Kimkim Trip Reviews for France

This was our first experience using KimKim.com for travel arrangements. The process was extremely simple with great communication with Mathilde. We gave Mathilde dates and the key destination of St Malo we wished to visit, and she created a fabulous trip allowing us to experience Western France and Paris.
Starting in Tours on our way to St Malo she booked a fabulous dinner at Casse-Caillox and an unexpected gem with a visit to Chateau de Chenonceau.
The hotel booking in St Malo allowed us to be close but not in the tight quarters of the walled city. It was also adjacent to the wall allowing for views as the tide receded and the expansive beach was revealed.
The train ride to Paris put us in the center of town, making it simple to get to the hotel that was, once again, in a great location for the excursions she planned for us to the Eiffel tower and Versailles.
We are already looking forward to our next trip to Europe with Mathilde's help.

Hotel Reviews

Hôtel Monterosa - Astotel

Paris

Wonderful staff and amenities but the rooms thermostat did not seem to control any temperature or fan speed.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Escale Oceania Saint-Malo

Saint-Malo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Best Western Plus l'Artist Hotel

Tours

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Skip the line Eiffel Tower Summit Tickets

Paris

Must see attraction that was made easy with the advance tickets. Foggy evening was the only detraction from the visit.

A Half Day Trip From Paris to Versailles Palace & Gardens

Paris

Skipping the line was well worth it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chateau de Chenonceau Loire Valley Castle - Entrance Tickets

France

Hidden gem outside of Tours with amazing history.

Quality of Experience

Private guide Literary Walking Tour

Paris

Roberto was an amazing guide with immense knowledge of the literary history of the area.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

My granddaughter, and I just had an awesome experience with KimKim.

Our travel agent, Lucie, selected places for us to go and things for us to see in Paris that were specific to our interests and fit within five day timeframe.

The Mythic 2CV 3-hour tour that opened our trip was wonderful! It gave us an overall picture of Paris so that we could add onto it throughout the week. Our 9 Hotel Opéra had a great location and was very clean!

We would never have missed making macarons, chocolate goodies, and the gourmet food tour. Believe it or not, our food tour guide was gluten-free just like my granddaughter. She even went out of her way to buy gluten-free bread for her to use as we sampled so many goodies.

Of course, we loved the Dali museum, the wonderful tour by Alouise a Montmartre, the Eiffel Tower at night, the boat tour on the Seine river, and the Saint Chapelle Stain-glass windows.

I would recommend Lucie as a travel agent to anyone who wants to go to France!

Hotel Review

Le 9Hotel Opera

Paris

Very clean! Daytime receptionist was very helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Great breakfast

Location

Near many restaurants and a beautiful park

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Visit of the chocolate museum with tastings

Paris

Besides, seeing the museum, we added on chocolate making. That made the experience 10 times more meaningful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit of the Louvre museum

Paris

Too crowded

Joel and his team helped make our honeymoon absolutely unforgettable! They handled every single detail for us over our 2 week trip to France. All of their local partners were exceptional--the hotels and tour companies they chose to work with. On our relaxation days we frequently found ourselves trusting Joel's travel suggestions for restaurants and attractions. They even helped us mid-trip when we ran into logistical issues with arriving on time for some of the tours. If you are looking to make your trip to France carefree, then definitely choose Joel and his team.

Hotel Reviews

Le Clos de la Commanderie B&B

Amboise

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel La Villefromoy 4*

Saint Malo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Best Western Aramis Saint Germain

Paris

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Eiffel Tower Summit Ticket

Paris

Seine Cruise with Commentary

Paris

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Saint Germain des Prés Food Tour

Paris

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half day guided tour of the Palace of Versailles with priority access in a small group (1 to 15 people)

Paris

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Guided Tour of Mont Saint Michel (Self Drive)

France

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

D-Day U.S beaches tour

France

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We worked with Olivier as our tour guide. He was the best tour professional I have ever worked with. He paid close attention to all our requests. He designed our mother-daughter dream trip with care and attention to detail. On our last evening, Olivier planned a river cruise on the Seine and added in a surprise birthday cake delivered by the crew. Who could ask for more?

Hotel Reviews

Les Trésorières Tours

Tours

This Hotel was wonderful. The staff were terrific, and the breakfasts were amazing.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It was a short walk to everywhere.

Staff

The staff went out of their way to make us comfortable. They made reservations for us at recommended restaurants.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room was cleaned every day. It was spotless.

Maison Colbert Meliá Collection

Paris

This hotel deserves every one of its five stars. Superb!

Authenticity & Character

This hotel was the home of a famous French writer. Our room was on the fifth floor with a private hallway. It had exposed wooden beams and was beautifully decorated. There was even a welcome sign on the screen of the Television that was personalized for us.

Location

The location is right near the river and Notre Dame. Also on the edge of the Latin Quarter which we always love.

Staff

The staff are professional and ready to help. Everyone spoke English and many other languages which was helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Impeccably clean.

Hotel Le Clos d'Amboise

Amboise

This is one of my new all-time favorite hotels.

Authenticity & Character

very clean

Location

short walk to castles, wine caves, and great restaurants.

Staff

The staff went out of their way to help us. Making reservations, recommending restaurants finding a driver.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Paris Dinner Cruise

Paris

This cruise was well done and fun! We had a spectacular last evening in Paris because of this cruise and crew!

