Kimkim Trip Reviews for Jordan

The whole trip was a mixed bag for me - and I will try and balance my feedback.
Planning - Amanda was very good and responsive giving me with multiple options. At most times she was able to understand me and tweak the plans to suit me. She would check on me from a time to time basis, ensuring things were on track which really made me feel looked after. The only part of miscommunication was that I assumed the individual guides were included which I realized after I reach there it wasn't.
Hotels (Amman, Petra and Dead Sea) - Petra and Dead sea the hotels were brilliant - the biggest advantage being right next to the sites. They were comfortable and provided more than what could need from a hotel, especially the Dead Sea Spa Resort (DSSR). DSSR had a sprawling site, multiple pools, easy access to the sea, great restaurant (and buffet) and a couple of good bars.
Camp (Wadi Rum)- surely one of the highlights of the trip. Khaled was a great host and ensured we were engaged. It was one of the best evenings of the trip - great views of the sunset, amazing slow cooked food!!
Driver/Car - probably the weakest spot - especially because he missed coming to pick me up from the hotel to airport on the way back. (to be fair- it was the first day of Ramadan and he may have had a poor sleep). My driver was chatty otherwise and would ensure that he was taking me to show things around as a local which a tourist may otherwise miss.
Price- Good value for money but if its more than traveler its much more price-efficient.
Arun

We had wonderful time on our 5 day trip in Jordan. Arranged through KimKim and wonderfully organised by Lena from In2Jordan travel in Amman. Our driver Izhaq(Issac) was more than just a driver, he was helpful with travelling suggestions and information and an enjoyable companion. Jeshra, Roman city was surprising in size and number of buildings and structures standing. Including two theatres and a hippodrome! The Mosaic hotel in Madaba was excellent, had great fun at the Dead Sea and Spa Hotel. Petra was almost booked out, so our hotel (Candles) was a much lower quality, but convenient. Petra is a once in a lifetime place to see. Wadi Rum and our night at Khaled’s camp was magnificent. The camp accommodation was so good and the next morning we were awed by the desert scenery during our 3 hour 4 wheel drive into “Lawrence of Arabia” country. Finishing in the heart of Amman at the Art Hotel we were very happy with our tour of Jordan.

Amazing trip to Jordan people we lovely and Petra did not disappoint

Wonderful experience, Tamara and Mohammad pampered us with a perfect professional service, everything running smoothly and even more.
The guides were very professional, careful and deeply in love with their country, which makes the real difference between a good service and a wondefrul experience.

Visited Jordan for 8 days with my mom & a friend. LENA was our coordinator. She was very patient with my requests, offered suggestions and was very communicative.The arrangements for our hotels were outstanding, all in the heart of town, allowing us to roam freely.Our driver was Safwat for majority of the trip.He was kind, helpful and very safe in his driving. We had a fantastic time with no stress.Thank you Lena for the superb arrangements.

One of my most increíble experiences ever! This truly was a bucket list trip and everything went perfectly, I enjoyed every second of the trip. Jawad, my guide, was perfect, knowledgeable, engaging, just all around great fun! My Bedouin guide made the most fabulous tea every day he was with us, and our cook for the evenings when were were camping made the most amazing dinners and fabulous breakfasts the next morning. Everywhere we stayed was unique and special and I enjoyed the special charactaristics of each place. The Lodge in Dana had the most amazing views from the room, Feynan ran by candle light and was beautiful, camping in the desert was so much fun, the Bedouin camps were an absolute treasure and a wonderful experience. While hiking (one of my upmost favorite activities) we got to see many birds, a blue lizard, herds of goats and sheep and camels and meet just the nicest people who asked us to stop for tea. What a welcoming and beautiful country Jordan is. Petra was breathtaking, and I truly appreciated Jawad's vast knowledge of the área, the people and the history. I got to go on my first ever camel ride in Wadi Rum, an experience I will never forget! The desert of Wadi Rum is truly beautiful - we even got to see some rock climbers! Thank you, thank you, thank you for the most amazing, unforgetable trip. This was truly the best!

Overall, the trip was great despite a few major hiccups in communication among the agency and the driver. There was a bit of a discrepancy in terms of what we would consider 5-star hotels and what Jordan considers 5-star, as we got got a few noisy, hot rooms without some of the amenities. We were told there would be no problems going to Israel for the day during our time, but it was actually a very big problem and we spend most of the day stressed and in immigration because of mistakes in paper work that Why Jordan didn’t seem to be familiar with. I would also recommend skipping the dinner inclusion option, as they were all buffets of cold/mediocre food even in the 5-stars. The country, guides and driver, and the overall itinerary was great! I would do it again. Just don’t expect ALL you pay for and expect to contact the agency with concerns on your trip.

Our trip to Jordan was very good, our Driver- Khaled was very friendly and helpful. Petra was amazing, and the Dead Sea was a good experience. Overall Wadi Rum was our favourite, everything was great at the Bedouin Camp and the Jeep Safari was fun.

Our trip to Jordan was very well organized by Tamara and Mohammad from Why Jordan operations. To top it all off our tour guide Mohammed Ali made this whole trip a memorable one. We were with our 2 yr old daughter and initially worried how it will be but he made everything very comfortable and catered to our needs. He made us feel at home and shared his vast knowledge about Jordan and his immense experience. Mohammed Ali went extra mile to give us the authentic experience of Jordan and honored us with traditional meal Mansaf at his home. Also, when we informed him that my wife was pregnant he coordinated with "Why Jordan's Tamara" to adjust the tour for her safety (eg. jeep ride in Wadi Rum). He made good recommendations for hygienic food. One thing we really liked was that our itinerary was customized to our needs on the fly. We have been to lot of countries and if there is one country that impressed us the most with their hospitality and friendliness, it would be Jordan especially Mohammed Ali. When we come back again we will definitely choose Why Jordan (Mohammad Ali and Tamara) in a heartbeat.

We were fortunate to book with ‘KimKim’ during our 8 day trip to this beautiful country. Thanks to Tamara who accommodated my million changes .Our itinerary took us from Amman , kingsway sights, Petra , wadi rum , Aqaba and finally the Dead Sea.

In Jordan Mohammed operations takes personal interest and ensures everything goes according to plan and we are happy . He was kind to accommodate last minute changes with no hesitation and always checked on us to ensure we are having a good time.

Our driver - Mohammed Ali ( see pic ) was a real gem . He always made us comfortable and was very patient with my 6 year old. He had many interesting stories and history trivia to share which made the trip more fun.

Jordanians love children and are very kind and friendly people. We have lots of memories and experiences we will treasure from this holiday. The highlights being , trekking in Petra , sleeping under the stars in wadi rum , snorkel the beautiful reefs in the Red Sea , floating in the Dead Sea .

Thank you for a great holiday.

The guide and car assigned to us for a VIP trip is inferior.

Guide has not taken the time to properly guide.
He was so rushed and quite annoying.

We had an excellent private trip in South America and this one was below standard the guiding etc.

Fortunately Jordan is a great country to visit.

Our driver while in Jordon was Mohammad Althnibat, he was fantastic. We had unexpected health issues with one of our party and he was very supportive and helpful. He was always prompt and courteous. We went to Jerash and the tour guide there was Zehar, very knowledgeable and made the tour very good.
Our guide in Petra was Basil, we had trouble understanding him, which is too bad, he seemed to really know the area and was trying but we just didn't get any useful information. Our second day inPetra had hail andsleet so we did not do the walk to the Monastery since we were not prepared with proper clothing.
The night in Wadi Rum was fabulous! the Memoires Aicha Luxury camp was great, the food was good, the panoramic tents were great, and the jeep tour was very interesting.
The Mövenpick hotels in Petra and Dead Sea were awesome, the intercontinental hotel in Amman was perfect

Ended with a great trip, and really enjoyed the ride with Akram. Thank you so much! Only room for improvement is a little quicker responses and accuracy on the trip details that were discussed needing correcting. Thank you again!

Carmen has been very helpful ! Although There is a little "hiccup " in the beginning of the planning, but at the end was great!
The guide: Eddie was not being helpful. I think he is not good for the line of work in the hospitality / service works. He might be good for other kind of works. He is impatient, he is annoyed when he has to wait, he doesn't like to take our group picture, he walked all the way in the front while we were enjoying the view , he gave some wrong information about the thing that we saw: There is a big box made in stone , he told us. It was a jewelery box, instead it was a casket, etc.
Luckily, Jordan is an incredible place to see, so with our disappointment w our guide , we still had amazing time.
I still will recommend Kim Kim travel team to arrange my next travel adventures !

Tamara and WhyJordan? gave us a magnificent vacation in Jordan. It's hard to know where to start because everything from planning to our trip was so seamless, and beyond our expectations.

As the 6 of us requested, this was a truly 5* trip from airport pick-up, to hotels, to excursions & experiences. Tamara chose 3 top hotels and we loved them all. Mohamed our driver throughout the trip listened and reacted to us, and made sure we had fun and learned. When my husband fell ill, Mohamed's care and actions felt like family and one night's adjustments went smoothly - he then got us back on track by morning and we didn't miss anything. The next day, Mohamed from WhyJordan? headquarters made a special visit, meeting us at the hotel, spending 1/2 an hour checking up on us and making sure our journey would be perfect, and it was.

By the way, not only is Tamara's choice of the Movinpick Petra a lovely hotel, but it's literally at the entrance to Petra- like just across the street!!

With just 6 days to spend in Jordan, we got to do everything we hoped we would. A day relaxing in the Intercontinental Amman was followed by an amazing private tour of Jerash, followed by a trip along the King's Highway. WhyJordan's guide in Jerash was excellent - such an important element.

It's hard to pick a highlight, but it would likely be the day that WhyJordan's hand picked guide, Moa'th took us on a journey in Petra. I'm not exaggerating when I say that Moa'th will always have a place in my husband & my hearts. We off-roaded to the back entrance of Petra. A freak spring hale and thunder storm made conditions rough. Their driver loaned me his own coat (3rd layer for me), and with Moa'th's quiet confidence, we took off. Dave and I learned so much about Bedouins and the long history of Petra. Moa'th helped us climb and climb to heights we never would have imagined, but his demeanor and fascinating anecdotes gave us confidence. We met lovely people along the way, and learned a lot. The weather challenges became fun- a 2nd thunder & hale storm actually caused Petra to close (nobody could enter), so, Moa'th helped us secure a camel caravan, he jumped on the front camel, and we rode through the flood, through the gorgeous rock formations and had yet another unique experience.

We are not roughing-it people, and when Tamara 1st suggested camping in Wade Rum, I thought she was crazy, until she gently suggested I check out Memories Aicha Luxury Camp . Wow-oh-wow. Do it! We all stayed in "Martian" tents (full in-tent bathrooms, view of stars and mountains, etc). As soon as we checked in, the 6 of us were in the "cave bar" sipping tea and enjoying a fire. Dinner was delicious in the pleasant dining room (note, go to JR The Wine Experience wine bar when you're in Amman and pick up Jordanian wine to enjoy with your dinner at Aicha).

The next day's 1/2 day across Wade Rum was a lot of fun. Our driver was not the best communicator, so we had to guess what many stops were, but that didn't stop us from climbing and scrambling and joyfully enjoying a place we'd never imagined before.

Once again, driver Mohamed was at the ready, responding to our early call to get going. He made a special stop for us on the way to the Dead Sea, and we're still talking about standing in Acaba where we viewed the Red Sea, Egypt and Israel, while standing in Jordan.

The Dead Sea, ahhhhh. The Movinpick Dead Sea is a lovely resort with multiple pools and a private beach where staff helps you get in and out of the Dead Sea. Rooms are large and well equipped. If you're able to do 2 nights here, we certainly wish we could have, as it would have been a restful end to a lovely vacation.

I can't recommend WhyJordan (through KimKim) and a Jordan vacation enough. We are grateful to Tamara, Moath, and the 2 Mohamed's for a vacation we'll always remember fondly.

Jordan was very beautiful, enjoyed it very much.
Wish our guide Eddy was more helpful .
He was very knowledgeable, but rather moody.
He gets upset when we were late enjoying Petra.

This is a complicated review to write because I had very mixed feelings about our trip. Let’s start with the positive: Lena quickly put together the trip and patiently fielded endless questions from me. Our driver in Jordan, Moustafa, was truly fantastic and made our stay in his country very rich and special. The dinner with a local family in Petra was the best meal we ate on the entire trip and the family could not have been more welcoming and kind. It was an unforgettable experience. We felt safe on the entire trip. Our guide in Jerusalem/Bethlehem, Issa, was also phenomenally knowledgeable, and he was just fun to be with for the day. Our driver in Israel, Gorge, was jovial and eager to please.

Now for the honest negatives. The accommodations were terrible. The boutique hotels in Amman and Tel Aviv were what we expected and we were perfectly happy there. We are used to staying in five star or chic boutique hotels, but in an effort to be economical we chose only boutique for this trip. I read all of the hotel reviews and looked at photos before we left, and I really went back and forth about staying at, for example, The Kempinski or The Hilton at The Dead Sea and decided that the extra thousand dollars wasn’t worth it for one night. I was wrong. Know that traveling in this area five stars will be closer to 3.5. The agent was not clear about that. However Lena and Tania were very responsive and helped us move. The alternatives were no better though the staff was very friendly so I hate giving a terrible review. We arrived in Israel in time for Purim, and, as a result, a couple of the attractions that I paid for were closed. Tania and Lena are refunding is, and I appreciate that, but I was not happy that we were not warned in advance. It’s a big holiday and three-four days long, so to arrive and have the driver say “everything will be closed have a nice time on your own today” was very upsetting. Fortunately he was wrong and we had a nice day.

I took a risk using a service based strictly on a NY Times recommendation, and while I was relieved to have a very organized itinerary, I think I could have done it on my own with much better hotels. I have used similar services with much better outcomes. The whole experience was ok but not without its issues.

Why Jordan? Why not Jordan! What a wonderful trip we have just had to that exciting country.
From start (the booking) to finish ( saying goodbye to our experienced, eloquent, knowledgable guide, Mohammed) everything worked like clock work and nothing was too much trouble.

The people of Jordan are friendly , honest and always willing to help. The food was delicious especially the Kunafeh in downtown Amman!

The highlights are too many to mention them all so here are just a few;
1 Petra- wow! Advice for us older generation- walk in, go up to the Monastery by donkey , walk down the 850 steps from the Monastery and get a horse ride or chariot ride back to the entrance.
GET THERE EARLY!
2 Wadi Rum desert experience is a must. Such beautiful desert landscapes.
3 Jerash and Karak Castle are also a must see.
4 Dead Sea- put on that mud!

One of the best holidays we have ever been on. Beautiful country, beautiful people, amazing food, breathtaking landscapes. The kimkim team - Amanda, Akram, Mustafa - were incredible. Thank you guys!

Lena was terrific in every way. She worked endlessly to make our trip exactly what we wanted.
I like the kimkim format, the communication thread, and recommendations. We had 2 different drivers during our 8 day trip, Akram and Mustafa, both were awesome.
We wanted to see the entire country of Jordan, not just the popular places. Lena assured me that the North was less traveled, but well worth it. She was right. We loved Jarash, Ajlun, and Umm Qais. We soaked in the hot spring, Al Himma, on the border near Syria. Who does that? What a blast!
Petra is jaw dropping, Wadi Rum is wild, the Dead Sea is fun. Aicha Camp in Wadi Rum was perfect.
Jordan is a great travel destination!