Kimkim Trip Reviews for Italy

Vincenzo was responsive and very helpful in creating an Italy dream trip for my partner and I. I had a rough vision and he fleshed it out with hotels, transfers, and tickets as needed. We hit Rome (5 nights), Naples (2 nights), Amalfi Coast (4 nights, including Positano, Ravello, a boat trip, and Path of the Gods), as well as Sorrento (2 nights) and Capri (1 night). I could relay a hundred amazing moments, but if in Naples be sure to give the Archaeological Museum the time it deserves before setting out for Pompeii. The only wrinkle: my sister had a health issue come up and could not attend after we payed, so we lost a *significant* amount of money on her portion of the trip. The kimkim refund policies are honestly not the most flexible. They should directly sell travel insurance contextually within the interface to protect people against these types of things. Basically, the hotels were able to sell her room twice! Aside from that bummer, the trip came together fantastically and had nothing to do with Vincenzo's level of service in the end.

This is my second trip with kimkim in 2 years. I just recommended them to my sister who booked her first trip. That should give insight into how I feel about their services.

Irene was my advisor. She planned a 14 day trip for destinations surrounding Milan that included Genoa, Camogli, Bologna, Verona and Lake Como. The only place I specifically requested was Lake Como; the others she selected for me. ALL were worthwhile & some I never would have thought of on my own. So glad I got the chance to experience them.

The time was compressed to get the itinerary in order. Irene worked quickly and efficiently and proactively communicated when it was imperative that I make a decision in order not to foreclose an opportunity. Much appreciated.

She was a good listener to my reactions to suggestions and happily modified plans based on such input. She went out of her way to ensure I had help with my overpacked luggage.

The accommodations were clean, safe & well-located with helpful staff. Standouts were Hotel Palazzo Grillo in Genoa, Sublimis Boutique Hotel in Camogli and Palace Hotel Lake Como in Como. These 3 were just gorgeous and authentic to the location.

Excursions were all to my liking: either private or small group, led by engaging and knowledgeable guides, entertaining and educational. I could not have selected better.

And the during trip travel team - always available by WhatsApp - deserve special recognition. They were always responsive, resourceful and patient.

Hotel Reviews

Sublimis Boutique Hotel Camogli - Adults Only

Camogli

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Palace Hotel Lake Como

Como

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Escalus Luxury Suites Verona

Verona

Fabulous location. Amazing space in room. Just a bit sterile and lacking in charm or character.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Porta San Mamolo

Bologna

Location a bit out of the way. Staff at front desk upon arrival not particularly welcoming or informative. Room was dusty - particularly AC when turned on & vent opened.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Palazzo Grillo

Genova

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Slow Travel In Como, Brunate & Torno

Lake Como

I signed up for this without properly reading what it was! Nonetheless, it turned out great. Fabia was excellent. At this point, I am in moderate fitness shape, and I found several points of relatively flat hike a bit strenuous. Had lunch at hike-in only restaurant that was charming.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Local transfer in Milan

Milan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Verona Walking Tour

Italy

So much more to see than I realized.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Valpolicella Wine tour

Italy

Wonderful activity. 2 wineries were great selections and very interesting juxtaposition. Onsite guides outstanding.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sirmione & Lake Garda Tour from Verona

Verona

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Classic Bologna Food Tour

Bologna

Thoughtful and highly knowledgeable guide.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Tasting Tour in Santa Margherita & Camogli

Italy

My favorite guide of the trip. Would book any tour she was leading.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Genoa Highlights Private Tour

Italy

Loved my guide and content of tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Andrea and Guiliana arranged an amazing 9 day trip of Italy.

We have two Adult sons (19 & 23) and we wanted to take them to Europe as a family before out oldest started full time work. After deciding on Italy we were happily assigned to Andrea & Guiliana (they work as a team, it's really quite seamless between the two of them)

It seems like Guiliana did most of the specific planning for us (and she was the one we did the video chat with) so I'll refer to her mostly for the rest of this review (even though I know Andrea was working on it also)

After an initial back and forth she put together a initial itinerary - it's tough because we have two parents who would be happy sipping wine in a terrace, or who don't mind strolling through a church or museum and learning the history and two boys who want to 'do things'.

Anyway after we were sort of back and forth on the initial itinerary she set up a video conference -- this worked REALLY well, I think she was better able to understand our situation and she did a great job explaining what she was thinking. After another few weeks of back and forth we had settled on a plan.

You put a lot of faith in a travel agent like this -- You can read the descriptions of where you are staying and what you are doing but it's really hard to know how special it will be. Suffice to say it was incredibly special. The guides they arranged were extremely knowledgeable and super accommodating, the hotels were much nicer than we were expecting and the arrangements were perfect (the timing of trains, pickups, etc)

we mostly did private tours (a few small groups) and the folks they arranged for us were a delight (I get the sense that they have some good deep connections with really good guides who take on smaller groups)

The only little hiccup was weather related (which obviously no one can control) and our trip to Capris was cancelled due Andrea was in contact with me throughout the morning (we weren't certain until the last moment if it would happen or not) and he promptly issued a refund for that activity.

One little tip -- make sure you have whatsapp installed and linked to your number -- it's the best way to get ahold of them while traveling.

Hotel Reviews

Antica Residenza Amalfitana - Rooms

Amalfi

Fun place in almafi Almafi is a small city and this little hotel is for old school. It's impossible to find so the manager meets you in the town square and walks you up to the room, the rooms are cute and quiet.

Navona Essence Hotel

Roma

Very nice small hotel that is centrally located with a nice breakfast and staff

Ca' Pozzo Inn

Venice

cool little hidden hotel that is pretty central and easy walking to everything in Venice

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hidden Venice and cicchetti experience

Italy

Super fun local guide shows you around Venice and let's you sample food... what's not to like?

Sunset E-bike tour of Florence and Piazzale Michelangelo with gelato in a small group

Florence

This is a must do -- you get out of the city and ride bikes in the hills around Florence. The day we went the weather was amazing.

Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel skip the line ticket

Rome

Our guide (Mariapaola) has an archeology background (but probably also an art history!?1) -- she is incredibly knowledgeable and has amazing energy. The Vatican is huge, what I really appreciated was her ability to point out a few small things to focus on (either a small collection or some small part of a statue or picture) and how she can put it in a greater context.

We had a lovely time in Italy and really did appreciate all the pre-planning done. Our logistics and travel in between locations was very thorough and understandable.
ROME- Our guided tour in Rome was fabulous due to Marco, our guide and our getting it done early before the crowds/heat. Getting our daughter delivered to the hotel was seamless as well. The hotel was nice but a little small as far as space goes. The elevator was hit or miss. The best part was the rooftop area where we could escape the crazy crowds. The included breakfast was nice but nothing great. We stumbled onto several good restaurants but would have liked maybe more recommendations and actual reservations due to said crowds.
FLORENCE-The cooking class was our favorite part and Thomasso our chef was superb. Some of our best meals were in that class. Our wine tour was also excellent and Christina was fun. Great locations and not too far from city center. Our hotel was great…again the gathering space was very small for us but we found a little bar right across the street that made up for that. Very centrally located and was VERY LOUD Saturday night until the early morning hours. One room smelled strongly of cigar smoke but we made it work. Better breakfast at this hotel. As in Rome, you really need reservations for both food and tours which we didn’t have enough of. The Duomo line was around the building everytime we passed and it wasn’t’ open often enough for us to go through with the time we had.
LAKE COMO-Beautiful location and much less crowded than other two locales. We didn’t really have any set plans for Como and that was probably a mistake. I arranged a private boat tour of the lake and it was lovely…Lake Como Boat Tours was responsible and Ricardo was very thorough and sweet. We rode the funicular up to Brunate and would have liked to know more about this area as it was right near our hotel. We got on it very early in the morning so we didn’t get in the crazy lines but nothing was really open at the top. However, the views were fabulous and so was the weather. I guess the takeaway from saying you want to go to Lake Como is that is a huge area and I wasn’t aware that the Villas were so far from the town of Como. WE did not see either Balbianello or Villa Carlotta due to their distance away and no tickets available. The ferry, which we were told would be the best way to get around the lake, had ridiculously long lines every morning and it was very hard to figure out where you really needed to go. I think more planning would have been helpful as far as that goes. Restaurants were easier in Como but we did try to go to one that was simply the rudest we have been treated in a while so I suggest not even trying at Numeronove…they have great reviews but it was very obvious that they did not want Americans in their establishment. One place that we really enjoyed in COMO was Vineria Vitani…very nice kid behind the bar and lovely atmosphere for wine tasting.
Overall, it was a fantastic trip and not having to worry about traveling between cities was great. We did run into terrible delays at Milan airport on the way out and would advise not to use that airport no matter the cost. We missed our connecting flight into London, had to scramble to get on a flight to another state inside the US then had to drive home from there. It was brutal. I suggest connecting in the states to an airport that goes straight to your destination. Lessons learned!!

Martina planned the perfect trip for us! Our hotel accommodations were almost perfect. Our only issue was one hotel that we were late to checking in to. Other than that, they were in the perfect location with great amenities. Our sightseeing tours were timed perfectly with breaks for things in between. Our tours in Rome gave us enough history and knowledge without exhausting us. Our boat tour of the island of Capri in the Amalfi coast was the highlight of the trip for me. Martina also organized our transportation so well. We were nervous about having multiple drivers, trains, and ferries to catch. She provided us the best timing to arrive at the train station, and all of the correct information on where to go. I will definitely be recommending Kim Kim and Martina to any friends looking to go to Italy.

Hotel Reviews

Boutique Hotel Galatea

Rome

We had a difficult time checking into this hotel. We were late in the evening so no one was at the desk. We called the number listed outside the hotel and it was not working. Since no one was at the desk to greet us, there was a random key to a room that we assumed was ours.

Hotel Floridiana

Amalfi

Great location in the middle of Amalfi. The rooms were clean and spacious with a cute balcony. The rooftop jacuzzi was amazing!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Navona Colors

Rome

Great location within the city. Close to a plaza with lots of shops and restaurants. Daily breakfast was great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Capri Half-Day Boat Tour

Italy

The highlight of the tour for me! Absolutely stunning landscape. Our driver was amazing and showed us a ton of different caves and grottos. We were able to swim in one cave! We also swam in a beautiful area where we did some snorkeling. I would recommend this to anyone!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Train service and private transfer from {{start_location}} to {{end_location}} with visit of Pompeii

Italy

Guided Group Tour of the Colosseum

Rome

Great tour! Perfect timing and we loved our beautiful tour guide, Luana!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We worked with Vincenzo for 6 months planning our dream vacation and it was better than anything I could have imagined. Every place we went was perfect! There was no stress involved at all in country, our transfers were all seamless and timely. It was truly a fantastic experience and I will definitely use KimKim again when planning my next trip abroad!

