Kimkim Trip Reviews for Jordan

We flew into Amman, and then had the long ish drive to Petra. Our driver, Midhat, was great and we didn’t ever feel unsafe, as the roads can be abit chaotic at times! In fact, we had a tyre blow out at one point, and his skilful driving, without wanting to sound dramatic, probably saved our lives as it was at speed.
He stopped at a Resturant for us to get some lunch, and then we went onto Little Petra, which was well worth the visit.
Our over night hotel was the Petra Marriott, it was nice although it was a few miles outside of Petra itself.
The next morning was an early start to meet our guide at Petra. It was very worth while having him, as his knowledge was outstanding.
We left to head to the Wadi desert and stayed at Aicha Memories luxury camp. This was lovely. There is no WiFi, and to be able to switch off from the pressures of business and day to day life was fantastic. We had a drive through the desert to see the sunset, and at night a walk into the desert to star gaze.
We left early the next day, the original plan was to go to Jerash. However, the afore mentioned tyre blow out, along with myself being ill, made us change our plans and we went into Amman. Midhat took us to the Citadel and Ampitheatre, both well worth visiting. The views from the Citadel over Amman city are very good.
We stayed at the Intercontinental hotel, and that was also very good.
We will, I’m sure, be back as this was too fleeting a visit to see it all!

Our driver Hasan was friendly, a good communicator and was always prompt at any rendezvous and gave us clear directions and meeting points. He was generous with advice and information.
Amanda our trip organiser was helpful and insightful, giving useful advice on trip creation and sights not to miss along the way.
We felt looked after from the meeting at airport arrivals to the return to departures.

Our driver in Jordan was Hassan, but I don't know his last name, He was an excellent driver and a thoroughly nice fellow. Our driver in Israel was also very nice and accommodating, even walking us through the exciting towns of Caesarea and Akko - his name was Rami, but again, I don't know his last name. I'd recommend both of them. Our guide in Jerusalem was called Jacob, but he also has a Palestinian name. Fantastic, and super knowledgeable about all the places we went. I have his name to recommend to anyone I know who will be coming to Jordan.

The hotels were all fine, the best ones being in Jerusalem and Haifa. That said, the food in general in Jordan and Israel was not fabulous. Maybe we should have asked for better hotels, but that is certainly not your fault. We realize that hotels have to consider that their guests come from all over the world and it's impossible to please everyone. The best restaurant in Jordan was the one Hassan took us to in Jerash, owned by someone he knew. It was lovely with fountains and a great menu. The food in Wadi Rum at the place we stayed was also good. The neighborhood in Haifa was delightful and lots of good restaurants nearby, I wish we'd spent another day there. Next time...

I will certainly recommend your company if I have any friends who are traveling to your region. I also see that you do tours in other parts of the world, too, and will keep that in mind for the future, as I still plan on traveling even after both of us got sick and had such a long, agonizing trip home with lots of layovers, etc. Again, not your fault, just bad luck. Thanks again for your kind and helpful suggestions and we have great memories of Jerash, Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea, Dana,and of course Petra. Our guides at Dana and Petra back door were also excellent. Your country has so much history and stark beauty I think your tourism numbers will improve. Jordan seemed very safe while being surrounded by turmoil in all directions. Good luck in the future, and thanks again, Lena!

Sincerely,
Kim and Bob McGregor

Everything was terrific, Lena did an excellent job planning this, the accommodations, food, people, experiences were all terrific. Everyone went over and above the call of duty. We loved our drivers Ziad Qaryti and Ahmad Alsuwi and Osama Manaseer! My wife and I had an excellent down to earth, home cooking lesson experience with Nesreen Ali, Osama's wife with their family in their home. Sherrin's review of the cooking lesson is below:

"My cooking lesson was an A+ !
It was a pleasure to have dinner with Nesreen and Osama and their beautiful, sweet children. They provided not just a generous and warm example of Jordanian hospitality, but also an enjoyable loving, family experience. I learned how to cook traditional Maglouba with Nesreen who is a force of nature with a stunning smile. She exudes joy, happiness and the essence of motherhood. My cooking lesson was decorated with cardamom brewed coffee, family experiences and Arabic lessons. Eight year old Zain smiled shyly and helped when asked to and one and a half year old mischief maker Cadi (whose name means white flower on the mountain) pushed the kitchen chair around, walked around in my shoes and enjoyed herself dancing while mommy sang and clapped. Dave and I had a priceless experience and I learned to watch Nesreen’s left hand fold and tuck the parsley and mint as she chopped and about a new vegetable Jarjeel, water lettuce! I recommend this cooking lesson experience highly." Sherrin Bernstein

All pretty special. Hasan, our driver for all our longer trips was fantastic. Helpful, informative and very safe driver.

