Kimkim Trip Reviews for Italy

My husband and I just got back from an amazing trip to the Amalfi Coast of Italy, including Positano, Sorrento, and Naples. The process of planning and booking the trip was easy, organized , and our specialist Andrijana was very responsive and attentive to our preferences for the trip. She was able to put together an itinerary that had everything we love about vacation. The detailed plan for the trip was great and the transportation from the airport and between the cities we visited was seamless. The accommodations selected by Andrijana and the Kim Kim team were incredible, (especially the bed and breakfasts in Positano and Naples). Tiziana was a fantastic host at our accommodation in Positano, and Gisella was great in Naples. We ate at amazing restaurants with fantastic views of the beautiful Amalfi coastline. We did have a discrepancy about one of the tours that was planned during the stay, where there was an apparent miscommunication between the provider and the travel agency. The team, however, was very responsive and helpful despite the fact that our day did not go as planned. We appreciate the work on their end to try and resolve the issue, and they did compensate for the mistake quickly.
During our stay, we communicated with the team about recommendations for restaurants etc, and it was great to have a access to local guides to get great suggestions.
We had two of the most amazing guides for our tours in Sorrento and Naples. Celestina did a wonderful job showing us around Sorrento and explained the landmarks, culture, and traditions on a walking tour of Sorrento. She was friendly, warm and very knowledgeable. Celestina did an excellent job! We ended that tour with beautiful garden dinner at a the restaurant. We had a fantastic time with our amazing guide, Giuseppe who took us to the picturesque town of Ravello, took us on a walking tour of Naples, and guided us during our favorite day of the trip that included Pompeii, wine tasting and Mt Vesuvius. Giuseppe was top notch! He was one of the best guides we have had on a vacation. We learned so much from him during our tours! I can’t say enough about the hospitality and incredible service he provided on the last few days of our trip. Thank you to everyone that made this trip so memorable for us! We would definitely use KimKim again and recommended their services to our friends and family!!

Just back from an amazing family vacation! Emi’s recommendations and planning allowed us to see and experience parts of Rome, Milan, Turin and Florence - both through relaxed self exploration within the cities and small group tours for daylong excursions in smaller towns nearby. The hotels, and train travel she organized made it easy to relax and enjoy the trip. Questions arose while we were traveling, and she was quick to reply - so nice to have a friendly local resource! Would definitely recommend and use this service again for future trips. Thank you Emi!

This is my 2nd time using kimkim to book a trip and I am so glad I did! This was my first time to go to Italy and I wanted to do/see all the highlights. Marianne created the ideal itinerary for me and I was able to do everything I wanted and more. I had the most amazing 19 days touring Italy-Venice (Murano and Burano), Florence (Sienna, Pisa), Naples (Amalfi coast, Sorrento, Pompeii), and Rome-with great tours and days to saunter and wander on my own. I mean, it was PERFECT! I did have a few hiccups but Marianne was readily and immediately available via WhatsApp to help and get things sorted for me and she did. Everything from hotels, tours, and transportation (private car and train tickets) were all booked ahead of time and I received all of that information before I even headed to Italy. Not having to worry about those things allowed me to relax and enjoy my entire trip. Marianne even offered great suggestions for things to do in each location during my days I had to explore on my own. I'm really grateful that those exploration days were part of my itinerary. I was able to revisit some sites as well as see things I encountered along the way. I didn't feel like I missed out on anything! I highly recommend Marianne to help you plan your Italy trip!

Had a ton of fun. All the recommendations for restaurants were on point. The Wine tour was a little underwhelming. That is pretty much my only criticism of the vacation. Thanks for everything !!

Valentina has been extremely accommodating throughout the entire process — from proposing an itinerary, to making late changes in our plans due to weather, to ensuring that our trip was going well. Our trip to Italy would not have been the same without her. I would definitely work with her again should I travel back to Italy in the future.