This was my first experience traveling to Europe & it was made extra special through support from KimKim. They listened to what our interests and goals for the trip were & curated special experiences that we thoroughly enjoyed.
The hotel selections were perfectly situated, included lovely breakfasts, and were , overall, quite nice.
The KimKim staff handled details such as transfers & transportation that relieved us of much stress & afforded us opportunity to explore unique areas that we would not have been able to if navigated on our own. Their daily communication with us via their app was very helpful & appreciated.
Overall, we felt it to be a very personalized & thoughtful job by KimKim, which resulted in a trip that exceeded our expectations. I hope to have the opportunity to use their service again in the future!

Hotel Reviews

Athens Manor Houses

Athens

A nice, modern room situated amongst a “bustling” area of shopping & dining.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Abelonas Retreat Sunset & Sunrise Lodgings

Santorini

VIEWS!!!! Overall, good location. A spacious room w/ a large balcony (caldera view). We could view the sunrise from either the opposite side of the balcony or from the room entrance. A rooftop access from the room’s loft area. Breakfast served to the room to enjoy on our balcony. The shower was a bit tricky. It was quite small with short glass shower “walls” which resulted in water easily getting all over the bathroom .

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Stella did a great job helping us

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ca' dei Proverbi Suites

Venice

Lovely, spacious room with high ceilings on a quiet street in a great location (which felt very “local”). Wonderful breakfast included.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Residenza Fiorentina

Firenze

Unique “residence” style setting with spacious room in a great location. Large breakfast spread. Water was available in community space which was much appreciated . The shower was “odd” in that 2 different glass doors opened & did not “seal,” causing MUCH water to get on bathroom floor

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Shower, otherwise quite nice

Monti Palace Hotel Rome

Rome

Great location, lovely room & bathroom, nice rooftop bar (open @ night) w/ great views, & lovely breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Walkable to many of the “main” sights

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Luxury Catamaran Cruise around Santorini

Santorini

This started off rough. Our info re our pick up spot was either incorrect or the transport van was in the incorrect place. Once we arrived to the transport van, the driver was clearly annoyed with us & maintained that attitude. His van was extremely hot & he drove rather “recklessly” (likely in effort to make up lost time). The winding, narrow roads, the heat, & his driving caused much anxiety & motion sickness for all 4 of us. HOWEVER, once on the boat, everything was GREAT! The others on the excursion were such fun to spend the day with & the crew were great. We had a tasty meal of authentic food, good music was played, plenty of opportunity to swim & relax & the sunset was gorgeous. It was special for sure

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Crew on boat were great. This review for them

Transport

To have an Air conditioned van, a driver who is friendly & drives safely

Private Venice Murano & Burano Islands Excursion

Italy

Wow!! This was one of the best excursions overall. Our guide for the day, Sarah, was wonderful! The glassblowing demo w/ Andrea as our “docent” was mesmerizing. We could have watched them all day. The colorful island of Burano was so quaint. It was relaxing to stroll the streets & pop in to small shops for homemade biscuits/cookies, etc

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Walking Tour of Florence | City Highlights with David & Duomo

Italy

A wonderful guide (Laura) and experience that included just the right amount of historical sights/overview & local culture for our interest. Highlight for me was The David & learning that the store fronts on the Ponte Vecchio bridge look like treasure chests when closed up each night

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

It was a walking tour

Day Trip to Siena & San Gimignano

Florence

WONDERFUL!! Our driver/guide (Francesco) was terrific! The winery was quaint & beautiful w/ one of the owners providing us the information/education. Lunch was lovely w/ perfect parings in a gorgeous setting. We spent time in the small towns of San Gimingnano & Siena which were so picturesque. The only “complaint” was that we wished we had more time. It really was a perfect day

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rome Food Tour

Rome

Roberta was our guide & she was GREAT! We loved the small, local spots she took us for authentic food. She shared info about the history of different spots of Trastevere as we strolled. She shared genuine interest in those of us on the tour & made recommendations for other great food & culture. It was an experience I definitely recommend

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Elena, our guide, did a fantastic itinerary for us that was not super touristy but also got us to see the special parts of each city. We had free time and also planned tours. Food tours were excellent! We had a Cesarine food experience in Florence in Barbara’s home which was just amazing!! What a delight! Our guide in Florence, Elvira, was phenomenal! We had most of our time well managed in Bologna, Turin, Verona, and Venice. However, we should have listened to Elena and stayed extra day in Turin instead of Bologna. We will definitely visit Turin again. It was beautiful and unexpected! All of the tours that were set up were either private or small group and worked well for us. Only slightly disappointing tour was Murano/Burano due to the fact that we didn’t have time to walk around much there. But it was still a great tour that I wouldn’t have anyone miss. The cichetti tour was something we would never have done or found and was super. I must say that all the tour guides that were chosen and the drivers, etc were excellent! We will use KimKim again for sure and would love to work with Elena again on our next trip to Italy! Thank you!!

