Kimkim Trip Reviews for Jordan

Our trip to Jordan was beyond anything we could have imagined. From the “Grand Canyon”, Mt. Nebo, Wadi Rum and Petra, the landscapes were unforgettable. Our driver Akrem made it all come alive. He is so knowledgeable. He saw to our every need, and took us to places off the beaten path. Please give him a raise Carmen.!
KimKim does a good job of connecting with local agencies, and Lena from In2Jordan put together an amazing itinerary. Our only complaint was with one driver (George) in Israel. He needed a lot of improvement in his English speaking and comprehension, and should have at least known the names of the sites he took us to. Martin Handal, our guide in Bethlehem, did a great job. We're not sure what the purpose of dining in a local home in Wadi Musa served, but the “upsidedown” was delicious.
Maybe printed instructions for border crossings, and encouraging travelers to make sure they have WhatsApp or similar for storing all driver/guide numbers would be beneficial.

I am telling everyone that if they make one trip -go to Jordan and make sure Akrem is your driver!!!
Thanks Lena and Akrem!!!

Jordan is an example to us all of getting along no matter what your religion!

We bought last minute tickets for Jordan, so we did not have time to organize it by ourselves so we decided to pick Carmen as our travel organizer. We only had 3 and a half day and manage to see everything that was our "must do places". Thanks to our driver Azzam, we did not feel tired at all and were enjoying our stay in Jordan to the fullest! Accommodations were also great and near to the everything. Especially we liked our stay in aisha luxury camp where we went stargazing! And the staff there was also amazing!

I would recommend Carmen to everyone who wants more free time on their vacation and for those who dont want to worry how their trip is gonna look like in the end.

Dina

The entire experience was awesome! Lena took care of the Jordan side, and Daniela handled Israel. Both did an amazing job of building a schedule that allowed us to see the key sites that each country had to offer - some of which we wouldn't have seen without their insight. We put our trust in Lena and Daniela and they definitely delivered! Having found Kimkim via a Google search, I was a little skeptical at first that it would work out, but there was far more understanding of our needs than the local travel agent we spoke with in the US who had no experience of the region.

In Jordan we saw Mount Nebo, Madaba, Karak, Wadi Rum, Aqaba, Petra (including dinner with a local family, which was an inspiringly positive experience), and the Dead Sea. Petra and Wadi Rum were outstanding, and while we had 1 day in Petra it really takes 3 to see everything. Our driver, Mohammad, was excellent, and provided neat insights as we drove around. Finishing at the Dead Sea Spa and Hotel was a perfect way to end the Jordan tour. The only lowlight was making our way through the border crossing north of the Dead Sea from Jordan to Israel. We were unaware that there would be an exit tax (10JD per person), plus fees to take ourselves and our luggage on a bus to get to the other side. This experience was frustrating (everyone else making the crossing was just as bewildered), particularly as we'd used our remaining JD to tip our driver. But overall, Jordan was fabulous!

Israel was also fabulous - rich in history and culture, and perhaps more familiar or comfortable to western hemisphere visitors. We spent 3 nights in Jerusalem and 3 in Tel Aviv. Rather than having a personal driver as we did in Jordan, this time we were shuttled to join small group (20 people) tours, which included Jericho, Bethlehem, Old Jerusalem, Nazareth, Galilee, Rosh Hanikra, Caesarea, Acre and Haifa, with some down time in Tel Aviv on our last full day. It was amazing to see so many different things, as well as being right on the Mediterranean.

We would revisit both countries in a heartbeat, and wouldn't think about using anyone other than Kimkim to do so!

Carmen did a very impressive service in organizing our trip to Jordan. We had a wonderful stay in Jordan because of all her efforts in catering our suggested itineraries. Thanks a lot Carmen.

Hakam,our dirver is very friendly, goes out of his way to make us both very comfortable during the whole trip. We felt very safe and had a great time seeing the tourist spots in Jordan because of him. He’s such a gentleman and so far he is one of the best driver we’ve known. Thanks Hakam :)

Tamara was an excellent specialist - she worked within our budget, and made sure we saw all the sights we wanted to in Jordan. I was impressed with the itinerary, and loved every one of our drivers. Our hand-offs were smooth, and all of the drivers and guides were incredible! Other than the hotel in Petra (which was just old) the lodging at each stop was fantastic. Tamara even accommodated a last minute change to our arrival time, without blinking an eye. She was amazing, and I was so happy we went with KimKim!

This was an AWESOME trip! Extremely well organized, both of our guides were knowledgeable and friendly, the scenery was spectacular, and Petra is indeed one of the wonders of the world. Don't be fooled; this hike is not an idle ramble in the countryside; it's more a Seal Team Six exercise in some of the most austere scenery I've ever seen. But, when you finally get to Petra, you feel you've really earned it. Now I'm going to sleep for a few days...

The process of booking was easy. But I was very disappointed in the tour. While the tour of Petra was a must-do, the price for the experience was not equal to the value. Our guide was nice and pleasant and stayed with us 2.5 hours. She connected us to a young friend to provide rides up the mountain. After she left, he tried to scam for more money. We finished our walk up and down ourself. The price of entry to the park, 2.5 hours of tour and a buffet lunch did not really equal the $185 in value.
I will not recommend this tour to any others.

