Kimkim Trip Reviews for Australia

Vickie Parrack planned an excellent 5 week trip for the two of us. The plan included trains, planes, automobiles, and boats.
We made it complicated for her by having the trip include two stops to visit/stay with family and friends. From the moment our private driver picked us up at the Sydney Airport we knew our vacation was going to be great. A few days seeing Sydney then a flight to Darwin. A few days in the Top End seeing war history, rain forest, jumping crocodiles, and soaking up native culture. A great train excursion on The Ghan from Darwin to Adelaide. A few days in Adelaide and overnight on Kangaroo Island. A Princess Cruise to Melbourne, Tasmania, and on to Sydney. A few more days in Sydney. Then up the east coast with stops in Newcastle, Airlie Beach and the Great Barrier Reef, Townsville, and Cairns and more Great Barrier Reef plus rain forest by wheels plus rain forest by overhead tram (awesome!)

We can't praise Vickie enough. Vickie perceived our intentions and needs. The planning was almost flawless. We hope she will be available plan a New Zealand vacation for us in the next year or so.

Activity Reviews

Arrive Sydney

Sydney

Loved it all. The driver met us at the airport, and was very informative and full of info as he drove us into the city and our hotel.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sydney Harbour, The Rocks Walking Tour and Bondi Beach

Sydney

The walking tour was very informative and fun. Bondi Beach; we got the tee-shirt!

Prviate transfer from Airport to Accommodation

Darwin

Our driver was great!

Charles Darwin Dinner Cruise with Darwin Harbour Cruises

Darwin

This tour was not available. As I recall, the tour company, and the other companies were not running at the time we were there. We were off by a week or so. No fault of Vickie's.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private transfer train station to accommodation

Adelaide

This transfer was part of our itnerary. We used Uber.

Adelaide Central Market Delicious Lunch Tour

Adelaide

This market tour was great. Just a couple of hours long, but it was fun. After the tour completed we had trouble deciding which market stall to go back to for our lunch. Great choice, Vickie!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

2 Day Kangaroo Island Tour

Kangaroo Island

These two days were absolutely wonderful. Lots of land and marine mammals and birds performed for us. Our driver was great. The other travelers in our small group were fun. The overnight hotel and restaurant were great. The weather was great. We're so glad this tour was included in our plan.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Taronga Zoo

Australia

We've been to some nice zoos. This is one of the best! And the view of Sydney from the zoo is unforgettable.

Quality of Experience

Whitsundays - Ocean Rafting

Airlie Beach

We hosted our relatives, a couple with 3 children, on this rafting experience and everyone of us loved it. Especially the snorkeling.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The high-speed inflatable boat was a lot of fun.

Private Transfer Cairns CBD Accom to Airport

Cairns

We rode the hotel shuttle but to the airport.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kakadu National Park Explorer with AAT Kings

Darwin

Captain Cook Cruises - Hop On Hop Off Harbour Explorer 2-Day Pass

Sydney

This hop-on hop-off experience is a waste of money and time. The harbour is beautiful. But the 'cruise' boats were few and far between, and when on the boat, any tour dialogue was forgettable. The water ferry system is very nice, very convenient, goes to many more locations, and is very affordable.

Heart reef and Whitehaven Flight

Airlie Beach

There was no flight for us that day. We arrived in Airlie Beach too late in the day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arrive Cairns

Cairns

Loved the train ride from Townsville to Cairns. Upon arrival at the Cairns station in the evening, it took us quite awhile to get a taxi to take us to our hotel. The hotel opposite the bay shore was great and centrally located for exploring the town on foot. The taxi waiting experience was not bad, just unexpected and uncomfortable as we stepped off the air conditioned train into the humidity in the covered train station. In the future, for other visiting travelers, perhaps a heads-up about the possible wait might be appropriate.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Quicksilver Outer Barrier Reef Cruise

Australia

The catamaran trip out to the anchored barge was nice, very comfortable. The multi-activity barge was great. Unfortunately we chose to ride in the semi-submersible submarine as our first activity, and we both became very nauseous from the small boat's movement. The nauseousness put a damper on further activities. So we weren't up for the snorkeling or other activities. However it was fun to watch all the others having fun. Its amazing that they'll teach you so scuba dive in the short time we're on the barge. Watching the fish feeding is fun. All things considered, this is a great experience.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Daintree, Cape Trib & Bloomfield Day Tour

Cairns

The Billy Tea Safari tour to the rainforest showed us some great flora and fauna. Our guide/driver as great. However our safari vehicle was too rough-riding for our old bones. For us, the same travel route in a more conventional vehicle would have made the day tour more comfortable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Free Day in Cairns

Cairns

We rode the Karunda scenic Railroad up the mountain. Wonderful experience. The Karunda village is nice. We bought some artwork from a local vendor and had it (sucessfully) shipped to our home in Idaho. The Karunda Skyrail overhead tram was awesome. I never expected I would enjoy this as much as I did. Seeing the rainforest from above is indescribable. I would love to see the rainforest from this perspective when its raining hard. I know they close the skyrail when raining, out of caution for lightening strikes, but still I'd like to see it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Litchfield National Park Waterfalls with AAT Kings

Darwin

After trying to book a month long trip to Australia by myself, I discovered KimKim. We knew we wanted to blend time with a guide and independent traveler. Vickie put together an itinerary that included what we knew we wanted to experience and where we wanted to go as well as Vickie had great suggestions of experiences to add on. We enjoyed our 42 days in Australia!

Hotel Reviews

Vibe Hotel Sydney Darling Harbour

Sydney

Modern, terrific hotel. Excellent location for walking and exploring the city. The room was clean and comfortable. We loved the restaurant in the lobby. Overall, Great service, kind and helpful people.

Authenticity & Character

It is a modern clean no frills yet super comfortable hotel

Location

in Chinatown, convenient, we moved about with ease and confidence.

Staff

very helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

well maintained, great bed, compact rooms with enough room,

Rydges Hobart

Hobart

Location was a bit far from the harbor. Heavy drapes thick carpet made the room feel closed. We preferred the Vibe in Hobart which we stayed in with the tour group.

Authenticity & Character

Old building remodeled

Location

Staff

kind helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

spots on the carpet, thick carpet holds in the dust, the shower was a poor design and water went all over the floor

Hotel Grand Chancellor Melbourne

The room had been updated recently and was comfortable as well as sizable.

Authenticity & Character

the people great breakfast buffet

Location

The street had several empty buildings. Great location in Chinatown.

Staff

kind, helpful, called me by name

Cleanliness & Comfort

clean and comfortable

Comfort Inn The International

Apollo Bay

Clean, good location, quiet, parking was easy

Authenticity & Character

updated old motel

Location

right on Main Street

Staff

super kind and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

VERY clean! Bed super comfortable. lots of room

Elphin Motel

Launceston

We didn't stay here , We stayed at the Grand Chancellor Hotel. I was not very happy with the room and almost asked for a different room. thick dusty carpet, inefficient design, dark (not enough light) heavy curtains, very stained carpet in hallway. we were on the 1st or 2nd floor. I was happy we were only there one night. The breakfast buffet and lobby area were great!

Indian Pacific Train

Adelaide

Totally highly recommended by us!

Pensione Hotel Perth

Perth

Great location, clean and comfortable. Off street parking was tight

Authenticity & Character

Location

Easy walk to shopping, restaurants and Elizabeth Quay

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Great comfortable room

Ningaloo Lodge Exmouth

Exmouth

We didn't stay here- We stayed at the Escape Resort. We got there at 7:00pm and left at 8:00am. The cabin was over used - we didn't need the kitchen. the bed was comfortable

Authenticity & Character

good idea for the right traveler

Location

good

Staff

good and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

worn

Best Western Carnarvon

Carnarvon

updated room, old ac

Authenticity & Character

Location

good

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

the ac was noisy

The Heritage Resort

We didn't stay here. We stayed at the Ocean Village, I think,

Authenticity & Character

cabin, well done

Location

right in town across from the ocean, walkable to everything we needed

Staff

took great care of us

Cleanliness & Comfort

very comfortable

Kalbarri Edge Resort

It was ok. noisy. good location

Authenticity & Character

Location

right in town

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mantra on Sydney Airport

Mascot

the walk from the airport was challenged by construction. The room was over used and needed a deep clean

Location

close to airport, nothing around except other hotels, busy area, good for one night between flights

Staff

great staff!

Cleanliness & Comfort

over used, needs a deep clean

Mount Gambier Hotel

MOUNt Gambier

we didn't stay here, we stayed at The Barn. It was excellent!

Country Roads Motor Inn

Naracoorte

Not many options in this town. The motel was good and updated.

Authenticity & Character

basic

Location

it was a doable walk to town, located in a more industrial area. request a room on the back side as the front rooms or on the main road

Staff

super friendly and accommodating

Cleanliness & Comfort

basic clean and comfortable

Kangaroo Island Seafront

Penneshaw

We didn't stay here. We stayed in the Ozone Hotel. It was comfortable and clean right on the ocean.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Terrific Staff!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb

Sydney

In the end, we were just off the long flight and didn't feel like we were ready to be attached to a group of people and wear community jumpsuits and helmets .

Free Day in Sydney

Sydney

We loved walking around and discovering the city. We went to the top of the tall building to get a perspective of the city.

Arrive Sydney

Sydney

We liked having the driver there at the airport to pick us up and bring us to the hotel. The hotel stored our bags and we went out walking.

Tasmanian Explorer - Day 1 - Launceston/ Stanley / North-West Coast

Launceston

I wish we would have been in the hotel where we met our group. I didn't like the Grand Chancellor Hotel. The Intrepid tour was terrific! It was rigorous but wonderful!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tasmania Explorer - Day 2 The Tarkine/North-West Coast

Australia

Stanley and hiking the Nut

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tasmanian Explorer - Day 3 - North Coast/Corinna

Australia

Corrina was amazing! I would have liked to stay here at least 2 or more nights.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tasmanian Explorer - Day 4 - Corinna/North Coast/Devonport

Australia

Tasmanian Explorer - Day 5 - Cradle Mountain National Park / Launceston

Australia

Tasmanian Explorer - Day 6 - Hobart/ Richmond/ Tasman Peninsula

Australia

we explored the prison

Tasmanian Explorer - Day 7 -Tasman Peninsula/ Hobart

Australia

Tasmanian Explorer - Day 8 - Huon Valley / Hartz Mountains National Park/ Hobart

Hobart

Tasmanian Explorer - Day 9 - Bruny Island/Hobart

Hobart

Welcome to Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne Museum is a must see!

Explore Apollo Bay

Apollo Bay

Flinders Chase Tour

Kangaroo Island

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Island Life Tour

Kangaroo Island

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Indian Pacific Overnight Train from {{start_location}} to {{end_location}} (Westbound)

Australia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Perth & Fremantle City Explorer & Swan River Cruise - Morning Tour

Perth

It was difficult to hear the narration because the speaker system was not great. In addition there was a party of 35 women celebrating someone's birthday. They were loud and took over the outside part of the boat. The lunch food was ok.

Quality of Experience

Discover Rottnest Tour (incl. Lunch)

Perth

We were a bit shocked by the numbers of people and bikes. I'm happy we were on the bus tour because we saw the sights quickly. Lunch was good and we went back on the 2:30 ferry getting off at Fremantle and taking the train back to Perth. The narration was better than on the Lunch cruise.

Explore Exmouth

Exmouth

We stopped at the information Center in Exmouth for the best information. This is definitely shoulder season there are very few visitors around. We set out for the Cape Range National Park and on of the beaches just beyond the park center. We swam and loved it. We decided to go back to the park center and bought one set of snorkel gear to share. We went to the Oyster Stacks and had a terrific time snorkeling. Since the National park is an out and back driving experience, we headed back north and stopped at another swimming beach and found the protected turtle beach. After finding dinner we went to the hotel after the office closed. They had sent an email with after hour instructions.

Quality of Experience

Beautiful Coast! we loved the water.

Wula Gura Nyinda Eco Cultural Adventures - Didgeridoo Dreaming Night Tour

Australia

On the way to Denham we stopped at Coral Bay for another snorkeling experience by the jetty. We were the only ones on the beach. Snorkeling and swimming were fun. We did not swim off the beach in town. It was a long desolate drive to Denham so we were pleased to have time to relax over 2 nights. The Experience was cancelled because of the strong wind and fire danger.

Quality of Experience

Marine Eco Tour with Coral Bay Eco Tours

Australia

We skipped this experience- We stayed in Kalbarri it was marvelous. We snorkeled near town and I signed up for The Abrolhos Island Discovery Full Day Tour with Pink Lake add-on from Kalbarri https://kalbarriscenicflights.rezdy.com It was amazing!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Depart Australia

Australia

The drive from Kalbarri to Perth was exhausting. It would have been great to stop at one of the town (Green Head area) on the Turquoise Coast for one night before driving to Perth. We didn't have the time. We stopped at the Pinnacles, it 45 minutes and we stayed in the car- I think its a good stop. Taking the car back to Perth Airport was stressful because of construction and not really knowing where we were going. It had to be.

Walk with Wildlife Tour with Wildlife Wonders

Apollo Bay

This was a terrific tour! We learned a lot.

Connie was wonderful to work with. Her replies were timely, her attention and responsiveness to what we were looking for was appreciated, and the final trip she put together was fantastic, according to our friends. My wife and I were unable to take the trip due to serious health issues with my mother.

We had an amazing trip for our family with teenage kids and my parents. For the Womens World Cup. We started in Sydney, then to Brisbane and Melbourne. We ended in New Zealand in Wellington and Auckland. All of the hotels were very nice. We had many great tours/activities. One of the best excursions was The America’s Cup in Auckland. Sabina was very helpful.

Overall, we had a a great experience using KimKim and interacting with our specialist, Gary. Gary was very responsive and we got answers to our questions right away. The responsiveness was one of the first reasons we liked KimKim and decided to book with them. Gary was able to find an amazing hotel with a great view and location for us. Gary also had wonderful suggestions for things we might like to do or see, and he offered a great guide on good eats. We loved our walking tour of The Rocks and had a very personable guide. The Blue Mountains tour and our Aboriginal tour of the botanical gardens were both very memorable. The Sydney Opera House was, itself, of course, impressive and iconic, but our tour for the Opera House didn't really compare to The Rocks tour or other tours we took. Our favorite thing that we did in Sydney was the Bridge Climb. We loved our twilight climb! It was raining, cold, and dark when we went, but the climbing suits keep you warm and dry, the tour guides are amazing and energetic, and the views are breathtaking. The only thing that happened on our vacation that I think KimKim could improve on, was two of our tour times were incorrectly written in our itinerary. We ended up missing our tour time for our Rocks tour because the itinerary mistakenly listed its end time as the start time. The Rocks Tour company was easy to work with and fixed this for us right away, but we discovered our other tour for that day was also listed incorrectly in the KimKim itinerary, so we ended up missing the end of the Rocks tour and dashing to the next tour. When we asked Gary about the mix-up, he was very apologetic and checked all of our remaining tour times and schedules to make sure everything was lined up correctly.

Hotel Review

Shangri-La Sydney

The Rocks, Sydney

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sydney Opera House Tour

Australia

I really loved touring the Opera House and seeing inside the building. The information from the tour was good and interesting, but I think our tour guide was a bit over it all. She seemed cranky and didn't really answer peoples questions kindly.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Aboriginal Harbour Heritage Tour (Private)

Sydney

I loved this experience. Our tour was a private tour and it really made it more personal. We were able to ask questions freely and learnt about a whole different history of Sydney and Australia's people. It was really interesting to combine this tour and the Rocks tour on our trip because there was overlap discussing some of the same histories and peoples from different perspectives (The Rocks Tour was mostly from an European perspective and this tour, was obviously, more of an Aboriginal perspective). We also got to learn about some of the different uses of the plants in the garden.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sydney Showboat Dinner & Show Package

Sydney

This show was an interesting addition to our trip. It was basically a cabaret show and dinner. The dinner was good and the show had great music and dancing. However, the boat itself was having some issues that needed some maintenance. There was water leaking onto one of the dining tables from the ceiling (this was an inside dining room, so it was not water or mist from the cove). Luckily, no one was seated at that table, but that makes me suspect it was a known problem. The pace of the show was also very slow. The show started and stopped multiple times, which I suspect was to account for large crowds and serving dinner, but we had a rather small crowd for our show time, and the pace was just off, like the entire tour time was 3 hours, but with the dinner and the show, it really could have wrapped up in 2 hours.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Blue Mountains Deluxe Day Tour Experience

Sydney

We had a great tour of the Blue Mountains. The mountains were beautiful and our guide had a great pace for seeing and enjoying the views as well as getting us to the next location. The botanical gardens at the end were very impressive!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

BridgeClimb Summit - Twilight

Australia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The Rocks Walking Tours

Sydney

This was the best tour we took in Sydney. Very great guide and just really interesting information about the history of Sydney.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Thoroughly enjoyed the trip. In the future I probably won’t have so much scheduled, would have liked a bit more free time, but we did have lots of fun.

Activity Review

Full Day Uncork the Barossa Valley

Adelaide

Loved the wine tour and that’s saying a lot considering we don’t much care for wine. The views of the vineyards were amazing and our guide was very personable, really enjoyed him. Learned a lot. Definitely recommend the tour wether you are a novice or much more.

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We recently completed the 8-night Sydney, Cairns and Melbourne Australia trip. Liz was very helpful in designing and adjusting the trip for us. Hotels were in good locations, within walking distance to attractions and restaurants and airport transportation arrangement worked smoothly.
Though the weather sometimes was challenging, we enjoyed the Sydney Opera House tour and chances to visit local farms. The Gold Class Kuranda Scenic Railway was a nice treat and the Penguin Parade in Melbourne was quite an experience. Thanks KimKim in helping us in this memorable trip.

Hotel Reviews

Pacific Hotel Cairns

Cairns

Great location but hotel is not clean as it should be. We found dust covered on coffee pot and hot water pot etc. Hotel was informed. It seems to be a group tour hotel too. There were school students staying while we were there.

Pan Pacific

Melbourne

Nice location to walk to attractions. Close to Crown Casino. Staffs are very friendly and eager to help. Modern design and clean .

The Grace Hotel

Sydney, NSW

A hotel with much history. Great location. Close to Sydney harbor and many restaurants. Breakfast starts at 6:30am which did not work us with early full day guided tours.

Activity Reviews

Sydney Opera House Tour

Sydney

Great tour to be able to see the performing stage of the Opera House.

Full Day Cape Tribulation, Daintree & Mossman Gorge

Cairns

Daintree River Cruise and rainforest are good highlights. The bus driver and tour guide Denial was great. However, Mossman Gorge does not seem that interesting. This trip involves winding mountain ride. It took a long drive to reach to destination.

Dinner Cruise Sydney Harbour

Sydney

Lovely cruise to see the Sydney Harbour. Food is actually good. Window seat is a plus.

Morning Panoramic Sydney Sights

Sydney

Tour guide was very knowledgeable. It is a good tour to know the city first before picking places to visit at free time.

Full Day Blue Mountains Deluxe Day

Sydney

A long drive to a few lookout points for photo shoots. I wish we have more time to walk around the Three Sisters. Knowledgeable tour guide.

Welcome to Cairns!

Cairns

Full-Day Kuranda Rail & Skyrail - Gold Class

Australia

Location is wonderful and the Gold Class train ride was a good treat. The bus driver, however, is not as good as all other guide.

Full Day Phillip Island + Penguin Plus with Dinner

Melbourne

Funning and knowledgeable tour guide Sara. We enjoyed this tour.

Depart Australia

Australia

The ride is okay. With all of the airport pick-up and drop-off in the entire trip, the Sydney pick-up experience, the car and the driver, is amazing. I guess it is a small city. The cars used in Cainrs is so so. But all drivers are courteous.

The people of Australia are amazing! Very friendly and helpful. The scenery was beautiful and the experiences were awesome.
Our flight had issues and we were already in Australia before our specialist notified us that our flight had issues. In addition, we were booked for a tour in a park in Uluru, but when we were getting on the bus we’re informed that we needed park passes to get in the park. Our specialist booked the tour - but not the passes to get to the tour. It was a frustrating experience to get these in a very few minutes before the bus left for the tour. Our specialist also had all of our flight arrangements, and did inform us on the Visa needed for Australia. However, she did not tell us anything about any requirements for New Zealand - which she knew we were going thru. We found out about the transist VISA requirements when we went to check in and had to pay the exorbitant fees associated with immediate turnaround of the requirement.

Wow - what a perfect vacation experience! Vickie listened carefully to my desires for types of excursions and activities, and then made recommendations on other things that I definitely liked. It was important to me to be very active on this trip. So we went hiking, biking, wine tasting, white water rafting, kangaroo petting, food touring, snorkeling, ziplining, jet boat riding and more. Plus we climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge AND went Bungee Jumping. Wow!

With so many activities, it was important to understand where we had to be and when to meet up with our tours. The app was so helpful in this regard.

Thank you Kim-Kim and thank you Vickie!

We loved every part of our trip to Sydney and Cairns! It was a breeze traveling around Australia with the private transfers and accommodations set up. We visited the Great Barrier Reef, the rainforest, the opera house, multiple beaches, museums, shopped, ate and drank our way down under on our free days. We never had to take an Uber or order a taxi as everything was within walking distance, our excursions picked us up directly or we had a private car to and from airports. The app Jon had has download after booking was amazing. Every trip was laid out with contact information and booking details. Recommendations for everything and assistance ready if needed. Jon was easy to reach and even called personally twice to confirm our wishes. 10/10 will work with KimKim again.

Overall a great 5 days! Special mention to Fred and John, our guides on Tiwi Islands. Also the small plane flight over Kakadu and rock pool swims in Litchfield were highlights. Possibly a little too much driving, particularly for my 10 year old son. There was one unfortunate snafu involving the car transfer from Darwin airport to the hotel but that was not the fault of Asko or KimKim.

We had an amazing time visiting Australia. Sabina was awesome to work with. She planned out an excellent itinerary and maximized our excursions to allow us to see as much of Australia in our limited time to visit. We were able to visit all the highlights - Sydney, Ayers Rock, and Cairns (Great Barrier Reef). Sabina made the travel within country and all our accommodations, transportation, and flights arrangements, and everything went perfect. When there was a change from JetStar to the flight times prior to our trip, she quickly reorganized the excursions to ensure we were still able to do everything we wanted to see. I highly recommend working with KimKim and if you are visiting Australia definitely ask for Sabina to help you set up your itinerary.

KimKim Australia Tours October 2023

First of all, Kerrie and Gary were great to work with to make our dream vacation to Australia a reality. My first contact was with Kerrie. Gary took over when Kerrie was not available. Their quick response to our needs and questions was great. Kerrie designed our vacation to encompass all the aspects of Australia we were looking for in a 9-day whirlwind vacation, most of which ended up being totally different from what we had in mind. Kerrie took what we wanted to experience and used a more user-friendly trip itinerary than we had envisioned. We had two hiccups with our transportation but they both worked out ok. The tours were all great, over all the transportation was what we needed, the hotels were great, everyone we encountered was helpful and friendly.
We used Uber to get from the cruise port to our hotel – Rendezvous Hotel Sydney, The Rocks. This was a quaint hotel about 2 blocks from the cruise port. The only bad thing about our first night there was getting to the room. They had us on the first floor – which sounds great except we had to pull our suitcases up 10 steps to the first floor, go down 2 steps in the hallway, up two more steps and immediately down 2 steps to get to the room. Same thing going back to reception at check out the next morning. This would not have been bad except we had 2 big suitcases and 2 carry-ons to get to the room. The room was more of an apartment – with a steep flight of stairs to the bedroom/bath. Since we were just staying the one night, we left our suitcases downstairs in the ‘living room’. – This was something Kerrie/Gary would not have known when booking the hotel and it was a nice change from the ship stateroom and regular hotel rooms.
In the afternoon of our arrival, we had a half day Panoramic Sydney Sights tour with our tour guide, Tom, with AEA Luxury Tours. This was a good overview of the city and Tom was great with the history of the city and what we saw.
Transport to Sydney airport was uneventful and though delayed, the flight from Sydney to Cairns was also uneventful. Our transport to Port Douglas from Cairns airport was uneventful.
Our stay at Meridian Port Douglas was delightful. Mini apartments surrounded the pool with walkouts to the pool. The staff at the Meridian was great, giving us information on the city, and the locations of different shops, restaurants and post office. Amanda was the main person at the Meridian that we talked with during our stay. She even showed us to our room and explained how the a/c worked and where the washer/dryer was. We did not have cell phone service while in Australia. Amanda arranged transportation for one of our excursions as well as helped us with our first mix-up with our scheduled transportation from Port Douglas to Cairns. Amanda contacted Hughes Chauffeured Cars, our scheduled transfer company, to inquire where our driver was. When, after an hour, our driver still had not come, Amanda contacted a transfer company the Meridian advertises to inquire about transportation for us to Cairns. Everyone at the Meridian was gracious and very helpful. The Meridian was very well situated for walking everywhere in Port Douglas and transportation. We were about 2 blocks from town and the beach. Our first tour in Port Douglas was to the Great Barrier Reef. We were picked up in front of the Meridian and driven to the dock. Everything we wanted to do – semi-submersible, mainly – was included in the tour price. The only things we had to pay for were drinks while on the tour and souvenirs. This was one of the highlights of our trip.
Our second tour ‘Ngana Julaymba Dungay’ – We all Going Daintree’ ended up being a full day tour instead of half day (which turned out to be great). We were picked up and dropped off in front of the Meridian. Once again a highlight of our trip. Our tour guide, Juan, a local Aboriginal of the Kuku Yalanji people, was great. He took us to a coastal region near Mossman where members of our group found a sand crab, mud crab, scallops and mud snails in the Mangroves on the beach. Juan cooked what we had found on the beach to go with the wraps and fresh fruit for lunch. He also explained the vegetation in the Mossman Gorge, showing us a tree that had been bent into a directional arrow. We learned a lot about the Kuku Yalanji people from Juan.
Our private tour of the Tropical Animal Rehabilitation Center in Port Douglas was another highlight of our trip as we were able to hold a Koala (for a picture) and feed kangaroos and wallabies. We even had 2 parrots join us for lunch. The information on wildlife and how they rehabilitate them was invaluable.
The Pacific Hotel Cairns was in a good spot for walking around the port area and getting transportation to the Outback for our tour. The hotel staff was good about getting us a taxi to the bus terminal for our tour as well as holding one of our bags until we returned.
We took a coach from the transit station in Cairns to Undara Experience Resort near Mount Surprise. This was a great experience for us as it was a ‘semi-local’ coach from Cairns to Mount Surprise so we were able to see different towns along the way.
The coach driver, Dave, asked if we had transport from the bus stop to the resort as it was a 15 KM road to the resort. Dave was kind enough to contact the resort to verify if we had transportation and arrange it for us. He was also the coach driver on our return to Cairns the next day and inquired about our stay there.
We went on the Wildlife at Sunset tour seeing lots of kangaroos on the property and bats at one of the lava tubes. The next morning, we went on the Archway Explorer tour which took us further into two different lava tubes in the Undara Volcanic National Park. Our accommodation was half of a train sleeper car, and the dining/bar area was made up of antique train cars.
Back to Sydney from Cairns with time to explore the Harbor. Dinner on the pier and another 2 nights at the Rendezvous Hotel Sydney the Rocks.
Our last tour was a day excursion to the Blue Mountains National Park with our guide Paul, with AEA Luxury Tours. Our first stop was at Calmsley Hill, a working farm home to farm animals, Kangaroos, Emus, and Koalas. We were able to pet the Koalas. We had several stops at lookout points of the Blue Mountains, including a beautiful waterfall at Govetts Leap and the last stop at Eaglehawk Lookout for a view of the 3 Sisters. Our final stop of the tour was at the Blue Mountains Botanic Gardens.
I can’t thank Kerrie and Gary enough for making our dream vacation to Australia a reality.

This trip was amazing. It was a 76 day trip to see both Australia and New Zealand. My Specialist Liz Neal was amazing and fantastic. She worked with me for almost a year to organize everywhere I was going to go and the day trips and I also wanted to make sure that I had drivers to pick me up from the Airport and for the daily outings and they were there. The booklets that she sent me with all the daily information of all the outings and plane information was a fantastic idea. I carried it everywhere and will use it when I do my photo album.

The only thing is that I need to keep some days off for myself. I was so excited about this trip and I wanted to see everything that I booked something every day. Liz tried to get me some time off from visiting but I just wanted to experience everything. In hindsight, some time off would have been good to actually do things I wanted to do but had no time like either sleep, shop or just walk around. Something to keep in mind for my next trip.

It is too bad that Liz is an expert only on Australia and Zew Zealand. I would love to have her as my agent for all my next trips.

Thank you for this amazing experience.

Our trip was absolutely amazing. The guides and drivers that we were pair with were all top notch. Our Local Specialist Connie was amazing, we had some last minute changes that were need for some things and she was able to take care of everything for us flawlessly.

Feedback Australia-Trip Annette and Michael Sereny

Breaking the long journey from Germany to Australia in Singapore (3 days/2 nights) to get used to the time difference was very helpful and extremely interesting.
Sydney offers the arriving traveller a wide range of sights and attractions to explore daily for more than a week if necessary.
After our one-week stay in Sydney (congress and on our own) our organised trip took us first by plane to Cairns, where we were already expected upon arrival. The arrival instructions in our travel description were helpful and accurate. The driver was extremely friendly and communicative and the drive to Port Douglas (1 hour) flew by, with the driver also making a short stop for some photos at our request. The car was spacious and clean and the driving style very pleasant.
We found the accommodation Villa San Michele very pleasant, the flat was clean and spacious and also very quiet at night. On arrival we were given very friendly and competent information. Due to the weather conditions, the receptionist also tried to reschedule our excursion to the Reef (a lot of wind, stormy sea) for another day, but this was not possible due to the travel time (holiday season Australia). There are many good restaurants and shops within walking distance.
The trip to the Reef was great and gave a lasting impression of the diversity and benefits of the Reef. However, with the stormy seas and lots of wind, the crossing was relatively long and sensitive people would probably be more comfortable with a shorter crossing from a port closer to the Reef (bus transfer).
The subsequent day of rest could easily be filled with sightseeing in and around the town on foot.
The small group excursion with "river drift snorkelling" and the guided tour through Mosman Gorge was also great and the guide was able to competently answer our every question and also give us an insight into the diversity and importance of the rainforest.
After another day of rest, we were again transferred on time and in an equally pleasant drive to the airport in Cairns for our onward flight to Brisbane. The pick-up at Brisbane airport also worked out very well and the driver took us to our hotel, the Crystalbrook Vincent. We were delighted with both the location and the design and facilities of the hotel room and could not imagine a more suitable one in Brisbane. We spent the day with rental bikes from the hotel on a tour along the river, which gave us a first, very good impression of this lively and interesting city. On the second day, we took public transport to the Koala Sanctuary, a slightly further but wonderful excursion, as well as more walking and sightseeing within the city.
Picking up the rental car at the Avis station in town was quite easy, the staff friendly and competent. However, the planned schedule: car pick-up, drive to Byron Bay and afternoon kayak tour, would not have been manageable, if only because of the time difference and the distance.
However, the communication with the organiser regarding the kayak tour turned out to be less than happy. The kayak tour was cancelled two days before it was due to take place due to the bad weather (waves/storm), which is completely okay, but we then received further emails with details about the tour, which were probably generated automatically and gave us the impression that the event was taking place after all. The organiser would have to improve his communication.
The accommodation in Byron Bay was well located and had the advantage of free parking in the underground car park. After the good accommodation in Port Douglas and the outstanding one in Brisbane, the flat in Byron Bay was much easier. It was clean and quiet, but there are other rooms there clearly affected by the kitchen smell of the pub below. The town of Byron Bay is very (too?) touristy; if we were to do another tour, we would personally prefer much smaller and more pleasant places on the coast. The Byron Bay Hinterland Tour was unfortunately cancelled at short notice due to cancellations of other participants, but our rental car gave us the opportunity to drive into the national park ourselves and do the hike to Minyon Falls on our own.
The accommodation in Coffs Harbour at the Pacific Bay Resort was okay, but clearly outside the town. If you are not playing golf, a smaller accommodation closer to the town would be more pleasant. Again, for a future trip or for other travellers with less need for tourist attractions, we would prefer smaller places in the area by the beach.
The Afternoon Giingan Cultural Walking Tour took place even though we were the only two participants, but this gave us an exclusive tour with a lot of information that was new to us and our excellent guide was able to answer all our questions competently. This also resulted in very interesting and further discussions.
The drive to the Hunter Valley, as we preferred roads close to the coast, was much longer than expected, but with beautiful views and wonderful stretches of road.
The accommodation at the Chateau Elan was fantastically located overlooking the golf course, clean, spacious, well-furnished and quiet. Unfortunately, however, the hotel's restaurant was closed for kitchen renovations and we had to settle for a rather mediocre bistro nearby. Breakfast, however, could be had on a very good scale.
The group tour to visit various wineries was very pleasant, entertaining, informative and also culinary. Our tour guide was able to accommodate our wine preferences for the tour at short notice in the morning, as we were the only guests with a full-day programme, the lunch package for midday was plentiful and delicious, and the afternoon part of the tour with other guests on board was also very worthwhile. We spent the second day cycling in the Hunter Valley. Unfortunately, the number of rental bikes at the hotel was limited, so we had to drive a short distance to the nearest bike rental. On the second evening, we were able to enjoy an excellent dinner in the restaurant of another, nearby hotel, but the final enjoyment of a local red wine we made in our hotel room due to the strict and reasonable alcohol restrictions when driving.
For the final drive back to Sydney and especially for the drop-off of the rental car, we would have wished for more detailed information from the car rental company (by email?). On the one hand, we did not realise that the car could only be dropped off until 4:30 p.m. (we had 5:00 p.m. on the schedule) and that the catastrophic traffic conditions in the one-way maze of Sydney, combined with the extremely poor signage of the Avis parking spaces to and in the car park, cost us so much time that we only found the Avis employee locking up the offices, but were able to hand in the keys and parking ticket at an adjacent hotel on his advice. Furthermore, it would have been very pleasant to be informed that there is no petrol station in the immediate vicinity of the drop-off point and that one should therefore fill up the tank in good time. We were therefore unable to return the car with a full tank. It was very positive that the car, a VW Tiguan, was almost new and that the road traffic in Australia is generally very pleasant and considerate. However, we have not yet received any feedback from the car rental company with the final invoice.
Overall, however, we did not regret spending the money for the trip. We saw and experienced a lot, which has a lasting and very positive impact on our image of Australia. It was clear to us that we could only travel part of Australia in the time available to us, and our progress so far has encouraged us to make further plans for Australia. The people are mostly friendly and sociable. However, we could not get used to the loudness in many pubs.
All we need now, as mentioned above, is the rental car bill, the refunds for the two cancelled activities (kayak tour and backcountry tour) have been advised in the meantime.

The total trip was very well organised by Gary and his team Jess and Kerrie.Especially I shoud thank Kerrie a lot,she was with me right from the start of planning ,suggesting the best activities,planning the minute details,answering my every query and concern in real quick time,even when she was on leave with some health issue ,Kerrie did a great job which made our total trip a great hit with smooth flow from one activity to another day after day.She is a definite asset to your team Gary.The Mount Kosi guide Rohan was amazing,the spear fishing guides Loretta were amazing ,the bridge climb ,the transfers and all others were perfectly planned.Very impressed with Kimkim that I started planning my trip to Japan in March with a Kimkim specialist now.Thanks Kimkim team for a great holiday

Hotel Reviews

Rydges Horizons Snowy Mountains

Jindabyne

Great place to stay with lovely views of the lake

Authenticity & Character

Location

Scenic n picturesque locale

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vibe Canberra Airport

Canberra

Right next to airport 2mins walk

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

A by Adina

Sydney

In the heart of cbd,walking distance to all the city s attractions

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Pick up your rental car at the Airport

Australia

Pick up was a breeze and enjoyed driving on Australian roads

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mt Kosciuszko professional guide to assist in summit climb - via Jindbyne

Jindabyne

Rohan our guide was very helpful and guided us well.Doug briefed us clearly a day before about the trek.Had a great trek

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Great Ocean Road Classic Tour

Melbourne

Very scenic drive,the guide was exceptional

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bike Tour - Classic Melbourne City

Melbourne

The tour guide took us on bikes to all the major attractions in Melbourne and explained about the history of Melbourne clearly.The place he took us for lunch was great- The najed Satan!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Phillip Island Penguin Parade Ultimate Eco tour

Melbourne

Loved the cute little penguins and their walk back to the island

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Reef Heli tour from Agincourt Reef

Port Douglas

Amazing aerial views of the reef from the chopper

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Outer Great Barrier Reef Cruise

Australia

Neatly organised trip,loved snorkelling in the reef

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Daintree Dreaming – Traditional Aboriginal Fishing

Australia

Was an amazing experience with Loretta and dont remember the name of the guy.He was very good with spear fishing ,fished few crabs ,fishes and even a sting ray which we left back into the waters .He took us to his place and cooked us a tasty meal with our catch,awsome guy

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

YOUR Wildlife Habitat

Australia

The guide was too good.His love for the birds and animals in the habitat was exceptional and explained about each bird very clearly

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

BridgeClimb Summit - Twilight

Australia

Amazing experience with Shannon our guide who took all the care for an enjoyable experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Oz Jetboat

Sydney

Experienced Adrenaline rush with jet boat

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Panoramic Sydney Sights & Sydney Harbour Lunch Cruise

Sydney

Covered the main sights of sidney,sort of orientation tour of the city

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sydney Opera House Tour

Australia

A special tour as both my wife and opera house were celebrating their 50th.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Connie Campos is awesome! She helped me plan and execute the most amazing trip. I loved all of the hotels we stayed at. I think my 7 year old grandson liked the Crown Metropol in Perth, with its grand lobby with the glass elevators, the best. All of the tours we went on were awesome: starting in Sydney with the bus trip around town the the private boat trip and lunch around the harbor (iDavid and Jason were splendid), in Uluru we met Silvia, she told us many stories of the Aboriginal people, I’m Perth the Rottness trip was so interesting and quokkas are so cute the Pinnacle ms Star gazing trip was very unique and interesting, in Darwin our guides to Litchfield were zTess and Greg, they gave Amy’s an awesome day that took us to the highlights of the park and pro us with a lovely vegetarian meal, next in Cairns we had a lovely outing to Kuranda and got pictures with Liz, a two year old koala. I think the best of all was the trip to the Great Barrier Reef with Down Under Cruise and Dive. The crew was awesome. Of special note was one of the rescue swimmers, Kanani, took special interest in my 7 year old grandson. A few days before we left on our trip he fractured his elbow, so his arm was in a cast to his shoulder. I wrapped it in a big ziplock bag and taped it, so it wouldn’t get wet. Kanani took Hunter on two private snorkeling tours around the reef. She was so cool.
New Zealand was so kick back Sky City was so fun. We had the family room that was huge and spacious. In Rotorua, On the Point, we had a 2 bedroom, 2 bath villa. The entire property was amazing, so very relaxing.
Back to Connie, she has a friend, that lives in Darwin, and it just so happened that at that time in our trip, it was time to have my grandson’s arm checked out. Do the two of them worked together to get an appointment set for my grandson to see a doctor. I can’t express how grateful I am for this going the extra mile service.
I think that it is evident that I am more than pleased with Connie and all the people I met on this Australian and New Zealand vacation.

Hotel Reviews

Rendezvous Hotel Sydney The Rocks

The Rocks

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Desert Gardens Hotel

Yulara

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Crown Metropol Perth

Perth

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mantra on the Esplanade

Darwin

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Crystalbrook Riley

Cairns

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

SkyCity Hotel

Auckland

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

On The Point

Rotorua

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Afternoon/Evening Pinnacles Sunset Dinner Stargazing Tour

Perth

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Morning Panoramic Sydney Sights

Sydney

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Climb the Harbor Bridge

Sydney

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sydney Harbour Lunch Cruise

Sydney

David and Jason were awesome!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discover Rottnest - full day

Perth

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Darwin

Darwin

Full Day Indigenous Litchfield Spectacular

Darwin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Cairns!

Cairns

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full-Day Kuranda Rail & Skyrail - Gold Class

Australia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Marine World Outer Great Barrier Reef - to pontoon

Australia

Down Under Cruise and Dive crew were very helpful and kind.

Quality of Experience

P

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mitai Cultural Experience & Dinner

Rotorua

Quality of Experience

I’m

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Hobbiton (Rotorua Return)

Rotorua

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Waimangu Valley Nature Walk & Lake Rotomahana Boat Cruise

Rotorua

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Liz was amazing, helping make adjustments to the itinerary as needed.

Activity Reviews

Full Day Blue Mountains Hike the World Heritage

Sydney

Highly recommend the option to hike instead of the lunch. Beautiful, breath taking views

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Your Wildlife Habitat tour

Port Douglas

The one on one tour gave hands on quality time with all the animals all the while learning about their habitats and how they are providing aid to these wonderful creatures.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

My guide was so knowledgeable and such a wonderfully kind person

We just got back from our 19 day adventure in Australia! We went from Sydney, Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, Ayers Rock and Port Douglas! Liz did an excellent job at planning everything for us! She planned all our hotels, flights and excursions! It was fantastic! We appreciate Liz and all her work towards our trip! We came out of the gate full speed ahead to see as much as we did so to end our trip in Port Douglas was awesome too as it was a beach town and more time to relax! Simply beautiful amazing trip! Thank you for all!

Hotel Reviews

Port Douglas Peninsula Boutique Hotel

Port Douglas

This hotel was the best! Perfect location to walk everywhere and the beach was 100ft away! Loved it

Authenticity & Character

Location

Perfect location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Perfect location to everything!!

PARKROYAL Darling Harbour

Sydney

Parkroyal was a nice hotel. Good breakfast that was included and better than we expected. The hotel staff was extremely nice and offered help when needed. We felt very safe walking around here and getting to places, even in the evening with restaurants near by. We would recommend staying there again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Grand Chancellor Adelaide

Adelaide

Hotel Grand in Adelaide was a nice hotel too. The bartender in the their bar was so friendly. We enjoyed a couple of drinks there with appetizers. Food was good. I have to say, the location across from the bar wasn’t the best. The bar across the street seems to go all hours until morning. Even at 630am bus pickup from our hotel for tour, the bus driver had issues with drunk folks trying to block the bus etc. I think I would pick a different hotel just due to the location. Otherwise, had really no issues with hotel itself.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Climb the Harbor Bridge

Sydney

This was a great and fun experience!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset Camel Ride

Uluru

So much fun to do in the Outback! I highly suggest it!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full-Day Barrier Reef & Coral Cays Boat Tour

Port Douglas

Great Barrier Reef was amazing! Tour was great!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day River Drift Snorkeling (morning/afternoon depending on season)

Australia

This was a fun tour to do!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

2 day 1 night Kangaroo Island - Cruise / Cruise Day 2 (SL)

Australia

We loved Kangaroo Island. The tour was a 2 day and very busy tour. We were on a couch bus and the driver/guide did a great job for the 2 days. We felt in some places we wished we had long time but understood that to see “everything” they had to keep us moving. Definitely have to see the beauty of this Island!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Patji Outback Adventure - Afternoon

Uluru

Our tour guide was awesome. The Anangu host that rode along to “share” information was as informative that we all hoped for.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The Guide was fantastic, she loves her job. The Anangu host was fair. We hoped for more info from Tina to talk more than she did.

Transport

Dot Painting Workshop

Uluru

This was a nice tour to do to understand more of the set means and their story.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The host was good at her job

Transport