Kimkim Trip Reviews for Switzerland

Valentine planned a spectacular trip of a lifetime for us. She took the time to understand the kinds of activities and places we enjoy, many of which we would never have discovered on our own. One of our favorites was our walking tour with Roberta through Gandria, who gave us a personalized tour of this beautiful village near Lugano.

We had a great time on our trip. It was very well organized by KimKim and we will use it again for sure.

Special shout-out to our organizer, Amandine. She was great. So too was our guide in Grindelwald, Sabrina.

Thanks again, it was a truly great trip.

Switzerland was the most amazing country with beauty and interest. From Zurich to Montreux each had its own charm. I found Lucern and Interlaken had a great amount of interest and could of spent more time in each easily. Our guide for the Secrets of the Black Forest went above and beyond showing us villages in France and Germany and then the Black Forest itself. We also toured Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald near Interlaken which was magical. Took a cable car to a mountain top viewing the whole area below, saw the Eiger peak and went to the restaurant at the top. Very beautiful and memorable. Montreux was relaxing and serene and Geneva a very French city scape. A wonderful vacation which I feel fortunate to have experienced. Kim Kim Travel helped make that happen.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Hofgarten Luzern

Luzern

Friendly and wonderful staff and excellent food at their restaurant. The buffet breakfast was well appointed and delicious.

Authenticity & Character

The character and charm of the rooms

Location

It is central located.

Staff

Very helpful. The wait staff at the restaurant are excellent.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mona Montreux Hotel

Montreux

This hotel is located in a beautiful area on the promenade with amazing views and centrally located where you can walk easily to things.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

The staff was very helpful in guiding us to restaurants and sites nearby.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Metropole Hotel Interlaken

Interlaken

The room had an amazing view of the Jungfrau Alps Peak, and the overall park below. The room was spacious and clean and very comfortable. Their staff was very helpful also.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Centrally located and most interesting sites can be easily walk to.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Boutique Hotel Wellenberg

Zurich

This was a very clean and well appointed hotel and rooms.

Authenticity & Character

Very charming and comfortable.

Location

The location was great as it was in the center of old town and near enough to walk to other areas of the city.

Staff

Very helpful staff at the front desk

Cleanliness & Comfort

Eastwest Hotel

Geneva

Good location in Geneva where you can walk across the lake bridge to the center of town and then into old town.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Swiss Travel Pass

Switzerland

The Swiss travel pass is a must to have as it covers all your transportation, including the golden pass express train. We found it helpful to use for the cable car in Grindenwald and also to get us into the Chillon castle in Montrose with no extra cost. We also used it for the boat on Lake Lucerne and the Rigi Mountain cogwheel train up the mountain.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Secrets of the Black Forest (private/approx 10h)

Zürich

This was a private all day tour with a wonderful guide who took time for detail on showing us the most he could during the day without being rushed. He made it very pleasant and exciting.

Quality of Experience

Mo

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Self-guided day to Mount Rigi, the Queen of Mountains (tickets)

Switzerland

Was exciting to take the cog wheel train up to the top at Rigi Kulm.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

At leisure : Lauterbrunnen

Switzerland

Toured the little village of Lauterbrunnen Valley, there is a nice waterfall nearby and there is a train there also for transport. The town is not large so you can walk through it with ease and there are nice little stores and places to eat

Quality of Experience

Lo

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Free time at Lake Brienz

Switzerland

Quality of Experience

No

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Amandine was excellent.
We spent a wonderful week in Switzerland. Thanks to her expertise we had a Swiss passport and were able to ride all of the trains and boats whenever we needed to.
She handpicked the hotels that were great and a good breakfast to start the day.
She had tours lined up with vouchers for each day. The top of Europe tour was great with the ice tunnels and ice sculptures. Everything was well organized and fun. She always had resteraunt suggestions and extra activities to do.
We had a great time exploring and paragliding over lake Geneva!
Thanks again for a great vacation.

We just finished a wonderful 10-day trip in Switzerland……spending time in the Interlaken area, taking the Golden Pass to Montreux, then moving on to Luzern and Zurich. The weather had been erratic but cooperative most of the time, so no complaints!
In general, all three in the group really would like to commend and thank Clo and her team for planning and executing pretty well with the rundown of the entire itinerary.
However, with some of the planned activities and hotel/transfer services, there certainly are surprises......Some pleasant, but a few less so!

