Kimkim Trip Reviews for Colombia

Thank you Marine for all of the calls to check up on us. When our guide handed the phone to me, I knew it was Marine and could talk to her about how things were going.

Guides and transfers:
Every guide and transfer showed up on time or early. We soon learned that this country runs on time. Our first transfer was not an exception but was a bit of a shock when they arrived 30 min early and we were not quite ready. This happened to be the only bus trip we had.

The guides who stood out as exemplary were: Elvis at Calanoa, Fernando at Villa de Leyva, and David and driver who picked us up at Hacienda Combia. David and the driver (sorry, can't remember his name) were so much fun and went out of their way to make our stay excellent.

The one exception to all of the good guides was the one at Tayrona. He told us at the beginning we had to keep up with him as we had a long trip and that's exactly how it was. When my foot got stuck in the mud he was far ahead and not there to help, he never slowed down or stopped to interact with us, when we passed buildings he didn't stop to explain what they were. We had to keep our heads down to keep up the pace while still looking ahead to keep him in our sight. Not a fun trip!

Hotels:
Loved Casa Pizarro in Cartegena and the area it was in. Really liked staying in a residential area with lots of restaurants nearby.
Maloka Barlovento was so beautiful. Would have loved to stay there another day so we could see the beach. We only had time to see the building we stayed in. Bit of a shock to find only cold water shower. This may be normal here, but this is not normal for us. Maybe a heads up would have helped.
Posada Suenos De Antonio in Barichara was lovely and peaceful. Really liked the patio and view.
Casa Deco in Bogota was in a good location but our room overlooked a hostel and could be noisy.
Calanoa Lodge was excellent! The food was superb, our cabana was superb, and all of our interactions with staff (even if we didn't speak Spanish) was superb!

Hacienda Combia had a lovely setting, but was the big disappointment of the trip. When we arrived I asked for water and was told that it was only supplied with dinner. All other hotels had water accessible either in the form of the first bottle free or a fill up station. Seeing as we could not use the water from the tap to even brush our teeth, this was a major drawback to this isolated hotel.
We asked for a glass of wine with our dinner and were told that they did not have this and we could buy an overpriced bottle.
The food was the most disappointing. We spoke with them about the selection and they added a couple of things to the menu, but this didn't really help. Really, really disappointed in 4 dinners here and no option to go elsewhere. The meals we were offered were a stripped down version of the regular menu.
We didn't feel welcomed here.

We loved Colombia and would like to thank kimkim.com and Marine for making it such a memorable trip. We will definitely recommend the country and booking company to anyone who will listen.

We wanted an Amazon Jungle experience and Nathalie recommended Calanoa Reserve.
We booked a 2 night 3 day trip. We were very unsure as to what to expect.
Before the trip Nathalie was very helpful and answered all our questions very promptly.
The trip itself was absolutely amazing! And exceeded all our expectations- it was as Nathalie had described- but we didn’t expect it to be so good!!
The accommodation was beautiful - we had a double bed in the ground floor and twin beds on first floor and a private bathroom.
The staff were amazing - the cooks, the organisers and the guides - all so helpful and couldn’t do enough for us.
It was easy to swap activities around and add extras. The whole 3 days worked like clockwork - such a slick operation- very impressive.
We saw pink river dolphins (and grey), went pirhana fishing, went to a monkey orphanage, indigenous village, forest walk in day and night, early morning bird watching and watched the sun set over the Amazon...... incredible!!
Food was good (lots of fish!).
We would highly recommend Calanoa Reserve and the services of Nathalie at KimKim. Nothing went wrong so we didn’t need to contact her during the trip - but it was reassuring to have her number just in case.
Thank you Nathalie for your recommendation and help with the booking.

We had an excellent trip!! Great local guides, amazing eco-lodges everything flowed well. We especially like Jorge, the guide who took us to Tayrona (and hope he passed his exam on tourism). the whole journey in the Tayrona was spectacular, as was tubing down the river in Palomino and the expertise on birds from our guide David in Minca. The only caveat was that the arrangement was to have our baggage brought to Palomino while we were trekking in Tayrona, and there was no info on that - no guidance given to myself and the driver was also unaware. So instead we made our own arrangements to leave the bags at Finca Barlovento. It would have been better if this piece of info on the trip had been communicated to me so we knew what the arrangement was instead of improvising along the way. All in all the trip was exactly the adventure we were looking for - thanks!!

