Kimkim Trip Reviews for Ireland

Wolfgang did a great job planning our trip and adjusting with our wants. We had some rental car issues when we tried to pick up our car, and Wolfgang jumped right in to try and help us out quickly.

The most memorable part was definitely Wolfgang’s recommendation to do a day trip to Inishmore, while on the west coast to view the Cliffs of Moher. That experience was probably our favorite of the whole trip!

Overall the trip planning and the trip itself went very smoothly. The whole experience went smoothly and all the reservations for hotels, activities, etc all went per plan. With our requests and Clare's expertise we really have a balanced and memorable family vacation. It was a nice blend of indoor and outdoor activities and the timing/spacing worked well except for one day where it wound up being a bit tight (Killarney to Cliff Walk to Ashford Castle Dinner). We were able to make it all work.
The guides for each of the activities turned out to be really great: John for the Guinness and Jameson tour, Hester and William for the Killarney Kayak, Eleanor for the Doolin Cliff walk, Conner for the Falcon walk at Ashford Castle and Kate for the Scones and bread making. We also enjoyed the Waterford Factory tour but cannot recall our guide's name for that.
Couple things I noted
- In Dublin, I liked the Jameson tour but felt the Guinness tour was bit too big/commercialized
- The tea at Waterford castle was a little off. They seemed to be some general confusion/delays going on and the sandwiches served were different than the menu which was an issue to do some food allergies. We got it straightened out and had a nice time, And the grounds were very beautiful to explore
- Killarney national park was very beautiful and the Kayak trip was a great way to see a large part of it.
- We went the clock-wise direction for the Ring Of Kerry and found we spent most of our time on the first few spots but that wound up being our favorites.
- The Doolin cliff walk was amazing and it did take the 3.5hrs. We did not account for the delay in getting the taxi back to our car which made the drive onto Ashford Castle in time for our dinner reservation very tight.
- Ashford Castle was our splurge but we really enjoyed the stay, touring the grounds, and the dinning. The falconry tour was a family favorite.
- Driving worked out well for the most part but seemed like on the west side, we encountered on our journey a lot of extremely narrow side roads (some sections where only one car could pass).

Hotel Reviews

Ashling Hotel Dublin

Dublin

We liked the location of this hotel and it served us well for the sites we wanted to see. Was a nice, clear, and a good breakfast. The staff was very helpful. It is right off the train line but we wound up walking most of the time.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clayton Hotel Cork City

cork

The hotel is really nice and in a great location and our room overlooked the water. But we just ran into an issue that impacted our sleep. Could not get the AC to work, so we opened the windows. But then we had to deal with loud late night partiers along the water and the smell of cigarette/cigar drifting up and into the room. They tried to help resolve and move us but nothing was available.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ashford Castle

cong

This was our splurge and we really enjoyed everything about it. The rooms, the grounds, our fine dinning.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Randles Hotel Killarney

Co. Kerry

This was very nice location for visiting Killarney national park and the rooms were really nice.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sheraton Athlone Hotel

Athlone

Hotel was fine, nothing remarkable but it was just a transit stay for us on the way to Dublin and so it served that purpose well.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Parking was a little challenging since you are in the city center. There is a garage but it was a little confusing.

Activity Reviews

Afternoon Tea at ashford Castle

Cong Co Mayo

The teas and sandwiches were really good. The staff also helped us a lot of the tea selection as well as the preferred order to eat the different sandwiches and desserts. Of course the setting in the Castle only adds to the experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Traditional Irish Homemade Baking Scones and Bread (Kilcolgan)

Ireland

Kate is a really fun teacher. The experience is in the kitchen of her house so nice and intimate. We had a lot of fun and really like the different scones and breads. We each chose slightly different versions to make.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Hawk Walk ( 1.5 Hours)

Ireland

Was not really sure what to expect from this, but we signed up to do the Falconry tour. Our tour guide Conner was incredible and amazing to see how he controls the falcons on the tour and help us send and receive the falcons. Plus it was really nice to see how the overall operation was run and the dedication to it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Transfer/Taxi in Town

Ireland

Were on time and it went smoothly

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trinity College Library : The Book of Kells Experience

Dublin

This is a really interesting experience. It was a little hard to do on our first day due to jet lag

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guinness & Jameson Irish Experience Tour

Dublin

Really like the Jameson part of the tour. It was a small group with very interesting guides and we learned a lot. The Guinness tour is very popular in a huge building with a lot to see and a lot to do, to the point it was a little overwhelming. Though the view of Dublin from the observation level was really great, particularly while working on your pint.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Johnny Fox's Hooley show + Dinner

Dublin

We really enjoyed the dinner, the singing, and the dancing. Very intimate setting and a great experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We tried to do a taxi for ease, should have stuck to the Bus

Afternoon Tea at Waterford Castle

Waterford

Something seemed a bit off that day. There was some general issue going on and the staff were a little distracted. The sandwiches served were different than the menu which cause an issue due to food allergies. We caught it and explained to them, while they did not seem to be aware of the issue, they made some accommodations . I think it was just an off day. The grounds were very beautiful to walk around.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Waterford Crystal Factory Tour

Waterford

Really fascinating to learn how the crystal pieces were made and was interesting to see work being done up close. The gift shop is a bit tempting, and we wound up making a few purchases while there :-)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Killarney Lakes Discovery by Kayak

Killarney

This was a great experience. Our guides Hester and William did a really good job of taking through interesting places on the lake while also providing a lot of history and information. Doing the short live cave runs was also fun. It was a great way to see the national park.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Doolin Cliff Walk experience

Doolin

The views of the Cliffs are really amazing to see in person. Eleanor did a really nice job of pacing the walk and taking breaks to share interesting facts and stories. She also did a good job of keeping us safe and proper guidance on where to go and not to go.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Planning our trip to Ireland was a breeze. Our specialist, Dean, included all of the aspects we were looking for in this trip. He made sure we understood our itinerary and readily responded to any questioned we had. We scheduled an elopement ceremony after we booked our trip and Dean made it very easy to make changes to our itinerary so we could squeeze this special day in. I would definitely book with KimKim again.

Hotel Review

Ballyseede Castle

Tralee

Staying here was a night of luxury. We got dinner at the bar and it was one of the best meals we had in Ireland. I would love to stay here again if I am ever back in the country.

Authenticity & Character

There is a long walking trail connected to the property and there are friendly animals roaming the property.

Location

Secluded oasis with dogs!

Staff

Staff was very friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Large rooms and comfortable bed/pillows.

Activity Review

Ring of Kerry Guided Bus tour

Ireland

Informative and a great way to see a lot in a little amount of time.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The hotels, car rental and planned activities were great. On the other hand, we received a very long document before our trip that just listed *all* of the options of things to do at each place - there was no priority or added information about timing, booking in advance, or attempts to tailor recommendations to our preferences. This document was generally not useful and we ended up having to use a travel book to figure out what to do in each place.

We had KimKim ( and Julia and Sara) make ALL the arragnemtns for our Ireland trip. though I typically enjoy and do my own planning, I got busy with other things and had KimKim do it all. Amazing job.

Great tours arranged, and all the personal touches worked out perfectly. The ONLY issue we had was we could not do more. Our days were packed! We wish we had added more days to the southern and western coasts. but just could not.

