Kimkim Trip Reviews for Iceland

Preeti was excellent.... everything was memorable couldn't ask for better person to handle everything

My daughter and I just completed an epic 15 day tour of Iceland thanks to Francesca, our dedicated kimkim specialist.

Francesca delivered a flawless, personalized adventure that we will never forget.

As a seasoned traveler and past travel agent, I knew better than to try to curate this trip. I needed someone who knew where to go, how long it would take to get there, yet also have the insider information to direct us to off the beaten track sights and special gems.

Of the tour operators I contacted, kimkim was the only one that asked me for more information before recommending a general tour. Once Francesca assessed and understood our interests, activity level and expectations, she cooked up a highly personalized itinerary that met our needs and exceeded said expectations.

Glad we upgraded to an automatic AWD as the car was our home for some 1800 miles and the heated seats made a BIG difference. The car wifi also came in handy multiple times.

We truly loved our time at the different thermal spas we visited, the endless views, the constantly changing scenery and weather. Diamond beach was a favorite stop and driving the Western Fjords felt like playing a video game! Not for the faint of heart.

Thank you Francesca for a trip we will never forget. Thank you for your instant responses to my emails, your knowledge and expertise, your handholding and your availability for suggestions while we were traveling.

We loved every minute and mile of our trip to this enchanting country of fire and ice.

Activity Reviews

The Geothermal Vok Baths

Iceland

Go jump in the lake!

Quality of Experience

Myvatn Nature Baths

Lake Mývatn

Go jump in the lake!

Quality of Experience

Blue Lagoon

Iceland

Great place to start your trip...especially after a long overnight flight!

Quality of Experience

Not one thing went wrong. Nothing.

We spent 10+ days in Iceland, staying in 8 hotels, rented a car, visited dozens and dozens of destinations, participated in some for-pay activities (whale watching, glacier lagoon boat, hot springs, etc.) and it was flawless. That rarely happens when I book my own trip.

On top of this we had detailed maps for every day (that were based Google maps, with each destination laid out), optional activities, local insights, restaurant suggestions. The hotels were all very good, the driving rimes reasonable, and the trip was AMAZING.

During the planning process Preeti communicated at each step, really worked to understand what we wanted (small groups, boutique hotels, off the beaten path destinations) and she tailored the trip for us, asking for feedback, adjusting and delivered a great adventure for the four of us.

I feel like I need to mention one more thing: we had originally planned on taking this trip in 2021 and Preeti had helped us put a trip together (to the point of us only having to put down a deposit) and then we had a medical emergency and, by necessity, stopped responding. Preeti was so very understanding when we finally did connect a few weeks later and was hugely enthusiastic when we reached out to plan our 2022 trip.

Hotel Reviews

Exeter Hotel by Keahotels

Reykjavík

This is a fine hotel in a very touristy area. Parking is hard (garage is near impossible for a SUV). Close to other sites (we walked everywhere aside from our visit to Sky Lagoon). In house restaurants for street food, lots of options around.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Fairly busy tourist area.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

ION Adventure Hotel

Nesjavellir

This place is incredible. The location is remote, but the hotel is so unique and the pool is an incredible treat. Food is solid, bars are fun.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hótel Kría

Vík

Beautiful, modern hotel with nice rooms, solid restaurant and located in a town with breweries, pizzerias and great views and access to nature.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon

Hnappavellir

Another beautifully designed hotel, modern, clean and stunning location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Hallormsstadur

Egilsstadir

This was our least favorite hotel. The hotel is dated, the rooms are VERY hot, it seems to be very popular with bus rides and the restaurants were not great (and the hotel was so remote that the nearest options were about a 20 minute drive). The hotel was fine, just not at the same caliber of the other 9 hotels we visited.

Authenticity & Character

The hotel is dated.

Location

It's remote, but in a beautiful woodland.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The rooms were extremely hot and one small window.

Fosshótel Mývatn

Myvatn

Stunning hotel, amazing views, amazing location. Great rooms.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful design, beautiful location.

