Kimkim Trip Reviews for Thailand

Ms. Jina and Ms. Yaya were great guides. The overall experience and everyone we had contact with was professional, helpful, and extremely welcoming.

Hotel Review

Smile Lanna Hotel Chiang Mai

Authenticity & Character

The interior design and little unique things in the room . Many breakfast options

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Bangkok City Tour With Grand Palace and Long-Tail Boat Ride

Bangkok

I like the personalized/private experience

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Night Food tour with Tuk Tuk

Bangkok

Quality of Experience

Food

We’re pescatarians so limited food experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Got to experience a Tuk tuk ride

Drive to Kanchanaburi with Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

Thailand

Bright and colorful day. Lots to ser

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Kanchanaburi Tour

Kanchanaburi

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Chiang Mai Temple Hopping with Doi Suthep

Chiang Mai

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Elephants Day Care at Baan Chang Elephant Park

Chiang Mai

Great experience. Let guest know about the cats before arrival. Make it a shorter day or private transportation option.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Fun Cooking Experience With a Local Lanna Family

Chiang Mai

Such a rich, beautiful experience

Quality of Experience

Everything

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Phi Phi Island

Phuket

Beautiful island . A lot of the time was spent traveling in the boat

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Moo Ban Dek tour

Kanchanaburi

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This was our first time doing a vacation through a travel agency, and KimKim made it very easy to get in touch with a local agency specializing in Thailand trips, and the agent they connected us with was incredibly responsive! The only issues we had during planning were with the platform -- we encountered some trouble uploading and updating our passport information (my wife's last name was recently changed), which caused some confusion during the booking process and resulted in us needing to buy a new ticket in her new name right before one of our in-country flights. It would've also been nice to have an app version of the portal to make it easier to look at and respond to things on our phones.

Our trip itself was fantastic. Honestly a 9/10 and one of the most memorable experiences we have ever done! Thailand is an amazingly exotic place with incredible food, architecture, and friendly people. Bruce's itinerary made it so at the end of the trip, we felt like we truly got to experience all aspects of the country. The only change I would have made was to add a full free day to our stay in Bangkok and Chang Mai. There is so much to do in both places, it almost felt like we just got a slice of what they had to offer, even though our schedules were full of sight seeing and other activities! Some of the highlights of our activities were the bicycle tour in Chang Mai, walking around Ayutthaya, seeing the many beautiful temples (everywhere), the imperial palace in Bangkok, the two restaurants we went to in Bangkok (rooftop bar with view of the city skyline and river and one local place that had some of the best authentic Thai food we've ever eaten), cooking with a local family in Chang Mai, and snorkeling off Monkey Island in Phuket.

A few experiences did feel a bit "touristy," although we enjoyed them nonetheless. For example, zip-lining wasn't actually in our itinerary, and exists in other places we've been. The 3-hr round trip drive to get to the mountain took up a lot of that day.

Having personal guides and drivers in each location was absolutely crucial. We didn't have to worry at all about transportation and there wasn't much "down time" waiting to be picked up. For some activities farther from the city center (Ayutthaya, elephant care center, zip-lining), I'm really not sure how we would've gotten back to the hotel if we were relying on taxis!

Our guides were very efficient, friendly, and spoke almost fluent English. They were very responsive to questions and changes in schedules, so we always knew when to be were. Mike (our Bangkok guide) was fantastic. Great sense of humor, really knew the history of the city, and took us to some attractions and AMAZING restaurants off the beaten path that were some of the highlights of our entire trip. Ming (our guide in Chang Mai) was super friendly, and we appreciated her taking pictures of us during some of our activities so we could simply enjoy being in the moment and not feel like we were missing out documenting our experience to look back fondly on later.

All of the hotels we stayed at were fantastic. As cost of high-end of hotels in Thailand are relatively affordable for the outside traveler, I encourage everyone to splurge and enjoy the great food, service, and atmosphere that come with them. (Granted, you will pay higher prices for food, drink, and spa services at them!).

In conclusion, even though we might have changed a few things in retrospect, we are overall very happy and satisfied with our trip and would like to thank everyone involved.

Hotel Reviews

Lancaster Bangkok Hotel

Bankok

Fantastic hotel with a great included breakfast and accommodations. Staff was friendly and helpful. The only downside to this hotel is most things are not within walking distance.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

RatiLanna Riverside Spa Resort

Chiang Mai

Very calm atmosphere - perfect "river spa" feel. Great included breakfast, and fantastic (if pricey) spa experiences. A little far from the city center, but close enough that they are a very cheap taxi ride away.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

COMO Point Yamu

One of the most unique hotels I've stayed at in my life. Fantastic character, stunning views. Very much worth splurging on a room with a personal pool. Every morning and night we would just stare out at our surroundings and marvel that we were there. The Thai restaurant inside the hotel is only open a few days per week, but was one of the culinary highlights of our trip. Mouth-watering dishes for a reasonable price. Service could be a little slow at times, but everything else more than made up for it.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Night Food tour with Tuk Tuk

Bangkok

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Bangkok City Tour With Grand Palace and Long-Tail Boat Ride

Bangkok

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Historical Ayutthaya Tour from Bangkok

Thailand

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Fun Cooking Experience With a Local Lanna Family

Chiang Mai

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Explore Doi Inthanon National Park Tour

Chiang Mai

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Elephants Day Care at Baan Chang Elephant Park

Chiang Mai

It was amazing to see elephants up close and to touch them! It became clear the elephants were very well cared for, but at first we were a bit nervous because the elephant camp we went to was a different one than was in our itinerary and the facilities were all very VERY new, so it seemed like this camp was recently built (keeping in mind that exploitation of these gentle giants is still alive and well). The English language staff member named Ice was very friendly and supplied us with many interesting elephant facts. Some other staff members felt a bit pushy when it came to engaging with the elephants -- i.e., do this pose for the photos now. Lunch was an interesting affair, as some of the staff didn't seem to know how to cook the dishes properly as they were guiding us through the recipes. Overall a good and memorable experience, but I think this camp needs to polish up some of the rough edges.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Chiang Mai Countryside Exploration by Bicycle (Join-in)

Chiang Mai

Our guide for this tour was one of our favorite locals we met on our trip. Super friendly and genuine, didn't rush us anywhere, and seemed so easygoing. He showed us some amazing local spots that we would've never seen otherwise! Was great to get a feel for the local area and how Thai people live. We regret not getting a photo with him!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Phi Phi Island

Phuket

It was magical to see all the incredible islands up close and for the most part, snorkeling and swimming were fantastic. Quite an experience to swim in a cove surrounded by massive jungle rock walls. The boat staff were fun, and we appreciated the big cooler full of free drinks to keep us hydrated! Monkey island was kind of a disappointment, although the snorkeling around it was amazing. Very crowded and we only saw one monkey "in the wild." There were more on the edge of the beach, but they were all in cages, apparently because they were sick? It wasn't clear. The food was okay, as it was a buffet of spaghetti, chicken wings, and watermelon that hundreds of people were eating. I would've preferred to pay extra to go to a local restaurant.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Working with Ashley at Kim Kim was a fantastic experience that led to a fantastic trip.

It was a last minute decision to go to Thailand and Ashley at Kim Kim made it come to life. It was so easy and quick, within 3 days, Ashley had created the perfect itinerary for me. She had provided a great itinerary originally and answered my questions in a timely fashion so that I felt really good about booking the trip.

The trip itself was fantastic because of all of the work Ashley had done and the great guides Kim Kim provided. At every destination, the guides and drivers were there to greet me. The hotels met or exceeded my standards. The amount of time I spent in each destination was "just right".

Both of my guides in Bangkok (Tanny) & Chiang Mai (Rung) made my visit to both places very special. They taught me about the culture, introduced me to new foods, and shared with me the history of their cities.

The entire trip was memorable, but some of the highlights were:
-evening food tour in Bangkok
-floating market & railroad market
-feeding & cleaning the elephants at an elephant sanctuary
-relaxing on a beautiful beach

I highly recommend using Kim Kim for traveling to Thailand.

I have travelled a lot, with the Can military for 23 years and personally. Without any doubt, the professionalism and courtesy that my daughter and I experienced from Emilie of kimkim was the most helpful ever. Thank you Emilie! You were marvellous and we want you to know how much we appreciated your attention to every detail, and your availability to assure us of worry-free travel every step of the way. The three days of trekking with Joe and Robert were remarkable. Such care, appropriate attention to our needs, always responsive to our own curiosity, and such teaching! We enjoyed every minute. For our final day in Chiang Mai the city guide was Bab - there could be none better. We were so blessed with her generous spirit and her willingness to make our tour tailored to our interests. Each hotel was ideally chosen, and the hotel staff was friendly, courteous and helpful in every way.
The only glitch in the entire trip was the final pick-up from the hotel to the Bangkok airport. The driver was forty minutes late and unapologetic. The only stressful moment of our brilliant trip!
Thank you again, and again!

Activity Reviews

Bangkok - Wat Pho & Grand Palace – Klong Tour and Wat Arun

Bangkok

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ayutthaya Historical City

Bangkok

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Highlights of Chiang Rai and transfer to Chiang Mai

Chiang Rai

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jungle Trekking - Day 1/3

Thailand

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jungle Trekking - Day 2/3

Thailand

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jungle Trekking - Day 3/3

Thailand

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

City, Temple Tour & Doi Suthep Viewpoint

Chiang Mai

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our family of four visited Thailand over the first two weeks of August. It was my fourth visit, my husband's second, and the kids' first time. Thailand is always a great experience period. This trip was rather last minute with about 1.5 months to plan given that the country had just fully relaxed all COVID restrictions in July or so and therefore, I decided to call up on kimkim to assist. and Martin and KimKim came through. I knew exactly what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go, but it was great to know the ins and outs from Martin as a local expert. There was plenty of back and forth between us, but it was to ensure the itinerary was tight and things go smoothly from day 1. And Martin was always accessible and responsive. I think the most I appreciated using KimKim was relying on them to arrange all the transportation without lifting a finger. :)

Bangkok was our command central while we would pack light for 2-3day excursions off to Koh Samui and Kanchanaburi to enjoy everything that each place had to offer. We would return to Bangkok between excursions. Koh Samui is captivating where we stayed at Chaweng Garden Hotel and joined a full day tour to Ang Thong Marine Park. In Kanchanaburi, it was amazing to stay at the River Kwai FloatHouse and visit the beautiful Erawan Waterfalls - these two are a must and worthy to be on anyone's bucket list!

Then there is Bangkok - the city that never sleeps. It's all about shopping and eating. We stayed near MBK and the various shopping malls making it easy to get around especially since the National Stadium BTS station was right near us. One of the major highlight and not planned was riding the Chao Praya River Ferry from the Sathorn Taksin Pier all the way to the end where we visited Nonthaburi, a city very much off the beaten path.

So Thailand was a success! We enjoyed a combination of tours arranged by KimKim and our own free time to discover. I would definitely enlist KimKim's help again and definitely when I return to Thailand in the near future. Thanks Martin!

Hotel Reviews

Holiday Inn Express Bangkok Siam

Conveniently located near MBK, BTS, and other malls and therefore, in the heart of where all the traffic bottlenecks. Rooms were clean and staff was helpful. Complimentary breakfast was doable. The hotel offered connecting rooms which is great for a family of four. Will probably stay again for the location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Chaweng Garden

Hotel was unique and had a lot of character. It has a pool that starts out like a lazy river and ends with a swim up bar. Complimentary breakfast was good. It is located alongside the Chaweng Beach and the water is just beautiful. It's also located on the main street with all the shopping and eateries you can imagine.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The FloatHouse River Kwai

Chang Wat Kanchanaburi

This is a must do if you are visiting Kanchanaburi. The whole experience that comes with Kanchanaburi to stay on the River Kwai and luckily, we were able to grab the FloatHouse for a couple of nights. When you are here, you truly forget the stress of your daily life back home. The complimentary breakfast is okay. We added on dinner with our hotel package and it was alot of food!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Erawan Waterfalls

Thailand

I discovered Erawan Waterfalls from YouTube. It is amazing and you are truly in awe with Mother Nature! The waters are a beautiful glassy blue. If I had known about Erawan a long time ago, it would have been on my bucket list!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I personally want to thank Kimkim and Martin for having organized this wonderful honeymoon trip to Thailand ! We got everything we asked for in the short time span of the trip, and we have great memories of the main places in Thailand. We were active and moving the whole time, local guides and activities were simply amazing, and this really allowed us to go with the flow and discover in a really relaxed way. All the connexions were neatly set up so we didn’t have to worry about anything. Thai culture, cuisine, it’s people, beaches, natural parks, everything was there. Thanks for your service and your great know-how in creating great trips !

We had the best trip to Thailand! It couldn’t have been better. Martin planned a trip for our family that was perfectly suited to us and the ages and interests of our 3 kids. It allowed us to experience so many different areas and aspects of Thailand. We toured markets by tuk tuk, temples by boat, had an incredible experience with elephants and heaps of fun in a cooking class. We did a night tour in the jungle and stayed in a unbelievable raft hotel in the middle of an beautiful lake. Everything was made easy and the whole trip went smoothly. All of the tours we had planned and all of our transfers happened seamlessly. I couldn’t recommend Martin and Kim Kim and all of the tour operators we encountered highly enough.

We worked with Martin to book our July 2022 trip for 7 persons (5 adults and 2 teenagers) to Thailand. We were able to see 4 cities in ~10 days so it was a fast paced trip but we enjoyed all of the different experiences and new places. The highlights of the trip included visiting Happy Elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai, staying in a tree house and on the lake in Khao Sak national park, and enjoying a day at the beach in Koh Samui. When we arrived in Bangkok we were grateful to check into our hotel right away so we could recharge after the long journey and really enjoyed the Tuk Tuk tour to see Bangkok by night and enjoy some local cuisine. We also really enjoyed our night time hike and river cruises in the Khao Sak national park. Martin was our local expert and helped plan our trip and answer all of our questions. All of our transfers and travel went flawlessly and we were very happy with the trip overall.

Hotel Reviews

Bodhi Serene Chiang Mai Hotel (SHA Extra Plus)

Chiang Mai

This hotel is located within walking distance to several temples and the Sunday night market in Chiang Mai. It has a very boutique feel with friendly staff, a wonderful pool, and a great breakfast buffet. Our room was upgraded to include a balcony and was very nicely furnished. Would definitely recommend this hotel and stay here again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very central location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Chatrium Hotel Riverside Bangkok

Bangkok

This hotel is exactly what you would expect from a big city 5 star hotel with an exceptional breakfast buffet. The location is good (keeping in mind Bangkok is a very big city) and the hotel is within walking distance to a 7/11 store. The pool was very large and well kept. The rooms are very spacious with every amenity you could need and are well cleaned and updated. I would definitely stay here again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Cheow Lan Lake Explorer

Khao Sok

Our guide for Cheow Lan Lake was Liam and we loved the two days we spent with him. He was very knowledgeable about the plants and animals of the jungle and helped reassure us when we were nervous on our expeditions and answered all of our questions. We really enjoyed the lake cruises and walking trek we did with him to the Pakarang Cave. Would highly recommend him to other travelers.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Spend a Day with Elephants in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai

We enjoyed our day playing with the elephants at Happy Elephant and learning about them from our friendly and knowledgeable guides. The best part of the day was playing with the elephants in the river and watching them give themselves a mud bath. The lunch provided was Pad Thai and it was very delicious however the down time afterward felt too long, we would have preferred to skip it entirely or just have 30 minutes for resting. The only part we did not enjoy was cutting down the grasses for the elephants, we understood it is a necessary part of the upkeep for elephants however we did not have proper attire (long pants/long sleeves) and those that did participate got many scratches and cuts from the sharp grasses.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hoa Tran was AMAZING! super helpful, took her time to understand my preferences, flexed the itinerary accordingly, provided on the spot support, her availability was remarkable.. the list goes on of her off the chart service!
And The local guides.. super kind people and very helpful!
Just trust her and the team, and you go enjoy yourself with a memorable vacation..

From when I was first connected with Tha until even during the trip when I contacted her for a couple of questions she was very good. Answered all my many questions and organized an amazing trip while in Thailand. Thank you Tha we have a wonderful time .

Ha was awesome from the start! She offered a lot of great initial options, and we worked together over a few weeks to make this vacation everything we wanted it to be. We were spoiled from the moment we met Mr. Sauce and his driver at the Bangkok airport, when we met Ms. Mew and her driver at the Chiang Mai train station, and until our last driver dropped us off at the Bangkok airport at the end of our vacation. And Ha was in constant contact with me the entire time to make sure everything was perfect. I would highly recommend Ha and her team!

We decided to create our own "excursions" while traveling through Asia on a cruise. Linh helped us plan activities for three of the ports we visited. We gave her our destinations and she gave us various options to pick and choose from. Our first port was in Koh Sumai, Thailand, where Mr. Sonthaya gave us a great tour of all the island highlights and brought us to a beautiful beach side restaurant to enjoy the view and some local food.
Our second stop was in Laem Chabang, the port south of Bangkok. Ms. Angie and a driver picked us up from the port and drove us west of Bangkok, to ride a river boat that brought us to her favorite floating market, Don Wei Market. It did not disappoint, as it was a fascinating market filled with the smells, sounds and tastes of Thailand. We were truly immersed in the wonderful culture. We enjoyed tasting some foods while wandering and then ate a delicious lunch in a restaurant on the water. We boarded another boat and were taken to Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), a tower on the Chao Phra river bank built in Khmer architectural style. It is the tallest temple in Thailand, decorated in beautiful ceramic pieces. We finished our afternoon in Chinatown, one of the largest in the world, then headed back to the ship in the evening.
Our third adventure was in beautiful Halong Bay in northern Vietnam. Our guide, Mr. Sam, met us early at the pier and brought us to a favorite coffee shop to have authentic Vietnamese, drip into your own cup, coffee. It has just a touch of sweetness from some added condensed milk and is the smoothest, non-bitter coffee! So enjoyable. Next we were brought to a pearl factory to learn and watch how oysters are inseminated, farmed, harvested, and pearls sorted for size and quality. We were then brought to Halong Bay, where we were given a private boat tour of the beautiful bay, filled with 1000's of islands. It was so relaxing and fascinating! We were brought to Sung Sot Cave (Surprise or Amazing Cave). Found by the French in 1901, this is one of the largest and most beautiful caves in the area! Be ready to do some walking! It truly was amazing! Back on the boat, we were served an amazing lunch of freshly steamed prawns, squid salad, stuffed crab and other delicious delicacies that had been caught by the captain and his first mate! It was too cold for kayaking that day, but that would have been a great option as well.
We were very please with Linh's help in finding us very informed and interesting guides. Every "excursion" went off without a hitch. I would highly recommend KimKim and their local guides next time you plan a trip or just plan excursions while on a cruise!

My wife and I had a great time in Thailand! Ha was a great planner who set up awesome tours and guides who were thoughtful, friendly and fun. All of transfers were well handled and right on schedule. Never having been to Thailand before it was an amazing trip and based on our experience would recommend to everyone.

The first time using KimKim for mine & my Mum’s 10 day trip to Thailand. I had visited the country a few times but it was a first for my Mum & therefore I wanted to incorporate places that I had been to that I thought Mum should experience as a first-timer, with places that I hadn’t been. We only had 10 days but decided to cover 3 areas, Bangkok (city life), Chang Mai (Countryside) & Koh Samui (beach). We went with the recommendations from Suwanna for accommodation & activities & she did a great job with all of them, the only thing we had to organise was our flights. It was also lovely to have everything organised from the get-go so we didn’t have to think about transfers or activities on arrival. The vehicles were of a much higher standard than expected & our guides were really friendly, knowledgeable & always on time. Our highlights were the 60k bike ride in Chang Mai & the cookery course in Koh Samui - fantastic! I would highly recommend KimKim & will definately use them again in the future.

My daughter and I used Kim Kim on our recent trip to Thailand which was fantastic. They took care of all our needs whilst we were there booking trips, transfers, hotels etc.. Everything worked like clockwork. The hotels were perfect and the guides very informative and all spoke English. We did a three centre trip taking in Bangkok, Chiang mai and Ko samui. The highlight for us both was completing the 60km cycle trip in Chiang mai. Having said that all the trips we booked were excellent giving us a great experience. These included a day tour in Bangkok, foodie tour at night by tuk tuk, traditional Thai dance night, trekking, cookery class, snorkelling, kayaking and Island hopping by speedboat. We would highly recommend Kim Kim.

Ha planned an unbelievable trip for us! She’s great!

We enjoyed so many experiences: elephant visit, hiking through the jungle, kayaking around the floating village, cycling round Angkor Wat, butterfly farm, night markets, temple visits, Aspara dance show, all smoothly organised by our guides. It was so nice to be chauffeured from airport to hotel to the visits for the day.

Fantastic trip for everyone in our family!

Tuk tuk tour was great. Chiang Mai hike was nice, guide there Danny was the best. Cooking class was really good. Krabi was our favorite. Snorkeling on Bali was excellent

We had a wonderful time in Thailand thanks to Suwanna, Tha, and all the local guides in the country! Royal Silk made us feel like lux travelers with airport pickups seamless transfers and kind and courteous service from all.

Some of our wonderful guides included:
Jungkey - The Tuk-tuk foodie tour was great and Jungkey kept us moving, eating, and enjoying.

Amy - Our private guide on our Bangkok tour made sure we saw much of the city beautiful sights, while being so pleasant to talk with, and had a great feel for the pace of the tour and where to take us. Excellent!

Roon - We loved Roon's quiet charm and sense of humor. He showed us many spots in Chiang-Mai and took his time to make sure we enjoyed as much as we could possibly.

Pom - Pom was so great! She took us on the hiking tour of Doi Inthanon. You could tell she had a lot of experience on the mountain and she was a wonderful guide with a warm heart and a great sense of pride in the mountain and it's surroundings. She was wonderful!

Tha was really responsive along our entire trip and we felt comfortable knowing she would always be available to help if needed. Su the local representative in Phuket was also amazing as she immediately reached out to us upon our arrival and helped us with our transfer and booking a dinner reservation and spa reservation. The recommendations by all were also wonderful.

We don't think we would have had nearly as good a time in Thailand had we not used KimKim to plug us into all the wonderful people at Royal Silk. Thank you so much for a wonderful experience and thank you to all the great guides throughout!