This trip was several weeks in the making. There were some changes along the way and all booked and suggested experiences were spectacular. Vaseem was patient and took a lot of pride in making sure that my wife and I saw France through the same bright lens he saw through.
Each day was thoughtfully planned. Not hurried, we were able to explore at a decent pace. There was careful consideration given to daily and weekly activities. We used the underground, Uber, bicycles when we were not able to explore on foot.
All accommodations were excellent as were the ease of being able to download tickets or directions as we proceeded. Vaseem checked in on occasion and minor adjustments were able to be made in real time.
Thank you for a most memorable experience. Thank you Vaseem, thank you KimKim. Most professional.

Amandine did a great job booking our trains and accommodation

Hotel Review

Hotel de l'Amphithéâtre

Nîmes

A small but unique hotel. Very close to the amphitheatre and water gardens and train station

Authenticity & Character

Small with lots of character

Location

Perfect location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bathroom was quite dated but all fine with us as we appreciated the age of the building. Others may not be so understanding

Activity Review

Panoramic Dômes

Clermont Ferrand

Train trip from Nimes to Clermot Ferrand was unique 106 tunnels through beautiful landscapes. Well worth the trip back to the south of France. The Domes were better than expected and the history was amazing

Quality of Experience

Transport

Mathilde was excellent in responding promptly and revising the trip as we expressed our wishes in terms of the locations we wanted to visit and budget as well. When Mathilde was away, Kevin stepped in and was very helpful as well. In one situation when we needed help, Valentine also stepped in and offered to switch our hotel but we did not need to move, although the offer was very nice.
We had a fantastic time, sometimes challenging but very satisfying overall. For further commentary see a couple of my blogs below, and you can see all my blogs on the time we spent in France at andrasthehun.blog on wordpress or click on and-r-as-the-hun.ca. I copied two of the blogs below describing our unique experiences in Aix-en-Provence.

Finding Our hotel in Aix-en-Provence, France (blog published at andrasthehun.blog)

The travel agent reserved a place for us in Aix-en-Provence and the GPS in the Peugeot 208 indicated a map showing how to get there. The rush-hour traffic engulfed Kathy driving the car and I assisted navigating the road. Crowds of people walking across the street made driving more challenging. And the roundabouts, of which there were more than traffic lights, complicated driving by sprouting many exits and lanes that we had to assess in trying to find the right exit.
Some exits were just lanes. Once the GPS directed us to take the next right, which was a lane that took us into an underground parking that we toured searching for the exit. On exiting, the inserted ticket triggered the gate to open, and we sped out.
The car rental agent switched the GPS to English from French and a serious-sounding, deep-voiced female directed us to our destination with a UK accent. We learned some new expressions such as “bear right” which means to turn right.
The rush of traffic, the crisscrossing pedestrians, and listening to the deep UK-accented voice combined to make us highly nervous driving in a town new to us, and we wanted to get to our place fast. But that was not to be.
With the hotel address typed into the GPS, the GPS directed us to turn left into a lane right after going around the Rotunda, a central square in Aix. In the fast-moving traffic, we did not notice the small lane quickly enough and missed our turn in the rush-hour traffic. We were frustrated and used some words not appropriate in a blog. After recalculating, the GPS moved us around a few kilometers to come back to the Rotunda again. By that time with our nerves frazzled, we missed the turn lane yet again, being pushed by the cars behind us on our tail.
The third time around Kathy slowed down ignoring the honking behind us and we entered the single lane promising to lead us to our hotel. The next left turn ordered by the GPS left us facing a few bollards not allowing us into the single lane. Stumped, we stopped trying to analyze the situation before the honking became overbearing and people yelling at us to get a move on. We had no choice. We moved on while Kathy, in her utter frustration showed a finger to the woman driver behind us shouting at us.
At this point, having driven around for over an hour and a half, I said, hell with the hotel reservation, let’s take another hotel anywhere in Aix. Then we realized that we needed gas to continue our search. I clicked on Waze on my cellphone and looked for the nearest gas station. Still, in rush-hour traffic, we missed a few gas stations because we could not get to the right lane from the middle lanes fast enough. We filled up at the gas station that we finally reached, where a friendly soul directed us to a suburban hotel twenty minutes away. We were happy though with a full tank of gas and redirected the GPS to find the hotel.
Khalid, the hotel receptionist, was sorry but said his hotel was full and he came with me to two adjacent hotels to speak French to the other receptionists, which he said would help us, poor Canadians, find a place to sleep. Walking back and forth among the hotels afforded me time to discover that Khalid came from Tunisia and he became excited to hear that I loved Tajine.
The horrible option of sleeping in the car came to my mind, should we not find a hotel. But that idea also created a problem; where to find a place to park? Parking in Aix seemed nonexistent. When I shared this idea with Khaled, he would not hear of it, he said he would make sure to find a place for us.
But the nearby hotels were full as well. Khalid called another ten hotels to no avail. By this time, it was dark, and we were totally tired out and the impossible scenario of finding a quiet spot to park and sleep in the car has become a real option. Instead, Khalid suggested we leave the car at his hotel’s parking garage and take a taxi to our hotel, wherever it was. Since it was an offer to park free in the garage, and we were too tired to think, we accepted his offer. We took our overnight bags and waited for the taxi he called.
The taxi followed the route we had taken previously around the Rotunda, but instead of going off to the left where we had gone three times, the driver took the next right which was Cours Mirabeau where our hotel was. When confronted with bollards at the entrance – Cours Mirabeau is closed to traffic except for delivery vehicles and taxis – the driver inserted a card into a slot on a post next to him to make the bollards sink into the ground. And then we drove onto rue Mirabeau and found our hotel.
The next morning, after surveying where we were, we took a taxi to retrieve our car and returned to park it in the nearby parking garage. The instructions to our hotel would have been clearer if instructed to seek a garage, and not the hotel, which was inaccessible by car. But since the hotel has a street address, the GPS took us on a futile trip.
In retrospect, the travel agent should have told us to park first with an address for a garage and instructions on how to reach the hotel next. Instead, the address to the hotel was provided with the suggestion that we park in the nearest parking garage. But we were happy just to find the hotel located along a wide sidewalk full of outdoor cafes with crowds of people. Nobody paid attention to us entering the hotel.

Entering Our Apartment in Aix-en-Provence, France (blog published under andrasthehun.blog)

Talk about security! I thought we would get a key from a receptionist and go to our room in a hotel. Not so. We were registered at Les Suites Du Cours in Aix-en-Provence, which we thought was a hotel – but discovered later that in Aix, at least, a hotel is a type of townhouse in the center of the old city, they used to be houses of the wealthy. Our hotel room turned out to be an apartment.
Let me start in the beginning when we received instructions on how to access our “self-registration” where we would be staying tonight. Although we had the street address, the instructions on how to enter our accommodation from the travel agent came the day Kathy drove from St. Remy to Aix-en-Provence, about an hour’s drive.
I was surprised; I expected a hotel with a lobby and a receptionist. Not so. We received an algorithm on how to enter this place via ten successive emails that mirrored a five-page manual on entering this place, the latter also sent via email!
Challenged by digital codes and fobs and keys in the instructions, I was apprehensive about our arrival; what if we could not follow the instructions and were left on the street with no receptionist? Although we had a phone number, what if they do not work at night or not at home? And would my French be good enough to communicate with them?
When we arrived at the address with two backpacks, after being lost for three hours, we faced a large, ornamental door, shown in a picture on the five-page instruction manual. The door at our address was in the middle of outdoor cafes, with people occupying all the tables, oblivious to the new arrivals.
So, we started by punching in the four-digit code to open the ten-foot-high historical, ornamental, heavy door; it clicked and we pushed it inwards. The door was very heavy with springs so strong that I had to lean into it to keep it open. Total darkness awaited us inside the twenty-foot-long vestibule, and I fumbled to find a light switch, indicated by three lighted dots on the wall ten feet away from us. We searched for the mailboxes, as instructed, opened the door, and looked up the next code to open the number 5 mailbox, our apartment number. We punched another four-digit code a few times with no success until I realized that the star after the four digits was part of the code and not the end of the instructions. Two sets of keys fell out of the mailbox for our next set of doors.
A fob was attached to both sets of keys and one of the fobs opened the next door, leading to the staircase and the elevator. This part of the building was also totally in darkness but by now we knew to look for the light switch. With only our backpacks, we decided to walk up the stairs instead of using the elevator even though the twenty-foot ceiling made the stairs long. The instructions were that only one person and a suitcase could be in the elevator at one time, and yet another key to use it. At any rate, our apartment was only on the second floor, we reasoned, and Kathy was worried she might get stuck in the ancient elevator.
Having reached the second floor, we tried to use the old-fashioned elaborately molded key to open the large, ten-foot-high ornamental door. We were tired and the key was obstreperous, it would not work. I was unsure whether I put it in the right manner and twisted it around in all directions. Finally, I banged on the door in frustration, expecting someone to be around to help us or tell us to get out of there but nothing happened.
Then the realization struck us that in France, the second floor is actually on the third level. The ground or first floor is the “rez-de-chaussee”. So, we hauled our baggage up to the next floor in the dark again since the lights worked for a short time only and we had to find the next switch on the next level. This time the old key worked. Finally, we arrived in our “hallway”, but it was pitch black again, and fumbled in the dark to find a switch.
In this hallway, several double doors faced us which, I thought would lead us to the kitchen, bedroom, etc. I heard voices behind one of the doors so I went there and burst in to let the intruders know that we reserved this unit. American voices greeted us in a friendly tone, and they said that they had reserved this unit for five days and our apartment must be behind another door opening from the “hallway”.
Three apartment units opened from this hallway and we, apparently, reserved one of these but we did not see numbers to indicate which one. Each unit had a set of double doors in front of the locked door units themselves – the unit number itself was a small number on the inner door, not visible from the hallway. The ornamental double doors, we speculated, were probably the original doors to be kept for historical purposes, and the inner doors, where our keys worked, were modern, lockable ones.
I was embarrassed for bursting in on the American visitors, apologized, and went to another door in the hallway where one of the keys on the second set of keys worked. Finally, we arrived at our apartment. The “hallway” served three apartments; I mistook the word hallway for our apartment’s lobby.
Once we settled into our bright place, we engaged in a friendly discussion with the neighbors and imbibed a glass of wine to calm our frazzled nerves, I reflected on the amount of security installed here. We needed two digital codes, a fob, and two keys to enter our apartment! Was this necessary? Is this overkill? Is the crime rate in France high? I did not know. But I thought the five barriers to mount to enter an apartment were beyond the pale. But perhaps when you get used to this system, it becomes simple. At any rate, we felt secure to leave our passports in the room when venturing outside.
Now you might think this entrance to occupy your hotel/apartment was frustrating, irritating and unnecessary. It was. But at the same time, to me, it was a puzzle to solve. It was fun. I used to do sudoku and now I do wordle. The satisfaction of solving puzzles was similar to solving this real-life puzzle to get into our accommodation.