Location

Location & views.

Staff

Very friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Laugarbakki

Laugarbakki

This hotel was really remote. The restaurant was fine. The rooms are modern and updated.

Authenticity & Character

Location

The hotel is really not located near anything, but stopped a long day of driving from being longer.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fosshotel Hellnar

Hellnar

This is a very basic hotel. Nice location, isolated, good restaurant.

Tips for future travelers

There is an on-site restaurant (that was very good) with limited offerings. There is another town a few KM away that has broader and less expensive offerings.

Authenticity & Character

Very simple hotel, nothing fancy.

Location

Great views, access to nature.

Staff

Excellent, prompt help.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean.

Activity Reviews

Husavik Whale Watching

Iceland

An old oak boat, dolphins, whales and incredible views. We learned a ton as well.

Quality of Experience

Myvatn Nature Baths

Lake Mývatn

Stunning pools, modern facility (and they are remodeling).

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Iceland Thermal Bath Experience

Iceland

This is such a great alternative to the blue lagoon. The seven step ritual is worth the extra money. Modern, clean, great experience.

Quality of Experience

Katla Ice Cave

Iceland

Don't set your expectations on seeing a cave -- we did and it was fine. The best part is being in an incredibly remote part of the tackier, no crowds and incredible beauty. Our driver was sarcastic and funny and gave us a great overview.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

It was a bumpy ride, but was great!

Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon Zodiac boat tour

Iceland

A truly remarkable, small group tour. Boat pilot was knowledgable, funny and engaging.

Quality of Experience

The Geothermal Vok Baths

Iceland

This is an amazing facility. Truly one of the best we've visited. Do not miss.

Quality of Experience

Agent did an amazing job booking a tour exactly how we wanted it. Everything went off without a hitch and it was an unforgettable experience that I will always cherish! I would highly recommend Emanuela

My husband and I were scheduled to take a circumnavigation cruise of Iceland that was canceled with just a few weeks notice. We already had airline tickets and activities planned for two days in Reykjavik when I contacted Terry in a panic with a request to fill the remaining ten days with a Ring Road tour. She asked about our interests and did an amazing job! The car rental, hotel accommodations, and pacing suited us very well. Our daily plan was so easy to follow and included absolutely everything we could have wanted. The activities were well-chosen and included things that I would never have thought of, like a tour of a lava cave. I’ve always wanted to see puffins so she suggested a trip to Grimsey Island and made all of the arrangements. It was the highlight of out trip! There were puffins, arctic terns, kittiwakes and guillemots everywhere! We loved it!
My husband and I love to travel and prior to Covid spent at least 25% of our time away from home. I did all of the planning and always enjoyed doing it. KimKim and Terry made this trip so easy and delightful that I have decided to retire as our family travel agent!

Overall this was a fantastic trip. Accommodations were very nice and the trips took us to places that helped my kids and I form some amazing memories. Planning was easy, Jenny was always accessible before the trip and responded quickly to my inquiries, I would definitely work with her and Kimkim again. The last hotel did not have our booking (or really just couldn't find it) and Michele from Kimkim resolved the matter quickly.

The only thing that was disappointing is that there was no way we were awake enough after traveling for almost 24 hours to do the first event that was planned for us. We were really looking forward to snorkeling but having almost fallen asleep behind the wheel on the way there, it was not possible. I take some responsibility in not really thinking this through, however I'm also not sure how many people would be up for snorkeling after being awake/traveling through the night.

Of note: Google maps, was unreliable in some pretty significant ways. Make sure the option "rerouting to save time" is off on your preferences, but even when that is off, double check your destination with Waze or some other mapping program. There were at least 5 instances (that I can think of right now) where google took us the wrong way. Once, it actually put us in a somewhat dangerous situation that would have been very problematic had I continued on the road it recommended. I loved having the destinations mapped out, but after the first wrong directions I was constantly checking Waze. One time it literally had us turn right when we should have turned left and because there's often not a convenient/safe place to turn around, we had to travel 20 minutes in the wrong direction which again, is no one's fault but terribly annoying.