Fantastic trip, couldn't have done it without KimKim, and Justine and Fanny were terrific!
First two days in Dublin were great, loved Number 59, the food and drink tour was so fun and informative, and our guide, Collum was great. Guinness Factory is a must!
Don't let the car rental people talk you into a bigger car! As you know, when we arrived at the Maldron in Cork, my husband stood in a hotel parking spot while I went to get the car; the hotel only has like 10 spaces out front. As he stood there, a gentleman (local to Ireland) pulled in the spot, hitting my husband in the knees, demanding him to move, saying, 'we don't do that here". My husband moved but was very angry as was I when I returned seconds later with our rental. Anyway, the hotel was very busy and didn't give great directions to the parking garage 3 minutes away, I was flustered and drove down a very narrow street, hitting a concrete ballast on the left bumper as I was making a left turn. I finally made it back to the hotel and found a spot to park, but the damage was done. We ended up getting very drunk at the bar hotel and didn't do anything in Cork.
The next morning Europcar said they were bringing us a replacement car when I finally reached them to make the report, and I got a reference number. A tow truck came and picked up the wrecked rental. After several hours of waiting, I called Europcar and got passed around a phone chain, no one could find the reference number or report of my accident, and told me it would be 24 hours before I was given a replacement. Upset at this news, as we had already extended our check out time at the Maldron, we took a taxi to the airport. We were able to secure another rental after putting down a $2000 deposit with the threat that if ANYTHING happened to this car we would lose our money. This put quite the damper on the day and overall experience as the Europcar people were a nightmare to deal with.
Anyway, on to Killarney which we absolutely fell in love with. The Dromhall was really nice. It was such a pleasure to meet Richard and take the hike around the National Forest after our experience in Cork, and the weather was beautiful. Unfortunately because of the accident we were late arriving to Killarney and did not get to take our boat tour. In speaking with Richard, he recommended not driving the Ring of Kerry after hearing about our driving ordeal, as well as we really didn't have time. He recommended we just go to Kenmare, which I really wanted to do, but we again were a little shy of driving due to the threat of losing our money. We had a beautiful evening in Killarney at the Killarney Brewing Company and did some shopping.
On to Dingle, which was delightful. An Capall Dubh was a great place to stay, we went on a boat tour of the cliffs, had fish and chips at Harrington's, dinner at Paidi O Se's. The next morning was our anniversary and we lit a candle at St. Mary's and walked the labrynth. It was awesome to be on the coast. We stopped in Adare Village on our way to Doolin and had lunch at The Arches, which was delicious.
Doolin was gorgeous! Our accommodations were beautiful and Ceol na dTonnta was great.
We really enjoyed our talk with Peter Curtin. Such a fascinating man! However, his pubs are not open on Mondays and Tuesdays, and we almost missed him because his assistant changed the time but didn't tell him! We had him all to ourselves. After the talk we had a good dinner and some Irish music at McGann's pub.
The Cliffs of Moher are breathtaking and that was amazing. We did not hire a celebrant to renew our vows, that was really expensive! It was special nonetheless. We went back to Peter's Roadside Tavern that night for dinner and also heard some live music.
Galway was wonderful as well as the Hardiman Hotel, probably our favorite accommodation, They had valet parking too! Very helpful. I really enjoyed the shopping and we had a great meal in a pub around the corner.
When flying out of Dublin, you should probably start the morning there. The drive from Galway (and my planning) got us to the airport too late to make it through customs to catch our flight home on Friday; Delta said we needed to be there 3 hours in advance. We were lucky enough to get a room at the Camden Court Hotel and had another fun night in Dublin. We had lunch at the Bleeding Horse and dinner at the hotel restaurant Ivey, which was really nice for our last night!
No problems flying out the next day, Delta worked hard to get us home. Aer Lingus was striking so the airlines were busier than usual, which added to the long customs lines.
We had a wonderful adventure and will totally book our next trip through Kim Kim. Justine was awesome and Fanny was really kind and helpful with me during the car rental accident!

We had a great trip to Ireland -- and a great collaboration with our specialist Justine. We did not want to go on a tour and we wanted to tailor the travel to our preferences. Justine helped us explore scenarios, and then bring the plan to life with excellent suggestions for both places to stay and memorable activities. Having support with accommodations and travel took the stress out of planning and also let us spend our planning and research time on the fun activities we wanted to do. Justine suggested two of our favorite actives on the trip -- a tour of Slea Head with Mossie and a walk through the Gap of Dunloe. It was also nice to know we had KimKim's help if our plans were thrown off by any disruptions - especially since the airline we were flying was on strike. It was our first time working with KimKim, but I would definitely do it again -- the perfect level of support for how we like to travel. Thank you Justine for all your wonderful help and responsiveness!

Hotel Reviews

Pax Guest House

Dingle

It would be hard to improve on anything at Pax House - the location is beautiful, the service is excellent and the breakfast was a highlight of our trip. We loved it!

Authenticity & Character

Location

The beautiful view of the harbor is so lovely and peaceful!

Staff

We particularly enjoyed meeting Michelle -- she was so kind and helpful and made our experience very special.

Cleanliness & Comfort

George Hotel Limerick City

Limerick

Wilder Townhouse

Dublin

Excellent location and service! We loved it.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Nice quiet location -- and the prettiest neighbor we encountered in Dublin

Staff

Great service from people who were kind and fun to interact with.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Fairview Boutique Hotel

Killarney

The Fairview has a great location and the rooms were nice. The service was not at the super high level we experienced elsewhere -- but we enjoyed our stay.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Dingle Distillery Tour

Ireland

We enjoyed the tour - but our guide talked so much it went from 60 minutes to 90 minutes which felt a bit dragged out.

Guided Killarney National Park Walking Tour

Killarney

Richard is a knowledgeable and relaxed host - like having a friend in Killarney. We enjoyed two hours of exploring the park, learning about some of the history and the natural environment and Richard also gave us great recommendations on pubs and other places to check out in Killarney.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Gap of Dunloe & Lakes of Killlarney Boat Tour

Ireland

This was one of our highlights of the trip. We got very lucky with a cool, sunny morning - perfect for enjoying the incredibly beautiful surroundings. While we did see other people and, of course, the jaunting carts, we were mostly on our own and to enjoy the peace and beauty around us. The board ride back to Killarney was another highlight -- a perfect way to appreciate the National Park from the water.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our boat driver did a nice job of highlighting some of the nature, history and beautiful views on the way back through the lakes.

Transport

A Private Half-Day Tour of the Dingle Peninsula

Ireland

We had a wonderful morning with Mossie. He is a very experienced guide -- funny, knowledgeable, great conversationalist and kept a relaxed pace with lots of time for us to enjoy each stop. He showed us lots of beautiful places that we enjoyed all the more for not having to worry about driving the narrow roads. We loved touring with Mossie and very highly recommend!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Claire and her team were wonderful! We had a delightful time in Ireland and they were there every step of the way. Highly recommend.

The guides and drivers provided were excellent. There were some scheduling problems with getting the car and attending the tea. Many in the group were unable to attend tea as they were picking up cars. The tea was just okay, a little stuffy and didn’t seem very Scottish (what ever that is). Also the car return schedule was unrealistic as there was not enough time allowed. This wasn’t a big problem and we worked it out. The Highland tour guides were very nice, but this was not very interesting. I don’t think going to the cliffs of Moher by boat was a good idea. The seas were very rough and many people were very sick. Arran island was very fun. The best was the Irish house party. I wish we had more time in a small village with traditional Irish music. We may have to return. All in all, or trip was well organized and you did a good job trying to meet our varied wishes. Thanks Carol

Hotel Reviews

Skeffington Arms Hotel

Galway

Interesting hotel. They do have a problem with unpleasant odors in the hallway. Breakfast was just okay, location was good for the boat trip.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fonab Castle

Pitlochry

Authenticity & Character

I expected an older castle.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Eden Locke

Edinburgh

Lovely, very modern and clean.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Argyll Guest House

Glasgow

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Belvedere Hotel

Dublin

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Free time in Inishmore ( Aran Island)

Ireland

Renting bicycles and touring the island was a definite treat. The scenery is so unusual and beautiful that we were spellbound the entire time.