Mehmood and Habu were a great company and very helpful. They were very friendly and patient in guiding our big group.

Carmen set up a trip of a lifetime for our family. We were impressed with every aspect of our journey. From our driver, hotel rooms, and general itinerary - all of it was superb.

Our driver (Haitham Shaltoot) was way more than just a driver. Immediately upon greeting us at the airport he was asking us our likes and dislikes for food, and what we expected from our visit to Jordan. He became our driver, cultural adviser, and tour guide. Without Haitham our trip would have been great, but with him our trip turned into something special that we will always remember. He was great with both of our boys (5 and 10), and ensured that they were always included. We were all saddened to say goodbye to him at the airport on our last day - he had become part of the family.

We met a tremendous guide at Little Petra (Qassim Mohammad). Qassim led us through Little Petra and we were so impressed that we asked him to lead us through the desert to the Monastery at Petra. Qassim not only led us to the Monastery, but he also explained all of the wildlife and vegetation along our journey. We all learned a great deal from Quassim specifically about the Bedouin way of life. He got along so well with our children that he invited us over for dinner after our visit to Petra. His whole family showed us tremendous hospitality and my wife was able to get the experience of our dreams - learning how to cook Arab food from an Arab woman.

I cannot recommend Carmen enough - you cannot go wrong working with her.

Brad

We enjoyed our trip to Jordan very much. It was very well planned out. We got to see and experience everything on our list! It was a fast pace, but did allow some down time for a bit of relaxation at the Red Sea and Dead Sea.

Our guide at Petra, Merriam, was exceptional! She invited us to dinner at her sister's house, which allowed us to experience true Bedouin hospitalty.

Our drivers were competent and experienced. We only wish their use of mobile phones during driving was less frequent.

The hotels were occasionally disappointing. The Grand Hotel in Madaba was especially shabby. However, we really enjoyed the Wadi Rum Aicha Camp!

We had an amazing trip to Jordan and Israel everything was planned perfectly and worked like clockwork so thankyou for that. We saw everything we wanted to and a lot more.
Our two drivers Mo'ayed in Jordan and Monther in Israel were fantastic - nothing was too much trouble they were always on time and very efficient, informative and very pleasant, please pass on our thanks to them they really made the holiday. Our jeep safari of Wadi Rum was very enjoyable what an adventure! as was the entertainment in the Dead Sea and the desert camp.

However we were disappointed by the quality of a number of the hotels we stayed in, as you know we asked to be moved from the Rum Al Waleed for which we were grateful as we were due to stay 4 nights - this hotel was dark, dingy and dirty and Breakfast was very basic. I would highly recommend that you do not put other tourists in that hotel. The Corp which you moved us to was superb and much more the standard we were expecting so thank you for that.

The Grand Court in Jerusalem was also very good, and we enjoyed our stay there.
The Dead Sea Spa was ok but just tired and in need of a refurb and it showed it was tatty and unloved, the food was also not great.
Our desert camp likewise tired and basic - whilst we were expecting a Bedouin camp experience not a 5 star hotel it again had seen better days. The food was very good however! The sister hotel to it in Aqaba was better and we enjoyed our stay there.
The hotel in Petra La Maison the same our room was really tatty and basic.
I can understand that when you are used to using the same hotels some of these things can go unnoticed however you should be checking on your clients experiences and the facilities on offer- with such a wide range of hotels in the area to choose from I would strongly recommend you review your choices.
That said we had a fantastic holiday and with the above caveat would recommend you to others looking to explore this fascinating part of the world.

Thank you for a very well organised and memorable trip!

Everything was great especially our wonderful driver Mohammad who was very informative about the areas we were visiting as well as Jordan in general. We would have liked a bit more time at the dead sea as we arrived at 230 pm and left at 8am the next day. It was a wonderful experience except for our hotel in Petra , the Candles hotel is an absolute dump. We were initially given a room I wouldn't have housed a dog in and the replacement was much better but still way below the standard expected.

Our family of five tried KimKim.com for the first time to help us plan our one week trip to Jordan.

Carmen showed great flexibility and willingness to adapt to our (changing) requirements until we had an itinerary fitting our wishes and budget.

On site in Jordan, things worked nicely and without hickups with regards to booked activities, over night stays and drivers/guides.

All in all a very good experience!

Thank you
/Jonas Adolfsson

We loved the trip. Going to Jordan was a wonderful experience.
There were surprises. One was how long the travel took. Knowing the time frame better in advance would have settled some of our mild anxiety. We were surprised it took all day to get to Wadi Rum and arrived almost at dusk. But the camel ride was waiting and everything ended up perfectly.
Our guide was very good, but she held the mike too close to her mouth and some of her narrative was distorted by the sound on the bus, but that was a fairly minor issue.
The accommodations in Wadi Rum were wonderful, better than expected and the food was very good. Sitting by the fire and experiencing the singing and dancing there at night was a treat. The jeep ride next am was great fun and the scenery incredible.
Petra was magnificent. The hike was long and wearing, and the prospect of coming back on horseback or by carriage was impaired by gouging prices by the carriage drivers and too short a horse ride, so we just walked. We were most thankful for an honest boy who found the backpack I absentmindedly left on the trail. The police escort with us was a godsend as he contacted the police office there and located the backpack, all intact.
Hotel and food in Amman were great. Overall a great experience.

