Kimkim Trip Reviews for the Azores

Raquel was amazing, helpful planned a wonderful vacation for my children. She made sure everything was very well planned out and completely taken care of for them.

Hotel Review

Vila Nova Hotel

Ponta Delgada

The breakfast is really really good! The rooms were a little stuffy at night, but other than that it was a good stay!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sete Ciudades Jeep & Hike Adventure Full Day

São Miguel Island

The view were amazing! And our tour guide, Natasha was the best!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Volcanic Experience: Furnas Lake Full Day Adventure

São Miguel Island

Natasha, our guide, was great! We loved the different actives and the hike was gorgeous!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Epic Canyoning Adventure

São Miguel Island

Super fun! The guides were awesome and fun to chat with. The waterfalls and rivers were a lot of fun to canyon in.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Azorean Culinary & Wine Experience & Get to Know Ponta Delgada with a Local

São Miguel Island

It was cool to see the different restaurants and learn about the wines and cheese.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hiking Experience in Lagoa do Fogo

São Miguel Island

This was a lot of fun, we loved the different places we got to see and our guide Natasha was wonderful, she was very charming and knowledgeable. 10/10!!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Just finished a trip to Terceira and Sāo Miguel, organized by Tiago from Kim Kim and I highly recommend it to anybody interested in doing a self-guided experience.

Tiago's expertise was critical to help us make the best of our trip. he was patient, knowledgeable and very accommodating to our group's needs (which were a lot since we had 5 people). He even created a WhatsApp group so we could stay connected and checked up on us often to make sure that we provided all the information we needed and that everything was going well during our trip.

Both islands were amazing and the hikes suggested by Tiago were unbelievable. We were lucky in that the weather cooperated a lot and we were able to do almost everything int he agenda that Tiago prepared. Some of the places we went to (like the volcanic rock pools in Terceira) we wouldn't have known about if it wasn't for Tiago's recommendations.

Our group traveled to the Azores in December (low season), which was great weather wise (not too cold), but I definitely want to go back in May (high season) to fully appreciate the beauty of the natural flowers that were not in bloom during our trip.

Hotel Review

Senhora da Rosa Tradition & Nature Hotel

Ponta Delgada

Great experience staying at Senhora da Rosa Tradition & Nature Hotel. The building is beautiful and the rooms were gorgeous. Everything was very unique and it felt very special. We ate at both restaurants within the hotel on different days and the food was fantastic. They also have a bar which made great cocktails. We all wanted to try some of the amazing treatments offered at their SPA, but because it was low season (we were there during Christmas) there wasn't a lot of availability when we arrived. Also, we had a pretty tight schedule so our options were limited.

Authenticity & Character

Location

The hotel is not located in the center of town, so a car is definitely needed, but it was less than a 10 minute drive to get to any place within the town of Ponta Delgada. I also liked that it was sort of removed from the main streets, which made the hotel and the vibe very peaceful.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Canyoning in the Azores

the Azores

I loved this canyoning experience at Azores. Because of the time of the year when went, they only had the short time options, but I definitely would have done the longer one if it was offered. Our guides, Pauhlo and Carolina were amazing. They were very patient with the group and made sure that everybody felt safe and comfortable. The location was incredible, with amazing vegetation. m.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We couldn’t be more pleased with our trip to the Azores, we had never been and had little knowledge of the islands so we were very grateful to have a local assist us in the planning. Tiago was attentive and scheduled the trip according to our wants and wishes, he provided an itinerary and also suggested other things we could do if we had extra time or were interested. During our time in the Azores he circled back and checked in to see if everything was going well and if we needed anything else. Would absolutely recommend to anyone, because I do believe that working with a local provided us with a better insight of the place and we were given name of restaurants and/ or trails and sights worth visiting.

Activity Review

Canyoning in the Azores

the Azores

Absolutelly recommend the canyoning activity with Active Blueberry! We had 2 instructors with us, they were sure everyone was safe and felt secure to make the jumps, they accommodated to people who didn’t want to jump or were a little hesitant. Furthermore they were knowledgeable and very professional and we were very pleased and would do this activity again because of the lush and beautiful scenery.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had a very relaxing time in Sao Miguel. The weather cooperated (sort of) for most of our time here. Highlights for us were the hotel (Terra Nostra) in Furnas, and our private tour of Set Ciudades with Natacha. We had 24 hour access to the thermal pool and Botanical garden, which was wonderful. The restaurant was also top notch.