I cannot fault the quality of service provided by Amanda.
Planning a trip to Jordan is quite a daunting task. It was also going to be our honeymoon so the pressure was on!

My partner and I aren't the most organised people in the world, so we only started to look into planning our trip a couple of months before our wedding. Unsurprisingly, this was a very busy time for us...!

As soon as got in touch via kimkim, Amanda immediately took on the burden of honeymoon planning. She was efficient, and it comforted me to know that she was based in Jordan. She listened and delivered on our requirements, always with a great attitude. What's more, when she found out it was our honeymoon, she seemed genuinely enthused and motivated to make sure our trip was extra special.

We also found all the documentation super helpful - the detailed schedules, the maps etc.

Her attentiveness did not stop once we arrived in Jordan. Amanda made a point of checking in with us at all the right times. Each time we spoke, she was not only professional, she was friendly and personable. Thanks to her, we even managed to get a hotel room upgrade at our hotel in Amman (House Boutique Suites) - the room was HUGE!

5 days into our trip we had some issues with the owner of the Wadi Rum Bubble Luxotel. The owner was extremely rude to us, which was particularly disappointing as we were really looking forward to this experience. However, Amanda handled the situation perfectly. As promised, she was available on Whatsapp at all hours, and immediately responded when we got in touch with her to explain the situation. It didn't go unnoticed that this all unfolded outside of office hours on a Thursday evening (start of the weekend in Jordan). She said and did all the right things within her control, which meant that we were quickly appeased despite the unfortunate situation.

Outside of this one negative experience, I must say that everyone else - from the upgrade at The House Boutique Suites, to the surprise flowers and cake gifted to us at the Petra Bubble Luxotel - were truly hospitable and thanks to Amanda, gave us special attention knowing that we were honeymooners.

Special mentions must also go to Ahmad, our driver, who was brilliant. He was a smooth driver, and his knowledge of all the roads throughout Petra was nothing short of impressive. Ahmad also went the extra mile - he bought us some personalised honeymoon gifts in Jerash, he provided us with cold water and snacks throughout our journey, and really made the effort to make us feel that he was at our service the whole time.

Our personal guide in Petra, Mahmoud (I hope I have the correct spelling!) was phenomenal. He really knew his stuff, and despite the fact he must conduct the same tour several times a day/week, he was so knowledgeable and sincerely passionate in recounting his stories and in educating us on the history of this amazing place.

All in all, we couldn't be happier. Thank you Amanda for making this an experience that will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Thank you and your team for putting together a wonderful experience for Fiona and I through Jordan and Lebanon. There were so many memories made that will recall for years to come. Jeita Grotto Limestone Caves in Lebanon, Jerash, Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead See in Jordan are great examples of what these countries uniquely offer.

Our drivers were very good and conversed well with us about life in Jordan and Lebanon.

Jordanian food was excellent and we tried everything. The “mansaf” that our driver Jamal arranged for us to try was outstanding; plus the lots of hummus, falafel, salads and local delicacies that we tried as well. We will be making at home “lemon juice with mint” this Australian summer, now that we the traditional recipe.

The time that we spent with Farris, our Bedouin guide at Wadi Rum, was undoubtedly the highlight of our trip. He was just amazing! Our 'back door' hike in to the Petra monastery with our Bedouin guide was also a memorable experience and not too difficult / stressful a climb; perhaps it was actually easier that the walk up the stairs to the monastery!!!

The 'float' in the Dead Sea was also a unique experience.

We cannot recommend highly enough the countries of Lebanon and Jordan to visit and based upon our personal experiences with Lena, we would encourage people to book their tailor-made trip through KimKim Travel.

Stuart & Fiona
Australia
October 2019

Super easy process, Sarah was wonderful in accommodating all my questions and changes, giving me information on different options available for me at my budget, and very supportive while I was on the trip. As a single woman traveling alone, this was the best value for money I found, a completely tailored trip for me, very professional service from the drivers and Sarah, and a great experience overall.

There were so many memories made that we will recall for years to come. Jeita Grotto Limestone Caves in Lebanon, Jerash, Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead See in Jordan are great examples of what these countries do uniquely offer.

Our drivers were very good and conversed well with us about life in Jordan.

