Kimkim Trip Reviews

Swimming with sea turtles! Watching hundreds of parrots coming to eat in the early morning hours. Biking in Quito. Sharing a boardwalk with a sea lion. Tasting different chocolates. Balancing an egg on the top of a nail at the equator. These were just some of our adventures.

Initially we planned to do a trip to the Galápagos Islands, then we decided to add a trip to the Amazon as well. Ariel did a great job of finding local accomodations and arranging transportation. We even got to meet him while we were in Quito.

Thank you Ariel. Thanks to all the staff at KimKim, the Napo Wildlife Center, Joseline at Galapagos Suites, the team at Casa Playa Mann, the guides and all the others that helped to make this an awesome adventure.

so many great experiences. I will review in the next section,

Hotel Review

Hotel La Perle

Paris

The hotel was very quaint, exceptional staff that were kind and helpful, very clean rooms and daily Freshen up. We had some miscommunication with the room and bed set up but that was more a language and word barrier than anyone’s fault. We wanted to have 3 beds all seperate , not just 2 inches. But all was fine and we adapted. The rooms were small but we rarely spent time there except to sleep and prepare for the day. Breakfast was ok but not one day of variety for the 6 days. Nothing like fresh fruit ( canned /frozen) . Service was excellent and they always asked what we needed. Just no variations. Staff were so knowledgeable , nice, spoke English , gave suggestions and always were available to answer questions or help. I felt safe and relaxed. Super quiet. The location was ok . Not really near any tourist things but maybe that is a good thing. Quiet, little traffic. We easily could walk or uber,

Authenticity & Character

Nothing to compare it to. We only went in another big hotel for drinks.

Location

maybe near some of the popular sites and on other side of river on East? Not sure for budget

Staff

they are great. Keep it up.

Cleanliness & Comfort

All clean

Activity Reviews

Starry Dinner on the Seine River

Paris

Hard to find. We needed better directions. Label on the pier? It was very nice ride. The food was ok, Scenery was amazing and at dark even better.

Quality of Experience

Food

new menu or just improve what you have. Bland

Guides, Drivers and Staff

wait staff nice . English was not always available but fine

Transport

boat smooth and nice. Waves not present

Cooking class with a Chef

Paris

The highlight of the trip and favorite

Quality of Experience

Food

All of it we made and purchased. Just a perfect day . She is helpful to explain how to do and why.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

She made it wonderful. Her knowledge, ability, kind, beautiful and her home. Classy ! French lovely

Transport

we walked

Guided visit of Montmartre

Paris

We arrived early that day and took our own walk around. When we met up with our guide we were already somewhat tired. This tour has a lot of hills and elevation.

Quality of Experience

Could have seen it in a car with same eperience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

English was great but her accent made be really have to listen carefully . Knowledgeable but kinda boring

Transport

We have walked all over Paris and it was just a long day.

Guided visit of the Louvre museum

Paris

Tour guide Sonali made it amazing. It was crowded and we expected that. Wore earpieces and that is a must.

Quality of Experience

she knew were to stand and have a great view and out of the large mass of people. Head set was helpful so much to explain and be able to move along.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sonali again took us to the places we wanted and her recommendations.

Transport

Walked

Gourmet food tour in Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Paris

The guide was ok . She was hard to not compare with Sonali the day before, We began with chocolate . I would have preferred a coffee and croissant or similar. These were never part of tour. This chocolate place was ok but I have been on similar tours and the owner of place at least talks or appreciates your coming. Not so at these places except one or 2. The chocolate is early in the morning to begin. They also sold there many macaroons , but not offered unless you bought one. I thought that would be given and talked about. The other food stops were jams, spreads and we did have cheese. Those were ok but again not much. The best was the hot food at a restaurant that we could select 3-4 for us. Those were good and we didn’t know much about what we were eating. Guide was somewhat flat .

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide

Transport

We walked so not sure of question

Guided tour of covered passages of Paris

Paris

This was our first guided tour and what a special guide of Sonali for us. She is amazing and I would like to have all tours with her. She was a certified guide, which we learned is quite an honor and distinction to achieve. She is so intelligent, funny, kind, knowledgeable and has a complete confidence in her role and ease with the place touring. The passage way was very interesting and gave us several areas we would not have seen.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sonali as I stated above

Transport

Not sure what this means since we walked

My sister and I had a wonderful trip to London with KimKim and Tetiana’s help. The hotel, The Mad Hatter, on the south bank of the Thames, was perfect with an included breakfast in the pub everyday. Good location for walking all over the area by the River, including the London Eye, St. Paul’s Cathedral, restaurants and Pubs. We took a day bus trip to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath, Bruce was the guide with Golden Bus tours and he was excellent. We took a River boat ride to The London Tower tour with Miles, a Beefeater that was great. We took a walking tour with Pepe to see the changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace that was perfect. We lucked out with super weather so were able to walk every day. The Victoria and Albert museum was so interesting as was Westminster Abbey. the history is incredible. We also booked a Tea at the Diamond Jubilee Tea Room at Fortnum and Mason that was very nice. I’d used KimKim before on a trip to Norway and found them super helpful and accommodating to our budget and timetable. Thanks, Cheers!!!

