Personalized trips to Indonesia
for independent travelers

It was a pleasure to work with Jook and the kimkim team. Because of their detailed planning, our trip went seamlessly. From airport pick up to Tours, boutique, making class, scuba diving, sunrise on Mount Batur, our drivers were there to pick us up and bring us back. We felt safe the entire time. Bali is not easy to navigate and the streets don’t have great signage and are teaching with scooters and traffic jams and so it’s always better to have a local driver. The driver Agong was pleasant, reliable, and knowledgeable about the different temples and sites that we saw.

Our trip had an interruption because of the eruption of Krakatoa while we were in Jakarta. They were able to help us with last-minute change of plans. I am very glad we used the kimkim team. We had wonderful memories and learned so much about Indonesia.

Hotel Reviews

The Sankara Resort & Spa

Bali

The staff were very helpful and sweet. They had interesting entertainment in the evenings, Restaurant had great food. The spa was wonderful as well. I enjoyed their pool. The one drawback was issues with humidity in the bedrooms and low water pressure in the showers. The hotel staff were very eager to help and remedy the situation.

Authenticity & Character

Entertainment in the evenings with local performers and spa were very charming

Location

The rooms had a view onto a Charmin rice patty, it is not within walking distance of the main center of Ubud

Staff

Always eager to help, great attitude

Cleanliness & Comfort

Humidity issues in our room, some of the bedding had to be changed out because of a musty odor

Sari Pacific Jakarta, Autograph Collection

Jakarta

This hotel had the most incredible brunch I have ever had. They had dishes of Indian, Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese, continental, American. Each breakfast was like a trip around the world. This was also a block away from a great mall that had a lot of interesting Indonesian handcrafts, a food court, and multiple restaurants. The hotel was clean and convenient. The Japanese restaurant there was amazing also.

Authenticity & Character

Beautifully appointed, fabulous breakfast

Location

Close to a great mall

Staff

Very helpful in getting us a ride to yogykarta

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Jakarta Half-Day Highlights Tour

Jakarta

Catherine was very knowledgeable and her English is very good. She took us through the highlights, the moss was really large and unusual. This was a new experience for us having to wear a scarf and cover-up. We really enjoyed the dioramas in the national Museum, which explained the heritage of Jakarta.

Quality of Experience

It was great to see the highlights of Jakarta in one afternoon

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Katherine was very friendly and open

Transport

Crafting Heritage: A Traditional Batik Painting Experience

Indonesia

This was so interesting to go through the process of applying the wax and painting. I love the experience and the ladies were very helpful.

Quality of Experience

I really love arts and crafts, and they let me create my own pattern

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very friendly and helpful, their English really wasn’t very strong, but they were very kind and helpful

Transport

He was willing to take me after the class to a jewelry and wood carving store with local artisans

Mount Batur Sunrise by Jeep Adventure

Indonesia

Hated getting up so early, but definitely the pictures were worth it. The guide was an excellent photographer and knew how to take the long exposure photos to get the great shots. The sites were amazing.

Quality of Experience

Food

They serve some cookies and tea before we set out

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jeep did not have seatbelts. It is a pretty steep ride up the mountain.

Hidden Beach, Uluwatu Temple & Kecak Dance

Indonesia

Kecak traditional dance was interesting, we had overstay our time at the beach so we didn’t get to see the temple

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Agong was friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful

Transport

Ubud Cultural & Nature Highlights Tour

Indonesia

Beautiful falls, monkey forest was a lot of fun and the monkeys came up to us and it was fun watching them. The Liu coffee plantation was also great and the flights of coffee and tea were amazing.

Quality of Experience

Love the monkey forest, fall were beautiful, Luwat coffee plantation had amazing coffee, and tea

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Agong was knowledgeable and pleasant

Transport

Dive Bali's Iconic East Coast: Tulamben or Amed

Indonesia

My daughter loved this experience. The reefs were relatively close to shore so she didn’t have to spend much time on the boat to get to the reef. Staff was friendly and helpful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Two hour ride from Ubud

George understood exactly what to plan for our family type holidays.
From adventure and a bit of history, a touch of Balinese culture, some relaxation and to fit that all into 9 days.
Well done.
The local Bali operator, GoKo was also very organised and everything ran smoothly.
Two points I would like to mention where things could have ran better was communication.
1) GoKo was so pro-active, they created a WhatsApp group for us. My assumption was that it included our guide, so I never bothered referring to the confirmation email with the guide’s contact details. Our guide’s details could have been shared on the group to avoid such an oversight from the travellers.
2) Going to Nusa Penida, there was no pickup either. Apparently he was told we arrive on the next ferry, but if we knew, we could have walked to Naomi Sea Adventures and got going earlier. A day trip is already very time constrained. Fortunately we did see many mantas.

One last request is if you have access via Bali tourism to immigration department. Please tell them how dismayed we were to stand in line for two hours to get through passport control. Only two officials stamping passports for all who do not have ePassports is not enough. We got through around 22:00, the line was still as long. Poor tourists who got through after midnight. That is not how to treat your biggest foreign currency revenue stream.
Thanks for a wonderful trip.

What an incredible trip!

If you ever have the opportunity to travel with KimKim and work with Marc, don’t hesitate—just do it. In an ever-modernizing world, this was the kind of authentic adventure that stays with you forever.