Our trip would have been better had we stayed in one town eg Ostuni and done day trips from there. It was quite exhausting moving every day. Our accommodation was excellent except for Alberobello where we were required to climb up a high staircase. As we had informed you, one of our group was incapacitated and this caused us much angst but luckily the 2 men in charge of the hotel came to the rescue & organised dinner for us in our rooms. Also none of our drivers had much English although I had asked for English speaking drivers. All our guides were wonderful. Also the only meal included was dinner on the first night, apart from breakfast every day. Don’t think I would rebook

From start to finish, working with the KimKim team was easy and personalized. Giulia was so incredibly informative, responsive, and helpful every step of the way. Once we were actually on the trip, Marta and Valentina were available 24/7 via WhatsApp and helped us with a couple of small issues that arose. Both were due to things that arose on our end and nothing to do with any problems with the travel plan. They helped us make some adjustments and correct some mistakes we made allowing us to enjoy our trip stress free. Every hotel Giulia booked for us was absolutely perfect. We wanted boutique style accommodations and each hotel was unique and intimate. The hotels were each staffed with attentive, friendly, and helpful people as well as being immaculate in their cleanliness. The private drivers were absolutely indulgent, allowing us to travel the new country from the back seat of a luxury car with zero concern. Each one was timely, professional, and hospitable. The tours Giulia selected for us were exactly what we wanted and skipping the lines at incredibly busy places helped us make the most of our time. The train tickets and other travel arrangements were perfectly plotted and explained in our paperwork making our transitions from one destination to the next exceptionally smooth. This was a first class experience. I have only one tiny wish and that is for an itemized invoice when booking. Even so, I would recommend KimKim to anyone asking for a luxurious and pampering travel experience!

From the start of planning this trip, Elisa was always pleasant, punctual in her response, attune to the things we wanted to do while in Italy and made the trip with the transport to the various places we visited very easy. While we were in Italy when I had a question, she was always prompt in her responses and gave me assurances about aspects of the trip when needed.
We visited Milan, Lake Como, the QC Terme Spa which is a must when visiting Milan, Naples, Pompeii, Capri, Amalfi, Positano and Rome. Our local guide, Anna Maria, was wonderful in showing us the main areas of Milan and its history. We missed the Verona day trip as it was the first full day of our trip and we were quite jet lagged. It would've been better to have a free morning on that day and visit the QC Terme Spa that afternoon and visit Verona on the second full day. So switching those two days around would have been a better option. I loved Lake Como and would love to one day go back and perhaps stay overnight 1 or 2 nights to explore the lake and perhaps take a boat to Switzerland for the day. The local guide, Tatianna, was excellent in explaining the history of the town of Como. We were 4 nights in Milan and that seemed like the right amount of time.
We next traveled to Naples by train. It made everything so much easier to have the transport to the train station and the train tickets arranged ahead of time. We were 3 nights in Naples - a very different city than Milan - but nice in its own way. We especially enjoyed our pizza making class. Our driver, Francesco, was excellent. A pizza making class in Naples is a must. We took a day trip to Capri - another must do if visiting Italy. While there, be sure to take a boat ride to the Blue Grotto - so beautiful! And either walk up the steps or take the funicular up the higher level to see the beautiful views.
From Naples, we went to Amalfi, by private driver, again Francesco! We stopped on the way at Pompeii, where our local guide, Ivan, gave us an in depth tour of the ruins of Pompeii - an amazing place to see - and massive! The drive from Pompeii to Amalfi took a little longer than usual due to the overcast and rainy day. There were points in the ride where there was so much fog you could not see the car in front. Francesco was a careful and skillful driver and got us there safely.
We were 3 nights in Amalfi, but I think 2 nights would have been enough. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Elisa had arranged for a tour and lunch of Le Vigne di Raito, a small winery owned by two sisters. Alfonso gave us a tour of the winery and a short tour of the vineyard since the weather was not cooperating. Then we went us to the sisters' home where they had the veranda set for a lovely, delicious lunch as we sampled some of their delicious wine. So glad Elisa suggested this as part of the itinerary. It was a wonderful day! On the drive back, my driver, Ciro, made a stop at his family's cafe for the most delicious, he said the best, lemon cake. He was right - the best I've had so far! The next day, we took a day trip to Positano - beautiful, but, for us, a full day was too long a time to be there, so we booked an earlier ferry back to Amalfi.
Since our flight was from Rome in the early afternoon, we stayed one night in Rome - so we only had an afternoon in Rome. For me that was fine since I'd been there before. My son would have liked more time there. If I had thought about it a little and done a little bit of research, I would have stayed 2 nights in Amalfi and 2 or 3 nights in Rome.
The hotels we stayed at were nice.
In Milan - the Antica Locanda Leonardo - was an older hotel with a lot of charm. I especially liked that we had a small balcony that overlooked a lush courtyard where you could hear the birds chirping. It was centrally located, and I would recommend this hotel.
The hotel in Naples - Hotel Piazza Bellini - was a very nice, up-to-date, funky hotel - very comfortable rooms. We would've like to have a room with a nice view or even a balcony. We had a window that overlooked an alley and the back of other buildings. The hotel was very centrally located and the courtyard was very nice, so I would recommend it, but ask for a room with a balcony or view of the courtyard.
The hotel in Amalfi - Hotel Floridiana - had by far the largest room and largest bathroom. It had a very small balcony that overlooked the street and shops below. It was in the middle of the town and a short, 3-minute walk, to the water. Perfect location.
The hotel in Rome - Hotel Raffaello - was in a quiet part of Rome, outside the center of the city, but close to the train station - a 10-minute walk - which was ideal. The people there were very nice as was the breakfast there, as it was in all the other hotels at which we stayed. But - the hotel was under renovation - this was not ideal. The shower door in the bathroom did not seal properly so water would leak on the floor. I would've opted for a different hotel, but it was only one night, so it wasn't really a big deal.
It was a wonderful, easy trip, and I owe that to Kimkim.com and to Elisa for helping me plan it. I recommend Elisa and Kimkim.com and would use them for future trips overseas.

