Personalized trips to Chile
for independent travelers

Kim Kim has an amazing staff of very knowledgeable guides and coordinators. Collectively, they took our desires and built a trip that met our every expectation. We contacted our Kim Kim coordinator, Riwal, approximately one year before the trip. No mater time, he was always available to strategize, answer questions, change plans and support us from beginning to the end. In country, our guide, Nacho (Luis Miranda Casanova), and driver, Logan, were nothing short of fantastic. Nacho’s breadth and depth of information far exceeded our expectations. From animals to geology and flowers to fossils, he was well-versed in everything about in Patagonia, and really South America. Logan is a true professional as evidenced by his driving skills and ability to navigate some very challenging dirt roads, day in and day out. I strongly recommend this highly talented team for your travels to South America.

Hotel Review

Hotel Lago Grey

Torres del Paine

Excellent location. Room was clean and the bed/pillows were comfortable. Staff was supportive.

Authenticity & Character

Cabin life, which we appreciated

Location

Staff

Front desk staff was excellent but some of folks that worked other areas upfront and in the restaurant could have been more helpful. At times we had to ask around the staff to get basic information on excursions and amenities.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Enough said.

Activity Reviews

Blue Lagoon / Laguna Azul Hike to Laguna Cebolla

Chile

Went on short hike. Nacho provided a great deal of information about the trees, lagoon, tree plantings and many other very special bits of information.

Quality of Experience

Amazing views!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide did excellent job planning around bus traffic.

Transport

Movement through the park was very efficient to get to tour.

Cerro Benitez Half Day Trek - Visit the Chilean "Condor"

Chile

Not sure how to rate this activity since we didn’t get to do the trek. However we did stop to see condors and an eagle during our transition through the park.

Torres del Paine National Park - Private Panoramic Tour

Chile

Sights were simply amazing, spectacular, jaw-dropping. This tour met every expectation.

Quality of Experience

Glaciers.

Food

Lunch was good but not great.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

knowledge and insight.

Transport

Full Day Estancia Cerro Guido with a Private Driver

Chile

Horseback riding while herding sheep was a highlight of our Patagonia experience.

Quality of Experience

Food

Absolutely amazing breakfast and lunch. 5 starts.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We have just returned from a truly wonderful 14-day February trip to Chile, booked on kimkim with the excellent, professional help of Jesse. First we must write about Jesse. From the moment I began looking into doing this trip, Jesse provided thorough, competent, and sensitive assistance. She "listened " to all our hopes and preferences, designing for us the trip of a lifetime. She adjusted hotels for us to make the package more affordable. And every tour she arranged for us revealed things we had hoped for and amenities we couldn't even have imagined - like early morning outdoor breakfasts in the desert, and phenomenal trekking and viewing experiences.

Once we arrived in Chile, again, Jesse could not have been more helpful. Communicating with her on WhatsApp, she ensured that all pick-ups and drop-offs went smoothly, and answered all the questions we had immediately, even sometimes quite late at night. Her responses were always kind and personable. We always knew we were in good hands with her guidance, and when we return to Chile - which we will! - we hope we will be lucky enough to work with Jesse again.

We began our trip in Santiago, and thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Valparaiso, with its incredible murals and steep, winding streets. Our guide, Javi, made sure we spent as much time as possible walking those streets, and she pointed out many treasures that we would have missed without her help. And we were thrilled with the "San Jose Volcano and Andes Mountains" experience. We had our guide, Juan Paulo, all to ourselves, and his love of the area and of the climb was so evident and genuine that it filled us with love for the experience, as well. He was also a true professional, teaching us things about the flora and fauna and ensuring that we were always safe as we climbed and descended.

Then we flew to the Atacama desert, and began our time there there with what was my favourite tour of all - the "Atacama Experience." We visited the farm of Gonzalo, a young indigenous farmer who introduced us to his llamas, and then demonstrated and talked us through the experience of making pottery with local materials, helping us each to create pieces of pottery that we could take home. Next we sat 'round a small fire with him while he prepared infusions from local herbs, which we gratefully drank. And last of all, he "gave" us each a llama to walk, and we spent an hour or so walking with "our" llamas in the desert as the sun was setting. Gonzalo was an excellent, knowledgeable and gentle host whose passion for the way of life he was retaining has stayed with me and made me want to return to Atacama.

Everything we experienced in the Atacama was wonderful. Our guide for "Exploring the Atacama Salt Flats" and "Valley of the Moon Tour" was Daniel - a true professional with an uproarious sense of humour. We learned about the salt flats, saw statuesque flamingos and wild vicunas with their young and had a great outdoor breakfast. Daniel brought us to a small village where he helped us find and purchase genuine alpaca products - and when we saw things we wanted to photograph he always made that possible. We were thrilled to have him as a guide again to visit the Valley of the Moon. The trek along the salt caves and stone formations was awe-inspiring, and Daniel thoroughly explained the formation of these geological wonders.

Marta was our guide to the Tatio Geysers, and she too was a wealth of knowledge and a great outdoor breakfast provider. And seeing the geysers steaming into the air at sunrise was beautiful and otherworldly.

I was sad to leave the desert, but other wonders awaited us. We flew to Santiago and from there, via Puerto Montt, to Puerto Varas. We loved our "Day Trip to Vincente Perez Rosales National Park" as well as our wonderful and quick-witted guide, Jorge. The highlight of this tour for us was the amazing view of the volcanoes and glaciers, and our ascent of the Osorno volcano. We chose to take the lifts up the side of the volcano, and I'd recommend that to anyone taking this tour. We also had a fabulous lunch of local salmon. All the while Jorge had us learning and laughing. He was an excellent guide.

Nest we went "Trekking in Alerce Andino National Park" with Luis, whose knowledge of local flora was impressive. He shared with us his fascination with the plants, flowers, and trees of this rainforest - and kindly taught us a lot of Spanish, which really pleased us.

Then we flew to Punta Arenas. It proved too windy to go see the penguins on Magdelena Island, but we enjoyed time to ourselves exploring the town with its amazing waterfront statues. We could feel the pull of Antarctica from there. Punta Arenas is another place we'd like to return to.

In Puerto Natales. the "Boat Tour to Balmaceda and Serrano Glaciers" was a fantastic day. We saw sweeping waterfalls, sea lions resting on shore, and beautiful views of the glaciers. It was doubly gratifying to be able to land and walk to the base of one of them, where the view was amazing. So was our stop at the ranch and our meal of lamb there. And so was our surprise treat of whisky served with glacier ice, on the boat!

We finished our time in Patagonia with a day of trekking Torres del Paine. Three treks in one day was challenging, but the views of mountains, glaciers, and waterfalls was memorable.

Jesse and Kimkim made all of this happen for us, and we will certainly want to work with them both again for our next South American adventure. Thank you for this amazing experience.

Activity Reviews

Atacama Experience

San Pedro de Atacama

The Atacama Experience was absolutely my favorite part of the trip. We visited a farm where Gonzalo, who I wouldn't even call a guide, shared so much about the landscape, traditions, and the animals. His explanations made the desert come alive for me.

Trekking Torres del Paine Active

Chile

The Trekking Torres del Paine Active tour was great, however, we didn't see as much wildlife as we hoped. We probably started too late in the morning to see animals like pumas or guanacos. Also, the tour included three hikes in one day, which was quite intense. Perhaps two hikes would have been enough.

Valley of the Moon Tour

San Pedro de Atacama

The Valley of the Moon Tour in Atacama was stunning, but I think a warning should be included about the narrow and high trail. It might be daunting for those who have a fear of heights. Despite that, we were fine and enjoyed the beauty.

I strongly recommend kimkim and particularly the local specialists.

a 3 week trip with lots of moving parts was perfectly planned. any questions along the way very answered immediately regardless if it was Sunday 6am or Wednesday 11pm. Just extraordinary customer service.

thank you for the great experience kimkim team

Hotel Reviews

Camping Frances

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

its a tent, but as good as it can be... even had power to charge phones

Hotel Lunajuim

El Chalten

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

walls are thin, I could hear guests in other rooms snore, water pressure in shower is extremely low

Hotel Big Sur

Puerto Natales

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Las Lengas Hotel

Ushuaia

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kenton Palace Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

central location, nice rooms

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Boat Tour Through The Glaciers

El Calafate

average especially if comparing to other experiences in el chalten, perito Moreno, and torres del paine

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Beagle Channel Cruise

Ushuaia

not ideal if you get easily sea sick....

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Perito Moreno Glacier Mini-trekking

El Calafate

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hike the French Valley

Chile

Quality of Experience

Penguin Colony on Magdalena Island

Chile

amazing experience walking the loop between the penguins

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport