Kimkim Trip Reviews for Iceland

Our trip to Iceland was nonstop fun & adventure! From the moment we stepped off the plane till the moment we departed our kimkim guide Rinolda had us covered. Day 1 we started off with a luxurious visit to The Blue Lagoon and a walking food tour in Reykjavik with our awesome guide Ben! After stuffing our faces we did some light shopping and headed north for the 1st hotel. Day 2 was a sightseeing / hiking while driving kind of day. We stopped for lunch in downtown Akureyri and visited their art gallery and cathedral before driving east towards Lake Myvatn area for 2 nights. Day 3 was JAM PACKED with a wake watching tour in Husavik then loop around the peninsula to see Dellfoss and other sites along the way, ending with a nice soak at the sulfur baths and steam rooms in Lake Myvatn. Day 4 was long but we visited the author Gunnar Gunnarson's farm and cultural house, hiked great heights to see beautiful waterfalls, drove off road to see basalt column formations, and traveled through the East Fjords before settling in for the night at a cute spot in Breiddalsvik. Day 5 poured so our original ATV tour was canceled, but thankfully Rinolda was able to reschedule it for Day 7. It was nice having her so we didn't have to worry about what we would do that day in it's place or finding a new time to slot it in. Day 6 we visited the Diamond Beach and Glacier lake as well as hiked on a glacier. That was strenuous and a little above my ability but the guides were gracious and we were able to make the best of the situation. Day 7 was probably my favorite day of the whole trip. After a great night in Vik, we started strong with a visit to Skool Beans Cafe run by ex pat Holly, then had a BLAST ATVing on the black sand beaches with our guide Max, ultimately ending the day in Gullfoss with their famous geyser and great waterfall. The Gullfoss Hotel staff was phenomenal! Day 8 we kicked things off with snowmobiling on a glacier, which was absolutely wild. We also stopped at Estaduir II family farm for the freshest burgers I've ever had and ended the night with a walk around downtown Reykjavik to see the viking boat sculpture and yellow lighthouse. Day 9 our final morning in Iceland Rinolda didn't disappoint. She gave us the option of a direct path to the airport or a 2.5 hour ride around the peninsula stopping at geothermal sites, lighthouses, and other natural wonders, before returning our car & heading to the airport. Well, I'm sure you guessed which route we took. So as the title proclaims - this was our Iceland on the go adventure! Jam packed with sites, hikes, activities and fun we won't forget!

Excellent trip planning from Fran. We enjoyed everything and the trip was seamless and easy to follow. My only concern is the price transparency. Hard to know what your getting is worthy of prices if you were booking alone. The price is all inclusive and you are not allowed to see receipts or know how much Kimkim is making for their services.

Hotel Review

Hotel Rangá

Hella

Beautiful location, restaurant was fabulous, and very friendly staff. Hot tubs in the country side was amazing too.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Amazing landscape views outside!

Staff

Front desk lady sang happy birthday to me in Icelandic language..made my day!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Þingvellir National Park

Iceland

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Dive.IS did great

Fridheimar

Golden Circle

Expensive but worth it. Unique and delicious!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Solheimajokull Glacier Hike

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Horse Riding

Iceland

Amazing one on one experience. Rode out to several waterfalls.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Blue Lagoon

Iceland

Amazing

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Myvatn Nature Baths

Lake Mývatn

A bit smelly and locker rooms not as nice as other spas but worth it if your in Myvatn.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Whale Watching in Akureyri

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Grábók Crater

Iceland

We had a wonderful holiday.
Emanuela worked with us to plan a trip that was perfect for our needs, wants and time constraints. She was always responsive and regularly in touch before and during the trip. Logistically, the bookings she made for our trips all worked exactly as intended. We were particularly delighted with the company she chose for our two expeditions, the minibus and the guides were truly excellent.
In Reykjavik, Sky Lagoon was an absolute highlight and my favourite restaurant was Fiskfelagid although we sampled many and had lots of excellent food!

Emanuela was absolutely fantastic to work with on this trip. She helped plan a wonderful Iceland adventure and helped us keep our costs down while exploring all the beauty that Iceland has to offer. She made sure to include the 'must see' spots, while also taking us off the beaten path to explore in places like Varmaland. She was extremely communicative during the trip and helped answer all of our questions no matter how big or small. Would definitely use KimKim and work with Emanuela again! Snow mobiling is also definitely worth it :)

Terry and I emailed back and forth and she really got a good idea of what type of a vacation we were looking for. She wanted to know about us, what we liked to do, eat, etc. Then we had a nice long phone conversation to discuss further what we were looking for.
She listened and provided a few ideas and we revised and regrouped and tweaked the plan and the trip plan was fantastic. We stayed in 7 hotels over 10 nights. The selection of hotels were perfect. Exactly what we wanted.
The Iceland Yurt !! Wow what an experience. Loved it. It was the perfect way to begin our adventure. We wanted a variety and she delivered. We stayed in a cottage on the water in Fjarabyggd and it happened to be cold, windy, rainy and blustery. It was so perfect and we were able to keep our blinds open and watch the weather through the windows overlooking this amazing water - the view was amazing. Frost and Fire in Hveragerdi was awesome. Loved the town and so glad she chose this little gem for us to stay for two nights. Every hotel choice was perfect - we had fantastic variety and locations.
Excursions !! She hit the nail on the head. Every one of them was perfection. We had the perfect quite the variety; beer bath, Glacier Hike, Geo Spa geothermal pool, Ice Cave tour, Glacier Snowmobile.
Between our excursions we had outlines of the best things to see as we drove around the country.
The driving directions and itinerary was outstanding. Every night we checked the next days activities and picked the can't miss ones !!! We followed right along with the directions in our trip plan. We loved the way the trip plan was broken down with the driving directions, hints (ie: when to book our covid test, dont forget to pay for the toll for the tunnel, etc) accommodations and confirmations for our tours.
It was truly priceless. It allowed us to just enjoy the adventure and not stress about the little things. Thankful for Terry's work and diligence to help us plan the absolute best vacation of our lives.

Activity Reviews

Glacier Ice Cave Experience

Iceland

The cave is beautiful. Our guide was great as well. The notes said that there was a bumpy ride to the cave. Just be prepared because whatever you think is bumpy times it by 10. It was super bumpy as you drive for about a half hour off road. Then you will hike about a half hour to the cave. It is an easy walk. It is gorgeous in the cave. Waterproof pants jackets and shoes really will make life easy.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

GeoSea - Geothermal Sea Baths

Iceland

This was a great place to visit. We loved the baths, the swim up bar, etc. We ate in a lovely restaurant in the town. Be sure to bring clothes and be ready to shower before and after going into the pools. We brought a towel with us from our hotel. We didn't need a robe. I was shocked that i wasn't freezing getting in and out of the pools. The view of the mountains over the water in the distance does take your breath away.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Skaftafell Glacier Hike

Iceland

This hike was very educational . We didn't realize why the lava was on the glacier, etc I loved learning about it. The crampons are interesting to walk with. They will give you those, a helmet and you will wear a harness. Be prepared that you may get hot walking but the guides are so great. They realize that you may want to take off a layer or two. This is a straight hike. You hike from where you check in. There is not drive to the glacier.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guides were great. Super helpful

Langjokull Glacier Snowmobiling

Iceland

This was our favorite excursion. You will meet at the meeting spot and drive for one hour up the mountain in ice and snow. Once you get to the hut they will put a complete snowsuit on you with helmet and buff. If you don't have waterproof shoes they have a bootie you can use. The day we went the winds were at least 50mph and it was hailing. Being a Florida girl never on a snowmobile I was second guessing my choice as I watched grown people fall over because the wind was so strong they couldn't even walk. Once we got on the snow mobile and drove for about 5 mintues we got out of the hail storm. It was the most beautiful sights from up there. Truly unforgettable .

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We were so happy with our trip to Iceland. Terry provided a very detailed and easy to follow itinerary. We so appreciated the convenience of having all of our reservations booked for us and easily accessible. The tours, hotels, and rental car were all perfect for our needs. Terry was excellent in communicating and providing helpful information. We will definitely recommend kimkim to those looking to travel to Iceland!

Activity Review

Silfra Snorkeling

Iceland

Our tour guide, AJ was fantastic. He helped us every step and let us know what to expect. The experience was amazing and even though seemed daunting at first was very surreal and easy if you listened to your guide’s tips.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Emanuela planned an amazing trip for us. I traveled with 3 kids and their grandmother. Everything was perfect for our group. The hotels were spectacular, the activities a lot of fun, and even the dinner recommendations were amazing. Our favorite dinner was in a small local restaurant in Vik that we never would have heard about if we didn't have Emanuela. Can't wait to take my husband to the Blue Lagoon!

We had such a wonderful trip in Iceland! It was our first time there and Emanuela was extremely helpful in communicating with us while we were there about any last minute confirmations or changes due to the weather! Everything was set up and very easy to follow, from the google maps to the daily itinerary. It was such a special trip and we would highly recommend Emanuela to anyone planning to travel to Iceland , especially for the first time! It was an unforgettable trip!

I have great things to say about Emanuela. We traveled to Iceland in March, which is not the typical or ideal time to travel there. We had originally signed up for a group tour but realized we wanted more flexibility and to travel just by ourselves. I had bought two different guide books but Emanuela was invaluable in telling me what would be appropriate for the season-- half the hikes and activities that I read about were snowed in or the roads were closed! She helped us pivot to do a fun winter trip with ice caving, snowmobiling, horseback riding on the beach, a Northern Lights tour, a premium Blue Lagoon experience, a Reykjavik food tour, and fantastic hotel recommendations. Some of the activities ended up being cancelled or rescheduled due to weather but we had enough going on we didn't feel any loss. She planned our whole trip out with great google map links and even set us up with a wireless internet hub for the whole trip through the rental car agency. The restaurant recommendations were always the best as well. She consistently checked in while we were in Iceland and also was very communicative about the changing covid protocols. I also switched the plans around quite a bit (dates, activities, hotels) and she was always patient and friendly. I know folks going to Iceland and I am recommending Emanuela for all their needs!

Our trip to Iceland was an absolute adventure. We experienced true Icelandic weather with a red storm warning on arrival and the whole range of possible conditions after that. This understandably affected our activities/planned tours but Jenny and the kimkim team did an excellent job communicating with us and updating our trip plan. We received very helpful and quick replies to our questions and felt very well supported throughout our trip. Jenny did a great job spacing out planned tours which made it possible to reschedule things as needed. This also gave us plenty of time to do our own hikes and dive into the Iceland landscape at our pace. I’m extremely glad we used kimkim and know that our experience was better because of the knowledge Jenny brought to our trip plan.

Hotel Review

Magma Hotel

Kirkjubæjarklaustur

We absolutely loved this hotel. The little cabins are more spacious than most hotel rooms. We also got lucky and we’re able to see the northern lights from here!

Tips for future travelers

Food options are limited at this location. There’s one restaurant in town that was excellent though!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Crystal Blue Ice Cave

Iceland

We loved seeing the ice cave. Our only frustration was with other tourists on the tour who delayed the hike and caused us to spend less time than expected at the location.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Blue Lagoon

Iceland

Overall we didn’t think the blue lagoon was worth the money. There are other smaller geothermal baths that are natural and not as crowded with tourists.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Everything Preeti did was amazing! We had enough time to explore on our own plus her suggestions of what to see and do made Everything manageable. I cannot recommend her enough!
I would book through her again. She knows this country! Iceland cannot disappoint, but having inside knowledge made it spectacular!

Emanuela was amazing she was informative helpful and was able to help pivot and adjust our schedule when asked and even worked through our flight delay to move bookings around on the fly. This enabled us to still see all of the sites we had desired without a hiccup. She listened so well to all of my questions, needs, and wants and created a trip of a lifetime for my children and I! All of the local nuances and recommendations she made were spot on. She gave us plenty of information and clearly communicated throughout our trip to keep us on track. I left in love with Iceland and long to come back to see more. I can’t thank Emanuela enough for putting together the trip of a lifetime!!

The February weather created a challenge as several of our booked tours were canceled or cut short due to storms. Our agent, Emanuela, was remarkable in rebooking tours, hotel rooms and reassuring us that she would take care of us!! We can't thank her enough for making our holiday a success! We visited the Katla Volcano, ice cave and and glacier; Víðgelmir Lava tube; Blue Lagoon water spa and enjoyed visiting the shops on Laugavegur in Reykjavik. We met so many nice people from Scotland, Ireland, England, Lithuania and even Brazil. To see Iceland in the winter was amazing!

Jenny was amazing to work with. Despite working with a shorter than ideal planning timeline she found us a truly memorable vacation experience. With a daughter on the autism spectrum our travel needs can sometimes be very specific with a lot of flexibility built in and Jenny found that perfect balance for us. I doubt I’ll ever plan my own vacations again now that I’ve experienced first hand how smooth this process was. She removed the stress of planning and potential travel challenges so all we had to do was enjoy our time as a family.

Activity Reviews

Horse Riding Tour

Iceland

We loved the horse riding experience through the snowy fields. Toni, our guide was great; friendly and knowledgeable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Crystal Blue Ice Cave

Iceland

This was a fun and informative trip. My kids were less than pleased with the distance we had to walk to get to the ice cave but our guide made it all worthwhile once we got there. He engaged the kids personally in some of the things he was showing all of us and made sure they were having fun. The cave itself was beautiful to see but sad to think about how the glacier keeps getting smaller each year. We were all glad we got a chance to see it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Neat to ride in the giant 4x4 but VERY bumpy. Almost like being in a boat so if you typically get motion sick you may want to plan accordingly.

Using KimKim was a fantastic overall experience and I’d definitely recommend using them to book another trip. We were able to pack a lot in during our visit to Iceland and our guides with Hidden Iceland with super friendly and knowledgeable. It was so helpful and easy having our schedule set in advance, with a detailed packet of all of our activities. Our travel concierge was responsive and helpful both before and during our trip as well. We had a great time and I look forward to visiting Iceland again!

Terry did an amazing job planning our trip to Iceland! I would highly recommend!

Our trip to Iceland was phenomenal! Emanuela designed a fantastic itinerary that allowed us to make the most of our 5 days. From our first glimpse of the spectacular waterfalls at Seljalandsfoss, every stop she planned revealed amazing wonders! The glacier lagoon was a highlight for us all! We loved dinner at Lava at the Blue Lagoon and lunch at Fridheimer. They were both delicious!

Emanuela was so helpful not only in planning, but to support us during our travels! She provided a number and was easily reachable during our trip to help with anything we needed. She rearranged dinner and lunch reservations when our schedule changed and was very responsive to all our questions.

I highly recommend a trip to Iceland with Emanuela’s help!! We can’t wait to go back!

Emanuela did a great job setting up our trip to Iceland for us. She asked lots of questions about our interests and was extremely responsive to our questions and requests. She came up with an itinerary that fit perfectly with our preferences, needs and desires and exceeded our expectations. We chose KimKim to book our trip because Emanuela customized our trip for us when most other travel companies simply offered “canned” itineraries with little opportunity for questions or changes. Our trip was fantastic. Every accommodation and activity was arranged exactly as planned. Emanuela suggested great restaurants, tours and off the wall coffee shops and local bakeries that we would never have found on our own. We loved Iceland and Emanuela definitely helped make our experience as great as it was. Thank you Emanuela!

Emanuela planned a trip that was one amazing experience after another. We followed her recommendations and were not disappointed with the sites, the lodging, and the restaurants. The guides for the glacier walk, Northern lights, and ice cave were extremely knowledgeable. Each was a unique experience. She customized in a few places based on our preferences and that worked really well. Iceland should be on everyone's bucket list.

Emanuela planned one of our favorite vacations ever. Our decision to go to Iceland was last minute so we turned to kimkim and Emanuela to plan out our itinerary. The itinerary/plan was very detailed and included activities that we enjoyed doing. Every suggestion that she made was great including her recommendations for local bakeries. We even credited her for the wonderful weather we had. Going to Iceland? Using Emanuela to plan your trip is a must.