Kimkim Trip Reviews for Myanmar

I do congratulate the company, Wai Lin, the guides and the drivers on a super experience. I was initially apprehensive booking a random company on-line, but no worries. It was a fantastic adventure from start to finish. KimKim appear to be be a world wide travel booking agency based in the US, and Myanmar diaries are one of the local Myanmar travel agencies. No sooner had I made my first inquiry Wai Lin was there. He understood my requirements and came back promptly with a personalized i ternary, photographic highlights of Myanmar was my brief. When I arrived at Yangon airport my transfer was waiting and from that point on everything went 100% as planned. I was presented with a welcome pack that contained details, airfares and other items. I have no complaints about hotel choice of course some better than others but I am an easy man to please. Each day was pre-planned with a guide and driver or mostly just a driver. I was blown away, everybody was so nice and friendly, morning starts always on time, and daily explorations that took me to all sorts of intensely interesting places. Not lost, Myanmar is a photographers dream. So the short answer is I will be coming back!

Yangon: guide Pyae. Excellent. Engaged, knowledgable, friendly, mature. Provided very interesting rickshaw rides through markets, and even better in poorer village across river in Dala. Hotel Sule and location excellent
Bagan: guide Zie. Very good. We think selection of monuments possibly could have been better. Excellent hotel Aureum Palace.
Mandalay: guide "Ken". Excellent, enthusiastic, knowledgeable. Hotel Eastern Palace had some interesting design features but was clean and efficient. Least impressive hotel. Unable to compare with other offerings. But very acceptable.
Inle Lake: guide Thanh. Highlight. Guide was engaged, efficient, helpful, experienced. Hotel Pristine Lotus beautiful, well built & designed and located. Great having 3 days there. Photographer's paradise.
All cars and drivers well chosen - always felt safe and comfortable and were well supplied with water bottles and wipes.
All connections and pickups went smoothly and although I was anxious at first only having very basic information from Kimkim/ Myanmar Diaries about these, there was never a problem.

From the initial inquiry to Kimkim - which was answered in less than half an hour - to the final moments of our stay in Myanmar, our experience was over-the-top excellent. I have traveled extensively, doing most of the planning myself, so it was with a few qualms that I turned the planning over to Anne. I needn't have worried - every aspect of the experience was even better than I could have planned myself and far exceeded my expectations. Anne really listened to what we wanted and translated it into a brilliant experience - from the things we saw (temples, incredible temples, beautiful countryside, towers of firecrackers) and did (e bike through Bagan, soaring in a balloon over Inle Lake, feeding the retired elephants), we had a great time. The best part though was the people we met - our local guides were knowledgeable and fun and made sure that we got to see the real country and not just tick off a bunch of boxes. Special thanks to Anne for making the whole thing run like clockwork, Nay in Mandalay, Arkar in Bagan, Htun in Kalaw and Inle and Hla in Bagan for making our experience unforgettable. As the kids would say, 11/10 would do again.

I also want to make one comment about the Rohingya situation - it is terrible, for sure, but not reflective of the people and attitudes we encountered in the rest of the country. Myanmar is poor and just starting to figure out how to be a more democratic and progressive country, and they néed your support. Visit, while the place is still unspoiled and you can make a real impact on everyone you encounter.

I'm very thankful with the service you guys provided to us. You made me feel more relaxed during my stay in Myanmar.

Had a great trip to Myanmar, guides were friendly and informative and the travel plan was exactly what I wanted

Wai went out of his way to help me. Last minute he arranged for some changes. He also noticed I had made a mistake with my flights and alerted to me to the fact in enough time to fix.

Was really impressed how nothing was too much trouble. Communication was excellent

Rate Wai Lin very highly. Extremely helpful and flexible. Any questions or changes were no trouble

Everything on my trip was planned so thoroughly and the whole trip went very smoothly. I was very impressed that the hotel staff and tour guides knew our itineraries as well -- when the bus from Mandalay to Bagan wasn't at Mama Guesthouse at 7:30am, I asked the man at the front desk to call the bus company, only to find out that he already called for me! Little gestures like this made me and my mom feel very well taken care of and safe.

Anne was wonderful to work with -- very responsive and enthusiastic and really wanted us to experience and enjoy Myanmar in a way that most tourists might not be able to. Anne also came to welcome us at our hotel when we first arrived, which was a very sweet and personal touch.

Hi Alex and wai Lin. We are currently in Inle lake winding up our trip. We want to thank you for the most amazing experiences. All guides and drivers have been overwhelmingly fabulous with their knowledge and ability to accommodate our requests when we have deviated from plan. This trip has exceeded our expectations. We would not hesitate in recommending your services. Jo and Deb
jo perillo

Wai Lin changed itinerary to meet our needs

I had the most fantastic trip! I saw everything I wanted to see and lots that I didn't know I wanted to see. Everything went smoothly. Hotels and guides and drivers were all great. Travel arrangements all worked well with no delays. Very pleased with all aspects of my trip.

Wai Lin was great with organising my trip. Always very prompt with replies and planned a trip that suited me perfectly.

Actually, very good except for day in Pandaya which we found disappointing at best. The drive was too long for relatively little to see or do. Additionally the Pindaya Inle Inn was terribly shoddy. The bed and pillows were so hard we ached the following day. The room was dark and not vey clean, and the wooden floor uneven posing a trip hazard. This is not a 4 star room...a 2 in our view.

The time lag with responses was a bit trying at times, but overall very good.

It was (almost) perfect. The guides were knowledgeable -- MauMau in Mandalay was especially warm and made me feel like a good friend, not a paying customer. The drivers were on time; the hand-offs went smoothly EXCEPT for my arrival in Yangon. That, however, has already been discussed/remedied in country. I could never recommend the overnight bus from Bagan to Yangon. The bus "shimmied" constantly in addition to driving the potholes. Most uncomfortable. I realize it was inexpensive, but not worth it.

Wai Lin was most responsive in trip planning, and got back to me right away when I got into "trouble" in Yangon. Most impressive.