Kimkim Trip Reviews for France

Wow - we were so impressed with Justine! She listened to what was important to us and planned the perfect trip for us to Provence. The cooking class with Cyril that she suggested is not something we would ever have picked out on our own, and it was one of the highlights of the trip! We told her some of the hotels we have enjoyed in the past in other countries and she found us a unique converted farmhouse in a small town outside of Aix that was exactly what we were hoping for. Her recommendations for excursions were excellent, and even her recommendations on things like where to park on busy summer days were spot on and I'm sure saved us a lot of time. We enjoyed our day visiting vineyards with Remy as well as exploring the villages of the Luberon Valley and cruising in Cassis on our own. We've gone on fully guided trips before as well as ones we completed planned on our own, so this was the first time using KimKim. It certainly will not be our last time - we had such a great holiday! We felt like we had the support we might need in a country where we didn't speak the language, and in the end felt like we really got to spend time experiencing the culture, food and people of southern France instead of worrying about itinerary details and if we were missing out by not having an insider's knowledge of the area. We fell in love with Provence and the French Riviera and if (hopefully) we return soon, we won't hesitate to ask for Justine to help plan a trip in the area again! I cannot recommend her enough. Thank you Justine and KimKim!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel du Pin

The location was absolutely perfect for exploring Nice. We had a car so their parking lot was invaluable. The staff was lovely and the room was actually quite big by European standards. The downside to the location was that it was incredibly loud at night and then once the restaurants in the area closed, it got loud again when the trash was picked up before dawn. Overall, I would stay here again if in Nice.

Authenticity & Character

It felt like a nice hotel in a city but nothing felt particularly French or French riviera about it. No complaints though.

Location

It was within walking distance of many of the main places - the restaurants on Rue Bonaparte, the city market, the beaches, etc.

Staff

They were LOVELY.

Cleanliness & Comfort

We had trouble with the AirCon and we couldn't keep the windows open at night because it was so loud.

In Provence Hotel

Venelles

This was a very unique hotel and we enjoyed our time there! While it was nice to be able to check in with the machine, there were a few times we had questions and it would have been nice to have an actual person there to ask. The Aircon stopped working the last two nights and since there was no one to ask, we just dealt with the higher temperature which was not preferable. We loved the location - just outside of Aix and we could easily drive all over Provence from here - yet in a small town where we felt like we got to experience living in France vs staying in hotel chain. We loved walking down to the restaurants and the bakery was only a couple blocks away - it was fabulous. I would recommend this place to anyone visiting the area who was looking for a more authentic and unique stay.

Authenticity & Character

It's a converted farmhouse and you could really feel that character. I loved the unique room and it felt authentic to the area instead of staying in a more sterile corporate hotel that you end up with in bigger cities.

Location

We loved the small town feel. We walked down to the square, the local pub, the bakery, etc and got to know some of the people working there since we were there for 5 days.

Staff

I feel like poor isn't the right answer....we never actually met anyone who worked here because it was automated check in and check out. The automated check in told us that we had to pay 13 euro per person/per day for breakfast so we never went to that although later our KimKim person told us that it was supposed to have been included. Since there wasn't anyone working there we weren't able to find that out in time to actually enjoy breakfast there.

Cleanliness & Comfort

I thought the bed was really comfortable!

Activity Review

Niçoise cooking class expérience

France

Justine offered this option to us and I am so glad that we agreed to do it! We would never have signed up for this on our own. Cyril was fantastic. He gave us some history of the area while visiting the market and we were able to try a lot of different foods that I don't think we would have picked out ourselves to try. Then cooking it was so fun! We were in a real apartment and it just felt like we were cooking with friends for a dinner party in Nice rather than being part of a tourist experience. Cyril told us about cooking with his grandma and everything about the whole experience made us feel so welcome. This was such a great way to start our trip - plus I knew that we wanted to order the squash blossoms on every menu afterwards!

Quality of Experience

It felt very personal. It truly felt like we were friends visiting from out of town as Cyril shared everything with us. It was a highlight of our entire trip.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Cyril!!!!! He was absolutely amazing. Please recommend him to anyone and everyone. He really made us feel welcome and like we were friends visiting so he could share his culture.