Despite these issues, this was a fantastic trip and I would work with Kimkim again.

Othman was great to work with! He planned an amazing itinerary and we had the best trip ever! Othman really understands Iceland and tailored our trip perfectly with our family's needs and interests in mind. We especially loved the glacier lagoon tour, glacier hike, and horseback riding. In addition, he set us up with the perfect accommodations. Othman was always responsive to my questions, and answered in a timely manner. If you are planning a trip to Iceland, Othman is the man to help!

Hotel Reviews

Garður Apartments

Gardur

Quaint seaside village, walking distance to restaurant. Quiet neighborhood. Comfy beds.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dalshöfði Guesthouse

Kirkjubaejarklaustur

Unique location, surprisingly modern accommodations. Very comfortable beds.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hestheimar

Hella

Beautiful location. Friendly staff. Loved the horses! We could have stayed here forever.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Stay Apartments Einholt

Reykjavik

Pros: great space and the beds were comfy Cons: run down, laundry facility in other building, and water really, really smelled like rotten eggs. Location was ok but would have preferred being closer to downtown area.

Tips for future travelers

basic accommodation - if you just need a place to sleep, this place will be fine.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon Zodiac boat tour

Iceland

This was a family fave!

Skaftafell Nature Preserve

Iceland

Solheimajokull glacier hike & ice climbing

Iceland

Super fun!

Gullfoss Waterfall

Iceland

Loved this!

Geysir Geothermal Area

Golden Circle

Amazing!

Kerið Crater

Iceland

Cool site!

Þingvellir National Park

Iceland

Interesting, although other sights were more amazing.

Quality of Experience

Horses and Hot Springs

Iceland

Fun to ride Icelandic horses, however some of our horses did not seem interested in following the commands given. Staff seemed on autopilot. Not super enthusiastic. Would maybe try a different horse riding experience next time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Blue Lagoon

Iceland

Loved the Blue Lagoon!

Quality of Experience

Jenny and the team made our bucket list trip a reality. I can’t say enough good things about the entire experience. Beforehand, Jenny was responsive to all my many questions, and patient with several trip iterations. During the trip, the itinerary was seamless. Everything was where she said, when she said, and so conveniently laid out. When one hotel didn’t have our reservation, we called the KimKim number and it was resolved in minutes. And best of all, the itinerary perfectly captured what we had asked for and what we had hoped for. Using Jenny and KimKim saved me hours and hours of planning, and gave us peace of mind in turbulent travel times. I’m so so happy we went with Jenny and KimKim, and I would use them again in a heartbeat.

WOW! What a Magical trip! A big thank you to Janel for the excellent service and putting together a stunning itinerary! An unforgettable adventure!

Activity Reviews

Activity options for the South East Coast

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Activity options for the South West Coast

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Activity options for the Golden Circle

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Activity options for North West Iceland & Akureyri

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Activity options for Lake Myvatn & Husavik

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Activity options for the Eastfjords

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Blue Lagoon

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Activity options for Snaefellsnes

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Activity options for Reykjavik

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I really enjoyed working with Othman. He helped me create an itinerary that worked with my requirements- no driving more than 4 hours a day - he provided advice on restaurants and other activities. We really appreciated the step-by-step driving directions, too. Othman responded quickly to all my questions both before and during the trip. Excellent service that I hope to use again!

Janel and team were great. I had a few changes during the trip and they were there to help and coordinate. The trip was well thought out. We had a lot of coordination/ hotel accommodations to make and I felt everything went according to plan.

Hotel Reviews

Hótel Grímsborgir by Keahotels

Ásborgir

Great place. My son and I shared a 2 bedroom suite which was perfect. A little outside of town but great.