Hotel Review

Terra Nostra Garden Hotel

Furnas

This hotel is solely focused on relaxation and high quality service. We loved having 24 hr access to the thermal pool and botanical garden, which allowed us to use both without the crowds. The restaurant was also excellent - we at there for almost every meal and were never disappointed.

Authenticity & Character

The grounds and the restaurant are wonderful. The rooms are clean.

Location

Access to the botanical gardens is wonderful.

Staff

Service is clearly a focus for this hotel - it shows in all of the interactions we had.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sete Ciudades Jeep & Hike Adventure Full Day

São Miguel Island

Natacha was just amazing. She took the time up front to understand what we were looking for and then modified the tour as appropriate. Given the unpredictable nature of the weather on Sao Miguel, she maximized our day to take advantage of the "breaks" in our overcast day, and we really got to know a lot about the culture of the Azores as well as the physical beauty.

Quality of Experience

The whole day was great

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We really hit it off with Natacha - she clearly loves Sao Miguel and showed us so many things.

Transport

Whale Watching in the Azores

São Miguel Island

Caveat for this review - our tour was eventually cancelled (hence the 3 stars). That said, I will definitely try a whale watching tour with this company if I return to Sao Miguel. The staff is very professional, clearly focused on conservation and learning about the animals. The briefing was very thorough and the focus on safety is also very clear. We suited up and actually went out of the marina into choppy water (we were told that up front). The swells were bigger than anticipated (8-10 ft - my estimate), and the captain very quickly turned us around for safety reasons.

Quality of Experience

Nothing in the companies control - the weather wasn't great on the day I went

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Clearly very knowledgeable and committed.

Transport

I usually do all my travel planning using a variety of websites but stumbled upon KimKim as I was planning a trip to the Azores. Our contact, Tiago, was very helpful and quicl to respond to questions. Every hotel we stayed at was incredible. The recommendations of things to do closely aligned with our interests. I will definitely use KimKim again.

Beatriz put together a wonderful trip for us, including the hotels and the activities. It was a nice mix of planned activities and days to ourselves just to explore. She was very responsive to in communication as we were planning the trip, and worked with us on glitches without any problem. I will definitely have Kim Kim put together other trips for us.

Marta was an excellent travel agent. She helped us a lot with planning our family trip to the Azores. She was also helpful with information during our tripbas well.
Our Kayaking tour in Sao Miguel was excellent. The 2 guides were awesome.
In Terceira we did an ebiking tour. The guide was very patient with my teens.
In Flores our favorite tour was canyoning. The guide was so very helpful with my daughter who was quite scared at times.

Hotel Reviews

Senhora da Rosa Tradition & Nature Hotel

Ponta Delgada

Beautiful resort! Good restaurants. Be sure to make a reservation for the rooftop restaurant!

Authenticity & Character

Location

A bit far from Ponta Delgada

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Atlantida Mar Hotel

Praia da Vitoria

Nice views. Great pool and jacuzzi.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Marina Atlântico

Ponta Delgada, São Miguel

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right downtown.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

INATEL Flores

Santa Cruz das Flores

We stayed in a nice little house. Was great to have our own place with a kitchen and washing machine. Just would have loved some AC since it was so hot there.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sete Ciudades Jeep Adventure

São Miguel Island

Guide super nice. Weather unfortunately didn't cooperate so we couldn't see much.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Kayak Tour – Vila Franca Islet

São Miguel Island

Super fun. Guides were fantastic

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

City Food Tour

Terceira Island

Guide was very nice and knowledgeable. Enjoyed visiting the coffee plantation and talking to the farmer. I thought we would visit more places within the city to sample food, but it was mainly dinner and then a small walking tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Terceira Electric Bike Tour

Terceira Island

Lots of fun. Beautiful views. A bit scary coming down the mountain bit we did it!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discover Corvo Island – Full day

Flores Island

Boat ride over was quite choppy. Got a bit sea sick but did see dolphins. We thought we would be getting a tour of corvo Island but we were kind of just dropped off and left to fend for ourselves for the day. We were told not to bother bringing swim stuff but it was so hot and no shade, it would have been great to swim. Also didn't know we would be dropped off by taxi at a giant crater to hike for a couple of hours. Didn't come prepared with proper hiking shoes. Boat ride home was much easier and saw beautiful waterfalls and caves and lots of dolphins. Boat driver was amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Boat driver Marcus very nice