Hotel Reviews

Raffaello Hotel Rome

Roma

Hotel was under renovation, but staff was very nice. Room was comfortable. Breakfast was excellent. Rooftop bar/lounge was very nice after an afternoon walking around.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Outside the busyness of Rome. Nice, quiet location.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Floridiana

Amalfi

Centrally located. Large room. Updated bathroom. Had a room with small balcony which was a plus. Breakfast was wonderful!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Piazza Bellini & Apartments

Naples

Modern, funky hotel. Very unique. Courtyard was very relaxing. Breakfast was great. Ask for a room with a view or a balcony.

Authenticity & Character

Very unique and modern with interesting decorations - different on each floor.

Location

Centrally located

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Antica Locanda Leonardo

Milan

Loved this hotel! We had a room with a view of the lush, relaxing courtyard. Everyone was so friendly and the breakfast was amazing!

Authenticity & Character

lots of charm

Location

Centrally located

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Wine Tasting and Lunch in Amalfi Coast

Italy

This was one of my favorite experiences. Learned a lot about the process of making wine.

Quality of Experience

The owners of the winery made such a delicious lunch to go with the different wines we tasted. The table settings and setting in general was elegant and beautiful!

Food

Delicioso!!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide, Alfonso, was excellent. It was an informative and fun experience.

Transport

Our driver, Ciro, was excellent and told me a little bit about the area.

Guided Tour of Pompeii

Italy

Amazing tour - amazing place.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our Guide, Ivan, was excellent - very knowledgeable and offered a lot of history of Pompeii. Our driver, Francesco, was excellent. Glad he was our driver again.

Transport

Pizza Cooking Class

Naples

This is a must do if traveling to Naples. So much fun learning about the history of pizza and that it originated in Naples.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Francesco was a great driver. Very personable and made sure we knew exactly where to go when we got there and picked us up on time.

Transport

Como day trip and guided tour

Milan

Loved this trip. Very interesting history of Como that Tatianna shared. She was excellent.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Getting there by train was so easy. Tatianna met us right at the train station.

Guided-walking tour

Milan

Anna Maria was excellent! She showed us all the highlights of Milan and shared some history of the Duomo. I highly recommend a tour by a local guide when visiting new cities.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

All the drivers and guides in Milan were excellent.

Transport

Our local specialist, Eleni, was very knowledgeable about Italy and Greece and directed us to places we might not otherwise think to visit. She was quick with her responses and patient with all my questions. Our departing flight was canceled and we got delayed by a day...Eleni and KimKim took care of the changes we needed to make immediately and put together the documentation we'd need to file our insurance claim without me even asking. She knew exactly what to do. The local guides Eleni arranged were top-notch. Everything went exactly as planned and we didn't have any hiccups for two weeks of traveling. This was our second trip planned with KimKim. The thing we appreciate the most is the stress it removes from us during the trip. It's worth every penny to not wonder where to go or what to do. One of our favorite stops was at a small family vineyard in Nafplio, Greece. We also loved Pompeii...I'm so glad Eleni convinced me it was worth the stop.

Activity Reviews

Private Pompeii Tour for kids with light lunch

Pompeii

Pompeii was much larger and far more interesting than any of us expected. Our private guide was very knowledgeable and great with kids. We could've spent even more time here, we loved it so much.

Greek Cookies making & farm lunch

Italy

We love spending time with locals more than anything else when traveling and being on this family's farm for the afternoon was amazing. We loved everything about it. It's worth the beautiful drive to the country.

Athens Food Tour

Athens

Part of this tour was really interesting (olive oil tasting!) but a lot of it was not well executed. Our guide was very sweet and knowledgeable but other than the olive oil tasting didn't provide much of anything we could experience just by going to restaurants on our own. We were hoping for more tastings and possibly meeting the chefs.

Quality of Experience

The olive oil tasting was exactly what we had hoped for, but it was just one small part of the tour.

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

More experienced guide and more tastings instead of just sitting at a restaurant and ordering food.