Tips for future travelers

I would definitely upgrade to a suite / apartment if traveling with family or just need a little extra room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Vík í Mýrdal

Vík

I think this is part of a chain of hotels - I saw at least three different hotels with the same brand name. This one was "earthy". It was well done And very nice

Tips for future travelers

Restaurant was great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Laugarbakki

Laugarbakki

The outside needs a little care but it looks like the interior was update not too long ago. I think this structure was an old dormitory Al that was converted over. The rooms were fine.

Tips for future travelers

Give it a try and I don't think there are many other options (better options) in the area.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hótel Borg by Keahotels

Reykjavík

Great location. Very central to the active part of Reykjavik. Hotel was well appointed and the rooms were typical European style (smaller - which is to be expected in a city) and nice.

Tips for future travelers

Parking and can be tricky- there is a parking garage maybe two blacks away. I didn't feel 100% comfortable leaving the car on the street so I used the garage. The garage was more expensive but probably worth it.

Authenticity & Character

Great character - fit in with the city/ area

Location

Proximity to city center / activity

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Berjaya Hotel Mývatn

Mývatn

Great place-

Tips for future travelers

Restaurant was ok- there is a bar / pub right next to it which actually shares the same kitchen but food prices are lower. I would just go there for dinner. Same menu...just less expensive.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Katla Ice Cave

Iceland

It was ok- thought it might be a bit bigger and longer in the ice cave- it was more of a mountain trip than a cave trip but it was good to see - wouldn't do it again but glad I did it-

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Grábók Crater

Iceland

Great but all the sights in Iceland are great - not sure I would make a special trip for this but it was cool.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Blue Lagoon

Iceland

Great - it is worth a few hours of your time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trip Planning Experience: Typically I plan our trips and I enjoy the planning (I’m a Project Manager by day), but given this was a unique country with so many wonderful places to visit, having little time to plan, and not knowing the country very well we decided to use KimKim. I filled out a questionnaire about our trip preferences (budget range, types of sleeping accommodations, how we like to travel, etc). After submitting our info, we received a message from Preeti shortly afterwards with a recommendation based upon our preferences and what wanted to do in Iceland. This was an “out of the box” trip plan, but Preeti made us aware that we can customize as much as we wanted to. We spent about 2 months doing our own research and working with Preeti to fully customize our itinerary at which point we booked/paid for our trip. Then Preeti spend about 6-8 weeks planning our trip: reserving vehicle, hotels, excursions, refining our itinerary. There were times I had to reach out to Preeti because it had been awhile, but she replied soon after. In the end, after reviewing our detailed itinerary and comparing to our list of must have and nice to have places to visit, Preeti worked our itinerary to best suit our wants and we were pleased with the results.

Trip Experience: Snaefellsness Peninsula, South Coast, Westman Islands May 18-26
When we arrived in Keflavik, we picked up our rental car without an issue, we ended up upgrading our vehicle to an SUV and all the insurance possible based upon reviews we had read elsewhere. We’re glad we did because some of the roads in Iceland are very offroad and we ended up getting a fast leak in a tire to where we had to use the Roadside Assistance. Highly recommend getting all the insurance offered.
The whale watching excursion with Laki Tours was so much fun. While the first few hours we didn’t see anything, in the last hour we saw orcas (including a baby). Since we saw them so late, the tour operator stayed out another 30 minutes so we could watch the whales. We were under the impression that it was a small group tour, but there were about 40 or more people on this excursion. This may be what is typical for small group tour size, and we were not aware.

The Katla Ice Cave Tour excursion with Southcoast Adventures was not what I had envisioned. We were under the impression that it was a small group tour, but there were about 20 or more people on this excursion. The Katla Ice Cave collapsed last year (and we were not aware), so the first part of the tour was seeing what was left of the Katla ice cave (not a whole lot) and then hiking to a baby ice cave to walk through it. The baby ice cave made up for the first part of the tour. Even though it didn’t live up to what I had envisioned, the total experience of trekking to the glacier, hiking the glacier a bit to see what was left of the ice cave, and hiking through the baby cave was a unique experience. It was amazing to think how old the glacier was and the volcano ash we were walking on, we took it in. I wish we had known about the Katla Ice Cave collapsing, and we would’ve selected a different excursion (like a true glacier hike).