Transport

Taxi on corvo initially charged us 40 euros but we got it back from boat driver after he said it was already included

Buggy Adventure in Terceira

Terceira Island

I was hoping we would drive around and stop a few times to hear about the places we were seeing and also get a chance to take photos of the gorgeous views. We only stopped once to go to the washroom at the halfway point. No explanations of anything we saw. Guide didn't even learn our names.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Canyoning & Half Day Hiking

Flores Island

Super challenging day but really great overall. I think canyoning alone or the hiking alone would have been enough. Was a lot for us to do in just one day.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Super patient with my kids. Made the afternoon hike a bit shorter for us because we were so tired.

Transport

Our trip to the AZores was everything that we had hoped for. What a truly beautiful part of the world. Beatriz was wonderful and responsive as we tweaked the itinerary together. She found us lovely hotels and had great suggestions for the things we should see.
Once again, Kimkim took very good care of us and made planning this trip easy and seamless!

Hotel Review

Terceira Mar Hotel

Angra do Heroismo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Wine and Food Evening Walking Tour in Ponta Delgada

the Azores

What a wonderful way to experience some of the AZores delicious food and wine. We had a terrific guide who had some good stories to tell as we strolled through Punta Delgada.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our trip was very well planned and Sao Miguel Island is much more beautiful than expected. The hotel view was so calming and delightful and the staff was eager to please. However, by the third day, we escaped the breakfast buffet as it was too crowded and the food became boring a repetitious. I may never eat scrambled eggs again.

Our first tour guide was Natasha who took us off-road to see the blue and green lakes at the top of the crater. She was very informative, but we later learned, through our other guides, that some of her information was inaccurate.

Our second guide, Paulo, was very kind while we hiked to the top of the caldera to see Fire Lake. What was not part of the description of this hike is that there are NO restroom facilities and the hike, although labeled "medium" difficulty, was probably only medium for mountain goats. The hike took us approximately 8 hours and covered over 22,000 steps, up a very high mountain (hill) and down the other side. It was worth the hike because the scenery was breathtaking, but became increasingly more uncomfortable because of the lack of facilities. I've never learned to "go in the woods" so that wasn't really an option, and because there were so many other hikers, privacy would have been difficult to find.

Our third guide, Gary, did a really masterful job of driving us into a caldera and hiking us around the lake at the bottom. This hike was the day after we summited our equivalent of Mt Everest, so by the end, we were done and asked Gary to bring the car and pick us up, which he happily agreed to do. We got a very good history of the island and more accurate information. All the cows are not milked by hand but rather with moveable milking machines. I do not recommend booking two hikes back to back as we did, and therefore had little time to recover.

My horseback ride was primarily through residential neighborhoods and the forest was really just overgrown, abandoned land, so not like the forests we saw in the other places we went. Also, the path we took was very littered, which was disappointing, as most of the island we saw was really clean.

The blooming hydrangeas and yellow ginger lilies all over the island were so unexpected.

Our trouble began when we left the Azores and went to Lisbon. The hotel we were booked into, Hotel Mundial, is surrounded by homeless people and the air smelled like urine. My view was of a very old building that looked like a crack house. We found a much better hotel, closer to the water, and moved, which was a pain, but totally worth relocating to a much lovelier and safer part of town where the air smelled sweet. We had to do this on our own because we were told that other hotels were $700 euro per night; we paid $200 euro at the Pastano CR7, which we found while waiting on our tuk-tuk tour, guided by Dominic. I would skip this if I go back. The streets are exceedingly bumpy and the ride uncomfortable. We got only a small bit of history.

Our very best tour was with a different Paulo who took us to Sintra and Cascais. He was so knowledgeable about the country, history, and political changes and made the whole day so worthwhile. He was our very best guide for the entire trip, and he should be requested as a guide if possible.

The rest of our trip was uneventful and restful and we were picked up timely for our trips to our next destinations. I felt that we received a very good value and overall, we had a wonderful trip and learned many things that we will take with us as we plan our next excursion.