Hotel Review

The Mad Hatter Hotel

the location was good for us to be on the South side of the Thames, close to London Eye, bars, restaurants , St Paul’s Cathedral, and easy to get a cab or UBER. The Pub was fun, excellent food and good beer! Had a nice included breakfast every day, which started our day off perfectly.

Authenticity & Character

The Pub, the stairwell, the rooms were clean, nice and the housekeeping came in everyday.

Location

close the the Riverwalk, Bridges and all the action

Staff

Sammy was great at the Front Desk and the ladies in the Pub for breakfast were super sweet and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Our beds were made up everyday, the down duvet was so snuggly.

Activity Review

Stonehenge, Windsor Castle, and Bath from London

London

the trip was great, unfortunately, there was a car accident on the way out so it added 2 hours to an already long day.. Windsor Palace was so cool to tour getting to see where the State Dinners are held.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The driver who picked us up at Heathrow was so professional and drove a beautiful Mercedes Benz

Kimkim (old town outfitters) was incredible. They planned everything we wanted based off our wishes, and when we wanted to change plans/activities they did it with ease. The tour guides they scheduled for us were the most wholesome, informative people. I could not recommend this agency enough. Shout out to Cuscun cooking class, it was such a cool immersive experience for us.

Hotel Review

Camelias Inn

Antigua

Actually coolest hotel ever. Breakfast on the terrace and then seeing the volcano erupt at night was a memory I'll never forget.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Traditional Guatemalan Cooking Class

Antigua

SO COOL! Friendliest staff, amazing views, delicious food. You 100% feel immersed in the culture. Could not recommend this place enough.

Quality of Experience

Overall experience was the coolest cooking class I've ever done, with a breath-taking view

Food

Traditional Guatemalan foods, with an appetizer, dinner, and dessert.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Staff was sooo so sweet and fun! Let us choose songs to listen to

Transport

This is the second time I use Kimkim to plan a 15 day vacation visiting multiple cities and taking various transportation means. Kimkim did its wonder again. I can’t say enough good things about Kate, my trip advisor/planner. She took the time to truly understand our travel style and delivered a trip that exceeded every expectation. She is also very accommodating since my family was joining us from different places. Alone the planning process, I made several changes to the initial itinerary and Kate was very patient with me. She made all the adjustments and gave me a lot of great suggestions. She also checked in during the trip to make sure we are ok. I also want to point out the private drivers and/or small tour company she engaged were very good and professional. Without Kate, our trip could have been stressful. We’re already looking forward to booking our next adventure with Kimkim

Hotel Reviews

The LaLit London

Hidden gem in a busy street, very quite.

Authenticity & Character

Nice indian decoration, feel very upscaled

Location

near the Tower Bridge tube station. The Shard, the Tower Bridge and the River Thames are all within walking distance

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Best bed ever! Room is very spacious.

Leonardo Royal Hotel Edinburgh

Edinburgh,

The hotel has the best location you can ask for. It's right cross the street from the train station if you come out the "Market Street" exit, no need to call a cab, just less than 10 min walk. The view from the hotel room is amazing as the Calton Hill and iconic Edinburgh clock tower are right in front of you. The hotel staff is so friendly and helpful. Let alone the great breakfast and restaurant staff. Scottish people are so nice!

Authenticity & Character

Roomy, clean and well equipped.

Location

It's right cross the street from the train station if you come out the "Market Street" exit, no need to call a cab, just less than 10 min walk. You can walk to the Royal Miles in the old town or go to Prince in the new town. We walked to the W Hotel rooftop to see the whole city!

Staff

Most friendly and nice staff I have encountered! My daughter, a college student, has to do some school work and make calls. The restaurant manager let her work in the restaurant in the afternoon!!

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Dean Court

York

The location of the hotel is perfect, right next to the York Minister. Front desk staff is cordial and helpful. However, the room is tiny and the "free breakfast" is not full breakfast, which was a surprise to me. No protein included in the breakfast but you can pay to order full breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Front desk staff are nice.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Hampton Court Palace & Windsor Castle Private Tour

London

Must go tour. The audio guide is very helpful and it's free!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver, Chris, is so accommodating. He's puncture, sent me text message a day before to confirm pick up time and another text message when he's on the way. The cab was very comfy.

Transport

We booked a 4 day trip with Kimkim to the southern part of Portugal as an extension to another tour we had in Porto. Emily and the team at Kimkim was very helpful, prompt at answering my questions, and very enthusiastic about helping us with our tour. I will definitely use them again. But, I will be asking more questions regarding the specifics of each tour that is booked….

We flew down to Faro and were picked up by a driver who took us to our hotel in Lagos. We had 2 day tours while in Lagos, the classic boat tour along the coast and a 4 wheel off road sunset tour to Sagres. We then had a driver take us to Lisbon where we had a night of fado music and dinner and a full day trip to Évora.

The boat trip in Lagos was awesome. Beautiful coastline with a very experienced boat captain. The boat was small enough to get into the smaller areas around the rocks.
The 4 wheeler trip to Sagres was just beautiful except the vehicle was very lacking. There were beautiful views with lots of photo ops but we were in a standard sized jeep with jumper seats in back and there were 6 passengers booked! All 6 of us were seniors and we took turns in the far back seat and none of us could easily get in or out of that area. My legs were sore the next day from all the contortions getting in and out. I would not have chosen this particular set up if I had known the details of the vehicle.