The Kayaking in Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon was AMAZING. This tour was a true small group tour of 5-7 people (2 people arrived late and had to go on a different tour), and what we would’ve expected with a small group tour (around 10 people). Once kayaking in the lagoon, we had the freedom of taking pictures and kayaking at our own pace. We were fortunate with the weather, and seals were swimming all around us. The seals were friendly and swam up near us, a few seals were on an iceberg sunbathing. This was by far my favorite excursion to be up close to the beautiful icebergs and seals.

Preeti recommended several different hikes and we thoroughly enjoyed them, the ones that stand out to us are Glymur Waterfall hike, Mulaglijufur Canyon, Nauthusagil Waterfall. There were a few times where I thought we should do something else but should’ve listened to Preeti in her recommendations.

Preeti recommended several restaurants throughout our trip and she was spot on. All the food in Iceland is delicious. I highly recommend the following restaurants: Bryggjan in Grindavik, Sjavarpakkhusid in Stykkisholmur, Hotel Rjukandi Restaurant in Borgarnes, Mjolkurbuid Eatery in Selfoss, Wok on Vik in Vik, Ice Cream from Vikurskali in Vik, Messinn in Reykjavik, Gott in Westman Islands (ate there twice), Ice Cream from Isbud Huppu.

There were a few times that either an excursion got cancelled, we decided to make a change to our itinerary due to weather, or we had questions, that we had to rearrange our itinearey. I’m thankful for Preeti and her team for being able to quickly adjust our schedule and rebook for different excursions or ferry tickets. It was a seamless process, no questions asked, and reworked our itinerary. Thank you for the quick response! We were able to enjoy our time in Iceland instead of having to rearrange our time and schedules. Totally worth it!

Overall we had a wonderful vacation, it is our best one yet! I am thankful that we used Kimkim and we had Preeti to assist us throughout the process. We would not have had such a great time had we planned ourselves and not had Preeti and her team. We hope to return to Iceland in the coming years and we will use Kimkim (and Preeti) again!

Hotel Reviews

Hótel Snæfellsnes

Borgarnes

We stayed at this hotel for 2 nights. The hotel provided breakfast was amazing. There is a cafe attached to the dining area where they offer espresso, pastries, sandwiches. We had the best coffee on our trip in their cafe (Cortado). Highly recommend getting one of their cafe drinks. There is not much around this area to choose from a hotel, but our rooms were clean and open. The room temperature was a little warm, but we cracked the window to keep the air circulating. The room was on the smaller side, but I expected that. The bathroom was a bit dated and could use an update. The beds and pillows were very comfortable. We ate at the onsite restaurant and had one of the specials and it was AMAZING. Some of the best fish we've ever had. Overall pleasant experience and we would stay here again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hótel Klaustur

Kirkjubæjarklaustur

We stayed at this hotel for 2 nights. This is a small town where a lot of establishments close at 9pm, including the hotel restaurant. The rooms were not as clean as I would've preferred. After our first night, the cleaning staff did not tidy up the room only refreshed the toiletries, which seemed odd to us and we had not experienced before. The room was small and our room was right near sitting water outside with a ton of bugs. The room was warm, so we had to crack the window, which meant a lot of bugs got into our room. If we were to stay in this town again, we would look for a different hotel. The hotel provided breakfast here was amazing.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hótel Vestmannaeyjar

Westman Islands

This was our favorite hotel on our trip! The rooms were very spacious, clean, and the shower was amazing! The room temperatures were comfortable compared to other hotels on our trip. I only wish we had stayed one more night!

Authenticity & Character

Location

It was in the center of the town and could walk anywhere.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms were clean and very spacious. The bathrooms were clean.