Thank you, Bea, and the rest of the KimKim team for making this a vacation we'll remember and talk about for years to come.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Marina Atlântico

Ponta Delgada, São Miguel

The view of the harbor each evening was so relaxing. This is a well-located hotel and very busy.

Authenticity & Character

It is really a tourist hotel with many busloads of people arriving daily.

Location

the view

Staff

Very accommodating.

Cleanliness & Comfort

My room was both clean and comfortable.

Hotel Mundial

Lisboa

We changed hotels because this one was impossible to stay in. The neighborhood is surrounded by homeless people who must use the gutters as their toilets, because the air around the hotel smell like urine, and worse. Also, the neighborhood it is in seems to be very shabby and run down. I would never recommend this hotel to anyone who has had experience with better equipped and more modern facilities. I think the in-room hair dryer was an original model from last century, probably from the 1970's.

Authenticity & Character

Not sure what authenticity it's striving for but it only succeeds as a run-down has been. If that's the goal then it wins.

Location

It isn't close to shopping or the water.

Staff

The only people who seemed interested in us were the managers when we checked out and couldn't understand why. They should stay at probably any other hotel of equal ranking and then they'd know why we left.

Cleanliness & Comfort

I don't know how Lisbon is addressing their homeless problem so can't comment on how that could be improved, but the hotel could start with a total remodel, including the hair dryers. Really? It looked like a vacuum cleaner.

Activity Reviews

Private Day Excursion to Sintra, Cascais & Estoril

Portugal

This was my favorite part of the trip; the guide was amazing in his knowledge of the country and was very friendly.

Quality of Experience

For the most part, very well planned.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arrived exactly on time, every time.

Guided Excursion to The Furnas Valley

São Miguel Island

This area was so unexpected in its beauty. We could have been in Colorado.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hiking Experience in Lagoa do Fogo

São Miguel Island

This hike is rated medium on the difficulty scale, but it isn't or wasn't for me. It was very difficult and parts of the hike are straight up which means other parts are straight down. This is not a hike for people who are not in good shape and have little hiking experience. Sticks would have made this much better, but they weren't suggested. Our guide, who does the hike, probably weekly, didn't break a sweat, but we were exhausted and exhilarated when we finished. The views from the top were worth the trouble. He explained that the government determines the difficulty scale, and I know I would never do a hike they deem difficult. I can't even imagine what that would be like.

Quality of Experience

Food

Our guide was nice to bring us lunches and water and we had a nice picnic near the lake.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Everything went well the canyoning was a very good and the best experience , the whale watching was not so good as the boat got broken in middle of ocean and needed to wait for 40 min for someone to tow the boat back which took more than an hour , the boat was basic and old compared to the other boat you see in the marina doing the same service

I hope this helps thanks a lot

Hotel Review

Octant Ponta Delgada

Ponta Delgada

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Epic Canyoning Adventure

São Miguel Island

The staff was amazing they really were great and was the best we had in Azores

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Very happy with all activities booked by the specialist (note they work for one specific company, and all activities are booked through them). Had a great time, all guides were extremely knowledgeable and friendly. However logistical aspect could be improved.

Prior to arriving on the island the only information received about timing and where to meet was that someone from the company would pick us up from the airport. He then told us what time to be ready the next day, only to find out our guide assumed we were meeting in a different location. No one called or reached out to us until I called them 30 min after our original meeting time, which resulted in them sending the guide to a hotel we were not at. Two more calls later, we were finally on our way an hour later.

So overall very happy with our trip, but would recommend future travelers ensure you push to receive an a detailed itinerary from the guide service before arriving that includes the departure time each day, and where to meet. Additionally, make sure you have access to a phone that works in case something goes wrong, and they have your number.

Great trip and experience. Loved it. Highly recommend. Azores offers a lot of cultural dynamics and activities, very accessible from Boston and at a very reasonable price. Great value. Also, close enough to consider long weekend excursions: Thursday night to Monday.

Everything about my KimKim experience was flawless, our planner Catia understood exactly the type of trip we were looking for, and booked us with guides that provided a unique experience in the Azores. When problems arose due to inclement weather, plans had to be canceled, bookings refunded, and other arrangements made, on the spot. This was all done seamlessly.

I really can't say enough about how much we enjoyed ourselves in the Azores. The islands are amazing and the tour took full advantage of their natural beauty. The agent who arranged the trip (Catia) did an excellent job and all the guides and activities were great. I would happily refer Kim Kim and Picos de Aventura to anyone who asks!

