Kimkim Trip Reviews for Chile

A really enjoyable experience. The various tours were well organised and our guides were friendly and knowledgeable. The highlight of our trip was the Uyuni Salt Flats with our time around San Pedro de Atacama a close second. Highly recommended

My two teenaged sons and I traveled to Chile - Santiago and Puerto Natales. I did not know where to begin in planning this kind of trip. I found Kimkim, and Angel was very helpful right from the start. His communication was impeccable. It was winter in Chile, and they were having a lot of rain. The weather caused some unforeseen and unavoidable disruptions to our trip itinerary, including a cancelled airline flight. Once again, Angel was answering my questions and rearranging our plans so that we could still make the best of the trip in spite of the glitches. He also made calls to the airline on my behalf to help us figure out what was going on and what we could do. Besides his unwavering communication, he also had the inside knowledge to schedule us with tour guides in Chile who were really top notch. These folks - Jose, Felipe, and Jose Luis - were just so amazing and knowledgeable about Chile and their specific regions. Angel turned out to be our guardian angel in Chile! We gained a great trip, a new appreciation and fondness for Chile, and great family memories! Mil gracias, Angel!

My client Karyn Anderson and her child Sebastian were delighted and have nothing but praise for all the arrangements made by Kimkim and Ana who was extremely helpful right through the booking process.

For starters, I would like to commend Ana for her selfless and prompt responses and excellent suggestions.
There were many changes but she handled the challenges with great expertise, otherwise for me, an unknown destination.

My client has written that everything went without a hitch, the arrangements were superb and Paloma was a fabulous attraction. Staff along the way were great and the day tour was more than satisfactory.

Thank you Ana and Kimkim - I will certainly be back in the future

Chile and Bolivia

We had a great trip to Chile and Bolivia arranged by Emilce.
At all times her service was immaculate, and her advice was essential to the success of the holiday.
In Santiago we had a good experience with our tour guide Francisco.
Highlights were the Nayara Atacama and the great guides we had there, particularly Alexis who was a local musician who played in an Andean band.

The journey to the Bolivian border we had an excellent guide and Giovanni our Bolivian guide was excellent as well.
We would recommend the Salt hotel in Uyuni - Hotel De Sal Luna Salada.

In La Paz we were expertly guided by Grace who did a great job of showing us around this fascinating city.

Jason Kearney provided us with everything we would have wanted in our itinerary. He was an incredible support throughout our trip and answered all the questions/concerns promptly. I believe his availability and willingness made our trip memorable! He was just awesome!!
We had two tour guides: Francisco (Santiago, Valparaiso) and Christian (San Pedro de Atacama). Both of them made our trip stress-free and totally enjoyable. Their knowledge of the towns, restaurants and landscapes was invaluable. We could not have asked for two better individuals ferrying us around!
We also had a guide (unfortunately, cannot recall her name) to the geysers ~ again, an outstanding source of information and and very environmentally conscious!
Overall, everyone starting with Jason worked together (including the drivers - Cristian and Jose) to make our journey in Chile an unforgettable experience!!
Karla and Ashok

The trip was amazing ! Really enjoyed all the tour guides they were very knowledgeable and caring. We especially liked our tour guide in Easter island patricia she went above and beyond to make our experience amazing and smooth and gave us a lot of tips for restaurants and the place. In Atacama dessert it would have been nice to know ahead of time that the tour started at 4:30 am in the morning. We were notified at 5:30 pm the day before the tour that we had to be ready that early which was frustrating. Another downside was that we were made to go to the airport 4 hours early even for domestic flights early this wasted lots of time in just travel and spending unnecessary time in the airport. I was disappointed that they messed up the winery tour for my husband's birthday . It's good that I noticed this 4 days early and told them that we didn't even reach Santiago that day till 6:00 pm so we could not do anything that they had planned for day 1 that included a lunch wine taring etc. They tried to fix it to their best ability but it was sad we had to miss out on the actual planned itinerary for day 1 and 2. I think it would be great if next time we get another one on one chat with the agent to explain how busy the schedule will be before booking everything. The trip was a bit exhausting cause of too many things planned and I guess I didn't realize how much time would end up being spent just travelling to places. We did not have much time to relax. Otherwise all tours were great and went smoothly!

