The Netherlands Travel Agents

The entire trip was truly spectacular. There was one major, glitch, but Mieke responded very quickly. And they even refunded us for the mistake. I thought that was the right thing to do and they responded immediately. That to me is very important My tip is always check the train schedule, apparently they change it without any notice. We missed our first Eurostar train, but the conductor of the second time slot was nice enough to let us on and even gave us free drinks because we were so frazzled.
Other than that , everything went well. We love staying in Haarlem. Such a wonderful little town and everyone is so friendly and accommodating.. The Canal tour was great and the Anne Frank house was extremely interesting, very somber, but something you had to see.
We loved loved loved our grand Dutch Food Tour with Mark, he was amazing. It was so nice that it was private, just the three of us. Actually, all the tours were private, which made it really a lot better than being in a group.We tasted foods I would’ve never tried, and they were quite good,. What we love the most is he took us to places that tourists do not frequent. It was such a treat. I thought four hours would be so long, but he made it go by so quickly. That was truly a highlight of the trip.
Going to Keukenhof was also a highlight, it was so beautiful, you couldn’t help but smile.. love love love those gardens. Even though they were closing in two days, it didn’t matter we saw some absolutely stunning tulips as well as other flowers in bloom.
When we got to Bruges we had a 2 PM walking tour, but we were late because of all the mishaps along the way and the tour guide. Roland was very accommodating and pushed it back an hour for us. For us, the tour guide was a little boring as was the tour. The content was nothing we were interested in. He spoke a lot about the construction of the old buildings and the bricks and stones that they used. It just wasn’t for us. Perhaps someone else would’ve found it interesting. After we were done with that tour, we roamed around the city and had such a good time. We took a horse and buggy ride, we had a canal tour, we loved the Canal tours. We did a beer tasting and got very silly.
Sunday we went to the Choco factory museum, we found that very boring. I wouldn’t suggest going there. We skipped our day trip to Damme so that we could walk around Bruges but little did we know most of the stores are closed on Sunday, but we made the best of it.
Monday we went to Ghent, our tour guide Veerle was wonderful, she was so informative and had a lovely personality. We really liked her.
After that, we went to the Galvesteen Castle.
Part of it was interesting, but we went through it quickly, it was a little boring for us.
We really really loved the Canal boat tours, we actually took four of them during the entire trip.
I’m sure I left some things out but all in all we had an excellent time and beat the Dutch travel and Mieke we’re great. I would definitely use them again.

Activity Review

Amsterdam - Private Grand Dutch Food Tour

The Netherlands

This is a definite must do, a private tour is the way to go. Mark, our tour guide was amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip was fantastic. Our driver Robert was very helpful and informative and Lisa at the Hotel des Arts was welcoming. As well we loved the Collector Hotel

Hotel Reviews

Hotel des Arts

Amsterdam-Centrum

This hotel was very well located and charming. Drawback is that we had to drag our suitcases to the hotel as the car service from the airport could not access the hotel. Big drawback is all the stairs to get to our room with suitcases Breakfast was great. The staff here were very helpful and friendly. If you have small luggage, stay here!

Authenticity & Character

Charm

Location

Staff

Friendly and heloful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room and hotel in general

The Collector Hotel

The Hague

Our cab driver from the train station yelled at us because we were a small fare abd he had waited 2 hours for one. He dropped us off 5 blocks away and we had to trudge in using our phones to find the hotel. But arriving at the hotel we were charmed by its look, location and greeting. Turns out it is inaccessible by car but he could have used another access point and brought us in 1 block away.

Authenticity & Character

Super clean and makes you want to go back. Breakfast fantastic

Location

Set in a courtyard with tram a block away. Many restaurants and stores all around.

Staff

Friendliness and helpfulness

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bed comfortable

Activity Reviews

Amsterdam - Private guided historic city walk

The Netherlands

Caroline was gracious and welcoming. Adapted her tour to our age and fact that we came in on an overnight flight. Gave us a great run through of history, the area and helpful tips for the rest of our stay

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

It was our feet 😉. Nice to stretch after being in a plane all night

Public Transport Pass Amsterdam

The Netherlands

This was so fun! We walked everywhere at first then decided to challenge ourselves. The one issue is that signage all in Dutch. Sometimes hard to figure out where we wanted to go. We made a few mistakes but solved them and are still married

Quality of Experience

The punctuality and ease of use

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We even did tram with suitcases

Amsterdam - Canal cruise (join in)

The Netherlands

Thus was a fun trip. We learned so much about life in Amsterdam and we loved being on the canals. Our « captain «  was entertaining and after having walked 12000 steps that day, it was lovely to sit on a boat for a bit and enjoy the cruise

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Amsterdam - Rijksmuseum

The Netherlands

This is a beautiful museum. There are amazing items and paintings on display.

Quality of Experience

Amsterdam - Anne Frank House

The Netherlands

Unfortunately we made a mistake and missed our time slot. I always thought Anne Franck and the family who hid her family were super heroes and I was sad to miss

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Your survey needs a Non Applicable answer for people like us who miss their tour. Could not continue survey unless I rated so just did the middle star

Overall, the trip was good. We found Mieke very responsive during the planning stage and when on the trip there was 1 hotel issue on a Sunday Kim Kim's 24 hour hotline worked well. I think the error was more on the hotel's side and was resolved reasonable quickly. We found Amsterdam extremely crowded due to its overall destination desirability, Tulip season and travel right before Easter. In hindsight would have spent 1 less day in Amsterdam and another in Belgium.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel des Arts

Amsterdam-Centrum

Overall good. Location is nice being on a canal, however that comes with a lot more noise. Staff at the hotel were very accommodating, breakfast was good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel FranQ

Antwerp

Had an issue checking in which I believe was the hotel's system issue as reservations were booked around 9 months prior. Along with responsive communication with Kim Kim's team we were able to resolve the issue without wasting too much time. Nice location, lovely hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Pand Hotel

Bruges

Excellent location, friendly staff, nice breakfast,

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel des Galeries

Brussels

Only stayed for 1 night but was very nice. Excellent location but very poor signage meant it was difficult to find the hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right next to the Galeries, hence the name and just a couple blocks from the main square.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Ghent - Gravensteen - Castle of the Counts

The Netherlands

Bruges - Hans Memling Collection at Sint-Janshospitaal

The Netherlands

Quality of Experience

Public Transport Pass Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Very convenient, worked as expected.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Amsterdam - Canal cruise (join in)

The Netherlands

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

About a 25 minute walk from the hotel.

Amsterdam - Van Gogh Museum

The Netherlands

Ghent - Adoration of the Mystic Lamb

The Netherlands

This was perhaps the best experience of our trip. We had the high tech experience which was simply mind blowing, it was like having a personal art expert with you.

Quality of Experience

Amsterdam - Day trip to Haarlem

Amsterdam

Enjoyed the city much less crowded than Amsterdam. The flower garden was massively crowded, made Disneyland feel empty by comparison. Go early!

Quality of Experience

Transport

Better signage for the bike route.

Bruges - Halve Maan brewery visit

The Netherlands

Excellent quality beer.

Quality of Experience

Haarlem - self-guided cycling route to Keukenhof & through tulip fields

The Netherlands

Signage was poor.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Better signage.

Amsterdam - Rijksmuseum

The Netherlands

Quality of Experience

Transport

Close to the tram line.

Amsterdam - Walking Dinner private guided tour

The Netherlands

Excellent experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was great we enjoyed this experience a lot.

Amsterdam - Daytrip to Marken, Volendam, Edam and Zaanse Schans

Amsterdam

Enjoyed the drive and ferry crossing. Zaanse Schans was extremely crowded and felt like a tourist trap. Did enjoy the museum however.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bruges - Private guided walking tour

The Netherlands

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was overly focused on architecture, did not show us some of the churches.

Antwerp - Chocolate Nation

The Netherlands

Pretty much as expected, nice chocolate samples. Good experience.

Quality of Experience

Antwerp - Private guided walking tour

The Netherlands

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was 15 minutes late.

Brussels card 48h

The Netherlands

Did not fully utilize. Actually converting the voucher to a card was somewhat difficult.

Quality of Experience

Brussels - Private guided walking tour: food

Belgium

Expected to hit more places for beer.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The hotel in Haarlem was very nice, but the proximity to the church and the frequent ringing of the church bells was difficult to get used to, especially in the evening when the bells ring non-stop from 9-9:30pm. The flower auction and the Keukenhof were highlights! We found both experiences to be enjoyable. It was important that we got to the Keukenhof early because it got very crowded by lunchtime time and the crowds became overwhelming. We loved Albert, our driver; he is very kind and personable. We enjoyed our time with him and learned a lot from him. If we had to do it over, we would skip the ferry ride from Marken to Volendam.

We really enjoyed both Delft and Leiden. We enjoyed the smaller size/feel of these towns and the local culture. We enjoyed wandering around and getting lost, window shopping in local boutiques, and having a drink or meal outside in the sun. Both our guides, Andre and Jeroen, are wonderful! They were both very engaging and made our time together fly by, and we learned and saw many interesting things.

Bruges was probably our least favorite place. It is a very beautiful town, but it felt very commercialized and overrun by tourism. The horse and carriage rides, huge tour groups, and the numerous cheap souvenir shops were a little off-putting. The hotel was very lovely and serene, but some staff were more welcoming than others. Our tour guide, Roland, was a very kind man, but his tour was a little boring. We felt like we saw and learned very little in the two hours we were with him. The chocolate workshop was fun, but it felt like the woman leading the workshop would have rather been anywhere else but there. Also, we recommend people arrive at least an hour before the workshop and walk through the museum first. There is no information, stories, or history given in the workshop itself.

Ghent was nice, but the size of the city was a bit overwhelming to my mom. Similar to Roland, our guide, Christien, was a very warm, kind woman. But her tour was also a bit boring, and we walked away feeling like we didn't learn/see much.

Leuven and Mechelen were our favorite places in Belgium. Like Delft and Leiden, they felt smaller, less touristy, and we enjoyed the slower pace and local culture. We enjoyed roaming the botanical garden in Leuven and strolling down the canal path in Mechelen. The hotel in Leuven was very unique and nice; it was a bit far from the train station, but the location on the canal and the garden made it very relaxing and enjoyable. The hotel breakfast was the best of all the hotels on the trip. One weird thing about the hotel room, the toilet was behind a privacy door, but the shower was open to the room with very little privacy. But despite that, this hotel was still one of our favorites.

Finally, our driver, who took us to the Brussels airport, said he didn't speak English, but he still seemed to understand us, so it wasn't a big deal. However, he was a smoker, so his car smelled very bad. That made the trip to the airport unpleasant, and our clothes smelled like cigarette smoke for a while after we got out of the car.

Overall, we enjoyed the trip! We will definitely return to the Netherlands someday, and we will definitely use KimKim again soon.

Hotel Reviews

Begijnhof Hotel

Leuven

We loved this hotel. The staff were kind, the breakfast was amazing, the rooms were very clean, the gardens and canal made it very relaxing. I'm giving 4 stars instead of 5 because the lack of privacy for the shower is awkward. A curtain needs to be placed at the entrance of the shower.

Authenticity & Character

The history of the building makes for a unique hotel.

Location

It is a bit far from the train station, but the canal and the gardens are lovely.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean and comfortable. However, there is a lack of privacy in the shower. It is too exposed, and a curtain needs to be placed at the entrance of the shower itself.

Hotel ML

Haarlem

We enjoyed this hotel. The proximity to the church caused the church bells to be very loud.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

BoutiqueHotel 't Fraeyhuis

BRUGGE

This hotel is very lovely, the setting is beautiful, and the rooms are clean and comfortable. Some staff seemed a bit haughty, and we felt a little unwelcome sometimes.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Royal Bridges

Delft

Nice hotel, the staff were very kind and welcoming.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Daytrip to Marken, Volendam, Edam and Zaanse Schans

The Netherlands

The windmills were interesting, and Edam was beautiful. But Marken, Volendam, and the ferry ride were not all that interesting or exciting for us.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Albert, again, is the best! He made the day much more fun.

Transport

Riding with Albert was great. Would skip the ferry.

Leuven - Botanical Gardens (Kruidtuin)

The Netherlands

Quality of Experience

Flower auction, bulb fields & Keukenhof excursion

The Netherlands

The flower auction is very informative and interesting. The Kenkenhof is, of course, amazingly beautiful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Albert is the best!

Transport

Ghent - Scenic Boat Tour

The Netherlands

We skipped this.

Delft - Private guided walking Tour

The Netherlands

Andre was wonderful, very engaging. We saw many interesting things, learned a lot, and he provided many recommendations and tips for the rest of our stay in Delft.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Andre was wonderful!

Transport

We walked?

Leiden - Private Guided city walk

The Netherlands

Jeroen was very engaging and kind. We saw many interesting things and learned a lot from him. We loved the city as a whole.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bruges - Private guided walking tour

The Netherlands

Roland was a very nice man, but the tour was a bit boring.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Bruges - Choco Story chocolate workshop (join in)

The Netherlands

Making the chocolate was fun, but the instructor was just okay. She didn't seem to want to be there or enjoy her job.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

This is a missed opportunity for the instructors. They should have stories and share some history of chocolate to make the experience more engaging. We arrived early but not early enough to go through the museum prior to the workshop.

Bruges - Day trip to Damme

The Netherlands

We skipped this.

Explore Ghent with a CityCard

The Netherlands

Ghent is a very busy city and felt overwhelming.

Quality of Experience

Transport

The city card can be a bit overwhelming to figure out where to go and how to get there properly.

Public Transport Pass Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Ghent - Private guided walking tour

The Netherlands

Christien was very warm and friendly. The tour was a bit slow and boring.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Leuven - Day trip to Mechelen

The Netherlands

We loved Mechelen. Smaller, quieter, lovely local culture.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Delft - Delft blue pottery

The Netherlands

Ghent - Waffles 'n Beer Workshop

The Netherlands

We skipped this because I wasn't feeling good.

The communication with Bas was very easy and efficient. I really had no difficulties with my itinerary.
Its hard to pick which activity was the best as all were pretty spectacular.
Starting with my tour of Amsterdam, Inbal was very informative and was easily able to weave the highlights of the city and the food stops.
The boat tour was great as it gave me a different, very interesting perspective of the city.
In fact I could have spent more time on the water and skipped the Rijksmuseum!
(I know that sounds crazy but the crowds were a bit much!)
The tour of Haarlem was also great. Thessa was quite informative and the amount of time spent was perfect.
Finally, the shining star of my trip was the bike ride. Alex was a fantastic guide as he was able to provide me a safe but spectacular route from Haarlem , through the surrounding tulip fields to Kuekenhof, then as an added bonus, a tour of the sand dunes. We actually ended up spending an extra 1 - 1/2 hours on this tour but Alex graciously didn't mind.
All in all, as with the other two KimKim trips, my experiences in the Netherlands was spectacular!