Kimkim Trip Reviews for Nepal

The weather was hot and humid and I was unprepared for that. The walking days were longer than I expected.

Amanda was friendly, informative, and punctual. She was great!

Our return trip to Nepal (after 30 + years) in September 2017 was unforgettable. We are so pleased to have found Kim Kim and to have worked with Mads. He was consistently patient and able to adjust our trip plan to our ultimate satisfaction. In Kathmandu, we were well taken care of by the guides and associates of Himalayan Trails, namely, Surendra, Pushpa, Raj and Rajiv. Our all day tour of Kathmandu with Rajiv was incredibly educational and literally life changing. We came across so many incredible people and places that we hold that as the first memorable day, of many, of the trip!

Our next adventures involved getting to, and traveling in, Upper and Lower Mustang. Having travelled and lived in Asia we understand the need to be patient, adjust expectations and go with the flow. Because of this attitude and our confidence in, and respect for, our Sherpa guides, Mingma and his 21 year old son Dorje, we were able to relax and enjoy the adventures of traveling in a remote and dramatically beautiful region. Some of our favorite parts of returning to the Himalayas were simply waking up in Mustang everyday, enjoying the high altitude scenery, learning about the people and places, including Mingma and Dorje (with whom we readily felt akin), eating the delicious Tibetan food (most often in the kitchen!) and visiting the Gompas (Tibetan Buddhist monasteries) during the Full Moon Ceremonies! Tears of joy filled my eyes at the beauty and devotion intrinsic in the intricate and colorful sand mandalas, the heartfelt chanting of the monks young and old, and the conversations we had with them while standing in the ancient structures while surrounded by sacred statues of a living tradition.

We finished the trip off with a few days in the Terai, down at Chitwan, enjoying the elephants, rhinos, gharials, hog deer, and birds galore!
A wonderful trip. We recommend Mads, Himalayan Trails and Kim Kim whole-heartedly.

The planning and booking of the trip were top notch.

Having read up a little bit about KimKim before hand it seems like a great tool to allow clients like my sister Renee and myself as well as others from around the world to connect with outfits like yours. It gives a chance to see and experience Nepal, its people, and its culture with the guidance of a great local guide and support staff.

Raj, and the rest of his staff were great and extremely helpful. They went out of their way to help us with all of our questions before and during our stay in Nepal. I would gladly recommend them to friends and family who are looking to do similar treks in Nepal in the future.

Our trek in the Annapurna Conservation Area (9/10-15) was just the getaway my brother Mark and I wanted/needed. It was very well organized, simple and peaceful. Our guide (Arjun Kulung) and porter (Bazdowz- sp?) were lovely- very personable and gracious. They made everything easy for us. Arjun’s knowledge of the area and the tea house proprietors/community members was fantastic. They both provided a perfect first impression of Nepal. I would recommend them and this trek without hesitation to friends interested in discovering Nepal. Sharing a meal with Anura our last night in Kathmandu was also great. All of the staff we interacted with (drivers in addition to the three named above) helped to make us feel very welcomed in Nepal.

Timely, informative responses to our emails; patience when we needed time to get organized on our end after prices were provided. The only thing I might have liked more directed information about was the need for waterproof boots (to keep leeches out!). I had listened to my friend who had lived in Nepal a few years ago and done more or less the same trek before. She said, one could do it in trainers. Maybe she'd gone at a drier time of year!

The tour guides, the excursions, the experience was fantastic. We really enjoyed our trip and it was economical too. Only thing that could have been better is it would have been nice if everyone knew it was our honeymoon. No one knew and that would have made it a bit more special. The last hotel didn't even book us a double bed on our last 2 nights. Other than that, it was a great and memorable trip.

Fantastic trip. Amanda did a great job getting everything set up for me. And Suman was an excellent, conscientious, and able guide. I was very happy with everything.

Well, perfect is hard to achieve! Overall, the trip was once in a lifetime and an epic experience. The one critique we had was regarding the stay in Yara. Though we liked the austere tea houses along the way, Yara felt different. Not sure what the difference was from the others. One thing--the guest house was run by a teenage girl--the parent owners were on vacation, perhaps. She wasn't very helpful. They village vibe seemed much more unfriendly than all the rest. We understand that the Yara stop is likely because of the distance to the next logical stop AND we understand that village conditions are NOT in your control. We were happy to get on our bikes and leave that village. We are not overly concerned with that situation--but that is my one kindly written critique!

There are many positives. Here are a few: Dawa is a very good guide and aided the ability to feel comfortable in a FAR away place. :) The stay in Lo Manthang was excellent--the guest house, the owner, the food, the hospitality were excellent.

An accommodations critique: .after staying in guest houses that we thought were comfortable...they Mum's Garden stay seems "expensive"--if that makes sense. Mum's Garden seems somewhat excessive compared to the other accommodations--VERY nice, but perhaps a cheaper stay makes the overall expense for us better? Again...this is NOT a complaint, just an insight. Last thing: the accommodations a Maison du Kathmandu are worth praising. The value for that place is very good--the owners, the food, the location...we thought, were excellent. It's a little paradise!

Overall...a trip of a lifetime.

thanks.

Mark

We were delighted with the quick response to our request on kimkim for a short trek in Nepal. We had a delightful time and the company that supported us was wonderful! They did a great job in setting up our trip, responding to numerous questions and then being at every hand off along the way in our trip. Our guide was wonderful, helpful, patient and filled with good information.

Amanda was most helpful. We had a lot of last minute questions and she was very responsive. At the end of the trip she made sure she got all of our feedback. A very positive experience!

Absolutely more than perfect!! 11/10 stars!! Mads, Amanda, Suman, Suson, Everyone(!) from Himalayan Trails was beyond knowledgeable, accommodating, patient and incredibly friendly. I'm a frequent domestic and international traveler and I honestly cannot speak more highly of our experience booking and in-country with Himalayan Trails/KimKim, the best trip yet!!

Again, 11/10 stars!! He was incredibly responsive and he has a TOP NOTCH team in country. It was very apparent that they sincerely cared about us and our experience. Amanda took the time to meet with us with Suman (our trekking guide) before our trekking portion of the trip and then again after our trek with our city guide to make sure everything went well and that we were comfortable, etc. Every associate was incredibly knowledgeable, patient and accommodating for my numerous cultural questions and my partner's specific site interests. It was like traveling with new friends vs. stuffy 'tour guides', we shared laughs and jokes with everyone we encountered and felt like we really saw a bit of true Nepal-not just the 'touristy' side. Absolutely incredible.

Although we never saw Ngima during our journey, his staff was on top of all aspects of our trip and everything went smoothly (except for the traffic in Katmandu, but even that was part of the "experience").

Our trip to the mountains of Nepal was great. It was well organized by Ngima, who was very responsive to the demands of the schedules of members of our group who were all coming and going from different parts of the world. He worked out a trip that made sense, mostly, and it was well organized, everything was thought out in advance and worked out, nearly, perfectly.

The only reason the trip was not perfect was that the weather interfered since we started with a flight to Lukla that was weather-dependent, so we lost 1.5 days from our trek and had to shorten it by a destination. This was not Ngima's fault, of course. But, in hindsight, I'd recommend that if one is on a very short trip like we were, then losing a few days to weather (only because of flying, we can hike in rain) is painful and I'd recommend a destination that does not require such a flight if it is going to be vulnerable due to weather.

This was a very expensive trip and several things could have been done better. I had payed for a full package but even then had substantial expenses towards drinking water 1-7 USD per liter depending on where on the trek, battery charging 4-6 USD per battery, hot shower 8-9 USD, WIFI 7 USD per day. These extra expenses are very particular to the area. I have never before experienced having to pay for all these things and. I am surprised that no-one has thought of informing of these extra costs.

Meals were provided but I was always only allowed to order 1 item per meal. This was really not enough when trekking for long hours every day.

Also tipping of guide and porter was a substantial extra expense - 250 USD shared among them. As a lone traveller this has been an extremely costly affair. The guide and porter I was happy with though.

I was overall very pleased with Ngima but I would have appreciated the information I have mentioned previously.

Our 3 generational family trip into the Tsum Valley and Manaslu Circuit was absolutely stunning!! From beginning to end, we were impressed with the input from Amanda in the organisation/communication with loads of questions promptly answered. She was very friendly and helpful and met us both before and after the hike - we would not hesitate to book through kimkim again and use Himalayan Trails. Both hotels were perfectly suited in both location and budget, we particularly enjoyed 'Mums Garden' in Pokhara after the hike - a sanctuary to rest weary legs!

As for the hike itself - we were extremely grateful to our fantastic guide Chhiri. He was both very professional and knowledgeable and good company. He and the two porters, Sam and Siri made our hike all the more special. They did far more than meet the minimum requirements of a guide/porting service, they became good friends and went out of their way to share their culture, country and themselves with us.

17 days hiking with 3 generations couldn't have been done in a more special place. The days walking were well mixed with some longer and others shorter, when altitude became a factor. The weather was perfect which always is a bonus and the Tsum valley was probably the highlight (just ahead of Larke Pass) - The mix of monasteries and walking through ancient villages was very special. Chhiri was also very caring and conscientious with the responsibility of taking my 10yr old daughter on such a long hike. While she had done long hikes before, she'd never been to this altitude at 5100m - she loved the experience and Chhiri again took great care with all of us.

Thank you does not quite cover it!!!

Amanda was incredibly helpful, both online prior to booking in answering a myriad of questions and once in Kathmandu, meeting with us both before and after the hike. She made sure the trip was seamless from start to end and was very friendly and knowledgeable.

In wanting to take my 10yr old daughter on such a long hike and to 5100m, Amanda was very careful in giving advise and ensuring that we had a senior guide who had experience with children. This proved to be possibly the making of the hike with Chhiri being an excellent guide -and the envy of other hikers!

Thank you very much to Amanda for giving us such special memories. We would love to be back in Nepal one day!!

I know you can't give a detailed breakdown of the price, but it would have been nice to know a bit more about how the price per person was generated in an overall sense. Like our accommodation total, our food total, the guide and porter's accommodation/food/salary total, and any fees.

We appreciated the open communication and prompt replies to all our questions. Amanda very quickly gauged our interests and capabilities and planned a trip for us accordingly.

Amanda was a gem. Unfortunately I requiredhospitalisation early on in the trip. Amanda was so supportive and understanding. She guided us through the process and after resting she quickly rescheduled our trip so we could maximise our time. This involved organising an alternative trek more suited to our needs at this time. All our drivers, guides and accomodation were top class.

Raj and the team Social Tours couldn't have been more helpful. It was an expensive trip but we saved a lot of time that we would have otherwise spent finding out about places and organizing trips. The 4 guides who took care of us were very knowledgeable and specialized in their work.
Raj is very knowledgeable with a lot of contacts and is highly respected within the Nepalese tourist industry.
Anura is intelligent and sparkly, and a tremendous asset to Social Tours.
Social Tours helped make this our trip of a lifetime!!!

There was only one night where the accommodation was noisy, poky and uninviting, but all our other accommodation was exceptional

Amanda was extremely helpful, the trip was very well organised and she was prompt to answer any queries we had

I made a very good experience with kimkim.com. All my contacts were very friendly and helpful. I specially liked the quick and uncomplicated way to book a trip.

Mads answered all my questions and gave me always a good advice. He motivated me to go for the longer trek. I am very happy that I listened to him. I had a great time and made one of my best treks ever!

The only thing that would have made this better was that would have liked to have a trekked a little longer most days, but we realize that the trip has to account for: 1. lower fitness levels, and 2. altitude.

I can't say enough about Himalaya Trails. A custom trek to fit our short time. Great guide and porter, who were attentive, accommodating, helpful and friendly. And when our flight from Pokhara was cancelled because of weather, Himalaya Trails went above and beyond with quick on-the-ball travel rearrangements to make sure we made our flight home from Kathmandu the next day. A big thanks to them!