Our fado and dinner tour was tolerable. The driver and tour guide seemed overly eager to please, but the car was dirty and smelled. The place where the fado and dinner was held was small, I could not see the folks who were performing at all, and a full bus load of folks piled in and filled the room completely right before the start and were very loud. I know there must be better experiences in the Fado area than what we had.

The best tour we had, without a doubt, was the day trip to Evora. Joao from Delighted Tours was an excellent guide and very knowledgeable. His English was very good and he was very attentive. We went on a wine tasting, toured Monsaraz castle and medieval town, and toured the old areas of Evora. It was a private tour, so only 4 of us and the car was clean and very comfortable. Thoroughly enjoyed that day

Hotel Reviews

Hotel da Baixa

Lisbon

Great location in downtown Lisbon, with great bar and restaurant. The rooms are very small and no space in the bathroom for personal stuff. Staff were very attentive and friendly

Authenticity & Character

Boutique hotel

Location

Super location in the heart of old city center

Staff

Super nice and helpful staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean but rooms were very small so that we had to put our suitcases on the bed to open them, so not very convenient.

Lagos Atlantic Hotel

Lagos

Nice big rooms with beautiful view of the ocean and hotel pool. Towels were thread bare, no shampoo or conditioner was in the bathroom. The pool bar serves a small menu of choices for lunch and dinner but closes around 9:30, which is odd for a country that usually eats very late dinners.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Hotel is near the beach but a couple of miles from the town center.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Évora Day Trip & Monsaraz Wine Tasting

Lisbon

This was an amazing trip! Joao was our driver and guide and he was very informative and knowledgeable. We visited a castle and medieval town where there was a beautiful little church, and sweet little town. The wine tasting included a charcuterie board and several very good wines. In the town of evora we saw the church of bones and a Roman ruin. Beautiful day!

Quality of Experience

Tour guide knew so much about the area that it really made it special

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Joao was great!

Transport

Car was clean and comfortable

Sagres & Sunset Off-Road Adventure

Lagos (Algarve)

The tour had 6 passengers, all of us senior, and in a regular jeep, so 2 of us had to sit in the jumper seat in the back. I would not have booked this tour if I’d known what the vehicle arrangement was. Tour was nice though, in terms of views and photo ops. Guide was nice and friendly

Our father daughter trip was fantastic. Alvaro was great to work with. He was so responsive and helpful to our individual wants and needs during the trip planning process. Yael greeted us with a welcome gift upon arrival in Quito and made sure everything was going well before our departure across the country.

Our itinerary was perfect and we feel very lucky to have had the guides we did. We had David for our tour around Quito. He was knowledgeable, helpful & paced the day perfectly. For the remainder of the trip we had Chris and he was so amazing. We would not have wanted to do the trip without a driver and Chris was exceptional in this realm. He was a very defensive and great driver on the chaotic roads. He was always one step ahead of the weather & road closures which made our trip so much more seamless than we could have hoped for considering we traveled during the peak rainy season. We had such a good time and kimkim made it an easy & relaxing process. Our itinerary was jam packed and we saw so much but we didn’t feel rushed at all. We feel like the trip was a bargain for all it included. Would definitely use kimkim again & we are hoping to do a Galapagos trip in the future!

Hotel Reviews

Holiday Inn Guayaquil Airport

Guayaquil

Authenticity & Character

We don’t book airport hotels for authenticity or culture! Just practicality

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Victoria

Cuenca

The river view and getting to sleep with the sound of the water right outside our hotel room was a wonderful surprise.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Inti Sisa

Guamote

This was our favorite stay of the trip. The cultural experience and community outreach this hotel does are wonderful. My Dad and I bought so many gifts here from the shop & wish we could have gone to the local market! We just stayed on the wrong day.

Authenticity & Character

Location

I

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Sangay

Baños de Agua Santa

I would note, especially for American travelers, that this hotel has no air conditioning and no screens in the windows so getting airflow without getting bugs in the room was difficult.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Swissotel Quito

Quito

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Connect with your flight to Galapagos

Ecuador

The airport hotel was extremely convenient. The shuttle was efficient and got us to the airport quickly. Guayaquil airport was small and easy to navigate & security lines were quick.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cuenca - Cajas National Park - Cacao & Mango Hacienda - Guayaquil

Cuenca

Unfortunately, due to weather & road closures, we didn’t get to do Cajas but that was in no way our guide or KimKim’s fault. We loved the mango & chocolate hacienda. I would note that it isn’t mango season so we just did the chocolate experience which was wonderful. The family that ran it was so great. Jamil & Estefano were very knowledgeable and we loved making our own cacao drink & chocolate bars.

