Chio Tabakman

This is a long overdue review of our fabulous November 2019 trip to Colombia.
Despite a prolonged wait to clear customs, we were greeted by Lina who graciously made sure we were safely transported to our destination. For the next two days she provided an energetic and welcoming introduction to Bogota. In Villa de Leyva Mauricio was a delightful guide, providing a personal and entertaining opportunity to explore area. We really enjoyed his musical background and knowledge.
Natalia... read more

This is a long overdue review of our fabulous November 2019 trip to Colombia.
Despite a prolonged wait to clear customs, we were greeted by Lina who graciously made sure we were safely transported to our destination. For the next two days she provided an energetic and welcoming introduction to Bogota. In Villa de Leyva Mauricio was a delightful guide, providing a personal and entertaining opportunity to explore area. We really enjoyed his musical background and knowledge.
Natalia brought the Cocora Valley to life despite rain and mud! She is passionate about the flora and fauna and a great ambassador for nature lovers. We enjoyed Salento and Filandia with her and a very special stop at Finca Divisa de Don Juan (coffee farm)
Daniel was our special personality in Medellin. His walking tour and history lesson were amazing. We were appreciative of his attention during our visit to Penol Rock and Guatape making for two rewarding experiences.
Juan was our steady, patient and knowledgable guide in Tayrona Park. We very much enjoyed learning about the area as well as his family background. It was a strenuous excursion and he timed the pace and experiences beautifully to match our requests.
David helped us enjoy Los Pinos. His familiarity with the area diminished our concerns with the muddy, rutted roads to arrive safely at our destination. Again, this guide's love of the area made for a special day.
A highlight of the trip was a visit to Bazurto Market with Carolina. The market was incredibly interesting, and Carolina's presentation, interaction, and selections were memorable. Her class was extraordinary.
Ending our trip in Cartagena, we were entertained by Ingrid - an insightful and fun-loving personality that enriched our time there.
Chio and team were responsive and supportive throughout. We were especially appreciative of their flexibility when our departure coincided with national protests. They made sure our transport got us to the airport with time to spare.
Colombia is filled with beauty, architectural charm, intriguing history and welcoming nationalities.
Thank you for a trip that will not be forgotten!

First - we will definitely use Kimkim again for future travels! Thank you for a well-planned vacation.
Secondly - Chio was responsive and helpful - nice work! Our only complaint is that everyone knew that Tayrona National Park was closed in February - apparently it's an annual thing. If we had known this from the beginning, we might have altered our itinerary. We did not get informed until January. We really loved the place we stayed outside of Tayrona Park, but the River Don Diego... read more

First - we will definitely use Kimkim again for future travels! Thank you for a well-planned vacation.
Secondly - Chio was responsive and helpful - nice work! Our only complaint is that everyone knew that Tayrona National Park was closed in February - apparently it's an annual thing. If we had known this from the beginning, we might have altered our itinerary. We did not get informed until January. We really loved the place we stayed outside of Tayrona Park, but the River Don Diego excursion was underwhelming. (Although the guide Stephen was very helpful when my husband became sick with digestive issues.)
Big highlights for us were the birdwatching in Minca with Antonio Martin, the trip to the market in Cartagena with Carolina and the day trip to the Rosario Islands. This was supposed to be at the end of our stay, but was moved to the beginning because of when we arrived. We really think this worked better - we had a day of beach and relaxation right away which we desperately needed coming from our cold, snowy, busy lives:)
The hotels were good and we had a nice balance of scheduled vs. free time. In our information packet it said that there would be an English-speaking person on our long car trips to and from Cartagena. We did not - just Spanish-only drivers. That would have been a great opportunity (9 hours!) to ask questions about what we were seeing and find out more about Colombia. My husband especially was disappointed that there was no conversation on these transports.
Again - we are happy to have discovered Kimkim and are already looking forward to our next trip with you. I hope our feedback has been helpful.

I had 3 excellent guides: Maria Alejandro Nariño in Bogota, Juan David Martinez in Leticia, and Mauro Hernandez Aguinago in Medellin! The Lost City of Colombia Trek guides, Juan and Checo (sp) also did an excellent job!! I hope that the friendships I established with them will continue into the future:-)

The trip was Over expectations Everything was superb!
First of all with Chio he managed everything very well and was so patient with all questions i have asked.
In Bogota the driver Francisco and the guide Maria were very nice and they introduced me very well to the Bogota and also the whole country.
After that I went to Raquira and Villa de layva with a very good driver (but I’m sorry I forgot his name) .
Santa Marta driver Carlos was a very good driver and he did a very good job, big thanks... read more

The trip was Over expectations Everything was superb!
First of all with Chio he managed everything very well and was so patient with all questions i have asked.
In Bogota the driver Francisco and the guide Maria were very nice and they introduced me very well to the Bogota and also the whole country.
After that I went to Raquira and Villa de layva with a very good driver (but I’m sorry I forgot his name) .
Santa Marta driver Carlos was a very good driver and he did a very good job, big thanks to him .
In Cartagena i met a guide Santiago, he was superb and introduced me very well to the city.
In Medellin, I met a very good Driver Miguel , he was an excellent driver. And for the guide to Guatepe was Sebastian , he was an excellent guide he introduced me very well to the city.
At last, I loved Colombia and the people there were so friendly and nice , overall 10/10 thank you KimKim team.

We spent a wonderful week in Colombia with stops in Cartagena, Minca (El Dorado reserve), and Mucura (Punta Faro hotel). We highly recommend Bazurto Market and National Aviary. Walking the streets of Cartagena was a joy. The many murals, buildings, people, shops, street vendors, and restaurant’s were all wonderful. I would recommend spending 2 full days and 3 nights in El Dorado with a 1 full day in Minca. Mucura was a wonderful and relaxing island. Punta Faro was amazing. The staff... read more

We spent a wonderful week in Colombia with stops in Cartagena, Minca (El Dorado reserve), and Mucura (Punta Faro hotel). We highly recommend Bazurto Market and National Aviary. Walking the streets of Cartagena was a joy. The many murals, buildings, people, shops, street vendors, and restaurant’s were all wonderful. I would recommend spending 2 full days and 3 nights in El Dorado with a 1 full day in Minca. Mucura was a wonderful and relaxing island. Punta Faro was amazing. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. The food was excellent and served buffet style. The beach was not huge but incredibly relaxing. It was not crowded and the water was great. We did the snorkel tour which was nice. Not the best we have ever done but still good. There was some interesting coral and fish. Well worth the price. We would also recommend the bioluminescence tour. I would recommend 3 nights here to get in all the activities but also be able to relax.

We enjoyed all the guides that KimKim provided with a special shout out to Leo in El Dorado. He did a great job with the birding and was very knowledgeable and personable. All the drivers we had were very prompt, courteous, and friendly. It was very nice not worrying about how, when, or if we were going to get where we needed.

Chio (KimKim) communicated very well with us and answered all our questions. It was nice to not worry about anything on our vacation and just relax and enjoy. Thank you!

We loved Isabella and Alexjandra as well as our driver. They worked hard to insure that we had a good experience.

I've worked with Chio from the agency and she has been really awesome.

My husband and I went to Colombia from 12/28 to 1/5/20. This was our very first time to South America and very first to Colombia. I was looking for tour guide and Kimkim.com came up in google search and I thought I'd like to try the agency. It was a such a good decision. After I contacted Kimkim, Chio got back to me within a day and she helped to plan our trip. I had very specific requirements for the types of the trips... read more

I've worked with Chio from the agency and she has been really awesome.

My husband and I went to Colombia from 12/28 to 1/5/20. This was our very first time to South America and very first to Colombia. I was looking for tour guide and Kimkim.com came up in google search and I thought I'd like to try the agency. It was a such a good decision. After I contacted Kimkim, Chio got back to me within a day and she helped to plan our trip. I had very specific requirements for the types of the trips I'd like to take and Chio was very patient working with me to come up with different versions of the trip, unless the 3rd version, we've decided to go to: Medellin and Cartagena. I couldn't be happier with our trip.

In Medellin we had a very active itinerary: Comuna 13 graffiti tour, waterfall repelling, paragliding, Medellin city bike tour, and finally a trip to Gautape on the New Year's Day. Everything was awesome. The highlight of the trip for us would be the waterfall.

For Cartagena, it was more relaxed. We visited Bazurto market with our local guide Carolina and had the BEST breakfast at her restaurant Ohlala. Then we went to the The Rosario Islands, which was just soso as the resort we went to only had a very limited beach area. But the lunch was awesome! :)

Overall, we had a wonderful trip! I am already planning to work with KimKim for our next trip to Argentina and Peru to hike the Inca Trail!

We had a super time and felt very supported. Chio was there for every little question I had! All the drivers, hotels and tour people were on-time and extra nice. I'm so pleased.

My husband and I travelled in Colombia with our four children (ages 11-15) and overall we very satisfied with the kimkim experience. The planning stage was fantastic-- I spoke with an agent in the US and also an agent in Colombia-- and it was very easy to come up with a specific itinerary to fit the needs and wants of my family. Our local specialist (Chio) was very responsive to my questions and requests and always responded in a timely manner.

For the most part, everyone involved in... read more

My husband and I travelled in Colombia with our four children (ages 11-15) and overall we very satisfied with the kimkim experience. The planning stage was fantastic-- I spoke with an agent in the US and also an agent in Colombia-- and it was very easy to come up with a specific itinerary to fit the needs and wants of my family. Our local specialist (Chio) was very responsive to my questions and requests and always responded in a timely manner.

For the most part, everyone involved in tourism who was recommended by kimkim (the drivers and guides for example) was excellent-- very professional and always on time. When we had drivers that did not speak English they let us know in advance and we always knew the specific itinerary for each day. The trip, in general, ran VERY smoothly. Over fourteen days there was only one mistake--- when we arrived at a certain hotel it turns out they had mistakenly booked us at a hotel with a similar name (which was not as nice as the one we were supposed to be in). As soon as we called her, Chio (and her supervisor Jules) immediately tried to rectify the situation-- we did have to spend one night at the wrong hotel but the next day they had us moved to a much nicer hotel and took the extra step of arranging for us a new itinerary for a "day at leisure" including a driver, lunch, and two excellent activities. They (Chio and Jules) kept in constant contact with us making sure we were happy with the new arrangements. (And I felt like they were truly sorry for the mix-up).

All in all I would definitely recommend kimkim-- it was VERY user friendly and our itinerary was excellent.

(If you are planning on going to colombia-- we particularly loved our Hacienda Santa Clara in the coffee region and our tour of Don Juan coffee farm, horseback riding in the cocora valley, EVERYTHING in Medallin, the beach and tubing in Palamino (outside Santa Marta), and our incredible hotel (the hyatt) in Cartagena.

Kimkim does make things much easier, but it's not the best option if you want to save money.

For flights and hotels, we saved more than $500 booking everything on our own.

Cartagena was great and it's the place I would have spent more time.

The guide in Medellin was awesome and explained everything we saw and asked about!

However, the guide in Bogotá was quite different. His English wasn't very good so it wasn't very easy to communicate. Perhaps this was the reason why he didn't explain... read more

Kimkim does make things much easier, but it's not the best option if you want to save money.

For flights and hotels, we saved more than $500 booking everything on our own.

Cartagena was great and it's the place I would have spent more time.

The guide in Medellin was awesome and explained everything we saw and asked about!

However, the guide in Bogotá was quite different. His English wasn't very good so it wasn't very easy to communicate. Perhaps this was the reason why he didn't explain much of the things we were looking at during the tour. He'd just say that X thing was the most important. There was a moment where I asked about Monteserrate and he gave the wrong timeframe of the photo I was referring to.

When we went to the Gold Museum, he took us only to see basically 2 things which he said were the most important and didn't explain anything about why they were important.

We stopped by to grab a bite and agua de panela at La Puerta de la Cadetral and we paid for his food as well (which I didn't know we were paying for). He took the receipt after I paid.

The tour included Museo Botero, but we walked pass by it and didn't stop.

The tour was supposed to last 8 hours, but he said we were done a bit after 1 PM.

The trip was great and we enjoyed it.
Chio was very good all the way and was very responsive to our needs and did her best to solve any problem we had.
I have an issue, however with the team that designed the trip. Here are some points:
The transport company in Medallin was bad. Out of the three trips with them there were two problems. On the second one, they simply sent the driver with the wrong name, as a result, he ignored our sign and it caused delay.
The trip to Nuqui was good, but we... read more

The trip was great and we enjoyed it.
Chio was very good all the way and was very responsive to our needs and did her best to solve any problem we had.
I have an issue, however with the team that designed the trip. Here are some points:
The transport company in Medallin was bad. Out of the three trips with them there were two problems. On the second one, they simply sent the driver with the wrong name, as a result, he ignored our sign and it caused delay.
The trip to Nuqui was good, but we should have been informed in advance that the Nuqui airport may be closed for any period due to simple weather problems like fog, which is very likely.
We were told that we can take a trip to some water falls on the second day, but found out that on that day, which was Jan 1, that trip cannot be taken.
Jacob Tal.

I recommend the Kimkim team in Colombia without reservations. We had a fantastic trip and I could not have asked for a better agency to work with.
In terms of the initial planning, they patiently helped me through deciding whether to go to Colombia or Peru, which areas to cover, and worked with me through my endless questions and changes. Lisa and Chio worked out an amazing itinerary for our family based on our stated interests, and changed it with only a few weeks to go when it turned out... read more

I recommend the Kimkim team in Colombia without reservations. We had a fantastic trip and I could not have asked for a better agency to work with.
In terms of the initial planning, they patiently helped me through deciding whether to go to Colombia or Peru, which areas to cover, and worked with me through my endless questions and changes. Lisa and Chio worked out an amazing itinerary for our family based on our stated interests, and changed it with only a few weeks to go when it turned out that we could not easily get the appropriate vaccine to visit the Amazon. I had been a little distressed at the need to change the plans at that late date, but they quickly came up with a revised itinerary and I think it turned out even better because we had one fewer plane flight that way within the country.
Chio and Jules answered every question I had after arrival with patience and frequently checked in on us. Jules brought us to our hotel late at night upon arrival in Bogota and made several good suggestions for the rest of the trip. I was really impressed with Kimkim's organization, planning, and the guides they chose in each location were fantastic - very nice, fun, comfortable to be with and knowledgeable, and patient with our attempts to speak and understand Spanish, which made the trip so much more fun and intimate. I really felt like we (me, my husband, and early twenties daughters) got so much out of the trip when with the guides, particularly in Bogota, on our hike in Tayrona Park, and our visit to La Boquilla fishing village. We also really loved going to Minca and staying in the mountains, and the hotel near Tayrona was spectacular. On the way from Minca to Cartagena, a long drive, we were a bit nervous about a country-wide protest's impact on our ability to get through (though sympathetic to the cause), but we had a fantastic driver with whom we had many good conversations and he took great care of us, in addition to being such a sweet and interesting person. We really learned a lot on this trip, stayed in some lovely places, saw varied terrain, and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Thanks so much to Kimkim for this experience.

All of our guides were exceptional! Lina in Bogata, Mauricio in Villa de Leyva, Natalia in Pereira, Daniel in Medellin, Juan in Tayrona Park, Carolina for the cooking lesson and Ingrid in Cartagena. The guides were all very knowledgeable and obviously proud of their wonderful country.
We enjoyed all of the things we experienced. A couple of things that stood out were the visit to the coffee farm that was run by women, the visit to Bazurto market with a local that knows her way around. We... read more

All of our guides were exceptional! Lina in Bogata, Mauricio in Villa de Leyva, Natalia in Pereira, Daniel in Medellin, Juan in Tayrona Park, Carolina for the cooking lesson and Ingrid in Cartagena. The guides were all very knowledgeable and obviously proud of their wonderful country.
We enjoyed all of the things we experienced. A couple of things that stood out were the visit to the coffee farm that was run by women, the visit to Bazurto market with a local that knows her way around. We also enjoyed the physical beauty of all the different areas of Columbia and being able to do a bit of hiking.

We confirmed our 4 region trip a couple weeks before leaving for Columbia. Our initial consult with Lisa proved quite helpful in narrowing down the regions and activities we wanted to experience. We then were contacted by Chio who handled booking the schedule and was in contact with us throughout the trip to check that everything was going well. All of our drivers and guides were amazing - on time, super friendly and helpful for our family of 4 (mom/dad/2 older teens). Lina in Bogota... read more

We confirmed our 4 region trip a couple weeks before leaving for Columbia. Our initial consult with Lisa proved quite helpful in narrowing down the regions and activities we wanted to experience. We then were contacted by Chio who handled booking the schedule and was in contact with us throughout the trip to check that everything was going well. All of our drivers and guides were amazing - on time, super friendly and helpful for our family of 4 (mom/dad/2 older teens). Lina in Bogota provided in-depth historical context, local and urban insights to our visits to Monserrat, city walking tour (Botero, etc.), and Salt Cathedral. Jasmine was delightful when we visited the woman-owned coffee farm and guiding us hiking thru the Corcora Valley wax palms pointing out local plants. Jose guided us through the dense jungle on our hike through La Tayrona pointing out animals and local plants along the way to the secluded beach (super refreshing swimming in the clear, blue water). Braulio greeted us at our last stop in Cartagena - he is a wealth of historical, urban, and cultural knowledge -- we toured the city with him 2 afternoons. And we have to mention Carolina - probably one of the most eye-opening / moving experiences of the trip where she took us early morning to Bazurto Market and then to her restaurant (Ohlala) for cooking/eating. The boutique hotels were comfy. Meals were delicious - ginormous portions were the norm! The warm hospitality we encountered from the people we met throughout the 4 regions we visited was amazing! We will definitely visit the country again.

Chio was very responsive and accommodating. This was our first time to Colombia so it was great to obtain his guidance and recommendations. All of our booked guides were professional, knowledgeable and fun! Our favorite parts of the trip included the cooking class in Cartagena, the hike in Tayrona and our glamping stay in Minca. I would definitely recommend booking with Chio and KimKim if its your first time to Colombia. Having the accommodations and transportation booked for you in advance was a must! It added a lot of ease to the trip. Can't wait to go back!

This was our first time using kimkim and I am very happy we did! We made a short fuse decision to tack on a family vacation to my business trip to Colombia, and Chio put together a great itinerary for us on very short notice (less than 2 weeks). Responses were prompt and we didn't have any issues during our 10 day vacation.

Highlights of the trip for us include the private graffiti tour in Bogota with Anna, Guatape day visit near Medellin and the cooking class in Cartagena. But all of it... read more

This was our first time using kimkim and I am very happy we did! We made a short fuse decision to tack on a family vacation to my business trip to Colombia, and Chio put together a great itinerary for us on very short notice (less than 2 weeks). Responses were prompt and we didn't have any issues during our 10 day vacation.

Highlights of the trip for us include the private graffiti tour in Bogota with Anna, Guatape day visit near Medellin and the cooking class in Cartagena. But all of it was great. We all really loved Bogota and Medellin the most. Cartagena old town was beautiful but a bit too hot and touristic for us.

My only complaint was that it was probably more than we needed to spend, but that's on me since I didn't allow time for back and forth planning/optimization. We had private transport to go almost everywhere, but it was easy enough to get around by secure taxi. Oh...and the Hotel Du Parc in Medellin had the smallest water heater ever and we could only get one shower at a time. All small things. Overall we had a fabulous family vacation in a country that I never had really thought about visiting. We all loved Colombia!

Lisa