Pasta & Gelato Making Class

Rome

This was the best meal we had all week in Italy, and that's saying a lot since all the food in Rome is good. We remade the recipes as soon as we got back home. Homemade pasta is on regular rotation in our house now.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Colosseum & the Roman Forum for Families

Rome

This is one of the best tours we've ever had. There are some special surprises for the kids, adults also appreciate.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Day 1: Thursday, May 16, 2024 Florence Hotel Berchielli
Arrival in Florence, Duomo Florence and Tour – Lucia was delightful and gave us a very in depth tour of the Duomo, its Baptistry, and Museum. As our first guide of the trip she provided a great introduction to Florence and the intersection of the history or the church and city. We ended up not climbing to the dome, because it started to rain when we were waiting in line for them to start entry, and I think because we were exhausted by that time.
Hotel Berchielli – We loved this hotel. It was so wonderful to open the windows and just watch the activity on the street and river below. The room was comfortable and beautifully decorated. Breakfast each morning had attentive wait staff and a great variety.
Day 2: Friday, May 17, 2024 Florence Hotel Berchielli
Florence small group guided walk including Accademia Gallery, Uffizi Gallery – Sabilla was our guide for all but the Uffizi Gallery. She was so knowledgeable about every aspect of Florence as well as the art we saw. It was very helpful to have the earbuds that enabled us to hear her from a distance.
Day 3: Saturday, May 18, 2024 Florence to Siena Hotel Santa Caterina
Time at your leisure in Greve in Chianti., and Montefioralle. As it turned out we spent very little time in Greve and Montefioralle. Stefano our wonderful driver, seemed to know these would be short stops, so took us to Castellina which we enjoyed quite a bit. A nice place to stop and have a drink and bite to eat, shop and great views.
Wine tasting with light lunch and winery visit Poggio Amorelli – While we didn’t enjoy the wine, we absolutely loved our guide there and the delicious lunch. And of course, the view.
Hotel Santa Caterina. While the room itself was very basic there were pluses to this hotel. The staff and owner were very nice. They made dinner reservations for us every night. Roberto was always there ready to make us drinks as we sat around with other guests.
There was quite a bit of road noise all day and night. The contrast was the pastoral view sitting in the back garden of the hotel. I realize this is a small hotel, but the breakfast choices were small. Best was its proximity to the walled city.
Day 4: Sunday, May 19, 2024 Siena Hotel Santa Caterina
Siena guided tour, Siena Cathedral entrance ticket. We spent the beginning of our day just relaxing in the hotel garden. Our tour with Roberta started promptly at 14:00. We really enjoyed this tour too! We loved learning everything about the 17 neighborhoods and the race. After our tour of the Duomo we did walk up to the dome and tower. Even for someone who has issues with heights, this was very easy.
Day 5: Monday, May 20, 2024 Siena Hotel Santa Caterina
Wine Day – Tenuta Vallocaia – We loved our afternoon at this winery. The winery was beautiful, the lunch was very creative and delicious. They provided a custom wine tasting. After each wine they would adjust the next provided based on our tastes. We do have a case being sent to us…
Ciacci Piccolomini – This was a smaller winery. The tasting was fine. The views were beautiful.
Pienza - Our driver Carlo, who we also loved, added a stop in Pienza. This too was a nice addition. Lovely shops and views.
Day 6: Tuesday, May 21, 2024 Siena to Cinque Terre Albergo Degli Amici
Lucca guided walk (private guide). We met our guide Lucia at the welcome center who took us on a detailed tour of Lucca, it history and walls. It was also interesting to learn about her family, spread between Italy and the US and the cross culture experiences she has had.
She also pointed us to an excellent pastry shop!
Cinque Terre time at your leisure. We learned right away about the hills of Cinque Terre, needing to bring our luggage a few blocks from above Monterosso to our hotel. Thankfully, Carlo and the hotel desk person helped us. We spent the remainder of the day relaxing in the tiered garden above the hotel. Just a gorgeous view surrounded by lemon, lime and olive trees.
The hotel Amici – The room was small as we expected, but very efficiently designed so it worked well. While our immediate view wasn’t of the water, walking around the corner of our patio provided a beautiful water view. The staff was very helpful especially Nadia, the desk person I mentioned. The breakfast was the best, offering a great variety.
Day 7: Wednesday, May 22, 2024 Cinque Terre Albergo Degli Amici
Cinque Terre Card, Cinque Terre visit - private guide. – Julia our guide met us at the hotel then walked us to the train. We visited Riomaggiore, Manarola and Vernazza.
Day 8: Thursday, May 23, 2024 Cinque Terre Albergo Degli Amici
Cinque Terre - Free day. Because the trains were so crowded we decided to stay in Monterosso. We walked a trail that started up the street from our hotel and ran into a beautiful winery and vineyard, Buranco. We came back at noon for a wine tasting. While we didn’t enjoy their wine, the people were lovely as was the view.
Our favorite restaurant – probably of the whole trip was L’Osteria in Monterosso. We went there two times.
Day 9: Friday, May 24, 2024 Cinque Terre to Florence Palazzo Alfieri
Stefano was great, going to the trouble to fill out paperwork so that he could pick us up in town. The ride was beautiful back to Florence.
As I told you before, the Palazzo Alfieri was very nice. Since it was Friday, Florence was more crowded than our first two days. So, we mostly stayed near the hotel which was close walking distance to Pitti Palace.
Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens guided visit. I cannot remember the name of our guide, but she was also very knowledgeable about the history and art within the Palace.
Day 10: Saturday May 25, 2024 Depart Florence Florence to Florence Airport (FLR)
Our driver for the airport ride was very prompt. At 5:30AM we had no problem getting through the city.

Summary: This trip absolutely met all the expectations that I had. Andrea's attentiveness to all the details in planning and willingness to make changes before and during our trip was the reason it was such a wonderful experience.
Thanks for everything…
Sue English-Kovar

Our family (me, my husband, and our two sons aged 21 and 27) travelled to Athens, Rome, and Sorrento May 22 through 30. 2024. This was a ‘once in a lifetime’ trip for all of us. Both of the boys have always been very interested in ancient history, so that informed our choices on this trip.

Everything in Athens was perfect! Hotel staff was friendly and helpful. The guides we got were very knowledgeable and easy to talk to. The sights were amazing, obviously. Food was good! Shopping was fun! Locals were lovely! Weather was gorgeous! Really, I couldn’t ask for any improvement. If I could find a Diet Pepsi in the city, I think I could move here.

We were rather disappointed with our time in Rome, although some of it was beyond anyone's control. On our first day there we had a tour scheduled for ‘Ancient Basilicas and the Catacombs.’ We were instructed to meet the tour guide in front of a hotel a ten-minute walk away. As we loitered around the front of the hotel for 15 minutes, (since we were told to arrive early), we spoke to one man who said he had the tour of the catacombs, but it started at 2:30, not 2:00 like we thought. So, we waited and wandered around some more. Finally figured out that was not our tour and found the correct guide. We were also told it was not a private tour, which is why we had to meet someplace that wasn’t our hotel, but we were the only people on the tour. The tour guide was lovely and interesting. The next day was a free day. It also happened to be the day of a cycling ‘tour of Italy’ event. Streets closed, crowds, grumpy taxi drivers. The third day we had a tour scheduled for the Colosseum, Palatine hill and the Forum. Got to the meeting place 15-20 minutes early and tried to figure out where we were supposed to be. There were tour guides there, but none of the names of the tour companies matched anything I had. The original tour guide didn’t show up. Finally figured it out and got underway. This tour was really not very pleasant. Maybe because she was late or was called in at the last moment, she moved like she was in a race. Barely time to take any pictures. Often she was so far away that the audio cut out on the headsets. “You see my scarf? Andiamo!!” Her commentary sounded like memorized bullet points from an index card. And then we got to the Colosseum. I could not believe the crowd. Impossible to see anything, impossible to hear the guide, really miserable. Looking back at my conversations with Emi, this is really where I would have hoped for a little more local insight. Maybe we shouldn’t have done the traditional tour of the Colosseum. Maybe we could have just done the floor tour. I would have appreciated her input here instead of just saying “you have to buy tickets for the floor tour yourself.” Pretty disappointed in the three days we spent here.

The next morning we were on the train to Naples. No problems on the trip and the driver met us even though we were about 45 minutes late. The hotel in Sorrento was amazing. I have never stayed in a hotel that nice and I’m sure I never will again. The tour guide for Pompeii was excellent. I wish we could have spent more time there – visited the museum and the gift shop. The boys went to Herculaneum the next day while my husband and I walked around Sorrento. (There was some confusion as the number of people on the tour was never changed from 4 to 2, as requested.) Again, the boys said the guide was excellent. Then back to Naples the next morning for our flight.

Overall it was a great trip. We saw so many amazing things and met some wonderful people. Since we are not big travelers and we are unlikely to ever do a trip like this again, I felt the pressure was on me to plan and execute a trip as close to perfect as possible. And it was, mostly. Just wish the days in Rome had worked out better.

We loved our May 2024 trip to Ital. The KimKim team did a great job curating our travel and everything was seamless. The app was easy to use and our tours and accommodations were excellent. Fantastico!!!

Hotel Reviews

Horti 14 Borgo Trastevere Hotel Rome

Rome

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Hotel Carnival Palace

Venice

Authenticity & Character

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Secret Garden

Florence

The owners were so lovely and accomdating. It was a very unique place to stay and close to everything in Florence.

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Passpartout Boutique Palace

Rome

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Activity Reviews

Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel Private Tour

Rome

Excellent guide. Very informative!

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Typical Dining Experience in a Local Home with Aperitivo

Rome

Excellent hosts. Food was great.

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Murano Island Excursion

Venice

Very fun and informative tour guide

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Ancient Wine Windows Tour

Florence

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Rome Walking Tour: Historic Center Highlights

Rome

Our tour guide was lovely and so much fun to be with!

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We had several drivers and guides on our May 24- June 4 Sicily trip Our hotels were very nice, especially the last hotel in Ortigia, Algila Charme Hotel, which was lovely, and our room was large and beautiful. We had 3 wine tastings. the wineries of Firriato-Baglio Sorica and Principi di Butera were personal and great, but we did not like the Gambino wine tasting on Etna. The Gambino winery was in a pretty setting, but obviously catered to bus groups and was very commercialized and many tourists, We would suggest not to choose the Gambino winery again. There seemed to be other choices on Etna.
The cooking classes were nice, with just the 4 of us. I am stiil waiting for a recipe from our great cooking teacher in Ortiga, however.
The Palermo street food tour was done very well with just the 4 of us. However the Catania street food tour put us in a group of 10 people. I expected it would be just the 4 of us. I could not always hear the guide because it is a busy area and there were 10 in our group. So I would suggest you check the size of the group.
Overall, the trip was well planned for our requests. I would give it a 5 star.

