached was descent.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coopedota Coffee Tour

San Gerardo de Dota

To be honest we went there with little to no expectations because the coffee shop where the coffee plantation tour attached to had some mixed review from google review. But once we met our guide everything changed, very knowledgeable guide, amazing tour with so much information from the fruits of coffee to the process and tasting of coffee. We learned so much!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Quetzal Tour

San Gerardo de Dota

Our guide brought binoculars and the super birdwatching magnified spotting scope. We were able to see several quetzals. Learn about them from the guide. Again just a beautiful place to be in.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Of the places we went Tortuguero was the most off the grid, amazing and full of wildlife.
The Manatus hotel that included breakfast, lunch and dinner, and beautiful grounds, and great staff + boat tours, was a winner.
We enjoyed all the places we went in Costa Rica and all the places we stayed, and all of the tours and transfers from different places, everything was arranged and carried out to plan.
The El Tigre Waterfalls exploration, hike and horseback ride, was one of our favorite tours.
We really appreciate the KimKim team and the other related tour providers for making our trip a success.

Hotel Reviews

Senda Monteverde Boutique Hotel

Monteverde

Beautiful hotel was great restaurant, right at the edge of a nature preserve.

Authenticity & Character

A local dance group from the high school came to perform due to a special holiday.

Location

Because of nature preserve nearby, wild animals were walking and flying through the grounds.

Staff

Everyone was great, and special classes were provided like cocktail making and yoga.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Maids would come to your room twice a day

Hotel San Bada Resort & Spa

Manuel Antonio

Hotel right at the edge of the national park, nice to have pool downstairs where you could order food and we enjoyed the restaurant at the top of the hotel with the great view.

Authenticity & Character

Being by the national Park you could see monkeys in the trees at the hotel.

Location

Staff

When we asked for someone to come up and work on our hot water problem, they did.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Los Lagos Spa & Resort

Fortuna

Very large complex, somewhat crowded not a boutique hotel. Having the restaurant and the vast hot tubs area was convenient though.

Authenticity & Character

One of the older hotels, historic had a butterfly garden and vast hot tub area, plus ponds with fish & iguanas.

Location

Closer to town

Staff

They should’ve offered to help with our luggage and take us to our room.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Manatus Hotel

Tortuguero

Great hotel, all-inclusive food, nice rooms and boat tours for wildlife viewing are included.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Presidente San Jose City Center

San José

Nice downtown hotel with rooftop restaurant and bar.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Ocean Kayaking & Snorkeling in Manuel Antonio

Manuel Antonio

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Hike

Manuel Antonio

Canopy Zipline Tour

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

El Tigre Waterfalls Exploration

Monteverde

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve Guided Hike

Monteverde

Coffee & Chocolate Tour

Costa Rica

Nature Safari Float and Tortilla Making

Arenal/La Fortuna

Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna Waterfall, and Arenal Volcano

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ecocentro Danaus Nighttime Rainforest Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Nighttime Turtle Nesting Tour

Tortuguero

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guided Boat Tour through Tortuguero Canals

Tortuguero

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Thank you for an amazing holiday and for your responsiveness. Every tour and hotel was planned to perfection and provided us with a rich experience of this beautiful country Costa Rica. The waterfalls in La Paz waterfall gardens Were a treat for the eyes, waking up to the sounds of hummingbirds and the thermal springs at Tabacon in Arenal heart warming. Trips to the cloud forest made extra special by the tour guides, taking interest in explaining to us about the biodiversity and sustainability. The cherry on the top was culminating in the end at the Arenal DeMas in Manuel Antonio-polite, welcoming staff, delectable dishes, the Pacific Ocean soothing for the eyes in the soul, and the tree hugging sloths all made for joyous end to this beautiful holiday .

From start to finish, this trip was everything I could have asked for in a holiday. Charlotte and Nancy provided exemplary support throughout the trip and were available whenever I needed them. In my experience, there is no such thing as a trip that doesn't have some minor mishap here and there - Charlotte and Nancy were able to provide solutions to any small issues that arose quickly, such as rearranging tours so I could still do all I wanted if things were running late. They were tremendously helpful in making sure I was taken care of overall, communicating my dietary needs to the hotels and tours well in advance and also making suggestions while I was there if I fancied trying another activity. In the initial planning stages, Fiorella and Nancy designed a perfect trip tailored to everything I asked for on the KimKim survey and adapted it for me as we went along before Charlotte and Nancy took the helm seamlessly. I couldn't have done this myself - their expertise and rapport with their colleagues in the industry was invaluable in making sure everything went well.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the activities and hotels that were arranged for me through Serendipity Adventures and KimKim Travel. I stayed in San Jose for one night, Tortuguero for two nights, Arenal for three, Monte Verde for two and Celeste for another three nights. It was the perfect amount of time to spend in Costa Rica.

Special thanks as well to Marianus at Serendipity - he guided myself and a small group on a hike around the Arenal Volcano - his focus on explaining the history of the volcano, trees and wildlife provided me with a rich understanding of the region that complimented the hike perfectly.

I would highly recommend Serendipity Adventures in Costa Rica as your travel advisors and trip planners while you are there and further, KimKim Travel to anyone who wants to take the pressure and ease off planning a trip anywhere - I will be using their services again!

Hotel Reviews

Rio Celeste Hideaway Resort

Bijagua

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Belmar

Monteverde

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Arenal Kioro Suites & Spa

Fortuna

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Manatus Hotel

Tortuguero

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hilton Garden Inn, La Sabana

San jose

IMPORTANT: if you are going to stay at this hotel, make sure you have all their contact information and the ability to call them from the airport if you are a little bit late arriving in case your driver decides to leave. When I arrived at the airport, the driver was not there - this was not Serendipity's fault (they reimbursed me for my taxi), it was the hotel's - my flight was delayed by forty-five minutes so I arrived according to that - not very late. Besides, their responsibility is to check flight times or wait! It was late, I was tired, I had all my luggage and limited Spanish. Thankfully I found someone who could speak English and they were very helpful - I managed to arrive. No real explanation as to why the driver wasn't there - he had actually been there and just left, apparently. This could have been an absolute nightmare. The hotel itself was a very nice, mid-range standard city center hotel.

Staff

The front staff was very apologetic about my no-show airport pickup and in following up as to what happened.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Rio Celeste & Tenorio Volcano Guided Rainforest Hike

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Night Walk: Children's Eternal Forest

Monteverde

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Monteverde Cloud Forest Guided Hike

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee & Chocolate Tour

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sloth Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanging Bridges and La Fortuna Waterfall Guided Hike

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Hike in Arenal Volcano Park 1968

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Boat Tour through Tortuguero Canals

Tortuguero

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tortuguero Village Visit

Tortuguero

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The rafting and waterfall repelling was amazing and Alex and Andre were fantastic. We had a bit of an issue with our one hotel but Charlotte worked hard to rectify the situation. I would definitely use Kim Kim again in the future.

Hotel Reviews

Pacuare River Lodge

Bajo Tigre

Great kitchen/hang out area. The rooms were much better than camping. Kids loved the trail to the waterfall.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Los Altos Resort

Manuel Antonio

The room was great and loved the recreation room for the kids. The breakfast was very yummy and staff was super friendly. I took one star away because the gym had several pieces of equipment that were broken and need to be repaired.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Los Lagos Spa & Resort

Fortuna

Resort pools were great and staff was very friendly and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Presidente San Jose City Center

San José

Great hotel and staff!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Transfer from San Jose to Pacuare River to enjoy Whitewater Rafting on the Pacuare River

Costa Rica

Stops at waterfalls were great guides take great care of you. This was our favorite excursion.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Hike

Manuel Antonio

Monkeys sloths, and beaches what is not to love

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sky Adventures Zip Lines & Hanging Bridges Guided Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

Zip lines are high and fast, staff is friendly. The hike and bridges was ok but would not do again.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Canyoning Adventure

Costa Rica

Was a blast and my first time zip lining into a pool of water. Highly recommend this excursion.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Overnight Rafting on Río Pacuare: Day 1

Costa Rica

Great family trip guides were excellent

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All the guides were great, so glad had private tours and transfers, learned so much more and experienced local places.
Loved the mombo combo in la fortuna.
The Springs is the most amazing resort I have ever been too!
The cave exploring was nothing like i have dine before.
All the guides were so nice, friendly and sensitive to the needs of my children.

The planning experience with Serendipity Adventures through KimKim was excellent and everything went very smoothly. We only had one issue before the travel regarding an accommodations booking mistake, but they worked hard to find a solution and I was satisfied by their resolution. The in-country support was also good - we had communications many days to answer questions and make adjustments, and Charlotte was responsive even throughout the weekend. Our tourguides through Exploradores (Andrés and Alex) and Maquique Adventures (William and Kenneth) made the experiences so special and personal, and I especially enjoyed talking with our Serendipity transport driver Alex as he drove us across the country. Would absolutely use these companies again and recommend!

Wilie from Serendipity was wonderful. He went way over and above wonderful to accommodate and help each one of us in the group. Our group was diverse but with more seniors then young people he actually assisted us and particularly me on and off the bus. Beside his help he is a very smart, well informed guide with spot on answers of facts and information. His knowledge of Costa Rica history and Central American politics is amazing. Our driver was great and I liked the fact that they ate their meals with us. We were a family group and they became part of the family. Our trip was a little different because we primarily were there for my grand daughter's Bat Mitzvah. The day went off better then we even planned and the services and celebratory dinner will be memorable to all of us. The sites were well planned and either every tourist gets to see Sloths, Anguti, coatimundi, Tuocans, monkeys wild pigs, whales or we were the luckiest tourists to visit Costa Rica. The hotel accommodations were wonderful, the food, the amenities and the people were so helpful and friendly except for the driver on the return trip from horseback riding (not everyone is entitled to a bad day)when you work with the public.
The trip will remain memorable to all of us and Pura Vida to our new Tico friends.

The top three activities for me were the Hanging Bridges, the rafting, and the afternoon on the catamaran. Thanks for suggesting such great excursions.

We started out with Sergio and he was amazing. He was very responsive and helped us plan an amazing trip for a very diverse group - we had vegans in the group and we also had some elderly people, including my dad who had mobility challenges. He also helped select restaurants. We were celebrating a life event and Serendipity scheduled an amazing private dinner at La Divina Comida in San Jose. I could not have been happier with the restaurant and private room. It exceeded our expectations. Sergio laid the framework for managing this diverse group. Charlotte wasn’t as responsive as Sergio (I would have liked her to respond to messages more quickly) but the transition was pretty smooth overall.

Our guide was Willy. He was outstanding. He was incredibly friendly and flexible. He handled our diverse group so well and the trip was really seamless. At times serendipity brought in additional guides to allow the group to enjoy activities despite some mobility challenges. Our favorite activities were the hanging bridges, the raft tour, the catamaran cruise and horseback riding. The only constructive feedback I have is to not do the lava hike in Arenal on the same day as the hanging bridges. We ended up shifting toe La Fortuna Waterfall hike to another day because we were exhausted after the hanging bridges and lava hike - and ran out of time. There’s no way we could have handled all 3 activities on the same day.

We would definitely recommend Serendipity and would work with them again.

Hotel Reviews

The Westin Golf Resort and Spa, Playa Conchal

Playa Conchal

We loved this all Inclusive! The rooms are lovely and the grounds are beautiful with lots of wildlife. We enjoyed the pool and beach and we thought the food was pretty good. We would consider returning to this resort.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Staff was attentive and friendly and went the extra mile

Cleanliness & Comfort

Comfortable beds, nice toiletries and excellent water pressure in the shower!

Baldi Hot Springs Resort, Hotel & Spa

Fortuna

We loved the hot springs. We had a nice room On the fourth floor but the first floor rooms my relatives had weren’t as nice. The hotel was very stingy with towels and the shower had no water pressure. It took forever to bathe and the water was never warm. If you lost your room key (a plastic card), they charged $10. Toiletries were cheap. The food at breakfast was decent but we ate dinner in the restaurant one night and it wasn’t great. I wouldn’t stay at this hotel again.

Authenticity & Character

The hot springs were awesome! Our room was great but room quality is uneven.

Location

The location was fine. It wasn’t in the middle of town but wasn’t far either.

Staff

Staff was friendly but the hotel rules were not. They were very stingy with towels.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The beds weren’t that comfortable, the showers had no water pressure and were never hot enough and the toiletries were cheap. It felt like we were roughing it.

Grano de Oro Hotel

San José

This hotel was so beautiful. It feels like a classic hotel from the turn of the 20th century. The rooms are lovely, included breakfast wonderful and staff friendly. We absolutely loved the gardens outside with the covered walkways. We even enjoyed the jacuzzi on the roof one evening!

Authenticity & Character

The old world feel and friendly boutique service makes this hotel stand out.

Location

Staff

Staff was friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

The rooms were charming. The restaurant was beautiful.

Activity Reviews

Private Sunset Catamaran Sailing Tour

Costa Rica

This cruise was spectacular. The food and drinks were good and plentiful, the catamaran clean and beautiful, the swimming cove pristine. We saw whales and dolphins, a double rainbow and beautiful sunset. This was a magical end to our trip.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Horseback Riding Beach Tour

Playa Conchal

We loved the horseback ride on the beach. The sights were beautiful. The beaches were practically empty and the guides took great photos. However, I had to knock off a star because we had a horrific experience getting back to the resort. We were driven around for almost an hour only in a crowded van to return to the horseback riding place. The driver then refused to drive us back to the resort and we had to beg to get taken back.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guides were great but the driver was rude and unprofessional.

Transport

Private Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve Guided Hike

Costa Rica

We loved the cloud forest and wished we had more time there! We saw lots of wildlife including a quetzal, three wattled bellbird, capuchins, and agouti. The trail was walkable and the views great. I wish we had more time in Monteverde.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We were able to get a golf cart for my parents so they could enjoy the trail too!

Transport

Sloth Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

It was a lot of fun to “hunt” for sloths in La Fortuna and see them in their natural habitat. We had a specialty guide for this tour and he taught us a lot about sloths and was great at spotting them!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ella's Bat Mitzvah Ceremony

San José

Private: Safari Float on the Peñas Blancas River

Arenal/La Fortuna

This raft safari was another highlight of our trip. We loved seeing howler monkeys and white faced capuchins and other wildlife. We also loved the picnic our guides set up on an overturned raft with fresh watermelon, pineapple and Costa Rican candies.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna Waterfall, and Arenal Volcano

Arenal/La Fortuna

The hanging bridges was possibly our favorite activity of the trip. Warning: the bridges are a bit scary. But the views are incredible. We saw lots of wildlife - spider monkeys, pit vipers, and lots of birds. The lush rain forest is classic Costa Rica. We thought the lava hike of Arenal Volcano was challenging - a tough activity to do after the hanging bridges. The views were pretty but the path was tough for our group. We ended up shifting the La Fortuna waterfall to the next day.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee & Chocolate Tour

Costa Rica

This was a very interesting experience. Our tour guide was great and we loved learning about chocolate and coffee making. We preferred the Chocolate part of the experience because the coffee grown at this location isn’t actually the coffee sold or tasted during the tour. The best coffee is grown at higher elevations. It’s also quite hot and there are lots of mosquitos!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was great!

Transport

Explore Barrio Amon with your Dedicated Guide

San José

We loved this! I learned a lot about the history of Costa Rica and enjoyed seeing the old part of the city.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jade Museum Tour

San José

The carvings are interesting to see, but the experience is similar to other museums I have been too. It reminded me of a smaller version of the Museo de Oro in Bogota

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Willy was great

Transport

Museum of the Jewish Community of Costa Rica

San José

This isn’t for everyone but we loved it! We really enjoyed the artifacts documenting the journey of the founders of the Jewish community from Poland to San Jose and the tour of the synagogue.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Charlotte was a great help in crafting our itinerary for our second trip to Costa Rica. The activities in Turrialba with the Serendipity team were top notch in terms of experience, safety, and feeling cared for by the guides. Andres ensured that all elements of our trip were safe and that we had a great experience. He's clearly very seasoned and professional. Sergio, Cesar and Daniel were great with canyoning, and the meal we shared together at Sergio and Cesar's mom's house was exceptional. It was so nice to learn about their family. They were very very careful and followed strong safety practices. For our river rafting overnight trip, Andres continued to be at the helm and ensuring all went smoothly. Alejandro was an exceptional guide, extremely positive and knowledgeable, and so so skilled with the raft. Jose Luis was a great guide, taking us on an unforgettable hike at the camp that took us through creeks and then met with the river. Douglas was great at navigating the ducky, it was a fun experience to ride with him. Alex was great at helping with it put-in, camp, and put-out. Overall the team worked so well together, we had great food and great experiences with them. Thank you to the Serendipity team!!! The rest of our trip in Puerto Viejo was not as great as Turrialba, the chocolate tour was a bit too long and we got bit by a lot of bugs. The snorkeling trip was not as small a group as I expected, and there wasn't a snorkeling guide. The hotel was great location and the room was very good for our family, that was a great suggestion from Charlotte. If I were to redo the itinerary, I would keep all of the Turrialba activities, skip the chocolate tour, and see if we could book a smaller snorkeling trip with a snorkeling guide. The airport hotel was great for us, too. Overall the Serendipity team was fantastic!!!

We had the trip of a lifetime to Costa Rica. Charlotte organised our itinerary to our exact needs, and we had some fantastic local guides including Eddie who took us sea kayaking and guided us through Manuel Antonio. We saw more wildlife in a day than we would see in a lifetime elsewhere.
We were also very lucky with the weather, and the kids showed the adults the way during activities such as white water rafting and canyoning. A first for the whole family.
I can't recommend Costa Rica enough, and if you are looking for further inspiration then Charlotte will be sure to have plenty of suggestions. We will be back.

Our trip was a father/son adventure entitled Passion Pursuit. It was conceived to explore the natural and environmental interests of my 14-year-old son, Theo. Given the incredible breadth of what's on offer in Costa Rica, we quickly became overwhelmed with how to put this trip together. Then we discovered kimkim and were introduced to Charlotte. With her tenured experience in the area and her responsiveness to our preferences, she built out a dream trip for us spanning from the Osa Penninsula and Corcovado, up the coast through Manuel Antonio and on to Monteverde, and ultimately concluding in the Arenal volcano region. Over 16 days we enjoyed a perfect balance of scheduled activities and time to explore and chill out on our own. I could write a novel to describe the details, but here are some of our trip highlights:
- Flying in over the beach at Drake Bay between the palm trees and watching the horses run alongside the old runway as we touched down. Following this our driver told us to hang on as we crossed the bridge. Of course there was no bridge and we drove the 4-wheel-drive through the river to the other side. This was exactly the kind of adventure we were after.
- The stunning hotel Copa del Arbol (water access only)became our base as we explored the region with guided experiences for the next four days — all beginning with being scooped up off the beach each morning around 6am for jungle hikes and snorkelling adventures. Two days straight we found ourselves surrounded by pods of False Killer Whales, an incredibly uncommon experience. One amazing highlight was to watch flying fish skimming the surface alongside our boat, only to see them being chased by a Sailfish — the beautiful translucent purple fin flying at full speed alongside us. We finished each day body surfing along one of the many pristine beaches reached by short trails from the hotel.
- We then picked up our car in Sierpe and started our self-guided drive up the coast. More wonderful wildlife sightings and amazing kayak adventures in the mangrove forest outside Manuel Antonio. Stunning clean beaches and beautiful views. All of the locals we encountered were very friendly and helpful. It became clear to us that Pura Vida was not simply a marketing tagline but an authentic descriptor woven into their way of life.
- About midway through the trip I started to experience a loss of hearing. I texted Charlotte before 8am on a Sunday morning and within the hour I had an appointment at a modern full-service clinic in Uvita where the staff were waiting for me. A quick procedure and all was well — apparently this is quite common with the heat and humidity (and the surf play) to cause the ears to plug. I was so impressed with Charlotte's attention and responsiveness. This was unexpected and really appreciated.
- Leaving the coast behind, the drive through the foothills up to Monteverde was stunningly beautiful. Our base for the following days was the lovely Hotel Belmar and it felt as though we had entered a completely different world in the mountains. Cool, breezy and with sunset views for hundreds of miles. We really enjoyed this portion of the trip. We had super informative guided experiences and many significant bird sightings.
- On our tour of the hanging bridges through the tree canopies, we spotted the amazing Resplendent Quetzal. Over two days we were so fortunate to spot both a male and female! An addition, our guide Andreas brought us on a tour of the jungle after dark and, as a bonus, gave us a lesson on nighttime photography which made our images remarkable.
In conclusion, we found Costa Rica to be safe, friendly and easy to navigate. We loved how each area was unique and unspoiled from tourism development. Charlotte put together an amazing and diverse itinerary with truly lovely hotels (we often found that we had the best rooms on offer) and terrific culinary experiences. It was a trip to remember and I would highly recommend kimkim to anyone.

Planning our trip with KimKim was easy from start to finish. I just let them know dates, desires of the family and a budget, and they did the rest!

