Kimkim Trip Reviews for Italy

Melanie was super helpful in helping us plan out our first trip to Italy on relatively short notice; most book nearly a year out but we booked a couple months prior to our trip. In particular, she helped organize a hotel in Sorrento, tours, and transportation from arrival to departure. She was also kind enough to recommend and book certain restaurants for dinner. The tour guides were good but Rich, an American living in Rome, was extremely knowledgeable for guiding us through the walking tour of Rome hitting all the major sites as well as a tour of the Vatican on a second day. All drivers were very procession and special shout out to primary driver Andrea who covered us for several days. I couldn’t get a precise breakdown of the service costs and was willing to pay the slight premium for the attention and safety of having a team help us navigate during our first trip and Melanie did a very nice job in making for a wonderful and memorable Italy vacation for our family. I would highly recommend her and am sure others can get more out of their spend with a bit more time to plan out the hotels in particular.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Le Meridien Visconti - Marriott

Rome

I stayed at Hotel Le Meridien Visconti in Rome for four nights. The front desk experience was great, and the room was comfortable. The breakfast was the best, and the staff were friendly and professional.

Staff

Grand Hotel De La Ville

Sorrento

During my three-night stay at Grand Hotel De La Ville in Sorrento, I found the rooms to be okay, but the front desk staff were not particularly friendly as I expected. The food was decent, but I may explore other options if I visit Sorrento again.

Activity Reviews

Historical Rome walking tour and Colosseum guided Tour

Rome

The walking tour in Rome with Rich was excellent. His knowledge was impressive, although more suited for older kids and adults rather than younger children. I enjoyed the experience!

Ravello, Amalfi & Positano

Sorrento

Exploring Ravello, Amalfi, and Positano in a private group tour was a fantastic experience. The views were breathtaking, and the lunch near Sorrento was delightful. I highly recommend this tour.

Fabio did such a fantastic job for us. The hotels, drivers and tour guides were first class, and the itinerary was excellent; we were busy, but not overwhelmed. Although we were in a country that has a reputation for tardiness, everyone was right on time and they all cared. Plus, during our trip Fabio was more than available to answer any questions or address any issues. Him, the hotels, tour guides and drivers went above and beyond. It was our first time using a travel agent and Kimkim set the bar high. Thank you!

We had a wonderful time on our Italy trip. Both Chris and Maria went above and beyond to make sure that all of the details of the trip were perfect. We really loved the authentic nature of our hotels, and our guides throughout the various activities could not be beat. We also appreciated the recommendations for restaurants and other activities. We would definitely recommend Chris and Marina for anyone’s upcoming Italian holiday.

Erini and all of the KimKim team who helped us were excellent! We had a wonderful trip and didn’t have to worry about the details because the trip was so well organized. All guides were personable and seemed to really enjoy sharing their country with us. The Axus app provided all of the information we needed to easily get around. We will definitely utilize KimKim again. Thank you!

Activity Review

Pizza School with Wine Tasting at an agriturismo

Italy

Quality of Experience

Food

The entire experience was great!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All of our guides were amazing and incredibly knowledgeable!! The tours were fascinating!
The drivers, especially Alfonso, were wonderful and went out of their way to be helpful.
Andrea did a great job putting everything we wanted to do together! Everything occurred seamlessly and made travel so easy.
Thank you to everyone who helped make our vacation so wonderful!

We would highly recommend using Kim Kim for your next vacation! We just returned from Italy and had a 5 star experience! From private walking tours in Venice and Pompeii with passionate local guides to truffle hunting and olive oil tasting in Tuscany, a scavenger hunt through the Vatican and a private cooking class in Rome, every detail was customized for our family. Our Kim Kim travel advisor Eirini customized and planned the best vacation we’ve ever had!

Hotel Review

Hotel Bernini Palace

Florence

The highlight accommodation of our vacation! Stunning property, incredible service in an ideal location of Florence

Authenticity & Character

Stunning rooms and hotel

Location

Centrally location but quiet

Staff

Helped with all our needs

Cleanliness & Comfort

The lobby is stunning and a place to enjoy!

Activity Reviews

Truffle Hunting in Tuscany with Olive oil tasting and guided visit to San Gimignano

Italy

A must do activity while visiting Florence! Our guide was passionate and made this adventure memorable for our family!

