Kimkim Trip Reviews for Myanmar

Our guide in Yangon, Linn Linn and our bike guide Nay (apologies for spelling) were both excellent, well informed, helpful and pleasant to be with. The transfers, accommodation, food and cycling were great. The amazing temples in Bagan and the view from Popa Mountain were beautiful as were the sunsets and the river cruise.

Local Green Season travel lead by Jack came up with a suggestion to an itinerary for a private 1 person 7 days tour visiting Mandalay, Bagan, Kalaw and Inle Lake. I had a few tweaks and wishes he accommodated. I booked and he set the whole thing in motion. There were no glitches and everything went as I hoped for. Without fail I was collected , driven around and had the most wonderful expert guides where I arrived. I saw a lot and learned a lot about amazing Myanmar. I private tour expertly... read more

Local Green Season travel lead by Jack came up with a suggestion to an itinerary for a private 1 person 7 days tour visiting Mandalay, Bagan, Kalaw and Inle Lake. I had a few tweaks and wishes he accommodated. I booked and he set the whole thing in motion. There were no glitches and everything went as I hoped for. Without fail I was collected , driven around and had the most wonderful expert guides where I arrived. I saw a lot and learned a lot about amazing Myanmar. I private tour expertly organised is definitely the way of travel for me in the future. Kimkim.com and Jack can be highly recommended.

Everything was perfect, from itinerary creation, to booking, to the actual visit!

Anne is a great communicator - she listened to everything I wanted and gave me just that. She was always reachable and very helpful with everything I needed (even random stuff like printing needs).

I also loved all of my tour guides. Each one was different with their own personalities, background, experiences, etc. and it was great to get to hear so many different perspectives.

The accommodations and... read more

Everything was perfect, from itinerary creation, to booking, to the actual visit!

Anne is a great communicator - she listened to everything I wanted and gave me just that. She was always reachable and very helpful with everything I needed (even random stuff like printing needs).

I also loved all of my tour guides. Each one was different with their own personalities, background, experiences, etc. and it was great to get to hear so many different perspectives.

The accommodations and transport options were all fantastic.

Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better first trip to Myanmar. I can't wait to go back!

My husband and I are avid travelers and we tend to do all the booking, organizing and trip planning on our own, however I had recently come across Kimkim's website so we decided to give them a shot.

From the start the KimKim website was user friendly and the staff were kind, informative and attentive to our needs, and trust me I am a VERY detail oriented person. We were paired with our amazing coordinator, Hsu Hlaing, who was patient with me and answered every single question I rose, which... read more

My husband and I are avid travelers and we tend to do all the booking, organizing and trip planning on our own, however I had recently come across Kimkim's website so we decided to give them a shot.

From the start the KimKim website was user friendly and the staff were kind, informative and attentive to our needs, and trust me I am a VERY detail oriented person. We were paired with our amazing coordinator, Hsu Hlaing, who was patient with me and answered every single question I rose, which were A LOT. In addition to this, there were multiple times where I had requested itinerary amendments and Hsu fulfilled each request perfectly, and even took the time to provide her personally opinions on areas she thinks were must sees, and which were nice to see places if we had more time. At the end we came up with a perfect itinerary, one that combined a seamless blend of tours and guides and personal exploration time. Myself, my best friend and my husband are grateful for Hsu, as she was beyond helpful and ensured every aspect of our trip was taken into account and all the even littlest details and requests came to life on our trip.

Hsu even coordinated SIM cards for each of us on the trip which made communicating with loved ones at home easier. On top of that she provided me with an incredibly organized packet which included our detailed itinerary, all our flight tickets and our hotel vouchers, labeled and organized by date. She checked in on a daily basis either with me personally or with our tour guide to ensure everything was going as planned and that we were having a good time, which personally went above and beyond her role, as she has already sold us an amazing trip yet she still made the effort to check in, which showed me how invested she was in ensuring we enjoyed every aspect of our trip.

Regarding our trip itself, our trip went perfectly to plan and working with KimKim made everything SO SIMPLE, allowing us to fully enjoy each one of our experiences as opposed to having to worry or plan our next move. At every point in our trip we had someone waiting for us to take us to or from one amazing experience to the next. The guides and drivers selected for us made our experience even more unforgettable. They were informative, easy to understand, fun to be around and were also very attentive to our needs.

Our experience in Myanmar will definitely be one of our favorites, not only is the country beautiful, clean and so diverse, the people themselves are kind, welcoming and made a lot of effort to make us feel welcome and at home. We hope to one day go back to explore more of the beauties of Myanmar but for now we will cherish every moment spent there and every memory made.

We are so glad we chose to explore Myanmar, and even more delighted that we were able to put Myanmar on the map for many of our friends/family's must visit lists after sharing most of our trip on social media.

HUGE THANKS TO HSU AND THE KIMKIM TEAM FOR A SEAMLESS AND INCREDIBLE ADVENTURE! We are looking forward to using KimKim again in the near future for our next adventure.

We were extremely pleased with the guides and drivers on our Myanmar trip. Guides were knowledgeable and eager to share information. They were reliable regarding pick up times and helpful in making our trip extremely positive.

I will recommend using kimkim to our friends

Hsu was very responsive and offered several itineraries as I explored possibilities. Once I settled on one she failed in details of activities, lodging, and travel very well! Our guide in Bagan was outstanding. Her knowledge of the area was superb and she filled our days til sunset making sure we were happy with activities. Our guide in Chin State was also good but we finished by 3:00 one day and while friendly and informative he was a bit quiet.

I had an excellent experience in planning my trip to Myanmar with Anne and with everything that she arranged for me while I was there.

Anne was extremely responsive as soon as I was put in touch with her, and she was very patient while I went back and forth on what I wanted to do on short notice. Once I decided to pull the trigger, she gave me great options tailored to the way that I like to travel and was very quick with suggestions and changes. She was amazing with everything within... read more

I had an excellent experience in planning my trip to Myanmar with Anne and with everything that she arranged for me while I was there.

Anne was extremely responsive as soon as I was put in touch with her, and she was very patient while I went back and forth on what I wanted to do on short notice. Once I decided to pull the trigger, she gave me great options tailored to the way that I like to travel and was very quick with suggestions and changes. She was amazing with everything within Myanmar, and I have to give her additional credit and thanks for making really helpful suggestions related to my international travel/ long haul flights, which she certainly didn't have to do since she wasn't directly involved with them.

I feel that everything that she planned for me allowed me to see a lot of the country and certainly all of the highlights within a relatively short period of time (roughly 10 days). I loved everything that I did - sightseeing by bike and boat in Mandalay, visiting the amazing pagodas and taking a cooking class in Bagan, seeing the markets, countryside and caves from Heho to Pindaya to Kalaw, spending a day with amazing elephants at the Green Hill Valley Elephant Camp, exploring Inle Lake, and finally seeing the sites in the big city of Yangon, which was so completely different than everywhere else I'd been. It would be hard to pick favorites, but Bagan, the elephants, Inle Lake, and Yangon were particularly wonderful.

Beyond taking in all of the places that that beautiful country has the offer, the people were amazing. Anne set me up with absolutely incredible guides and drivers everywhere that I went, and they were all for lovely to spend time with and informative about everything that they were showing me. I even got to meet some family! Anne herself also took the time to meet me in Mynamar and take me for a drink and nice conversation. As a more general note, I was traveling alone, and I always felt completely comfortable and welcomed everywhere I went.

I had always wanted to go to Myanmar, but it exceeded my expectations. I hope more people get to experience it and its lovely residents.

Jack was exceptional. From the planning stages to the end of the trip, Jack was always willing to accommodate my numerous requests to customise the trip.

In addition to the standard plans, Jack helped me to plan the whole trip to meet my specific requirements. Even when some of the guides were not up to the expectations, Jack was quick to get involved and sort things out for me.

I would definitely recommend Jack for anyone visiting Myanmar!

Anne was outstanding from initial contact, providing excellent advice during the planning phase and at every point during the trip. Nothing seemed too much trouble and she certainly goes the extra mile. The trip was wonderful and full of surprises. The daily itineraries were well balanced but it felt like every day had an unexpected bonus whether it was e-bikes in Bagan or the Irrawaddy cruise boat in Mandalay. We also loved meeting Anne in Mandalay. This was easily the best organised... read more

Anne was outstanding from initial contact, providing excellent advice during the planning phase and at every point during the trip. Nothing seemed too much trouble and she certainly goes the extra mile. The trip was wonderful and full of surprises. The daily itineraries were well balanced but it felt like every day had an unexpected bonus whether it was e-bikes in Bagan or the Irrawaddy cruise boat in Mandalay. We also loved meeting Anne in Mandalay. This was easily the best organised holiday we have had and we have had many. Our high expectations for the trip were exceeded.
We loved Myanmar and the people. The guides (Wai, Nay, Thinzar and Naing) were all superb....knowledgeable, enthusiastic, flexible and charming.
We were glad we did the trip in the order we did (Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan, Inle Lake) as highlights increased as we moved through the locations. There were certainly many highlights but the balloon trip over Inle Lake probably takes the accolade.
The hotels have all been great, with the Sanctum Inle Lake up there as amongst the best that we we have ever stayed in!
I also think the holiday was excellent value. So all in all a holiday to remember.

My 23-year-old daughter and I chose to visit Myanmar to learn more about the fascinating culture, history, political transitions, and people there. Anne planned an 11-day adventure for us which far exceeded any expectations. We had an amazing time!

First, I will say that I barely needed to communicate with Anne. She “got” how I travel almost immediately and my trust in her decisions was gave me no worry. I could focus on the rest of my travels and the rest of my life. We spent the first two... read more

My 23-year-old daughter and I chose to visit Myanmar to learn more about the fascinating culture, history, political transitions, and people there. Anne planned an 11-day adventure for us which far exceeded any expectations. We had an amazing time!

First, I will say that I barely needed to communicate with Anne. She “got” how I travel almost immediately and my trust in her decisions was gave me no worry. I could focus on the rest of my travels and the rest of my life. We spent the first two nights at the Mercure in Mandalay. Nay was the first of several guides Anne arranged. Each of them is OUTSTANDING! Nay has spent a lot of time guiding trekkers, which we were not on this trip, and so he led us on a beautiful bike ride through the countryside outside of the city. We opted to start and end inside the city and I’m happy we did. We could handle the busy streets and we got to see some interesting sites. In the outskirts we stopped several times to learn about different industries and had lunch at a nunnery, which prepared and educated us on this fascinating side to Myanmar culture that we revisited everywhere we went. Nay also showed us other Mandalay sites — the sunset from high up, the World’s Biggest Book and the last remaining building from the former Royal Palace. Nay is lovely!

Our next two nights were spent aboard the Strand Cruise, motoring down the Irrawaddy. We visited U-Bein Bridge, Mingun, and Ava. Site visits included a tuk-tuk ride and a horse and cart ride…so fun. And the boat accommodations were wonderful. We upgraded our room upon arrival because there was a larger one available and the staff could not have been nicer. The entire crew deserve incredible accolades! All the details, the food, the excursions (Aung was our guide from The Strand Cruise), the entertainment, the rooms, everything was lovely. On the second evening dinner was served shoreside BBQ style. The crew had string lights, a bonfire, music, and had raked the sand into intricate patterns. Magical!