Marc Urban was our trip planner and made so much of this trip possible. My partner had more questions and worries prior to our departure than any two people could address, but Marc persevered. He planned and revised and answered questions and researched options and generally went above and beyond the call travel arranging to make it our dream experience and for that we are grateful.

Our journey began in Jakarta, where we stayed at the extraordinary House of Tugu. From the moment we arrived, we knew we were somewhere special. The team are true masters at creating a memorable guest experience. It is part boutique hotel, part living museum, and everywhere you look there is something beautiful to discover. We enjoyed a couples massage with traditional scrubs and oils, followed by dinner, and it was absolutely magical.

From there, we traveled to Bukit Lawang, determined to see the orangutans. We stayed at Ecolodge Bukit Lawang, which was wonderfully rustic and perfectly immersed in nature. Our guides, Lucy and Sugay, were brilliant. Lucy was an endless source of knowledge about Sumatra, its history, its people, and its agriculture.174c9fd1-20d8-4f7a-b701-b6bb00d6c7ed.JPG

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The trip also provided one unforgettable surprise: I was taking a shower with the balcony door open when a macaque decided to help itself to our luggage! I came out to find it enthusiastically going through our bags like someone shopping at Filene’s Basement. 😂 It finally accepted a banana as payment to leave. It remains one of my favorite travel stories.

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Unfortunately, I became ill and couldn’t complete the jungle trek to see the orangutans, although my partner was able to continue. Even so, I saw many other monkeys and still had an incredible experience. We toured terraced rice fields in a motorcycle-powered sidecar, watched dark sugar being made from the sap of sugar palms, drank from fresh coconuts, and watched sunrises turn the sky the colors of fire. The lodge restaurant served simple, delicious food, and I highly recommend the becak tour and palm-sugar demonstration.

Our next stop was Plataran Borobudur Resort & Spa in Yogyakarta. What a beautiful contrast—from a rustic ecolodge to a luxurious private villa complete with our own pool. The staff were exceptionally gracious and attentive, the food was outstanding, and the expansive grounds were filled with beautiful surprises, including rehabilitated local animals and a koi pond.

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The views were breathtaking. In one direction, we could see Borobudur; in another, an enormous jungle-covered ridge rose dramatically into the sky. Our guides were consistently prompt, warm, and knowledgeable, taking us effortlessly from temples to towns to palaces. We even enjoyed a private gamelan lesson!

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Visiting Borobudur, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was unforgettable, and Prambanan, the magnificent Hindu temple complex, was equally breathtaking.

Next, we headed to Munduk, which completely changed our perception of Bali. Forget the beaches—this was cool mountain air, lush cloud forests, waterfalls, and remarkable round cabins built on stilts high above a steep valley. Some were even reached by funicular.

Our guide expertly navigated the narrow, winding mountain roads that we would never have attempted ourselves. We hiked through beautiful countryside, explored waterfalls and mountain lakes, and paddled a canoe across a peaceful lake to a hidden temple. We also visited Rumah Desa, where I learned about village life and local cooking and even had the opportunity to plow a rice field with an ox! My partner was unfortunately sick during this portion of the trip, but it became one of my favorite cultural experiences.

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From there, we continued to Kappa Senses Ubud, another exceptional property. It is a beautifully subdued and elegant resort, with peaceful facilities, wonderful restaurants, and private bungalows with their own lap pools.

The Sacred Water Temple purification ceremony was one of the highlights of our journey. We also visited the Monkey Forest, which, although popular with tourists, was absolutely beautiful and so much fun.

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Rather than rushing to see every temple, we chose to slow down and immerse ourselves in the local culture. I created my own batik artwork and made a silver ring—two experiences and keepsakes I will always treasure.

Then came one of the greatest highlights of the adventure: our liveaboard from Labuan Bajo.

Our new ocean home, the Floresta, was a beautiful, traditional two-masted Indonesian sailing ship. The crew quickly became our friends and could not have been more gracious. Special recognition goes to our onboard concierge, Fansi, and to the charming young woman who prepared all our abundant meals and snacks. Every day, we were treated to multi-course meals featuring delicious local specialties made with fresh ingredients.

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We visited Komodo National Park, where we saw and photographed several incredible Komodo dragons roaming freely in their natural habitat. We snorkeled along lush underwater cliffs filled with coral and marine life and walked along Pink Beach, where tiny fragments of deep-red coral give the sand its famous rosy color.

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One evening, we witnessed something truly unforgettable: tens of thousands of bats emerging from their island caves at sunset and filling the sky as they began their nightly hunt. It was spectacular.

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We ended our voyage at Seraya Island, where we enjoyed extraordinary snorkeling and some of the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets imaginable. If you visit, don’t miss the walk up to the Sunset Bar—the view is worth every step.

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Finally, we returned to Jakarta and once again stayed at House of Tugu. Coming back felt like returning home. We were welcomed with tea and a leaf inscribed with the words “Welcome Home,” a simple gesture that perfectly captured the warmth and hospitality we experienced throughout Indonesia.

As wonderful as the destinations were, what made this journey truly unforgettable were the people. Every driver, guide, crew member, and hotel team welcomed us with genuine kindness and pride in their country.

We returned home with incredible memories, new friendships, and a much deeper appreciation for Indonesia’s culture, beauty, and hospitality. We were genuinely sad to leave, but enormously grateful to every person who helped make this adventure so extraordinary.

Thank you to KimKim, Marc, and everyone who made this journey possible. It truly was the adventure of a lifetime.