Hotels
• The Ameron Hotel in Luzern is great..... Comfortable, clean and efficient. Staff is very professional, knowledgeable and helpful.
• The NiMo in Luzern comes as a pleasant surprise. Although you informed us that the hotel has no air-coned rooms, it turned out that our rooms do have aircons, and there are also fans. Rooms are clean and spacious. The breakfast/reception area is also quite charming and well run. A very good find, thanks Clo!
• Hotel Lotschberg in Interlaken is ok in general in terms of room size/setup and reception staff support. But the housekeeping we encountered was terrible. Bathroom sinks and counters, and water glasses were not well cleaned, and so were toilet bowls. Body wash was not refilled, despite that we had requested it consecutively for two days. It certainly was not a very pleasant stay as I would have thought standard hygiene and amenities provision should be pretty basic with any 3-star hotel.

Activities
• The panoramic train ride is magnificent......And thank you so much for securing the Prestige seats. They are great!!
• On the day of the Bern tour, because I never was given a detailed rundown of the day's itinerary, we were surprised to learn that the whole group had been enrolled in a 2-hour cookie making class while visiting the Kambly place. Obviously the two men wouldn't want to join. I did go along for about half an hour and then quit. Honestly, should I have known ahead that this was included as part of the visit, I would have requested that the class be removed because it certainly wouldn't fit the profile of our group, and both the costs and time that had been put in for the class were wasted. There was NO tasting session at the Kambly place, and there was NO tasting session at the Emmental dairy. We did pass through stunning landscapes on the way, but we weren’t given any explanation by the guide about them (assuming that is the UNESCO Biosphere Entlebuch which was mentioned in the itinerary you provided!). We passed through a lot of farmhouses, but I don’t think we stopped at any of them to take a look or for pictures. All in all, the day passed along quite flat partly because the guide Henry didn’t provide much explanations (except when in Bern), and we were just driven from one place to another while missing the “meaning” of the sceneries in between.
• The Farm Walk and Cheese Tasting tour in Luzern was totally not what we had expected. Again, because I wasn't informed of the "details", we were all expecting some easy walk in a farm near Luzern, and then cheese tasting in the farm itself. It turned out that the guide Dave (who substituted Eve) brought us onto some kind of high grounds/farm/forest areas at Sonnenberg for walks and then picnicking with wines and cheeses brought in his backpack. Honestly, we were all skeptical about this approach of the tour when we heard Dave’s explanation at the start of the tour, because I did mention to you at the planning stage that “prolonged” walking in the mountains/forest is definitely not Philip’s preferred activity. However, despite that Philip was struggling a bit with the walking part, we all ended up enjoying it VERY much. The fields are so green, the calves are cute, and grazing cows with cowbells are quite a delight!! A very refreshing experience for us city people!! But still, I think I would appreciate if you can give me some kind of a headsup at the planning stage about the "off the beaten path" nature of this tour so that we can be more mentally and physically prepared.

Car Transfers
• All the car transfers from our arrival in Zurich airport up till our check in into the hotel in Luzern were handled by Marquis who was professional and attentive.
• Actually, when he did our various transfers in Montreux, he literally acted more like a guide to us - alking around town with us to different points of interests with great explanations. He was knowledgeable and professional, certainly very attentive to our preferences and needs (particularly because of Philip’s walking “limitations”). The walking tour that day was a pleasant surprise, and we had great commendations for Marquis.
• Marquis could not handle our transfer from Luzern to Zurich in person, so he had texted me ahead of time that he had assigned the transfer to Musa who was ok, but I was surprised that he did not help us with our luggage when we arrived at the NiMo Hotel in Zurich. He parked his car across the road from the hotel (I guess because of traffic rules), left the luggage of the street. So the three of us had to move five pieces of luggage across the road and into the hotel ourselvesl. My question: is this the usual practice?
• It was a total letdown with our transfer from the NiMo Hotel to Zurich Airport on the last day. I didn't get any news from Marquis about who the driver would be. Then at around 8:30am that morning I got a WhatsApp message from a guy called Mustafa saying that he was assigned the job and would arrive 10:30am as planned. Then at around 10:10am, a taxi guy arrived at the hotel reception claiming to pick up guests for airport, his look definitely not the same as Mustafa in the WhatsApp message. I was confused, and communicating with the taxi guy was near impossible because his English was minimal. Finally, this taxi guy made a few calls and with the translation help of the NiMo reception, I was made to understand that he was there in place of Mustafa. So we took his car to the airport and told him that we needed to find the terminal for Air Canda. We were left with our luggage at an airport entrance where there was NO Air Canada signage. I was anxious and so I tried to show him our flight itinerary to make sure he understood that we were looking for AC departure. He literally snatched the paper itinerary from my hand to look, papercut one of my fingers, kept waving us towards the airport entrance......Then just went up his car and drove away!!! That was downright rude and irresponsible! We literally felt just being dumped in front of the airport. Of course, we could definitely find our way in the airport to the right terminal and the right counter. But honestly, I would expect a more polite and helpful attitude/behavior from an average taxi driver......let alone the fact that we had actually paid for a private car transfer service. So, that was a pretty low note to end such a special trip!!