Quality of Experience

Food

Outstanding meals at both locations for lunch and dinner! Fresh, local ingredients!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Tour inside the Colosseum & Golf Cart Tour

Rome

A highlight of our visit in Rome! The best way to see the city and avoid the crowds! Our guide was fun and ensured our kids enjoyed each place we visited! We even stopped at his favorite bakery for a sweet treat!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Family Experience: Vatican Tour for Kids

Rome

This is a must for families with children! It was a fun and interactive way to explore the Vatican! Our kids, 11 and 14 loved it!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Market Tour & Cooking lesson

Rome

This was the highlight of our Italy adventure! Michaela was amazing! From shopping in the market to learning about local life and then cooking a delicious meal, this was the best family activity we have ever done! She is passionate about what she does!

Quality of Experience

Food

Outstanding! Delicious, fresh and an amazing opportunity to cook in Rome!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Alessia was wonderful, responsive, personable, and did a terrific job planning the trip and staying in touch. Andrea, our driver in Sicily, was also terrific. I would say that Eva, our guide in Siracusa, would be a better guide for a family without children. She just didn’t seem to really know how to capture our 12-year-old’s interest or engage with her. In fact, she more or less addressed only me on our tour and didn’t interact with my husband very much either. She had some interesting information to share, but her delivery was very dry and just not particularly captivating.

Marta, our travel specialist was awesome. She gave great advice and responded quickly. Marta was an absolute pleasure. The excursions were wonderful and a lot of fun. The hotels were gorgeous and accommodating in Florence and Venice. The hotel in Rome, Boutique Hotel Campo de’Fiori, was ok. We did get the apartment as our room, which was nice, however we had to climb three flights of stairs and did not get any help from the hotel. It was supposed to be an apartment on the first floor. With that said the location was right in the heart of a lot of restaurants, daily open market and close to everything.
Our tour guide for the coliseum in Rome was AWESOME! I did not get his name, but he was very knowledgeable and knew all the right places to take us for breathtaking views. He was very passionate about his job.
Our tour guide for the walkie foodie tour was also AWESOME! Next time I will do a foodie tour first thing so I know how to spot authentic Italian food! I highly recommend Goumetaly for any foodie tour!
Tania, our tour guide for Cinque Terre, she was AWESOME as well! She took her time and was very knowledgeable about the villages we visited. We had lunch at il Baretto and the food was delicious and plentiful! There was a problem with the train running more than an hour late to take us back to the town where the car was parked. Tania and her team were on top of the situation and had a taxi pick us up and take us to the car to keep on schedule.
I greatly appreciated the local assistant in Venice. Navigating Venice for the first time would not have been easy on our own!

I was so impressed with my first experience with KimKim that when I was looking at going to Italy, I contacted KimKim again and met Eleonora. And WOW, the entire process was so easy, the trip was absolutely fantastic from start to finish. I was initially nervous when we landed not knowing what to really expect, Eleonora messaged to check on us before we left and made sure that we had all the information we needed. We were greeted with a sign and taken to our hotel, which exceeded all expectations, the staff that greeted us were very helpful and friendly, the rooms were very spacious, clean and beautiful. This was just the very start and it just kept getting better. Eleonora, had listened to everything that we had wanted to do, even when we wanted to add something at the last moment, she was able to facilitate it. I also appreciated how easy it was to contact her and how quickly she responded. It was brilliant not having to worry about planning anything and having it all organised.

We loved our trip to Italy! Overall, we found Italian people to be extremely friendly and welcoming. In Rome, Charme Spagna was a lovely hotel with very helpful staff. The location is convenient and offered delicious breakfast and coffee. We enjoyed the outdoor courtyard area. The staff provided excellent restaurant recommendations and was helpful in making dinner reservations. Tania provided an excellent tour of the Vatican and Davide was extremely knowledgeable about the Colosseum and Forum. Our cooking class was fun, learning to make tiramisu & fettuccine. In Florence, 7B was another lovely hotel with a convenient location near the train station. Again, excellent restaurant recommendations. We were appreciative of the staff helping make our dinner reservations and coordinating our taxis. We loved our afternoon tour with Gilda. She did a wonderful job of sharing her love of the city’s art and history. We also enjoyed our day tour of Tuscany, especially our lunch and wine tasting at Tenuta Torciana. In Venice, Carnivale Palace was another very nice hotel! They were very helpful with nearby restaurant recommendations and reservations. It was fun to learn how to row like a Venetian with Nan and the cichettas were delicious! Our visit to Murano and Burano was also very nice. I loved everything about our trip. Experiencing the Italian culture, art, landmarks, language, pasta, gelato, coffee & wine was truly special!

Hotel Reviews

Charme Spagna Boutique Hotel

Rome

Excellent location, delicious breakfast and coffee. Enjoyed the outdoor courtyard area. Appreciated the staff’s restaurant recommendations, and assistance with reservations.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

7Florence B&B

Florence

Lovely hotel, excellent breakfast options. Staff was very friendly and helpful. Appreciated their help with restaurants and taxis. Location is very convenient to train station.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Carnival Palace

Venice

Very nice hotel, excellent breakfast options and helpful staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Highlights of the Vatican & Sistine Chapel Tour

Rome

Tania shared so much history & knowledge!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pasta, Ravioli & Tiramisù making class in Rome

Rome

It was fun to learn to make tiramisu & fettuccine! Our teacher was kind, patient & very knowledgeable!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Florence Historic Walking Tour

Florence

Gilda was an excellent guide! She personalized our tour for us. She is wonderful at sharing her love of Florence’s art & history.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tuscany Day Trip: San Gimignano, Siena & Monteriggioni

Florence

We especially enjoyed our lunch & wine tasting at Tenuta Torciano!

Quality of Experience

Food

Explore St. Mark's Basilica and The Doge's Palace

Venice

Sarah was extremely knowledgeable about the history & did a great job sharing with us.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Colosseum & Ancient Rome Tour with Roman Forum

Rome

Davide was very knowledgeable about the history of these sites. We learned a lot!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Cicchetto and Gondola Experience | Row and Eat Like a Venetian

Venice

Nan was a fun & patient teacher! The cichettos were delicious.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tiziana and Marina were amazing to work with. Tiziana listened to what I was looking to create for the ultimate mother / son trip in Milan and the Motor Valley region. She nailed it! Marina took over communications when she was out of the office and together, they made our trip was seamless. They handled hotel accommodations, train ticketing, dining reservations private guides/drivers and transfer. We enjoyed walking tours, food tastings & experiences, and car museums with factory tours. The highlight of our trip was the Ferrari Experience where my 20yo son drove a Ferrari 5 laps around a race track. He’s still talking about it. I usually plan all my our trips on my own but this was last minute and didn’t know where to start. Reaching out to KimKim was the smartest decision I made planning this one. I will definitely use KimKim’s services in the future. They were amazing!!!

Alessia did an amazing job from the beginning. She had incredible insights into our planning of our trip to Italy, as well as executing everything she set up for us. All of our transportation, logistics, lodging, entertainment, and lining up all our museum/Duomo tickets was absolutely key in relieving our stress. Alessia was also available to us during our time in Italy when needed.
We have many highlights, but specifically our time in Venice was special because of our city tour with Monica who gave us incredible history of the city and of Antonio Vivaldi, which is what we asked for. The other highlight was the Vivaldi concert Alessia got us tickets to. Truly an amazing and memorable evening. Our hotel, Casa Verardo was wonderful and staff extremely caring.
Our time in the Chianti countryside was magical. Staying at Fonterutoli was perfect. The Osteria Fonterutoli was outstanding and the Mazzei Winery was so fun!
Ended in Florence and so thankful that Alessia had set up the Uffizi, Duomo, and Academy tickets in advance. We bypassed all the crowds and lines, so it made visiting these incredible places enjoyable. When we go back to Italy, we will use Alessia and KimKim again!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Casa Verardo Residenza d'Epoca

Venice

Casa Verado was lovely. Cute boutique hotel that sits on a quiet canal, with comfortable rooms. Staff is incredibly kind and treated us well. Breakfast provided was lovely and had many choices. Would stay again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Walking distance to the square, shopping, and food.

Staff

Very kind and they came to the boat taxi to guide us to the hotel and helped with luggage.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room very clean and confortable

Castello di Fonterutoli

Fonterutoli, Siena

This place is gorgeous. Idyllic spot in the Chianti region. This little village is a gem. Our room was clean, comfortable and just perfect.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Exactly what we had hoped for. Beautiful village with olive trees and rolling vineyards. Just gorgeous.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Guided Walking Tour of Venice

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Four Seasons concert at the church

Venice

Amazing experience in Venice. The concert in the church was beautiful. Highly recommend.

Quality of Experience

Welcome to Tuscan Countryside!

Tuscany

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our vacation has been phenomenal. Lorenza did an amazing and wonderful job with the planning, hotel and dinner reservations, tour guides and drivers! We loved our time in Sicily. Ending our vacation in Taormina and staying at the Grand Hotel Timeo was truly special. The vistas from the hotel of the sea and Mt Etna are spectacular!!
Thanks so much for all you’ve done for us. We will be telling all of our friends that they need to go to Sicily and use you to plan and book their vacations.

Our trip was incredible! KIM KIM was so easy to use and having the app to communicate with them was great! Everything they set up for us was incredible. Hotels, food and wine tours, private transfers. I would totally recommended this service to anyone!

Hotel Reviews

Locanda Leon Bianco on the Grand Canal

Venice

Amazing location and history of the hotel Right of the river. We slept with the windows open to have the nice breeze of the river.

Authenticity & Character

old school feel and nicely updated to feel luxurious

Location

Convenient to everything

Staff

so kind and friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

very clean

Albergo Terminus

Como

WOWWWWW! room 300 with the private terrace was incredible! The room overlooked the lake and the breakfast was so die for! Centrally located to everything.

Authenticity & Character

just wow ! get the room with the terrace

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Evening Aperitivo - Navigli Street Food Tour

Milan

Loved Julia. She brought us to amazing places and she was so fun

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Market & Cicchetti Venice Food & Wine Tour - Semi Private

Venice

Guilia was amazing! She brought us to such fun places and so funny to talk to! We loved her

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Milan Wine Tasting Experience

Milan

Marco brought us to places we would have never been able to find if it wasn't for him! Great food and wine suggestions

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Venice Gondola Ride with Prosecco

Venice

so beautiful and a 1 hour with Processco is the way to do it!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fresh Pasta Class in Lake Como

Lake Como

It was inside someones house and all hand made by us! it was one of the best pasta dishes we had all week

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Elena did a wonderful job from car rentals, food tour, Pompei visit, restaurant recommendations, things to see in each respective place and booking the hotels in Naples and Sorrento. My husband and I really appreciate the arrangements, scheduling of the whole trip.

Upon arrival at Rome airport, we headed to Hertz to get the rental car. We visited Tivoli (Villa D 'Este and Hadrian's Villa) before heading to our Naples hotel Napoli Tree B&B. They suggested parking down the street but note that the parking entrance is really narrow. I contacted Elena and she replied right away regarding where to park. The elevator up to the B&B requires 10 cents to use (they have a bowl of 10 centavos in the reception). The building has a lot of B&B's. The location of the B&B is nice , because the room has a seaview, near the boardwalk and walking distance (36 minute walk) to the food tour meeting place Piazza del Gesu Nuovo. It would have been better to have a hotel nearer the oldb historical area though. But during the walk to the old historical center, we walked through Galleria Umberto (1887 shopping building), Plebiscito Square and more.

Our food Tour guide is Giovanna (Compania Guide) was on time, informative and very cheerful. She walked us through coffee/hot chocolate, buffalo mozarella, wallet pizzas (yum), pastries like baba rum cake which we love, gelato, and walked through Naples' Nativity Street where she showed us the different 'Presepe'. We didn't have limoncello though. She gave us suggested places to go after our food tour which is up to the Funicolare di Montesanto to see the view the Castel dell Ovo and Napoli Sotteranea (underground tour). She even gave us list of restaurants in Naples and Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano and Ravello because we mentioned heading there after Naples.

The visit to Pompei was fulfillment of my bucket list. We arrived quite early at the parking at Camping Spartacus and thankfully our guide, Enza started earlier than planned. Exploring Pompeii with Enza our guide where she touched the highlight of the vast ancient city was like stepping back in time. She was informative, knowledgeable and the whole experience was well worth it. During our visit,the weather at first, was cold, then it rained a little then became hot. We had lunch at La Delizie (really good pizzas and caprese salad, croquettes) then had baba Napoletano at a nearby pastry shop across the street.

Driving to our Sorrento hotel, we were told that there is a valet to park our our to a parking structure. We didn't need the car to go to Amalfi, Positano and Ravello because we took the bus which is near the train station (10 minute walk from hotel). Driving in the Amalfi coast is very hard due to narrow winding roads. We got a little carsick from the drive so it is a good idea to take motion sickness medicine in the bus ride. The boats are still not operating /going there (Amalfi Coast) due to high waves. There is a ferry to Capri Island though. Our hotel La Piazzetta Guesthouse is new and location is very nice. The only drawback is that on Saturday night the restaurant below had loud music till very late. Christina of La Piazzetta Guesthouse was very accommodating and welcoming. Since the season will only start in April, a lot of hotels and restaurants are still close. We were the first guest of La Piazetta this early March 2024.

