In summary, all of our guides and drivers were fantastic. They were all prompt, thoughtful, helpful and informative. We couldn't have had better people to work with.
Ashley was so incredible through the whole process including the planning, coordination, communication and delivery of our program. She checked with us almost daily when we were on our trip. Her instructions were clear and precise. She was the best.
The itinerary Ashley put together was phenomenal. Our tours which were fantastic, included visiting Buddha temples, seeing the elephant sanctuary, and taking a wild Vespa evening dinner ride, Everything was very special. We saw so many wonderful and unique places throughout Thailand and Vietnam. It felt like we got so see the best of the major cities we visited. We ate great street food most of the time, thanks to our guides, and our accommodations were almost all five-star, in our opinions.
So, even though we would give a five-star rating to everyone involved with our trip and everything we experienced, there are a couple of suggested changes we would incorporate into our itinerary if we were to do the same trip over.
The south coast of Thailand is beautiful, but we would try to experience it in a different location that Phuket. Phuket is overloaded with tourist. It was great seeing this area and the beautiful coastal waters, but it felt like Miami Beach during spring break. We would also eliminate the trip to Phi Phi Island. Again, Phi Phi is a major tourist draw, with little space to accommodate them.
We would also suggest spending more time in Ho Chi Minh City. We wanted to tour the American War museum, but didn't because our time in Ho Chi Minh City was limited. Lastly, we would probably exclude the trip to Trang An just because it is a long drive from Hanoi and is a heavy tourist attraction. Just some thoughts...
All in all, our trip far exceeded our expectations in many ways. We thoroughly enjoyed our guides, our accommodations, and the places we visited, and Ashley was wonderful. KimKim was recommended to us by our friends, and we will definitely recommend KimKim to others.
Hotel Review
Rimping Village Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai
It was very difficult to choose a hotel to review because they were all great. For the following reasons, we liked the Rimping Village Chiange Mai Hotel:
- the room was very spacious and clean;
-the pool was big enough for lap swimming;
-the hotel was close to the market and shops;
-the staff were great;
-the hotel was more of a boutique type rather than a large commercial hotel; and
-the breakfast were very nice.
Authenticity & Character
Very comfortable. It made you feel like you were in Thailand.
Location
very close to the street vendors and market.
Staff
always willing to help