Anyway, I know this is a pretty long and detailed review, but please do understand that the comments I made are not meant as complaints. I just think that the KimKim team would like to know how your service providers are doing in playing out their different roles.
Overall, we all had a wonderful trip, and the fun we had is not going to get dampened because of the unpleasantness in just a few instances. But we certainly would remember those pleasant surprises that we picked up along the way.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Lötschberg

Interlaken

Location is great. Staff support ok. Housekeeping below standard.

Authenticity & Character

Old building but relatively well kept.

Location

Convenient distance to various places.

Staff

Staffing at reception should be extended beyond 7pm.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Basic cleanliness and amenities provision need to be improved.

Ameron Luzern Hotel Flora

Luzern

Concierge staff is very knowledgeable and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Walkable distance to main station.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

BOUTIQUE HOTEL NI-MO

Zurich

Rooms are airconed and spacious.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Walkable to Old Town area.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Bern - Swiss Capital & Countryside!

Switzerland

The actual experience fell short of what was detailed in the itinerary. - There was a scenic drive of Swiss countryside, but we were not told or explained by the driver guide that we were actually going through this so-called UNESCO Biosphere Entlebuch - There was a visit to the Kambly place, but we were surprised to find out that the group of 3 was enrolled in a 2-hour cooking class. We were NEVER told ahead of time.......that certainly wouldn't fit the profile of the group. And there was NO sampling session at Kambly. - There was NO sampling session at Emmentaler either. - We passes through a lot of farmhouses but there was no stop at any of them. We did stop for pictures at the top of some kind of farmland (with a Switzerland Grand Tour signage).

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The driver guide Henry was polite, but he acted more like a driver than a guide (except in the guided walk in Bern).

Transport

Lucerne Walking tour and Cheese Tasting

Lucerne

We didn't expect a farm walk, even less so, a walk on the high grounds/farm/forest at Sonnenberg. We also didn't expect doing cheese tasting on a bench with cheese and wine brought along in the backpack by the guide Dave. But it turned out we enjoyed the tour VERY much. The green fields, the grazing cows, the cheese and wine, and also Dave's stories were all a great delight!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Beatus Caves, Panoramic Bridge, Nature Park Blue Lake and Lake Thun Cruise!

Switzerland

Places we visited are special and memorable........particularly the Beatus Caves and the boat ride on Lake Thun. Interesting though that the guide Mike usually just left us at the entrance or at a certain drop point, and we were just given maps to walk around on our own. Is that the standard practice of being a driver/guide?

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Maybe the guide should be more "involved" in pointing out and explaining points of interests instead of leasing us just with maps to explore on our own.

Transport

Zurich Old Town, Cruise and Lindt Home of Chocolate

Switzerland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Well tailored trip for me and my grown son with a limited amount of time and desire to hit several key geographies: Zurich, Bern, Gruyere, Interlaken, Luzern, Lugano and back to Zurich. The hotel selections worked well, and we especially liked our hotels in Zurich and Luzern given their approximation to the train station and the older sections of the towns where I love to stroll for hours and photograph. Communication with the kimkim team was simple and straightforward with their online app. We didn't need any assistance during our trip but it was nice to have a 24/7 contact number just in case.

I was pleased with all the activities. I joined this trip to an Italian trip which took some effort but Clemons was terrific. I do wish the app was up and running. The things that stresses me the most about travel are the connections , from train to car to city. This was handled perfectly. All my connections were easy and seamless, and the trip was worry free. The activities were fun for my family which likes an active, outdoor trip. Thank you!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Beau Sejour

Lucerne

This was the friendliest hotel of our whole trip. The staff was extremely helpful. The food was good, and we all slept well there.

Authenticity & Character

This hotel is very quirky, fun art and wallpaper er. Has outdoor gardens lovely sitting areas.

Location

free bus stop right outside the door, will take you to most places in the city. Beautiful view of the lake, which was right across the street. Short walk to restaurants and shops.

Staff

answered all our questions

Cleanliness & Comfort

Beds were easy to sleep in. It had a funny air conditioner that was helpful to us.

Hotel Bären - The Bear Inn

WILDERSWIL

Lovely building, good food.

Authenticity & Character

All wood, flowers everywhere, great breakfast and restaurant.

Location

In a lovely quiet area, but some distance from the activities of Interlaken.There were free buses, but it took some waiting.

Staff

With the exception of our first check in confusion, all the staff was very friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

The double room was very comfortable, the triple room was stuffy and warm and hard to cool down

Kreuz Bern Modern City Hotel

Berne

Very friendly staff, helpful in getting acclimated to the city.

Authenticity & Character

very modern and lovely

Location

close to sights of the city, free buses made everything accessible

Staff

so helpful with ideas and directions.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean, the best shower I took in Switzerland. There is some construction a few doors down that starts very early

Activity Reviews

🏰 Private Discovery Walk through Bern - Uncover Hidden Gems like a Local! 🏰

Bern

Great tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the town both currently and historically.

Quality of Experience

Loved seeing the clock and learning the history of each part

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide came to our hotel. He was very knowledgeable and tried to engage the kids.

Transport

We walked but expected to

Night Watchman Walk in Lucerne

Lucerne

We saw all the highlights of lucerne, Learned a lot about it’s history.

Quality of Experience

Saw parts of the city I might not have explored on my own. Gave us a great layout, and we returned to the places we were interested in.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Maria was friendly and accommodating

Transport

This was a walking tour. Lots of steps to the towers. Maria met us at our hotel which was nice.

Canyoning Interlaken: Half-Day Adventure

Interlaken

This is physically demanding but a great way to see the area

Quality of Experience

Guides were helpful. We are jumping into pools and walking through streams, never felt unsafe.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Helpful and supportive

Transport

Van takes you to the location. A lot of hiking- but that is to be expected.

Bike Adventure: Exploring Interlaken

Interlaken

Our guide was very friendly and knowledgeable.

Quality of Experience

Ride all over the city, saw some places we wouldn’t have covered on foot.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Cedric was very knowledgeable about the city. He asked our interests and tried to deliver. My teens actually talked to him which is a tough accomplishment.

Transport

We did solo bikes and one tandem for a child less confident on a bike. This was a great help.

Kayak Tour on Lake Brienz

Switzerland

Couldn’t have a better location to kayak

Quality of Experience

Being on the lake in a kayak is very different than seeing from shore or a big boat. You could feel the difference in the glacial runoff.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our staff worked hard to keep my kids engaged

Transport

Kayaks worked well

Matilde put a prefect trip together for me and my granddaughter. All her suggestions were spot on and we enjoyed all our hotels and breakfasts at the cities she chose for us. Our trip was independent but with tours and suggestions for how to get around, restaurants and places to see and explore. It was easy to switch things up to accommodate the weather so everyday we had a plan and something to do. Thank you for a wonderful trip!

We worked with KimKim to plan our recent trip to Switzerland and could not be happier with our overall experience! Our specialists, Aline and Bastien were super communicative and always ready to share ideas on experiences that would make our trip truly unique to us. Our time in Switzerland exceeded our expectations and we recognize that was in part due to the clear itinerary that our team provided us to ensure we made it from place to place each day.

We originally were not going to include Interlaken in our trip, but Aline and Bastien highly recommended we add those dates and visit Jungfraujoch, the tallest railway in Europe, and it ended up being one of the top highlights of the trip!

We will certainly use KimKim when planning our next big trip!

Our trip to Switzerland was nothing short of AMAZING! We worked months in advance with a planner who helped us come up with a custom made itinerary full of adventure and to fit our budget. As our travel time approached the original planner had left the company, but Valentine made a smooth transition helping us make small tweaks and answering all our questions. We were so grateful for being set up with the Swiss Travel Pass as it allowed us to travel freely by train, boat, bus, cable cars and even gave us free admission to museums in Zurich as well as Chateau de Chillon in Montreux. Valentine provided us with the special vouchers we needed for certain things that were not included in the pass, such as our visits to Schilthorn, Rochers-de-Naye and for priority seating on the Gornergrat panoramic train to visit the Matterhorn. A highlight of the trip was our E-bike tour of Lauterbrunnen and Valley of 72 Waterfalls. Cuba was our tour guide for the day and he did an excellent job taking us along on the bike paths at a pace that allowed us to enjoy the stunning views of the valley and mountains. Seeing the Trummelbach Falle as part of this tour was an added delight! Each day we built in enough time to really enjoy the places we were visiting and exploring. Hiking was spectacular coming down Rigi Kulm to Weggis and hiking up above Oeschinen Lake. We also decided to hike from Stechelberg to Lauterbrunnen after visiting Schilthorn -Piz Gloria. This hike was very easy on a paved trail. Another fun excursion we experienced was riding the Chocolate Train out of Montreux. The day featured tours of cheese, a castle, and chocolate at Cailler factory. I highly recommend having a cup of hot cocoa at Cailler! It was the best I ever had even after all the chocolate samples! We enjoyed having all our lodging close to train stations on travel days and each place was close restaurants, stores and a Coop was always near by for picking up snacks for hiking. Every place had friendly people working reception, were clean, comfortable and provided breakfast. Switzerland is a beautiful country with lovely people. We are so grateful to have visited and will treasure the memories.

Hotel Reviews

Boutique Hotel KARL

Luzern

The staff at reception were friendly, knowledgeable and willing to help us with exploring the area on our first days in Switzerland. Our room was very clean and the breakfast was perfect for starting our days.

Authenticity & Character

It’s located along side the river and has a small boutique feel.

Location

It’s walking distance to everything you need in Lucerne.

Staff

Very friendly and welcoming.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Our room was spotless upon our arrival.

Hotel Weisses Kreuz

Interlaken

As a family of three adults traveling together our lodging was spacious and provided all the room we needed.

Authenticity & Character

It has an old world charm to its setting.

Location

It is located in downtown Interlaken close to both train stations. We got to experience seeing the paragliders from our balcony.

Staff

They were friendly and kind.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Ambassador Zermatt

Zermatt

A great place for a family of 3 adults to stay. We had plenty of room. Seeing the Matterhorn from our balcony was an added bonus!

Authenticity & Character

It is a very comfortable place and the swimming pool, sauna and whirlpool felt like a spa day!

Location

It was basically across from the train station. Very easy to access on our arrival and departure.

Staff

They were very kind and offered ideas of places to visit in the village.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Our room was clean and the beds comfortable.

Hotel La Rouvenaz

Montreux

This was a nice hotel located close to the lake and walking trail. As a family of 3 adults we had to checkout two rooms, but this worked out fine for us.

Authenticity & Character

It has old world charm and character.

Location

Very close to reaching everything you need to from here.

Staff

Very polite, kind and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very comfortable and meet our needs.

Swiss Night by Fassbind

Zurich

Located on a quiet street and still close to walk to downtown and lake area.

Authenticity & Character

Everything is themed with farm cows. There was a beautiful light design on the ceiling that gives the room added charm.

Location

On a quiet street.

Staff

The lady who welcomed us was extremely nice and helped us understand the bus system in Zurich.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Well kept and comfortable for our needs.

Activity Reviews

E-bike tour Lauterbrunnen & Valley of 72 Waterfalls

Switzerland

A great way to tour and experience Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen!

Quality of Experience

The whole tour was amazing!

Food

The picnic lunch was perfect! Healthy too!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Cuba did a nice job telling us about the area and rode at an easy pace so we could enjoy the views!

Transport

The bikes were all in great working order.

Swiss Travel Pass

Switzerland

Our travel pass helped us travel Switzerland with ease. It’s great because the travel pass is more than just a train pass. It includes access to ride boats, buses, trams and visit museums. It also gives you discounts for other activities.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Self-guided day to Mount Rigi, the Queen of Mountains (tickets)

Switzerland

We were blessed to visit in a clear beautiful day. The views hiking from the top of Rigi to Weggis were spectacular!

Quality of Experience

The beauty of Mt Rigi , the spring flowers and glacier blue water.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ease of using Swiss travel pass

Transport

It was fun to experience a boat ride taking us to tram from Mt Rigi.

My wife and I had a fantastic time in Switzerland and we thank Mathilde for listening to our needs and delivering a great trip! The hotels selected were perfect for us - we asked for 3/4 star to keep within a budget and al of the hotels were of great caliber, provided breakfast, and were in terrific locations, near everything we wanted. Mathilde calmed our nerves by offering to speak with us before the trip and in doing so, we were prepared to use the various modes of transportation - all of which ended up being very easy and convenient. We loved staying in Lucerne and exploring Mt. Rigi, were overwhelmed by the beauty of Grindelwald and I think our highlight was the e-bike tour from Interlaken. We then stayed 1 night in Zurich at a very nice hotel. Great trip and we felt totally supported by Mathilde. Highly recommend!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Adler Zürich

Zürich

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Alpenhof

Grindelwald

Authenticity & Character

Location

It's up a huge hill which was fine for us - a bit exhausting - but provided amazing views!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ameron Luzern Hotel Flora

Luzern

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Swiss Travel Pass

Switzerland

Quality of Experience

Transport

Grindelwald First

Switzerland

Quality of Experience

Schilthorn - Piz Gloria

Switzerland

Quality of Experience

E-bike tour Lauterbrunnen & Valley of 72 Waterfalls

Switzerland

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This was our first time to Switzerland. Margaux was the first specialist we communicated with and then came Mathilde. Both are wonderful and knowledgeable specialists. We covered 8 places in 17 days. The itinerary was very easy to understand. The hotels were all close to train stations and easy to locate. When we were on the trip, we communicated with Mathilde and she was always prompt in responding. She lives in France but she seemed to know Switzerland very well. We had difficulty getting from Interlaken to Zermatt because there was an avalanche on the train route. Mathilde found a different route for us to get to Zermatt. She even contacted the hotel about our late arrival. We appreciate all the help that Mathilde had given us to make our trip an amazing adventure.

Hotel Reviews

Boutique Hotel Wellenberg

Zurich

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Boutique Hotel KARL

Luzern

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Best Western Plus Hotel Bern

Bern

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Jnterlaken

3800

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Le Petit Manoir

Morges

Location

This hotel is very close to the Tulip Festival. The tulips were beautiful!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Jade

Geneva

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Walliserhof Zermatt

Zermatt

This hotel is in a great location. From this hotel we were able to walk 10 minutes to see the Matterhorn.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mona Montreux Hotel

Montreux

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Swiss Travel Pass

Switzerland

It is worth having a Swiss Travel Pass. It saves a lot of time not having to buy tickets at the train station. This pass is also good for local buses.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Zurich and Surroundings Tour (Group tour/4,5 hours)

Zürich

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

It was a big group but the guide handled it very well.

Lucerne: 1-Hour Cruise on Panoramic Yacht

Lucerne

Quality of Experience

Transport

Gruyères Medieval Town, Cheese Factory and Maison Cailler Tour from Bern (Small group/6 hours)

Bern

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Schilthorn - Piz Gloria

Switzerland

Quality of Experience

Welcome to Mürren

Switzerland

From the cable car we were able to walk around on our own.

Quality of Experience

Peak Walk - Glacier 3000

Switzerland

We enjoyed this area. They have ski trails and trails for walkers.

Quality of Experience

Transport

My sister Ming was the main coordinating person in our group of 3 adults with the staff from Kim Kim. She mostly coordinated with Mathilde whom I must say did a great job. She was prompt and efficient. Though located in France and we were in Switzerland, she was able to advise and guide well. We had a pleasant and lovely 17 days in Switzerland.

Hotel Review

Boutique Hotel Wellenberg

Zurich

I particularly loved the breakfast spread. It didn’t have many varieties but they provided quality food.

Authenticity & Character

Clean hotel room

Location

Very near to train station and shops

Staff

Very approachable and friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room is clean and neat

Activity Review

Peak Walk - Glacier 3000

Switzerland

We had an incredibly time here. We walked the Glacier trail and it was a very good walk. The Tissot suspension bridge was awesome

Day 1
Bellevue Hotel was very nice; comfortable room with scenic view, central location, excellent breakfasts. Street noise fairly minor.
Day 2
Tour guide Celio Marquez (not sure of spelling) was charismatic and he was very interesting to talk with. Highlight of the day was Blausee, a small lake in a forest near Thun. Very clear water with many trout swimming.
Day 3
We found a good hike near the hotel, and Liam and Alan climbed about 350 m above the town for fantastic views. Wendy took a flatter walk along the river to Brienzersee. In both cases the trails and paths were very nice. It was great to have a full day unstructured. By the way there is a lovely gelateria and sandwich shop near the hotel called Bella Ciao where we had lunch – we highly recommend it!
Day 4
Ivo was a really nice tour guide. The tour itself was also good but entailed a lot of driving. We loved visiting a small family-run goat cheese factory , the village of Gruyere, and wine-tasting at a very scenic vineyard looking down on Lake Geneva. There are two things we would change however. First, the Cailler factory chocolate tour was rather disappointing. During most of it we were held captive (literally!) in a series of rooms that each described an episode from in the 1000-year (?) history of chocolate. Only at the end did we get close to any actual chocolate that we could taste, and by then we were just looking to escape (although we did appreciate being able to view a small example of a production line just before the tasting).
The second thing we would change is the large amount of driving. We first drove north at least an hour from Interlaken to Dallenwil for the cheese factory (Odermatt Käserei). We then headed first northwest and then southwest, passing Otten, Bern, and Fribourg on our way to Gruyere – a drive of about 2.5 hours. We then had another 45 minutes drive to the winery (Domaine du Daley, near Lausanne), and at the end of the day 1.75 hours back north to Bern again and southeast to Interlaken in darkness). The total driving was around 6 hours. For the future it might work better to package this differently. We would have enjoyed having more time at the hilltop village of Gruyere and the cheese factory tour might have been paired better with the Day 7 activities closer to Zurich. I think that just the southern stops could be done from Interlaken with about 4 hours driving?
Day 5
We loved the Jungfraujoch! It would have been helpful to have a bit more description in the details about what to expect at the Grindelwald Terminal. We ended up following the crowd and taking the cable car up to Eiger Glacier station to meet the cogwheel train. It worked out fine in the end.
Day 6
It was hard to leave Interlaken – we really enjoyed our stay there. Travel to Zurich went smoothly. Helmhaus Hotel was quite nice, the staff was fantastic, and they did come through with a sofa bed for Liam. The hotel is at the corner of a busy plaza which made it a bit noisy during the weekend, but the tradeoff was a great central location.
Day 7
The tour with Richard was interesting, but we would have appreciated a bit more discussion of the history around the stops we made. We did have a great conversation about comparisons between Switzerland and US governmental structure on the drive.
Day 8
The tour with Robert was fantastic, the best of our trip! He is extremely knowledgeable about the area also very charismatic and an interesting conversationalist. It was worth the tour just to meet him. The organization of the tour was also perfect, culminating in a ferry ride to Kilchberg, Lindt chocolate factory visit, and cable-car up to Felsenegg restaurant for fondue and a spectacular view. Wow!
The Lindt factory is much, much better than Cailler. Self-paced, beautiful building, ample sampling, and a view of an impressive pilot factory.
Day 9
Burgenstock spa was excellent, with spectacular views of Lucerne area. It is a little complicated getting there with all the different modes of transportation, but we were able to work it out with the instructions you gave us. Thank you for reorganizing this for a different day from what was originally planned.
Day 10
Alan’s departure went smoothly; airport transfer driver showed up as planned.
Wendy enjoyed an afternoon at the Zurich Zoo and it is very easy to get to form central Zurich.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Bellevue Interlaken

Interlaken-WEST

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Boutique Hotel Helmhaus

Zürich

Central location is great, but can be noisy

Authenticity & Character

Location

city center

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Zurich Old Town, Cruise and Lindt Home of Chocolate

Switzerland

The Lindt tour was truly a delight! Unlike the other factory tour we did, it provided the freedom to explore at our own pace and spend as much time as we wanted in each section. The exhibit was well-organized and allowed for a more personalized experience without the long waits. I would definitely recommend this tour to other travelers!

Cheese, chocolate and wine tour in Gruyeres!

Switzerland

The cheese and wine portions of this tour were wonderful, with an insightful tour and enjoyable tastings at a small regional cheese producer. The drive was quite long due to the location being in the opposite direction of other attractions, but the experience was worth the journey. However, the chocolate factory was not our favorite as it was crowded and we weren't able to do it at our own pace. A lovely spot that I wished I could have spent more time visiting was the charming Old Town Village of Gruyere.

Half-day wellness break at Bürgenstock Alpine Spa

Lucerne

The half-day wellness break at Bürgenstock Alpine Spa was an unforgettable experience. The spa itself was gorgeous, and the staff did a great job of accommodating last-minute changes to our itinerary so we could enjoy hiking and the spa on different days.

Since I had very little time to plan and book a trip to Switzerland , I decided to give kimkim a try. In 7 weeks, Mathilde put together a suggested itinerary, worked with me on zoom calls to add and subtract destination cities, and purchased/booked travel passes and hotels.

While I might have done a few things differently (like staying in Wengen rather than Grindlewald), all in all I think it was money well spent with kimkim. The directions for each stop were thorough and clear and the online vouchers and schedules were easy to access.

If I find myself in a similar situation with short lead time, and no knowledge of the destination country, I would use kimkim again.

We loved our specialist, Clothilde. She was extremely responsive before and during our trip. The excursions she arranged through Best of Switzerland Tours were excellent. Knowing all the logistics are handled makes traveling more enjoyable. Highly recommend!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Monopol Lucerne

Luzern

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Krebs Interlaken

Interlaken

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

We were told the air conditioning in our room wasn't operable because it was October. We kept the windows open to help lower the temperature, but since the hotel is located in the heart of the city, at times it was noisy.

Central Plaza Hotel

Zürich

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Zurich sunset tour and Cheese Fondue

Zürich

Highly recommend. Monika with Best of Switzerland Tours was amazing!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This is our second trip booked through KimKim and it was almost as outstanding as our first. What was lacking this time was the attentiveness and detailed help we got from our first trip specialist. There were significant time gaps in communication and responses from our specialist, Clothilde. There was no suggestions or recommendations, for example, sites, activities or restaurants following our scheduled tours/activities.
Our transfers/drivers were all excellent and we really enjoyed our hiking guide, Marta
Our accommodations in Interlaken was very nice.
I will likely return to KimKim for our next trip as our first trip (Italy) with you was perfect and Irene , our specialist truly spoiled us and set the bar!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Du Nord

Interlaken

Very nice staff. Very clean. Great Location and excellent breakfast

Authenticity & Character

Location

Views, relatively quiet and close to train station as well as shops

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Glockenhof

Zürich

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Time at leisure in Interlaken!

Switzerland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Beatus Caves, Panoramic Bridge, Nature Park Blue Lake and Lake Thun Cruise!

Switzerland

This was cancelled the day before our arrival by tour company. We would have had to pay double to proceed with similar tour

We had a very memorable trip to Switzerland this past summer as a family with two young children (5 and 8). Clothilde was excellent to work with and was able to curate a great itinerary for us based on our interests, abilities (2 little kids) and our budget. We spent 8 days traveling from Zurich to Geneva with Lucerne/Interlaken/Montreux as the towns we stayed at. Our itinerary was a great mix of activities that were very family friendly and options to modify if needed. The highlights of the trip were going up to Mt. Pilatus and hiking around, walking around the old town of Lucerne, just about everything we did in Interlaken but our favorites were the chocolate workshop and the e-bike tour around the villages. We had a car so we could explore a lot of the little nearby villages, Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald were absolutely dreamy! Montreux was beautiful except for the hotel we stayed at that was a little old and smelly. Overall working with KimKim specifically Clothilde eliminated a lot of stress for us from a planning standpoint and we just had to show up to have a good time. Highly recommend using KimKim and choosing Switzerland as a family friendly destination!

Activity Reviews

Chocolate workshop in Interlaken!

Switzerland

Absolutely recommend this for families with little children! It was educational, interactive and they walk away from the workshop with bars of chocolate they created. Our entire family loved this and our kids wouldn't stop talking about it for days after. Don't forget to grab some chocolate covered strawberries and a cup of hot chocolate from the cafe on your way out.

Quality of Experience

Guided E-bike tour around Interlaken ! - Family friendly

Switzerland

Another must-do activity when visiting Interlaken! Our guide was super knowledgeable, took us through the picturesque villages in and around Interlaken and the alpine lakes. This is definitely the best way of exploring the town and experiencing the local culture than driving through. We had two little kids who could sit in the cargo attached to one of our bikes so we could all experience this as a family.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Clothide helped us put together a memorable two week Fall trip to Switzerland. We were a party of 8 - ranging from mid-thirties to early 70’s. She was incredibly patient and helpful, as it took us some time to decide what we wanted to do/see.
The final itinerary worked out perfectly. The guides for the tours she arranged were all fabulous (LaVaux Vineyards, Thun Castle, Lauterbrunnen walking tour, Lucerne evening city tour). The advance purchase of the tickets for Gornergrat, Matterhorn, Jungfraujoch and Mount Pilatus made these excursions seamless.
She also arranged for the use of AlpTransfer for most of our transfers from hotel to train to airport and also for longer travels (e.g. getting from Zermatt to Montreux). Our experiences with AlpTransfer were excellent – the drivers were on time/early, courteous, helpful and the vehicles comfortable.
She notified us promptly of any changes in the itinerary and provided options for resolution, including a refund for the difference when there was a change in the type of hotel room. We had some reservations issues with a couple of hotels, but these were resolved in a timely fashion. She or a colleague was always available to help resolve any issues.
We enjoyed working with Clothilde and she helped us put together an incredible family trip.

I do not think I would this company again for future trips. While we had a mostly enjoyable vacation, there were several avoidable mistakes made for our trip to Switzerland.

The initial issue was that our company waited for about four weeks after our deposit to arrange our hotel reservations. At this point, one of the hotels was full, so the company switched us to a different hotel. That hotel ended up being our least favorite, with stiff beds and no one at reception for much of the day. I believe it was the same tier hotel as the one quoted, but it begs the question as to why they delayed four weeks.

The second issue, which was much larger, was that they booked one hotel room for our trip when we had requested two. When I caught their mistake, the tour company’s response was that this was our fault, since we did not catch their mistake on their first itinerary. They wrote saying we needed to pay them an additional $1300 to get the second room. I had to call Kimkim to sort it out, and ultimately we received the two rooms that we had requested. However, this experience left a bad taste in our mouths given the initial response and having to argue about it. And for the record, follow-up communication from Kimkim was non-existent: I heard nothing from either company for a week while this was being resolved, which was stressful, and in fact never received a single follow-up from Kimkim about it at all.

The third issue was another attention-to-detail mistake. The tour company told us they made seat reservations for our train trip to Jungfrau, a popular tourist destination. This was written, in bold, on our itinerary. When we got to the station, we encountered hundreds of people, and we got stopped at the turnstiles and turned back for not having reservations at all. Two ticket attendants confirmed that we were holding non-reservation 2nd class tickets, and we were told to wait in line for the next available train with open seats. Long story short, our 1.5 hour trip took 3.5 hours, as we waited a full two hours in line, as train after train filled up with pre-reserved travelers and tour groups. This was a truly miserable experience.

My conclusion is that the time needed to double-check and correct the tour company’s mistakes could be better spent simply planning the trip on my own.

Activity Review

Funky chocolate workshop

Switzerland

This was an enjoyable experience. We learned a bit about chocolate, got to taste many varieties from dark to white chocolate and each made three chocolate bars.

Quality of Experience

This was a fun time.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

There was no guide or driver, so this rating isn't really for anything.

Transport

There was no transport.