Kimkim Trip Reviews for Mexico

Karen helped us plan our honeymoon to Mexico and we couldn't be happier with our trip.
She took everything we discussed on board and planned our 11 day trip with all our specifications in mind. The process of planning was very smooth and we had regular contact with Karen with additional updates to the itinerary. She was very receptive to any changes we needed to make and was extremely helpful in reorganising part of the trip when I made an error with flights.

The holiday itself was exceptional. We knew at all times who we needed to meet and where we needed to meet them and had daily correspondence with Ximena over What's app.
The mix of activities and excursions was exactly what we had hoped for and I feel like we got to experience a broad view of Mexico.
Our personal highlights were the food tasting and historical tours in Mexico City where we had private tours with some very experienced chefs.
We also got to experience some eco-tourism on the Yucutan and get an idea of modern Mayan culture. One of the best parts of our trip was the cultural emersion tour in Nuevo Durango. Because of these small tours we got to visit lots of hidden cenotes and small villages that we would otherwise never have been aware of.

Every day of our trip had an excursion planned but left plenty of time to explore locally in the evenings. I cannot recommend kimkim, and Karen in particular, enough. I would never have been able to plan such a varied trip without her.

Hotel Reviews

Cabins in Nuevo Durango

We stayed in one of the cabins in Nuevo Durango as part of a cultural tour of the area and it was one of the best nights we spent in Mexico. The cabin itself is rustic and sparse but very clean and the bed was incredibly comfortable. The cabins each had a toilet and shower and mosquito net for protection. The wifi didn't stretch to the cabin but this didn't limit the experience in any way, and moreso created an unplugged, relaxing night. We had delicious lunch, dinner, and breakfast, all cooked locally and our guide, Jose, was really excellent at showing us around the area and bringing us to the cenote in the centre of the town.

Authenticity & Character

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa González

Mexico City

Great location with easy access to town and nice local restaurants. We felt very safe in the area and there were always plenty of people around. The room was beautiful and comfortable and the staff at the front desk were very helpful. Breakfast each morning was delicious with a good variety of Mexican and international food on the menu. Our only issue was with the timing of the room cleaning. We arrived back from trips late in the afternoon most days and our room hadn't yet been cleaned and on one occasion the cleaner arrived while we were in our room (around 4pm) and we had to leave for half an hour while the bathroom bins were emptied and the room cleaned. Despite this we really enjoyed our stay and would happily visit again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Gayser

Valladolid

Great location that was a short walk to the main square and restaurants. The room was clean and comfortable and the air-con was great. We were on the ground floor and there was a lot of noise with music playing in the lobby at night which made it very hard to sleep. The breakfast was limited, just toast and fruit, so we wouldn't have relied on it as a full meal for the morning.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

too much noise from music playing in the lobby at night

HM Playa del Carmen

Playa del Carmen

Beautiful and clean hotel with a great pool and bar service. Check-in was very straightforward but there is no elevator in the building so we had to carry heavy suitcases up 2 flights of stairs. Location was great and just a few minutes walk away from the main strip but far enough away that there was no noise at night. There's also a secure carpark which was great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fiesta Americana Viaducto Aeropuerto

Mexico City

Brief overnight stay between flights. Very nice and clean hotel with great airport shuttle service. Check-in was very straightforward and the staff were very helpful. Very clean and comfortable.

Activity Reviews

Shared biking experience through Teotihuacan "The City of the Gods"

Mexico City

Really pleasant morning biking around Teotihuacan with our guide. We got to visit one of the nearby caves and learn a bit about Aztec customs and auras which was fun! A light lunch was included which was enjoyable before heading back out in the sun. We also had a visit to a local craftsman who showed us how some of the obsidian ornaments are created. Our guide was great and full of information about the mathematics and construction of the pyramids. Really enjoyable tour overall

Float in the Muyil Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve with transportation from Cancun.

Cancún

Cannot recommend this tour enough. The reserve has a gentle current so we spent 40 mins in a very relaxing natural lazy river. Our guide filled us in on how the Mayans used the lagoon and pointed out native plants and fossils as we drifted along. We really didn't want to leave!

Thank you Leslie and Ximena🙏🏻 Our Mexico City and Playa Del Carmen trip was so enjoyable and carefree thanks to all your planning for us. Every transfer, tour and reservation went according to plan and my daughter and I felt completely safe and taken care of💞

This is the second time we used kimkim for our trip planning and this is the second wonderful experience that we had. The trip was wonderful, the guides and tours were great, and we had great peace of mind knowing that the details were taken care of. I find the planning process painless and flexible so we get the kind of trip that we want. Both Lelie and Melina were prompt in their communications. Although we didn't have any problems, I knew we were just one chat away from getting help which is a nice feature in a foreign country.

I highly recommend the guides we had, Alex from Etnotouristica and Margot from Vamos o Que?. They really knew their stuff and we feel we got very unique tours tailored to our specific interests. And thanks to Alex, we got to see one of the pre-festival parades on our first day which was a real highlight for me.

Overall, I highly recommend kimkim and we will use them again.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Boutique Parador San Miguel

Oaxaca

We loved this hotel. Fantastic location and adorable accommodations. Very friendly staff. We would definitely stay here again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Santa Fe Hotel

Puerto Escondido

Great location but the hotel was showing some wear and tear. The food and staff were great. The hotel had very unreliable internet which became frustrating (we never got it in our room, we had better luck in the restaurant).

Authenticity & Character

Location

Across from the beach!

Staff

Very friendly and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Internet. Need to improve reliability of internet in the rooms. The room was looking a little worn out.

Activity Reviews

Oaxaca city artistic tour

Oaxaca

Loved it, small group, great way to experience the block print art of Oaxaca and it was great to meet some artists. The chocolate tasting was a nice surprise and a great way to break up the walk.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This is a walking tour. Be prepared to walk!

Gastronomic Indigenous Roots

Oaxaca

Amazing meal! Quite a treat, beautiful presentation and delicious food.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

we were very happy with how smoothly everything went. fair amount of moving us from place to place and all went perfectly . hotels were great and in wonderful locations. thanks to everyone involved

But Jennifer was not our local contact but certainly put together an excellent itinerary

Hotel Review

Guayaba Inn

San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas

Low key. Serene. Easy walk into town. Very close to Na Bloom museum. Great breakfast

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Visit 2 villages in Los Altos de Chiapas: San Juan Chamula and Zinacatán

San Cristobal de las Casas

Surreal. Unreal. Wish I could have taken a long long video. Will have to stay in my heD

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Enjoyed using Rutopia (Marisol and Melina) to plan my trip to Mexico. Marisol helped me figure out the best options fand booked everything. Melina was my in country support. Rutopia (the company through Kim Kim) is great and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to take the burden out of vacation planning. My son and I truly enjoyed the trip knowing everything was taken care of and we just had to have fun. Thanks!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel El Moro

Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo

We went with this hotel as we were only staying a night and wanted quick access to the snorkeling at Puerto Morales. It's a small homey hotel. It's not fancy but the staff is great and had a good feel to it.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Holbox By Xaloc

Isla Holbox

Activity Reviews

Snorkeling in the beautiful marine park of Puerto Morelos

Puerto Morelos

Really enjoyed the company and the guides. Being an avid snorkeling, I would have liked knowing ahead of time that you are required to wear a life jacket while snorkeling. I understand it is to protect the coral but for me, I would have liked to know about it to determine if I would have chosen to snorkel somewhere else.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coba and the sacred Mayan roads

Cobá

Manual is an amazing personable guide. Both him and his son were just really nice and helpful. My son and I really enjoyed biking through the ruins.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Float in the Muyil Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve with transportation from Cancun.

Cancún

I really enjoyed this adventure. Eddie the guide was just great.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Too many stops to pick up others. It was supposed to be a 7 hour trip and it was 10hours. The transportation was just too long and too many pick ups.

We had several different guides.
Most memorable was Enrique and his walking and biking tour in Teotihuacan.
Nicolas and the food tour including Mezcal tasting in Mexico City.
Manuel in Chichen Itza and Vincente and Cesar in Tulum and Cenote.
Also very memorable was Rio Secreto.