Our trip to Sicily was terrific. The drivers were very punctual and the guides were pleasant and very knowledgeable. We loved our walking tour of Palermo with Donilla. Montreale and the Palatine Chapel were awe inspiring. Learning about Sicilian street food as we ate our way through the market was such fun. We enjoyed our cous cous cooking class followed by a delicious lunch and wine tasting at the wine resort in Trapani. The ruins at Agrigento and in Siracusa were excellently and thoroughly explained by our guides. It was interesting to compare the street food in Campania to that of Palermo- both yummy in their own way. The hotel in Agrigento and the one in Ortigia were exceptional. Our hotel in Palermo could benefit from some renovation but the location could not have been better. We gave our cooking class in Ortigia an A+. A great meal and an excellent chef. Noto was a pleasant surprise in terms of architecture. Our jeep ride to Mt. Etna with the very affable Giuseppe provided the perfect ending to our tour. The only “miss’ was the Gambino winery which was very commercial and not up to the standards of our 2 other winery experiences. All in all, a super vacation. Hats off to Melanie for her planning and assistance!

Hotel Reviews

Algilà Ortigia Charme Hotel

Siracusa

Excellent location, gorgeous room, very helpful staff

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Hotel baglio della Luna

Valle dei Templi, Agrigento

A beautiful spot, gorgeous gardens, nice rooms

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Hotel Principe di Villafranca

Palermo

Great location, helpful staff, needs a bit of updating

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Across from the Theater

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Activity Reviews

Catania's Fish market tour

Italy

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Etna Jeep excursion

Italy

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

Giuseppe was an excellent driver and guide!

Transport

Village of Noto

Italy

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Guided Tour of Syracuse - Ortigia food tour and baroque tour

Italy

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Wine tasting

Agrigento

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Sicilian Cooking Class + Wine Tasting

Palermo

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Private tour in Valley of the Temples

Italy

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Visit Monreale

Italy

Awe inspiring

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Guided Tour of Palermo

Palermo

Donilla was an excellent guide!

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I had the best trip of my life thanks to Melanie. She guided my mom and I from A to Z to completely immerse us in Roman culture. She was very flexible with Zoom and answering our questions. She has lots of experience!

We went to Rome for 5 days and a day trip to Florence!

Activity Reviews

Historical Rome walking tour and Colosseum guided Tour

Rome

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Duomo skywalk

Florence

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Vatican & Sistine Chapel Tour

Rome

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We worked with Thanos to plan our honeymoon to Greece and Italy. We had the best experience! He considered all our wants and needs in having a relaxed, but adventurous honeymoon. All the hotels were perfect and travel went smoothly. All drivers and pickups were on time. Our excursions were amazing. His itinerary was very clear and organized. I could not imagine having to do this without him after planning a wedding. Would absolutely recommend kimkim!

Activity Reviews

Acropolis & Flavors Combo Tour

Athens

Apollo was our guide and wow can't recommend this enough! We were stuffed by the end of this! We felt like we tried every food there was to try and it was all amazing. He was super informative and made us comfortable throughout the whole day! He had so many tricks for navigating the Acropolis to deal with the crowds and heat which we really appreciated

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Food

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Santorini Wine Roads

Santorini

Our guide Hercules was super knowledgable! I felt like we got a great over view of the three wineries and really got to experience all the different options of wine. Our guide made us all feel comfortable and got all the different groups interacting with each other which was a nice touch!

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Amalfi Coast: Amalfi, Positano & Ravello from Sorrento

Italy

This was a great way to see the whole Amalfi coast. We loved staying in Sorrento, but wanted to see the other towns and this was a great way to do so. Our guide was so informative and talked to us the whole drive pointing out different landmarks! She took us on two tours that were included with the trip and made lunch recommendations for us.

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Naxos Day Cruise

Naxos

We loved this boating experience! There were about five groups of people and it was super comfortable! The staff was extremely friendly and made sure we had everything we needed throughout the day! They served us homemade lunch and had plenty of drink options from soda to wine and beer. They went above and beyond when they found out if was my birthday and made a little cake. The water was amazing and they provided snorkeling gear for everyone if you wanted!

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Food

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Tour To Capri From Sorrento

Italy

Matteo was great! It was just me and my husband for our trip and we were greeted at the dock and told which boat would be ours. We headed over to capri and Matteo pointed out all the things to see along the coast. The water was extra bumpy that day so he adjusted our trip to make it more enjoyable! He gave us the option of what we wanted to do, but we decided to take his advice as he is the expert and were very glad we did! we had plenty of time in capri and were able to see some of the grottos!

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We just came back from a 9 day trip to Italy and we had an amazing time. Elisa was the perfect trip planner and was an absolute pleasure to work with before the trip and when we were in Italy. She arranged for amazing tours while we were in Florence and Rome. We also took day trips to Tuscany and Tivoli which were fabulous suggestions. We had personal tour guides all throughout the trip which made the difference. We could see things at our own pace and got to ask a lot of questions to get a deeper sense of the history. As true of any trip, we had snafu with a tour, but Elisa was available to help us immediately. She emailed us on a Saturday night to make sure that everything was worked out. She went above and beyond to make sure that our trip was a fantastic one and we are so appreciative to Elisa for everything. We can't wait to plan another trip to Europe soon, and will definitely use Kim Kim again.