We started out with Sergio and he was amazing...
Costa Rica | Jun 29 - Jul 9, 2023

Lauren
Lauren A.
Minneapolis, MN | Reviewed on Jul 10, 2023

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
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.
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.
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!
Activity Reviews
Museum of the Jewish Community of Costa Rica
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
Jade Museum Tour
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
Explore Barrio Amon with your Dedicated Guide
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
Coffee & Chocolate Tour
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
Private: Safari Float on the Peñas Blancas River
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
Ella's Bat Mitzvah Ceremony
San José
Sloth Tour
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
Private: Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna Waterfall, and Arenal Volcano Visit
Private: Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna Waterfall, and Arenal Volcano Visit
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
Private Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve Guided Hike
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
Horseback Riding Beach Tour
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 Sunset Catamaran Sailing Tour
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
Local specialist: Charlotte Törnqvist
Charlotte
Charlotte Törnqvist
Local specialist in Turrialba, Costa Rica | Replied on Jul 16, 2023

Hi Lauren,
Thank you for your review and for sharing all those beautiful pictures.
For us at Serendipity Adventures it was a pleasure to work with you on planning this trip.

Pura Vida!
Charlotte