Overall it was an amazing vacation which had everything, culture, history, food, nature and relaxation. And thanks to the organisation and our provided local contact Melina we hadn't had to worry about anything, so we were able to enjoy every secong of our vacation and trip.

Hotel Reviews

Hampton Inn & Suites Mexico City

Mexico City

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hacienda Merida

Mérida

Great stay, beautiful old colonial building

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Courtyard By Marriott Cancun Airport

Cancun

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Shared biking experience through Teotihuacan "The City of the Gods"

Mexico City

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Spirits of Mexico: Pulque, Mezcal, & Tequila

Mexico City

Great experience but more a food tour than a pure mezcal tequila pulque tasting tour

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Nicolas was so passionate about mexican food culture. It was like eating and drinking with a good friend

Transport

Tour of historic Mexico City with street food tasting

Mexico City

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Visit the Museum of Anthropology and Chapultepec Castle

Mexico City

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coyoacán and Xochimilco including Frida Kahlo museum

Mexico City

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

City Tour of Merida: The White City

Mérida

Was not really a walking tour, rather a driving tour which was better due to the heat and humidity

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore the Celestun Biosphere Reserve

Mérida

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Chichén Itzá: A Wonder of the Mayan World

Chichén Itzá

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Immerse Yourself in the Peaceful Yokdzonot Cenote

Mexico

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rio Secreto: The Mayan underworld

Cancún

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Snorkeling in the beautiful marine park of Puerto Morelos

Puerto Morelos

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Visit the Archaeological site of Tulum and snorkeling in Gran Cenote

Mexico

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Melina, our local contact was very nice and always available for our needs. All our guided tours were well selected, punctual and unforgetable.

Hotel Reviews

Hampton Inn & Suites Mexico City

Mexico City

Room had no Window. Hotel is quite old. Poor breakfast Buffet.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Courtyard By Marriott Cancun Airport

Cancun

Very nice hotel for an airport hotel. Great breakfast, nice Pool area!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hacienda Merida

Mérida

Very nice hotel, lovely people. We had some problems with the mosquitos there, but apart from that: great experience. Amazing breakfast (but a la carte!)

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Spirits of Mexico: Pulque, Mezcal, & Tequila

Mexico City

We really enjoyed this tour, eventhough it was more a tacos tasting tour (not as stated in the title). Which was fine by us, but we shouldnt have eaten before it, if we would have known. Our guide, Nico was excellent. It felt like going for authentic dinner with a good friend.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Snorkeling in the beautiful marine park of Puerto Morelos

Puerto Morelos

We felt kind of lost in this Tour. Our guides were nice people but we didnt get any Information about what is going to happen, what we are going to see. Quite stressful experience - had so swim right after our guide, heavy waves.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tom and I knew we wanted to go to Mexico. We knew we wanted a little bit of culture, some wildlife, and maybe a splash in the ocean. That's it.

With the vague and minimal information we gave them, Jorge and KimKim were able to put together a perfect trip for us. We had a flawless itinerary. It's so clear that KimKim really cares about the communities (animals and humans) in Mexico. Everything we did and everywhere we stayed felt like they were helping us experience Mexico as authentically and respectfully as possible.

It's almost impossible to pick a highlight, but top of the list has to be the day we shared with Enrique, a Mayan host who was unbelievably generous with us. He shared the community gardens, including history and background about the families that live in Nuevo Durango and other nearby communities. He showed us the neighborhood cenotes, Punta Laguna, Uma Nojoch Keej (a wildlife reserve), and more. We picked and prepared the plants as Enrique and his wife Blanca showed us the best way to cook them (and rescued us when we were pricked by the nopales!). We saw howler monkeys and spider monkeys in the wild which was very cool.

That had to be the very best day, but every day was amazing. Sian Ka'an reserve was lovely, the Mayan ruins were spectacular, the snorkeling in Puerto Morelos was fabulous, the bicycle cenote tour was jaw-droppingly gorgeous. I'm waxing superlative but it really all was like a dream.

