Bas Naus

We had a wonderful time on our trip. The Netherlands were everything we had hoped for and more.
The hotels and staff were very nice and accommodating and we appreciated having breakfast available each morning. The OV chip kaart made getting around fairly easy. I am sorry we couldn’t mail it back as you asked. Hotel CitizenM wouldn’t accept it.
We loved the museums, especially the Resistance and Van Gough. I do wish we would have had tickets to the introduction program at the Anne Frank House. We enjoyed the tours, especially the food tour.
On our last day we decided not to visit Kinderdijk. We decided instead to travel to The Hague and visit Mauritshuis. It was a wonderful day. In hindsight we should have agreed to a day trip to Brussels, Delft, or The Hague as BeattheDutchtravel had recommended.
Our trip was great, however there were several issues that caused confusion, anxiety, wasted time, and money loss.
1. The day before our trip we did not yet have all tickets.
2. Day 2: We were told our food tour was from 3-7pm. At 2:00 the guide called to say the tour had started and we would need to reschedule. This was not possible. We were in route but it would take us 45 minutes to get there. Thankfully, the rest of the group agreed to wait on us but sadly, we did miss the first stop of apple pie.
3. Day 3: We arrived at Keukenhof at 9:00 as scheduled. We toured until 11:15 (researching showed this is average time to spend). We were scheduled to explore the bulb area by Twizy from 3:30-5:30pm. I am not sure what we should/could have done for over four hours waiting. Sadly, this was something I was especially looking forward to doing but could not justify waiting in the cold for four hours.
4. Day 5: our itinerary was extremely confusing. It stated that our 4-town day trip would be from 9:15am-3:45pm. It also said the starting time was 12:00. We showed up at 9:00 to be told the tour is from 12:00-6:30. We were also told that we were given the wrong place for the tour to start. We waited around for three hours but thoroughly enjoyed the day. I only wish we would have known for sure of the later start time so that we could have spent our morning better.
I understand that mistakes happen, and scheduling can be troublesome. We have used travel groups in the past but have not had issues like this before. We have enjoyed using KimKim (Rome, Florence, Berlin, Munich, Austria) in the past and have referred several others. Even though we feel that this trip was not planned or scheduled as well as the others will use KimKim again.

We had a wonderful 5 days in Belgium . BAs arranged excellent accommodation in Antwerp and Brussels that had perfect locations for walking to attractions and food and drinks.
Our guide in Antwerp, Dave, was knowledgeable, friendly and really loves his city. Even though it poured with rain during most of our tour he persevered and we didn’t feel that we had been short changed at all. He was also our guide the next morning when the sun was out and showed us some more of his beautiful town.
Janne was our lovely guide in Ghent for the morning and we thoroughly enjoyed her view of her city. Very knowledgeable and funny and such a good guide, we learnt a lot about Ghent and its place in the old world.
We had a couple of easy tours on our own one to a chocolate factory and museum and another to a beer brewery.
The whole experience dealing with kimkim agents has been only positive and we’ve already booked our 3rd one for next year.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel des Galeries

Brussels

The location is great for wandering around the older parts of the city and through the Galleries passages. The rooms are clean and surprisingly large by European standards.

Authenticity & Character

In some ways it’s a very simple hotel with a few quirks. All good quirks though

Location

Perfect for wandering around, very safe and lots of beautiful Belgian chocolate shops close by.

Staff

The staff really make this place special, really helpful with tips on where to eat and drink away from the tourist traps. Always friendly and willing to help sort any problems out

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean and comfortable but I found it odd that the room didn’t contain a small fridge of any kind. Coffee and tea were provided but no milk or creamer, and no way of keeping milk cold. There was also no electric jug in the room making tea. Staff were always willing to bring a teapot of hot water or a jug of milk to the room but it was a bit odd.

Hotel FranQ

Antwerp

Fabulous staff, great location, clean and very welcoming

Authenticity & Character

It’s a little bit quirky in its interior design and very comfortable. Some of the original features are still in place

Location

Really close to lots of historical sites and excellent bars and eateries

Staff

Would have to be one of the best assets of this hotel. Very welcoming and helpful always

Cleanliness & Comfort

The best bed!

Activity Reviews

Antwerp - Private guided Evening walking tour

Antwerp

Dave is a passionate and lovely guide, we immediately felt comfortable with him. And we felt really sorry for him because it rained quite heavily on our tour but he was such a trooper that we kept going! The next day was a lot better and we had a really good tour of old town. We tried amazing chocolate s and a really smooth liqueur. He showed us covered canals and all sorts of things that we would never have found on our own or maybe missed by being part of a larger group

Quality of Experience

Antwerp - Private guided walking tour

Belgium

Dave also took us on this tour and I can’t recommend him enough.

Quality of Experience

Antwerp - De Koninck Beer Brewery Tour

Belgium

Well worth a visit but the entry process is a bit of a shambles. One person selling tickets, pouring beers and checking those ticket holders who purchased on line. The whole place felt a little understaffed

Quality of Experience

We had a wonderful 2-week trip to Belgium and The Netherlands. We worked with Bas and Mieke. They were thorough and provided us with a wealth of knowledge. During the planning process and throughout our trip, Mieke was amazingly responsive, day and night!

We enjoyed the flexbility in travel style we had with them. Our trip was a mix of self- led and private guided travel. We used public transportation extensively. The detailed instructions on all forms of public transportation was much appreciated.

We were thrilled with the trip that was planned and supported by our Kim Kim guide, Bas. Based on our very specific interests, and the way we like to travel, Bas planned a perfect itinerary. The plan included a nice balance of self-led activities and guide-led activities. It included guided walking tours, boat tours, and cycling tours as well as a self-led cycling activity. We had some input on the Bas' initial plan, and he was happy to make accommodations to fit our requests. Bas was also available to make some changes during the trip. For example, when a cancelled flight at the outset of the trip forced us to change some of our planned activities, he moved things around to make it work. We were able to get hard-to-secure tickets to the Anne Frank museum, and we had the pleasure of having tremendous, friendly, and fun guides for four of the activities. We weren't sure what to expect as this was our first full Kim Kim itinerary, but we couldn't have been happier with the trip.

Bas did a tremendous job on planning our trip, we loved every minute.

My daughter and I did an art tour of the Netherlands. Bas from Beat The Dutch did such a great job matching expectations to our budget. I didn't know what to expect, having never used KimKim before, but overall, it was really great - we were comfortable, safe, and were able to move between cities and sites with ease on public transport, thanks to pre-loaded OV chip cards Beat The Dutch provided. Everybody involved did a wonderful job.

My husband and I had an amazing 8 days in the Netherlands! I initially tried to book our trip with US agents, but because we wanted to visit the Vermeer Collection and attend other specific events, they were unable to provide what we were looking for. Bas and his team, however, provided exactly what we were hoping for and more! We enjoyed walking tours with very knowledgeable guides like Jelte in Amsterdam and biking through tulip fields and the sand dunes on our own near The Hague. Our schedule was a perfect balance of scheduled events and free time for our own interests. It was especially helpful to have Bas and his team available while we were in country to help with any questions we had. From the beginning to the end of this process, Bas has been easy to contact and quick to respond. This was our first time traveling in Europe and, although we were certain it would be wonderful, Bas created what we consider a perfect experience for us!

Activity Reviews

Zaanse Schans visit

The Netherlands

Having a background in farming and engineering, my husband particularly enjoyed our visit to the windmills because he was able to discuss specifics about the inner workings of the mechanics and processes. This is not to be missed!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Public Transport Pass Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Having the OV-Chip card made our travel much easier.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Museum Card Netherlands

The Netherlands

This was great to have included in our trip documents! We went to many museums, even the Panorama in The Hague, which our hotel receptionist recommended. It was unbelievable— and free! because we had this pass!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport