Kimkim Trip Reviews for Jordan

Overall, KimKim was an excellent choice for us in planning our trip to Jordan. We are confident in recommending KimKim to friends and associates, and will look to KimKim in the future when planning trips. In addition to the professionalism and expertise, KimKim was also a good value for us, and simplified the complexity of international travel.
Driver / Guide: Bader Halaiqa
As a mom and daughter traveling as a “group of two” in an unfamiliar, foreign country, Bader Halaiqa made us feel welcome, safe and appreciated. He went above and beyond to make our trip memorable. We felt more like family than clients, and he treated us to little surprises along the way, such as eating Arab Bread and dates after a gas station stop, and sampling unfamiliar Jordanian “treats” while walking through the market. Bader always made sure we made plenty of water, and when we were driving between locations he pointed out many cultural sights that enhanced the trip. For example, on the last couple of days of our trip, we saw sheep and goats in pens in unexpected places and he explained the religious customs associated with an upcoming major holiday. He also showed us how camel owners identify their herds. On longer trips, he played music in the car that fit the scenery, or videos to provide history and context to an upcoming site. It was reassuring to know that after he dropped us of at our hotel each evening, he lodged close by overnight to make sure he was there to pick us up on time the next morning. Occasionally Bader accompanied us on excursions to help us find our way and avoid making “touristy missteps.” He steered us clear of saying “yes” to an offer by random locals offering unscheduled “guide services” and explained that could actually turn into an obligation to provide a generous gratuity. When we wanted to go shopping he guided us through the market, speaking to shopkeepers to ensure we purchased the best item for a fair price. From the exceptionally tasty and fresh watermelon while we waited for our camel ride, to serving as our “photo journalist” when we explored and experienced the wonders of Jordan, we can’t imagine this trip without the contributions of Bader. His love of country, culture, family, and profession shone through in every encounter we had with him.
Pre-tour Contact: Samanta Neroli
Months before our trip to Jordan, we were introduced to our local specialist, Samanta Neroli. Samanta never tired of answering questions as she helped us make the most of the five days we planned to spend in Jordan. She was prompt in her communications, and creative in the suggestions she made. Samanta was flexible as we developed our trip and it was helpful to have a female representative tell us what we needed to know about local customs. Samanta was very knowledgeable about the sights and features of the places we planned to visit, and made certain our lodgings were relaxing and comfortable. She also explained the process of crossing the Border, and assured us that all the documentation would be in order and prepared for us ahead of time. Thankfully, the Border crossing went smoothly for us – just as she predicted.

Mariam was great to work with in planning. During the trip, every detail was covered- white glove treatment from when we got off the plane! Dinner in a cave in Petra was off the beaten path and special. She squeezed as much in to our week in Jordan as possible, to take full advantage!

Our driver/guide for our week, Ayoub, was superb. Highly recommend. He had all the qualities of a great guide: knowledgeable, diligent, creative, flexible, friendly, hard working, caring. Truly excellent . We have had tons of guides through our years of travel and he really stands out!

Great experience with KimKim!!

I am writing to express my deep dissatisfaction with the local tour company, Zaman Tours, which was selected for us during our recent trip to Jordan. Our disappointment with Zaman Tours was significant as we had previously experienced an excellent trip to Peru last year with Peruvian Tours, also arranged through Kim Kim. As a result, we placed our trust in Kim Kim again to find us a reliable tour company for our trip to Jordan and Israel. Unfortunately, our experience with Zaman Tours was far from satisfactory, leaving us feeling let down by the quality of service provided.

During the booking process, we were impressed by the website claim that Zaman Tours creates tailor-made tours with local experts. Regrettably, our experience did not meet this promise. The itinerary provided was inadequate and lacked details such as local contact information and a clear timetable. When we asked for a more detailed itinerary, we were told that it was all that could be provided. We specifically requested a thorough schedule, but instead, we were given a vague response and told we had total flexibility to change it ourselves. We were hoping to have an expert guide us through the best schedule so that we didn't have to worry about the logistics ourselves.

During the first two days of our trip in Amman, we were disappointed to be guided by an inexperienced tour guide who had only joined the tourism industry for a month. Despite informing Zaman Tours before our trip that we were interested in history, our guide didn't seem to know the city or its history well enough to provide us with any meaningful information. He clearly did not do enough research beforehand and left us feeling frustrated and underwhelmed by the experience.

To make matters worse, we had to pick him up and drop him off at his home before heading back to the hotel as apparently it was "on the way." However, we later realized that we actually made a detour just to send him home, which was very unprofessional and a waste of our travel time. We could have planned the sites and booked separate tour guides ourselves, which made us regret paying a premium for an "expert" when we could have done a better job ourselves.

It was disappointing that Zaman Tours linked us up with an inexperienced, young guide and claimed that he was an expert. We expected to receive professional and expert guidance from a tailor-made tour company, but instead, we received the opposite. The lack of attention to detail throughout our trip caused us stress and frustration, which is not something we would expect from a professional tour operator.

Another example of poor service we encountered was when Zaman Tours planned Petra by Night for us on a Tuesday when it only runs every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Despite being informed that it was a must-see attraction, we were not told about its opening dates and hours, which was quite disappointing. As Zaman Tours claims to provide local experts, we were expecting them to have this information readily available. Instead, we found ourselves having to navigate our itinerary and communicate with the driver, who was not a tour guide and did not have the necessary information. We feel let down that we missed Petra by Night, which was the most important highlight of our visit to Petra.

When we contacted Zaman Tours to complain about this issue, their response was dismissive. They seemed to think we were making a big deal out of it as we could just visit it the next day, Wednesday, when Petra by Night would be open. However, what they didn't take into consideration was that we had also planned to stay at a Bedouin Camp and participate in their nighttime activities, so we had to choose between the two activities. By going to Petra by Night, we would have missed the Bedouin Camp activities and vice versa. Unfortunately, Zaman Tours did not take our dilemma seriously and suggested we skip the Bedouin Camp if Petra by Night was more important to us. We felt disappointed that they did not understand the significance of missing out on an activity that we had been looking forward to, especially since it was one of the highlights of our visit to Petra.

On the night of the Petra by Night incident, we were informed that our agent had quit Zaman tours for personal reasons. This left us feeling even more helpless and worried. We were essentially left on our own with the driver. The lack of communication and professionalism during this situation added to our disappointment with the overall service provided by Zaman Tours.

Despite our attempts to reflect our discontent to Zaman Tours directly, we were met with an unsatisfactory response from even the CEO. His reply was "We have successfully handled thousands of clients this month, and we have not received any negative feedback thus far. All of our clients have utilized the same services, stayed at the same hotels, engaged in the same activities, and been driven by the same drivers." This response is frustrating as it is clear that they claim to provide a tailor-made trip, yet all of their clients have apparently been provided with the same services, itinerary, and experience. It begs the question: what is the point of paying for a tailor-made service if it is the same as everyone else's?

Furthermore, their unwillingness to acknowledge and address our concerns shows a lack of professionalism and customer service skills. We feel that Zaman Tours does not take constructive criticism well, leaving us dissatisfied with the entire experience. If we wanted a generic itinerary, we could have easily found one online at a lower cost and without the unnecessary stress and trouble of dealing with a tour operator.

In conclusion, we were disappointed to be linked with this local tour company. We expected better from a company that claims to provide tailor-made trips. Instead, we found a lack of communication, professionalism, and local knowledge. We hope that Kim Kim will take steps to ensure that clients are only connected with reputable and reliable tour operators to avoid similar experiences in the future.

This was an OUTSTANDING experience. Our local guide and driver, Sharif, was so spectacular. He understood us and our interests, taking care to customize our activities to us and also taking us to cool, local, authentic places. The value he added to our trip is unquantifiable. He knows everyone and this made for consistently special and easy experiences all throughout our journey. He also stayed in touch regularly to ensure our satisfaction & comfort. Words cannot express how much we appreciate Shsrif and how he ensured the excellence of our experiences.

Big thanks also to Samir, who was very patient and regularly checked in on us. He tailored a great itinerary for us, even with my constantly changing plans (over the course of many months!).

Kimkim remains my go to means for connecting with local travel experts.

Bassam was our guide in Jordan. He was wonderful! He was a safe, careful driver, and a well-informed guide on local sites and history. Jarash was amazing with the roman ruins, collinated streets and temples. Petra was so beautiful with the slot canyon (Siq) and the Treasury, the Monestary and the tombs. But if I go again, I will use the Golf Cart to enter and exit Petra because I was completely exhausted from walking in the sun and sand all day. The Wadi Rum desert was so unique with the sand, the mountains, the camels, the Bedouins, and the history of the Arab Revolt with Lawrence of Arabia. And the Dead Sea was very fun! I had a wonderful massage at the resort, I floated like a bar of soap in the sea! LOL.

Eli was our guide in Israel. He was very well educated on both state history and religious history. I especially loved his maps and his diagrams! He was an excellent guide everywhere we went. The Sea of Galilee was inspiring, as we visited Capernaum, the Mt of Beatitudes, and the Greek Orthodox Monastary. Jerusalem surpassed my wildest dreams, with the markets, the fantastic food, the history, the churches, and the christian sites. Akko, with its crusader castle, was so well preserved it was unbelievable! The street food in Jaffa was beyond yummy!!!

Most memorable was how well we were treated by our driver/guide: Basson and Eli. They were focused on our experience, getting to know us and taking us to places and restaurants we enjoyed. Particularly small family cafes!
Hiking Petra and Wadi Rum was my highlight in Jordan.
The best hotels were in the Dead Sea and Tal in Tel Aviv. Going to the markets was special.
Eli was amazing sharing his knowledge, insight and depth of history, art and food from place to place.
Both Basson and Eli were prompt and extremely accommodating. We had a lot of fun.
I can say I did everything I wanted to do. Thanks a million.

This trip was delayed for 3 years, due to Covid, but it was worth the wait! The organisation by the Kimkim team, the suggested itinerary and the help, advice and support from our guide, Emad, all contributed to a fantastic trip. Our plan had been to see the obvious sights of Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea, but, as suggested, we also saw wonderful historical sites at Jerash, Mount Nebo, Kerak, Ajloun and elsewhere. Our accommodation ranged from large chain hotels to Bedouin camps, but it was all well-organised and without any hitches.

We were happy to go along with any minor changes of plan suggested by Emad, as his knowledge and patience were extremely welcome; we never felt we were being forced into anything, and every small suggestion turned out to be worthwhile, including a walking tour of the souks of Amman and lunch at the institution that is Hashem’s houmus and felafel restaurant.

Hotel Reviews

La Locanda Boutique Hotel

Amman

A quirky boutique hotel with a welcoming bar and restaurant attached. A great place to spend our first 2 nights in Jordan

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Old Village Resort

Wadi Musa

As the name suggests, this was a former village converted into a large, well-designed and luxurious hotel. Our room was spacious and comfortable and the outdoor pool was very welcoming after a day of walking around the wonderful ruins of Petra

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hike from Little Petra to Petra

Jordan

I’m really glad we did this hike through “the back door” into Petra first, as we travelled through the entire site, ending with the Treasury, before returning the next day from the main entrance and seeing the main sights from a different angle. It felt really special coming into the old city from the lesser used side first and I would recommend this to anyone.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Take the shuttle to get to the start

2 hour jeep tour in Wadi Rum

Wadi Rum

2 hours barely touches the surface of Wadi Rum, but Mohammed, our driver, knew where to take us to see some spectacular sights, including the Seven Pillars, the location of filming of several films, and a large camel caravan heading off into the desert

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The experience was overall amazing. Samir was very helpful with the planning, even when we had quite particular requirements and were changing the plans before committing. He was always super helpful and responsive, happily adapting to our ideas and requests. This took a lot of stress away from us.
The service was great, starting with the visa support in the airport and throughout the trip. Our main driver Khaled (with us all days expect the last two) gave us great tips and was very flexible if we wanted to change route or change the plan. We had the chance to have extensive chats with him, went to dinner together but also always had our space and time for just the two of us. The hotels were all very nice and some exceeded our expectations (Aicha camp in Wadi Rum and Mövenpick in Dead Sea in particular).
We were positively surprised that our two guided tours in Jerash and Petra were private (just us 2 and the guide), we weren’t expecting it and it was a great experience.
We would totally recommend both KimKim, and namely Samir and Khaled (and have done so already). Thank you for a great trip and wonderful memories. Jordan, we will see you again!

Hotel Reviews

Memories Aicha Luxury Camp

Wadi Rum

Amazing overall! It was one the best places we have ever been to!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Movenpick Dead Sea Spa & Resort

Sweimeh, Amman

It was really nice and we also were upgraded to one of the rooms in the village. The beach access was well maintained. Some of the beach chairs in the pools were a bit broken but overall great experience. Excellent breakfast and great service. Loved the lemon refreshment at our check in and the chocolate hour!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Jarash

Jordan

The private tour was great and our guide really knowledgeable. Really enjoyed it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Petra (With Site local Guide or private guide)

Petra

The private guide was great! It was an amazing experience, the guide really took his time and gave us so much information and answered all our questions.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Just coming back from our second experience with KimKim, and it just confirmed the 5-star quality service they provide (and that we were expecting based on our last trip in Vietnam)!

Platform is user-friendly and focused on customers' experience, but the key of its success is the local agencies they are working with.