Our Guides Alessandro in Florence was excellent. Ricardo in Rome was excellent also. They were also very helpful . I was. Dis appointed in Matthew. On our second he asked us how our cooking class was? We said no one showed or called. Matthew said he would call us back. We never heard another word from him all week! We waited around all day prior to his call, alerted the front desk and no one came. My husband was really looking forward to this. Loves to cook. Communication was a definite issue with the trip, until we took the initiative and asked what time we could expect some one. Andrew was our main driver and was very nice ,. He was on the phone with Matthew 2-3 at least when we were we with him. I use say in higher voice , we are waiting for him to call back. When I asked Matthew if we could go to the isle of Capri, I thought he said it would be to far away. My husband walks around in the morning while we were in Sorrento and what were staring at was Capri from our Bacolony! Our off day we went to for a twenty minute boat ride to Capri and had a wonderful day.

This was a great trip. Cycling routes were very planned and hotels had been very well chosen. Got a real feel for southern Italy at olive harvesting time. Managed to do some informal oil production visiting and tasting as well as wine tasting organised by the tour. Good mix of country and coast.

We had an amazing trip to Italy. The planning went very smoothly with my contact taking into consideration the type of activities we were interested in and arranging for guides that were knowledgeable and excited to share their information. Marianne was a text or phone call away and very helpful in making last minute changes for us. We especially enjoyed Matilde’s pasta making class in Lecce, instructional and fun, delicious too! I think they could have done better with the mostly average accommodations. The two agriturismo stays we had were delightful. B & B Conti Luna in Sciacca, Hotel Palazzo Failla in Modica and Hotel Baia Delle Sirene in Taormina were among the better. The people we met along the way made our trip an adventure we will never forget! Thank you KimKim, overall, great job!

Had the most amazing time in Italy. My daughter and I enjoyed our trip to the hilt. The Kimkim team planned it all out very meticulously down to the very last details. The hotels chosen were perfect and so were the tours. Valentina went out of her way to stay in touch and ensure a great vacation. She was forever suggesting places to eat and things to go. A spl. Shout out to her!

You guys are great and I have already recommended you to my friends. I will definitely go with you folks again!

Thanks, Narayani

The best review I could give is to say that when I do my next Italian Holiday I’m going to get KimKim to organise it for me again. We had the most amazing, stress-free holiday I could ever have imagined. Thank you so much Matthew for your amazing attention to detail and the clarity of all of the documentation; worth every penny. The hotels were really well located and made getting around so easy. The care that we were given made our Italian adventure a trip of a lifetime. We felt very spoilt.

Our trip in Italy was fantastic. The drivers who picked us up and drove us to all of our destinations were extremely friendly, nice and professional. One of our phones was forgotten in one of our driver’s car, and he was kind enough to bring the phone back to us the next day in perfect condition. The hotels were greatly located, clean and the staff were very accommodating. The hotel in Amalfi and Rome were beautiful, however the hotel in Sorrento lacked some appeal as we were put in a room below ground level that was dark and very small. I would highly recommend all the hotels, except that one.
The food was fantastic and there was a great breakfast selection at most hotels.
The tours were fantastic, including the guides and staff.
Matthew was a great help throughout the trip, always answering our questions right away and giving us wonderful suggestions.
All in all, I would recommend kimkim to anyone that is travel to an unknown country and thank you all for planning an unforgettable trip for us!

David was very attentive to our requests and needs from the start. We wanted a hut experience in the Dolomites and he suggested a beautiful trip. We had a wonderful accommodation at Hotel Pider in Wengen, and then two days hiking to and back from Rufugio Fanes. The hikes had a lot of variety in addition to the beauty that is the Dolomites. The food was delicious and the hosts were welcoming in both places. We had several questions for David before the trip, which he answered promptly and graciously. We found his service very professional yet friendly.

Had an amazing trip planned thru KimKim and Julien as our local specialist. We had a group of 8 people and everyone had a great time, and loved the trip. The route had great diversity and stunning views. Julien was VERY responsive and we asked him a TON of questions. He did an amazing job on our 14 day trek thru the Dolomites.

The material (maps, roadbook, and app) provided were well organized, the guidance on what to bring , money necessary and buses was very helpful.

The app provided worked flawlessly and was a great help. The routes were all well marked and the app provided that extra confidence that we were travelling in the correct direction at all times. The pictures at the turning points also proved helpful at times.

The rifugios were clean, comfortable and accommodating to our meal requirements. Not all rifugios offer private baths so if you require this make sure you inquire what the facilities are that are available. The flexibility in the itinerary was also helpful for a couple people in our group and for the day we had bad weather. We did have a couple of issues with our accommodations being slightly incorrect in a couple of refugios, this may have been to the fact we added 2 people very late in the planning process.

Julien organized two via ferrata's for us which included equipment and guides. Highly recommend Monte Paterno via ferrata. The second via ferrata (Les Cordes) was VERY short and not really worth it. It was a new via ferrata this year so Julien was not aware of the route and distance. All the guides were awesome.

I would highly recommend a trip to the Dolomites, they are amazing. The hiking is not easy, but very beautiful. I will be going back and will use KimKim on future adventures.

Our favorite part of the experience was the cooking class in Tuscany. The view was absolutely stunning and it was such a fun day! We really enjoyed the smaller group tours. I would highly recommend taking the ferry when traveling between the Greek Islands. It’s much more convenient than flying. Bellou suites in Mykonos was our absolute favorite hotel. Beautiful views, friendly owner and quiet and set back away from the hustle and bustle of this party island. We booked a few tours on our own that we loved too. We did a biking tour through “we love Tuscany” and would highly recommend this to people who want to be more active. Overall it was a very awesome trip!

When I went to look for an agency to help custom plan a special trip to Italy I found KimKim online. I was a little skeptical at first but once we started working with our travel agent Veronica from Bellaroma all my concerns disappeared. This trip was a celebration of a milestone birthday and cancer free milestone so it needed to be special. Veronica worked with me over several months to refine our trip. She was an angel putting up with my can we move this day, what about if we did this and several versions of the trip. From the individualized and small group tours of Milan (thank you Donatella our personal guide of Milan) and Rome to the horseback riding and cooking class at the Tenuta Torciano vineyards it was the perfect trip. Veronica took care of the car rental from Milan to Florence, the train ride to Rome and all the transfers from train station and airport. We had one or two minor issues and she was available immediately to fix them. I knew I could count on her and she would be available through our whole trip. The trip was perfect and I would use KimKim again. Thank you to Veronica for being the best partner a traveler could have.

The trip was fantastic. It was our 1st time in Greece so we didn't know what to expect. This trip did not disappoint. We especially liked the Athens to are that was provided by Veronica. Full of history and lots of knowledge as well as being able to say see and get lots of good pictures. Our hotels that we say that were full of knowledgable friendly people and we had a great time talking with them. We had a great time at the beaches and all the restaurants. We can't wait to go back!

Our trip was amazing and it was thanks to Valentina that we all had a fantastic time. From the start of this process I knew that I would need help planning this vacation. I've planned European trips myself before, but I didn't have the time to do it for this vacation. I knew I needed someone's help and expertise. I described how we like to travel and Valentina really understood our preferences and planned a trip that fit them. A perfect mix of sightseeing and relaxation. Our pizza-making class was a particular highlight, something we never would have done if Valentina didn't suggest it. And our other guides worked really well with us, especially Benedetta who took us around Verona.

And while on our trip, Valentina was there with helpful tips and suggestions and for any troubleshooting that we needed (there really wasn't much of any). This whole experience was great and exactly what I needed. I would recommend Valentina (and KimKim) to anyone and would gladly work with her again when it comes time to plan my next trip to Italy.

Being as this was the first time to travel to Italy, I was at the mercy of a travel agency to help me set up and arrange certain aspects of our trip. My husband and I did not want the typical tour group travel as we like to travel at our own pace. I reached out to KimKim as they offered services for independent travel. I felt as if our specialist just threw some stuff together and changes that we wanted made was a struggle, because the reply at the other end was always, well we are here and we know what is best or what works best. One change that I am so glad I fought with was getting the specialist to change a Pizza Making class in Florence to a Pizza Baking and Limoncello Making in Sorrento, which was a highlight of our trip. I wanted a Pizza Baking Class in a Farmhouse.
Another issue we had was travel documents are suppose to be sent to you within 3 weeks of travel, we had to reach out several times to get all of our official documents. We had missing documents and it took until few days before our trip to get everything correct and in-hand, the first time being agency related and the second due to lack of my use of technology.
Keep in mind is in the US we are 6-9 hours behind so communicating with your specialist will be hard, as you are getting out of bed they are going to bed and if you work a day job an accepting phone calls are challenging for you at times this will be frustrating, even with the use of email.
We had KimKim to arrange hotels, train travel, a few VIP tours, three group tours, travel to and from hotels between train travel and travel to and from airports for us for our journey from Venice, Florence, Sorrento, and Rome.
I loved the suggest of the specialist to extend our stay in Venice so we could take a day trip to Verona as that gave us more time in Venice and not have to worry about keeping up with luggage for our day trip to Verona. I did not like the hotel that our specialist chose for us in Venice and once again this was something I tried to change, but the specialist said he had actually stayed at this hotel and that we would love it. I even went as far to state that I read tripadvisor reviews and room 103 was the worse and guess which room we received??? Room 103 and the desk clerk said the hotel is full so no room changes! I am allergic to mold so those 3 nights were a big struggle to me. Also we were quoted a double room with a balcony and guess what this resort doesn't even have balconies!! This hotel like all but one we stayed at was far off the beaten path, but it was convenient to the private water taxi for our luggage due to their dock on main canal. Our resort in Rome was so far off the beaten path that a taxi ride to any attraction was $10.00 to $15.00 bucks each way! But, as far as the employees at all resorts they were outstanding and went over the top to help with any of our needs!
The location of our Florence hotel was the best of our hotel stays. The second being Sorrento, but once again I asked the specialist to upgrade our room to a balcony with a full ocean view and he immediately stated it was not available, without even researching, but we were happy with our partial side view room once there.
Another issue was once we received our travel documents I noticed we failed to arrange transportation from our hotel to the train station for a day trip to Verona and when I asked the specialist how much it would cost for him to arrange for us, now keep in mind our vacation package was over $10,000.00, his reply was it would be to expensive for him to arrange, but it would be easy for us to do on our own.
In Rome I became ill and wasn't able to make the group tour to the Sistine Chapel and Vatican the specialist had arranged for us, we did receive a call from the specialist wondering if maybe we were lost which was very nice, and I stated no I was ill and maybe we could reschedule and his answer was no, no offer to help us set up a new tour, but my husband and I were able to set up a private one on our own which was very nice.
Also, two of our private drivers between trains and hotels did not speak English and one driver even told us that it was mandatory for all new drivers and guides to speak English.
We did like the fact that we had a travel agency to help us set up a few things, to take the some of the burden off of us, I just wish the communication was better and more emphasis was focused on our needs and wants.

Exceptional

I took my 12 years old daughter to her Bat Mitzvah wish trip.. I was worried it’s just the two of us and couldn’t really find an organized tour that was right for us. We wanted to start in Milan and end it in Amalfi Coast in two full weeks. Carmelo was super helpful from day one.. I started clueless about where and how I’m going to tour Italy and I left the States confident with a fabulous, detailed trip plan! He helped me through step by step. If it’s to get private transportation when it’s more needed or to get the right train ticket from city to city!!! He booked me private tours in Venice and Rome which were so important since we would have had to wait the crazy long lines for hours in the hot water!! I must say that everything he booked for me was top quality! In between our trip we had a few changes and Carmelo was there to assist me. On the weekend when he was out of the office Alexandra was in touch with me and was great help!
To summarize this experience, I’m so grateful I chose Kimkim to assist with this once in a lifetime tour of great Italy!!!