Dean Garrison

Quick response time from local guides; very comprehensive guidebook with helpful pictures and explanations. We wanted to make some changes in the middle of our trip and Dean was able to accommodate our request. I’m glad we used Kimkim for our first trip to Ireland as the number of locations to visit and places to stay can be overwhelming. Though the tendency when visiting a place for the first time is to try to see everything, this is a big mistake in Ireland. Even driving an hour can feel like an eternity when the roads twist and turn in every direction, which they DO. Better to choose just one or two locations and explore from there. We loved Kilkenny and Dingle the best. Both were really walkable, friendly, and charming. We found that you get a much better sense of the real Ireland in the smaller cities, so don't waste your time with Dublin.

Dean was great to work with. He was responsive to our questions and gave wonderful suggestions. We love Killarney especially and the Cliffs of Moher. The accommodations were very easy to work with and we really loved the Fiddle and Bow hotel.

You made the planning process stress free. It would have been a nightmare booking all the individual accommodations myself. I will use you again for future vacations.

Dean and other members of the team were professional. They were able to accommodate our last minute requests.

we had an outstanding tour guide, Margaurite. Her knowledge was impressive, as well as her love for Ireland. She meshed so well with our family. Our group consisted of my husband and I, our daughter and son-in-law, our daughter and fiancé. We also had our 11 month old grandson. Dean made sure that everything we did, was doable with an infant. Every hotel was prepared for an infant. I would NOT hesitate to have kimkim plan future vacations. We made some changes to our itinerary, and it was handled well.

Hotel Reviews

Maldron Hotel Kevin Street Dublin

Dublin

This hotel was very good and well-located. We were able to walk to many places in Dublin from here.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lahinch Coast Hotel

Dough, Lahinch, Co. Clare

This hotel was a bit of a letdown. There was no air conditioning, and the noise from the parking lot and the banging of a fire door all night was bothersome. Also, the location didn't have much to offer in terms of shops or dining.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Harbour Hotel

Galway

This hotel was excellent. The room was very comfortable and the staff was very friendly and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Killarney International Hotel

Killarney, Co. Kerry

A pleasant stay. The hotel was very good and had air conditioning.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Maldron Hotel South Mall Cork City

Cork Co. Cork

A perfectly good hotel with all the amenities we needed.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Tower Hotel

Waterford

Our first stop was quite impressive, from the location to the restaurant on-site, this hotel was fabulous.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Belfast

Ireland

The black cab tour in Belfast was fabulous, one of the highlights of the trip.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dingle and Slea Head Guided Drive

Ireland

A memorable drive indeed, filled with beautiful scenery.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ring of Kerry and Valentia Island tour

Ireland

The tour was perfect and well-organized. The landscapes were absolutely stunning.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mizen Head and West Cork

Ireland

Truly a picturesque location, it was a delight to explore.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cork via Rock of Cashel & Blarney Castle & Stone

Cork

I had a wonderful time experiencing the history and charm of these places.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Kilkenny and Waterford

Ireland

This exploration was quite fantastic. It was a great way to kick-start the trip.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip was amazing!
Margaret exceeded expectations as our tour guide. She was knowledgeable, friendly, took us to the best places, and fit in well with our family. Dean/Maria planned a wonderful trip for us and we would recommend them to anyone.

Both the kimkim expereince and dealing with Ireland Walk Hike and Bike were outstanding.

Not having any knowledge of Ireland, the team at Ireland Walk Hike and Bike were outstanding. They took the stress out of planning an itinerary, booking accomodations and the rental car, and providing restaurant and place of interest suggestions. Most importantly, they took note as to what was important to us (natural sights) and what was not (castles, churches and likely crowded places).

Our highlights in order of experiencing: Dingle Sea Safari, Cliffs of Moher hike, Kayaking Lough Corrib, climbing Tully Mountain, Killary Sheep Farm demonstration, and bodysurfing in Keel Bay.

Was getting dizzy trying to plan my trip for 5 of us to Ireland. Kim Kim did a great job getting us good accommodations, a car and suggested sight seeing. I changed details last minute and they were able to make the changes with no issue. Would definitely use again

Ireland was wonderful !! Dean who planned the trip was very supportive and Clodagh was very pleasant and attentive to all our needs. We loved the hotel in Killarney that we stayed in for three nights. I liked having the trip details planned so we had an idea what and where we were going. Weather was great and no bug bites for evening walks. The last hotel in Galway ‘ Eyre Square ‘was not as convenient or as elegant as the other accommodations because the parking garage was a quick walk distance, but it did provide what we needed to complete our trip. If I were to do anything differently, I would have flown into Dublin and left in Galway to give more time to spend exploring Galway. I would highly recommend a Kim Kim vacation!! Very beneficial for those who never traveled from the USA to Ireland or any other international travel that you may want to do. Thank you, it was lovely and I am so grateful that we chose you to make our travel arrangements 😃

My wife and I recently booked a custom tour of southwestern Ireland through kimkim.com and were extremely impressed with the entire experience. We decided to use kimkim because it connects international travelers to local Irish travel companies and guides who provide customized itineraries you can't find anywhere else.

Our guide Linda W. from Ireland Walk Hike Bike truly made our trip unforgettable. The landscapes we saw, from the rolling hills of the Ring of Kerry to the dramatic Cliffs of Moher, went beyond our wildest expectations. But Linda's warmth, knowledge, and dedication is what really made our adventure magical. She brought Ireland's natural beauty and rich history to life, going above and beyond to satisfy our curiosity. By the end of our trip, we felt we had made a dear friend.

I would 100% recommend using kimkim if you want to see the real Ireland. The service makes it easy to craft a custom trip, and connect with wonderful local guides like Linda. She absolutely made our time exploring Killarney, Dingle, Galway, and beyond a trip we'll cherish forever.

Thank you Dean and everyone we worked with. This was a trip that was a long time in the making. It was to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, my 50th and my hubby's 60th birhdays. We had a wonderful time in Ireland. We drove ourselves, well, my husband drove and I navigated, lol. He's braver than me. We went to Dublin, Cork, Kinsale, Kilarney, Dingle, Doolin, Westport, and back to Dublin. The last 3 days in Dublin, we took a tour with Wild Rover to Belfast, Dunluce Castle and Giants Causeway. The "Black Cab" tour in Belfast was really emotionally moving and gave me a more broad view of Northern Ireland. We stayed at a mixture of B&B's and hotels. Cork was interesting learning the history of where my husband's family came from, only 3 generations ago. There is so much more history to everything in Europe than there is here in the states. Especially in Washington state, where we are from. Most everywhere we visited was very clean. Dublin, was the exception. Our hosts at Fernroyd B&B in Cork, Tony & Avril, were so welcoming and were excited to tell us some history about Cork and what would be most important to see during our short stay. There is so much to see and do in Ireland, 2 weeks was barely enough time to scratch the surface. We are already beginning to plan for the next trip.

From start to finish, the KimKim team was amazing. Our first tour took us to Norther Ireland (Dunluce Castle, Giant's Causeway & the Titanic Museum) with Kevin from Wild Rover Tour as our guide. The entire 12 hour tour went off without a single problem! Our train ride to Killarney was smooth and seamless, with a short walk to our hotel. I can't tell you how much my family loved this small little Irish town, as everyone in it was so friendly. We took tours to the Ring of Kerry and Dingle and Inch Bay, both areas you have to see to believe. Something that stuck out to me more than anything was our in country personal contact (Francis) who made sure all my questions were answered in a timely manner. One of our tours had a time and location change last minute, Francis had called, emailed and texted me before I even got up to make sure I knew about the changes. Everything was handled so professionally! Next time I travel anywhere outside of the USA, I will only have one e-mail to send, and that is to KimKim.

Hotel Reviews

Fairview Boutique Hotel

Killarney

Front office personal was friendly

Authenticity & Character

Location

in the heart of Killarney

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms could get a little musty smell if air is not circulating very well in the rooms.

Ashling Hotel Dublin

Dublin

Customer service was top notch My wife loved the hotel Our boys couldn't get enough of the breakfast

Authenticity & Character

Location

So close to the train station, along with bus tour stops.

Staff

So nice!!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Belfast & Giants Causeway Day tour from Dublin

Dublin

Kevin made this trip extra special. You can honestly tell how much he enjoys to travel and talk Irish history with the customers.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bus was clean, and had charging ports.

We had a very nice trip to Ireland on a self-guided tour. Dean and his team handled all of the reservations. We were satisfied with the accommodations and the bookings they arranged. We really enjoyed the fly fishing and golf day in Killarney National Park. We decide not to cycle in Dingle as the roads were very narrow and the weather was rainy and windy on our scheduled days. We would certainly recommend Dean and his team for booking a tour in Ireland.

Hotel Reviews

St Jude's Galway B&B

Galway

Very nice and clean hotel with a good breakfast. I would highly recommend.

Authenticity & Character

Bigger than it looks. We had a quiet room and good breakfast.

Location

Just a 10 minute walk to the center of town.

Staff

Amazing twin brothers run the place. Good sense of humor and helpful with suggestions.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean and comfortable.

Churchfield Bed & Breakfast

Doolin, Co. Clare

Very nice and clean hotel with a good breakfast. I would highly recommend.

Authenticity & Character

Nice room with funky window in the bathroom. It was round!

Location

Very close to a lively pub with good food.

Staff

Very helpful with map and recommendations.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean and comfortable.

Lighthouse Bed & Breakfast

Very nice and clean hotel with a good breakfast. I would highly recommend.

Authenticity & Character

Great sitting room with view.

Location

Very nice view up on the hill.

Staff

Friendly and helpful with map and suggestions.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean and comfortable.

Abbey Lodge

Killarney Co Kerry

Very nice and clean hotel with a good breakfast. I would highly recommend.

Authenticity & Character

Nice room and breakfast

Location

Walking distance to the town.

Staff

Helped us with recommendations for dinner

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean and comfortable

Activity Review

Blasket Island Boat Tour

Ireland

This was canceled due to weather.

Quality of Experience

We enjoyed the self-guided tour and having the B&B booked for us. Driving was a little nerve racking with the narrow roads, but we liked the freedom.

Food

For the most part we found nice pubs and restaurants.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We wished we had booked more private tours. We missed hearing stories and histories of the places we visited.

Transport

We had a nice rental car that was automatic. It was a little scary with the narrow roads.

Amazing trip of Ireland using Ireland Walk Hike and Bike and Linda Woods as our guide. From the detailed planning by Maria Hayes organizing our days to Linda being our brilliant guide our experience was fantastic!

We had a wonderful time exploring Ireland. Our accommodations were top notch all around. Especially we would like to say how much we enjoyed the hospitality at our B&B stay in Cork. Our rental car from Hertz workedut inspite of the stress over the age restrictions we learned of only after full payment of our trip was made. Our only complaint was not receiving our driving and points of interest instructions.until we were already in Ireland. Overall your planning made this a very good experience. Thank you.

Our driver (one of us) was excellent. He reports driving in Ireland was intimidating at first but then was ok.

Dean & his team put an amazing itinerary together for us, the B&B’s they booked for us were all so great! We appreciated the detailed itinerary and recommended sights at each location! We especially loved all the stops along the Great Atlantic Way. The boat trip to Blasket Island by far was our favourite excursion! We loved it all!!

Hotel Reviews

Clayton Hotel Dublin Airport

Clonshaugh

What a lovely hotel, the rooms were comfortable, clean and quiet! We had dinner in the pub and it was really good. Breakfast was delicious

Authenticity & Character

Location

So close to the airport worked out perfectly

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bambury Guesthouse

Co Kerry

Our room was luxurious! So comfortable and well appointed! The host and staff were all so friendly and breakfast was delicious

Authenticity & Character

Location

Perfect location! Just a 5 min walk to Dingle town centre!

Staff

Friendly & helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

So clean and the most comfortable bed!

Activity Review

Blasket Island Boat Tour

Ireland

This trip was our favourite! We loved Billy & Alice, they were friendly, professional and so knowledgeable on the area. They really treated us to the best day!

Quality of Experience

No

Guides, Drivers and Staff

So much info provided, we loved it

Transport

The boat was fun

Dean organised an awesome 10 day adventure through Ireland for us. Communication and payment in lead up to the trip was easy, and support during travel over whats app or online was speedy. Any little hiccups were resolved instantly and we had an absolute blast. Highlight of our trip was a day bike riding around Aran Islands and buying locally hand made woolen sweaters. The weather was freezing and we had a windy ferry ride (rug up!) but that didn't stop us having a fantastic time. Had the best fish and chips of my life in Ireland. Would recommend organizing your travel through Dean and his team.