Quality of Experience

Food

The lunch we had at the hacienda made by the family was one of our favorite meals of the trip. It was delicious.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discovering Cuenca's Charms: A Journey Through History and Culture

Cuenca

We loved Cuenca. It is such a beautiful town and we see why a bunch of expats have moved here! The tour was great and we got to see a lot in our day here. This is also where we did our cooking class instead of having it in Quito like the itinerary stated. It was a private cooking class at a very fancy hotel with a beautiful view of the blue domes! We could tell Chris had a good relationship with many of the vendors at the market & wish we had more time to sample things here but we didn’t want to eat anything right before our cooking class!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guamote - Palmira - Ingapirca - Cuenca

Guamote

We loved Ingapirca and are very glad we got to go. It is a beautiful ruin!

Quality of Experience

Food

We loved our lunch near Ingapirca at Posada Ingapirca.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Immersive Cultural Exploration: From Riobamba to Guamote

Ecuador

The night before we got to wander around Baños and had a delicious dinner at the Italian restaurant in town. We started the day with a tour of waterfalls around the Baños area and then continued onto Guamote. Our only wish is that we could have gone to the market in Guamote but we were ther a day early!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A Full-Day Amazon Experience from Baños!

Ecuador

We broke up our waterfall tour & our Amazon tour to the local community. This day we visited the local indigenous community & got to go on a waterfall hike. Michaela was our face painter as well as our waterfall hiking guide and she was great. The lunch they made for us was delicious and we even had their pet monkey make an appearance! We then got to go to Yanacocha which is an animal sanctuary for animals rescued from the black market or who were orphaned and aren’t able to be released back into the wild. It was great to see them all treated so well!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Quilotoa Lagoon - Baños

Ecuador

This was a beautiful stop & we are very happy we got to see it!

Quality of Experience

Food

Chris chose a great restaurant by the lagoon for us to have lunch.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Colonial City Tour, Cooking Class & the Middle of the World Monument

Quito

We got to see a ton for only being in the city one day.

Quality of Experience

We did a ton in one day but it didn’t feel rushed. We truly feel like we got to see the highlights of Quito!

Food

The breakfast that was included at the hotel was fantastic & David chose a wonderful lunch spot with a view with great local fare for us to try.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

David was great! Extremely knowledgeable, friendly & kind. He was also friends with so many people at the different stops that it made our day even easier than expected!

Transport

David’s car was very clean & he was a very good driver who tailored our day around the traffic.

Welcome to Ecuador: Let Your Adventure Begin! (Transportation Service)

Galapagos Islands

Our flights got in too late to do anything in the city this day. Our driver picked me up because my flight got in 5 hrs before my Dad’s and then he went back for my Dad which was greatly appreciated and gave me time to settle into the hotel & grab dinner instead of sitting at the airport for 5 hrs.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ariel was amazing from the start and through out the trip. He was very responsive and helpful throughout every step of the trip. We were welcomed in the Galapagos by an amazing guide Vivianna. She was so knowledgable and helpful through out our whole stay. We had so many wonderful guides throughout the entire trip. Thank you to everyone who made this trip easy and exciting and unforgettable for our family of 5. Our hotels, drivers, boats, etc were all top notch. I cannot reccommend the entire team enough!

Hotel Reviews

Albemarle

Puerto Villamil

Great location and staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ikala Galapagos Hotel

Puerto Ayora

Amazing location. Comfortable rooms. Great ambiance. GREAT breakfast. WONDERFUL staff

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Wyndham Quito Airport

Quito

Great staff. Great rooms. Top notch

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Visit to Garrapatero Beach

Galapagos Islands

Great way to end the trip, playing in some beautiful water

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Shared Trip to Flamingo Lagoon & Tortoise Breeding Center

Galapagos Islands

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Snorkel at Los Túneles

Galapagos Islands

Absolutely the highlight of our trip. Great guide. Great experience. Unique landscape and wildlife.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kayaking & Snorkeling at Las Tintoreras

Galapagos Islands

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bay tour

Galapagos Islands

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Excursion to an uninhabited island

Galapagos Islands

What a great experience for our family. We learned so much about the wildlife, as well as had a blast snorkling with some amazing creatures

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit to the Charles Darwin Research Station

Puerto Ayora

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer to Quito Airport, Arrival to Galapagos & Highlands of Santa Cruz

Galapagos Islands

Vivianna our guide was absolutely amazing. She was knowledgable, kind, helpful. We learned so much and saw some incredible things.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A great trip that mixes both history and nature. Thanks for putting it together for me Adam.

Our group of 8 friends really enjoyed our trip to Greece. I feel it was a perfect mix of Greek culture for first time visitors. We started in Athens and with a full day tour with Alaina. She was very knowledgeable and we all felt it was a great tour of some of the main attractions in Greece. The next day we met Elisavet who took us on a walking food tour. This was the favorite activity for some of our group with very high praise for our guide. In the evening we met with Fodi who took us for more food and some dancing. His energy was so much fun! Our hotel at Woo Suites in Athens was top notch. The young women who were working there were so kind and helpful. They delivered an amazing breakfast to our rooms each morning (too chilly to enjoy the rooftop dining) and they had lots of great recommendations for roof top bars and restaurants.