For my sister and me this was a trip of a lifetime returning to France where we lived for several years when we were young. Lise worked very closely with us to plan out everything we requested in addition to adding in some activities we had not thought of such as the side trip to Monet's home and gardens. From the time we arrived at CGD airport to the moment we were dropped off for our flight back to the United States, everything went like clockwork! This included private transfers, all tickets to activities and tours, as well as train tickets and stays at wonderful boutique hotels. There were a lot of highlights to this trip but my sister and I loved our Seine dinner cruise on Bastille Day with incredible fireworks over the Eiffel Tower. Frankly we were amazed at how little stress we had with this trip. When visiting France again I will definitely work with Lise. Thanks so much!

Hotel Reviews

Hôtel Tardif Noble Guesthouse

Bayeux

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Le Clos d'Amboise

Amboise

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

D-Day U.S beaches tour

France

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mont-Saint-Michel day Tour

France

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Saint Germain des Prés Food Tour

Paris

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Discover Giverny along the way

France

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private guided tour to Azay-Le-Rideau and Chinon

Amboise

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Eiffel Tower Summit Ticket

Paris

Quality of Experience

Nighttime Seine River Cruise with Dining Experience

Paris

Quality of Experience

Fantastic I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the meal. The Bastille Day fireworks were quite a wonderful experience

Murders and Mysteries of the Louvre

Paris

Enjoyed with whirlwind tour of the Louvre.

Quality of Experience

Chartres guided tour

France

Although this guided tour was good I believe that my sister and I would have done just as well with a personal guided tour on our own with our driver just giving us a set time for us to visit Chartres before we traveled to our next destination.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A pretty fast driver but we had no mishaps

Chambord, Chenonceau & Lunch at the Château - Full Day

France

The private lunch at the Chateau was fantastic! I loved the marriage museum at this small Chateau.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Medieval Paris - St Chapelle, Notre Dame & Conciergerie

Paris

Although our guide was very nice her command of the English language was limited. Since I speak some French it was not as much of a problem for me as it was for my sister. We would have been better off to take the English audio guide and tour on our own with the guide just dropping us off for the allotted time.

Quality of Experience

Nathalie worked closely with us to plan the perfect Provence trip for our three generations! The day trips with A la Française were wonderful. Remy was a wonderful guide for the Aix-en-Provence Historical and Gourmet walking tour...informative and good pace. We LOVED the morning lavender fields tour, also with A la Française. Stunning photo opportunities. The Villages and Markets of the Luberon, also with A la Française, was also enjoyable, although maybe a bit too long? Or, maybe the heat just made us cranky by the end of the long day? Boutique Hotel Cezanne was clean, comfortable and well-located. Breakfast was excellent. Aix-en-Provence is a special, special city.
The train from Aix-en-Provence to Marseille to Nice was a bit of a nightmare, although we maybe should have assumed that it would be during the height of the summer season. We had great difficulty finding seats on the second leg of the train trip, but eventually managed to find three seats in three different train cars, just hoping that we all knew when to disembark.
Nice is bustling compared to the laid back vibe of Aix. Our hotel, La Villa Nice Promenade, was also clean, comfortable and well-located. Breakfast was tasty. Our first day trip was a private tour with Liven Up to Grasse, Tourrettes-sur-Loup, and St. Paul de Vence. The Fragonard perfume factory in Grasse is a must. Great, informative factory tour with shopping at the end! Beautiful city...wish we could have spent more time exploring. Tourrettes-sur-Loup was as lovely as we had remembered, although our stop was short here as well. St. Paul de Vence was as picturesque as we had remembered. We loved wandering along the alleys; however, the crowds made it less charming. It seems as though this is now a much more popular destination than it was in 1997! Our city tour of Nice with Michel (Liven Up) was special as he was born and raised in Nice! Our tour was fast-paced, but packed with special lookouts, sweet anecdotes from his childhood, and of course, the main attractions of the city. I wish we had scheduled a few more days in Nice!
Overall, we ALL truly enjoyed the trip...not an easy feat to please an 18, 48 and 78 year old with the same itinerary!
Merci Beaucoup, Nathalie!

I cannot say enough about the exceptional service provided by Kimkim Travel Agency for our recent family trip to France. From the initial stages of planning, they went above and beyond to factor in our specific needs, wants, and the ages of our children. The customized itinerary was perfect, ensuring we had a balance of activities that catered to everyone's interests.

One aspect that truly stood out was the dedicated support we received while in France. Despite minor hiccups that occurred during our trip, Kimkim was there every step of the way to provide assistance promptly and efficiently, giving us peace of mind knowing we were in good hands.

The only slight concern I had throughout the process was that we were initially informed that we would receive our vouchers and final travel guide two months in advance. However, these documents were provided closer to one month before our departure date. While this caused a brief moment of worry, it did not detract from the overall positive experience we had with Kimkim.

Looking back at our amazing adventure in France, we would not hesitate to use Kimkim again for our future travels. Their attention to detail, personalized approach, and excellent on-ground support truly set them apart as a top-notch travel agency. Highly recommended! ✈️🌍 #KimkimTravel #FranceExploration

Hotel Reviews

Hôtel Apollinaire

Nice

Beautiful hotel, exceptional service!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mercure Paris CDG Airport & Convention

Roissy-en-France

The hotel smells like an old bus, the food at the buffet was not great. Everything felt grimy and dirty. Would not stay again. The one positive was that there were many activities for children to play in the lobby to keep busy giving you our way from the city center.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Carlton Lyon - MGallery Hotel Collection

Lyon

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Escaletto

Aix-en-Provence

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Citadines Bastille Marais Paris

Paris

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Treasure Hunt at the Louvre

Paris

This activity was a family highlight of the trip. Our tour guides catered to our children's interests and it was still highly informative and interesting for the parents. 10 out of 10 would recommend.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Valentine was the most wonderful and profesional travel specialist we have ever met. She made every single arrangement exactly as we wanted it to be. She chose the most wonderful hotels and places as she just had the best insight on France and the best instinct. She really was essential in making our trip an absolute joy.

Our family enjoyed a beautiful vacation to the French Riviera & Provence with an extension to Cinque Terre and Milan. We didn’t have much time to plan our trip and were relieved to rely on the experience and advice pf our local guide, Mathilde. She provided exceptional service, was very communicative, (including phone calls), and helped us explore areas we might not have found on our own. While we knew we wanted to see Verdon Gorge, we were thrilled and delighted by our stay at La Bastide de Moustiers. The grounds, rooms and amazing restaurant left us wanting more. Thank you for helping make our vacation so memorable!

Hotel Reviews

Mas Valentine 4*

Saint-Rémy de Provence

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Bastide de Moustiers

Moustiers-Sainte-Marie

The most incredible service and food! We loved our accommodations and the dinner in the library . This is a very special place, especially for those who appreciate the little details. We hope to return!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Olive Groves & Vineyards with Olive oil and Wine tasting

France

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

This trip was done entirely by email and communication through Kimkim. Overall, our experience was excellent both on setting the trip up and the actual trip. I got in communication with Kimkim in January 2024 for a June trip. Mathilde was assigned as my travel agent. I provided some timelines including destinations and some activities desired by us. As this was a continuation of a wine tasting trip that we had already booked, I also provided Mathilde with the itinerary for that trip to give her a sense of what our trip had already been planned as well as the level of service we expected.
Over several weeks of back and forth communications with Mathilde, we came up with a tour that met our needs, finalizing details by February and a downpayment made. In addition to some of the normal tour, hotels, transportation, we made a specific request for a hard-to-book tour in London called the "Ceremony of the Keys" at the Tower of London. While Mathilde had not previously heard of this tour, she did her research and was able to book this for us. In summary, the planning stage of this trip went very smoothly and Mathilde was flexible, cooperative and an overall pleasure to work with. She was also forthcoming with recommendations that we had not though of.
With regard to the actual trip, we received our itinerary and vouchers in a timely manner. The hotel choices were very good hotels with reasonable value for the money. While there were some minor glitches with transportation, we were provided with contact numbers that enabled us to sort things out with a minimum of stress. Overall, everything went off with us having a great time with a minimum of stress.
Highlights of the trip were the aforementioned "Ceremony of the Keys", the Seine dinner cruise, Montmartre, Versailles and the Louvre, both food tours as well as all of our guides and drivers.
In summary, a great trip with great service from Kimkim

Aline and Bastien planned an amazing trip - they spent time understanding our needs, budgets and things we (my wife and me) wanted to do in Paris. Every small detail from hotel type and location to customized tours were well thought of. We enjoyed the entire week in Paris, thanks to the attention to details and planning done by the Aline/Bastien. They were also very reachable, always quick to respond and proactive. Thank you for a very memorable trip!

Our trip to Paris and the South of France was packed with beautiful sites and fun adventures. My favorites were the trip to Giverny to see Monet's garden, the e-bike tour through the Provence region with our excellent guide, Roman, and the day-trip to the Loire Valley to visit 3 castles.

Hotel Reviews

Marseille Penthouse

Marseille

Great outdoor spaces. Bright interior and beautiful views of the sea. Nice to have an elevator with private access to the apartment.

Authenticity & Character

Bright and clean. Nothing super fancy but comfortable furniture and beds.

Location

Park right across the road. Cafes and a small grocery store very close by.

Staff

Our host checked in on us almost daily and answered the few questions that I had. She definitely cared that we had a good stay.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Du Ministere

Paris

We were 4 people in a lofted room, with the king bed up a narrow set of stairs and the bathroom and sofa-bed on the lower level. The sofa bed was not very comfortable so we ended up putting the mattress on the floor. The air conditioning was not working properly, despite several phone calls to the front desk and a hotel clerk coming to try to adjust it. We slept with windows open and it was still warm in the room for most of the night. Finally, the carpet was wet outside the bathroom door when we first arrived, which the clerk said was due to the shower overflowing (from the previous occupants?).

Authenticity & Character

Loved the breakfast

Location

Close to restaurants

Staff

Staff was friendly and tried to remedy the problems we were experiencing

Cleanliness & Comfort

Air-conditioning fixed, 2 regular beds for 4 people rather than a sofa-bed, and fix the shower so floor outside bathroom would not be wet

Saint Martin 339 Apartment

Paris

Spacious and a great location. Comfortable beds. Wonderful covered terrace for dining al fresco. The only thing to note is the 5 flights of spiral stairs that are required to access the apartment. It was not a problem for us (we definitely got our exercise in each day) but is something to note for those with mobility issues.

Authenticity & Character

Covered terrace, wood floors and built-in storage areas

Location

Close to 2 metro stations, surrounded by cafes and right by a small grocery store

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Comfortable beds

Activity Reviews

Visit of the Eiffel Tower and Seine river cruise

Paris

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

N/A We got to this activity via the metro

Gourmet food tour in Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Paris

Fannie was a knowledgeable and friendly guide. We enjoyed all the stops, especially the chocolates, jams and cheeses. Getting to pick our own dessert was also a treat.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly and knowledgeable

Visit of the Louvre museum

Paris

Quality of Experience

Day excursion by train to Giverny and visit of Monet’s Garden

France

End of June is the ideal time to visit the gardens. So many flowers blooming!

Quality of Experience

Day Trip to Loire Valley Châteaux

Paris

It was a long day with a lot packed in, but very fun to see all 3 castles. Each one was special and unique in its own right. The architecture and the gardens, along with the history of the region and each castle was interesting and enjoyable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Philip was full of information and gave us some good stories and insights on the history of each place we visited.

Transport

Van was comfortable and it was nice that the group was small. It was nice that we stopped at a nice gas station with a bakery on the way.

Visit of City of Popes and Pont d'Avignon

France

Quality of Experience

Visit the Royal castle of Versailles

France

Huge place. The inside is impressive but the gardens need equal time to explore.

Quality of Experience

Guided E-bike tour of Luberon

France

Amazing scenery and fun adventure! Romain was an excellent guide that showed us all around the region - from lavender fields and other agricultural areas to villages and beautiful architectural structures. He tailored the day to our interests, which was a fantastic way to explore. From coffee and pastries in one village to exploring the countryside to eating lunch while overlooking the beautiful valley, we loved every minute of it! This was our group's favorite thing we did in our 2 weeks in France.

Quality of Experience

Having the day tailored to what we wanted to see was amazing. Loved the lavender fields as well as all the small villages

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide, Romain really made the day fun and interesting

Transport

E-bikes are fun and easy to ride

Visit of Carrières de Lumière & free time in Les Baux de Provence

France

We enjoyed walking around the village, eating and shopping.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Overall, having a rental car is a burden for those not used to driving in France. We needed a larger car to accommodate our luggage and this was difficult to maneuver in the narrow streets and parking areas.

Full day kayaking in Marseille's Calanques

France

The kayaking experience was definitely only for the super-adventurous. It was more of a kayaking lesson, complete with how to load/unload the kayaks from the trailer, carry the kayaks down a flight of stairs to the water, how to skirt yourself into the kayak and also proper paddling techniques. Our guide tried very hard to instruct us and encourage us to be calm in the choppy water. We did get to spend an hour or so on a beach area eating lunch and that was fun and relaxing, but by the time we were headed our onto the water again, it was even windier and so our guide agreed we should head back. Overall, it was a bit more work than what we 4 women had anticipated.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit of The Catacombs of Paris

Paris

Interesting to learn the history of the catacombs

Quality of Experience

Mediterranean cooking class

Marseille

Fun to see where the ingredients come from. The group was a fun mix of people and we all learned a bit about cooking this special dish that originated in Marseille

Quality of Experience

Food

Appetizers and bread were great. Some in our group were not big fans of fish, so that made the main dish unsatisfying. Fresh fruit salad was excellent.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Half-day private cruise in Frioul archipelago

Marseille

Unfortunately it was a windy and cloudy day so the water was very rough getting out and especially coming back into the marina. We loved our guide, however, and we were confident in Marie’s abilities to safely get us around. She was great at telling us the history of the area and talking about the structures we were seeing. We got to snorkel while out in one of the calmer areas so that was a highlight.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Great guide/captain. She was thoughtful in giving us rain jackets to wear to protect us from the sea spray.

Transport

Can't do anything about the weather, but Marie did well in maneuvering the boat even in less than ideal conditions

Aline and Bastion planned an amazing trip to France for me, my son and daugher-in-law, 3grandchildren ages 10, 8 and 4 and my daughter. We visited Paris, Normandy, Aix and Marseilles, traveling by train. Everything was planned out and went as smooth as silk - no unexpected surprises, even with 3 children! The places that we stayed in each location were perfect for our family, all of our train travel was arranged, and the tour guides that were arranged for us for Normandy, the Louvre and Versailles were great with the children, as well as the adults. Restaurant recommendations were great and took into consideration that we were traveling with children. Bastion was in touch with us almost everyday checking to see that everything was going smoothly and he answered each question promptly, I highly recommend both Aline and Bastion for France and will definitely use them again for future travels!

Hotel Review

« Travel to the Old Time » - Notre Dame - 3BDR/ AC

Paris

This was a great place, with plenty of room for our group of 4 adults and 3 children - ages 10, 8 and 4. It was very clean and had all we needed in a galley style kitchen. Also it was quite beautiful with the many stone walls. We felt very secure and it is in a great location with restaurants, grocery, pharmacy and markets all very close. Would definitley stay there again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

American D-Day Experience - Full Day Private Tour

Bayeux

Jonathan was a wonderful tour guide for our family trip. He was great with the adults as well as the children, making our trip to Normandy and Mont St Michel both interesting and fun for everyone. He selected great places for us to eat and was very knowlegeable about the history of both places He presented the information in a way to was wat interesting to young and old.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Treasure Hunt at the Louvre (Private/3Hours)

Paris

Thank you Aline and Bastion for lining up Alexandra of Family Focus while we were visiting Paris! Our tour of the Louvre and Versailles with Alexandra of Family Focus Tours was one of the highlights of our recent trip to France. My grandchildren (10, 8 and 4) immediately felt right at home with her. She expertly manuevered us through the crowds to the front of display and presented the most interesting historical information. We all learned so much. Also she added so many extra touches to entertain the children ( work and coloring books, treasure hunt, etc) - they were completely engaged throughout both tours. And there were extras for the adults also, as we all peformed a dance in the ballroom at Versailles, despite the crowds! I highly recommend her!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We have again had a great experience working with KimKim. Sebastian was very responsive to adapting his plan to match our needs and interests. The Olive Farm tour was absolutely terrific, and we also thoroughly enjoyed the Albi Food Tour. Nastia does an outstanding job of making it fun and interesting. The car rental experience was smooth, and the we loved both of the hotels that Sebastian booked for us.

Hotel Reviews

Grand Plaza Hotel

Andorra la Vella

This is a lovely 5 star hotel. The staff was terrific. The breakfast was lovely and delicious. The room was comfortable and very well appointed. I highly recommend this hotel and wish I could have stayed longer.

Authenticity & Character

Really cool art in the hotel!

Location

We were within 20 minutes walk of everything we wanted to see and do. Great location.

Staff

Kind, helpful, responsive -- they made us feel comfortable and welcome.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything was perfect!

Hotel Alchimy

ALBI

Our room was large, gorgeous, and comfortable. I never wanted to leave! It is such a treat for the eye as well as comfortable and luxurious. I had the best meal of metric in their dining room. Exquisite! We would return to this hotel in a heartbeat.

Authenticity & Character

So beautifully decorated, so cool, a fantastic experience!

Location

In the old part of the city and walkable within 5-10 minutes of all the sights.

Staff

Everyone was kind and friendly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

It was beautifully maintained.

Activity Reviews

Guided visit of an olive grove and mill estate with olive oil tasting

Albi

We liked everything about this experience -- our guide was informative and friendly. We learned about the farm, about growing olives, we walked the fields. It was so neat. Then we had a tasting of olive oils and olive products. The owner came to meet us and gave us an extra gift. We were treated so well. What a delightful experience!

Quality of Experience

We learned so much, got to spend time in the beautiful outdoors, tasted delicious products, and met lovely people.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was able to answer all our questions and taught us so much. She was fantastic.

Albi Food Tour

Albi

This was so much fun! We got a walking tour of Albi along with three food stops. The first was a fabulous patisserie where the baker puts mystery ingredients inside of pastries and you get to guess what they are. We got three different delicious pastries there, plus a drink, all while sitting with a lovely view of the river and the old town. After walking by the cathedral and visiting the cloister, we stopped at a confectioner's shop and got to have delicious macarons. Our final stop was so cool - a rooftop restaurant (the highest in Albi) with a view of the city to enjoy while having a glass of wine or cocktail and sharing an enormous charcuterie board with three cheeses, pate, many meats, peppers, pickles, and lovely crusty bread. It was a lovely capstone to a terrace experience.

Quality of Experience

Amazing food at special places we wouldn't have found on our own.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Nastia is a 5-star guide!!

Rashi was our contact for our trip. The trip went quite smoothly except on parts where she suggested we take buses. They didn't alway run as she indicated and in a few towns it was really hard to find the bus station. The road book should have included a map to the bus stations. Our accommodations were wonderful and the baggage transfer was flawless.
The roadbook was confusing at times when trying to follow the alternative routes. The GPS was excellent.

Activity Review

Walking day : Champex - Bovine/Fenêtre d’Arpette - Trient

Champex

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

When we started planning our trip, we knew we wanted to visit two countries: France and Switzerland. Navigating between the two was too overwhelming to plan. There were four of us, including 4 kids, and everyone had different ideas about what they wanted to see. The tours and experiences we had through KimKim really took our trip to another level. Our rep, Mathilde, was so patient and kind. It was a fantastic experience!

In dinard the hotel had zero parking we usually parked about 6 or 7 blocks away. The guides were awesome.
People need to be aware very little cell service. Makes it difficult to use google maps to travel. communication was nice most new a little English. A list of nice restaurants in areas where we are staying with the times they are open would be great. a lot are closed midday and during the week. Really loved your choices of places to see!

I really appreciated the assistance KimKim and our specialist Valentine provided me while planning our trip. Because of busy work/class schedules, it was too overwhelming to do on my own. Valentine had great recommendations for activities and accommodations based on how my husband and I like to travel. She got back to me in a timely matter with answers to my questions before and during the trip. I especially liked how the hotels she chose were located near the activities we participated in. The hotels were also the boutique hotels we prefer. She also got us from point A to B with good timing and clear instructions. Thank you Valentine!

We enjoyed the many tours we had in France. Our tour guides were all great! Celine’s tour of Montmarte was one of our 1st tours. Her knowledge of the area is impressive. She was very patient with us as we navigated some traffic and weather issues. We especially enjoyed our Versailles bike tour with Michael ( his passion for history shows , we learned a lot) , recommend this full day tour! A great way to see most of Versailles. A special shout out to Sebastian on our Gourmet stopovers tour in Marseille. We had so much fun learning about the food, wine, chocolates, soaps, olive oils there. We did not want the tour to end. We also enjoyed our cooking class in Nice. We have new techniques and recipes to take home with us.

Hotel Reviews

Hôtel Des Grands Hommes

Paris

Beautiful room, clean. Nice breakfast area downstairs. Nice location in the Latin Quarter. Good service!

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful decoration

Location

Staff

Someone at the desk 24/7 , friendly, helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Les Ormes (Bed & Breakfast)

Saint Rémy de Provence

G

Authenticity & Character

Upstairs over a bakery/restaurant, very clean, newly remodeled room, large bathroom.

Location

Central St Remy location, parking a little tricky but manageable

Staff

Not really a breakfast- one day so busy, we ended up somewhere else. Another day just bread, service lacking

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean . Double vanity in room

Hotel Particulier Le 28

Aix en Provence

Beautiful hotel, great customer service.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful art, has a cool vibe combined with a classic mansion. Charming courtyard for breakfast

Location

Staff

Lovely breakfast, wonderful servers. Helpful at check-in , accomadated laundry request.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mattress ( a bit worn) towels ( dingy ,thin) can use improvement

Les Terrasses d'Eze 4*

Eze

Gorgeous view! Accommodating staff, amazing restaurant

Authenticity & Character

Location

Good location to drive to Nice, Monaco

Staff

All very attentive .

Cleanliness & Comfort

4* Hilton Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport

Tremblay-en-France

A very nice airport hotel, good breakfast

Authenticity & Character

Location

Great location. Recommend to give clients notice it is a bit of a walk from terminal 2 to 3 with heavy bags.. , doable but a little far. once to terminal 3, Hôtel directly outside, 3 min walk.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Gourmet stopovers in Marseille

France

Paris Dinner Cruise

Paris

Skip the line Eiffel Tower Summit Tickets

Paris

Murders and Mysteries of the Louvre

Paris

Montmartre Artistic & Picturesque Life (private/2hours)

Paris

Lavender afternoon tour

Aix-en-Provence

Latin Quarter Gourmet Tour

Paris

Versailles Bike Tour

France

Baux de Provence Castle & Quarries of Lights (Combined ticket)

France

Half-day Calanques tour from Marseille (small group tour)

Marseille

Beautiful area , we had a VERY windy day. Water is cold, but there are wetsuits available Choppy boat ride . Our boat captain, Mike was great. He did have necessary rain jackets to provide us from the spray of the waves.

The planning & support services provided by Aline & Bastien was above & beyond what I expected when I first signed up for the KmKim service. Aline & Bastien were instrumental in planning an engaging and fun trip for our family. They kindly answered our endless questions and made adjustments to fine-tune the trip to meet our needs. The tour guide they arranged for us in Normandy was fantastic and reliable. All hotel and rental car reservations were seamlessly integrated into our trip and we had no issues with any arrangements. They provided helpful & accurate recommendations for other activities like bike rentals, too. I highly recommend KimKim and Aline and Bastien!

Hotel Review

Hotel Le Clos d'Amboise

Amboise

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

American D-Day Experience - Full Day Private Tour

Bayeux

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

From Bayeux to Mont Saint Michel Village & Abbey tour (Small Group/8Hours)

Bayeux

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The lavender fields with private driver who was familiar with area was the highlight of my trip. Nathalie gave us lovely shopping time and was most gracious with our every whim. Nick was very knowledgeable about wines and shared a lively day with him in Sancerre and Pouilly. Hotels were big improvement from previous trips. Only negative was that taxis were a precious commodity at Famille Bourgeois. Managed with help.

Hotel Reviews

Hôtel Restaurant Famille Bourgeois

Chavignol Sancerre

Charming authentic French hotel with good food. The only negative was getting taxis to go anywhere. Only near it’s own winery so this was difficult

Authenticity & Character

Charming. Made huge efforts to speak English with us.

Location

Available taxis during high season

Staff

Friendly. See above comment

Cleanliness & Comfort

Authentic. No safe. Good bed and clean.

Le Clos de la Glycine

Roussillon

Wonderful view from atop the ocre hills. Charming village. Exceptional restaurant with view and food. Aperol was fabulous but the bar is only for the restaurant not hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Patio with a view

Location

See above

Staff

Awesome just short staffed.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Charming suite

Boutique Hotel Cezanne

Aix-en-Provence

Felt like back in America with more modern feel in the city.

Authenticity & Character

You lose some character but you get comfort. Only negative was toilet across the room for the sink.

Location

Walked to restaurant and shopping

Staff

Friendly and informative

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean

Activity Reviews

Sancerre Wine Tour (Private/8Hours)

Chavignol

Very knowledgeable guide, Nick. Enjoyed his expertise and his company. Showed us new wines.

Quality of Experience

Good variety of wines and interesting conversations

Guides, Drivers and Staff

See above

Transport

Guide had Mercedes van. Taxis. Stresssful but they did show up when they were supposed to be there

Lavender Full Day ! (Private/8Hours)

France

Enjoyed Nathalie and her tour of st Remy and searching of fields for us.

Quality of Experience

Loved shopping in st Remy and local markets.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Kudos Nathalie.

Transport

Being dropped right at front doors and being picked up promptly is nice.

To the villages of the Luberon tour (Private/8Hours)

Aix-en-Provence

Enjoyed driving from village to village. Got to see a lot of countryside and she is very knowledgeable of the area.