Edinburgh Castle Tickets

Edinburgh

Very interesting, I would have enjoyed a guided tour.

Quality of Experience

Loch Lomond Cruise

Ireland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Irish Dancing - The Irish House Party (Dinner & Show)

Dublin

The meal was ho=hum and took way too long to be served. Fortunately, the Irish music after was awesome!

Quality of Experience

It was great to be exposed to the local history. We have nothing to compare in America.

Food

We ate fish and chips until we could take no more. We tried, but, haggis and blood pudding are definitely an acquired taste.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Their open friendliness.

Transport

The drivers were friendly and knowledgeable.

Private transfer in town

Ireland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Walking Tour of Glasgow

Glasgow

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Walking Tour of Edinburgh with a Top Local Guide

Edinburgh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Afternoon Tea at The Signet Library

Edinburgh

With our short time I would have preferred to do something with more Scottish influence.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Cairngorms National Park Wildlife Tour with a Specialist

Ireland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Blair Atholl Castle Entrance tickets

Pitlochry

Quality of Experience

Blair Athol Distillery's Whisky Connoisseur Experience

Pitlochry

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

My family and I flew to Dublin, Ireland. From there we traveled to Galway, Cork, Limerick, Cork, Cashel, and then back to Dublin-via Kildare.

Our travel specialist Svetlana planned our trip perfectly-in that we didn't move through the countryside to slowly or to fast and our accomodations were fantastic.

Further, the stops Svetlana planned for us, (sometimes ones that we would not have chosen for ourselves) turned out to be reals gems-the Kilbeggan Distellery and the Irish National Stud & Gardens-and we treasure the visits. Not to mention the usual stops: Cashel, The Book of Kells, The Cliffs of Moher, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Blarney Castle ... almost too many to mention.

Needless to say, my family loved Ireland, loved the Irish and had a wonderful time!

Svetlana planned a perfect trip for us - the hotels were wonderful and the travel plan hit all of the highlights of Ireland without feeling rushed. We particularly liked having much of the trip booked and paid for prior to our arrival. It was the trip of a lifetime and we will absolutely be using KimKim for our next adventure.

I found Kimkim after some internet research for our two week trip to Ireland. I didn't know where to start in planning our trip. Last year, we had an experience with a travel agent that didn't work very well, but we learned more about what we wanted for this trip.
We worked with Claire personally and she took the time to understand our unique needs. She curated a wonderful trip that gave us special experiences, wonderful locations and hotels, as well as time to be free. It was really convenient to have the itinerary, maps and local numbers all in one place. It also gave us peace of mind to know that we could reach out with any problems if we needed to. We did that a couple of times and always received a timely response. I recommend working with Claire and Kimkim for your next vacation.

From the start of planning with our guide Svetlana to the end of the trip, everything came together with ease. We did not have a lot of time (8 days including to and from Canada) to explore Ireland, but Svetlana helped me hone in on what was most important to us and how best to travel while there. It was our first time travelling with our youngest son and we were thrilled to share this adventure with him. Our hotels were very comfortable and welcoming - our favourite was The Salthouse Lodge in Ballycastle, where we stayed for 3 nights to allow us to explore the area. The Beresford Hotel in Dublin was our first stop and Robert at the front desk was both entertaining and extremely helpful. There was the right amount of tours - the Titanic Experience and Black Cab tour in Belfast and the Guiness Tour in Dublin. The itinerary was flexible enough that we could add or subtract experiences as we wanted, so ended up doing Bushmills Distillery visit and a tour in Londonderry, as well as high tea at the Merchant Hotel in Belfast. When there was a glitch in the Black Cab tour timing, Svetlana was easily contacted and she sorted everything out very quickly. It was very helpful to have the breakfasts included each day and it was never difficult to find wonderful places for the other meals. We are already thinking about our next visit to Ireland and other adventures in the world and would definitely use KimKim again to be able to design the best experience with professional and skilled guidance helping every step of the way. We were able to relax in a way we have not done on past tours with other companies. Many thanks to Svetlana for helping to make this a memorable trip.