Our fist bus stop is to Positano. we went down the beach and looked up at the houses in the cliffside, bought some souvenirs along the way and Assumption church. Next bus stop, we went to Amalfi, went to visit the St. Andrew cathedral. We had lunch at Pizzeria Donna Stella and had a limoncello gelato along the way back to the bus stop. We took the bus to Ravello using the same bus ticket but different bus, which is good for 24 hours. Upon arrival in Ravello, we visited Villa Rufolo then did some souvenir shopping then headed back to catch the bus back to Amalfi. Upon arrival in Amalfi, we took the bus that heads back to Positano and Sorrento. The next day we had a leisurely day at Sorrento.

Over all, this tailor made, Italian experience was five stars.

It was a pleasure dealing with Vincenzo in planning our honeymoon. He was very professional and planned the perfect trip for us. We would definitely recommend using his services for anyone who wants to visit Italy.

Rita planned an amazing, customized family trip to Italy for our family. Our trip started and ended with a very smooth pick up and drop off at the airport. Our favorite hotel of the trip was the Palazza Galla hotel with its modern rooms, beautiful roof top bar with amazing views, delicious breakfast buffet and superb service. The food tour we took with Marica was fun and she were able to give our celiac daughter options at every stop but one on the tour. Giovanna was able to cover so much history at the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and Roman Forum we would have been lost without a private guide. Our driver Giuseppe who picked us up from Salerno train station and stayed with us for the day until we arrived in Sorrento was amazing. He called local restaurants along the way to find us a perfect one that had gluten free pizza for our one daughter. He was full of information as we drove up the coast pointing out things we would have missed. In Ravello we had a private hike planned but it was a beautiful day and we wanted to explore Ravello, so our guide Gennsro, an expert hiking guide, gave us different options on how we could spend the day and we chose to explore more and hike less. He took us to the beautiful gardens at the Villa Cimbrone, and along a hike below the gardens explaining the lemon trees. After we went to Amalfi and explored the back streets there, then a stop in Positano to walk down to the beach and have a drink at Bar Paradise at sunset, it was a wonderful day. In Sorrento we stayed at La Piazzetta Guest, which had spacious room and the most amazing front desk staff, Caterina went above and beyond when our trip to Capri had to be canceled last minute because of the crazy weather in March. We asked Caterina about doing a wine tasting and in a half hour she had 2 options for us to choose from including transportation. We chose to go to Il Cantuccio’s brand new wine cellar for an amazing wine tasting with the most delicious food. The next day our private tour of Pompei with Gennaro was so interesting and educational. Pompei is huge and having a private guide as informed as Gennaro who could take us to all the highlights in the time we had to spend there was invaluable. The last hotel we stayed in was the Otvim, the rooms were a bit dark and the double room was small. It had a nice rooftop but the elevator was slow and when you took the stairs you ended up outside down the street from the lobby. Our favorite guide for the whole trip was Mia who guided us through the crowed Vatican pointing out all the amazing art while explaining the history of Vatican City. She knew some shortcuts to save time and explained what we would see in the Sistine Chapel before we entered so we were prepared for what we saw since there is no talking once you are inside the Chapel. Rita and her team were accommodating and flexible for our needs, we are so appreciative of her working with us on so many details. Rita and her team were extremely responsive in a timely mater to any issues that came up when we were on our trip, even on the weekends.

Melanie was simply outstanding, I will refer her to friends if they are going to Italy!!!

I cannot say enough good things about our Kim Kim travel experience.
The communication was amazing and the specialists' made things happen so swiftly and perfectly.
Thank you Martina in particular!
Anne

It was spectacular from start to finish with meticulous planning and excellent recommendations. We particularly enjoyed our stay at Villa Tony in Corvara, which has a warm, friendly feel. I don’t know the Ladin word, but it is Gemütlichkeit in German. The dining room staff was wonderful and the food, amazing.
Experiencing the skiing, including the Sellaronda and the Hut food is something you can not find in the US. Well worth the trip.

Although we only had 1 day in Venice, our guide Daniela made the most of it and it was such a treat to have such a knowledgeable local guide navigating us through the canals, alleys and history of Venice.

Most of all, we must thank Martina for planning such a spectacular trip and being there every step of the way on the rare occasion we needed help. Thank you! Having this type of well planned and thoughtful excursions made the trip hassle free from start to finish. Surrender your planning to Kimkim, you will be happy!!