Our next two nights were in Bagan, which I could go back to tomorrow! We loved it. Numbers vary but I’ll use 8,000 — temples, pagodas and other religious monuments litter the landscape and sparkle with their gold. Thin was our guide in Bagan and she is really engaging. She grew up literally among the temples and was moved by the government to New Bagan before the site became a UNESCO site. I was super excited when we arrived at the e-bike stand to get our bikes, but my daughter was not. No problem…Thin just put her on the back of her bike and off we went! That is the way to travel there, scooting among the temples on the small pathways. We saw a LOT of incredible temples, each unique and full of stories. We visited a lacquer workshop where Thin’s mom used to work. They give a wonderful and really impressive explanation of the process. It will wow anyone, the amount of labor involved. We stayed at the Aureum Palace, which, if in your budget, is worth it! It’s in the middle of the site and I’ll bet one could not build a hotel there anymore. Views are stunning. The next morning was an early one for our balloon ride. Again, if in the budget DO IT! Enough said. That afternoon, another DO NOT MISS: May’s cooking class. May could run a Fortune 500. She had the 12 of us from 3:30 to 7:30. We made 21 dishes in her back patio on eight open flame wood stoves. She introduced all the ingredients, let us make choices, gave assignments for prep and manning the stoves. Everyone participated, everyone learned and the spread on the table was so impressive. I’ve been doing these cooking classes in various places on my travels and this one tops them all. May was so well organized that we were just finishing up the meal when our guide came to collect us. Not easy to do! As we were walking out, we passed an open garage facing the street filled with books on shelves, because May runs a free library for her community. 🙂

The next morning we took the first of our two in-country flights to Heho and drove to Kalaw. There, we met our next guide, Naing, who we LOVED! (Recommended reading: The Art of Hearing Heartbeats and A Well-Tempered Heart by Jan-Philipp Sendker). We stopped at Pindaya to visit the famous cave filled with thousands of Buddhas…pretty crazy! And we stopped at a local home to learn about their tea crops and the famous tea leaf salad, and at a local market for bulls, and the local every-five-day market which happened to fall on that day. We stayed overnight in Kalaw Heritage Hotel in order to drive the next morning to the Green Hill Valley Elephant Camp, a retirement home for logging elephants. We spent the day feeding and bathing the eight elephants in residence there, learning about their history and medical requirements, and eating a delicious lunch. I could go on an on about these beautiful animals, and certainly our phones are filled with special images of our time spent with them…it’s a special, special place and so beautiful. I would like to retire there. We drove to Inle Lake afterwards, which is where Naing grew up. We stayed at the beautiful Aureum Palace Resort on Inle. Naing picked us up the next morning by boat for a full day on the water. This was another highlight. We chose to visit a lotus fiber weaving factory and a silver factory. Then we had the most amazing experience: Naing took us to his home, where his sister-in-law cooked us a delicious meal and we got to sit around and chat (with Naing’s help) with his aunties and his mom, who put thanaka on us. His home is a traditional wooden one on pillars lining the lake. Wandering after lunch over bridges and alongside homes, and experiencing Naing chat with everyone he passed was really special. He is special.

We flew to Yangon the next morning to meet our final guide, Sandar. Each one of our guides, carefully chosen and nurtured by Anne, are young, eager, enthusiastic, transparent, delightful people. Our experience throughout our journey would not have been possible without them. And it’s clear that Anne knows how to not only find the right people, but communicate and manage them too. Sandi is adorable. The best way to learn about cultures is by sitting down to eat with local people. We did that throughout our trip. In Yangon, with Sandi, the experience was even more immersive. She is so chatty and funny and sweet. A simple stop at a street stand because my daughter was hungry, turned into an experience with crickets, the difference in taste between males and females, which ones her husband would like her to bring home, and more. Hilarious. Sandi guided us through the famous Shwedagon Pagoda the next day. I was really glad we organized the trip this direction, from Mandalay to Yangon, finishing with this impressive site. We went in the evening of the local new year, so it was a bustling scene, beautiful with the moon and the people and the spirituality of it all. A wonderful way to conclude our journey.

My daughter and I highly recommend Anne, Myanmar Pure and kimkim as travel planners. I’ve planned many trips in my life and just didn’t have the bandwidth. Anne connected with my request and created the exact experience I was hoping for. My daughter repeatedly said, “This is the best trip I’ve ever been on, Mommy.” Is there anything better? And we cannot wait to return someday to Myanmar — to connect with such a diversity of people, walk and ride through so many beautiful places, eat the delicious food, and feel the spirituality. Thank you!

Our 2 weeks of honeymoon in Myanmar was magical. Anne was very helpful and she did her best to accommodate our needs. All local guides who accompanied us during our journey were not only knowledgable but also they told us their experience growing up as novice monks, how Myanmar has changed these past few years, development in the country they have seen so far, etc. And that was a great learning experience for us. Also, visiting villages and having lunch in a local house was a delight! We saw... read more

Our 2 weeks of honeymoon in Myanmar was magical. Anne was very helpful and she did her best to accommodate our needs. All local guides who accompanied us during our journey were not only knowledgable but also they told us their experience growing up as novice monks, how Myanmar has changed these past few years, development in the country they have seen so far, etc. And that was a great learning experience for us. Also, visiting villages and having lunch in a local house was a delight! We saw how the villagers helped one family building a house (it takes only one day to build a house!) at Inle Lake, getting to know their daily life, the challenges, their local belief... And this kind of insight would have been impossible without our guides. Although it was an intense trip, the balance in the schedule Anne made was perfect. Thank you so much for the unforgettable trip!

Anne is amazing: always goes the extra mile to accommodate any request
Excellent guides and hotels
Very well organized tour

My family enjoyed our 8 day trip to Myanmar so much! We have been to over 80 countries and taken many tours, and this particular tour was one of the best. Every guide was there to meet us at the airport right when we exited the baggage area and were so helpful with the four internal flights. All internal flights were safe and nice--with meals even served on two of them. The drivers always had water and wet wipes available and all vehicles were all clean and comfortable. All... read more

My family enjoyed our 8 day trip to Myanmar so much! We have been to over 80 countries and taken many tours, and this particular tour was one of the best. Every guide was there to meet us at the airport right when we exited the baggage area and were so helpful with the four internal flights. All internal flights were safe and nice--with meals even served on two of them. The drivers always had water and wet wipes available and all vehicles were all clean and comfortable. All accommodations were fabulous (we honestly did not know what to expect in Myanmar). The breakfasts at each hotel were amazing and the places the guides took us for lunch were wonderful as well (always Indian, Thai, Chinese of Myanmar dishes available). The activities of the tour were good as well. I was a bit templed out towards the end, but if we had wanted to do or see something else, the guides would have made it happen. The pace of the schedule was good with a mix of early mornings and some later starts and with most tours/activities for the day ending around 5, we had time for dinner and relaxing each evening.

I have great pleasure in giving this 5 star review to Jack and his team that were introduced to us through Kimkim. My wife, our daughter and I just completed a 9 day journey through Mynamar that was organized by Jack and his colleagues. First, I appreciated the close attention he paid to make sure that all our suggestions were meticulously follow up at the planning stage. Typically every suggestion I sent him at the end of the day was acted upon and I would have a confirmation and reply... read more

I have great pleasure in giving this 5 star review to Jack and his team that were introduced to us through Kimkim. My wife, our daughter and I just completed a 9 day journey through Mynamar that was organized by Jack and his colleagues. First, I appreciated the close attention he paid to make sure that all our suggestions were meticulously follow up at the planning stage. Typically every suggestion I sent him at the end of the day was acted upon and I would have a confirmation and reply by the next morning. Jack's guides were exceptional people and had benefited from careful mentoring and coaching. They were caring and helpful beyond the call of duty in most cases.
This trip to Myanmar was an eye opener to all three of us. The experience, richness and variety that the country has to offer is unique. We found the streets and shop fronts in the areas we visited neat and tidy. The hospitality offered at the hotels we stayed in warm and memorable In the prevailing atmosphere of tension and conflict prevailing in many parts of the world we found the places we visited - Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan and Inle Lake offered a contrast in the meditative tranquility particularly in the places of Buddhist worship that dot the countryside.
We have provided more detailed feed back and a few suggestions to Jack. We look forward to being back sometime and seeing Jack and his team doing well with their passion and commitment to excellence.

We had a brilliant time in Myanmar and found the experience to be more enjoyable after researching the trip and speaking to Hsu Hlaing in the weeks and months leading up to the trip. She would respond promptly and her knowledge was everything that we needed.

The guides that were selected were mostly perfect with particular praise to our guides in Yangon and Madalay - although the area of Bagan was the highlight of our holiday. Through Hsu, we found a beautiful beach in Ngapali and had a... read more

We had a brilliant time in Myanmar and found the experience to be more enjoyable after researching the trip and speaking to Hsu Hlaing in the weeks and months leading up to the trip. She would respond promptly and her knowledge was everything that we needed.

The guides that were selected were mostly perfect with particular praise to our guides in Yangon and Madalay - although the area of Bagan was the highlight of our holiday. Through Hsu, we found a beautiful beach in Ngapali and had a fantastic few days there.

The service was excellent from start to finish and we found that their extensive knowledge on the ground was a price worth paying.

Just returned from a 12 day trip to Myanmar. Our host/guide(s) Jack et al were great. We were met at all of our destinations by a guide and driver. Accommodation was very comfortable, several with lots of character/history. Highlights were:

1) Boat Trip from Mandalay to Bagan on a small river boat that had 7 cabins. We really enjoyed ourselves. It was very relaxing and we got to see lots of activity along the river with a few stops for land tours here and there.
2) Bagan. We spent two... read more

Just returned from a 12 day trip to Myanmar. Our host/guide(s) Jack et al were great. We were met at all of our destinations by a guide and driver. Accommodation was very comfortable, several with lots of character/history. Highlights were:

1) Boat Trip from Mandalay to Bagan on a small river boat that had 7 cabins. We really enjoyed ourselves. It was very relaxing and we got to see lots of activity along the river with a few stops for land tours here and there.
2) Bagan. We spent two days in Bagan. The first day was with a guide who showed us some of the more notable pagodas and also took us on a tour of a local farm village which we enjoyed. The second day we were on electric scooters and had lots of fun exploring around the place.
3) We flew from Mandalay to Heho and then got driven to Kalaw which is a small town in the foothills (elevation around 5000 feet). We stayed in a hotel that was at one time an English school. From here we rode bicycles for three days through the hills and ended up at Inle Lake. We had good quality Bianchi hybrids and the local driving population were very respectful to bike riders.
4) Inle Lake is very cool and where we encountered the most tourists. We enjoyed visiting the Inle Horse Club (where you can ride horses if you like) as well as the Red Mountain Estate Winery. These two venues are very close together and the winery is very well done. We also went around the lake in a long boat for a day which was a lot of fun.
There are a few cautionary notes for travelers to Myanmar. We took US $ which are readily accepted everywhere. However, at the airport money exchanges, if the bills were not in mint condition, they would not accept them. This includes any writing on the bill or the slightest tear. Secondly, our credit card company cancelled our card when we initially tried to pay for our trip. A lengthy discussion ensued between me and the credit card company but they indicated that there was a computer algorithm which was responsible for the cancellation and it could not be over ridden. Fortunately KimKim offered us an alternative payment through a wire transfer.

Our experience with Kimkim was exceptional. To start with Anne was one of the best communicators I have worked with. She was professional, helpful and knowledgeable. Our guides were also wonderful and understood what we were looking for in experiences. In Yangon we learnt so much from our guide. Inle Lake was the highlight of our trip. We loved the 2 days and wished we had more time. This was enhanced by our wonderful guide, Wei. He was delightful. In Bagan we were once again thrilled with... read more

Our experience with Kimkim was exceptional. To start with Anne was one of the best communicators I have worked with. She was professional, helpful and knowledgeable. Our guides were also wonderful and understood what we were looking for in experiences. In Yangon we learnt so much from our guide. Inle Lake was the highlight of our trip. We loved the 2 days and wished we had more time. This was enhanced by our wonderful guide, Wei. He was delightful. In Bagan we were once again thrilled with the guides we had. May really assisted and made the market and cooking class a day to remember. I have absolutely no negative feedback and will be recommending Kimkim at any opportunity. I hope to have the pleasure of travelling with your help in the future. Thank you

From start to finish, in country operator Myanmar Pure made our 26-day trip to Myanmar a seamless, rewarding experience. Passing off logistical arrangements allowed us to focus on all this geographically and ethnically diverse country has to offer. Our requested itinerary included the well known "don't miss" sites and a peek into the often unseen "real" life of Myanmar people. Myanmar Pure delivered. Owner Anne's relationship with her local guides brought us into homes for meals, tea, and... read more

From start to finish, in country operator Myanmar Pure made our 26-day trip to Myanmar a seamless, rewarding experience. Passing off logistical arrangements allowed us to focus on all this geographically and ethnically diverse country has to offer. Our requested itinerary included the well known "don't miss" sites and a peek into the often unseen "real" life of Myanmar people. Myanmar Pure delivered. Owner Anne's relationship with her local guides brought us into homes for meals, tea, and conversation. We were even serendipitously invited to join wedding receptions in two small villages, an opportunity missed if our guides had not been there to translate. More often than not, we were the only foreign visitors in places off the standard tourist trail.

While the known sites were certainly worthwhile, the overall best part of the trip for us was the brush with day-to-day life. The depth of that experience we owe to Myanmar Pure. Anne chose well when she selected local guides Zayyar, Lu Wine, Thinzar She and Aung Naing Thu. They were our gateway to rewarding interactions with the people we met on the course of our travels. And, they were just plain fun to be around.

We recommend "the kimkim team" for anyone considering Myanmar. Your pre-trip questions will be answered promptly, courteously and completely, and in-country logistics will, if our experience is an indicator, run smoothly.