Jordanian food was excellent and we tried everything. The “mansaf” that our driver Jamal arranged for us to try was outstanding; plus the lots of hummus, falafel, salads and local delicacies as well. We will be making at home “lemon juice with mint” this Australian summer, now that we the traditional recipe!

The time that we spent with Farris, our Bedouin guide at Wadi Rum, was undoubtedly the highlight of our trip. He was just amazing! Floating in the Dead Sea was also a remarkable experience.

We could not have been happier with the arrangements made for us by Lena at KimKim and we will tell all of our friends that are thinking of travels to Jordan and middle-eastern countries to contact Lena first!

Stuart & Fiona
Australia

Carmen was very easy to communicate with.
She tailor made our package and accommodated our requests organising an itenary that we wanted.
Would recommend Carmen to others and would definitely use KimKim again.

Jordan was lovely, the locals and other people we met were very friendly and interesting to talk to.

Petra and Wadi Rum in particular are two places not to be missed.

It was a great 2 week adventure. It exceeded my expectations. The trip went flawlessly. The highlight for us was the hike up Wadi Mujib. There is no where else in the world quite like it. I rate the company A+, driver was great. Hotel in Dana was breathtaking. I didn't like the Dead Sea resort. They forbade bringing water on site, then charged 3 JD for water. The rooms were well worn.

Thanks again.

Lena was fabulous at organising our Jordan trip- it made the whole process very smooth and easy. She was always available to reply to queries at short notice. The itinerary was well prepared and all our hotels appropriate.

We were in Jordan for 6 nights and seven days, and everything went perfectly. Carmen was very helpful throughout the planning process, she was very responsive and flexible with our schedule. Our favorite part of the trip has to be Wadi Rum! The desert was absolutely breathtaking! All the hotels we stayed were wonderful as well, particularly the Boutique hotel in Amman. The trip was planned very well because we did the intensive activities (Wadi Rum & Petra) on the first half of the trip and the second half was relaxing by the beach :) Our only comment is regarding driver changes. I wish we were communicated about the changes, especially the day that we landed. We weren't told that a different driver was picking us up. Other that this minor confusion, the trip was perfect. Shout out to Jamal, he was incredible!!

Trip was overall very good. We visited Jordan and Israel.

The driver (Mohamed) and guide (Mahmood) in Jordan were super nice, helpful, knowledgeable and made all efforts to please us. The places we visited in Jordan were amazing.

Border crossing back and forth was pretty seamless.

In the Israel side everything went well, but attention and service was a notch lower than in Jordan. Our guide and drivers were very nice, but we had a couple of delays that could have been avoided. The tour in Jerusalem was amazing and our guide Noah was accommodating to our needs. The drive up north to Nazareth and Galilee was a bit too long.

Planning was good. It was a slightly complicated, yet well laid out trip. I wish responsiveness had been slightly faster.

In general, I recommend KimKim and the staff who helped us make the trip an unforgettable one.

We had a wonderful trip to Jordan Israel and Palestine. The guide and drivers were very informative and always punctual and took very good care of us. They checked us in at each hotel and tourist site and organized e.g. donkey ride through Petra for our youngest. The children especially developed a good relationship with Mahmood who entertained them as well.
The hotels were all excellent except the last hotel in Tel Aviv (Grand Beach). My request was 5 star only and this hotel was not 5 star and the service and rooms were not great. Also location wise it was far from Carmel Market and Jaffa.
The guides all adjusted the schedules as appropriate and rebooked experiences for us when needed so we would not miss out on anything and get the best and fullest trip. E.g snorkeling, Jerusalem tour. All in all the trip went exactly as planned and by using kimkim all the stress and organisation hassle on site was taken out and we could just enjoy the trip which was fantastic. Jerusalem, Palestine and jordan were amazing historically and with respect to nature.

From the beginning to the end, the experience was a thumbs-up! I contacted Carmen for organising a trip in Jordan for my wife and I and was initially hesitant because this was a new platform and everything seemed almost too easy. But, I went with it since Carmen was very professional and reactive throughout the planning phase. The mobile app with all the trip information and contact details useful for us was a nice touch. Margherita, who works with Carmen also managed to help us during the trip to change a few reservations on the fly and this also worked out flawlessly. It was a really pleasant surprise to have absolutely no unpleasant surprises for 2 whole weeks in a completely new country!

Haitham was our driver who accompanied us through the entire trip and he was much more than a driver! He was a local who seemed to know the country inside out along with all the interesting hidden gems that only a local would know. It was a pleasure having him with us throughout the trip and we hope to keep in touch.

The sign of a good holiday for us has always been leaving with a smile and having made a few new friends along the way and our trip to Jordan was exactly that.

So, all things considered, the money was well spent and I would definitely consider using Kimkim in future for our next vacation. I especially recommend this to first time visits to any country where one lacks any context of local knowledge. It helps being put in touch with trustworthy locals who seem to genuinely care about your experience.

So, thank you Carmen, Margherita and Haitham! :-)

The trip was really well planned and every single arrangement just worked - even in cases where we requested modifications to the plan.

Our trip to Jordan was excellent, exciting and quite dramatic. Everything went off like clockwork. We were met at the appointed times and places by our drivers without fail. All instructions were clear, and we were often given extra time just to be safe.

We were picked up at 7:45 am near our Jerusalem hotel and taken to the Border Crossing, where we were dropped off by our Israeli driver. Then after crossing we were met by our Palestinian driver, Haithan, and cossed into Jordan where we took the long drive along the Dead Sea to Petra. Haithan kept us entertained with stories about the people and customs of the area, stopped and let us take pictures with camels, showed us natural springs and gorges, and much more. His car was cool and clean and equipped with wi-fi, which made it nice.

Petra was a remarkable place to see. We visited Little Petra first then we went on to the main Petra at about 11 am. We chose to visit it at our own pace and to read the clear and informative signs ourselves. The natural rock formations were stunning. We went from a hot and sunny environment to a cool and shady one in an instant, preferring the latter.

Walking through the gorges was quite an overwhelming experience, and seeing the elegantly carved monumental buildings really moved us. To think that an ancient civilization lived there! The Nabuteans were very industrious people and we came to admire them. The primitive holes carved out of the caves and used for wine making and water storage and holding staircases and artwork were all eerily mundane. Stony remnants of the everyday labors of a long-vanished people surrounded us and we were mesmerized by them.

We unfortunately were there on a very hot day, and on our way out we were very very warm and could hardly wait until we reached the Visitor Entrance. The sun was beating down on us very hard, but we made it on foot without a donkey ride. We felt quite victorious!

We stayed at the Petra Moon Hotel, which was itself a dream -- a lovely boutique hotel with all the amenities. .After our exertions, we went out to dinner in the evening after on the rooftop at the buffet there. It was delicious and bountiful. The breakfast buffet was another delightful experience, with all kinds of bread, an omelet bar, fresh fruit, yogurt, nuts, dates, juices...everything! The service was wonderful. They held our luggage and called our driver for us because we did not have cell phone service. I would recommend this hotel to anyone.

Our driver picked us up on request at our hotel and drove us the two hours to Amman, with stops on the way, and dropping us off at our hotel, the La Locanda, another boutique hotel -- this one with a music theme. The rooms did not have numbers, but rather the names of a famous middle eastern singers or musicians. Our room was named Sabah Fakhri, a Syrian tenor. The next morning Azzam picked us up and took us to the Citadel and then we sat and had a relaxing tea at a restaurant that overlooked the main street. We wanted to get to the airport for our flight to Cairo that night so he obliged us and took us there. Jordan was a great trip.

But it wasn't over because we had to fly back into Amman from Cairo, then cross over the border again into Israel. This was a challenge, because it was a Friday and the Israel border closed at 11 am and our flight was scheduled to arrive at 9 am. But thanks to our tenacious driver Azzam, who picked us up at the airport (and said we got through in only 15 minutes!) and told us he was quite sure we would make it in time as he ferried us through the confusing mass of people on the Jordanian side of the border, we made it! Amjad picked us up on the other side of the border and drove us to the Jerusalem bus station and needless to say we made it to the rest of our destinations. It was quite an experience, that border crossing day. Sometimes we didn't know what was being said among the parties involved. All I know is Azzam said to take care of the bus driver, which we did. A couple on the bus behind us did not know what was going on, had shelled out a hefty "tax" to somebody and were quite bewildered by it all. Thanks to Kimkim I feel like we were quite spared. Thanks so much to Lena, who answered every email and every question I had. Mary

Our only complaint was that our driver, Azzam, suggested that we leave Petra earlier than the itinerary called for because we didn't need that much time Petra and so that we could have more time at the camp in Wadi Rum before sunset. We found we did want that additional time, and there was nothing gained from getting to the Wadi Rum camp earlier. It was mid-July, and our tent was barely habitable in the heat, but we couldn't be outside. Otherwise, Azzam was great, but this suggestion was not a good one.

great tour, organization and communication with my agent Lena