Catia was always friendly and prompt and answered all our questions with the right amount of detail. The trip she arranged was excellent from accommodations to activities.

The choice of itinerary was good. The guides were excellent. Communications could be improved.

Tiago chose the hikes and other activities very well. The flight information had not be requested from us and we were not met at the airport. The wrong date for the departing transfer was given in the written documentation we were given on arrival. I provided a phone number for contact but we were never called when morning pickups were delayed.

The tours and hotels that the travel partner arranged for were excellent. I was very pleased with the individual tour operators. There was a massive breakdown in communication between the tour company that I was communicating with and the tour provider due to the fact that there were two or three companies in between them. The meeting times on our trip vouchers did not always match the meeting times on our overall itinerary. The tour operators called us the "ghost clients" because they didn't have any information about us and didn't even know if we were real clients.

This was most problematic on the mountain climbing tour because the tour operator provides a document to participants instructing them on equipment and supplies that they are supposed to bring. We were lucky to have the operator for a different tour so she was able to send us the document the night before our climb. We were told that lunches would be provided on full-day tours, but this was not the case for the mountain climb. We had gone to a market earlier and just brought whatever food we had. We brought hiking equipment that was sufficient for the climb, but that was purely by chance. The tour company also needed our passport numbers to register us with the government as climbers and to get us insurance for the climb. Nobody told us about this and i happened to have a copy of our passports. If not, we wouldn't have been able to climb.
Had we not met with the tour guide the day before, we would have been unable to complete the climb (other people were not permitted to climb if they were not properly outfitted).

Another tour only had the name of the third party travel agency and not our names, ages, or nationality. After the other tour issues, we went to the tour provider the evening before our tour and they were ecstatic because this allowed them to put us in the correct group with other people who spoke english.

On another day, our transfer from the port to our hotel was not there when our ferry arrived so we walked to the hotel.

The next day, our guide for the full-day tour was not at the hotel at either of the times we were provided (tour voucher and itinerary had different times). We tried calling the number listed on the voucher, but it was the number for another travel company who the kimkim travel partner had booked through. We found a poster for the tour provider and managed to get in touch with her. The third party tour company had told her that we would be arriving that day and she should pick us up at the port, not our hotel.

Overall, i used kimkim because i wanted the tour planning and booking process to go more smoothly. Due to the multiple layers of tour companies between us and the eventual tour operators, there was a tremendous lack of communication. I imagine the multiple layers also added cost. Were it not for proactive steps that we took during the trip, this could have spiraled into a complete disaster.

There were small errors that i picked up on during the planning process. There were the mismatched tour times. It's hard to say whether some of the other issues were her fault or whether it was further down the chain. If she had directly booked things for me, the way i thought this would work, it would be easier to determine where the breakdown occurred.

The schedule of activities felt oddly organized as our rest day was early in the week and prior to the more physical activities. The packed lunches with repetitive and monotonous. The trip was good but essentially we were paired with an agent from pico adventures so we were limited to activities only from their group even when we suggested an alternative it was dismissed. So essentially kimkim provided us with someone who made a hotel reservation for us and connected us to pico adventures.

See prior notes.

Thanks KimKim! This was an excellent trip and having KimKim back-up was comforting. You connected me with Picos de Adventura, a superb tour company and their "adventures" could not have been more fun or beautiful.

Catia was great -- I also worked with Tiago and they were both tremendously helpful with getting my trip organized and with any questions I had along the way. This is a great company clearly focusing on the best possible customer service.

If directions to the office were included, it would have been helpful for the 1st day. Also, having a dry, secure place to store phones/camera would be great for water adventures so we could have taken pictures. Alternatively, if there was a photo package, for the water adventures, we would have signed up for it.

So organized, very accommodating, great variety of activities. Catia was so helpful with questions, preparation, and the overall planning of our trip. She even made a call for me in advance to help confirm a ferry trip I booked to another island for a day, because I was unable to dial internationally. Every single staff person was fun and friendly. Goncalo went above and beyond in accommodating us on our bike ride day around Sete Cidades. I would recommend Pico de Adventuras to anyone traveling to the Azores. It was a great deal, a great value, and included all the key things to see and do in Sao Miguel.

Tiago is a great guy! Fun personality, very friendly.