Beyond the activities, the scheduling and pace were perfect for us. We felt like we really made the most of our six days, but with enough downtime to explore and enjoy at our leisure. From picking up our car at the airport to finding our accommodation, the logistics were very smooth at every interaction. Special shoutout to Melina who pretty much instantly helped us when we had any questions about the trip.

We've never used a travel planning service like this before. But after this trip, we'll never go back to the old way!

Review of our trip to Mexico

Mexico City
*******************
We found everything to be well organized.
Our guide Demi was very knowledgeable, flexible, helpful and polite.
The hotel was clean, staff was attentive and the location was conveniently, centrally located.
We appreciated the option to have private transfers to all our destinations.

Puerto Morelos
***********************
The place was beautiful! It was exactly what we were looking for: a lovely little town away from the big resorts! We thank Jorge for understanding our preference!
The hotel was gorgeous – however we have a few remarks:
- Staff tries to sell you a timeshare or purchase when you arrive. We did not appreciate this as we were tired from our travel.
- There is a problem with insufficient beach lounges and umbrellas.
- The hotel would be more environmentally friendly if it offered water bottle refill stations. Instead there were only water plastic bottles and no recycling bins.

Overall our trip was great, and we are very satisfied!

Hotel Review

The Fives Oceanfront

Quintana Roo

An amazing place. The premises are stunningly beautiful. The beach is kept very clean and the ocean is gorgeous! Only two things need some attention: - the staff at the resort tries to sell you a time share -there seems to be a major problem with insufficient beach chairs and umbrellas - they promote water plastic bottles, and it would be great if they could install a water bottle refill station

Tips for future travelers

Yes. Stay firm when hotel staff tries to book you for a presentation to sell you time shares. Unless you are truly interested in making such an investment, you'd better find some good excuses and get out of it...

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Shared walking tour of Mexico City's historic center

Mexico City

Our guide Demi was very well prepared and informative.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Overall, our Mexico trip was amazing and I was very happy with our accommodations and planned activities. All of our guides were great, but a special shout-out to our guide Manuel who took us through the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve. He went way above and beyond and his passion for his work really showed. Other highlights of the trip were Chichen Itza, a cooking class in Tulum, and everything about Holbox Island. Our local assistant, Leslie Perez was very responsive and helpful. We did have a couple of misfires on our transportation, almost missing our ferry to Holbox Island, and our airport return driver showing up 6 hours early, then leaving. We had to hire a local taxi to make our flight and it was a little sketchy but we made it. Otherwise the planning, tours, and service were stellar. Looking forward to our trip to Italy in a few months!

Our 5 days tour package to the Mexico City was put together by KimKim's team. Leslie from Rutopia, a travel specialist, helped put together this package. She was in close contact with me throughout this process until the package was finalized. We never had been to the Mexico City before, so wondering how the package would be prior to our travel.

We were picked up from the airport by a private driver to our hotel Sofitel located at Reforma, which is indeed a beautiful luxury hotel. Our tour began from the 2nd day. We were picked up by our personal guide Pablo every morning at 9 am. Besides his amicable personality, Pablo speaks English very well, and is highly knowledgeable about culture, archeological and architecture Mexico throughout its rise and fall of history.

We returned back to US with full of memories to be cherished in our lives. We are very happy with Kimkim's service.

The trip overall was good but not the greatest. There were so many things we missed doing and other things that we struggled with. To start with, the hotels we were booked at were not what you would expect out of a vacation. Our first hotel had cold water and was smelly in an awful way. Our last hotel was good but the water was cold and salty. I ended up being itchy and my legs had a ton of rashes I am curing until now. Additionally, we were not told about the fees we need to pay to our second hotel. We were not advised of the ATV tours, zip lines, horseback riding, Xcart or the major shopping centers in cancun which we had to extend our holidays for. We have asked for adventure but ended up in Tulum with nothing to do there. We were booked with a local tour guide in Coba who talked non stop about history in extremely hot weather instead of actually doing sth we enjoy. In our 2nd hotel, we missed out on having breakfast because the trip plan timings were incorrect.