Everything happened when and as planned. When there were little issues (the rental car was booked to be returned to the wrong location ) - they were immediately corrected with follow up emails to ensure that everything went well. I never had to wait longer than a day to reach anyone for non-urgent matters while on vacation, and we didn't have to contact them for any emergencies because there weren't any!

We started at Playa Hermosa, following a simple private transfer from the airport. Our stay at the Bosque Del Mar was great. We had a large ocean view room with a separate bedroom and large balcony. The food on site (additional) was relatively expensive but delicious, but the service was good and it was very quiet at night (except for the occasional howler monkey!). The kids loved the pool, the beach, and the full-size pool table in the lounge, where we enjoyed the 2-for-1 daily happy hour and great views from the second floor.

We went SCUBA diving for 3 days, leaving from Playas del Coco (15-minute drive from the hotel). We found the service at Deep Blue Diving to be quite good for a PADI-certified site. The equipment was maintained (few minor air leaks in the rental BCD's) and the dive masters and the boat captains were attentive and safe, including extra safety equipment and plenty of food and water on-board. Everything was on time with no delays. The dive sites had about 20-30 feet visibility with very calm surface conditions (minimal wind each day) and a great variety of underwater life.

While we were diving, our children stayed with their own local Serendipity guide, Juan Carlos. They loved hanging out with him especially because his family was in the area and he offered to bring his kids with him to play! He took them to the pools at the hotels and mini golfing! They also explored the local tide polls and raced hermit crabs on the beach. He kept them feed, sun-screened and very happy. He also chauffeured us around to diving and dinners as needed.

We were then delivered a rental car to our hotel (a new Toyota Rav4), which was a great car to have for the rest of our trip. The agent delivering the car noted that the drop-off location was for a different airport than our itinerary but this was quickly corrected. We drove to the Hacienda El Viejo, where we had a good lunch of local cuisine and then went on a private river boat excursion in the Palo Verde National Park. Our guide seemed a bit more interested in talking with the boat captain than with us during the exploration but we did see alligators, a Jesus Christ lizard, a variety of monkeys and many birds. When we got back to the hacienda our guide asked us to give him a ride home. While that was a bit unexpected it's understandable given the distance from the remote park to his home and that it was in-line with our next destination. We were happy to help, too, since the rural roads were not paved and some routes shown on Google Maps were closed or weren't the standard local way to navigate. As we drove him to a drop-off point to catch a bus he pointed out additional wildlife from the car that we wouldn't have otherwise known to look for.

Our final destination was the Arenal Manoa Hotel and Hot Springs. The switch from a relatively dry and sunny oceanside into a humid rainforest, and the many twisting mountain roads, made for an interesting 3-hour drive. Our room at the Manoa was beautifully appointed and situated at the back of the resort, surrounded by dense trees, flowers, and many, many birds. The room was large and was kept very clean throughout our stay; the maid even left little treats and towel sculptures for the kids each day. Our room was close to the restaurant and the regular pool, though a bit of a walk to the on-site hot springs at the front of the resort. Again, the food was quite expensive at the hotel, so we dined nearby in La Fortuna frequently. All the food, both at the hotel and in town, was genuinely excellent. There were always options for the kids, too.

Our first private excursion in Arenal was zip-lining at the Vista Arenal Adventure Park and this was a family favourite. The equipment was great with good fitting harnesses and each of our kids had their own guide, Daniel and Tiago, who did each zip line with them to control the speed and breaking. There were fourteen platforms high in the forest near the base of the volcano. We zoomed through the canopy and over a river with incredible views. The kids were never scared and loved the thrill of the ride. Our main guide, Isaac, was very informative and discussed the wildlife and vegetation that we saw.

After a break at the hotel we went to the Hanging Bridges, which is very beautiful, but unfortunately it rained very heavily and we couldn't enjoy this to its fullest. It was neat to experience a rainforest in its full, rainy state, but it was also rather cold and limited views. What we did see was very impressive with beautiful pathways through the jungle and lots of different birds. We even saw a pack of peccary (feral pigs) wandering about.

The next day we went spelunking at the Venado Caves; this was the kids' favourite activity! They were a bit nervous starting the walk though the river in the caves, but after passing through some tight crawl-throughs, they explored with enthusiasm. One of our headlamps ran out of batteries midway through the spelunking, which is a bit disconcerting, but with the larger group (there were 7 of us) it was OK. This excursion included a transfer from our hotel, but this wasn't really needed and we would have preferred to drive ourselves as we would have stopped for food on our way home.

Our next day, we lounged at the hotel to rest in the morning and hang out at the pools while enjoying oven roasted pizzas that were popular at the resort. Then, we were picked up by Callidryas Tours for a sloth viewing expedition. For this tour, you do need the guides driving because they search for sloths in the wild while driving the local streets! They have amazing eyes to pick them out of the trees and we stopped multiple times to view the sloths in their natural environment through telescopes. We were able to see both two toed and three toed sloths and also found moms and their babies!

On our final day, we chose to stop at the Centro de Rescate Las Pumas, a wildlife sanctuary and rehabilitation center between Arenal and the airport in Liberia. This was additional to our KimKim itinerary but we note it here because it was nice to see a few of the rarer local animals that we hadn't already encountered and to break up the drive for the kids. Plus, they're doing great work for the local animal populations. The car return was super easy, over in about 3 minutes followed by a 5-minute shuttle to the airport terminal, where we enjoyed a final meal before our flight.

Altogether this was a great trip, well-organized, well executed, and worry free. Thanks to everyone for helping us!

Hotel Reviews

Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs

Fortuna

Our room at the Manoa was beautifully appointed and situated at the back of the resort, surrounded by dense trees, flowers, and many, many birds. The room was large and was kept very clean throughout our stay; the maid even left little treats and towel sculptures for the kids each day. Our room was close to the restaurant and the regular pool, though a bit of a walk to the on-site hot springs at the front of the resort. Again, the food was quite expensive at the hotel, so we dined nearby in La Fortuna frequently. All the food at the hotel was genuinely excellent. There were good options for the kids, too.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Great views of the volcano and close to La Fortuna

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Bosque del Mar Playa Hermosa

Playa Hermosa

Our stay at the Bosque Del Mar was great. We had a large ocean view room with a separate bedroom and large balcony. The food on site (additional) was relatively expensive but delicious, but the service was good and it was very quiet at night (except for the occasional howler monkey!). The kids loved the pool, the beach, and the full-size pool table in the lounge, where we enjoyed the 2-for-1 daily happy hour and great views from the second floor.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Fantastic beach

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sloth Observation - Day or Night Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

We were picked up by Callidryas Tours for a sloth viewing expedition. For this tour, you do need the guides driving because they search for sloths in the wild while driving the local streets! They have amazing eyes to pick them out of the trees and we stopped multiple times to view the sloths in their natural environment through telescopes. We were able to see both two toed and three toed sloths and also found moms and their babies!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Amazing driving while also picking our sloths!!!

Transport

Venado Cave Spelunking & Exploring

Arenal/La Fortuna

This was the kids' favourite activity! They were a bit nervous starting the walk though the river in the caves, but after passing through some tight crawl-throughs, they explored with enthusiasm. One of our headlamps ran out of batteries midway through the spelunking, which is a bit disconcerting, but with the larger group (there were 7 of us) it was OK. This excursion included a transfer from our hotel, but this wasn't really needed and we would have preferred to drive ourselves as we would have stopped for food on our way home.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide was very informative about the limestones formations and fossils found in the cave

Transport

We could have driving ourselves and likely would have preferred this.

Private Canopy Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

We had a private excursion at the Vista Arenal Adventure Park and this was a family favourite. The equipment was great with good fitting harnesses and each of our kids had their own guide, Daniel and Tiago, who did each zip line with them to control the speed and breaking. There were fourteen platforms high in the forest near the base of the volcano. We zoomed through the canopy and over a river with incredible views. The kids were never scared and loved the thrill of the ride. Our main guide, Isaac, was very informative and discussed the wildlife and vegetation that we saw.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Isaac was very conscientious of checking the harnesses and equipment of our kids (and us) at each platform to ensure safety. I was never concerned.

Transport

Palo Verde National Park Boat Exploration

Costa Rica

We drove to the Hacienda El Viejo, where we had a good lunch of local cuisine and then went on a private river boat excursion in the Palo Verde National Park. Our guide seemed a bit more interested in talking with the boat captain than with us during the exploration but we did see alligators, a Jesus Christ lizard, a variety of monkeys and many birds. When we got back to the hacienda our guide asked us to give him a ride home. While that was a bit unexpected it's understandable given the distance from the remote park to his home and that it was in-line with our next destination. We were happy to help, too, since the rural roads were not paved and some routes shown on Google Maps were closed or weren't the standard local way to navigate. As we drove him to a drop-off point to catch a bus he pointed out additional wildlife from the car that we wouldn't have otherwise known to look for.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Given that this was a private tour, I was expecting a bit more about the history of the Hacienda and the family or some more info about the surrounding vegetation and wildlife.

Transport

2 Tank Scuba Diving at the Catalina Islands

Costa Rica

Better visibility at this site as it is further from the beach areas and less sandy debris in the water. The wreck at Tortuga was small but amusing to see and had an eel living in it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very helpful with the gear organization and distributing water and pineapple during the breaks.

Transport

Coastal SCUBA Diving in Northern Guanacaste

Costa Rica

We went SCUBA diving for 3 days, leaving from Playas del Coco (15-minute drive from the hotel). We found the service at Deep Blue Diving to be quite good for a PADI-certified site. The equipment was maintained (few minor air leaks in the rental BCD's) and the dive masters and the boat captains were attentive and safe, including extra safety equipment and plenty of food and water on-board. Everything was on time with no delays. The dive sites had about 20-30 feet visibility with very calm surface conditions (minimal wind each day) and a great variety of underwater life

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very attentive to safety

Transport

Charlotte did an amazing job building an itinerary of all the places and tours we were interested in doing. We added and changed ideas a couple times and came up with a fantastic trip.
Every transfer, hotel, and tour, went exactly as planned. We had absolutely no issues or problems occur.
I would not hesitate to highly recommend using KimKim. We were more than happy with how our trip went.

It was absolutely amazing. Everything was planned with such care and detail, charlotte was amazing and very responsive. Overall it was one of the best trips I have ever been on!

We had an amazing time in Costa Rica! Charlotte was the perfect agent to work with and provided us with an individualized schedule for an adventurous family with active teens. We traveled to Jaco Beach, Monteverde, Arenal/La Fortuna, and Sarapiqui - a place I never heard of before but a haven for white water rafting and chocolate tours. As a mom, I loved that she combined educational hiking tours (lead by experienced guides) with family bonding time (outrigger canoeing, zip lining, white water rafting). All of our transportation ran like clockwork which allowed us to experience all the “Costa Rica Essentials” in four different towns. My husband enjoyed the surprise private room to celebrate his birthday too. I highly recommend Charlotte and her team at Serendipity. Pura Vida!

Hotel Reviews

La Quinta Inn Sarapiqui

Sarapiqui

Very cute, family run lodge. Loved that they were so friendly and cared about everyone who stayed here. The staff made sure that we had a large enough table for every meal of our stay (8 ppl) We really enjoyed taking the cooking class - made empanadas. Bring a magnet from your home town so that she can display it on her wall. (I will be sending her one)

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tilajari Hotel Resort

Fortuna

I realize that we were traveling during the peak season, so finding a place to stay was challenging. One of our rooms was a little smelly but that may have had to do with the septic tank. The staff were not as happy as the other hotels, but again, I appreciate that we had a clean safe place to stay.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Location to La Fortuna was a $40 cab ride each way.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

El Establo Mountain Hotel

Monteverde

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Club del Mar Oceanfront

Jacó

Authenticity & Character

Location

I loved the property, but not much to walk to

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Arenal Volcano Hike & La Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

Chris was very knowledgeable and engaging!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Privately Guided Naturalist Hike at La Selva Biological Station

Sarapiquí

I'm so glad that Charlotte scheduled us to visit this Institute. It seemed like our guide was used to more scientific groups than a family with four teens. But we did learn a lot about the region and original rain forest

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chocolate Tour

Costa Rica

Geiner was an excellent host and knew so much about the history of chocolate and fermentation process. We really enjoyed our tour/demonstration.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rafting Sarapiquí River, Class II-III

Costa Rica

Walter and Kiki were excellent guides

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

100% Aventura Zip Line and Hanging Bridges Monteverde

Monteverde

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cloudforest Reserve Privately Guided Hike

Monteverde

Andy was amazing! He knew so much about the history of Costa Rica and the different regions.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ocean Outrigger Adventure

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Festive Dinner for all hotel guests!

Costa Rica