The trip was a blast. Our driver Amjad was personable and professional. My only critique is that there was not enough time to do this trip properly. If I did it again, I would skip the Wadi Rum and spend more time in the other locations. We spent a long time driving just for a couple of hours touring the Wadi Rum. Otherwise, it is a good overview of some of the spectacular highlights of Jordan.

We had the most wonderful trip to Jordan, thanks to Imke. She was knowledgeable, very pleasant, had great recommendations, answered all my questions and was very patient with me. We are seasoned travelers but this was our first time in the middle east and were a little apprehensive but not anymore. We were able to see Petra, Wadi Rum, Baptism Site and Dead Sea. The whole experience was breathtaking. We were very happy with our hotel accommodations. A special shout out to our wonderful driver Akram. If I had to rate Akram from 1 to 10, I'll give him a 20. He went above and beyond to make sure that we were comfortable and well taken care of. He was always prompt, looks professional, very informative and always in a good mood. He ensured that we were taken to the places as per our Itinerary. He made our trip to Jordan very enjoyable and definitely one for the books. Our trip to Jordan was only the first leg of our vacation, we went to Dubai and Switzerland after and enjoyed it but our trip to Jordan was our favorite and the most memorable one, thanks to Imke and Akram! I've already recommended kimkim, Jordan and Akram to a few of my friends who are apprehensive to travel to the middle east. I'm now planning our next vacation to South America through kimkim as well!! Can't wait!! :))

We weren't sure we were even able to do a tour through Jordan and its most exciting places as short as 3 days, but Carmen planned a great tour for us and catered to all our wishes and needs. She was always quick to answer any questions we had and made alterations to the trip as we needed them. Overall, the trip ended up being absolutely wonderful, one we will certainly never forget! Even days before our tour, Carmen was always there to answer any questions we had!
Our driver was Nedal. He was absolutely fantastic! Anything we needed, be it information or some background facts about Jordan and its landscape - he was there, he had an answer. It is also owed to him that we had such a great experience!

The itinerary turned out to be a bit too much driving in the first few days. The drive from Ajloun to Wadi Hasa was tough - thought it was booked this way because of tight scheduling at wadi Hasa but that in fact didn’t seem to be the case?? The backtrack to Amman after the wadi also seemed unnecessary just to turn around and head back south again.

Raisa was awesome at making some last minute changes and updates.

Islam was the best- really enjoyed the wadi with him. He needs to NOT bring so many heavy cans for everyone to haul‼️ Appreciated him giving up his tent to us when we found ourselves without. The lunch after the hike at safir? Was awesome.

The hike from Dana to Petra was so awesome ‼️‼️ It would have been so much better if we were given an historical guide rather than an adventure guide( Mirwan was really nice but knew not much of any history of geographical details). Our local guide was very quiet but knowledgeable when you asked him questions - he just didn’t offer up much spontaneously. Happily the scenery was stunning and made up for some of the shortcomings of our guides. Food along the hike was awesome except for Dana which was soso.
Might suggest that before the bag lunches are packed they ask if we do or do not want certain things. I don’t drink juice or pop and carried the extra weight a couple of times before learning to check the lunch before we started hiking so I could leave the unnecessary weight behind.

The souvenir shop near Madaba that Mohammed took us to felt weird. The people in there weresuper pushy and aggressive and I kind of got pressured into buying stuff that I look back on and feel it was a bit of a spoiler for our visit to the area.

Mohammed was always on time but could have been more helpful with baggage. He’s also a bit aggressive on the road and drives very fast - there were no close calls but going so fast while he was texting made me feel a little nervous

The Red Sea and Dead Sea were awesome. Also liked um Qais but a guide here ( which we hired on our own) is essential to really get the most of the visit. Should just automatically book a guide for guests - Mohammed had no clue how important a guide was and we almost didn’t hire one.

Petra was awesome. Just the right amount of time there.

Wadi rum was great but we had one day too many as we did the two days of itinerary in 1

I could have been supplied with more detail.
There was an error in the airport pick-up for which I was promptly compensated for
The driver was great
The overall experience was great

The trip times and experiences were told in advance to be one thing and were very much another. We were told we would be in Wadi area for lunch, turned out the time to get there was about 7 hours. We got there around sun down and took the camel ride as the sun went down and got to the overnight accommodations after dark. Our guide explained that the people booking this did not understand the time and distances and we needed to be flexible. We cooperated but were surprised that Lena did not know how long it would really take to travel from the Jordan entry point down to Wadi Rum and had put the trip as us getting there for lunch, and doing a jeep tour that day. Wafa was an experienced guide and helpful in many ways. We did not fault her for the confusion on our part when the times were so different that in the paperwork sent out.