On.our 5th day we were told by locals about all the things we are missing out on. which we had to extend our stay for an additional 2 days and pay extra money on activities we actually enjoy.

Off to the good, we loved the snorkeling activity in Puerto morales and the night life and beach walks in Playa de Carmen. They were amazing. The breakfast in the first and last hotel was amazing. We loved it. We loved the gesture in the last hotel when the company offered us a cake and flowers

Overall, we enjoyed it, but after being to and knowing Mexico, we deeply believe the plan could have been way better than this.

This was my second trip organised via KimKim. Again, I cannot fault the service. Always very responsive and helpful. Thank you so much for your help.

We had an amazing honeymoon thanks to kimkim & Jorge.

Initially I had just contacted them to get some ideas about my trip, but I ended up booking our trip to Mexico with kimkim, after a lot of back-and-forth planning with Jorge. We wanted to visit and see both cultural/historical/gastronomical/vacation places in Mexico and our trip made that happen.

Our hotels were excellent. Our drivers and guides were always on time. The activities were fun and informative. Couldn't ask for more. We did not encounter any problems, we did not have to pay any extra money for an activity either. Everything went perfectly well.

Special thanks to Angel who was our guide in Merida and Chichen Itza.

My husband and I had the best vacation of our lives while visiting Oaxaca, Mérida, Valladolid and Puerto Morelos in México. Vanessa helped us tailor the trip and then Marisol coordinated the final details. Anita, from Rutopía, was always responsive to our questions and concerns while we were in México.

In Oaxaca, Alex, our guide from Etnoturismo, made sure we fell in love with that city. And we did indeed. The colors, the food, the people are just amazing and have a special place in our hearts. The guide we got for Chichén Itzá, Juan, was very knowledgable and took great photos of us.

The hotels chosen by our local specialists were breathtaking. We wouldn't have been able to plan such a wonderful vacation without their help.

Muchas gracias!

Melina and Sibila were excellent. They answered all my questions promptly and spent time with me to plan out activities. Melina was also very responsive during the week while I was on vacation as we made some adjustments to the itinerary. Overall, I was very satisfied.

The Mexican Eco company, Totonal, that Kim Kim uses in México is excellent. As a solo female traveller, I was very pleased with the custom itinerary planned for me by Sibila. All of my requests were fulfilled, from urban tours and decent, clean hotels in CDMX to horseback riding, hikes and cooking lessons in beautiful Guanajuato. All drivers and guides were professional , knowledgable and arrived on time. I was very reassured by Melina from Totonal, a warm and and very diligent person who checked in with me every step of the way both before my trip and during my days in Colonial Mexico. I heartily recommend this company as a reliable source for trip planning in Mexico.

Jorge and Melina did a great job and I was very happy with my trip. On very short notice during the high season, Jorge put together a perfect itinerary. I hate to plan and Jorge took all the work out of it. He put together a good balance of the big, can’t miss sites and activities that were a little more off the beaten track. Jorge helpfully worked with me to adjust the itinerary to meet my interests, and in hindsight, I only wish I had gotten more involved. Every tour they arranged was fun and worthwhile with knowledgeable and professional guides and comfortable transportation. During my travels, Melina kept close tabs on me to make sure things were going smoothly. The few times I sent her a message, she quickly responded and she would check in on me every couple days when I hadn’t been in touch.

Totonal Viajes (KimKim's Mexican partner for this tour) did an outstanding job with the arrangement and execution of a 9 day tour of Mayan sites in the Yucatan peninsula. We provided Totonal with the general parameters of the trip we wanted and they suggested an itinerary. After our approval, they set up the hotels, transportation within Mexico, and site tours. The hotels were good quality, and all of the drivers and tour guides showed up on time. We were very impressed with the quality of the tour guides and learned a lot on the trip. Jorge handled setting up the itinerary, and Melina handled the execution of the trip and was readily available via WhatsApp throughout the trip for any questions or issues. Melina was particularly helpful in changing our transportation arrangements to the airport at the last minute per our request. I would recommend KimKim/Totonal Viajes and would use them again for future trips.