Quality of Experience

See above

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Repeating but Nathalie was with us for 2 days. Awesome

Transport

Clean Mercedes van

Nathalie and Emil were exceptional in showing us the full range of what Provence has to offer. Nicholas knew the wines and vineyards in Sancerre which met our goals for winetasting. The itinerary was very confusing to follow unlike the usual kimkim format. The train system was a complete mystery and many mistakes were made trying to find trains, stations, cars and seats.

Hotel Reviews

Hôtel Restaurant Famille Bourgeois

Chavignol Sancerre

This was the best hotel in the area but was minimalist in the rooms. Staff was friendly and accommodating. Hotel was 2 miles from town with taxis impossible to arrange and extremely expensive ($20 each way). Meals were delicious. The famous wine maker Henri Bourgeois also owns this hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Original family based hotel

Location

Hotel in Sancerre center of town for more dining options and eliminate high taxi costs.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Le Clos de la Glycine

Roussillon

New owner in 2024. Hotel is now called Omma. Breathtaking views from all parts of the hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Very stylish decorating

Location

On top of ochre mountains

Staff

Superb service and friendliness.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Beautiful rooms. Spacious. Terrace was large and comfortable to enjoy the view of the valley.

Boutique Hotel Cezanne

Aix-en-Provence

Modern hotel in great location. Very accommodating staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

A few blocks from main tourist and shopping areas. Clean safe streets.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sancerre Wine Tour (Private/8Hours)

Chavignol

This private guided tour took us to exactly where we wanted to learn about and sample Sancerre wines.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lavender Full Day ! (Private/8Hours)

France

Nathalie Smith is an extraordinary guide who knows Provence very well and offers a buffet of ideas to fill your day. Absolutely ask for her.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

To the villages of the Luberon tour (Private/8Hours)

Aix-en-Provence

Nathalie Smith took us to a variety of towns, markets, historic villages and amazing sights. Be sure to visit Rousillon as part of this tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sebastian was easy to work with and adjusted our schedule as needed. He responded while on our trip when we had an issue with a canceled flight and delayed pick up. I would advise anyone booking with Kimkim to be VERY specific about what you want to do and the type and location of the hotels you want to stay in. We had one hotel in an area that we never would have picked ourselves, everywhere else we stayed was lovely. Once you arrive you can't cancel plans for a refund so the planning process is critical and Sebastian was very patient and diligent during the planning process.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Villa Victoria

Nice

Authenticity & Character

Lovely garden in the back. Quiet location.

Location

Staff

Front desk staff was very helpful and they were super friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Comfortable beds

Maisons du Monde Hôtel Marseille Vieux Port

Marseille

The breakfast was great and the staff very helpful but the location is at the busiest and loudest part of the port and we had people sleeping outside of the entrance during our stay which made it difficult to get in and out of the hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Very nice lobby and dining area

Location

Staff

Super friendly, especially the breakfast staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cleanliness was very good, comfort was okay

Activity Reviews

Paris Dinner Cruise

Paris

Excellent dinner, superb wait staff and the singer was fantastic

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full-day excursion to Monaco, Monte-Carlo & Eze

France

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our tour guide was awesome!

Transport

Cruise & Swim in the Calanques

Marseille

We had a very poor day weather wise and really the trip should have been canceled , but it wasn't so we had to go or lose our money.

Quality of Experience

Every stop looked the same, could have done 2 stops and been done

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was very friendly

Transport

Crowded boat

Our ten day trip was absolutely marvelous. From the hotels that were chosen to the tours that were booked we had every we could ever want and more. Lyon was magical and the food delicious. Annecy was an unexpected gem with an abundance of outdoor activities only topped by our four days in Chamonix. We have never been to a more well appointed hotel as the Heliopic. It was absolutely perfect for us and our daughter.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel de l'Abbaye

Lyon

A charming boutique hotel. It was well situated and quiet. The staff was accommodating and friendly if not always present.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful hotel and area.

Location

Quite area just a five to ten minute walk from any tourist area.

Staff

Very helpful with good advice on area. Sometimes the front desk was unmanned even during the day.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Splendid Hotel Lac d'Annecy - Handwritten Collection

Annecy

Authenticity & Character

We liked the mid entity modern styling

Location

Right on the lake and in the center of town. Perfect location.

Staff

Everything we ever needed was always taken care of.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Heliopic Spa & Hotel

Chamonix

This was the nicest hotel I have ever stayed at.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right next to the top attraction in Chamonix

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Annecy Lake Cruise

Annecy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lyon Food Tour

Lyon

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport