Kimkim Trip Reviews for Italy

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!!!

Who knew Sicily was so amazing?

We did Ischia, Procida, Palermo, Ortigia, Taormina and Valletta.
Also had some other highlights en route to those locations.
All in all--amazing cities, each with their own personalities.
I would recommend Taormina and Ortigia the most--since they were most authentic, less touristy (except Taormina does have a cruise ship terminal which makes the city swell at midday.)

Our guides were all terrific. Salvatore showed us around a gorge that is north of the Noto area, as well as Taormina, and was incredibly knowledgeable and personable.
Francesco was our guide for a boat tour around the islands of Ischia and Procida and he was amazing. Friendly, down to earth, un-rushed.

We did have some miscommunications with one of our drivers being late to pick us up from airport, but Mario from BellaRoma Vacations made up for it and comped us the value. Mario was also always available via Whatsapp/phone, so that helped as well to keep things running smoothly.

Would recommend and return to Sicily in a heartbeat--who needs to go to the overcrowded Rome, Venice, Florence when you've got Sicilia!

I had a nice time in Salerno. My drivers were on time and helpful, my guide Anna in Salerno was excellent - she new her history and showed me the old part which I found interesting and even showed me street art which I love to see. It was nice to try some local fare as well and the host was lovely. Everything went well without a problem. The accommodation in Salerno was great - a small boutique hotel next to the train station and not too far from the ferry was perfect.
Well done Emi you did your job as requested. I'll use you again.

Wonderful knowledgeable guides. All drivers were professional, courteous and responsive. Francisco in Bologna was exceptional.

We did an unguided tour of the Dolomites. In general, we felt the distances of the hikes did not match what my Garmin recorded. There was not enough time allotted meet up with our guided portion of the tour. Our luggage transfer service, Taxi Rizzo, was excellent and very complementary of Allibert Trekking. The accommodations, travel books, maps, bus/train information and phone app were good. The choice of destinations and accommodations were excellent. Tre Cime is breathtaking and all the alpine huts had spectacular views.

Mario was extremely helpful in suggesting places to go for our 3 week holiday in Italy.
He was invaluable while we were away and was on call the whole time. Of course, problems occur when you are overseas, and Mario was there to translate and fix problems for us..... which included a flight delay that meant we missed a tour!
Thank you Mario for all your help!

No one can predict the weather, but even with half the trails covered in slow, we were able to navigate with very little worry. Olivier was great to deal with, and we look forward to planning another trip some day.

We had a wonderful 17 days in Sicily. Marianne and Alexandra where great. Communication while in Sicily was immediate. The guides they booked for us were knowledgeable and made our tours interesting. Each place we went to were memorable in different ways. Palermo, was the capital. We spent 3 days there which was enough. Had a great food tour with Streaty Tours. Trapani was a great little Port Town with lots to see and do near by. We cycled to the Salt pans, went to a winery ‘Baguio Soria’. The service was not very good, as we waited for well over an hour for our tasting and when we went to buy wine, there was no one to sell us the wine. However we meet some really nice people at the wine tasting and decided to join them for a tasty lunch. One of our highlights was taking the ferry to Panarea and Stromboli. Two of the Aeolian Islands. On Stromboli there is an active volcano which we hiked part way up. Upon leaving, from the boat, we saw it shooting up lava. The captain waited along time for us to watch this. Amazing!! We also had a fun time at our cooking class in Taormina, at Ristorante Porta Messina. We loved!!! Taormina. We spent 4 days at Grand Hotel Miramare. The views from our room were spectacular! The itinerary that Marianne put together was very detailed. It was helpful to included how long, time wise and distance one place was from the next. Most of the accommodations were as expected. The tours we requested, had great guides. And if I had a question during our trip. A quick text via what’s app worked perfectly. I would definitely book with KimKim tours again. Thanks for planning our fun trip to Sicily Marianne.

Our trip to Italy and Greece was amazing! The local tour guide, Bartholomew, really made Pompeii and Mt. Vesevius come to life. His knowledge and expertise of the area and the ancient history were fantastic. Dino, our guide in Rome, was also exceptional, he found so many unique and interesting places throughout Rome that made the experience delightful. He knew all the great places to go and how to avoid the crowds. Dionysus, was our guide in Athens and out to the Sanctuary of Artemis, which was a spectacular place to visit, was incredibly knowledgeable and toured us around with a wonderful ability to engage with history. Effie, our guide to Delphi, was also amazing and told such great stories about the Oracle's cunning ways. Outside of our tour guides the places we stayed and recommendations from Veronica were truly fabulous and we loved all the amazing places we were able to see and go to while seeing Italy and Greece.

The planning portion with Edmondo and Valentina were great and a huge relief. They worked very hard and efficiently to answer my questions and address my needs. It was nice to have the trains all booked ahead of time. We weren't too excited about our hotel choices, we felt as though they weren't really 4 stars, and the hotel in Florence was out of the way.

During the actual trip, we hit a few snags and we think it may be a miscommunication between KimKim and the tour groups chosen.
In Rome, we went to our meeting spot for the Skip the Line Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and Roman Forum tour at the designated time (15 minutes prior) as directed on the final itinerary. When we arrived there at Romaround, the desk worker told us that we needed to be there 30 minutes earlier and pushed us to the next tour that was 2 hours later. After killing time, we came back and another couple experienced the same issue. When they asked to be put on an earlier tour, their request was granted...meanwhile, my husband and I sat there with no offer of jumping into that tour. After I spoke to the desk worker, he said at first that we couldn't move up, yet another worker was able to make it happen.
For our Vatican Tour the following day, we experienced the same issue. We were given a choice of 10am or 11:30am, the only requirement being that we show up to the tour agency a half hour early. My husband and I showed up an HOUR early for the 11:30am tour and we were immediately told we had to go on the 12:30pm tour because other people had walked in earlier and took our spots. We feel that an easy solution could be put in place at this particular agency; simply hold the spot for visitors who went through a planning agency (like KimKim), tell walk-ins that there are possible spots available but they need to wait, and if they don't show up, then give those spots to walk-ins.
Giving walk-ins priority over people who made weeks in advance was upsetting. This was also frustrating because we knew we were in a time crunch with a later activity.

Again, I greatly appreciate the time my specialists put into my trip, tailoring it to what we wanted. The timing and level of expertise was above and beyond what I expected. However, I was greatly disappointed in the tour agencies chosen in Rome (Florence and Venice tour agencies were awesome) -- hopefully there are other Rome tour guides you can consult with.

Mario did a great job with our trip! His planning took all the stress out of our visit. From the transfers, to the guides, to the trains, everything was perfect. We loved our guide, Julia in Florence. She was very informative and catered our tour to our tastes.
David in Venice was extremely knowledgeable and again, catered the tour to where and what we wanted to see.
Our Murano, Burano and Torcello tour out of Venice was awesome. A great way to explore the islands.
Loved our tour of Pompeii. Enrico was a wonderful tour guide. Had so many interesting facts and made the tour one of the highlights of our trip.
In Sorrento, we had a wonderful private boat tour to the Blue Grotto, Capri, and the coast off Sorrento. Our boat guides were Nello and Francesca. They were absolutely amazing and so much fun. Would highly recommend them.
In Rome, Paulo showed us around Ancient Rome. Again, very informative and interesting. Loved learning about Ancient Rome and all of the history there. We were then treated to a wonderful dinner in Rome. Amazing.
Would HIGHLY recommend Mario and Veronica for any travel plans!!