The food tour in Galway was fantastic as well as our guide!

We planned our hiking trip in Ireland using KimKim and the local representative, Dean from Ireland Walk Hike Bike, arranged a terrific self-guided trip for us in the Southwest of Ireland. Every day was memorable. We particularly appreciated their responsiveness when there were questions. Twice we needed to change plans and they responded in minutes, updating our itinerary info and GPS. Loved the accommodations they arranged at Ashling Hotel, the Old Weir Lodge and Tower View B&B and the people at all of them. Had wonderful drivers too. Cannot recommend highly enough!

Hotel Reviews

Ashling Hotel Dublin

Dublin

Terrific hotel. Great location, particularly if you are taking the train, as the station is across the street. Most restaurants an easy 15-20 minute walk, but some close as well. Three blocks from one of the largest parks in Europe. Also close to Guinness brewery if you are going there. Very good breakfast and super friendly host, who spontaneously started leading us in traditional Irish song! Loved it!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tower View

Dingle

Loved the Tower View B&B! Aiden, Helen and the staff made us feel so welcome. Very friendly and welcoming. Breakfasts were terrific. A big part of why we had such a wonderful trip to Southwestern Ireland!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Old Weir Lodge

Killarney

Felt so welcomed by the O’Donoghue family at the Old Weir Lodge! Small hotel/Inn with the feel of a B&B. Felt so welcomed. It was a plus that father and son run the boat tour we took in the park as well. Excellent breakfast and service. Highly recommend!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

FALCONRY KERRY

Ireland

Had some time on our last day in Killarney before getting our train and this was a perfect way to spend the morning. Highly recommend!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had a really great itinerary. Our local guide, Joe O'Donnell was very knowledgeable in both historical and current sights to see. He filled us in as we travelled on current, recent, and ancient events in Ireland. He also had a knack for finding good establishments for eating. It was very interactive and Joe always made sure we were happy with the activities we engaged in.

Dean with KimKim laid out the perfect vacation for us. He asked us what we wanted to do, and then made it happen. Our guide Joe was personable and just an all around great guy. Knowledgeable about the areas and history, and got us where we needed to be on time. Will defiinitely use KimKim again.

Most of the drivers/guides we had were amazing. One of them was lackluster, and did not seem to know what we had planned for the day. He also told us that he was called out as a last resort, which we thought was weird. John, the guide we had in Donegal was personable, knowledgable, and clearly loved meeting new people and teaching about Ireland. We took 2 walking tours in Dublin, and they were really fun. We got a great overview of the city, and got to eat and drink some Irish specialties. Overall the trip was very fun

This was a great trip planned by Claire and her team. They planned a great itinerary, pairing interesting tours with plenty of time to roam the countryside. We appreciated the detailed information throughout, such as map links to make driving easy.

Highlights were the Middleton Distillery visit, the food tour in Kinsale, driving the Dingle Penninsula (definitely stop at the Fish Box and Murphy's Ice Cream), walking the full Cliffs of Moher (have good walking shoes!), and the Ballymaloe House! We also loved listening to live music at pubs throughout all the towns we visited.

Overall a wonderful and relaxing trip. 10 days simply wasn't enough!

Claire put together a great couple days for us in Ireland. After talking through the experience we were looking for, Claire's initial itinerary was right on. She set us up with a mix of different locations and feels - got us into the heart to Cork (which exceeded expectations) and beautiful coastal villages. Great mix of hotels which were destinations themselves. Biking a greenway, exploring a rocky coast, finding small village pubs - and of course she connected us with great traditional music.