Our family of five (with three kids aged 9-14) travelled to Myanmar in October 2019 having a wonderful experience. We had made some initial arrangements and bookings by ourselves as we were including a visit to our friends who were volunteering in Bagan. Because our trip was quite short in duration and we were unfamiliar with the country (and our kids haven't travelled much), I researched a lot on line about places to visit and people's blogs. I came across KimKim. We had an excellent... read more

Our family of five (with three kids aged 9-14) travelled to Myanmar in October 2019 having a wonderful experience. We had made some initial arrangements and bookings by ourselves as we were including a visit to our friends who were volunteering in Bagan. Because our trip was quite short in duration and we were unfamiliar with the country (and our kids haven't travelled much), I researched a lot on line about places to visit and people's blogs. I came across KimKim. We had an excellent experience using the KimKim platform, and working with Hsu Hlaing at Pegu Travel, to help design our itinerary and organise logistics. Hsu Hlaing synthesised our existing bookings into the Itinerary so that we left Australia with a well organised holiday that exceeded our expectations. We had a guide, driver and mini-van in Yangon, Inle Lake, Mandalay and a driver from Inle Lake to Bagan. This made our travel logistically easy and comfortable as we moved around, a priority for us to have a great family holiday together. We learnt so much because our three guides were really nice people, knowledgeable and fun. I feel that Hsu Hlaing interpreted our style of holiday well and matched us with great guides and activities. Hsu Hlaing communicated extremely well and was helpful when developing our itinerary or providing guidance about travel times and distances. We loved our time in Myanmar, and were very impressed by the friendly people we met, as well as the culture, history, food, temples, crafts etc.

My husband and I went on a 10 day tour of Myanmar for our honeymoon, and it was the best decision we could have made. What a beautiful country with amazing people! The whole Pure Myanmar team took extra care of us from our first contact until the end, treating us like friends.

We loved every part of the trip and were sometimes moved to tears of happiness -- some highlights being the circular train in Yangon and Shwedagon Pagoda, the elephant preservation in Kalaw, watching the sunset on U... read more

My husband and I went on a 10 day tour of Myanmar for our honeymoon, and it was the best decision we could have made. What a beautiful country with amazing people! The whole Pure Myanmar team took extra care of us from our first contact until the end, treating us like friends.

We loved every part of the trip and were sometimes moved to tears of happiness -- some highlights being the circular train in Yangon and Shwedagon Pagoda, the elephant preservation in Kalaw, watching the sunset on U Bein bridge near Mandalay, the Pennywort Cooking Class and cruising Inle Lake during the pagoda festival.

If you are considering visiting Myanmar with Pure, you won't be disappointed. Just do it!

Thanks Anne, Cherry, Nay, Tim and Naing and our skillful drivers for an extraordinary life experience.

This trip was nothing short of spectacular. Most memorable I found the pagodas in Bagan, and driving around exploring them on e-bikes. Also, the boat trip on Inle Lake was very nice. Our guides were knowledgeable and sociable. The people in Myanmar are very friendly, the food is great and reasonably priced.
The one thing I didn't like was riding on a horse-drawn cart in Inwa. The horses did not appear well-kept, and to watch one horse pull a cart with four adults was just painful.

Great trip throughout. Our guides Aye, Nay and Thin was absolutely fantastic, and we had a lots of fun visiting the beautiful Myanmar. The guides gave us tips to the best vantage points to take our photos.

Ms Hsu Hlaing was very closely in touch with us from the get-go. From the planning stage till the end of trip she kept in touch with us and our tour guides as our visit to Myanmar spanned across 3 states.

She also customised the trip to our preferences. Eg, we skipped Mount Popa and on hindsight it was a good decision as it was monsoon season and the day slated for it became an e-bike free and easy around Bagan and we were drenched before evening due to heavy rains. She also booked us lovely... read more

Ms Hsu Hlaing was very closely in touch with us from the get-go. From the planning stage till the end of trip she kept in touch with us and our tour guides as our visit to Myanmar spanned across 3 states.

She also customised the trip to our preferences. Eg, we skipped Mount Popa and on hindsight it was a good decision as it was monsoon season and the day slated for it became an e-bike free and easy around Bagan and we were drenched before evening due to heavy rains. She also booked us lovely accommodations that wished we had more time there!

We loved our trip that (We after all only had 5 nights in Myanmar) we were able to see very much of the attractions despite the 3 transfer flights between cities. We even had free and easy time.

On top of that, on our 2nd last day, we were able to totally change the itinerary on a last minute notice because we discovered vineyards in Inle! So our morning Mountain Biking trip became a lovely market visit and wine-tasting before we flew back to Yangon.

Overall we had a 5-star experience booking through Kimkim and Hsu Hlaing and would recommend this to anyone who wishes to visit Yangon

We had a really wonderful time in Myanmar, the country and people are beautiful and the food was simply delicious. Like others we were used to travelling independently and haven't used an agent before but our experience with Anne and everyone at Myanmar Pure couldn't be faulted. We were able to see/do so much more based on their advice visiting Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan, Kalaw and Inle and places in between. We travelled with our 2 year old and everyone went the extra mile to accommodate his... read more

We had a really wonderful time in Myanmar, the country and people are beautiful and the food was simply delicious. Like others we were used to travelling independently and haven't used an agent before but our experience with Anne and everyone at Myanmar Pure couldn't be faulted. We were able to see/do so much more based on their advice visiting Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan, Kalaw and Inle and places in between. We travelled with our 2 year old and everyone went the extra mile to accommodate his extra needs providing car and bike seats, beautifully made up cots, flexibility in trip timing and a variety of travel/activities from air, bike, boat, horse to car and train. Our guides Min, Nay, Arkar, Wai and were all incredibly knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. Having spent many years living and travelling in Asia this was still a fabulously different experience. I have told as many people as I can about visiting Myanmar and using Anne and her team - thank you!! xx

Overall the trip was great. Anne put together a great agenda and her team of guides and drivers delivered, giving my son and I a very memorable experience. The one down event was a ATM owned by KBZ. Bank it took money from my bank account but did not dispense cash to me. I opened an investigation that day but The money has still not been returned. I advise against using KBZ ATM,s.

Anne was incredible from the first contact. She was flexible and seemed to understand the type of holiday we wanted and planned it fitting in everything we wanted to see and do.
All our guides were great and it was fabulous that they were all different.
Cherry was so bubbly and her knowledge of Yangon and enthusiasm to show us its highlights from the pagoda to trying the food was infectious. We laughed so much and felt really welcome.
Ney was more reserved but so accommodating and happy for... read more

Anne was incredible from the first contact. She was flexible and seemed to understand the type of holiday we wanted and planned it fitting in everything we wanted to see and do.
All our guides were great and it was fabulous that they were all different.
Cherry was so bubbly and her knowledge of Yangon and enthusiasm to show us its highlights from the pagoda to trying the food was infectious. We laughed so much and felt really welcome.
Ney was more reserved but so accommodating and happy for us to climb every floor of every building, photograph every angle of every street and shop in every street of Mandalay. we joked with him and teased him and he just laughed. His knowledge of Myanmar history is incredible!
Aka was fun, taking us on a great scooter ride and showing us the highlights of Bagan including some great restaurants and encouraging us along to the UNESCO rock concert!!! His passion for Bagan and its history was also evident.
Naing was just an absolute delight! He wanted so much to please and share in our holiday. He had even surfed the net finding slang colloquialisms to share with us and desperately seeking to speak fluent English. He also is passionate about Myanmar, its history, culture and religion and has a lovely desire to see his country succeed. He shared a very intimate love of his family when he took us to his family home for lunch: an incredible experience with delicious food!

Cottage House in Pindaya, is an absolutely delightful homestay. The hospitality of the owner Miamia was second to none and her warmness and openness made our stay very special. The rooms are minimalist but clean with lovely linen and special touches of handmade paper wrapping the bathroom accessories, fresh mangoes from her trees and homemade jam along with a friendly, fun staff and great menu for dinner if you want to eat in. Breakfast also great.

Umbria hotel in Bagan was a great choice with a lovely infinity pool to use after a hot, dusty day out and big spacious rooms with nice linen. Also the proximity of the hotel to the sights and amenities was great.
The cooking class with Maymay was amazing. From the 7:30 start in the market where she explained the different veges and ingredients and their uses to the final sit down at the finish was so much fun and so interesting. Her passion for charity work was also infectious and truly admirable. I was so excited that we had been able to contribute in a very tiny way to helping children get access to books by doing her class.

One of the greatest experiences was having a day at the elephant camp feeding and bathing the great beasts. Hearing the story of the camp and meeting the wonderful man who set it up was very special. Being that close to the elephants and helping out was a privilege that I will never forget.

We had tea in 3 different families on our various adventures completely spontaneously with friends of our guides and the way we were made to feel so welcome was also a great privilege. We shared laughter, food and culture without language and that was incredibly humbling. In particular the lunch with Naings family was a very special time that I felt very humbled to be a part of.

All the modes of transport, train,kayak,cycles,e-scooter,trekking and boats in all the different waterways were such a great option as the perspective is so different from each seat!

The food was also a real highlight for this foodie! Curries, Mohinga, Shan noodles, ginger, garlic, chillies and so much fresh fruit and vege. What more could a girl want!

KimKim you certainly have my tick! When you want to add NZ to your list let me know.

Thank you for the opportunity to see Myanmar in such a fun,educational and varied way.

Amazing trip to Myanmar with Kimkim, Hsu Hlaing and our guides Tonn Tonn (Mandalay) and Min (Bagan). Itinerary was truly flexible and well planned - we managed to see so much! We felt this was also a really good value trip - all expecteds were included, hotels were really nice, tour was truly private and the price was very reasonable.

We felt our local specialist supported us well and was available for queries or for itinerary changes.

Planning process with Hsu Hlaing was very smooth and she obviously had a lot of experience. She was very responsive, communicative and proactive and made the whole experience getting our ideal itinerary so easy as a local expert.

Both our guides, Tunn tunn in Mandalay and Min in Bagan were excellent - friendly and professional and had so much to share with us about the history, people and culture of Myanmar.

Overall a great experience and would highly recommend for planning your dream trip with minimum fuss!

Hi there,

I was skeptical of using an impersonal travel service like this, but it worked out fantastic and I guess this is the way of the future. I am a single female traveler and usually go alone. Myanmar was intimidating to me so I hired KimKim to help me out. I will definitely use them again. Everything was set up exactly as they stated. The price was reasonable. They were with me every step of the way. They tailored my six day trip to Myanmar perfectly. The guides on the ground... read more

Hi there,

I was skeptical of using an impersonal travel service like this, but it worked out fantastic and I guess this is the way of the future. I am a single female traveler and usually go alone. Myanmar was intimidating to me so I hired KimKim to help me out. I will definitely use them again. Everything was set up exactly as they stated. The price was reasonable. They were with me every step of the way. They tailored my six day trip to Myanmar perfectly. The guides on the ground were flexible, spoke English, and super helpful.

Most importantly as a single travel, I felt 100 percent safe. I loved Myanmar in large part because of the experience that KimKim set up through the guides. I will use them again (did I say that already?!).

Some small nuanced notes: I chose the least expensive lodging choices. In doing it again, I would work more closely with KimKim on the lodging. One location was very far outside Yangon city center. I liked the place but the location was not ideal. The hotel/guest house set me up with a sim card and Grab so I could get around the city using this service (the Asian version of Uber). It only cost about $2 to drive the 15 minutes into town.

Also, very nuanced, I had a hard time leaving Myanmar. My guide helped me buy some jade rocks in the market. We didn't get a receipt as it was only $20 at a place that was not the kind of establishment with official receipts. However, when departing Myanmar, I was immediately confronted by Customs after the X-ray of my bags. I was accused of exiting the county with "precious" stones without a receipt and they were confiscated. The guide should have known that would have been an issue. If I had a receipt, it probably would have been fine. It could have got dicey. It did not. I lost $20.

I don't consider the rock incident KimKim or the guide's faulty. Myanmar is still emerging tourism. It was ultimately my fault as a tourism 101 will teach you to get receipts.

See you for the next trip KimKim,
Megan

perfect trip...exceptional attention to detail. looking forward to future collaborations.

Spent an amazing and memorable 10 days in Myanmar thanks to Kim Kim and Pergus Tours. The Kim Kim app Is easy to use and eases communication between you and the tour operator they put you in touch with. Hsu Hlaing made me feel that her main concern was for my trip to meet expectations in every aspect. A free call at the planning stage with an international consultant helped set expectations, flexibility on the itinerary was offered along the way, the guides were informative and hotels well... read more

Spent an amazing and memorable 10 days in Myanmar thanks to Kim Kim and Pergus Tours. The Kim Kim app Is easy to use and eases communication between you and the tour operator they put you in touch with. Hsu Hlaing made me feel that her main concern was for my trip to meet expectations in every aspect. A free call at the planning stage with an international consultant helped set expectations, flexibility on the itinerary was offered along the way, the guides were informative and hotels well chosen. It’s a real personalized service. It may be cheaper to organise everything yourself or directly with a tour operator, but if you have a busy life and little time to sit and plan going through Kim Kim and having the reassurance of a recommended agency to help you plan and execute your trip is a definite advantage and one I would recommend.

Over all we had a great time. It started out bad. We were NEVER told we needed visas before we landed which is what is done in most countries. In fact 2 weeks before we were asked for a copy of our passports which would have been a good time to say by the way make sure you have your visas. It cost me a little over $700 and a lot of aggravation but we made it through. I had to get a hotel room in Singapore airport for another night and a new flight to Myanmar. The places were great and... read more

Over all we had a great time. It started out bad. We were NEVER told we needed visas before we landed which is what is done in most countries. In fact 2 weeks before we were asked for a copy of our passports which would have been a good time to say by the way make sure you have your visas. It cost me a little over $700 and a lot of aggravation but we made it through. I had to get a hotel room in Singapore airport for another night and a new flight to Myanmar. The places were great and the 3 first guilds were great. The last lady was a little less so. All the drivers were good. but the guy in Bagan who we had for 2 days was above and beyond. Always cold water and cold towels. He should get an extra star. The hotels were top notch and it was a nice touch in Mandalay to give us the room with the extra service. Thanks. The next to last night at the lake we were going to be put into a room with no AC Bad move it was 90 in the shade. We were able to talk them into taking us to the next hotel which worked out better anyway The boat the next morning left from the hotel. The only other thing I would leave out is the horse buggy ride. It has no seats and is impossible sit in. Was really terrible. On the way home we had a hassle with air because we missed the flight in they cancelled the flight out and it took an hour on the phone and $90 to get our flight back less the ungraded seats I had paid for

Anne is an exceptionally good tour organiser and we are so very happy to have chosen her (via KimKim) for our 10-day Myanmar tour. Anne was away in Turkey when we were in Myanmar but she kept monitoring our tour progress (through the guides), stayed in touch with us and NEVER took more than a few minutes to respond to our needs whenever we raised any issues. The tour itinerary she put together for us was also great and it covered everything we wanted to see and more.

Of course no trip... read more

Anne is an exceptionally good tour organiser and we are so very happy to have chosen her (via KimKim) for our 10-day Myanmar tour. Anne was away in Turkey when we were in Myanmar but she kept monitoring our tour progress (through the guides), stayed in touch with us and NEVER took more than a few minutes to respond to our needs whenever we raised any issues. The tour itinerary she put together for us was also great and it covered everything we wanted to see and more.

Of course no trip would be enjoyable unless the tour guides are good. All our guides (Yangon: Maung Maung, Bagan: Thinzar, Mandalay: Nay and Inle Lake: Naing) were very knowledgeable, passionate about their country and went out of their way to make sure we all had a great time. It was a pleasure to have such fantastic tour guides.

We highly recommend Anne/KimKim to anyone wishing to have an amazing Myanmar experience and exposure to a very pious Buddhist society.

WE had a fantastic experience using Kimkim again this trip. We were linked with Anne and here tour guides really did their best to make our trip perfect. We really did not need to worry about anything and every day we had something interesting to do. The selection of accommodation was really comfortable even in the remote town's and we really felt like we were having thw 'boutique' and personalised trip we wanted. I am really happy we did it this way and let Anne organise everything because... read more

WE had a fantastic experience using Kimkim again this trip. We were linked with Anne and here tour guides really did their best to make our trip perfect. We really did not need to worry about anything and every day we had something interesting to do. The selection of accommodation was really comfortable even in the remote town's and we really felt like we were having thw 'boutique' and personalised trip we wanted. I am really happy we did it this way and let Anne organise everything because we would have never been able to have so many local experiences and have been so well looked after if we'd tried to organise everything ourselves. The highlights were Bagan and Inle Lake, it was boiling hot during the time of year we visited but when we got to more altitude the weather was more pleasant. I definitely will be using Kimkim again, twice now I have had great holidays and such memorable experiences through using these guys.

Our trip to Myanmar has been just excellent. From the start until the end the communication with Anne was great, as she organised in a very short time a trip which allowed us to see as much as possible of Myanmar in the limited amount of time that we had. Our guides were all knowledgeable and we felt always safe with our drivers, and we were able to experience local highlights which allowed us to get to know Myanmar and the people of Myanmar better (cooking class, eating lunch in the homes of local families ). All in all we were very happy with our trip and would definitely recommend Anne!

Everything about our trip to Myanmar was fantastic! The guides were personable and knowledgable. We asked TONS of questions and they always had the answer! Ann was amazing. She quickly made our last minute changes when we added another person to our hotel and a tour. We are so pleased with the whole process, flights, drivers, guides, hotels and tours, that we are already planning our next trip!

Don't know where to begin - Everything was great!

Anne made planning the trip an easy and interesting experience. We changed our format, timing and group numbers several times and she worked with us to ensure the trip went off without incident. She had excellent recommendations on where to go (we customized the format).

Tin, our River guide, was amazing. Comprehensive knowledge of Myanmar, the areas we traveled and of Buddhism; excellent English, friendly but non-intrusive, and... read more

Don't know where to begin - Everything was great!

Anne made planning the trip an easy and interesting experience. We changed our format, timing and group numbers several times and she worked with us to ensure the trip went off without incident. She had excellent recommendations on where to go (we customized the format).

Tin, our River guide, was amazing. Comprehensive knowledge of Myanmar, the areas we traveled and of Buddhism; excellent English, friendly but non-intrusive, and flexible. He was always ready to work with us to make sure the group's varying needs were met. Far superior to any guide we have experienced so far.

The boat was exactly what we needed. Our cabin was roomy and bed was comfortable. The HVAC wasn't able to keep our cabin cool but others said they were very comfortable. Food was very good. Boat staff was excellent- pleasant, attentive and professional.

Trip up the Chindwin to Buddhist caves and monuments was most memorable. The "beach BBQ" the last night on the river was very special too. I had several comments from friends of "Trip of a Lifetime" and these people travel almost constantly.

I also appreciate the extra effort given by Anne and the Staff. For example, I left my phone on a Singapore Air Flight. Anne arranged for the phone to be picked up at Yangon airport and delivered to me during a stop on the Irrawaddy!

Kim-kim provided a great experience from design to conclusion.

All guides were amazing. We enjoyed the entire trip. Special thanks to Anne for taking care of all the details.

Thanks Anne for re-scheduling according to our needs - especially in light of the flight problems.

All went according to plan. All guides and drivers were helpful. We will be visiting Myanmar again with Kimkim.

Naresh and Nila

From planning to the actual trip, we couldn’t be happier with our trip to Myanmar. Anne was a super guide, very prompt and accommodating during the planning process. The trip went smoothly, everyone in our group thoroughly enjoyed and just love Myanmar. Our local guides, Sai in Yangon and Zaw in Bagan were great, we quickly became friends in a very short period of time. We will gladly refer our friends to Anne in the future!

Our recent trip to Myanmar was excellent from start to finish! Anne’s pre-planning was spot on and her quick responses and suggestions for any changes along the way made everything so easy and completely worry free.
We only had a short time to take in as many experiences and sites as possible without feeling rushed - and we succeeded.
Each of our local guides were wonderful - knowledgeable, accommodating and so generous and passionate about their part of the world.
Niang in Inle Lake, was a... read more

Our recent trip to Myanmar was excellent from start to finish! Anne’s pre-planning was spot on and her quick responses and suggestions for any changes along the way made everything so easy and completely worry free.
We only had a short time to take in as many experiences and sites as possible without feeling rushed - and we succeeded.
Each of our local guides were wonderful - knowledgeable, accommodating and so generous and passionate about their part of the world.
Niang in Inle Lake, was a gem, thank you so much for everything and lunch at your uncle’s house was very special - we had a great time.
Thinzar in Bagan was just lovely, and took such good care of us on those motor bikes! By far the most beautiful sunset I have seen.
And Su in Yangon was a true delight - her wonderful energy and stories made it so enjoyable and fun! We would have loved to spend more time exploring Yangon.
Drivers were terrific too.
We’ve done a fair bit of traveling (with and without guides) and must say that this whole experience was ace!
We highly recommend Anne and the local team. (just don’t tell anyone else 😉)
Myanmar is a wonderful country with so much to offer - the people, culture, food and sites - we’ll definitely return.
Cezu tin ba deh, everyone!
Sue and Susan

Our trip to Myanmar was absolutely amazing in large part because of Anne’s outstanding skills in getting this trip together for us so it would be perfect! All the hotels were great and most of All all our guides were so knowledgeable and kind. We felt pampered and cared for and felt safe and happy the whole time!
We would definitely recommend this trip and most of all
Recommend Anne . She was outstanding!

Anne was very responsive to our requests in the planning process. The choice of our guide Akar was excellent. Good listener and adjusted plan on the fly. My wife was sick for the first 2 days and he was very attentive. His choice of meal stops was great and were the nutritious snacks along the way.
Hotels were as requested, porches, quiet and off the beaten path. The driver chosen was skilled and cautious-we felt safe in the van.
We will use Kimkim again for future adventure travel.
Regards,
William Thomas

I have been all over the world but my recent trip to Myanmar was truly something special. From the very beginning Shu Shwe Yee and Linn Linn were very hands on in helping me plan my perfect personalized trip. They were always available to quickly answer any questions, make any itinerary changes, and offer local advice. Everything about the trip happened without any incidents and I knew i was in good hands the entire time. I was able to enjoy Yangon, Bagan, and the Mandalay area on my... read more

I have been all over the world but my recent trip to Myanmar was truly something special. From the very beginning Shu Shwe Yee and Linn Linn were very hands on in helping me plan my perfect personalized trip. They were always available to quickly answer any questions, make any itinerary changes, and offer local advice. Everything about the trip happened without any incidents and I knew i was in good hands the entire time. I was able to enjoy Yangon, Bagan, and the Mandalay area on my trip. My only regret was that i did not have enough time to visit Inle Lake. By far the highlight was my two full days in Bagan. My guide, Mr. Aung Soe Min, was the best guide i ever had. He was able to personalize my experience based on my preferences. I told him that i was really into photography and he was able to show me the best places to capture the beauty of the land and include the locals in there as well. He gave me different options on things to do and the information i needed to make an informed decision. I also really enjoyed how he was able to include unique experiences with the locals that were different from the usual temple itinerary. I highly recommend using this company while in Myanmar and to spend more than a week here. Plenty to see and the people are very friendly. I felt safe and secure the entire trip.

Our recent 17 day tour in Myanmar was superb. Anne, our 4 guides and 4 drivers made us feel like royalty. We have never had the luxury of a private tour for 2 before and we have now been well and truly spoilt. The local people of Myanmar, the sights, the food - quite the experience. Thank you for having us.

I booked a trip to Myanmar with Anne and it was one of the best trips I've ever had going solo. My itinerary was specifically tailored to my wants and needs. I spent 7 days in Myanmar, visiting Yangon, Lake Inle and Bagan with a mixture of sight-seeing and learning the history of Myanmar, eating delicious food and spending time with local families.

Anne (the trip planner) has been a god-send, super experienced and knowledgeable about Myanmar, but also most importantly very accommodating... read more

I booked a trip to Myanmar with Anne and it was one of the best trips I've ever had going solo. My itinerary was specifically tailored to my wants and needs. I spent 7 days in Myanmar, visiting Yangon, Lake Inle and Bagan with a mixture of sight-seeing and learning the history of Myanmar, eating delicious food and spending time with local families.

Anne (the trip planner) has been a god-send, super experienced and knowledgeable about Myanmar, but also most importantly very accommodating and lightning quick with any questions I might have. Throughout the entire trip, we would be in touch constantly over Whatsapp. Anne would always send a message here and there to know if everything was okay.

The whole process was seamless, from my initial chat to my first steps outside of Yangon airport everything was taken care of.

The guides in each different were so down-to-earth, so knowledgeable but I think most importantly, absolutely passionate and devoted to their job but also to their country, which makes for a riveting holiday experience. Nothing was rushed with the daily itinerary according to my energy levels! I had Hnin-Hnin in Yangon, Thet Wai in Inle and Zaw Htun in Bagan.

Hotels were up to standard, (a bit big for me as I was travelling solo) and also located centrally to most things, like markets, convenience stores and local historical sites.

Transportation was also great, the drivers were all very courteous and professional. But try and use alternative methods of transport if you can; bike, scooter or walking is best to see and experience the real life of the Burmese people.

Lastly, Myanmar is really opening up to the world, and although it is a bit far from the rest of the world, it is a must for people who love travelling through Asia. The country has some of the most magical scenery I've ever seen. Taking a boat across Lake Inle , and although I never got the chance to do it, taking a hot-air balloon ride over Bagan are two must-dos. And lastly, Myanmar is extremely safe place. The people are super friendly! Never on my trip did I ever feel like I was in danger.

If you are like me, been to Vietnam, Thailand or Cambodia, then make sure you use Anne and book a trip to Myanmar! It's been a life-changing trip!

I've always loved the planning process for my holidays but while researching on Myanmar on a tight timeline, I felt increasingly unsure as I navigated through inconsistent and outdated details from Tripadvisor forums. For once, I wanted to just sit back and not worry about planning and timings etc. And than I came across KimKim.
I had sent Anne a query on a weekend and heard back from her in under an hour with recommendations based on my needs. The itinerary was so thoughtful that I didn't... read more

I've always loved the planning process for my holidays but while researching on Myanmar on a tight timeline, I felt increasingly unsure as I navigated through inconsistent and outdated details from Tripadvisor forums. For once, I wanted to just sit back and not worry about planning and timings etc. And than I came across KimKim.
I had sent Anne a query on a weekend and heard back from her in under an hour with recommendations based on my needs. The itinerary was so thoughtful that I didn't even think to make any changes. And with that, two weeks later I was packed and ready to visit Yangon and the lesser known southern towns of Mawlamyine/Hpa-An.
I was guided by the knowledgeable Nwel in Yangon. What an incredibly smart and articulate guide - no history question fazed her, and I am determined to come back and explore more of Myanmar with her. And then we moved to Mawlamyine and Hpa-An for the next 3 nights with the kind and sincere Akm. To anyone who is curious about Hpa-An... my advise to you is - go! I was blown away by the scenic - many a times I felt like I was in Jurrasic world (no kidding), and curious to why such a beautiful and idyllic town does not see as much visitors as a place like Bagan. When you go, you must stay at Hpa-An Lodge. We were incredibly sad to leave the place and are determined to bring more of our friends back.
And lastly, we want to give a shoutout to our kind, earnest and affable driver Thaw. He was with us the entire 7 days and we greatly enjoyed his presence that it almost felt like we made a new friend.
If you're thinking of going to Myanmar, go. And go with Anne from Kimkim/Myanmar Pure - you will have the trip of a lifetime.

Anne was fantastic for start to finish. Easy to communicate with, understood our requirements ..... and delivered. All the guides without exception were great, as were the drivers and the sub guides in the various specialised areas.

Myanmar is a brilliant destination. People are suffering in the tourism industry due, seemingly unjustly to the misinterpretation of “ the troubles “ in the Rokine State by the international media. It is unfortunate that the fall out from this means less tourists, less jobs & less income.

Myanmar, what an amazing desitination! Such a diverse country and the people are so very gracious.
Tourism is just starting to take off there, so go sooner rather than later!
Our trip organiser Anne put together an amazing trip for us and included everything we asked for plus more! We went to all the main areas....Yangon, Mandaly, Bagan, Inle and a few not so frequented spots. Our accommodation in Inle was at the very tranquil south end and was our very favourite memory, we went to a... read more

Myanmar, what an amazing desitination! Such a diverse country and the people are so very gracious.
Tourism is just starting to take off there, so go sooner rather than later!
Our trip organiser Anne put together an amazing trip for us and included everything we asked for plus more! We went to all the main areas....Yangon, Mandaly, Bagan, Inle and a few not so frequented spots. Our accommodation in Inle was at the very tranquil south end and was our very favourite memory, we went to a community based elephant project in Kalaw, a cooking school in Bagan where some of the money goes back to the community, we went to Loikaw and visited some of the local tribes and lastly spent time chilling on beautiful Ngapali beach!
Nothing was ever too much trouble for Anne, she was incredibly accommodating....she even delivered imodium to us when we were struck down with Burma Belly.
Our trip didn't miss a beat...it just ran so incredibly smoothly and the guides were all amazing and so very knowledgeable, they taught us so much and added to the overall experience of our trip.
I can't recommend Anne enough, she's on the ground in Myanmar and knows her topic incredibly well, which was apparent in her recommendations she made to us. Plus she kept in touch with us during our travels in Myanmar...how may travel agents do that!!!!
If you're considering Myanmar don't hesistate!

Mystical Myanmar 🇲🇲
We are so Inlove with this Country
At first we almost didn’t go due to Fake news on television and certain news outlets
Fortunately we found Lin Lin with Kim Kim Travels
We now have returned from our Mystical Journey and are looking forward to a return trip in the future
Thankyou KimKim Travel
I put my total trust in your company and Lin Lin 👍 made all our dreams become reality

First stop Yangon Myanmar 🇲🇲 1 day and night
Absolutely a great place to kick start our... read more

Mystical Myanmar 🇲🇲
We are so Inlove with this Country
At first we almost didn’t go due to Fake news on television and certain news outlets
Fortunately we found Lin Lin with Kim Kim Travels
We now have returned from our Mystical Journey and are looking forward to a return trip in the future
Thankyou KimKim Travel
I put my total trust in your company and Lin Lin 👍 made all our dreams become reality

First stop Yangon Myanmar 🇲🇲 1 day and night
Absolutely a great place to kick start our Journey
The Shwedagon Pagoda a must see
The Bogyoke Market... Everything you could possibly need
Walking around here you will feel safe and find a city growing and bustling
Trains....city parks.... taxis... movie theatres...
Malls.... street vendors and very tasty treats
Local life here is Friendly with big smiles and caring towards foreigners
Mingalabar 😁

Don’t be afraid to fly! The flights are fast affordable and with so much to see and do if your time is short this is the best way to get into and onto your destinations

Lin Lin was such a sweetheart to help me plan our Journey
I’m sure I have left out many things we did.. but feel free to contact her for all your needs LinLin

Off we go from Yangon to Mandalay Airport
3 days and nights
Hotel Yadanarbon 👍perfect
We were met with a Sign with our names our knowledgeable guide and driver cold water and smiles always smiles and warmth
Mr. Joe and driver Mr O ..Big Love
Kyaw Soe Win guide
Driver Mr Aung
Exploring this city was eye opening and all I could say is Wow
Woodmaking crafters and Kalaga Tapestries for generations and generations are still making these by hand and are absolutely amazing
Jade and jewels Market OMG More time haha
Gold leafing workshop such an eye opening day
How the ladies make their sunscreen and protect their skin so Beautiful
Clay Pottery these lady’s Absolutely astounding
Pagodas ...Shrines .... Horse and buggy ride our horses name Honey .... small souvenir stalls ... delicious foods dances....Double bridges....toad mountain ... the worlds biggest book
Golden Monastery Shwenandaw Monastery Royal Palace 19th century
A Daily Prayer at the female monastery Absolutely eye popping and so blessed we are able to witness this wonderful experience .... Respect for everyone is their motto and I am blessed to say I found my inner peace here ... my light is shining brighter . A quick boat ride to Ava ....City Of Immortality...
Sunset at Ubien Bridge ... breathtaking
I conquered my personal fear ... of bridges... I actually walked up high on this beautiful bridge constructed in 1782 the royal Center of attention. The longest teak wood bridge worldwide 1.2 km and we made it safe and sound to the end. What an amazing bridge to conquer
What an unbelievable day of love
We started early and fell asleep happily exhausted But definitely wide eyed and ready for the next day to begin

Off to the airport to be met after a short flight to Bagan 2 days and nights
Amata Boutique Hotel Amazing!!!

Our Guide and Driver we learned so much
Very knowledgeable Guide ... Mr Maw and driver Mr. Awe Awesomeness
your knowledge and love for your country has enlightened us forever...Big Love
I was unsure of the hotel Lin Lin suggested but after talking with her I decided to trust her choice! So happy we did Absolutely Georgeus Resort Pagodas in the parking lot wow the staff cooks cleaners I just can’t say enough
Fields of Pagodas.. Temples history culture ancient times future lessons
Local School girls riding bycyles along side our horse cart our horses name Lovely I learned how to drive lovely up into the Fields of Bagan to the highest point where we enjoyed a sunset
We learned so much ... in Ancient times the brilliant minds of ancestors that saw to the future and how we are so blessed today to be able to take part in this history.....Time is more than a word.
Absolutely Amazing
Horse and buggy rides
Lacquerware I never knew the delicate work that goes into every piece Amazing
Nyaung Oo Market bright colours foods crafts souvenirs wow
Local vegetables Markets the colours smells tastes ...fantastic .... I am a very picky eater .. with that said I enjoyed everything!
Private Boat Ride along the Ayeyarwaddy River.... views of Bagan .... local villages snacks drinks sights sounds smells another wow moment
we banked and watched the sunset ...
wow wow wow
NOTE..... Do not climb on Temples or Pagoda these are sacred you will be fined and can be jailed!!

Next short flight to Inle Lake 1 day and night
Golden Island Cottages Absolutely Amazing
Floating Resort
Met by our Diver Ozawa and our guide Khan Su Haing ... Sue we adore you !You have a special gift
If your travels bring you to us in Canada you are Welcome to stay with us anytime! My prayers include your happiness 😘
Off to an Umbrella workshop owned from past generations of families teaching the skills and passing it forward.... to be able to see a tree and watch as they mash it pound it soak it dry it widdle the wood make the paper string the bamboo oh my Such craftsmanship and pride wow Thank you for sharing your wisdom
One legged fisherman Awesome . floating Resort cultural dance shows ... puppet shows ...silk and lotus making....weaving workshop .... old teak monastery... floating villages floating gardens fresh fruits vegetables.......
lunch at the Intha ladies home built on stilts of 4 sisters ..a piece of my heart is still there with them ... the food they made for us was fantastic and the candy so delicious to see how joyed these ladies are with their lives makes my heart pound.....school children walking home singing ...Happiness is everywhere.... by boating along the lake Seeing everyday life talking with locals my take away is love hard work and an Absolutely stunning village of sharing caring survival and kindness

With every great Journey ours is at a close only to be met by a Surprise! by our lovely guide .... Su. on her time off to bring us More Candy .... such a kind and giving young lady ... Big Love sweetheart and many blessings

My itenery is available ....just contact kim kim travels and ask for Lin Lin
I hope All of you can come to Myanmar to take part, enjoy and to engulf your passions in this Mystical Beautiful Country

Words of advice
Do not climb on the Pagodas, Temples and Shrines !!
these are sacred ... consider these as your churches or mosque... this is against the law ! And also A Terrible Disrespectful thing to do

Money changing.. we took Crisp 100.00 USA bills no folds no markings clear crisp only !!!
They will and did refuse to change anything less quality! As we are Canadians I cannot comment on other countries money
But we learned this is the best way to change our money
Also Bagan Airport had the best exchange rate ...Alhough we changed money at any local money exchangers in all other cities and were happy with the rate
Remember to use what you have before leaving the country as it is not acceptable outside for exchange

Bartering.... yes this is what the people expect But remember to go by an amount that you and the seller can Part happy ...This is their only incomes ... be kind

Tourists! Be respectful to everyone! We all are on a Journey none greater than the next person !
Remember you are representing your home countries. Enjoy yourselves but also respect fellow travelers and local people as well .
Most importantly .... Tourists money is needed here to help the people of Myanmar advance and grow
They are proud people and are learning about us as we are them
My motto Treat people as you want to treated Kindness First

Please do.....Spread the Truth about this Beautiful Country Myanmar and share Kimkim travel as they are Absolutely worth every penny without all these wonderful guides drivers and Sales representatives
Our Journey would not have been as Fantastic and Amazing as it was💝
Blessings and safe travels

Thankyou LinLin 👍❤️

Shelly Smith,

Anne is great and super efficient, helped me to finalize the 12-day trip schedule quickly just one week before the trip, by adapting to my budget and major interests as much as she could. The trip was very well organized covering all the places I wanted to visit and also lots of interaction with the locals. All the tour guides and drivers are professional and very friendly. Myanmar is an amazing country with very unique history, culture and local customs, people are genuine and extremely... read more

Anne is great and super efficient, helped me to finalize the 12-day trip schedule quickly just one week before the trip, by adapting to my budget and major interests as much as she could. The trip was very well organized covering all the places I wanted to visit and also lots of interaction with the locals. All the tour guides and drivers are professional and very friendly. Myanmar is an amazing country with very unique history, culture and local customs, people are genuine and extremely friendly. Food is also great, make sure you try the tea leaf salad, the best salad I’ve ever had! Bagan itself and the hot air balloon flight was the highlight of the whole trip, maybe one day I will go back again!

We had an amazing time in Myanmar, thanks to all the guides and drivers! All the guides spoke very clearly and were very knowledgeable. They went out of their way to assist us in every way possible. We felt very safe while being driven around by the drivers.
Accomodation at Mountain Top Hotel was of a high standard.
All the tours ran to schedule with more than sufficient time at each venue.
I would happily recommend Kim Kim tours to anybody wishing to visit Myanmar. Thank you.

I booked a last minute (quite literally) trip to Myanmar and arranged a trekking experience with the help of Monica and her team. Monica was instrumental in ensuring an absolute seamless travel experience and I got a lot more out of my travels than I expected. I couldn't recommend Monica highly enough, she is very pleasant to speak to, highly knowledgable and assisted in putting together a pacakage that fit exactly the kind of trip I wanted to have - in my case a solo, genuine experience of... read more

I booked a last minute (quite literally) trip to Myanmar and arranged a trekking experience with the help of Monica and her team. Monica was instrumental in ensuring an absolute seamless travel experience and I got a lot more out of my travels than I expected. I couldn't recommend Monica highly enough, she is very pleasant to speak to, highly knowledgable and assisted in putting together a pacakage that fit exactly the kind of trip I wanted to have - in my case a solo, genuine experience of Myanmar and the local tradition and culture. Thanks again Monica for going above and beyond - I had a great time and now look forward to returning!

We had the most phenomenal trip , a lifetime of memories and experiences over the 10 days. The hotels were all fabulous, the guides informative, knowledgeable and helpful and the choice of destinations and activities were perfect.
Our favorite guides were Aung in Yangon, Jery in Mandalay and Min Min in Inle Lake.
I would highly recommend KimKim to organise the best highlight tour of Myanmar to take account of your special requests, adapt the itinerary to suit your preferences and overall give you a holiday experience of a lifetime.
The balloon flight in Bagan was the highlight!

Anne was incredible! She’s prompt, responsive and professional. I want Anne to plan every one of our trip if possible! Thank you Anne for a wonderful trip!

The overall trip was very well organised and the guides and drivers were very punctual. The two local guides we had in Yangon, Ms Kyi Kyi Aye and Mr Min Thu Swe in Bagan were very knowledgeable and friendly. They made a big difference to the trip.

The guides provided were all excellent and they know their job well. Starting in Yangon we're greeted by Cherry Kyaw who attended to our need in details and with always a smile. In Mandalay, after a delay of our flights from Yangon, we're greeted by Lu Wine who immediately took us to a lovely dinner. We arranged for an early morning start for a sunrise at Mandalay Hills. No problems there. After the morning sunrise shoot, went back to the hotel breakfast after which we continue for the... read more

The guides provided were all excellent and they know their job well. Starting in Yangon we're greeted by Cherry Kyaw who attended to our need in details and with always a smile. In Mandalay, after a delay of our flights from Yangon, we're greeted by Lu Wine who immediately took us to a lovely dinner. We arranged for an early morning start for a sunrise at Mandalay Hills. No problems there. After the morning sunrise shoot, went back to the hotel breakfast after which we continue for the day's itinerary. Finishing the day for sunset at U Bien bridge. The next day was also an early start for morning sunrise at U Bien Bridge again after that the day continues. In the afternoon drove all the way to Bagan and was met the next day by our Bagan guide, Soe Kar Ar who took care of us for the next two days. Went on to Inle Lake through the Shan Mountains road, wonderful scenic drive. Our guide for this sector, Thet Wai was just as wonderful. All in all we had a wonderful 10 nights 11 days trip. Will always recommend Anne if you want a trip well organised and enjoyable.

Superb organisation, all my thoughts, hopes and desires were accommodated .. and improved on.
The style and direction of my birthday away was fitted in beautifully. As I suggested my preferences,
Ideas and thoughts were suggested to improve my enjoyment of the visit.

Each day required different transport, food, accommodation, in the manner I chose to travel, and I was not disappointed . Everything dovetailed together and gave me a special time away.

A pleasure to have a breakfast with Anne on my final day. Wonderful send off. Loved Burma.

This review will inevitably be too short to capture the brilliance and splendor of Myanmar -- both its people and its places. My guides: Minthu, Thinzar, and Wai were all fantastic. Anne, owner of Myanmar Pure and all-around amazing human, used my input to handcraft a one of a kind spiritual and physical journey that had me interacting with locals, cooking meals, watching handmade crafts be made, and involved planes, trains, automobiles, e-bikes (think vespa), and boats. I met local fortune... read more

This review will inevitably be too short to capture the brilliance and splendor of Myanmar -- both its people and its places. My guides: Minthu, Thinzar, and Wai were all fantastic. Anne, owner of Myanmar Pure and all-around amazing human, used my input to handcraft a one of a kind spiritual and physical journey that had me interacting with locals, cooking meals, watching handmade crafts be made, and involved planes, trains, automobiles, e-bikes (think vespa), and boats. I met local fortune tellers and got a traditional tattoo. I took in the wonders of Old Bagan and the radiance of Inn Lay lake. I meditated for 20 minutes in a small crawlspace within the Pindaya Cave. Overall, this will forever be my favorite trip, partially because it is the trip of a lifetime, but partially because my guides and the local people made it so effortlessly special. THANK YOU.

We had a fantastic time in Myanmar; it's a magical place. Our itinerary: One day, Yangon, two days in Bagan, two days in Mandalay, one day in Heho.

We took four internal flights, and we found the domestic airlines to be excellent. I felt more safe than on some US airlines. All we're prop planes.

The whole tour was great and the guides we're wonderful. They all had different strengths
Our guide in Yangon, Ong, was extremely knowledgeable. We called him as a nickname Google. And his... read more

We had a fantastic time in Myanmar; it's a magical place. Our itinerary: One day, Yangon, two days in Bagan, two days in Mandalay, one day in Heho.

We took four internal flights, and we found the domestic airlines to be excellent. I felt more safe than on some US airlines. All we're prop planes.

The whole tour was great and the guides we're wonderful. They all had different strengths
Our guide in Yangon, Ong, was extremely knowledgeable. We called him as a nickname Google. And his English was fantastic. Our guide and Bagan, Tin, was enthusiastic. He was very much concerned with us understanding Buddhism and the cultural practices surrounding the religion. He was thorough and seemed to really enjoy his job. Our guide in Mandalay, Ben, was more on the personal and caring side. He was quick to assure us when our children were running around not to worry about it that Burmese children do that as well in temples. Our final guide, a young lady in Inle was really sweet. We we're with her only for a short time and we were on the boat all day so there was a little less interaction. She actually gave her shoes to a woman who list hers in a temple. Talk about a good deed; ring the bell in a temple. Very kind. Of course my wife gave her her shoes at the end of the day.

The drivers in each stop we're attentive and careful.

The highlights of the trip both involved water. The sunset river cruise on the Irrawaddy in Bagan was once in a lifetime. We we're really moved by the experience. And the day on Inle Lake was fascinating. We loved every minute.

We experienced only one low point which was U Bein bridge. I saw it as a crowded tourist trap and we were out of there in 15 minutes. There is really no need to go there.

My only recommendation for future tours has to do with the hotels. Hotel Hazel in Mandalay had essentially no Wi-Fi. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things; however, it's nice to post pictures to Facebook at the end of the day so your friends and family can see what you're up to. Additionally the hotels were a little far from the city centers so in the evening we really couldn't stroll anywhere just to relax and taken some more of the cultural experience.

Our agent Linn did a really nice job; often following up with us.

I highly recommend using Kim Kim, especially if you have children, ours 11 and 5. I would use Kim Kim again. Thinking of Bhutan next!

The communications should be directly with the person and not with the whole group!
Payment should be in 2 installments, 50% down payment and the final payment of 50% 2-4 weeks before the trip.
You should give us the phone number of the local person who will be receiving us at the airport.
We should have a copy of the flight reservations/confirmation.
We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and the resort- I’ll at Lake Inle. We wish we had more time there!
Most of the guides were excellent.
Thanks,
Jaya and Satya Ahuja

Guides in Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan and inley lake were good. However, the ones in Mandalay and Inlet lake had no clue about our departure times or flight iternerary causing confusion on the last days in those cities. The guide in Yangon was misinformed about our arrival at airport on Dec 3rd and showed up 1 and 1/2 hours after our arrival at the airport only after we communicated with Su by email. If Su had not answered we would have had to find a way to reach Savoy hotel ourselves at night one way or the other.

I enjoyed the complete trip, my guides, Thwe Thwe Gmtt, May Han Thu, Kyikyi Aye and Ko Zay were all very knowledgeable and fun to be with. Riding the bike in Yangan visiting the villages and seeing all the markets were very special for me not only as a photographer but to interact with the people. Being able to go to peoples homes and have shared meals was very memorable. Seeing lots of things and never feeling rushed. The Balloons over Bagan was an experience not to be missed.

Overall, my experience was great. Su was incredibly helpful and very responsive on the planning portion of the trip.

My local guides were very knowledgeable, although sometimes my questions where unanswered mostly due to a language barrier.

On a scale from 1 to 5 I would rate them all at a 4. Out of all my guides I was particularly fond of my guide in Mandalay, as he was the easiest to communicate with.

I would recommend Su and all of my guides to anyone visiting Myanmar.

Myanmar was AMAZING. The care and quality of the planning made all the difference. Anne went far far beyond my expectations in building a trip that reflected all that excited me (in this case cycling, culture, food, the people, the reasons why, ...). I have had countless great travel experiences, and working with Pure Myanmar was one of the top. Each day was unique; transitions were seamless; lots of little extras (I'm not a big beer fan & she handed me a bottle of rum ... I wanted consistent... read more

Myanmar was AMAZING. The care and quality of the planning made all the difference. Anne went far far beyond my expectations in building a trip that reflected all that excited me (in this case cycling, culture, food, the people, the reasons why, ...). I have had countless great travel experiences, and working with Pure Myanmar was one of the top. Each day was unique; transitions were seamless; lots of little extras (I'm not a big beer fan & she handed me a bottle of rum ... I wanted consistent wifi and a hot spot appeared ... my companion bailed & she created a killer solo experience). Oh, and the guides - Anne has nurtured solid relationships with the best local guides. Really, I just can't say enough good things!

Everything about this trip was superb, from the moment I first got in touch with Anne. She was an excellent planner who understood exactly what I was looking for. On the ground, the guides, drivers, accommodations and arranged food were excellent. I was all around impressed. I had an emergency and Anne was on hand via WhatsApp immediately, which was a great help and relief. I highly recommend Anne and a trip to Myanmar.

Our trip to Myanmar was truely amazing. We had hoped to achieve meeting the locals & becoming part of the culture in a real way & this is what happened for us. Myanmar is a beautiful country & the people are warm & welcoming. They gave us such insight into their lives plus showed an interest in us as people also. We were very grateful for the hotels Anne had chosen for us & staff couldnt do enough to make sure we were happy. We were able to go into the villages & non-touristy areas &... read more

Our trip to Myanmar was truely amazing. We had hoped to achieve meeting the locals & becoming part of the culture in a real way & this is what happened for us. Myanmar is a beautiful country & the people are warm & welcoming. They gave us such insight into their lives plus showed an interest in us as people also. We were very grateful for the hotels Anne had chosen for us & staff couldnt do enough to make sure we were happy. We were able to go into the villages & non-touristy areas & found it was refreshing not to be harassed by market vendors. Our guides along the way were exceptional. They interacted well with us & were full of great information plus their English made communication easy. Our cooking class was fantastic firstly visiting the local markets to buy ingredients then cooking in our cook’s home We especially loved riding around Kalaw on electric bikes, visiting villagers in their homes on our Treks & being transported around Inle Lake in the long boat. We had lunch with a family known to our guide in the floating village. . There was always time to stop along the way. Most evenings were free as we requested. We were very grateful to Anne who professionally organised everything. . She was totally approachable giving attention to detail from beginning to end. Anne was always willing to listen & adjust the schedule to suit our needs.
We were able to relax & recharge. Our trip was magical. A perfect way to experience a bit more off the beaten track , less touristy exciting plus time to relax & take in all Myanmar has to offer.

Our three guides and three drivers in the areas of Mandalay, Pyin Oo Lwin, Bagan, Popa, Salay, Pindaya, Dalaw and Loikaw were all excellent. There was nothing we could fault them on. They gave us an insight into the lives and culture in each area we visited. They warmed to our Australian sense of humour and made our trip a lot of fun. All the various Hotels that we stayed in all staff couldn't do enough to please us. Our guides on the Pindaya Trek and Loikaw Village Trek interacted well... read more

Our three guides and three drivers in the areas of Mandalay, Pyin Oo Lwin, Bagan, Popa, Salay, Pindaya, Dalaw and Loikaw were all excellent. There was nothing we could fault them on. They gave us an insight into the lives and culture in each area we visited. They warmed to our Australian sense of humour and made our trip a lot of fun. All the various Hotels that we stayed in all staff couldn't do enough to please us. Our guides on the Pindaya Trek and Loikaw Village Trek interacted well and we had a wonderful time. Anne Cruickshanks who tailored our trip to suite our interests was nothing but professional in her communication skills and there was nothing we would have changed. We felt we could relax and enjoy ourselves and re charge on our annual holiday and felt safe wherever we went.
We were pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of the Myanmar people.
Happy Travellers
Ros & Geoff Wilson
South Australians

Anne was great! My initial request was vague but Anne pulled together the perfect itinerary.

Reno hotel-Yangon almost if not all non smoking room smells smoking if the aircon is not running.
Guide in Bagan not explaining the history of Bagan and each monument we went well enough or none at all.
Guide in Yangon, enle lake, mandalay were very good. All Drivers drive good and safe. Restaurant were averagely ok.
Tour generally are so so. Why..?? Market here today and everyday and last day in Yangon were 3-4 markets all day. Photography is not just all markets. Sunrise and sunset is a must. Tribes , customs, traditions, history, important monuments and etc.

Our 2 main guides Akkar and Nye Nye were amazing: professional, funny, accommodating. And they truly made our experiences so perfect. We found Myanmar magical. Loved going by e-bike through the pagodas. Akkar got us a romantic horse and carriage ride through the pagodas the first night and had recommended the restaurant Moon which was delicious. Nye nye was a total joy to be with. We particularly loved going to his village on Inle Lake, eating lunch at his family’s house and getting a tour of the village by dug our canoe with he and his Mum. Loved it all

We had a wonderful trip. Myanmar is beautiful country, the people are so friendly! The first contact with Anne was very promising and after a few e-mails we got a very good proposal in which Anne really proposed what we like to do. We love having close contact with the local people and we had! Lunches at family homes, a trekking around Pindaya, the Inle Lake, Kalaw and much more. The train rides between Kalaw and Inle lake was a great experience. In Bagan we explored the beautiful area with E... read more

We had a wonderful trip. Myanmar is beautiful country, the people are so friendly! The first contact with Anne was very promising and after a few e-mails we got a very good proposal in which Anne really proposed what we like to do. We love having close contact with the local people and we had! Lunches at family homes, a trekking around Pindaya, the Inle Lake, Kalaw and much more. The train rides between Kalaw and Inle lake was a great experience. In Bagan we explored the beautiful area with E bikes which was great.
Our guides made the difference! Nee, Aka, Wee and Chris told us a lot about their daily live and about the history of Myanmar. They made it possible to interact with the local people.
the hotels were good, not the big chain hotels but the real Myanmar experience. Especially Kalaw Heritage; a lovely hotel, great service, beautiful rooms.

If you want to experience Myanmar a bit more of the beaten track, not the standard tour operating thing which you see everywhere, go for Anne. What we also really appreciated was the idea that the money we spend ended up well, local family businesses.

Anne: thank you so much for the beautiful journey! We loved every minute.

Thomas, Gienke, Martijn and Friso

What a great trip! Loved Myanmar. The first time I visited was as a backpacker in my mid 20s in 1986. That as a remarkable time to visit what was then Burma but I certainly travelled rough.
This time I requested higher end accommodation for my wife and I. Anne excelled with her selection. For instance, the Sanctum Inn and Bagan Lodge were modern suites in 5 Star accommodation. But we loved every choice she made for us, plus she saved us some money by recommending we stay at the Savoy in... read more

What a great trip! Loved Myanmar. The first time I visited was as a backpacker in my mid 20s in 1986. That as a remarkable time to visit what was then Burma but I certainly travelled rough.
This time I requested higher end accommodation for my wife and I. Anne excelled with her selection. For instance, the Sanctum Inn and Bagan Lodge were modern suites in 5 Star accommodation. But we loved every choice she made for us, plus she saved us some money by recommending we stay at the Savoy in Yangon rather than the Strand.
As well the selected itinerary suited our preferred pace of travel. Every morning we were busy site seeing until after lunch and then most days we were free to swim and lounge around our hotel pool. We are in our late 50s so, for us, this was ideal. However, if we made the request our fantastic guides were only too willing to show us more. So to Nay, Arwar, NeeNee and Cherry, our guides, thank you. So too to the drivers.
We had lots of highlights but I think the pagoda strewn hills surrounding Mandalay, the railway journey to the viaduct, the cooking class in Bagan and the visit to the Elephant Camp near Kalaw will stay in my memory the longest.
Thank you kimkim.

Our guide in Mandalay, Thwe Thwe, was very friendly and extremely knowledgeable about her country's history and culture. We really appreciated the opportunity to learn more about Myanmar through a local guide. We liked visiting a Buddhist monastery and sharing a meal with a family. We also liked seeing a small village that produced palm oil and learning about their way of life. ToeHlaing was our guide in Bagan and he was very nice. Our most memorable part of Bagan will always be renting... read more

Our guide in Mandalay, Thwe Thwe, was very friendly and extremely knowledgeable about her country's history and culture. We really appreciated the opportunity to learn more about Myanmar through a local guide. We liked visiting a Buddhist monastery and sharing a meal with a family. We also liked seeing a small village that produced palm oil and learning about their way of life. ToeHlaing was our guide in Bagan and he was very nice. Our most memorable part of Bagan will always be renting e-bikes and going on dirt paths to see many beautiful temples. It was definitely the best way to get around and experience Bagan, and so we are thankful that our guide gave us this suggestion. It was a great trip!

Had an absolutely fantastic 8 days in Myanmar with Kim Kim. From the very first email conversation with my consultant Wai Lin it was an absolute pleasure. He was incredibly patient and knowledgeable and built us an unbelievable trip! Everything ran to an absolute t! We chose the route Mandalay-Bagan-Inle Lake-Yangon route. The tour guides provided were absolutely top class and gave us such a great insight into the history of Myanmar. The transport was comfortable and very punctual.

Personal... read more

Had an absolutely fantastic 8 days in Myanmar with Kim Kim. From the very first email conversation with my consultant Wai Lin it was an absolute pleasure. He was incredibly patient and knowledgeable and built us an unbelievable trip! Everything ran to an absolute t! We chose the route Mandalay-Bagan-Inle Lake-Yangon route. The tour guides provided were absolutely top class and gave us such a great insight into the history of Myanmar. The transport was comfortable and very punctual.

Personal highlights include U Bein Bridge, the private cocktail cruise in Bagan, the hot air balloon ride in Bagan, all the temples (usually I get tired of temples after a day but Myanmar's are so amazing I never tired of them), the food, Inle Lake in general. Everything was just so well thought out and convenient. Would definitely recommend and will def use again! Thank you, Wai Lin and all of our amazing tour guides!

Our Trip- Myanmar off the beaten track 10 days.
If we could give this trip a 10 we would. Anne was a fantastic organizer/planner. She understood what we were looking for and put together an itinerary that suited us immensely.
Everything went logistically smooth in terms of timelines, dates, pick ups and bookings. Our guides or drivers were always there greeting us with a big smile wherever the next place be.
In terms of the guides themselves they were all locals from the specific region... read more

Our Trip- Myanmar off the beaten track 10 days.
If we could give this trip a 10 we would. Anne was a fantastic organizer/planner. She understood what we were looking for and put together an itinerary that suited us immensely.
Everything went logistically smooth in terms of timelines, dates, pick ups and bookings. Our guides or drivers were always there greeting us with a big smile wherever the next place be.
In terms of the guides themselves they were all locals from the specific region we were traveling in. They were friendly, warm, caring and very knowledgeable. We genuinely enjoyed their company.
Myanmar was an amazing country to visit. From the landscape, the people and the experience itself. We definitely would love to explore more there again in future.
We would definitely recommend Myanmar, Anne and her team of guides to give you a truly wonderful and real Myanmar experience.
Thank you!
Alex Trey

Andy took care of our 6 weeks tour of Asia and everything went well. We had a good time and most of it, drivers, guides, Hotel etc were perfect. I will used Andy again for a another trip for sure.

Very professional experience that meet expectations. I would recommend both kimkim and Anne.

Anne and the rest of the guides/drivers were great. I could not say more about Anne and the response time, care of client etc... This was a once in a lifetime trip and I was happy that Anne was the one that could plan it for me.

Everything went smoothly from start to finish. We were met at Yangon airport and transferred to our accommodation.
This was of a very acceptable standard.
Our trip to Bago was easy (an excellent driver) and our guide was knowledgable and informative.
The accommodation in Bago (Shwe Pyi Resort) did have some minor problems (power failures, termites? eating the bamboo bedheads, and the distance to breakfast). But I recognise that there were not a lot of alternatives. I was happy there but my... read more

Everything went smoothly from start to finish. We were met at Yangon airport and transferred to our accommodation.
This was of a very acceptable standard.
Our trip to Bago was easy (an excellent driver) and our guide was knowledgable and informative.
The accommodation in Bago (Shwe Pyi Resort) did have some minor problems (power failures, termites? eating the bamboo bedheads, and the distance to breakfast). But I recognise that there were not a lot of alternatives. I was happy there but my travel companion (Jacqui) did need to move rooms.
The drive from Bago to Pyay was smooth and interesting. and we enjoyed the sightseeing and museum there. The spectacled Buddha was a highlight.
The accommodation was comfortable and spacious.
The drive to Mt Popa seemed very long and in hindsight we might have stopped more along the way to look at the scenery.
We were probably too late arriving at Mt Popa to climb the stairs but probably would not have done so even with an earlier arrival. If I were to do the trip again I would recommend a night or two at the Mt Popa Resort as it did seem to be beautiful.
The temples in Bagan are stunning and the number of them is astounding.
The accommodation was very good and was close to restaurants and bars.
At Bagan, Jacqui and I have different responses to our guide. Jacqui believes that he was not very communicative with her at first but that he treated me with more respect because I was a male. I am not sure if this was the case but we both found him to be knowledgable and (after a discussion with me) helpful in varying/amending our itinerary to ensure that we had extra time at the archaeological dig sites.
Jacqui was most impressed by Bagan and it was her favourite location - she is a history teacher.
Mandalay had some great experiences and our guide was informative and helpful. She made sure we had the best possible experiences while in the city.
Our accommodation (the Yadanarpon Dynasty Hotel) was spacious and comfortable.
I think that for both Jacqui and I the Teak Temple was the most amazing sight.
Finishing at Inle Lake was a good choice, as it was more "laid back" and touristy. The lake is beautiful and the pace much slower than elsewhere. The boat trip up the canal to Pa-Oh village was well worth the time. Accommodation (Inle Resort) was very comfortable. In future I would ask for a room closer to the restaurant and reception as it would be a long walk from the back rooms if it rained (unlikely in the day season).
Our guide, who seemed quite young, was very helpful and has excellent English. I believe that he will become an excellent guide who could take on longer sections of a trip in future.
Returning to Yangon, we had just enough time there to unwind and get ready for our trip home.

All up, the trip was very well organised and suited to our interests and level of fitness. I am happy that we did not pre-plan lunch and evening meals and the guides provided excellent suggestions and took us to places that were not too challenging for a western palate.
All flights , transfers and pick-ups were efficiently handled and all vehicles were clean and comfortable.

After meeting with all your guides, I feel that both Jacqui and I have a greater understanding of social and political life in Myanmar.

What would I change if I were to return?
I would try to get away from the more tourist busy areas to get an experience of Myanmar village and rural life.

Thank you, Wai Lin, for your thorough organisation.
Your efforts ensured that we had a great experience in your country.

I was set up with a very good schedule. Got to see some of what others do not get to see. This was a once-in-a-lifetime trip for me and it was important to get as many of the importantant sites seen before heading home. Kimkim did that.

Guides were fairly proficient in English. They may not have pronounced all the words correctly but I knew what they were saying. And all of them were very helpful. They tried to answer all my questions, provided extra services like gem and jewellry shopping, and were able to explain some of the quirkiness that is Myanmar.

Myanmar is a must see.

We had an incredible Myanmar trip that Anne Cruickshanks from Myanmar Pure helped put together. Anne was amazing in creating an itinerary filled with activities that were tailored to our interests, intentions and yet gently pushed us beyond what we normally do on our own trips.

She truly listened and talked to us prior to the trip to better understand us as travellers and proposed itineraries that suited our needs. Anne is responsive, intuitive and knows Myanmar beyond the beautiful... read more

We had an incredible Myanmar trip that Anne Cruickshanks from Myanmar Pure helped put together. Anne was amazing in creating an itinerary filled with activities that were tailored to our interests, intentions and yet gently pushed us beyond what we normally do on our own trips.

She truly listened and talked to us prior to the trip to better understand us as travellers and proposed itineraries that suited our needs. Anne is responsive, intuitive and knows Myanmar beyond the beautiful pictures and images.

For our 16 days trip, she included the 'essentials' of Myanmar along with the 'personal/intimate' side of the country, that helped us not only see but experience and feel the country. From the religious/spiritual side of Myanmar to the friendly and charming people of the country to the many local food scenes that she and her guides set up for us were just simply amazing, loved the BBQ.

Being independent travellers, we had a fair sense of what we wanted from our trip but Anne and her team over delivered on each of the experiences and made our journey unforgettable. Some of the more memorable and unique experiences include the Buddhist Nunnery (very touching), the cooking lesson and market outing with Ma May (immersive, personal and delicious), the bike tours (a little exhausting but exhilarating), the sunset cruise (great way to end the day), the hikes (incredible views and great way to work up an appetite for the delicious foods of Myanmar). The guides and drivers were all very personable and Ah Korn was a stand out, he made the Bagan temples come to life with his story telling. Impressive.

The whole trip went smoothly without a hitch and Anne was there every step of our journey. I cannot wait for her next curated journey. J & R.

As experienced travellers this was the first time we had 'outsourced' our travel planning and we couldn't have been happier with the outcome. Anne took the time to fully understand our ambitious wishlist and returned with a suggested itinerary that whilst action-packed never felt overwhelming or rushed.

Each of our local guides managed to strike the right balance between being extremely attentive whilst also letting us explore at our own leisure. As well as visiting flagship attractions... read more

As experienced travellers this was the first time we had 'outsourced' our travel planning and we couldn't have been happier with the outcome. Anne took the time to fully understand our ambitious wishlist and returned with a suggested itinerary that whilst action-packed never felt overwhelming or rushed.

Each of our local guides managed to strike the right balance between being extremely attentive whilst also letting us explore at our own leisure. As well as visiting flagship attractions such as Inle Lake and Bagan, the tour also provided an opportunity to scratch below the surface and visit places off the beaten track such as the fish markets of Yangon and artisan quarter of Mandalay. These combined experiences provided us with some fantastic memories and a genuine desire to return to Myanmar and explore this fantastic country further.

Huge thanks to Anne and our fantastic guides and trek leaders in Myanmar!

One of the best trips of my life! Tour was nicely set up, and Anne make changes where necessary when my flight screwed up my arrival. The Bagan tour guide was very good, and the accommodations at the hotel were superb. And the cooking class was very informative and tasty. Flights and airport transfers went without a hitch. I highly recommend the tour, and KimKim tour company.

We had a wonderful month in Myanmar being looked after by a range of guides who were all fabulous. Great knowledge, love of the country and fun to spend time with. Everything went smoothly in line with the plan and any changes we requested were dealt with very quickly. We loved our trekking at both hsipaw and kalaw. Swimming at waterfall and sleeping at monetary were terrific experiences. hot air ballooning over bagan, Inle Lake was a delightful and different location, the meal we ate at our... read more

We had a wonderful month in Myanmar being looked after by a range of guides who were all fabulous. Great knowledge, love of the country and fun to spend time with. Everything went smoothly in line with the plan and any changes we requested were dealt with very quickly. We loved our trekking at both hsipaw and kalaw. Swimming at waterfall and sleeping at monetary were terrific experiences. hot air ballooning over bagan, Inle Lake was a delightful and different location, the meal we ate at our cooking class was superb. Great to finish at Ngapali Beach relaxing after a very full 3 weeks touring.

The entire trip from the moment we touched down in Yangon until we left a week later was fantastic . The drivers and tour guides we had, Tin in Yangon, Naing at Inle and Arkar in Bagan, could not have been any better honestly with knowledge, professionalism but also made new friends with these folks as well . We even had the pleasure of meeting Anne who put the trip together . The hotels , balloon ride , internal flights all went smoothly . The only part that wasn’t enjoyable was the day we had to return.
Thank you
Jay

Myanmar Diaries represented by Wai Lin, our local kimkim specialist for our Myanmar Trip, was exemplary .... Wai Lin was highly professional, helpful, accommodating and informative, we could not have asked for better. All our guides were most respectful with very good English speaking skills and knowledge of their areas, likewise our drivers skilful and very safe, the cars in excellent condition.

Our 16-day Trip was absolutely amazing ... we were very pleasantly surprised at how totally... read more

Myanmar Diaries represented by Wai Lin, our local kimkim specialist for our Myanmar Trip, was exemplary .... Wai Lin was highly professional, helpful, accommodating and informative, we could not have asked for better. All our guides were most respectful with very good English speaking skills and knowledge of their areas, likewise our drivers skilful and very safe, the cars in excellent condition.

Our 16-day Trip was absolutely amazing ... we were very pleasantly surprised at how totally safe we felt at all times given the recent unrest in the Northern area of Rakhine, which is well away from all tourist hot spots such as Bagan, Lake Inle, Ngapali Beach (divine), Mandalay and Yangon ... do not hesitate to visit Myanmar as it is an extremely scenic, culturally fascinating and safe country to visit, the Myanmar people utterly delightful! And incredible value for money as a holiday destination!

Do not hesitate to use Myanmar Dairies as your travel agent, you could not ask for better!

The whole trip was wonderful. Our guide in Mandalay and (July) in Yangon were exceptional. Just one thought, 4 nights in Bagan was a bit much. Maybe adding a little more north city might be interesting. In my case, I should have done Lashio. If guides could have more info for dinner, might be helpful. Loved the country & the people. Food was good too.

I just came back from Myanmar and it was amazing!
Kimkim paired me up with Wai Lin, I couldn't have asked for a better person to help me plan my trip he was responsive, helpful and he definitely made my experience in Myanmar truly enjoyable.

We loved the trip to a Myanmar, especially our guides in Bagan (Ankar) and Ny Ny in Inle Lake. We loved doing the little canoe trip with Ny Ny in his village and tea with his family. Of course, Bagan was amazing.

This was a great trip, from the start of the planning to the flight home! Anne responded daily to all my questions/concerns and this made the trip planning so smooth and easy. Our guides, Lu Wine and Zawturn we incredible! They were very friendly and the trip felt more like visiting a friend who was showing us around, as opposed to hiring a guide.
We got to really feel the local scene in Mandalay! We went to local markets, spoke with Budist monks and nuns. It was great!
We learned so much... read more

This was a great trip, from the start of the planning to the flight home! Anne responded daily to all my questions/concerns and this made the trip planning so smooth and easy. Our guides, Lu Wine and Zawturn we incredible! They were very friendly and the trip felt more like visiting a friend who was showing us around, as opposed to hiring a guide.
We got to really feel the local scene in Mandalay! We went to local markets, spoke with Budist monks and nuns. It was great!
We learned so much about the temples in Bagan and the religion.

Also, our guides and Anne had backup plans for everything. For instance, we wanted to ride bicycles in Mandalay but it rained so we had a driver pick us up and we went to a monastery where we got to talk to a young monk who told us about Budism and what it’s like to be a monk. This is an experience we would not have had if we didn’t book the tour.
In Bagan, the weather was nice so we got to Bike, but I ran over something sharp and got a flat tire. But our driver followed not too far behind and was quickly able to meet up with us so our trip could continue. Anne and her team really thought of everything!
Also, considering the expertise, thorough planning, and great accommodations, I’m surprised the price is at such a good value!
Our guides an Anne showed us the real culture of Myanmar that most tourists I’m sure miss. If you wanted to be among locals and try local food and see places visited by locals and some tourists, then this is the perfect trip for you! I would happily book again!

We are a family who travels a lot – for work, adventure, and play. We travel together and individually from places as diverse as Afghanistan and Ethiopia. So we are capable of organising stuff ourselves. Sometimes though life is too busy, and coordinating the views and opinions of 4 sets of people living in different places is just too daunting.

We knew we wanted to travel around Burma. I knew we needed someone to organise and advise. I can’t remember how I came across kimkim and their... read more

We are a family who travels a lot – for work, adventure, and play. We travel together and individually from places as diverse as Afghanistan and Ethiopia. So we are capable of organising stuff ourselves. Sometimes though life is too busy, and coordinating the views and opinions of 4 sets of people living in different places is just too daunting.

We knew we wanted to travel around Burma. I knew we needed someone to organise and advise. I can’t remember how I came across kimkim and their partner in Burma Myanmar Pure, but as soon as I was put in touch with Anne Cruickshanks at Myanmar Pure, I knew I was having a conversation and not being sold to. How do I know? Well, there are serious ethical issues surrounding the decision to travel to Burma and everyone in the family was uncomfortable. Anne did not shy from the questions we were asking but provided us with perspectives to help us make our own decision.

On the design of our trip and the itinerary we communicated a lot. Anne wanted to make sure she knew exactly what we wanted – what kind of experiences did we want? How active? How adventurous? How much travelling from place to place and to what? We went through a number of itineraries. Anne didn’t mind starting again if we felt it was not quite right. At the last minute Anne accommodated an extra person in our group – it was not trouble whatsoever (or rather it might have been, but Anne did not let on for an instant).

We had seven days and we went to Mandalay, Bagan, and Lake Inle. We had three separate young guides – obliging, positive and informed. They knew just how much to join in and how much to stand back.

Nay cycled us around Mandalay – round back streets, up hills, onto tiny ferries, around markets, into Muslim and Buddhist communities, along rail bridges and gave us a lovely Burmese picnic by the Irrawaddy surrounded by munching cows. In the evening we visited a proper local temple with rituals that were more fairground than religious. Then a really great barbecue shop. Nay was great company.

Thet Wai took over at Heho, meeting us with bikes almost straight off the plane to cycle to Nyaung Shwe. We had a truly lovely snack break in a village with exceptional food. Then we cycled to Nyaung Shwe on Lake Inle (through rice fields – stopping and asking farmers dumb questions). A great lunch.

Everyone travels by boat across Lake Inle, and everyone visits weavers and local crafts shops. It is touristy and it is designed to make you buy, but hell you have to give something back. Wai gave us a really good tour of the floating gardens and of the floating/stilt houses, shouting with joy when we found a pig house sitting over the water, inaccessible to dry land. A suggestion here – some of the houses are beautiful and spectacularly painted. Don’t waste time watching the sunset over the lake, ask to stay in the village on the water and watch the sun go down on the houses (we didn’t but I wished I had). Lake sunsets are boring – you can see them anywhere. We swam from a house in the middle of the lake and watched a couple having their wedding photos taken (people don’t usually swim…).

The undoubted highlight was Wai taking us to have lunch with his family (absolutely incredible food and so welcoming and curious about us), and then to great hilarity giving us a go with leg rowing on two of the family boats). We all had a go and it was brilliant. This is something people don’t do – and it was Anne and Wai that made it possible. I predict it will be the next bog thing at Inle.

The next day we had a gentle walk around the hills and good noodles in a place with a great view. Thet Wai is a legend.

The final stop was Bagan with a new guide called Arkar. He was laid back, patient and very good humoured. A really good guide. We had a day’s fun zooming around the temple complex on electric scooters (all coloured like Power Rangers) and eating in local places. Brilliant. We had final cocktails on our own boat watching the sunset over the Irrawaddy (best boat and best position).

All the hotels were very comfortable and well situated.

So thanks kimkim, Anne, Nay, Thet Wai, and Arkar. You are brilliant. It was an extraordinary holiday – open to what was going on in the wider country, but adding value to people working hard to make a living at a local level.

Koy, Hilary, Doy, Guy and Matt. December 2017