Activity Reviews

Whale Watching Ólafsvík

Snæfellsnes Peninsula

The whale watching excursion with Laki Tours was so much fun. While the first few hours we didn’t see anything, in the last hour we saw orcas (including a baby). Since we saw them so late, the tour operator stayed out another 30 minutes so we could watch the whales. We were under the impression that it was a small group tour, but there were about 40 or more people on this excursion. This may be what is typical for small group tour size, and we were not aware.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Katla Ice Cave

Vík

The Katla Ice Cave Tour excursion with Southcoast Adventures was not what I had envisioned. We were under the impression that it was a small group tour, but there were about 20 or more people on this excursion. The Katla Ice Cave collapsed last year (and we were not aware), so the first part of the tour was seeing what was left of the Katla ice cave (not a whole lot) and then hiking to a baby ice cave to walk through it. The baby ice cave made up for the first part of the tour. Even though it didn’t live up to what I had envisioned, the total experience of trekking to the glacier, hiking the glacier a bit to see what was left of the ice cave, and hiking through the baby cave was a unique experience. It was amazing to think how old the glacier was and the volcano ash we were walking on, we took it in. I wish we had known about the Katla Ice Cave collapsing, and we would’ve selected a different excursion (like a true glacier hike).

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon Kayaking Tour

Iceland

The Kayaking in Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon was AMAZING. This tour was a true small group tour of 5-7 people (2 people arrived late and had to go on a different tour), and what we would’ve expected with a small group tour (around 10 people). Once kayaking in the lagoon, we had the freedom of taking pictures and kayaking at our own pace. We were fortunate with the weather, and seals were swimming all around us. The seals were friendly and swam up near us, a few seals were on an iceberg sunbathing. This was by far my favorite excursion to be up close to the beautiful icebergs and seals.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

So happy that we used Jenny at Kim Kim for planning our trip to Iceland. She took all the stress out of planning the trip away and we were able to just go and enjoy it ! We like traveling on our own And this way were able to do it without missing things because she had all reservations made with plenty of time for doing what we wanted at the pace we enjoy and provided a map with things we wouldn’t want to miss along the way. Her choice of lodging was great and the adventures we needed reservations for we’re booked with excellent guides- We loved Thor with Katlatrack for our Katla ice cave tour, Troll for ice climbing and the zodiac boat with Glacier Lagoon were all fantastic, plus a couple other adventures. I would definitely take another trip using Kim Kim !

Activity Reviews

Myvatn Nature Baths

Lake Mývatn

Loved the myvatn nature bath experience !

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon Zodiac boat tour

Iceland

Glad we went with the zodiac boat. It was a great way to really get to see the glaciers at glacier lagoon and as an added bonus we saw seals up close

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Katla Ice Cave

Vík

Really glad we had Thor for our guide! It was excellent and we thoroughly enjoyed this !!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Solheimajokull glacier hike & ice climbing

Iceland

Great guide! Very patient , encouraging , and made this a wonderful day

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I will start out by saying TERRY was absolutely AMAZING!!! Cannot say enough wonderful things about her and how helpful she was in planning the most perfect vacation for us. She listened to what we were wanting and gave great suggestions. She took the time to chat with us on the phone which made communicating our needs so much easier. HOTELS: all the hotels were really nice, but want to give a special shout out to Hunkubabbar Guesthouse and Arnarstapi hotels. They were both so incredibly unique and wonderful and the little towns they were in were so special! EXCURSIONS: Silfra Snorkeling was our favorite and a once in a lifetime experience. Also, the people that ran that outfit were above and beyond fantastic and accommodating. Our younger son was last minute not able to do the snorkel and they offered us a refund for him on the spot! Kayaking on the glacier lagoon was extraordinary as well! All of our excursions( and we did a lot of them) were top notch, well organized, well run and truly fabulous. If there was one thing to miss I would say maybe the Lava Cave. FAVORITE AREAS: Peninsula, Golden Circle and Kirkjubaejarklauster. It was all so spectacular it's hard to pick just one thing. The waterfalls, the whale watching, going into a glacier...and ending with a day in Reykjavik and Blue Lagoon was just what the doctor ordered! Truly an adventure of a lifetime!!!! We didn't want to leave!

Rinolda was responsive and super helpful- would recommend! We had an amazing trip!!!

Rinolda helped us plan a great trip! She worked with us to design the right trip for our needs and abilities and found us tours that mixed adventure and education nicely. She also recommended wonderful restaurants.

The itinerary planned for us was tailored to our interests. The guided excursions included hikes that allowed us to see amazing landscapes that you can’t get from a highway pull off. Our guides Damion of Ice Explores and Omar of South Coast Adventures gave us insight to the ever changing Iceland landscape and the history of its population. The links included in the itinerary were very helpful. The driving plan link to google maps along with Apple car play made finding our way around Iceland stress free. our favorite hotel of the trip was the Magma. This trip qualified as a check mark on our bucket list. We walked on glacier, saw seals swimming around icebergs , soaked in a geothermal river, walked up to a lava field, hiked into canyons where scenes from The Game of thrones was filmed, watched 10pm sunsets, gagged on fermented shark and much more.

Will

Fantastic trip! Othman did a great job responding quickly and working with us to create the perfect trip that allowed us to enjoy every moment.

Activity Reviews

Crystal Blue Ice Cave

Iceland

Gorgeous place! Photos don’t do it justice. Just don’t go if you get carsick. The monster truck ride is wild! The whole trip was a little over 3 hours

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The car was a bit older than all the others at the lot but it did not detract from the experience

Crystal Blue Ice Cave

Iceland

Gorgeous place! Photos don’t do it justice. Just don’t go if you get carsick. The monster truck ride is wild! The whole trip was a little over 3 hours

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The car was a bit older than all the others at the lot

I was very happy I used kimkim to plan my trip to Iceland's South Coast. My specialist, Preeti, did a great job. She worked with us to come up with an itinerary that met our interests, had lots of great suggestions for things to see and do, restaurants, etc, and was very responsive to my many questions. During the trip,
a couple of minor problems were handled promptly. We'll definitely use kimkim and Preeti in the future.

Throughout the process of being assigned to Othman at the start of our use of KimKim, we had difficulty understanding what he was doing or saying. It should have been a sign for us to back out of using KimKim.
Othman carried out a plan for us that seemed to ignore some things that were most important to us and seemed scripted and geared toward his personal favorite things to tell tourists to see.
The first example of "The Othman Scripts" was his "Welcome to Reykjavík" and "So happy you enjoyed your day" message, which he posted about 4 weeks before we landed, and it was written for travelers who arrive early AM, not late PM (we arrived at 9:00 PM/21:00)- so his message was off-putting and irrelevant.
Our itinerary seemed to have been pre-written from other travelers' itineraries and often included places we had no interest in seeing and Othman often placed our personal stated goals into his "alternative ideas"- "if you have time" section.
Upon de-boarding and making our way to the transport service, our itinerary listed one company and our voucher listed another. Our voucher said drop-off at hotel and the actual drop off was at a church. Not that walking at 10:00 PM at night in Reykjavík is too dark as they days are long and we easily got to our self-booked hotel which was so charming and clean.
We were assigned to EuroCar for our vehicle and were assigne a similar model at the airport the evening of day 2. We spent several hours the next day driving to one of their stations in Akureyri and waiting as they located a SIM card and black box so we had wifi connection for our driving directions. (One has a 50-50 chance of dealing with a friendly hospitality specialists or a rude hospitality specialists in Iceland.) As never-been-to-Iceland-before tourists, we definitely got our first dose of rude hospitality at EuropCar in Akureyri. The initial male we experienced (after several minutes of ignoring our presence and then assisting a male customer who walking in after us) kept asking us to produce a black case from our vehicle which of course we did not have and was the reason we were there to begin with. Luckily the female who rented us the car at the airport arrived at this station and began to help us obtain the missing SIM card and routing case. After about an hour, a new SIM card was successfully activated. And we finally began our sight-seeing for the day.
Driving times did not seem to factor into Othman's planning so there was no way to both experience his suggestions and our personal interests (which were too-often listed as "alternative sites"). By day 3 we knew to research our personal interests and then focus on what mattered to us (what attracted us to Iceland in the first place).
Any tour that had issues due to weather was fine with us. On day 4 our Geothermal Spa tour was unpleasant because the hospitality experts there are rude. Othman did not think to add towels to our tour package and he did not warn us to bring towels from our hotel. So the hospitality staff took pleasure is insulting us for not knowing that our "basic tour" did not include a way to dry off. By this time in our tour, it was becoming clear that had we done everything ourselves, and not relied on KimKim's "self-guided tour", we would have had a smoother experience all the way around. Everything that we had booked ourselves was splendid, things that Othman booked were often incorrect or chaotic or poorly thought-out. Although in retrospect one of Othman's or KimKim's scripts may have said "make sure you follow Covid policies", it was not mentioned during our stay, nor were we reminded to check on need for Covid testing before going to the airport. It would have been a nice and helpful touch for KimKim/Othman to just check in on us and try to save us money and time by telling us about the Covid testing site on the way to the airport. Spending extra money and time on cabs and testing right before our departure after a less than stellar KimKim experience was not appreciated. We are happy we came and saw Iceland. We are not happy we were assigned to Othman or that we used KimKim.

Hotel Reviews

Húsavík Cape Hotel

Húsavík

The two owners have been running this hotel for about three weeks. They are passionate about their unique gallery (Eurovision-themed) and this was an interesting, quirky, and fun bonus. The rooms was clean, the staff was friendly. The current cooks are from Naples so the pizza and tiramisu was delicious. The breakfast was the weak point. No yogurt (a specialty of Iceland), no hot food. Bread, meh. Cucumbers fresh and delicious. Heinrich was quick to honor local restaurants and gave an excellent recommendation for dinner. We are "foodies" and the suggested restaurant was a Win.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Laugarbakki

Laugarbakki

Food was nice. Staff very friendly and helpful. Rooms were very modern, minimalist, and clean. Very updated and pretty. Horses, ponies nearby and swing set for children. Outdoor hot tubs were popular.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Grand Hotel Reykjavik

Reykjavik

We booked this hotel ourselves and it is a great find. Loved the gym, restaurant, locations was good good. Free parking was a Plus. Friendly staff and waiters. Delicious cuisine in the restaurant. One weird thing which we tried to fix ourselves. The air-draft beneath the door to the hallway is quite loud- like a continuous running loud vacuum. We placed a towel there to dampen the sound so we could sleep. It worked well-enough.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Sveinbjarnargerdi

Svalbarðsstrandarhreppur

Although rooms are rustic, they are clean and get the job done. The food here was the best of all hotels booked by KimKim. The staff is generous and kind.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Although rooms are rustic, they are clean and get the job done. The food here was the best of all hotels booked by KimKim. The staff is generous and kind.

Hotel Odinsve

Reykjavik

We booked this hotel ourselves and it was charming, clean, well-situated for sight-seeing and had super friendly staff!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

GeoSea Geothermal Sea Baths Experience

Iceland

The pools themselves were pretty and did overlook the ocean with land between the two. Of course it was snowing the day we were there so visibility was limited and our heads were exposed to the snow and cold as we did not have hair/head covers. Water was warm and relaxing from the shoulders down.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendliness, understanding that travelers using a travel company are not made aware of details odf what's included in the package purchased by the tour company.

Blue Lagoon

Iceland

The lagoon is very pretty and the hospitality staff were informative and friendly. A towel, silica face mask, and drink were included with the experience which was appreciated.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

self transport

Skutustadagigar Pseudocraters

Lake Mývatn

Cold snowy day. Not much to remember.

Quality of Experience