1. Driver on time - great
2. Jeannine checked to be sure we were aboard - BETTER THAN GREAT
3. Rony Perez- excellent guide - good English , really good with my husband who walks (little) and Slow! Good information - will definitely recommend in the future
4. Meal great - so very fresh
5. experience overall - exactly what we were looking for - thank you Nathalie for suggesting
6. interacting with the local people very good experience - they were very kind to us

We needed to arrange this on very short notice. Marine was very responsive and we we got this planned quickly. We stayed in beautiful small hotels and ecolodges that were immersed in natural beauty. We went to Tayrona Park and Minca and our guides were very good, very knowledgeable. Unfortunately we were slightly disappointed that when in Minca we had car trouble early in the day, another car was not sent to continue our trip but to return us to town.
Cartagena is a beautiful historic city and we stayed in lovely boutique hotels in the old part of town. Our guide for here, Sergio, was terrific. He took us to neighborhoods out of the tourist area to see how the locals live and to his favorite places.
Our last days were spent at Punta Faro on an island. Great place for a couple of days to relax. A boat ride is the way to get there and can be a bit choppy but well worth it. Due to weather, our return was difficult. The hotel arranged an alternate method for us (and a few others) to get back to the mainland (shorter boat ride and a bus) including a taxi back to our hotel at no additional cost.
Marine and Elisabeth were in constant contact throughout to check on things. Always easy to get in touch with if necessary. We happened to be there during the rainy season and a holiday weekend so more potential than usual for issues to come up.

We had a really great time in Colombia last October. The trip was adjusted to meet our various requests prior to departure, and everything was perfectly organized once there (visits, drivers, hotels...). We would recommend KimKim and Marine without hesitation. Thanks again!

Nathalie was extremely responsive and our holiday went incredibly smoothly. The guides and activities we did were really high quality and we had a fantastic trip, in large part because of the well organized trip and recommendations we got from Nathalie. The only thing I would have changed is the booking of our flights, which had to be changed due to the strike. These were not booked immediately and therefore the price went up again. However, this is fairly minor as we appreciate that those were unusual circumstances. We otherwise found the service to be very responsive and easily facilitated through Kimkim.

The quality of the tours was amazing. Everywhere we went, we had dedicated drivers. The only thing I would change is the hotel in Cartagena. It felt a little run down and dirty. Otherwise, everything else was perfect! My favorite stay was in La Jorara.

Juan & his team made themselves available 24 hours a day, even when we had a flight delay.

Nathalie was great to work with. It might've been nice to have a "menu" of activities to choose from in each city. It would also be nice for the pricing to be broken down by activity/accommodation to better understand how the total was calculated.

Nathalie was very accommodating in the planning process, and checking in with us at the beginning and end of our trip was a nice touch. There were a couple of times that we would've liked to call her but couldn't because we didn't want to incur expensive international cell phone charges. It would've been nice to have been provided a cheap cell phone that we could've used to reach her if necessary - this is something we have had from other agencies for other trips.

Planning (with Nathalie) was excellent and everything that had been arranged went off really well.

Excellent service and always on-hand and attentive

Most of the trip was very good and well organized.

The Cartagena portion of the trip could have been better. There was some confusion with our day trIp to Rosario island. We didn't have the right information as to where to go and were told we needed a voucher which we never received. Tour guides in Cartagena tried to change our tour times and insisted on taking us to emerald shops (twice) even after we said we didn't want to go there.

Taxi drivers always showed up on time. Most guides were very good. Our favorite tour guides were Angelica in bogota and David in the coffee region.

I absolutely loved my (2) treks with Expediciones Colombia (in partnership with the other two companies my guides were from). To make the trip better, I would have liked to hike with others. I was alone with my guide and was hoping to make some new friends! So, that was disappointing. I'm not sure why Expediciones couldn't find more trekkers since I made the reservation months in advance for that purpose (of finding other trekkers). The trek itself and the scenery were excellent. Thank you!

Tara's emails were excellent, but I was corresponding with Jules. On the day I needed to contact him, he was held up in an area that didn't have good reception (returning from his rafting trip). It would have been helpful to have had Tara's phone number or my guide's (Erwin's number) so I could speak with someone else instead regarding packing and logistics for the following morning.

It is truly difficult to put into words how amazing our trip to Colombia was! When my friend and I initially decided to travel to Colombia, I did some research and found that there were SO MANY places that looked amazing, but some of them were a little off the beaten path and it seemed like going with a guide would be the best option. I had previously done a private tour with a local guide in India, and it was such an amazing experience that I was hoping to find something similar in Colombia. This is when I found Kimkim and was connected with Jules.

Jules, Tara, and their team really went above and beyond helping us plan the tour. They were very responsive to our questions (and there were a lot of them), and they worked with us for at least a month, going back and forth with different tour options until we had planned a trip that fit our budget and our desired itinerary. I'm sure I drove them a little crazy, but they were extremely kind, patient, and professional throughout the entire planning process. Jules was so enthusiastic about all of the places that we wanted to visit, and it was obvious that he was very genuine and excited for us to be experiencing a side of Colombia that a lot of tourists never see.

Since Jules had another obligation, he set us up with Nico, one of his teammates, as our tour guide for the majority of our tour. Nico was super laid back and fun (and funny!), and we had an amazing time touring with him to La Cienaga Grande/Nueva Valencia, Taironaka Reserve, La Guajira, and Medellin. He was very knowledgeable about all of the places we went, and he was also kind enough to share with us some personal stories about his life and about growing up in Medellin, a city I really never thought I would visit, but one that ended up being really vibrant and beautiful, and that I am so glad I was able to visit. During our 4 days with Nico, we visited a village on stilts in the middle of the swap, cooled off in a peaceful river after a very hot day and spent the night at an archaeological reserve, drove through La Guajira desert and interacted with the Wayuu people, swam in the Caribbean at the most insanely gorgeous beach (that we literally had to ourselves) in Cabo de la Vela, saw Flamingos in the wild, and toured a coffee plantation in Medellin! Every single place we went was incredible in its own way.

After we left Nico in Medellin, we lucky enough to go on a 2-day rafting trip on the Rio Verde, with our guides Mael and Lucho, who were also super cool guys, and who obviously love what they do. It is hard to pick my favorite part of the trip, but the rafting trip was definitely up there. The drive to the town of San Francisco was beautiful, and the 3-hour hike through the mountains down to the river was some of the most beautiful, lush green scenery that I have ever seen. We camped in the jungle that night, and saw fireflies, shooting stars, butterflies, birds, and even a monkey! The next day we rafted for about 3 or 4 hours, swam in a gorgeous waterfall, and just enjoyed the beauty that surrounded us.

This trip was truly unforgettable, thanks to Jules, Tara, Nico, Mael, and Lucho, and also the wonderful drivers that we had for different parts of the trip. I only wish I could have stayed longer! Thank you all SO much!! It truly was a magical experience that exceeded our expectations. There is really nothing better than swimming in the Caribbean on a beach that you have almost entirely to yourselves and seeing Flamingos in the wild.

Tara was very friendly, quick to respond to my messages, and also very helpful in tailoring our trip to make it fit our budget and desired itinerary. I really appreciate her help with adjusting our plans when one of our friends was unable to come on the trip due to work.

Thank you, Tara!

Jules, Tara and the staff at Expedition Colombia helped us to plan an AMAZING itinerary, but once we began our active holiday, the places we went and sights we experienced were beyond anything I could've dreamed. The entire trip was truly extraordinary. I figured Colombia was a beautiful place, but everything far surpassed all of my expectations! A great big thanks to the team of wonderful and charming people at Expedition Colombia! The knowledgeable and charismatic guides for our adventures (Nicho, Mael and Lucho) and drivers made our experience that much better. I highly recommend an active holiday with Expedition Colombia for anyone who is looking for a truly memorable, once in a lifetime experience in Colombia. Thanks again for such an incredible time!!!!!

Tara was incredibly friendly, knowledgable, helpful and responsive while coordinating with her to plan our amazing itinerary in Colombia. She is an absolute pleasure to work with!

We enjoyed our activities. However, on two occasions our guide/driver arrived earlier than listed so they had to wait for us a bit. I hope they didn't mind! Also, the hotel for our beach excursion was not aware that we were to have access to a room for changing and leaving out items as described in our outline (so we were unable to do so). No big deal though.

Nathalie was very helpful and patient during the planning stages. She listed to what we wanted and was flexible with our requests. We enjoyed working with her!

Nathalie was awesome and she gave us everything we asked for and the price was perfect!!! We had an awesome time and a lot of that was KimKim making all our arrangements!! It is so nice to get off a plane tired and just see s sign with your name on it!!! Love it!! And even my friends said we will use KimKim again for future travels!! Thank you so much for a great trip!!!

Suggest that the trip summary include the start times of tours.

Nathalie was great

The events and activities we did were amazing and highly enjoyable. We were sad that Natalie was not available to help us or answer our questions while we were here. No one picked us up at the airport in Cali and the Calanoa transport was told the wrong time for our flight. Otherwise, Natalie was very helpful and we have had a great trip.

You guys provided a great itinerary, but I think it also would have been nice to know some other details beforehand. i.e., the walk down to rio verde is rigid and pretty long, wear good shoes. There are no showers or sinks at the camp site. Bring plenty of water, etc.

I put in the passport for that one person from our group was a vegetarian and there was no vegetarian dinner option. :(

For future groups, I would recommend providing a luggage requirement. We were told in the van on the way to the river that there would be limited space in the dry bags. It would have been nice to know ahead of time so we could have packed minimally instead of having to re-pack bags on the side of the road and leave things in the van.

It was fantastic and planned very well. We had a great time. My only comment would be more detail in the overall itinerary so we don't have to bounce around kimkim trying to find different pieces of information about each activity.