Bryan Leon

This was our second trip to Costa Rica with Bryan as our local planning specialist. As the first time, Bryan and the entire kimkim were excellent to deal with. Our three days in Corcovado were exciting and memorable. The Corcovado Wilderness Lodge had incredible and dedicated staff. I'd like to mention Luis, Borman, and Orlando as being extraordinary, although everyone there was wonderful. The hikes and snorkeling to Cano Island were the highlights of the trip. Then we were off to Uvita where we stayed at the beautiful Golden Pineapple. The staff which included Marlin, Marlin, Pablo, and Leo were all very accommodating and attentive. The only negative was that we really weren't given the option of planning excursions ahead of time in Uvita even though we inquired about this in our planning phase of the trip. What this meant in practical terms is that when we arrived in Uvita around noon we had to scramble to make plans for the afternoon and the next day. Our arrival day, Tuesday, was disappointing. We went to Whaletail Beach and it was ok, but we didn't need to spend an afternoon there. Wednesday was much better because we went to the Nauyaca falls. Overall, we had to do much too much work at this stop and it was very hit or miss. The Dantica Cloud Forrest Trail was invigorating and challenging and we enjoyed it very much. The drivers, pickups, and drop-offs were impeccable as we've come to expect of kimkim. Wilman at Serendipity Adventures was literally in touch with us daily making certain that everything was going well. He was an absolute pleasure to deal with. Also, a quick shout-out to our driver Alex who drove us from Dantica Cloud Lodge to the San Jose Airport. I enjoyed speaking with him and he made the 2.5 hour drive pass quickly. Overall it was a great vacation with the exception of the lack of planning in Uvita. I definitely recommend kimkim and Serendipity Adventures highly.

Myself and my wife arranged a trip to CostaRica via Kimkim and Serendipity Adventures. We had a great time. Our experience was wonderful. All our arrangements including all stays, transportations and trips were done very well. We didn’t have to worry about any of these. They stayed in touch throughout the trip to ensure everything went smoothly. All the staff we encountered were extremely nice . Thank you !

We spent a week in Costa Rica in March 2025 and had an amazing time.
Right from the time we landed, we knew we were in great hands with our knowledgeable and kind driver, Alex who was a wealth of information about Costa Rica- people, culture, food etc.
We had our local tour organizer, Wilman checking on us everyday which was great.
We had excellent tour guides notably Byron at Rio Celeste and Andres at Manuel Antonio.
Our favorite was the Tapir night hike as it was the first time we were experiencing a hike in the darkness.
Overall, we loved Costa Rica and we will definitely visit again!!

Hotel Reviews

Nayara Hotel Spa and Gardens

Fortuna

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rio Celeste Hideaway Resort

Bijagua

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tulemar Resort

Manuel Antonio

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Río Peñas Blancas Safari Float

Arenal/La Fortuna

The planning was easy to do and adjust as needed and the 2 hotels we stayed at were awesome. We stayed 3 nights at Arenal Manoa near La Fortuna. Our room was spacious, but somewhat dated. But the grounds were gorgeous as was the pool with the swim up bar. There were plenty of thermal pools on the premises, but none of them were really warm. Breakfast was full of plenty of delicious items to eat including an omelette bar.

The second place we stayed at was La Mariposa, which did live up to its fame of the most gorgeous view. The infinity pool was huge and so refreshing. They also had a good breakfast spread. We thought it was strange though that they had no body wash for guests (we ended up buying a large soap) and they were still using little plastic containers for the amenities which does not feel very eco-friendly at all. There was an older gentleman at the front desk when we checked in that was very rude and I have seen other comments about how they were poorly treated upon check in. All the other people who worked there were lovely though.

As far as our time with serendipity adventures, who was the local tour company, the drivers were where they needed to be when we needed them, but unfortunately, they obviously do not take good care of their vehicles because our first car broke down halfway through our ride to La Fortuna. We had to wait over an hour for another driver to show up and finish the way in another car. Then the driver that was going to take us back to the airport in San Jose, shows up with a flat tire. They did make good and found a driver for us about a half hour later and we were fine for our flight but that would be my one criticism. All of the guides we had for rainforest tours were very knowledgeable and friendly. If you do have a guide going through the rainforest, though, make sure they have binoculars or a telephoto lens so you can really get a close up of the animals. Our first guide, unfortunately, had neither nor did he have his laser pointer to actually show us what he was looking at so that made it more difficult but the second guy had what we needed.

Overall, planning was great with Brian and team. We were trying to stay within a certain budget and with some tweaking we got there. Both hotels were very nice overall with amazing views. More on that later. As for the tours, the Danaus rainforest tour was underwhelming especially after the hanging bridges guided tour that we added on after we got to La Fortuna. Traveling to and from our destinations was a different story. On our way from SJO to La Fortuna, our driver’s car broke down in the middle of nowhere on a dark winding road (dead battery) Fortunately there was a local restaurant that was open not too far up a hill where we could wait for another driver. We waited another 1 1/2 hours which made for a very long trip to our first destination. Then on our final trip from Manuel Antonio back to SJO our driver showed up at the planned departure time of 8am with a flat tire. Again we had to wait over an hour for a new driver/vehicle making for a very stressful drive to catch our flight given the heavy traffic. We understand things happen but would expect greater reliability and better maintenance of the vehicles used to transport guests. Finally, while we did love La Mariposa hotel in Manuel Antonio we would strongly suggest letting guests know that they should bring their own toiletries and towels. We actually had to go and buy our own soap, shampoo, kleenix, etc., since they only provided small sample sizes of shampoo, soap and some lotion which was barely enough for one person per night. In addition for 2 people they give you 2 bath towels and only one hand towel to share? Anything beyond that they charged $5 per towel! We have never seen anything like that anywhere. Not to mention what you have to go through just to get a towel for the pool! For what we paid and given how ecologically conscious the country is we were surprised by all the waste of plastic containers they go through as opposed to other local hotels that use stationary refillable containers.

Hotel Reviews

Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs

Fortuna

Great hotel with lots of nice amenities. Rooms were a little dated.

Authenticity & Character

Views and grounds were beautiful and greatly amenities such as pool, hot springs and breakfast which was amazing!!

Location

Staff

Very friendly and accomodating

Cleanliness & Comfort

Only issue was that rooms are a bit dated.

La Mariposa Hotel

Manuel Antonio

Amazing views and nice large rooms but amenities are sorely lacking.

Authenticity & Character

The views and setting

Location

Beautiful setting, grounds and view.

Staff

Staff was fine with the exception of one gentleman who was extremely rude!

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room was clean but bring your own toiletries and towels. They provide only sample size soap, shampoo and lotion barely enough for 1 person staying 1 night. They only provide one bath towel per person and 1 hand towel to share? Anything more is $5 per towel!!

Activity Reviews

Ecocentro Danaus Guided Rainforest Walk (without Transportation)

Arenal/La Fortuna

Underwhelming. While pretty it was a very short hike and would recommend other tours instead.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guides were great! Staff was mixed.

Transport

Our transportation broke down upon arrival and departure

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Hike

Manuel Antonio

Beautiful!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Had to hurry through the last part after guide spent a little too much time time in the beginning of the tour

Transport

All the individual guides and drivers were very good, especially those on the Rio Celeste hike, they were very thoughtful in dealing with the rainy weather. The accommodations were each very different, Tenorio Lodge had exceptional wildlife and birds.

Overall our trip to Costa Rica arranged by KimKim (Serendipity Travel) was great!. The hotels were located in good locations and were comfortable. The staff were friendly

For the most part, the local tours were fantastic! The guides were friendly and knowledgeable and truly loved their job and country! We saw sloths, howler, spider and capuchin monkeys as well as Macaws, and even one Toucan!!

Hotel Reviews

Hacienda La Esperanza, Boutique Coffee Farm House

Cartago

One of our favorite places so far in Costa Rica. The house was beautiful, with art relating to the area and with a beautiful garden with many fruits, herbs, and local plants. The staff were friendly and cooked amazing meals for us! We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would highly recommend spending as long as you can here!

Authenticity & Character

The hotel was over 100 years old and filled with local art and history!

Location

The hacienda was located on a slight hill close to the town of Aquaires in a large garden setting.

Staff

The staff was lovely and cooked amazing meals!!

Cleanliness & Comfort

We stayed in the Coyote room with has a double bed (I swear it wasn't a queen), as well as another bedroom with three single beds. The bathroom was large and the shower was good!

La Mariposa Hotel

Manuel Antonio

We had a large room overlooking the Pacific. Unfortunately it was located right next to one of the bars that played music all day, but luckily went quiet by 6:00 pm. Since we were on the west side of the hotel, mornings were enjoyable sitting on our private patio, but by later in the day, it was way too hot to be outside. Breakfast buffet was good, nothing outstanding. The staff was friendly and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

It's a fairly modern hotel with not a lot of character, but that's not necessarily a bad thing in this case, since the view was outstanding.

Location

The view over the Pacific was amazing. Fairly quiet neighborhood.

Staff

Not really.

Cleanliness & Comfort

While there was a loveseat in the room one could sit on, there were no end tables where you could put your drink. The window shade on the largest window overlooking the bar could not be closed (it appeared to be broken with no chain with which to raise or lower the shade). You could see the bar tenders/guests at the bar, so we always felt we had to be mindful of walking too close to the window that we needed to be dressed.

Hyatt Place San Jose/Pinares

San Jose

We only spent one night here on our way from the airport out of town. It was fine, nothing outstanding.

Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs

Fortuna

Nice bungalow in a resort 8 km or so from the main town. We had a premium room which included a jacuzzi tub (which was awkward to use when taking a shower) and a large patio with rocking chairs and hammock! It was quiet and private even though we shared a wall with one other unit.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful setting with bungalows scattered throughout the property so you always felt you had your own space.

Location

Far enough from town and the main road that it was quiet and very relaxing.

Staff

The cleaning staff came by our room twice a day!!

Cleanliness & Comfort

The bed was comfortable and the room very clean.

Activity Reviews

Aquiares Coffee & Community Experience

Turrialba

We had a very informative tour of the coffee plantation and the process from planting to roasting the beans! Manuel was our guide and he did a great job explaining why their coffee is so good!!

Rain_Maker Night Tour with Traditional Dinner

Manuel Antonio

I'm not sure if we were expecting too much from this tour or it just wasn't the right one for us. I think it didn't help that they were late picking us up, the 12 passenger van was full and it took 45 minutes to get to the actual tour location. The "traditional dinner" consisted of rice, beans and meat so overcooked it was impossible to eat. Our guide was knowledgeable, but really into frogs... we saw a lot of frogs.

Food

Get a better cook!

Archaeological Tour of Guayabo National Monument

Turrialba

Our guide was informative, but unfortunately it poured the entire time we were there which made it difficult to see the site fully.

Private: Arenal Hanging Bridges Guided Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

We had a fantastic guide, Bernardo, who could spot a monkey high up in the treetops! He was great at answering our many questions about the area and wildlife. We were fortunate to see not only Capuchin but also howler and spider monkeys.

Quality of Experience

The hanging bridges were a not to be missed experience!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide Bernardo was outstanding. Personable and very knowledgeable about the park and wildlife.

Río Peñas Blancas Safari Float

Arenal/La Fortuna

Floating down a river in Costa Rica is a not to be missed experience! We had an excellent guide, Chris, and another couple in our raft who were fun to talk with. While we did float downriver a bit, there was also quite a bit of paddling to be done. Th raft was ok the first hour, but by the end of the second, we were all sore and anxious to get off the raft.

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Nature Hike

Manuel Antonio

This is a fantastic tour IF you have a guide! It makes the whole experience so worthwhile if you have someone who can not only find the wildlife you've come so far to see, but also the history of the park. Our guide was another gem who could spot wildlife and zero in on them with his telescope! We got some fantastic pictures of sloths and one Toucan!

EcoTermales Hot Springs Experience with Buffet Meal

Arenal/La Fortuna

There were several large hot spring pools cascading down a hillside with smaller, warmer pools scattered around. The dinner buffet was pretty good.

Local Flavors Cooking Experience

Manuel Antonio

Fun experience on the tour owners farm. There were only 4 of us on this tour so everyone got the chance to dice the veggies and stir the pots! Delicious food and we were given the recipes at the end!! It was fun to get out of town and see some of the countryside.

Our family of four adults chose Serendipity for our first trip to Costa Rica, and it exceeded our expectations. The trip was well-organized, with a nice mix of activities that perfectly matched our interests. We especially loved our stay at Royal Corin in La Fortuna. Some of the highlights included the scenic float trip in Arenal, hiking in Arenal and Manuel Antonio, and the fascinating coffee and chocolate tour. Everything was thoughtfully paced and seamlessly planned. We highly recommend Serendipity for an unforgettable Costa Rica adventure!