Kimkim Trip Reviews for Vietnam

Overall our trip was amazing. Huyen provided a fantastic itinerary, & our guide Trung went above & beyond. They all went out of their way to ensure our trip lived up to expectations, and it certainly did. We were particularly fond of Ha Long bay & our overnight boat experience, we also loved the activities set up for us in Hanoi.
Our only negative is we would have preferred to have stayed in some more accessible locations when staying outside of the major cities (with walking access to shops, restaurants etc., rather than just the resort). However, this may have been our error as we were unsure of exactly what we were looking for when booking.
All in all, we absolutely loved this experience & would not hesitate to book again with Huyen.

We had an amazing trip to Vietnam! Long was an incredible help with planning our trip - he listened to our feedback, made adjustments quickly, and checked in on us regularly during the trip to make sure everything went smoothly and we were enjoying ourselves. Most notably, when we had an issue with one of our visas, he stepped in to help us expedite the process and quite literally saved the whole vacation!

Some of the highlights included a vespa tour in Hanoi, a food tasting tour in Hoi An, and the cruise in Halong Bay. Most of our guides were fantastic - going above and beyond to give us an experience we wouldn't forget.

Overall, we highly recommend KimKim, Long, and Vietnam for your next trip! Make sure to leave time to spend in Hoi An, as this was one of our favorite places.

Hotel Reviews

Phu Thinh Boutique Hotel & Spa

This was a lovely hotel in a really nice location. The room was spacious and had a really nice bathroom. It was clean and the breakfast was delicious.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Very helpful. Helped make my friend's birthday special. Also helped arrange a massage at a local spa.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Le Journey Halong Cruise

The bay cruises are very touristy, but it was still unbelievably beautiful to be in this location. The room was sufficient and we had a small balcony that was nice. LOTS of food at meals and all very tasty. The only complaint is that most of the staff didn't speak English, so it made asking for an extra towel/asking for a drink difficult.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hanoi Boutique Hotel

Hanoi

This hotel was totally adequate for the two nights we spent here. The room was small, but clean. The breakfast was nice and the staff very friendly. Totally fine for a quick stop!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Prague Hotel

This hotel was nice, but in a noisy part of town. The glass between the bathroom and the bedroom was not frosted, so there was no privacy when using the toilet or shower - a little awkward with it being my friend and I sharing the room and not a married couple. The location was close to a lot of nightlife, though, and the breakfast was the best we had experienced. The pool was nothing to write home about.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Noisy - some people want to be so central to the bars, but we were not really those kind of people.

Staff

Many staff didn't speak English at all. It seemed like there was one or two people on staff that spoke any - even at the front desk.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room was clean, but the door to the bathroom needs to be frosted glass for privacy!

Activity Reviews

Hanoi Vespa Tour

Hanoi

This was one of our favorite things we did on our trip. It was a perfect way to see the city and a little thrilling with all the traffic. Our guide was amazing, and we had some incredible food. Overall 10/10!

Quality of Experience

Food

The Bun Cha was amazing.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boarding cruise in Ha Long Bay

Ha Long Bay

This place was naturally just an incredibly beautiful place. The activities were definitely very touristy, but it was not something we would ever want to remove from the trip. We enjoyed the views the most, but kayaking and the cave were also fun. The beach was not much to write home about, but it was still nice to have time to cool off in the water.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Trip to Cam Thanh Village

Hoi An

We really enjoyed the bike ride into the village to see the local farms, get a coffee, and see the rice fields. Our guide was amazing - great English, super knowledgeable, and knew all the best places for photos. She was truly a gem. It was a great way to see the city and get a cool breeze while doing it. The lunch was delicious and the boat ride was also very fun.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was so nice! Loved her!

Transport

Exploring Hoi An City And Food Tour

Hoi An

Our guide was the same who provided the biking tour on the first day. She was so nice. We tried a ton of food. We didn't have breakfast at the hotel because we had a miscommunication about whether it was included, but are glad we didn't, because she brought us to a restaurant that had some of the best food on our trip. We tried so much on the tour, but my only issue was that we became quite full, but felt the pressure to finish our plates so as to not offend the cooks. I assumed all the food was safe to eat, but I did get sick the day after this tour (though who knows what it was that actually made me sick- it could have been anything). Overall, I would still do it again - we loved every minute!

Quality of Experience

Food

Mi Bo at Mi92- So good! Also the white rose dumplings.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide really went above and beyond for us. Even offered to come back to have dinner with us since we were too full to try all the food from the tour during the day.

Transport

Ho Chi Minh City Tour

Ho Chi Minh City

This tour was fine, but not at the same level as our tour in Hanoi and Hoi An. The guide was less personable and chatty. He showed us things at the market, but didn't let us try anything. There wasn't a lot of information before we went places as to what we were doing - i.e. do we need an umbrella, do we need a mask, are we going to be inside or out, are we eating here? We had landed at the airport and immediately went on this tour so we were hungry. We stopped someplace to eat at the market, and ended up paying for his food too. It just seemed unprofessional. We also sat there in silence while we ate - the guide didn't talk to us much. It was fine, but just not a super great experience. The guide honestly seemed bored.

Quality of Experience

Let us experience and taste more. If we are in a market, can we try some things? Or can we touch anything? Tell us what to expect from the tour before we begin it.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

He was nice enough, but seemed bored. Just such a stark contract to our other guides!

Transport

Mekong Delta Group Tour (My Tho - Ben Tre) (updated)

Ho Chi Minh City

This was fun, but we can confirmed that we would see the floating markets, but were told at the outset of the trip that we were not seeing them. This was highly disappointing, as it was the main reason we wanted to go to the Mekong Delta. Other tour companies seem to do a 1 day tour to the markets, so I would try to book one of those. The tour we did have was fine - touristy, but fine. We had nice guides, had a nice lunch, and had fun on the short paddle down the delta in the reeds.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Best for people who are looking for customized services, but dont want to search through endless booking portals.
(But of course you pay for that. I had the feeling that most the trips could´ve been arranged by yourself through tripadvisor, but that might be just my case, as I booked only 10 days ahead and its impressive what they put together in that small amount of time.) You still will have plenty of time to do some exploring yourself, which was great. Regarding the Vietnam: the pictures and offers may vary from the reality as it includes many extern partners, but I had a great time.

Hotel Reviews

Hanoi Boutique Hotel

Hanoi

Loved the overall vibe. Had some minor hiccups (light was damaged in the first room). Bathroom leaked in the second room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Very friendly!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Halong Le Journey

Authenticity & Character

Activity Reviews

Hanoi Street food walking tour

Hanoi

Linh and her partner were amazing. You see places you would probably not find as a toruist!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Trip to Hoa Lu & Tam Coc - Joint in tour

Hanoi

I am not sure that our trip lastes 10.5 hours. But because of the rain we couldnt go on a hike or biking either. But Ninh Binh is certainly beautiful and worth a visit! The boat trip was nice, even if it meant sitting in the rain for 1.5 hr. Hoa Lu was also impressive. Only for stars for me, as I would not recommend the included restaurant. Kinda cold food and very touristy. Would recommend looking around for lunch.

Hanoi Sightseeing - Join in tour

Hanoi

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boarding cruise in Ha Long Bay

Ha Long Bay

You will be fine, if you know beforehand that it is very touristy! You will have quite the schedule.

Quality of Experience

Food

Really amazing food.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dont sit in the back seats. Its not made for people with long legs.

Disembarking the cruise

Ha Long Bay

There was no Tai Chi as promised. Also be prepared to check out the room at 10 am (kind of a shame, if you ask me.) Would have loved to stay a little longer to simply relax.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Same bus issue.

Such an amazing trip to Thailand and Cambodia. Camellia picked awesome activities, mixed of adventure and local culture. Local restaurant recommendations helped us discover the wonderful thai cuisine. Thank you so much for everything.

We loved Sue in Hue the most. She made all of history come alive for our family. The lunch at the family home and making incense in Hue were probably the most unique experiences of the trip.

Do from Realistic Asia was a fantastic support! The itinerary and service was flawless. Thank you for the experience!!

Hotel Reviews

Eldora Hue

Hue

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Le Pavillon Hoi An Paradise Hotel & Spa

Hoi An

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Harmony Saigon Hotel & Spa

Ho Chi Minh

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Thank

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tirant Hotel

Hoan Kiem, Hanoi

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Aspira Cruises

Ha Long, Quang Ninh

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Day Trip to Hoa Lu & Tam Coc - Joint in tour

Hanoi

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boarding cruise in Ha Long Bay

Ha Long Bay

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hue Sightseeing Full Day - Join in tour

Hue

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Scuba Diving in Hoi An - Joint in tour

Hoi An

Quality of Experience

Hoi An City And Food Tour - Joint in tour

Hoi An

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cu Chi Tunnels Half Day Tour - Joint in tour

Ho Chi Minh City

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mekong Delta Group Tour (My Tho - Ben Tre) (updated)

Ho Chi Minh City

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Working with Hien Do was an absolute pleasure. We only decided to go to Vietnam one month before our arrival and changed our plans almost daily, up until 3 days before arrival -Ms Hien was marvelously patient and flexible with us. She made suggestions and then worked with my queries for alternatives.

We were met at the airport by our guide Mr Quang and driver Mr Ham. While touring Northern Vietnam, they were informative, friendly, patient and simply a delight to spend time with. In Da Nang, we had Ms Linh and several drivers - they also were fabulous. At all times, we felt everything was taken care of and all we needed to do was enjoy learning about Vietnam and taking in it’s beautiful sights.

Ms Hien set up some great local adventures for us - we really liked the trip to Ba Vi where we met a former Viet Cong soldier and his wife on their tea plantation, followed by cooking class with Ms Chin who adapted graciously to my gluten-free vegan diet. Our trip to Cam Tanh near Hoi An with a bike ride through the rice paddies and a bamboo boat ride was also lots of fun.

One note for those planning to go to Ha Long Bay - its marvelous - but there was a lack of Wi-Fi on the ERA boat.

We would absolutely use Realistic Asia for another trip to Vietnam. While we’ve traveled extensively in Southeast Asia without using a tour company, it felt reassuring to have the assistance and planning provided by Ms Hien and her team while in Vietnam, particularly in the areas with fewer western tourists.

Cannot thank Huyen and the team enough for providing a wonderful trip. The guides and itinerary were excellent and exactly what we were looking for - complicated dietary and travel requirements were met with no issues and we had an amazing time. Would have no hesitation to recommend Vietnam, KimKim and Huyen a thousand times over!

Camellia did such a great job planning our ideal Vietnam trip. She listened and really took into account everything we wanted to do and see and made the perfect itinerary. Most all the guides and people we encountered were nothing but wonderful and excited to show us their country. Our favorite activity was the Ha Long Bay cruise as well as the numerous cooking classes and food tours we did. We felt like we got a true 'taste' of Vietnam. The only thing we would do differently if we knew then what we know now is to spend less time in Ho Chi Minh and not do the Mekong Delta. We felt this was a waste of time to drive 2 hrs each way to float on some water. But you don't know what you don't know! Otherwise, great itinerary and another great trip planned by KimKim!

Wonderful time in Vietnam! Got to explore north to south Vietnam. Everything was well coordinated and we had an amazing trip.

We just had a wonderful family vacation in Vietnam. Thanks to Nhung who was super helpful in planning our vacation right from the very beginning. She listened to our preferences and needs and presented multiple options for us to choose from and then helped fine tune our itinerary many times until we had what we wanted. She has been friendly, responsive and very professional through all our interactions. Everything was perfectly arranged at Vietnam from our guides and local travel, right down to our pretty stringent dietary needs. Nhung also checked in on us periodically throughout the vacation which was so thoughtful and nice of her to do.

Our local guides - Mr. Loan, Mr. An and Mr. Phong were all phenomenal. Knowledgeable, friendly, caring and professional. We loved learning about the history and culture of the Vietnamese people through our guides. They also made our trip memorable by providing the right mix of touristy and off the beaten path experiences which included hiking and biking through villages, meeting people, eating local food etc. Vietnam has such a rich culture and heritage. And the Vietnamese are most friendly and welcoming. Thank you Nhung and kimkim for a fantastic vacation.

KimKim has helped us to make our trip unforgettable, they have managed to provide us a fabulous trip with less than 7 days in advance and the entire trip has been super smooth, special thanks to Nhung for making it happen!
Thanks to the drivers, guides along the journey, they are very professionals and made the trip as a unique experience!
We will use KimKim in future trips

Mixed feelings about the trip. Some amazing people and experiences but very bad ones as well. All in all, we really didn't enjoy Hanoi, however we loved the trek in the rice paddies and the city of Hoi an. We cut short our trip to avoid another potential bad experience in Saigon.

We had a wonderful vacation in Vietnam! Every location we visited was memorable in its own way, ranging from the bustle of city life in Hanoi and Saigon to the mountains and indigenous communities in Sapa, the rock formations in the Halong Bay and the waters of Nin Binh and the Mekong Delta.

Camellia (local specialist from the Footprint Tarvel agency) made every effort to understand what we were looking for and did an amazing job planning out the itinerary in detail. I had a mix of phone/email interactions to finalize our plans.

Camellia was fantastic! She was creative in dealing with the situations on the ground since Vietnam had just opened to international tourists a few weeks before. We had excellent local guides in each place that gave us the experience we were looking for.

We loved the variety of the food. For those looking for adventurous items, they’re available too!

We were one of the first international travelers that the country was seeing in two years. They warmly welcomed us and were very appreciative that we were visiting.

For those of you thinking about going to Vietnam, jump in! You will have a fantastic holiday with warm, positive memories leaving Covid behind as a distant memory.

Although Andy's name is listed as our local specialist - in reality all credit goes to Ha! We had never worked with a tour company before, but KimKim came highly recommended by my brother who had used them last year. Ha worked so closely with us in the planning - showing genuine flexibility and modifying the program to our exact specifications. We were in Vietnam and Cambodia with another couple - and had a wonderful trip. Even as the pandemic spread - Ha made sure we were safe and aware of changing dynamics. Fortunately, we stayed one step ahead of the virus and enjoyed all the sites and fabulous hotels booked by KimKim. We visited Hanoi, took the train to Sapa (I preferred the van back!) where we trekked amongst the tribes, enjoyed the stunning Halong Bay on a lovely small ship, spent a few days in Angor Wat (with a picnic and massages in a "secret sacred spot"), Saigon and then relaxing on the beach at our favorite hotel - La Veranda in Phu Quoc. Would highly recommended Kim Kim and Ha to anyone planning this trip of a lifetime (when we can all travel again!)

We recently returned from an amazing 3-week trip to Vietnam, with a short detour to Cambodia. Ha at KimKim was so incredibly responsive in helping us plan the trip and continuing to customize it for us all the way to the end. She made it absolutely seamless with guides and drivers greeting us exactly as planned, and the hotels she selected more than met our expectations.

Some highlights were riding around Hanoi on a motorbike (driver provided!), biking and cooking classes in Hoi An (and everything about Hoi An), kayaking in Ha Long bay, and a day traveling by boat in the Mekong Delta.

We were also incredibly grateful that we were able to go on our trip and return safely during a time when the Coronavirus was spreading. Vietnam had no active cases when we arrived on 2/27, but infected travelers from Europe began to bring in the virus about a week later. Ha let us know immediately when some potentially infected travelers stayed at a hotel where we were booked, and arranged for us to stay at a different hotel. She also arranged on a moment's notice for us to leave Saigon on an earlier flight to Phu Quoc island so that would could relax and be less concerned about staying in a congested city.

We would not hesitate to recommend Ha and KimKim and to use them again...when everything settles down:)

Huyen and all the guides were fantastic. Nothing but good things to say and great memories. Your service made my trip effortless because you did all the planning. Thank you so much. I will be back again. Ron Brooks

We couldn't have had a better experience than we did in Vietnam and Cambodia thanks to Kimkim. All of our travels went smoothly with people meeting us at the airports and transferring us to our hotels. The local guides were all fantastic with good English skills and great knowledge to share. We especially loved Hui in Hoi An and Se Vannesak in Siem Reap. The accomodations were wonderful and very well located so we could walk to city centers for dinners. We had a great five weeks on the road thanks to Kimkim. Much thanks and appreciation to Will for setting it all up.

This is a great way to plan and book a vacation. Will worked us to put together a wonderful 4 week trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. Our accommodations were perfect- beautiful hotels every one with great staff and morning buffets. Our guides and drivers were always punctual, knowledgeable, and fun to be with. The activities were interesting and fun as well. Everything went as planned and we could just relax and enjoy the trip knowing every detail was well taken care of. We will likely never plan our own international trips again.

We used KimKim for our first visit to Vietnam because they use local people as tour arrangers and guides, and their reviews seemed to reflect the sort of trip we were interested in. Ms Thuy, who set everything up for us, and our guides, Mr. Nhan in the north, Ms. Tra My in the center of the country, and Mr. Loan in the south, were all exceptional resources and teachers.

Ms. Thuy suggested the itinerary, worked with us to make sure we could do what we wanted, made all of the arrangements and answered all of our questions in great detail up until the moment we left. She followed up with a phone call mid trip to make sure everything was going well.

Mr. Nhan gave us our initial introduction to Vietnam in Hanoi and surrounding areas. He is knowledgeable, interesting and enthusiastic. He seemed to love all the excitement about the lunar new year and we grew to share his joy about peach tree blossoms and kumquat trees. He taught us how to cross the street, which sounds like a small thing only if one is unfamiliar with the traffic in Hanoi. He is an excellent guide.

Ms. Tra My picked us up from the night train and whisked us off to the beautiful Hue. She was like a glass of champagne--fun and bubbly, and she was proud of her home town. She was endlessly informative and went out of her way to help us with shopping and exploring the area off of the tourist track. She showed us a lot about the local communities and customs. She is an excellent guide.

Mr Loan took us exploring in the spectacular Mekong Delta where we didn't see another tourist the entire day. As the New Year was very close, the traffic was wild, but he persevered and with his guidance we were able to get a very good sense of south Vietnam. He is an excellent guide.

And every one of the drivers was awesome. Please let them know!

I would recommend this team, without reservation, for travel in Vietnam. Many thanks to everyone.

We thoroughly enjoyed everything about our Vietnam trip.

Alex was wonderful in helping organize our trip and super responsive.

Halong bay and Tra Que were definite highlights, as was hiking through Sapa.

All of our guides were friendly and knowledgeable. We only wish we had more time to explore further!