Kimkim Trip Reviews for New Zealand

I wrote to Kim Kim re cycling in NZ having some ideas of what we wanted (and what we did not want). Valentin responded immediately and through some correspondence we planned 2 weeks cycling in Sth Island of New Zealand. He understood our needs and catered to our preferences. The choice of trails, accommodation and attention to detail was fantastic (the trip itself was amazing, so varied in scenery and types of trails. We loved the small towns, the unique accommodations and people, having our... read more

I wrote to Kim Kim re cycling in NZ having some ideas of what we wanted (and what we did not want). Valentin responded immediately and through some correspondence we planned 2 weeks cycling in Sth Island of New Zealand. He understood our needs and catered to our preferences. The choice of trails, accommodation and attention to detail was fantastic (the trip itself was amazing, so varied in scenery and types of trails. We loved the small towns, the unique accommodations and people, having our luggage transported and the organizations of shuttles to and from airport, train and buses and the bicycle company to provide bicycles, support and guidance for the cycling and even suggestions for hikes to do at Mt Cook. Certainly a most memorable experience and a patch of blue while the storm clouds of Covid-19 gathered. We finished the trip on a real high with many lovely memories to carry us through our isolation/quarantine on returning home.

Thanks to Eloise for planning our wonderful trip thru New Zealand. The highlight of our trip was staying at the Matuka Lodge in Twizel(Mount Cook). The flight over the glaciers were beyond memorable. The whole itinerary was very well planned and everything went smoothly. Thanks for all the recommendations. Till the next time.

Valentine created an awesome itinerary for us! If I were to pick out the best highlight (which is hard because everything was awesome!) I'd say it was the Waimarino glow worm evening kyak tour which was absolutely fabulous. However, everything was great from the moment we arrived in Auckland, to the whale and dolphin watching, to the wine tasting on Waiheke island, to the Hobbiton movie set, hiking around Wai O Tapu, and hanging out next to the stunning ocean in Tauranga. We had an amazing time in our 7 days in NZ!

Had a great experience with KimKim and Eloise who booked our travel for our honeymoon in New Zealand. As a seasoned traveler, I usually book my own travel, however the ease and quality of our trip reserved with kimkim has forever changed how I will book future trips! We gave Eloise the places and activities we were interested in and she put together a stellar itinerary where we had flexibility but structure to our trip. It felt like we were on a private self-guided tour. We wanted to hike and... read more

Had a great experience with KimKim and Eloise who booked our travel for our honeymoon in New Zealand. As a seasoned traveler, I usually book my own travel, however the ease and quality of our trip reserved with kimkim has forever changed how I will book future trips! We gave Eloise the places and activities we were interested in and she put together a stellar itinerary where we had flexibility but structure to our trip. It felt like we were on a private self-guided tour. We wanted to hike and bike and she put us in the best spots to adventure - we loved the bike trip from the town of Clyde and hiking around Mt. Cook and Wanaka. When our 3 day trek on the Routeburn was cancelled due to weather, she re-booked us at another location, and I was so relieved to have someone else worry about the details especially when there were changes outside of our control. Will book a future trip with kimkim, and many thanks to Eloise for guiding us right!

South Island, New Zealand 16 days 19 January through 03 February, 2020. Kimkim organized our self drive 16 day trip of South Island. It was perfect from start to finish. All the BnBs were fabulous. Having a local NZ phone was a great addition for contacting hosts of our arrivals and to check on excursions. Promt refund issued for a cancelled excursion. Would highly recommend and would use again to put a trip together.

Great trip. I especially enjoyed City Lights and Kamana Lake Hotel.

Valentin was excellent in helping plan my trip

Emeline did a phenomenal job carefully exploring and matching our desired sites, interests, activities, budget and timeframe with an action-packed itinerary and travel arrangements that were perfect for our family’s first trip to New Zealand. Having limited knowledge of the country nor time to plan ourselves, we really relied on Emeline’s expertise and guidance. She did not let us down! Highlights included mountain biking in the Redwoods Forest of Rotorua, hiking the Tongariro Alpine... read more

Emeline did a phenomenal job carefully exploring and matching our desired sites, interests, activities, budget and timeframe with an action-packed itinerary and travel arrangements that were perfect for our family’s first trip to New Zealand. Having limited knowledge of the country nor time to plan ourselves, we really relied on Emeline’s expertise and guidance. She did not let us down! Highlights included mountain biking in the Redwoods Forest of Rotorua, hiking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, wine tasting in Martinborough, whitewater rafting in Queenstown, a cruise on the Milford Sound, exploring the Te Anau Glowworm caves, jet boating and hiking along the Matukituki River by Wanaka and hiking the Hooker Valley in the shadow of Aoraki Mount Cook. She really helped us to optimize our 15 days, steering us away from locations that were not feasible if we wanted to contain time we’d spend in the car each day, while suggesting local highlights to take in as we travelled. We especially enjoyed our boutique, B&B accommodations in Rotorua, Wanaka and Twizel. Emeline and the Once Upon a Trip team were very responsive to our last minute booking requests and any questions we had. Trip was a success... our adult daughters want to travel again with us! Looking forward to our next trip to New Zealand and engaging Emeline in the planning!

New Zealand is beautiful and definitely worth every minute there! So much to see and hard to choose! Kimkim helped to set a great itinerary after me having to narrow down the list! The best hotel we stayed in was the Park Queenstown Hotel, great location, staff and food!! Spend some time in Auckland! Downtown was a bit of a mess due to the construction of an expanded light rail, but by far my favorite city I’ve visited, relaxing, interesting, diverse and lovely people. Standout was the Hotel... read more

New Zealand is beautiful and definitely worth every minute there! So much to see and hard to choose! Kimkim helped to set a great itinerary after me having to narrow down the list! The best hotel we stayed in was the Park Queenstown Hotel, great location, staff and food!! Spend some time in Auckland! Downtown was a bit of a mess due to the construction of an expanded light rail, but by far my favorite city I’ve visited, relaxing, interesting, diverse and lovely people. Standout was the Hotel DeBrett, great location near sights and lovely walking and shopping streets, Mount Cook so beautiful and worth the trip as well. Thanks again Kimkim

I have had very good experience . All people I interacted with (Valentin, Eveline and Ben) were very professional and skill. I am sure that will be happy to advice this local specialists to my friends/

what was planned by Eloise our guide, was brilliantly put together. I had an idea of the places where to go and with a little tinkering between ourselves Eloise came up with, for us, a perfect tour. Everything was smooth from the moment we were picked up at the airport, to the moment we were dropped off for our return. Knowing that everything was booked and paid for when we arrived at each accommodation, and tour meant there was never a concern with any payments. The only thing we had to... read more

what was planned by Eloise our guide, was brilliantly put together. I had an idea of the places where to go and with a little tinkering between ourselves Eloise came up with, for us, a perfect tour. Everything was smooth from the moment we were picked up at the airport, to the moment we were dropped off for our return. Knowing that everything was booked and paid for when we arrived at each accommodation, and tour meant there was never a concern with any payments. The only thing we had to concern ourselves with and put our hand in our pocket for was where to get something to eat and drink on each day. The only blip was that our trip to Milford Sound was cancelled due to bad weather, but the weather is beyond anyone's control.
Highlights for us was Lake Tarawera and the thermal beach, Akaroa for penguin watching, which turned out to be a quaint little town also, and whale watching in Kaikoura to which the company concerned upgraded us to a helicopter flight so we had an added bonus to boot.
All in all the tour Eloise put together for us was just what we wanted and if I am ever to go back to New Zealand, I know who I will contact; Eloise, watch out for my next call !

Every guide we had, and every employee at all the bed and breakfasts/motels we stayed at, were so kind, helpful and thoughtful. Emiline created an amazing trip for us unlike anything we’ve experienced before. Makes me wanting to come back to New Zealand for more! The itinerary was very detailed and Emiline was always very immediate with her response and helpful all along the way, from the planning to while we were on the trip and had some weather mishaps. Thank you Kimkim for yet another unforgettable trip for us!

Thanks so much to Valentin for planning our amazing trip. Everything was so well organised and our trip flowed seamlessly. Our trip incorporated everything we wanted to see and more. The accommodation Valentin chose for us were all fantastic, the hosts made us feel right at home. Looking forward to booking our next trip with Kim Kim.

We traveled a lot and It was our first time to try a self guided tour. It’s an amazing experience since we have our time and choices to maneuver which places we like and explore. It’s an adventure that time is not pressured but it’s laid out for you to venture. As long as your provided SIM card is activated then everything is easy. Our best unforgettable adventure is the hike to Mt Tarawera by kaitiaki adventure which was arranged by Kimkim and the thermal spa . Breakfast was substantial... read more

We traveled a lot and It was our first time to try a self guided tour. It’s an amazing experience since we have our time and choices to maneuver which places we like and explore. It’s an adventure that time is not pressured but it’s laid out for you to venture. As long as your provided SIM card is activated then everything is easy. Our best unforgettable adventure is the hike to Mt Tarawera by kaitiaki adventure which was arranged by Kimkim and the thermal spa . Breakfast was substantial and accommodations are acceptable. Valentin our tour organizer, was quick to respond and understand our interest and so we are happy and contented with our NZ adventure. I highly recommend Kimkim but make sure to have more time in NZ rather than just one week . I’ll definitely come back in the near future with more time. Kia Ora ! We are happy camper, thank you very much.

Everyone we interacted with from the beginning of our trip planning to wrapping up was excellent. Valentin helped us build the perfect trip and patiently answered all of our questions along the way. Each and every bed & breakfast owner was extremely professional, welcoming, and helpful and we also found KimKim's partner company in NZ to be well-regarded. This trip was the perfect way to view the beautiful country of New Zealand and so much of what it has to offer. At one point, we had in our... read more

Everyone we interacted with from the beginning of our trip planning to wrapping up was excellent. Valentin helped us build the perfect trip and patiently answered all of our questions along the way. Each and every bed & breakfast owner was extremely professional, welcoming, and helpful and we also found KimKim's partner company in NZ to be well-regarded. This trip was the perfect way to view the beautiful country of New Zealand and so much of what it has to offer. At one point, we had in our notes that breakfast was included, but it was not reflected in the B&B's notes. The B&B called the company and it was quickly resolved with the company absorbing the cost of the mistake. We thought this was fair and a very good business practice. Valentin even called us once during the trip to check in and make sure everything was going well and see if he could offer any recommendations or assistance. This was our second trip with KimKim and we found their services once again to be a great value. We enjoyed collaborating on the itinerary where we wanted, but letting Valentin fill in the details with his extensive knowledge and spot-on recommendations. Thank you!

Valentin gave us an itinerary that well suited our needs. We were able to cover a lot of territory in a relatively short stay. All of our reservations and arrangements went according to plan. A highlight in the South Island was the cruise on Milford Sound, but the overall scenery was very beautiful. We appreciated that city accommodations were on the edge of town to avoid city driving. In the North Island we especially enjoyed the Waimangu Volcanic Valley, Hobbiton and also a day trip we took took to Waipu. Again the scenery was absolutely beautiful all along the way.

Overall I enjoyed a really cool holiday. My highlights were definitely the cycling days, and particularly doing the Twin Coast Trail. It was brilliant to have the shuttle services and flexibility around accommodation for that as well as for the Haureki Trail. While I also enjoyed cycling Waiheke Island, the cycle hire place was less helpful which limited the cycling I felt confident to do.

The walking aspects of my trip were good - certainly the Park Run events were great, but the other... read more

Overall I enjoyed a really cool holiday. My highlights were definitely the cycling days, and particularly doing the Twin Coast Trail. It was brilliant to have the shuttle services and flexibility around accommodation for that as well as for the Haureki Trail. While I also enjoyed cycling Waiheke Island, the cycle hire place was less helpful which limited the cycling I felt confident to do.

The walking aspects of my trip were good - certainly the Park Run events were great, but the other walks I was interested in were a bit hit and miss. I found it difficult to get information about suitable walks, and perhaps the biggest disappointment was being located quite a distance from Turangi, which meant I didn't get to do any of the walks in that area, although I had indicated I wanted to do that.

However, the places I went to were interesting and there was generally a lot to do. The accommodation was good and the car hire worked.

Best accommodations: Blue Water Motel in Tairua, Scenic Hotel in Paihia and Left Bank in Kaikohe.
Most challenging accommodations: i) Heritage Collection Waitakere Estate - while in a magnificent setting with great views of Auckland, they provided basically no information about what to do on site and near by. Even if they had, it would have been challenging due to the steep terrain and and lateness of arrival. There was also no offer to clean the loo despite indicating to the front desk that it was not up to par. Etc. And ii) Palm Motel Waihi, which was just a long way from the shops/cafes when you don't have a car.

The planned activities/tours were all good. And the freedom to take up other activities worked well for me, although the ultimate cost of these was far more than I expected. Highlights: seeing the massive Kauri trees in Waipoua Forest (and around), dinner up the tower in Auckland and fish and chips in Mangonui, and the Te Toto Gorge.

I definitely appreciated the follow-up by Valentin and knowing that I had someone to contact if I had any difficulties.

So all good - and in the end, I had a relaxing and very enjoyable holiday. Thanks!!:)

Christchurch accommodation was awesome. All accommodation was clean and comfortable. Really helpful at the Geraldine place. Loved the Vintners retreat as well.

Great trip Kimkim a big thank you

Kelly and Valentin both did an amazing job, all our accommodation was first class, loved the wineries tour although that was probably because we were only 4 people , Ken our driver was great.