For our family trip in Jordan, we were directed to Samir and Enjoy Jordan.
Very pro-active and engaging, Samir took the time to listen to our expectations and put in place the best itinerary possible so we can make the most of our Jordan tour. Open to discussion and totally transparent, Samir updated our plans numerous times (following our requests) in order to match with our requirements and budget.
Great communication all along, which definitely brings the comfort and the peace of mind we were looking for.

But there is also one very special shout out I'd like to make, for one person who made our trip so special : Nader.
From the very first second to the very last one, he went above and beyond to bring our great trip to an amazing and unforgettable experience.

THANK YOU!

Nader has all qualities you could dream of when it comes to discover a new place : knowledgeable (and the word is weak) on every single aspects of his country. He is professional and funny in the same time, he is passionate (and shares this passion) and he has one priority: you and your time in Jordan.

If you read this comment and you are preparing your upcoming trip in Jordan, I couldn't recommend strongly enough to ask for him. Should you go for main highlights or for off-beaten tracks, Nader is THE hidden gem you need to discover and enjoy this wonderful country the way you should.

I think the company needs a lot of help with the planning. The only reason why we tried this service was to see if it would be easier to plan a trip through an agency. Overall, I would go the route of hiring a driver for the stay and book everything else on your own.

Pros:
- Our tour guide was Nadir/Samir is AMAZING! Could not say more positive things about , he really went out of his way to make our stay comfortable and pleasant. Always early ready to take us anywhere. Very knowledgeable about Jordan.

Cons:
- We requested specific rooms with the agency, the contingency to book with them was to get a specific room and we booked months in advance. They promised the room and after we paid, they changed two of our hotels without any communication.

- The hotel rooms that were given to us were not the ones that was in the itinerary. When we inquired with the hotel, they said they couldn't do anything. We were not going to fight it but again lack of transparency from the agency.

- The places that were covered for food by the agency were honestly bad. You could tell the food was the same in every spot and not authentic, I wish we would get more freedom to get authentic food that was covered or we would have opted out.

- Many of the experiences included were already included with the hotel so not much that the actual agency booked on our behalf.

Samir helped plan a fantastic trip to Jordan for us. He was very responsive and accommodative when the trip had to be rescheduled due to the passing of my mother. Our driver Hamza was great and private guide Ibrahim was very knowledgeable and friendly. Once in a lifetime trip that went off without a hitch.

Trip with Enjoy Jordan thru Kim Kim went well. We were a group of 4 that did a 6 days/5 nights around the Dead Sea, Petra and Wadi Rum in Jordan. Our local guide/driver, Nadir, was amazing!! He went above and beyond (from guiding, driving and even entertainment)!! This is our first trip with KimKim and it's close to no-hassle but we did underwent a couple of issues with the booking and mis-alignment in pricing. Prior to contacting an agency, the group is fully aware that the month of April is peak season, hench, why we reached out to KimKim early (in advance) to ensure we get the Panoramic Tent we wanted in Wadi Rum. Despite of reiterating multiple times, unfortunately, the local tour agency still did not secure a spot. It is disappointing especially after having repeated it multiple times over email of how crucial it is for the group. The second mishap was with regarding to pricing. The initial request was for a total of 8 days (including Aqaba). 2 months leading to the tour we had changed this to 6 days (minus Aqaba). The local tour agent, did not update the pricing up until it was called out.

Activity Reviews

Meet & Assist - Queen Alia Airport

Jordan

Our local drive/driver was mis-informed about the correct arrival time. We had to wait and search for our immigration guide which took about 15 minutes of waiting/calling KimKim customer service, and we had to wait for about 20 mins for a new driver to come and pick us up.

Quality of Experience

better staffing coordination

Guides, Drivers and Staff

when the guide and driver did eventually come they were welcoming.

Transport

Wadi Rum (Full Day)

Jordan

Our Wadi Rum experience was spectacular. Our local guide, Ibrahim, was very kind and went above and beyond in giving us a phenomenal experience. The drive in the desert is unimaginable, though, I should mention - it is not a jeep drive but a pick-up drive around.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A honeymoon that we will not forget.
A big thank you to Nada and team to plan and organise the whole trip despite the short timeframe and the little present we received. Special thanks to the driver Hassan who was super friendly and helpful.
We love discovering Jordan with Amani tours.

We did not have a dedicated guide but our driver Mr Haitham was very helpful and filled us in on some of the details and took care of checking into our hotels. We had a local guide in Jerash who was great and one in Petra who was okay. I did feel that would have benefited from having a guide at St George’s Church and couple other places. We were disappointed in our hotel at Petra, it was very grungy with ceiling tiles stained and falling off and questionable cleanliness in our room. The other 3 hotels were great but I picked 2 of them.

Hotel Review

Sun City Camp

Wadi Rum

Just loved the location and the experience of staying in a geodome under a star studded sky.

Authenticity & Character

Location

The big expanse of the desert in front of us added to the mystery of the location.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very well equipped, bathroom was very modern and clean.

Activity Reviews

Full Day Petra (With Site local Guide or private guide)

Petra

This was the focal point of our trip, reason why we added on a few days in Jordan after our Egypt trip. It was spectacular! The canyon walk was magnificent and coming round the last bend and seeing the Treasury for the first time will be etched in my memory.

Quality of Experience

Amman Evening tour ( Heart of Amman) (Old Areas)

Amman

Don’t think we actually did this. We drove back from Dead Sea to the restaurant for dinner and from the restaurant to the airport.

Amman-Jarash-Ajloun-Amman city tour

Jordan

Jerash was excellent, one of the most complete Roman cities we’ve seen. It was possible to visualize this city when it was actually functional.

Amazing trip in Jordan! excellent organisation of the trip.
Our driver was always very punctual and very helpful.

Hotel Reviews

Petra Moon Hotel

Wadi Musa

Food in dinner to be improved.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Movenpick Dead Sea Spa & Resort

Sweimeh, Amman

Excellent Hotel!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Shams al weibdeh hotel apartment

Amman

Very friendly staff, but I would suggest improving the cleanliness of the room and the quality of the food in the breakfast.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Wadi Rum Bubble Luxotel

Wadi Rum, Petra

The food at dinner should definitely be improved. In a 5-star hotel there should be more choice! Excellent whirlpool!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Intercontinental Amman

Amman

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Petra (With Site local Guide or private guide)

Petra

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Amman-Madaba-Mount Nebo-Karak-Petra

Jordan

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Amman-Jarash-Ajloun-Amman

Jordan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Meet & Assist - Queen Alia Airport

Jordan

RUM - FREE TIME ON YOUR OWN

Jordan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a great time using KimKim to see Jordan! Samir did a great job tailoring the trip to our wishes, and the hotels selected all worked out well. Getting through customs was smooth, and our driver, Wasef, got us to every destination safely and on schedule with a few extra photo opportunities thrown in. Getting to see the Holy Sites in Jordan was great, and Petra and Wadi Rum are must-sees. I would happily recommend using KimKim as an ideal way to see Jordan if privacy and flexibility are priorities for you!

Samir, at KimKim in Jordan, did an amazing job planning and executing our very recent trip there! Everything was organized to our liking! Our English speaking drivers, Suliman Apoobaid, and Mowafaq Ahmad, together with our guides were knowledgeable and very professional! The hotels were all excellent, though we particularly liked the, Petra Guest House, in Petra. We loved everything that we did including all the fascinating historic sites that we went to Jordan to see! Snorkelling in the Red Sea was another highlight for us too! The people we encountered were always so friendly! We felt safe the entire time! I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Samir and his team! They will go above and beyond to ensure that one is happy and comfortable! We’ll done, Samir!

Hotel Review

Petra Moon Hotel

Wadi Musa

We stayed at the, Petra Guest House, in Petra! It was excellent! We loved its great location next to the Visitor Entrance and Museum! Very comfortable room! Breakfast started being served early so we could begin our visit to the sites early and before all the buses arrived. We also loved spending time at there, Cave Bar which is connected to the hotel. Here, they served excellent food and cocktails!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right next to the entrance…

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Meet & Assist - Queen Alia Airport

Jordan

Very much appreciated at 4:30 am!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We appreciated the support to arrange an excellent driver Mohammed to get us from Amman airport to the Dead Sea, Kerak, Petra and Wadi Rum via as many scenic areas as possible eg hot springs, smaller Wadi, Dana biosphere and historic town and magnificent viewpoints.
The entrance into Petra on reaching the Treasury was spectacular and truly a wonder of the world. The donkeys and carts on the way back got us back nearly in one piece. To all young people...Good to visit before the arthritis and old age kicks in. Thanks to all our patient guides and hospitable Jordanians

Everything was planned well by Samir. I had a good time.
Special mention of my Driver in Jordan, Mamdouh. He was amazing, kind, professional and really helpful. Took really great care of me.

Had an eye-opening trip to Jordan taking the Amman - Petra - Wadi Rum - Dead Sea - Amman route. Our guide and driver Khaled was splendid and we learned a lot about Jordan from him throughout the trip. He went out of his way to bring us coffee and sweet shopping.

Jordan itself offers breath-taking sites especially Petra and Wadi Rum.

Highly recommended!