Serendipity Adventures

Via Kimkim, we booked our 9 day Costa Rica trip with Serendipity Adventures, a Costs Rica travel agency. Elena from Serendipity was super responsive in helping us customizing our trip and responding to all our questions. The trip was very well planned and fit our need. I would like to thank Adrien from Serendipity for her the assistance and support during our stay in Costa Rica. Her prompt responses were greatly appreciated when we encountered questions or issues. We felt we were in good hands with her help throughout the trip. Our local guide Sergio was awesome in providing helpful local information, including restaurants, local culture, etc. during the our ride/transportation between different destinations. We enjoyed this trip very much, and the journey definitely has become a beautiful memory that we will talk about for a long time. Both Costa Rica and Serendipity Adventures are highly recommended, and Kimkim made it possible!

Hotel Reviews

Arenal Paraíso Resort, Spa & Hot Springs

La Fortuna

Hot springs pools are fun to use. The hotel is directly facing the volcano ( although the clouds cover the volcano most of the time…) Great birding location! Room is outdated and felt cheap. About 10-15 minutes drive from the town. No other restaurants within walking distance.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Some staff are super nice but not all.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The air conditioner direct blow to the bed. Room design may be improved.

Koora Hotel

Monteverde

Awesome hotel with a superb restaurant! Outstanding services.

Authenticity & Character

cozy and nicely decorated room.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel La Mariposa

Manuel Antonio

Great sunset view! Nice pool. Many good restaurants near by.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Catamaran Tour with Meal

Costa Rica

Great staff. Very good fish bbq. Not sure the snorkel gears are properly cleaned between use.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All Day Adventure at Selvatura, including Zipline, Hanging Bridges, and Fauna Exhibitions

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Food

The pre-purchase meal tickets have limited selection and seem the food quality and portion not as good as if one purchases at the restaurant

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Whitewater Rafting on the Balsa River

Arenal/La Fortuna

The white water rafting experience is awesome and one of the highlights of our trip. Highly recommended

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Stevens was awesome

Transport

The drive to the rafting location is long 2 hours one way!

Private Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Hike

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Overall, the trip was planned well. There were minor miscommunications. For certain events, the specific s were not clear. We had one driver for two days, he was okay, sometimes moody. The second driver was nice and friendly. The third one was outstanding, went out of his to show the Cities around. Very friendly, very communicative with the history and the overall site seeing places. I want to point out about a trip that was planned in this trip, mangrove boat tour. The itinerary mentioned that the lunch will be provided, in fact, they served lunch after the trip at 4:30pm. It was not acceptable, there were few of us with diabetes, it could have ended up in a disaster. Luckily we had some snacks with us. I wish for future travelers, these things should be sorted out and rectified.

We fully enjoyed our vacation to Costa Rica. The entire production was well organized by the team and we enjoyed a memorable family vacation. The trip out to Arenal was memorable at night. It is through some serious back and windy roads and so a little more heads up on that front in the travel description would have been great. Not everyone handles these types of car rides the same and the trip back (during the day) and a different driver was actually much more pleasant. Nevertheless, it was worth it!

We arrived at Hotel Mountain Paradise. The authentic and "rustic" rainforest setting was amazing and the view of the Arenal volcano was spectacular. The staff was delightful and polite. We enjoyed ziplining, the bridges and the forest walk on our first day. It was an early morning (since we came in late the night before) but beating the crowds was worth it. The facility got more crowded (December is peak season) as the day moved on. It was a unique and breathtaking experience.

The second day excursion was also enjoyable but we felt the volcano hike portion was underwhelming. Again, the trail was crowded and at the very end of the hike we did locate a couple of howler monkeys. However, the time spent on that portion of the trip meant that we had very little time at the waterfall. We were given about 30 minutes to hike down, jump in the falls and hike back up. It would have been more enjoyable to have a fair amount of time at the waterfall. As an unexpected surprise, we did have a complimentary lunch in La Fortuna and had a chance to go to a local restaurant (this was not mentioned on our itinerary.

Both "half day" excursions had us picked up between 7 and 8 AM and returning around 2:30-3:30 PM. They were long "half days" so I don't recommend doing any full day excursions if you want to enjoy the hotel or surrounding areas. We did fully enjoy the hotel and La Fortuna area (by taking an Uber) and being able to spend time together enjoying things in an amazing setting.

Our travel out to Guanacaste on Christmas day was extended by traffic near Liberia. It was almost four hours of travel time but the driver was professional and courteous and we much appreciated a short rest stop to use a restroom and stretch our legs. The Papagayo Golden Palms greeted us with an amazing setting and the beach beckoned. We enjoyed the facilities and this hotel was a bit more "modern" and the air conditioning and showers worked more reliably.

On both days, we enjoyed the pool, the beach and seeing the monkeys that live in the trees surrounding the hotel. We had a delightful dinner at the hotel (which was very good) and a great breakfast buffet. We did share a hotel shuttle with another family to Playa Del Coco for more beach time, food and souvenir shopping. Playa Del Coco had the most authentic Pura Vida vibes as we shared the area with both locals and tourists. We fully enjoyed our stay and the hotel coordinating a trip for us to that unique setting.

Our last day was met with a delay in our United flight home. We reached out to kimkim and they were able to extend our pickup by another 30 minutes. That was much appreciated as it allowed us to stay at the nice hotel for just a bit longer (before heading to the airport). Liberia is a small but bustling airport and easily accessible from Guanacaste. I highly recommend flying in/out of that airport over San Jose if you are in the coastal area.

Again, a well organized and wonderful trip to Costa Rica. Thank you for helping making this a great experience. Pura Vida!

Hotel Reviews

Papagayo Golden Palms

Guanacaste

Great pool, beach area is a little rough as you'll find a lot of rocks in the immediate area outside the hotel so you'll need to walk down the beach to find an easier entrance. The hotel area was extremely well kept and the staff were super helpful and polite.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It's sort of on a black sand beach but it's at the end of a cove that makes it a little less desirable.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Mountain Paradise

Fortuna

Staff was delightful, hotel had a few hiccups with things not quite working (e.g. air conditioning and showers) at times but we signed up for an experience in a remote part of Costa Rica and so we understood these challenges.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Amazing view of the volcanoes

Staff

Very kind and welcoming from the pool to the restaurant to around the grounds

Cleanliness & Comfort

Air Conditioning broke in the middle of the night and then never put out cool air again, pool was not always cycling water so collected a lot of bugs.

Activity Reviews

Sky Tram, Sky Trek & Sky Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

A unique and enjoyable expereince. The hike around the area was interesting but don't expect to see too much wildlife, Mostly birds, snakes, spiders and a few ants.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano Hike & La Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

Arenal Volcano Hike was okay but the hike to "lava fields" that were about a mile closer to the volcano through a crowded trail wasn't much different than just taking pictures from the trailhead. The second part of the hike through more of the rainforest was a bit more interesting. The La Fortuna waterfall was the best part of the trip for our family but extrememly short so we had to move very quickly and rushed to enjoy any of it. It would be nice if the waterfall was longer.

Quality of Experience

Duration of the waterfall portion

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Introduction to the Gulf of Papagayo

Gulf of Papagayo

Not sure what I am reviewing. There wasn't much provided here. We did a lot of independent research to determine best places to visit, eat in the area.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Organized that independently.