The Astotel hotel in Paris was amazing!! Service was great, staff were friendly and very accommodating, rooms were clean, breakfast was wonderful with many selections and complimentary snacks in the comfortable lobby all day was a real plus.
All of the hotels we stayed at were clean and accommodating and made us comfortable.
The guided tour to Normandy was a fantastic experience and the guide (Guton) was friendly, knowleageable and responsive. The tour to Versaille was worth the trip and the Guide (Edwardo) made the experience enjoyable and informative.
Simon from KimKim was readily avilable during the trip and helpful with any questions or asssitance that we needed.

My wife and I had a wonderful trip! There's always trepidation placing an experience (and investment!) like this in the hands of a company you've never heard of nor dealt with. I can't say enough good things about how smoothly everything went. From the taxi drivers to-and-from the train station to the staff at our amazing hotel (couldn't have asked for better accommodations with proximity to everything we wanted in Amboise) to our skilled and fun tour guides, Alex (who we were lucky enough to have for two straight days) and Cecelia (for our all-day private tour) to Justine, our local specialist, who promptly replied to our every concern or question leading up to the trip, everything was better than we could have hoped for. It was an impressively organized effort. Thanks to everyone involved! We wouldn't hesitate to book with Kimkim again.

Hotel Review

Hotel Le Clos d'Amboise

Amboise

Charming chateau with amazing staff, highly rated restaurant and location, location, location. Wouldn't think of staying anywhere else in Amboise.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Villandry, Azay-Le-Rideau & Vouvray wine tour - Full Day

France

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Alex was everything you'd want in a guide: youthful energy, knowledge and loads of fun!

Transport

Chambord, Chenonceau & Lunch at the Château - Full Day

France

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Alex was everything you'd want in a guide: youthful energy, knowledge and loads of fun!

Private guided tour to Chaumont-sur-Loire & Blois

Amboise

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Cecelia was a perfect private guide. Thoroughly knowledgeable and fun! It was a pleasure to spend the whole day with her.

Our travel planner Lise was amazing. She was easy to work with, made great suggestions and accommodated our unique needs. We had private transfers to and from the airport and train station and that was really a life saver. Our drivers were in communication with us and easy to find even during busy rush hour traffic. Our first tour in the Loire Valley was with Nicholas. He took us to Chenonceau, Chambord and a small privately owned Chateau for lunch. Nicholas was very knowledgeable about the history of both castles as well as the "drama" behind the lives of the kings and queens who lived there. He made it very interesting for us and gave us plenty of time to explore the beautiful gardens on our own.
Our next tour was supposed to be of Castle Bois and The House of Magic. We were disappointed to learn that the House of Magic was closed the day we went and had been closed for several weeks. That was one of the things my son was most excited about seeing. However, our guide for the day, Cecilia was able to shift quickly. We instead went to a local family winery for a wine tasting and then she took us to the last home of Leonardo da Vinci where we were able to see his inventions displayed throughout his garden. We then headed to Paris and had a nighttime summit tour of the Eiffel Tour. Our guide was Lekshme and she was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. The next day we did a private walking tour of Medieval Paris with Victor. He picked us up at our hotel, showed us how easy it was to ride the Metro (which we did consistently after that point and even saw Lekshme on the metro--she said hello and gave us directions) and gave us a great tour. Notre Dame, Sainte Chappelle and so much more including modern churches, a stroll through St. Germain showing us jazz clubs, bookstores, parks etc. Victor is very good at his job and very knowledgeable about history. From there we had a walking food tour through St. Germain des Pres with Philipe. It was amazing being able to taste the best cheese, wine, bread, chocolate, croissant, macarons and coffee that Paris has to offer. Philipe was a great guide, very smart and engaging with all of us. The next day was our bike tour of Versailles. We met at the train station and took the 12 minute train ride to Versaille where we were outfitted with bicycles. Clara guided us to the Palace of Versailles and gave us a wonderful tour including the Hall of Mirrors. After the tour we rode our bikes through Versailles to the market where we had lunch and time to explore on our own. We then met back up with our group and biked the Palace gardens and Marie Antoinette's hamlet. It rained in the afternoon, but it was SO beautiful. This was probably my favorite day in France. The next day we had a private tour at the Louvre. Marie Claire was our guide and while we had limited time, she really showed us a lot including the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and the beautiful Rubens paintings. She is SO knowledgeable and just a very pleasant person. The tour was a nice stroll after a busy day biking in Versailles. We also saw both Victor and Philipe at the Louvre and they both made it a point to say Bonjour! Our final day in Paris was a free day which I specifically asked Lise to schedule for us. And while it was lovely to have time to explore on our own, I missed having the knowledge of our guides showing us the hidden treasures of the city. Our final evening, Lise arranged a Sienne River dinner cruise. It was raining lightly, which made the lights of the city even more beautiful and we had a lovely meal. Unfortunately both myself and my son did experience food poisoning from that dinner which hit us on our 10 hour flight home the next day. The meal itself was very good and I'm sure it was just a fluke. Overall, we loved our trip to France, saw and learned so much, and met the most lovely guides the country has to offer. I will definitely be using Kim Kim to help plan our next international adventure.

Hotel Reviews

Au Charme Rabelaisien

Amboise

This is a very charming, small hotel in Amboise. It was clean and lovely. We were on the very top floor and the elevator didn't go all the way up, so there was a lot of climbing for us. But the views from our room made up for it.

Authenticity & Character

Very charming and lovely.

Location

Quick walk to Centre Ville, shops and restaurants.

Staff

Everyone was so friendly and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean and the staff was helpful with all of our needs.

Hôtel du Rond-point des Champs-Élysées - Esprit de France

Paris

Great location close to the Champs Elysees. The staff was really great, helping us with urgency anything that we needed.

Authenticity & Character

I loved the decoration of the hotel, especially the cheetah print carpeting. Very French!

Location

Close to everything, but tucked away too.

Staff

Every staff member we encountered went above and beyond.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean and comfortable.

Activity Reviews

Chambord, Chenonceau & Lunch at the Château - Full Day

France

The tour of Chambord and Chenonceau was fantastic. The guides were not only interesting as individuals, but they were also extremely knowledgeable about the places we were touring. The communication was seamless, with reminders and confirmations being sent a day before the scheduled transfer. The convenience of the transportation was greatly appreciated, especially when traveling with my two children.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Combo visit of Blois Castle and the House of Magic

France

The tour was scheduled to include a visit to Blois Castle and the House of Magic. We were looking forward to the House of Magic tour, particularly for my 13-year-old son. However, upon arrival, we found out that it was closed and wouldn't be open for several more weeks. Our guide was able to pivot last minute and took us on a wine tasting and to Leonardo da Vinci's house, which were enjoyable, but the unexpected change was a bit disappointing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Saint Germain des Près Food Tour

Paris

All the guides we had in Paris were fantastic. They were very knowledgeable and made the tours a learning experience for all of us. The food tour was particularly interesting as our guide was passionate about food and taught us about different cheese processes. It was fun and educational.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Nighttime Seine River Cruise with Dining Experience

Paris

The Seine River dinner cruise on our last night in Paris was a high-end experience with a fancy meal. However, both my son and I got severe food poisoning from the meal. We were violently ill for about five hours during our 10-hour flight back home, not sure if this was related to the dinnner or not.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a lovely trip. I do have a couple of reservations, which I'll talk about below.

First, I should say that Vaseem was very responsive and helpful. We probably contacted him more than he would wish while we were traveling! We did find one of the hotel rooms quite cramped, and we don't think 15 square meters should be called "spacious" for a couple, especially with a huge bed taking up most of it. But my main reservation is about the Kimkim model in which buyers get no breakdown of costs. This makes it very hard to tell whether we are getting reasonable value for the money, and to weigh and choose different elements. We chose to reduce the level of hotels, but in retrospect might have dropped some of the private pickups instead. These were very uneven in service. On the plus side, all the drivers were on time. But we expected help with luggage (being rather old), and while some were great about this, one young fellow in Lyon led us on a long bag drag without offering help, just peeking around occasionally to see if we were trailing along behind. We passed a line of taxis we would have loved to jump into instead.

We greatly enjoyed the Beaujolais wine tour with Eddie and Roman history tour with David. For each of the tours we were given inaccurate information about the meeting place and time, which led to some unnecessary worry and inconvenience. We liked most of the hotels, except for getting luggage up and down spiral staircases. The most charming was in Montpellier (luckily the kind concierge gave us a room in the portion of the hotel with an elevator, so there was only a little bit of spiral staircase). Our hostess in Avignon was extremely helpful with advice about sights and restaurants.

Anyway, thank you to Vaseem and the tour guides. To Kimkim management, please be more transparent about costs. I know we're not the only travelers who want this.

In our fifty years of marriage, we have traveled to many places. However this trip to France planned through Kimkim and the AMAZING AMANDINE was the best one ever!!! She gathered our input and created a dream itinerary to enable us to explore that beautiful country to get an excellent overview for the next time we visit!. Each tour was interesting and different and every tour guide was knowledgeable in whatever area or activity we were exploring. Favorites were Chef Fred and our French cooking class in Paris including a visit to the market for our ingredients. Axelle took us on the best food tasting and walking tour in Lyon providing some of our favorite memories! And the Seine dinner cruise was a beautiful (and delicious!) way to spend our last night in France. Amandine arranged all transportation as well from airports to hotels to train stations etc. and each driver was friendly and courteous. She was immediately available when we couldn't find one driver right away and in no time we were in touch with him thanks to her. She listened to our input regarding the type of hotels we especially like and found the perfect ones that offered a variety of styles, great locations and excellent accommodations. Deepest thanks and gratitude to Amandine for the best 50th Anniversary trip we will forever cherish! She is truly a gem and it was a special treat to get to meet her and thank her in person!

Activity Reviews

Paris Dinner Cruise

Paris

Great service and the food was delicious with a variety of items to choose. Otherwise was the perfect way to either or begin a trip to Paris. The sights along the Seine were beautiful!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

French Cooking Class with Market Visit

Paris

Chef Fred was kind and friendly and it was great fun to chat while walking to the subway to ride to the market and then shopping for the ingredients once we decided on our chosen meal. Getting to cook in his Parisienne kitchen and learn delicious recipes was a fun experience and one of our favorite activities in Paris! Plus he promptly emailed them for us to try at home.

Quality of Experience

Learning to cook and then eat some delicious French food was a great experience.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Chef Fred was exceptional and we would highly recommend this fun activity!

Transport

We walked and then rode the subway.

Food Tour Lyon Old Town

Lyon

We loved meeting Axelle! She was so knowledgeable, friendly and fun. It was a treat trying the variety of offerings at each stop and learning so much history along the way. This was one of our most favorite memories of our trip!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Axelle was a wonderful tour guide! The stop at Shop de la Rue and samplings of the wine, meats, cheeses and bread in their underground stone area was a great experience! The shop owner's son and partner was funny and adorable!!!

Transport

Axelle met us in our hotel lobby and we walked through the streets of Lyon together.

I am so glad to have used this service. Lise was very flexible and adjusted tour to our preferences. She also made very good recommendations and worked with our budget. Lise’s recommendation resulted in us seeing the three cities of Provence and we lived it.

The tour guides (Remy, Emile, Thomas, and Sebastian) enriched our tours and provided us with information that brought the various places alive.

The hotels were well located and all were safe and clean. Made getting around very easy.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel de Cambis

Avignon

Located close to everywhere one might want to go and see in Avignon. Rooms are clean, hotel nice and secure/safe. Very helpful staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to palace du pape. Easy walk to the pont and many cafes and restaurants.

Staff

It was hot while there and accommodated us with lighter blankets.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean. Beds were super comfortable.

Hotel Le Pigonnet

Aix-en-Provence

this was my favorite place. About 13 min from Cours Mirabeau but an easy walk or you can take the bus

Authenticity & Character

Love the gardens and the various rooms to sit inside and in the garden.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

In the footsteps of Van Gogh in Provence

France

Our guide was great! gave context of the time

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Afternoon Wine Tour to Châteauneuf-du-Pape

France

It was a good tour and learned how to evaluate wine

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Aix-en-Provence Historical and Gourmet Walking Tour

France

This was the best!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tomas was awesome. So enthusiastic.

Transport

be prepared for lots of walking

Hilltop Villages of the Luberon (from Aix-en-Provence)

Aix-en-Provence

I liked this tour but would have preferred doing it in the morning. Got back around 7 pm and it was dark

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sebastian was excellent

Transport

Full bus. All seats taken so not as comfortable.

Lise did an awesome job making our trip special. I gave her a budget and she made it happen. Every detail went as planned and we could not be more satisfied with the services provided.

In Paris we toured the Eiffel Tower, private Louvre tour, took a private medieval Paris tour and a private food tour. We also had a Seine river dinner. Delicious!! Each guide was punctual and personable. It was like we had an old friend that knew the area! So nice.

We took the train from Paris to Nice which was very relaxing. It gave us a chance to see the countryside and enjoy not having to drive.

In Nice we toured Monaco, Antibes, Eze, Cannes and a perfumerie factory. All of these were worth the money and again our guides made it personable and exciting.

Overall we would visit France again and would book with Lise. She communicated well and was available to help when our plans had to cancel or change. Two thumbs up!!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Brighton

Paris

We really enjoyed our stay at Hotel Brighton. The location was outstanding being so close to the Louvre, Eiffel Tower and shopping. The staff of the hotel were so helpful and accommodating. Specifically, Mitcham was so polite and helpful. He really made us feel at home during our stay. We had a king size bed with a balcony on the 3rd floor overlooking the gardens with the Eiffel Tower in view. The bed was comfortable, the bathroom was clean with 2 sinks and the shower had hot water and good water pressure. They had soft bath and hand towels. The room was spacious enough to have breakfast, which we did every morning, in the room. The included breakfast was delicious. Order one of everything on the breakfast menu as it all so good!!! We would absolutely stay at Hotel Brighton again. Lise did us a wonderful favor booking this hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to the site and shopping in Paris.

Staff

Especially Mitcham!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Le Negresco

Nice

Wow wow wow!! From the first time we stepped up the steps into the hotel till the morning we left, our time at Hotel Le Negresco was unbelievable! They have done an amazing job decorating this hotel with many art pieces. The decor is matched by the amazing service. My wife and I have travelled the world and this hotel was the nicest place we have ever stayed. Luxury is an understatement . We would absolutely stay here again. We booked a dinner at Chantecler restaurant which is onsite of the hotel. They are a Michelin Star restaurant and this was our favorite meal of the entire trip to France. That is saying something as all the food in France is good. It was an expensive splurge but absolutely worth it. You will not be disappointed. Great job Lise booking us at I believe one of the finest hotels in France.

Authenticity & Character

Decor at this hotel is unmatched. It was cool to watch people on the boardwalk stand and stare and take pictures of the hotel.

Location

Centrally located in Nice and convenient to all the sites in and around the French Riviera.

Staff

Everyone was so polite and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean and comfortable all around.

Activity Reviews

Eiffel Tower Summit Ticket

Paris

Nothing like champagne and caviar at the top of one of the most iconic landmarks in the world. Wasn’t too busy and the views are unrivaled.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Cool to ride in the original elevators to get to the top.

Medieval Paris - St Chapelle, Notre Dame & Conciergerie

Paris

We enjoyed the leisurely stroll around these iconic landmarks. Our guide was so knowledgeable and brought the history to life.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Louvre Late Opening Private tour

Paris

Phillip was an awesome guide. We were able to skip through the long line and go straight into the Louvre. He was very knowledgeable about the art and knew his way around the museum. It was like we had an old friend showing us around.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Saint Germain des Prés Food Tour

Paris

We absolutely enjoyed this tour. Maarten was an awesome guide. We shopped for our food and went to a park overlooking Notre Dame where sat, talked and ate. Such a pleasant experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Maarten was a wonderful guide. He knew the good spots to get great food and where best to enjoy it in Paris.

Nighttime Seine River Cruise with Dining Experience

Paris

This was one highlight of our trip to Paris. We would enjoy this experience again.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Monaco, Eze and La Turbie Tour small group tour

France

This was a fun tour. Driving on the Monaco Grand Prix track was pretty cool. We had time to shop at each of the locations. Walking the narrow streets of the old towns was definitely an experience. We were also able to visit a perfume factory which was a nice part of the tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Cannes, Antibes and St Paul de Vence Small Group Tour (Full day)

France

Seeing the sites along this tour was pretty cool. Our driver did a good job showing us historic locations and recommending shops and restaurants where we should eat.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Contacting KimKim and especially Mathilde was the best decision my wife and myself made for our 3 week trip to France. We had never used a travel specialist to organize an entire vacation in the past but now realize it will be the only way we will travel in the future. Mathilde was assigned to our initial request and she was extremely fast at getting back to us with a suggested itinerary. We told her that we wanted to start in Paris for 3-4 days and then end up in southern France for the last week of our holiday. We are quite active and wanted to see as much as possible during our stay and asked her for some information walking tours, wine and e bike tours as well as many other things. Our stays during the 3 weeks were in Paris, Normandy, Mont St. Michel, Loire Valley, Bordeaux, Aix en Provence and Nice. WIth regards to transportation, she handled the private transfers to and from the airport in Paris and everything in between which was a combination of train and car rental. All of the hotels that she booked were fabulous!!! Where Mathilde really excelled was all of the tours that she organized and arranged on our behalf. From the full day small group tours in travel vans or e bikes to the 1/2 day private historical tours. She booked 2 private boat tours, one in Paris and the other on the Mediterranean in Nice. Some of the tours we drove to ourselves in the beautiful French countryside which was great as well!!! All of the guides were very friendly, knowledgable and a lot of fun. Additionally, they spoke very good English. As we reflect on our holiday, we both feel it could not have been any better than what Mathilde put together for us. We will always treasure our very special trip to France because of you!!! Merci, merci, merci.

Our group trip to Normandy was perfect. All KimKim guides, drivers, and hotel were excellent. We'd like to particularly call on Manon, who was will us for our D-Day tour and Mont St Michele. Dinner at Le Presbytre was incredible. Thanks for our third trip with KimKim!

The itinerary set up by Joel from Kim Kim was perfect! The drivers were all there as scheduled for pick up. First Christophe picked us up at the CDG Airport and drove us out to Bayeux. He also picked us up on the day we were leaving on the train from Bayeux to Paris. There was a mix up in train schedules and Christophe went the extra mile by assisting us, speaking for us as we did not speak French. He explained the need to change our rail tickets and stood with us until we got on the train. He treated us like we were part of his family which was so heartwarming. The tours and guides were excellent! The first day we went to Mont Saint-Michel with Lucy as our guide. She was very informative and had a contagious excitement about her. She made the hike up 300 steps seem like a breeze! On the second day John was our guide to the D-Day Beaches, a Museum and American Cemetery. His knowledge had us imagining we were on the beaches running for our lives as those many soldiers did. On the third day of our stay we had a private tour with Emmanuel from Caen. He was a delightful young man with intricate details of the history of the war. We toured the Military Museum in Caen, Cathedrals and even a cemetery from the 1800s! All in all a great trip to honor those who served their respective countries and made the ultimate sacrifice fighting in the War.

Hotel Reviews

Hôtel Tardif Noble Guesthouse

Bayeux

Everyone was very pleasant and helpful. Check in and out was easy. Breakfast was yummy with an assortment of pastries, cereals, hot and cold drinks, fruits and a hot entree. The location was good. We could easily walk the town. The Cathedral across the street was absolutely beautiful! The only negative, we were given a room closest to the street and car lights and engine noises were a bit annoying, but calmed down as the evening wore on.

Authenticity & Character

Charming character from the entry gate

Location

Easy walk ability through the town

Staff

Helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bed was comfortable

Hôtel Jardin le Bréa

Paris

The hotel room was small, but comfortable. The street noise was a bit much throughout the night. May have been folks lingering around after the rugby tournament?? At 4am?? but it wasn’t the quiet room we were hoping for.

Authenticity & Character

I think they were in the middle of painting from the outside appearance?

Location

Walk ability to restaurants and subway

Staff

Alex was very helpful upon check in and gave us some tips for things to do and places to go.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

D-Day U.S beaches tour

France

John was a very good guide. Full of information very detail oriented. You could imagine being on the beaches that day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guides were all well versed in the territory they covered. They made it interesting and seemed to like their jobs as guides.

Transport

Christophe went beyond the call to help us with the train cancellation that we were not aware of.

Mont-Saint-Michel Full day Tour

France

Lucy was the perfect guide for this tour. She was so bubbly and very interesting in her tour

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

City tour of Caen with visit of the Memorial Museum of WWII

France

Emmanuel was a very personable guide. He was full of information about the war and the town of Caen.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip to France and Italy was expertly organized by Audrey. All hotels and transfers were set up and we didn't have to worry about a thing. The tours she picked along with the tour guides we had at each location (Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Portofino, Vernazza, and Florence) were very knowledgeable and fun.

Hotel Reviews

Globe et Cecil Hôtel

Lyon

We had a great corner room on the street, clean hotel and friendly staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Maisons du Monde Hôtel Marseille Vieux Port

Marseille

Our room was great facing the port. They also have a the most amazing breakfast!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel West End

Nice

Wow! A balcony room overlooking the French Riviera - yes please!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Piccolo Portofino

Portofino

We loved this hotel also overlooking the water and just around the corner from the port.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ventegà Sea View Apartment

Vernazza

Great apartment in Vernazza. Not many places to choose from here so this is a find!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Alfieri Signature Suites

Florence

What a great place - good location right on the river and beautiful rooms!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Lyon Gourmand

Lyon

Claire was a great tour guide and this was something fun to do when we first arrived to get to know the city and the local food.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Burgundy tour

Lyon

Loved the wineries we went to and our driver was knowledgeable about wine too. Learned a lot about Burgundy which was cool.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Semi-private Calanques Cruise - Afternoon

Marseille

What a treat! This boat ride to the Calanques was unexpectedly awesome. And we got to swim in the cave!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lubéron markets and villages

France

Our tour guide was great and villages were cute.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Van was good, but drive was long and lots of traffic.

Excursion to Arles, Les Baux and Saint-Remy de Provence

France

See below.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided visit of Saint Paul de Vence from Nice and lunch at La Colombe d'Or

Nice

LOVED THIS! Saint Paul de Vence is really the best village. Everyone should try to eat at La Colombe D'or!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Georgi was the best!

Transport

Half-day excursion to Monaco, Monte-Carlo and Eze

Nice

Would have liked to know more about what this trip entailed and spent more time in Motne-Carlo.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Nice

France

This was on our own - great beach city!

Portofino boat tour

Portofino

Brian our skipper was awesome! Totally recommend this!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Morning Cruise from Vernazza

France

This got cancelled.

La Spezia Cinque Terre gastronomic tour

France

We had already sampled the food that she introduced us to but it was fun to eat at local establishments.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Florence Walking Tour and Accademia Visit

Florence

Great to get a walking tour of Florence but this was our last day and it would have been nice to have more free time since this tour went for 5 hours, not 3 as expected. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable but it was too long for our last day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Overall our Kimkim trip was very good.
We enjoyed Provence & Mas de L’Oulivie immensely.
We had some minor disappointments with our Paris guide - he did not provide the complete trip that he outlined at the start of the tour (poor time management)
The BestWestern hotel in Montmartre was definitely not a 4-star hotel - there was no onsite restaurant / no room service and the continental breakfast was poor quality (we had breakfast outside the hotel on the 2nd day). In addition, the rooms were much smaller than we expected.
The windowless room in Arromanches was completely unacceptable. No windows / no bathroom fan / no ventilation. The rest of that hotel was good.

We truly enjoyed our trip to Geneva, Switzerland and Chamonix, Annecy, and Lyon, France. Mathilde, our local specialist did a fine job planning just the right mix of activities with down time to relax. The hotels she chose for us were conveniently located to the attractions we wanted to visit, and all featured comfortable rooms, and wonderful breakfasts. The Edelweiss Hotel in Geneva was filled with local color, including rustic Swiss mountain lodge decor and a musician in its restaurant who sang, yodeled, played the accordion and the long mountain horn of the region. What fun! A friendly driver picked us up at the hotel and drove us to our next destination, Chamonix.
We loved Chamonix! It's a very picturesque town, where we were guided by the excellent Aude, who helped us to understand the rich heritage of the town. We were in awe of the jaw-dropping vistas seen from l'Aiguille du Midi. Guide Armony accompanied us up the mountain on the cable car, and showed us the various levels and viewing points along the way. Without her guidance, we wouldn't have experienced half of the sights from the mountain. She was wonderful! In Chamonix, a driver picked us up and took us to Annecy, about an hour away. Going by car was super convenient.
In Annecy, we were reunited with Aude, who had shown us around Chamonix. Again, she was friendly and informative. It was Sunday, a beautiful day, and the streets of the town were packed! Aude knew how to negotiate the narrow streets and get us samples of local foods so that we could experience the tastes as well as the ambiance of this very charming town. In our free time, we took boat tours of both Lake Geneva and Lake Annecy, both incredibly picturesque. We were blessed the whole time with sunny skies and mild temperatures.
We left Annecy and took the train to Lyon. From the station, we took a taxi to the meeting point where we joined a group to take the Beaujolais Golden Stones tour. There were 2 vans, each with 8 tourists and a guide. We rode for about 40 minutes through beautiful hills and picturesque towns, then stopped at a lovely overlook where our guides Clémence and Agathe told the story of the area's heritage in wine production, and poured samples of white, rosé and red wines of the region. The served delicious croissants and pastries to accompany the wine. We then proceeded to a gorgeous village called Oingt that dated from the Middle Ages, and on to Domaine de fond-Vieille, vineyards and winery. The proprietor, Dominique showed us his vines and explained how the wine is produced. We then sampled his wines, white, rosé and red along with delicious cheeses and charcuterie of the region. We had plenty of time in the vans to chat with our fellow tourists, and enjoyed getting to know people from the Netherlands, Japan, New Zealand, the UK, and Canada.
The next day we wandered Lyon, taking the funicular up to the high town, visiting the Basilica at the top, and the Roman ruins of Lugundum. A delicious déjeuner at the Rooftop restaurant of Christian Tetedoie overlooking Lyon way was the perfect way to end our visit.
Thank you to Mathilde for all your hard work, and to Amandine for helping when Mathilde was on vacation. The next time we travel to Europe, we will definitely use Kimkim to help plan our adventure!