My "guide" was a lovely man, very friendly and prompt. But he wasn't really a guide. I spent a day touring Pablo Neruda's homes because I thought I would learn more about the poet from him. Instead I went to each home and listened to a repetitive audio tour. Not what I thought I was paying more for. I do want to reiterate that this was not Orlando's fault, he was very kind and considerate every step of the way. But the planning by the agency was poor.

Overall, the trip was wonderful and amazing. The experience of a lifetime.

Angel was great to deal with from start to finish. In planning the trip, listening to my wants and needs, and then providing tours accordingly. During the trio he was readily available and responsive whenever a question came up or problem occurred.

The big thing for me which would have made the trip go more smoothly and be more enjoyable as a result is more communication ahead of time about what’s next. Whether that would be in the form of a much more detailed itinerary before departure, or at the very least, detailed information the evening before each tour. This should include vouchers for lodging and tours, tour operator names and contact information, pick up times and locations, what to bring, required park admission fees, etc. I felt like I was flying blind on several occasions throughout the trip. Maybe this is not unusual, but it hasn’t been that way for me on other international trips, including ones to Chile.

The other thing which could have really been a problem but fortunately wasn’t, was the lack of advance information provided to me about the border crossing from Chile into Bolivia for the Uyuni Salt Flats tour, where I was notified late of some requirements and not told about $160USD tourist visa (which I did don't have when I arrived at the border). As my travel agent, KimKim should have known necessary requirements for a client who is a US resident who is traveling between Chile and Bolivia. This problem could and should have been avoided.

There were other smaller missteps along the way, including problems with transportation to and from SCL to my hotel, some inaccurate tour descriptions (for example, the hike to Puribore Hot Springs - they’re not really hot springs and the water is not even hot), concern for safety as well as comfort on the ride back from Uyuni to San Pedro, miscommunication or lack of communication from individual tour operators about pick up times and/or what to bring. I have provided Angel with detailed explanations of all of the above.

In the end, despite the fact that this was without question the trip of a lifetime, and Angel was there whenever I needed him and responded right away, I am not sure if I would book another trip with KimKim as I definitely feel many of the problems I encountered along the way could have easily been avoided. If I were to book again with KimKim I would at least know going in what potential problems to be on the lookout for.

Hotel Reviews

Hostel Villamar

Uyuni

By US Hotel standards this would probably be considered a one-star hotel. It is a hostel, though, and was clean and comfortable with hot water and decent food. That's all we really needed.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Diego de Velazquez

Santiago

Hotel was fine. It was clean and centrally located in a good neighborhood.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Diego de Almagro San Pedro

One should not go to San Pedro expecting 5 star accommodations. This hotel was fine. It was clean and spacious and located only minutes from the center of town. It is a big property with a pool (though water was cold and I didn't see any one swim during my 6 day stay). Food in restaurant was good. Staff helpful and generally bi-lingual.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Colcha K hostel

Salar de Uyuni

This hostel was actually nicer and seemingly newer than Villamar. It was clean and comfortable with a nice dining room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Astronomical Tour - Atacama Desert

San Pedro de Atacama

One of the highlights of the trip. Highly recommend.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guides were very knowledgeable and spoke good English for those who didn't understand Spanish. Only reason I didn't rate this a 5 is because the driver got lost en route to the desert while trying to locate guests who weren't where they were supposed to be. We wasted a lot of time (like about 30 minutes) driving around at night on narrow dirt roads in a bus.

Transport

Goodbye Atacama transfer to Rea National Park - Uyuni Tour Day 1

Bolivia

The tour itself was great and the sites along the way to Uyuni amazing. The reason for my lower rating is because of border crossing issues which I detailed in my general review comments.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

David Cruz, our driver and guide, was fantastic. Especially at the Salt Flat. He knew exactly how to set up "perspective" pictures and brought a lot of toys along which made the experience extra special.

Transport

As noted in my general trip comments, transportation from Uyuni back to San Pedro was cramped and was the only time on the trip where I felt somewhat unsafe due to driving off road at night in the middle of nowhere with no cell service.

Petrified City and Altiplanic Lagoons - Uyuni Tour Day 2

Bolivia

Felt like we were building and building to the climax of reaching our final destination - the salt flat itself. Sights along the way were all good.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Uyuni Saltflat and Cactus Island - Uyuni Tour Day 3

Bolivia

This was the reason for the whole trip. It was pretty great. We spent too much time in Cochoni Town at the end of the trip and would have liked to spend more time in Uyuni itself. Train Graveyard was fine, though nothing special.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Uyuni to San Pedro Atacama Day 4

Bolivia

This was really just about the return trip, sitting in the back of a Toyota Land Cruiser and a two hour border crossing. It would have been great to have more information ahead of time to know what to expect.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Very cramped, no AC in our vehicle.

Visit the Tatio Geysers - Morning tour

San Pedro de Atacama

This was one of the highlights of the trip. Our guide, Carolina, was terrific. Very knowledgeable, moved people along so we could get to the "best spot" just as the sun came up, spoke good English for those who did not know Spanish.

Quality of Experience

I've been to Yellowstone Geyers and this was better!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Carolina A+

Transport

Morning Trek to Puripobre Hot Springs

Chile

This tour was a bit of a letdown. I've done a lot of hikes in the US and around the world, and as a hike it was fine, but nothing special. The description made it seem like a real great place - a "must do" type of activity. It was not. Also, the hot springs were not hot. They not really even hot springs, but rather pools in a river that is a combination of a thermal and a mountain river, which is why the water is only Luke-warm. For my needs on this day, a regular hike was fine. But I had expected it to be much more.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide didn't really offer any insights into the region. He seemed to be there only to tell us where to go.

Transport

Baltinache Hidden Lagoons and Vallecito(magic bus).

Chile

This was a nice tour at an off-the-beaten-path site. It is definitely not a "must do" but I'm glad I got to see it. The water was very cold, and it was a cool morning, so I (and many others on the trip) did not end up floating in the salt water.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Afternoon Visit to "Valle de La luna "

Chile

Valle de La Luna was a highlight of the trip. It is a "must do" if you are visiting Atacama, but I found the tour (as did everyone I spoke to) to be a little bit of a tourist trap. You are on the bus most of the time. You stop, get off the bus, snap pictures and move on. While on the bus you are driving past amazing spots. I could have spent an hour at any one of them taking pictures and enjoying nature. The tour was described as 6 hours. It was 2 1/2 start to finish, including a snack break. I wish it had been longer. Felt like a little bit of a rip off. Tour guide Carolina, who was also my guide for the Geyser tour, was very knowledgeable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Trip- Red Rocks, Lagunas Altiplánicas & Atacama Salt Flats

San Pedro de Atacama

This was a great day. I wish it had been sunny (we had overcast/cool weather) but the tour was good in spite of the weather. Only complaint is that I did not get any advance text or information from the tour provider about pick up time or what to bring. I (and others) had to purchase hat and gloves along the way, which I would have brought with me had I known we might encounter snow at the higher elevation.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We spent three weeks exploring Chile (north, south, center and Easter Island). All of this was booked through kimkim. As kimkim relies on third party tour operators, you can imagine that there can be a few hiccups here and there, but it's how our personal representative (Jesse) handled those hiccups that was most impressive. Any time we had a question, request or concern, she was there to help. Having Jesse every step of the way was like having a guardian angel watching over us. We would definitely recommend kimkim for planning and booking a Chile vacation.

Hotel Reviews

Apart Hotel Valle Exploradores

Puerto Río Tranquilo, Aysen

Small hotel, with a slight language barrier with the staff, however, very friendly and brings breakfast to your room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Taha Tai

Easter Island

Nice hotel, close to all of the restaurants and our activities!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Cabo De Hornos

Punta Arenas

Upscale Boutique Hotel with a very nice restaurant in the heart of the financial district of Punta Arenas.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Holiday Inn Santiago - Airport Terminal

Santiago

It's literally AT the airport, but no airplane noise!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Renaissance Santiago Hotel

Santiago

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Cumbres San Pedro

San Pedro de Atacama

Lovely resort hotel, not exactly downtown. The hotel has a shuttle that stops at 9 PM. Overall good experience.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Costaustralis

Puerto Natales

We were there for four nights. The breakfast is a very nice breakfast. I would make sure you have breakfast and bring snacks and lunch if you're doing the Torres del Paine hike.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Stargazing Experience

San Pedro de Atacama

The stargazing tour was changed to moon gazing due to the weather and lack of stars. The tour was eventually canceled, but a refund was received.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Marble Caves Boat Tour

Chile

The original tour operator closed for winter, but an alternative tour was found. Nice private experience on the boat tour, exploring the unique marble caves.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kayaking in the Magellan Strait

Chile

The tour was canceled due to weather conditions and replaced with Punta Arenas City Tour. The city tour was basic and overpriced compared to the original kayaking tour. The city tour included visiting a hill for a panoramic view and a short tour of a cemetery.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full-Day Tour of Torres del Paine National Park & Surroundings

Chile

Extremely challenging hike and the guide's pace was very fast. Some participants struggled with the pace and intensity of the hike. We suggest bringing breakfast/snacks for the hike due to its demanding nature.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Orongo Morning Tour and Ahu Akivi Afternoon Tour

Easter Island

Great experiences exploring the history and culture of Easter Island. We enjoyed the excursions and the opportunity to see the unique moai statues up close.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Trip to Viña del Mar & Valparaíso

Chile

We enjoyed the tour, exploring the vibrant coastal cities of Viña del Mar & Valparaíso!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Base Torres Hike

Chile

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boat Trip to Glacier Grey

Chile

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rano Raraku and Anakena Tour

Easter Island

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip to the Atacama was fantastic! We appreciated all the interaction prior to and during the trip :)
The scenery was absolutely incredible and we enjoyed meeting lots of people from around the world. Each of our guides were lovely, full of knowledge and expertise. We would highly recommend visiting!

Hotel Review

Hotel La Casa de Don Tomás

San Pedro de Atacama

Authenticity & Character

Efforts to take an eco friendly approach

Location

Great central spot

Staff

Everyone was so helpful and friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Valley of the Moon Tour

San Pedro de Atacama

Enjoyed the tour with a great guide - incredible introduction to the atacama!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Stargazing Experience

San Pedro de Atacama

This was an absolutely amazing trip - not a long drive and such a special evening. Our guide was incredible with his knowledge and thank you so much for our photograph of the night sky

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Puritama Canyon Trek

San Pedro de Atacama

Súper chilled time with our guide who was friendly with great energy Beautiful and unique scenery

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore the Atacama Salt Flats & Lagoons

San Pedro de Atacama

Amazing guide and interesting tour Beautiful scenery and worth getting up early for!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour of Tatio Geysers

San Pedro de Atacama

Great tour but a very early start!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cejar Lagoon, Ojos del Salar & Tebenquiche

San Pedro de Atacama

Such a beautiful tour to end our trip - fabulous experience swimming in the salt water lagoon!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I had an amazing experience travelling through the Argentinean and Chilean Patagonia and to Atacama. Despite having an activity packed vacation, everything worked smoothly. I am very satisfied with the service provided by Emilce and all the partners at KimKim. I will definitely used them again.

Had an amazing trip overall and loved our itinerary to Chile and Patagonia. Overall, the coordination between cities was great and the transfers were perfect. The kim kim platform was wonderful and I really liked this service. However, I would not recommend using the agency or Ana, as she dropped the ball as our travel planner. Specifically, we met virtually to discuss the details of our hike in Patagonia… her lack of knowledge and insight into the W trek led to us staying in a small 4 foot tent in rainy 30 degree cold weather located at the top of a mud hill instead of a warm room dorm that you could walk around in and has individual showers. Additionally there were other scheduling issues that led to us missing our hike briefing, which caused a bit of a mess for us. My expectation is that a travel agent helps you to navigate options, provide insight that you would otherwise not have, and ensure a smooth schedule throughout the trip. This was not the case. Again, the basics of the trip were great… but this is more of a “plug and chug” kind of agency.

Lorena was extremely helpful with planning an itinerary for our trip. She was conscientious of our needs and time frame and highlighted the ideal spots for us to visit and experience. Dealing with KimKim eased a lot of our worries as Lorena took care of all the finer details, which not only proved to be a great time saver, but also took the stress off us while planning a long and complex trip. At first, we had reservations due to the lack of transparency in costs, but if you can get past that then you are in great hands.

We really enjoyed our Santiago city tour with Felipe, as well as the volcano hike with Ermine and Ricardo. Renting the car was perfect as we then had so much flexibility fitting everything in on the itinerary and more. The lodging in Santiago and Pucon were adequate, however the 3 other hotels were exceptional. A more itemized summary of our trip itinerary costs would have been helpful I regards to tipping and knowing what all was included, e.g. admission to Termas Geometricas. We did so appreciate Jesse getting back to us for clarifications and reimbursements throughout the trip even when it happened to be on the weekend!
I would not hesitate to use Kimkim again for future travels.
Sincerely,
Marian

Lorena and her KimKim team planned and executed a wonderful itinerary for us. We greatly appreciated that drivers taking us to/from airports were reliable and punctual. The guides in Santiago (Soledad) and Easter Island (from Mahina Tour but can't remember her name) were excellent. We loved Patagonia but not the hotel Lago Grey. Every other place we stayed was charming and memorable. All in all, a great trip.

Hotel Reviews

Holiday Inn Santiago - Airport Terminal

Santiago

Convenient but understaffed.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Hare Uta

Rapa Nui

Greatly enjoyed our stay here. The hotel was located on beautiful grounds with an authentic French Polynesian feel. Delicious dinner and wonderful staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

30 minute walk to center of town, 5 minutes to airport

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Boutique La Yegua Loca

Punta Arenas

Very eclectic, very charming. The room was bright and spacious. The restaurant / dinner was outstanding. They introduced us to the Calafate Sour and we loved our stay here.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to stunning overlook view of the city

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Simple Patagonia

Puerto Natales

The hotel is, as the name suggests, very simple. But our favorite dinners of the Chilean trip were at their dining room. Quite the culinary treat!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Not close to town

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Lago Grey

Torres del Paine

The setting is majestic but probably our least favorite stay.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The entire hotel needs major update. Feels like a 3 star place when it has so much better potential. Mediocre dining.

Hotel Boutique Le Reve

Santiago

Charming and lovely boutique hotel. Great breakfasts, wonderful staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lodge Terrantai

San Pedro de Atacama

Loved our stay here. Even when the afternoon tour was canceled due to weather, we enjoyed staying at the hotel. GREAT staff, very helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Christian and Carola were friendly and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Easter Island Highlights Tour

Easter Island

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Dinner

Santiago

The private dinner was a highlight of our trip. Not only was the dinner delicious; the hosts were extraordinarily kind. Loved it!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour of Tatio Geysers

San Pedro de Atacama

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Morning Tour to Orongo

Easter Island

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Valparaíso & Wine Tour

Santiago

What a pleasant surprise. The wine tour was ok, but we loved Valparaiso.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore the Atacama Salt Flats & Lagoons

San Pedro de Atacama

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Santiago City Tour

Santiago

We saw so much in our introduction to the city.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Soledad was awesome. The driver Alejandro was great too.

Transport

Afternoon Tour to Ahu Akivi

Easter Island

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Loved our guide (wish we could remember her name!)

Transport

Boat Trip to Glacier Grey

Chile

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour of Punta Arenas

Punta Arenas

Not a highlight of our touring experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Penguin Colony on Magdalena Island

Chile

Didn't see the thousands of penguins that were described by KimKim, but still enjoyed the experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hike from Sarmiento Lake to Amarga Lagoon

Chile

Loved our hike. The driver and guide were great. THIS felt like what we wanted to experience in Patagonia!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour to Torres del Paine National Park with Overnight

Chile

We wish that the experience was more intimate. Loved seeing the National Park, but it was the only big group tour of our trip, which was disappointing.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jesse created such an amazing itinerary for Chile. It was packed with outings, but just enough down time to look around at my leisure as well. The local guides were all so friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. The guides and the drivers really went above and beyond to make sure the experiences were unique as well as memorable.
My favorite part was being served a private dinner thanks to Gloria and Leo, with the help of Felipe as an interpreter and local guide for Santiago. It will be the most treasured experience I’ll remember of my trip.
I really appreciate what Jesse put together and created for my trip.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Torremayor Lyon

Santiago

The hotel room was spacious and clean. The staff was friendly and they hold your luggage if necessary.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel La Casa de Don Tomás

San Pedro de Atacama

The place is big. The staff was kind. The room was clean and spacious. There is food available throughout the day which was great for those that did not have a lot of time between tours. The hotel was close to downtown as well as touting a swimming pool.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It was walkable to everything in the town

Staff

Friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Vendaval

Puerto Natales

It was close to the town square and close to the waterfront as well. The staff was friendly. They made sure that people were helped with rides and where to go for bus station so early in the morning. There was breakfast every morning.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Walkable to everything in the town

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full-Day Tour of Torres del Paine National Park & Surroundings

Chile

The local guide, John, was funny and energetic as a guide. He even acted as a photographer for many of us. The sights we stopped at were beautiful and well worth the tour.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The driver would stop so we could take pictures of the wildlife or other sights beyond the tour.

Transport

Private Dinner

Santiago

This experience was definitely the highlight of my trip. Gloria is an amazing cook. The entire meal was beyond delicious. Gloria and Leo were superb hosts and with Felipe was the interpreter, the conversation topics were fun. I felt like I was meeting old friends. I cannot say enough about being able to do this experience.

Quality of Experience

Food

The flavors Gloria used were phenomenal. She did flavors I would never had thought of while also introducing foods that are from Chilean culture.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Santiago City Tour

Chile

Felipe did a great job giving a history lesson about Chile and Santiago through the locations we stopped. He was entertaining and charismatic while introducing local crafts people and how their trades relate to the topics discussed. I learned so much.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Valley of the Moon Tour

San Pedro de Atacama

Going through the Valley with stops to see different views was an excellent afternoon. Ending the tour with a picnic before seeing the sunset was even better because everyone had time to meet and greet each other as well as end on a relaxing note.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide was very charismatic and knowledgeable. He did a great job conversing in both Spanish and English and made everyone on the tour feel welcome.

Transport

Stargazing Experience

San Pedro de Atacama

The knowledge and being able to use a telescope was fantastic. I really enjoyed learning the differences in what could be seen from different hemispheres. The email that was sent of pictures was an added bonus that really helped remember what the guide was saying about the stars.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide was very nice and you can tell he loved what he was showing us.

Transport

Dear KimKim,
I am writing this review in Miami on my way home to San Francisco following our two week trip to Chili. Lorena and Jesse provided a fantastic itinerary. Our lodgings and points of interest suggestions were excellent (especially Futangue and Peyuhue). On their advice, we had no issues renting a car and locating our destinations. It would have been helpful to know details of the bookings (ie meal plans) and tours just to make tipping appropriate. Thank you for the prompt refunds of tours we chose not to take. We enjoyed the beauty of this country and the warm reception we received by everyone.
This is my second trip with KimKim and I would definitely use them again.
Thank you for everything!!!
Sherry (Marian and Danny)

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Ladera

Providencia

To be fair, we arrived in Pucon at the end of the high season. There were very few people in the hotel (which was good) but breakfast was super sparse as was the hot water. Great location close to town and parking was secure.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to town and near the lake.

Staff

No coffee and no effort to get more.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Pucon Indomito

Pucón

Oops I put my review for Pucon in the Santiago section.

Futangue Hotel & Spa

Futangue

Amazing place in every way!!! Cozy, wonderful meals, clean and comfortable rooms. We loved this one!!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Puyehue Wellness & SPA Resort

Puyehue

Over the top buffet meals. Good location to the National Park but plenty to do right at the hotel. We loved experiencing the giant hot pools! Beautiful area.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Cabaña Del Lago Puerto Varas

Puerto Varas

We loved the big rooms and view of the beautiful lake. Having the pool across the street was also a plus. Great location to town.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Santiago City Tour

Chile

It was nice to get out and walk the city of Santiago after a long flight from San Francisco. Our guide Philipe was an enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide. We appreciated walking the less touristy areas of the city in addition as well as the traditional centers. Chile's history is fascinating. He recommended a great restaurant for dinner as well!

Quality of Experience

We had a private tour!!!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide and driver were right on time!!!

Transport

Full-Day Huerquehue Hiking

Pucón

This park was a 50 minute minute drive from Pucon. It is a dirt road so best maneuvered by an SUV vs a Sedan. We had no trouble finding the park and the trail was well marked. We visited during the fall so we had no trouble making a reservation but apparently it is quite popular so best to register online beforehand. At the entrance, the fee is only collected in pesos.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

N/A

Transport

N/A

Ascent to Villarrica Volcano

Pucón

We visited when the volcano was under a yellow alert so we were unable to hike to the crater. Still it was an amazing experience with beautiful views of the area.

Quality of Experience

One of a kind but not recommended for people not use to hiking at elevation.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ricardo and Hermin were terrific. Once again we had a private tour. They were informative about the area, helpful with equipment and adjusted their trekking speeds to fit our abilities.

Transport

Geometric Hot Springs

Pucón

What a unique spot!!! It was a beautiful one hour and a half drive from Pucon but well worth the drive on a dirt road. Once again, best to travel in an SUV vs a Sedan. We spent three and hours investigating these natural hot springs set in an amazing tropical landscape. These pools were quite different then the man made thermal pools in other areas because of the setting and waterfall. We met travelers from all over world and appreciated the soak after our volcano hike.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

N/A

Free day in Futangue

Futangue

This was our favorite spot!!! The location was magical!!! The hotel rooms, staff, food and facilities were top notched!! The weather was not clear when we visited so we missed the views from the top of the mountain but still enjoyed the beautiful setting and tropical landscape. We enjoyed the common spaces with comfortable seating and roaring fire places.

Quality of Experience

Absolutely amazing!!!

Free day in Puyehue

Puyehue

Historical hotel amazing food and thermal pools. A wide array of activity options (guided tours of the park, horseback riding, tennis, guided nature walks) available through the hotel activity desk.

Quality of Experience

Excursion to Petrohué Falls

Chile

We were able to visit these falls on the day we drove from Puyehyue. It was a beautiful day and despite the lower water levels due to the time of the year, the Petrohue Falls and river were beautiful and well worth the drive. We were also able to visit Todos Los Santos lake and drove to the top of the Orsono volcano for some beautiful views of the valley that same day.

Trekking in Alerce Andino National Park

Puerto Varas

This beautiful park was an hour and a half drive from Puerto Varas the last section on a dirt road. Again, not all of the trails were open because of the weather but we were able to experience an easy walk to the falls and see the giant Alerce trees. The trail was well marked and the ranger was informative. It was well worth the drive to experience fishing villages on the coast and the beautiful lush landscape and river on this hike.

Our guides and drivers through out the trip were prompt, knowledgeable, pleasant and seemed to enjoy their work. Most spoke good English and were keen to practice.
Valentina who was the local chief support was great..she responded quickly and gave me the assurances we needed.

Hotel Reviews

Weskar Lodge

Puerto Natales

Very comfortable room...pleasant staff..buffet breakfast was ok..dinner menu was basic..

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hosteria Kau Kaleshen

Gdor. Gregores 1256, Z9405 El Calafate, Santa Cruz, Argentina

Plain older place, clean,good location,helpful English speaking staff, breakfast just barely ok...no protein...tired looking fruit...

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Costaustralis

Puerto Natales

After tripping around it was great to stay in a modern upscale hotel Good location in town, on the water, breakfast very satisfying, staff helpful, gorgeous art work..

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Cabo De Hornos

Punta Arenas

Lovely modern hotel in central location..gorgeous art work,great food, staff were pleasant and helpful...we overlooked the central square which was very attractive..

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Australis Cruise Ship

Santiago

First luxury cruise...very well run, efficient,pleasant knowledgeable staff, clean, well stocked..delicious meals, very scenic routes and fun interesting shore trips..we had great weather..and about 2/3 passenger capacity as it was the fall..a great time to go..fewer people..more attentive service...

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Tour of Viña del Mar & Valparaiso

Viña del Mar

Driver and guide Soledad were the right people to get us started in Chile..they were very helpful, pleasant and introduced us to the country and city

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Valparaiso Tour

Chile

Soledad was great..she was informed, gave us needed practical information and a pleasant person to work with

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Tour along Beach towns

Chile

Our guide was very pleasant knowledgeable, courteous, spoke good English,..we had a very pleasant day driving south to Isla Negra and stopped along the way...he went out of his way to help us see around Neruda's summer house there even though it was closed..

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Valparaiso to Santiago - Wine Tour

Valparaíso

Visit was pleasant..lovely location and tasty lunch..wine tastings were fruitful...our driver was pleasant and courteous..

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Santiago City Tour

Chile

Our guide was pleasant knowledgeable and loved his job...we walked a great deal...took the metro..and learned more about the city its history and local sites...helpful for our first day as we could then get around on our own...

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Dinner

Santiago

This was a really great idea and our hosts were pleasant generous and the meal itself very good..4 courses plus wine..our guide and host played guitar and because they are friends there was much warmth during the evening..

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full-Day Tour of Torres del Paine National Park & Surroundings

Chile

Wow..first exposure to the scenery mountains. Sky...guide and driver were knowledgeable pleasant helpful and seemed to enjoy their work..a great day..

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boat Tour to Balmaceda & Serrano Glaciers

Chile

Tour boat packed with people...weather was good..some sun and cloud.. visited first glacier which was amazing...meal was ok at a local hall..

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All the guides were wonderful except the guide for the stargazing tour in the Atacama Desert. She spoke 90% of the time in Spanish and gave little information to her English customers except answering their questions.

We had an amazing trip overall to Chile (Valparaiso, Santiago, Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Atacama desert and Patagonia). The trip was smooth, informative, had great guides overalls and very few hiccups.

The few elements I would propose to improve:

1. Our first night in Hotel Fundador was not good. We had a horribly tiny room that gave to the front of the hotel. We were on the 2nd floor and it was extremely noisy. I had never been in a hotel room that small. During our second stay at the hotel for the end of our trip, we told them this and they gave us their standard room which was much better
2. We weren't aware that we could fly directly to Puerto Natales (instead of flying to Punto Arenas which was 3 hours away via bus) - it would be good to have been told that a flight to Puerto Natales was preferred
3. Our tour operator in San Pedro de Atacama would give us intervals for pick-up (for example: between 4-4:30AM) - it would be preferred to have a shorter interval especially when the pick-up is that early
4. Our tour operator in San Pedro de Atacama sub-contracted a tour to the Tatio Geysers without telling us when the tour was meant to occur with them if there were at least 2 people. It was bad because they didn't warn us and the new tour operator had a different pick-up time: instead of 4-4:30AM, it was 4:30-5AM. We lost sleep because of this poor communication. We were very unhappy with this and it was hard to even get a "sorry, this was our mistake"
5. We originally had a rainbow valley tour in Atacama, but it was cancelled due to poor weather. This was fine, but the replacement tour was an "archeological tour". It was not a great tour - very little to see - very little information
6. Following my comment in #5, it would have been better that the tour operator rearrange our schedule to include the full day Pierras Rojas tour. We asked for them to suggest new tours, etc., but they were not helpful.

As you see, we have some feedback but I need to highlight how enjoyable Rapa Nui Tours (guide: Sabrina Tuki Pont), Patagonia Planet and CL Mundo were. Our tour operator in Atacama (Capricornio Expediciones) was disappointing overall such that our experience in Atacama was less enjoyable.

Ana was excellent. We would definitely work with Kimkim again.

Two other comments:
- Maybe include more restaurant suggestions in the given locations
- I would have preferred that the tours be English only, and not bilingual Spanish/English. We felt that we would get less information on bilingual tours than on English only tours.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Fundador

Santiago, Región Metropolitana

Our first stay, we had a terribly tiny room. We could not have our luggage open in the room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Vai Moana

Easter Islan

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Ultramar

Valparaíso

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel La Casa de Don Tomás

San Pedro de Atacama

Fantastic hotel with kind staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Lady Florence Dixie

Puerto Natales

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room could be renovated, but still was comfortable enough for our needs.

Activity Reviews

Half Day Akivi Tour

Easter Island

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half day Moon Valley and Mirador Ckari

San Pedro de Atacama

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Would have preferred an English only tour.

Transport

Santiago Markets City Bike Tour

Santiago

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset at Tahai

Easter Island

We did not need this activity given our hotel was 5 minutes away by foot. I would recommend another tour instead of this one for people staying in Vai Moana hotel.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half day Puritama Hotsprings

San Pedro de Atacama

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rainbow Valley

San Pedro de Atacama

We did not have this activity - it was an archeological tour. I would not recommend - it was not informative.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Panoramic excursion to the Torres del Paine National Park (with Box Lunch)

Puerto Natales

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

It would have been better to have an English only tour - not bilingual

Transport

Evening Astronomy Tour

San Pedro de Atacama

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day - Valparaiso & Viña del Mar

Santiago

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Easter Island Full Day Tour

Easter Island

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Orongo Tour

Easter Island

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunrise at Tongariki

Easter Island

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tatio Geysers

San Pedro de Atacama

The tour ended up being great, but Capricornio Expediciones was very poor in communicating the time of pick-up (time changed so we lost 30 minutes sleep) and the fact that they sub-contracted the tour without telling us We were also meant to be dropped off at our hotel, but that didn't happen.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cejar & Tebinquiche Lagoons - Atacama Salt Flat

San Pedro de Atacama

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Navigation to Balmaceda & Serrano Glaciers

Puerto Natales

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full day Hiking Base Las Torres - 20km approx

Puerto Natales

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport