An amazing 19 days, 1500km round trip

Costa Rica | Sep 15 - Oct 3, 2022

First of all, Bryan was an amazing help in discussing our travel ideas and after confirming everything, he made an awesome job of scheduling the full holiday.

Every accommodation, activity, guide, travel, etc was smooth and punctual. The only thing we had to do was follow the itinerary and enjoy ourselves.

There were several times when arriving at the new accommodation, the guides were already there waiting for us, so we could go immediately if we feel like it, for example, the river tubing in Bijagua. Unfortunately, I have forgotten the name of our river tubing guide, but he was a really informative, friendly and good guide who made sure we enjoy the river tubing and hiking with him in Bijagua. The Casitas Tenorio B&B in Bijagua was a beautiful and calm resting place for us in the middle of our trip, where we could even spot howler monkeys a few meters away.

One of the most beautiful, calm and nature surrounded and favourite place we stayed at was the Caribbean side, the Congo Bongo EcoVillage Costa Rica in Puerto Viejo - Manzanillo. Here, you feel like you are inside the jungle, with monkeys above the house, with raccoons trying to steal your food remains in the night and hummingbirds buzzing and flying around you (less than a meter away) while you are chilling on the porch and sipping your coffee. It is beautiful.

In La Fortuna, I would strongly recommend that you would stay in the Tabacón Thermal Resort and Spa. While it is really not the cheapest (however not the most expensive either), it gives you a transcendental experience. Here, you will not have any other task just to unwind and relax. They are making sure you will have a perfect time there and nothing to worry about. I would really like to go back there, even if the level of pampering there were so new to me that I was sometimes a bit flustered. :)
I would like to mention two people from Tabacón who were extra friendly and helpful. Diego was one of the chefs (at least at the breakfasts) who made sure that you had everything you wanted, and was willing to go the extra mile to make something for you if you had any wishes.
The other person was Diane, who was the most friendly and cute person we ever had the chance to talk with. She was a joy to speak with. (most of the time she was in charge of greeting and sitting the people at the restaurant reception)

In Monteverde, while the accommodation we selected was nothing special (and even had some struggles to change rooms because the rooms randomly don't have safes), the area is wonderful and filled with animals. The coffee and chocolate tour with the Don Juan Tours was really informative and our guide was one of the funniest on the whole trip, always cracking us up. The next day, in Sky Adventures park, we had two really good guides. The hike in the park was really informative and after that I really enjoyed the Arboreal tree climbing experience. It was challenging and rewarding at the same time and had just enough trees to enjoy it.

And for last but not least, we visited Manuel Antonio and stayed in the Tico Tico Villa which was an another amazing and relaxing experience. It is just a small but well equipped nice apartment with swimming pool, BBQ and etc, meanwhile scarlet macaws are flying above you, iguanas relaxing on the porch, capuchin monkeys are travelling on the trees. The owner is the loveliest person we have met on the trip. This place in details was nothing special, however I would really recommend it because overall it is a beautiful and relaxing experience after travelling through the country.
In Manuel Antonio we went to kayaking in the Damas'Island mangrove forest which is a really nice, relaxing and unwinding experience where Emese even realised how much she likes kayaking.
The next morning, we went to the Manuel Antonio national park with Adrian from Paddle 9, who was one of our favourite guide. He was informative, friendly and helpful and through him, we could get to know a lot not just about nature but Costa Rica too. Later on the same day we had another trip with Paddle 9, however it was less successful. While the activity would have been perfect, unfortunately trying to learn to do Stand-up Paddle Boarding (SUP) on the ocean is not beginner friendly. Unfortunately our guide misjudged our level and we went to a shore where the waves were over our levels and had to cancel our activity, but I have to mention that they really did their best to let us hike out of that bay through the forest the safest and easiest. As a summary of this activity, it is a good fun, but be sure you are not a total beginner or if you are, you are a confident swimmer in a really good shape.

And for the end, I would like to thank Bryan and the Serendipity Adventures team again for their efforts to make sure we enjoyed this trip. Be it organising everything, giving us travel updates about larger road closures or trying to get back our lost belongings, they always did their best and we are really happy to recommend them. Thank you very much. This 19 days and 1500km round trip was a really amazing holiday.