We took the ferry to Naxos and I want to note that all transfers went so smoothly! Naxos was amazing . Our hotel was in a perfect location to walk to the water and restaurants. We also had great views from our rooms at Castle Mansions. We had a fun tour on to the island to see some small villages and were able to enjoy some beverages, food and cheese! The marble quarry was very interesting. WE also enjoyed a full day on a RIB boat to see some other beaches and Antiparos. The weather was a little cool but a few of us jumped into the Aegean Sea! Our final tour was to a farm and winery . This was another great way to enjoy more views of the island and try to great wine and food.

Our last stop was to Santorini. WE stayed in a villa with for a view of a sunset. We had nice breakfasts delivered to us each morning which were very good. We had a great tour of the highlights of Santorini with Panos! The stop at Akrotiri was quite a surprise to us and we loved it! But, the best stop was lunch at Atlier. The food was absolutely amazing and the people there were so gracious! ON our final night we were schedule for a dinner/ sunset cruise. The weather for 2 days was overcast so we had low expectations, BUT we were blessed with an amazing red sunset that even the crew was taking pictures. What a great way to end our holiday in Greece.

Angeliki - thank you so much for an amazing experience. I feel you really listened to our needs and built the perfect itinerary for us. We also appreciated you being available to answer questions for us while we were there too.

We had a wonderful trip in Croatia, starting in Split, then Hvar, Mljet, and Dubrovnik. The hotels were all lovely and the guided tours had just the right balance of education, fun and duration. Whenever we had a problem the group chat established by the KimKim team allowed for very quick and easy responses. I forgot a bag in Hvar and it was placed on the next ferry for pick up in Dubrovnik. Although the KimKim team had nothing to do with food, the Croatian food was amazing - always fresh and tasty. I would definitely go to Croatia again and I would definitely book with the KimKim team for Croatia or any other of their amazing destinations.

Hotel Reviews

Villa Orabelle

Dubrovnik

Very nice hotel and staff. Very good breakfasts. Good location but know that its 1.3 miles from the old town. But also a good location for less touristy restaurants.

Authenticity & Character

Sterile and modern but pretty and comfortable

Location

Beautiful view of the Adriatic and easy access. 1.3 miles from old town

Staff

Always nice and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean, comfortable, easy.

Corallium Imperiale

Pomena

A sterile apartment. It was fine as a launching place to explore Mljet, but no charm.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Adriana Hvar Spa Hotel

Hvar

The room was nice, the breakfasts were good, but the staff was inept. They couldn't find our reservation, and service at breakfast was dodgy. But the location was great.

Authenticity & Character

Modern

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Half Day Boating Excursion to the Elaphite Islands

Dubrovnik

We opted out of the Elaphite islands and went to Lokrum (closer island) instead. We loved Lokrum - it is a great way to spend half-day hiking and swimming. Simon our skipper was wonderful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour Dubrovnik's Old Town

Croatia

Tour guide Jenna tried hard to give us an overview of the old town and its history.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Hike to Lost Villages of Hvar, Croatian Peka Lunch

Croatia

Wonderful activity. Our guide, Josip (spelling?) was knowledgeable and fun. The hike was easy and mostly downhill...perhaps too easy for those of us who want a bit more exercise before lunch. He knew everything about local plants, history, and life on the island. Highly recommended. And the lunch was one of the highlights of our trip. They prepared Octopus in a Peka that slow cooks the food for 2 hours. It was the best octopus I've ever had and the restaurant was in a delightful, charming setting. The family that owned the restaurant were wonderful.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Good morning......... Planning with Lucie was easy. She was helpful from start to finish. Our hotel was satisfactory. The staff was excellent. The 2 tours we took with Sonali Harshe were outstanding. She was a wealth of knowledge and her presentation was great. Our food tour was fair. I think the choices of food should have been better. Our guide in Montmartre was great. Our guide was knowledgeable. The entire trip was great. I would use KimKim again.
Karen Glosa

Hotel Review

Hotel La Perle

Paris

The hotel accommodations were good. The staff was outstanding.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Starry Dinner on the Seine River

Paris

It was a beautiful trip on the river.

Cooking class with a Chef

Paris

This was my favorite activity. The chef took us to the market where we purchased our fresh food to use while cooking. She was delightful and knowledgeable. Her home was the perfect space to prepare and eat. I would highly recommend this to anyone who would enjoy cooking in Paris.

Guided visit of Montmartre

Paris

Our guide was very knowledgeable.

Guided visit of the Louvre museum

Paris

Sonali Harshe was an excellent guide.

Gourmet food tour in Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Paris

Would have liked different food choices

Guided tour of covered passages of Paris

Paris

Our tour guide Sonali Harshe was outstanding. I would recommend her for any tour.

Transport

Yassine did a great job of planning our trip based on the information we gave him… We really got to see some wonderful sites…

Hotel Reviews

Riad Ksar Ighnda

Asfalou

Overall good

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Madu Luxury Camp

Merzouga

A mixture of roughing it, and having all the luxuries you need… Very friendly team that took care of us thoughtfully

Authenticity & Character

Like something out of a movie… Camping under the stars in the Sahara desert… Beautiful

Location

Hidden away in the desert… We felt like we were all alone over the stars… So beautiful

Staff

Super friendly and very helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Eden Boutique Hotel

Boumalne Dades

An amazing place… Every surface and every material was amazing… Beautiful location… Super friendly staff…

Authenticity & Character

The most beautiful place we stayed in all of Morocco… Elegant, and every service available

Location

Beautiful view of the “monkey fingers“ rock formations

Staff

Super friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spotlessly clean

Riad Kniza

Marrakech

Beautiful, tranquil, Elegantly, decorated, and great service, as well… Breakfast and dinner were excellent and served in a beautiful way…

Authenticity & Character

It was like stepping back in time to a beautiful private Moroccan Palace

Location

Right in the old town

Staff

Thoughtful and always available to fulfill our needs regarding the room and planning

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Overnight in the Sahara Desert with Sunset Camel Ride

Morocco

Trip of a lifetime to ride camels in the Sahara desert

Quality of Experience

Yousef, our guide, really took care of us

Food

Very traditional local food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Said, our driver, always got us everywhere safe safely and was very informative

Exploring the Medina and Historical Sites Of Marrakesh

Marrakesh

An enjoyable day of seeing the highlights of Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Great guide who knows all the Backstreets of Marrakesh

Transport

Our driver, Said, was the best

Evening Food Tour in Marrakesh

Marrakesh

Even though we did the tour doing an incredible heavy downpour of rain, the food was great and it was an exciting experience… We wandered through the old town and had some delicious food

Quality of Experience

Our guide really picked out great places to experience the local food of Morocco

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Informative with a great sense of humor

Transport

Said, our driver, was very personable, and always attentive to taking good care of us and getting to where we needed to go…

Kimkim knocked it out of the park for our trip to the Netherlands! From Robert, our driver on three occasions, to Lisa, who planned all the details of our trip, every aspect of our adventure went off without a hitch. While many of the sights of Amsterdam, Ghent, Bruges and Haarlem were impressive, what I think I’ll remember most are the small details and interactions : helpful train conductors; welcoming waiters; kind canal-boat drivers. The kimkim app was amazing, with details spelled out for every activity. I was especially impressed with how kimkim was so thorough when it came to train tickets and schedules. All in all our 10 days of sightseeing were just plain fabulous!

KimKim made planning our trip so easy! The local tour company, Beat the Dutch, and the agent, Lisa, planned a perfect vacation! I will definitely use them again. We went to see the tulips and words do not describe the beauty! The canal tours, walking tours & museums are top notch. The people are so friendly too! Only downfall, I did not eat enough chocolate, waffles or fries!

Adrian was wonderful to work with planning our trip. I have booked 6 trips with KimKim and their partners in the last two years. Adrian was the most responsive we have had. He always got back to me quickly and answered my questions fully. He has a wonderful personality and I would highly recommend him.
My only compaint was not with Adrian but with his companies policies. This was the shortest and most expensive trip we have ever taken, even though we have been to Norway and Australia also within the last 2 years booking through KimKim. Not only were these trips longer, but we had lots of private guides with additional drivers for the tours. I feel the price for this trip could have been much lower than the price we received. While on our trip one of our drivers drove 3 to 4 hours to pick us up and then 3 to 4 hours back home after dropping us at the end of the day. He did this 3 days. I talked with many of the hotel staff and tour operators in the area and were told there were plenty of people in our location we were staying that could have been booked for us and saved us some money instead of having someone drive such long distances for our tours. I ended up spending $10,000 more than I had originally planned. I asked many times if there were any suggestions on ways we could cut down the cost and was always told only if I cut down the amount of days of our trip. That was not the case when I booked with other companies for trips to Norway and Australia. They were happy to suggest things that did not take away from what we were seeing but would help us cut cost, such as taking a public ferry to see the same things we would see on a private boat. When I tried to come up with ways to bring the price down myself by changing to a train trip instead of private driver, the price didn't go down. When I suggested hotels that were listed for lower prices on booking.com than the hotels listed, the price didn't go down.
I was also told they could not book us window seats on our plane trip to Edinburgh but we had to have aisle seats, which I can only assume was because they would have had to pay extra for a window seat and I had already paid for the trip by then and they wanted to keep every penny. Because there were window seats available beside us and the air hostess suggested we take them so my husband and I could sit together.
When we arrived at the airport in Edinburgh the driver wasn't there and I called them and was told they were given the information to not pick us up until 9 am. We arrived, received our luggage and were ready to leave at 8:10. My information did say 9 but also said the driver would watch the arrivals and the time could change. Other than that time the drivers were always there at least 10 minutes early to pick us up.
I was also told they couldn't reserve seats for us on the train journey because we had asked for passenger assist because my husband has problems walking. So I told them to take off the passenger assist and reserve the seats and we would make it on our on. But I decided to check at the train station and we were listed for the passenger assist even though we had reserved seats. So not sure why we were given the incorrect information.
Over all the trip went smoothly and other than the price I was happy with the trip. I guess I should have shopped around for a better price, but we had been happy with the companies KimKim had partnered was with in the past and Adrian was wonderful to work with, so we just paid the premium price and went on our trip.

Hotel Reviews

Isles Of Glencoe Hotel

Ballachulish

Our room had an amazing view of the water with glass doors to walk outside. The front desk staff were very friendly and helpful. Not very close to walk into town. Dinner at their restaurant was very expensive and not very good. For Breakfast we were not allowed to go in even a minute early even though we had an early pick up. And when we did go in even the coffee was not set up yet.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful views of the water from the hotel.

Location

Not very close for us to walk into town.

Staff

Staff were helpful and friendly except would not let us go in even a minute early for breakfast when we had an early pick up.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Royal Hotel Portree

Portree

All rooms are upstairs with no elevator so it would have been impossible for my 82 year old husband and I to get our luggage to our room if our driver had not offered to take them up for us. The view from our room of the harbour was very nice. Breakfast was fine but not a big selection but we could order from a hot food selection and they let us just order the items we liked such as only hashbrowns for my husband.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Small town so easy to walk to the city square and harbor.

Staff

When we arrived and found out all rooms were upstairs with no elevator, no one offered to help my 82 year old husband take the lugguage up, so our driver so nice enough to take it up for us.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Royal Highland Hotel

Inverness

An older hotel but grand. Very convenient to the train station which was helpful for us. Room was nice and comfortable. A hot breakfast was included as part of the breakfast package that we could order but when I asked if they could make sure my scammbled eggs were cooked well and not runny, I was told they just cook them one way. So I didn't have the hot breakfast just the continental breakfast that was set out.

Authenticity & Character

Grand looking inside.

Location

Close enough to walk to the Victoria Market and Inverness Castle. And right next door to the train station.

Staff

. A hot breakfast was included as part of the breakfast package that we could order but when I asked if they could make sure my scammbled eggs were cooked well and not runny, I was told they just cook them one way. So I didn't have the hot breakfast just the continental breakfast that was set out.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Leonardo City Edinburgh

Edinburgh

They wouldn't let us check in a couple of hours early when we arrived. We asked if we could leave our smaller suitcase for 5 days until we came back to the hotel to stay again before catching a flight home. We were told no by the staff when we checked in. My husband who has memory problems asked again to a different person at the desk that evening when we got back from sight seeing and was told we could. So that meant they could have done it when we asked the first time. The first time we stayed they gave us a room very close to the reception desk which was helpful for my husband who has problems walking. The second time we stayed we were given an upstairs room which was a very, very long way to walk for my husband and had two stairs to get our suitcases up to get to our room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Within walking distance to the Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle.

Staff

Amy was very helpful but the other staff could take lessons.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Leonardo Hotel Belfast

Belfast

I was told it was a 4 star hotel but it was barely a 3 star. Large red stain on carpet and sheets stained. Bathroom very, very small. Room was cold and the packed breakfast they gave us was not worth it.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Within walking distance to City Hall, St. George's Market, and Cathedral Quarter. Titanic Museum a little bit of a walk but managable.

Staff

They did bring us a heater when we told them our room was cold.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bathroom very, very small. Stains on carpet and sheets.

The Victoria Hotel

Galway

Reception was nice enough but room was very small with one very small window that was frosted so you couldn't see out. Water pressure in shower was bad and breakfast wasn't great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Within walking distance to Latin Quarter and Quay Street.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very small room with one very small frosted window. Water pressure in shower bad.

Dromhall Hotel

Killarney

Hotel reception very friendly and helpful. They let us go in breakfast early instead of having to have a packed breakfast since we had an early pick up.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Very helpful and accommodating.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cleaned our room even though we didn't ask or leave hang tag on door.

The Morgan Hotel

Dublin

We were told when we booked the trip that we would be able to get a room when we arrived. We had an early flight and got there at 7 am and they said at the reception desk that I should not have been told that. But they did let us check in at 10 am instead of 3 pm. They also changed our breakfast we had paid for the next morning to the morning we arrived so we could rest and plan our day without having a room at our disposal. The staff was friendly enough. Our room key didn't work and I made several trips back to the desk before finding out that they needed to work on the door. The room was fine and the location was good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Within walking distance of Dublin Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral and Trinity College for the Book of Kell.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Best of Skye Tour from Portree

Portree

Stevie our driver was very nice. We had beautiful views all day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Stevie our driver was very nice.

Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle & Falls of Foyers Day Tour

Inverness

Beautiful Trip. Our driver Alex was very nice and made lots of extra photo stops along the way.

Quality of Experience

Beautiful scenery.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver Alex was very nice and made lots of extra photo stops along the way.

Edinburgh Castle Tickets

Edinburgh

Nice Castle. Had a mobility vehicle that took my 82 year old husband up to the Crown Square which was very helpful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Drivers of the mobilty vehicles to crown square were very helpful and nice.

Private transfers in town to the airport

Ireland

Conor was friendly and helpful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Conor was friendly and helpful.

Private transfer between Hotel and Airport

Scotland

Alan our driver was early, friendly and very helpful. He even helped us with luggage into the airport.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Alan our driver was early, friendly and very helpful. He even helped us with luggage into the airport.

Giants Causeway Day tour (small group)

Belfast

Stephen our driver was very friendly, helpful and informative. The views were great.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Stephen our driver was very friendly, helpful and informative.

Titanic experience

Belfast

Alright. Not really anything special.

Quality of Experience

Museum was fine.

Belfast Political Taxi Tour

Belfast

Our driver Jules was nice and informative. After the tour he even asked if he could drop us somewhere besides back at the hotel which was helpful and saved us a few steps.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Jules was nice and informative.

Cliffs of Moher Visitor Center tickets

Ireland

Really enjoyed seeing the Cliffs of Moher.

Quality of Experience

Beautiful views.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Pat our driver was great. He even walked us from the parking lot to the place where we needed to catch the cart up to the top so my 82 year old husband wouldn't have to walk.

Scenic Private Transfer from Killarney to Galway via Adare, Bunratty & The Burren

Killarney

Our driver Pat was very friendly and helpful. He made an extra stop for us at our request at Ross Castle for us to take a picture before we left town. He also made an extra photo stop we hadn't requested at Limerick to show us the castle. The places we stopped at Adare, Bunratty and The Burren could probably have been skipped.

Quality of Experience

Places we stopped could probably have been skipped. Nothing great.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Pat was very helpful and friendly and went out of his way to help.

Ring of Kerry Group Day Tour

Killarney

Nice views on Ring of Kerry tour and our driver Kevin was very good.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Kevin our driver was very friendly and helpful.

Rock of Cashel

Ireland

This was just a photo stop so didn't spend any time here. But the picture of the castle from a distance was really nice.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Agnes was great. Very friendly and helpful.

Welcome to the Wicklow Mountains

Ireland

It would have been probably nice, but it was raining and foggy and we couldn't see anything.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver Agnes was early and was very helpful. She even suggested that she pay for parking closer to the lake in Glendalough so my 82 year old husband didn't have to walk very far.

Trinity College Library : The Book of Kells Experience

Dublin

Very good expecially the Long Room. I would recommend.

Quality of Experience

We thoroughly enjoyed our New Zealand trip. The country and her people are wonderful. The Spire Hotel in Queenstown was spectacular. Room size was generous, amenities top notch and the staff 5 star. The hotel was centrally located to all activites and walking. One of our drivers, Jennifer, was acceptional. She was a good drive and planned stops for picture taking.
Our stay in Napier was wonderful. The Mangapapa hotel was beautifully appointed with large outdoor areas and plantation like feeling.
Our stay in Auckland was topped off by our dinner at Ahi. It was the most exquisite menu and dining we experienced.
Thank you Monika for so many unique adventures while we were in New Zealand
Diane

Hotel Review

Spire Hotel

Queenstown

Beautifully appointed. The most helpful and courteous staff. Wonderfully located to all activities. Thank you Spirel

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to the pier, shopping and sightseeing

Staff

Staff is amazing. Always thinking ahead of us and courteous.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spectacularly appointed. Generous size rooms. Beds so comfy.

Activity Reviews

Ahi Restaurant - 4 snacks and 4 courses

Auckland

Extraordinary. Fabulous meal

Mt Cook day tour from Queenstown (Small group - return)

Queenstown

Beautiful scenery all the way.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Jennifer was superb.

Transport

The van had a bit of a bouncy ride.

Outstanding travel planning around the Netherlands and Belgium. Services included selection of hotels, tour guides, drivers/train tickets, and destination activities! Very flexible with helpful insights into timing of local events and location selection.

Mieke was a huge help both in planning and during the trip - helping to communicate with personnel re: any potential changes in plans. We had some firm ideas for our family vacation that were unique but very much appreciated and valued Mieke’s additional travel advice and recommendations. Our preference for smaller boutique B&Bs was accommodated with excellent suggestions that were convenient to sites.

Highly recommend KimKim and Mieke’s “Beat the Dutch Travel” support for Dutch experiences.

The trip was a great experience, the cities and places were amazing. Burcu made a great job with recommendations, building my trip and the support during the trip. We faced a couple of unexpected situations and she helped me to fix them. I took several tours and they were great experiences and tour guides were really knowledgeable.

We had an amazing visit to Chile -- from four days in the Atacama desert to a week in Santiago (with some wonderful side trips) to a wedding outside the city. Our time in Atacama was active with an Astronomical Tour, a visit to the Valley of the Moon, and the lagoons to see flamingos, vicunas, llamas, and sheep. The guides were extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and warm. The experiences felt very individual and special -- the food and drinks were delicious and added to the really great experience. Each of our guides was wonderful, with special recognition to Vicente -- his passion and enthusiasm for his work and our surroundings made our experiences unforgettable. Ivonne (spelling?) or Ivi, who gave us the astronomical tour was super enthusiastic and made sure that everyone had the best experience. Thanks so much for the photos! The hotel was great -- very comfortable and close to Caracoles street (the Emporium has the best empanadas!!).

Our stay in Santiago was truly special. The Bidasoa Hotel is a little distant from downtown, but the meals were delicious and we could walk to the Ralli Museum. Our tour of Santiago gave us so much history and a chance to walk around. Just fantastic! Our excursions to the Cajon de Maipo and horseback riding in the Andes were very special. Thanks so much to Julio, Fernando, and Alberto. They were great! We are so happy that we worked with KimKim -- your responsiveness, creativity, and flexibility (switching activities because of the weather to make a better experience), made us feel cared for and important. We really appreciate the top level of care and attention you give to create the BEST experiences! I can't imagine anything better!