Emily Reilly

Emily and Romane planned a terrific trip for our family to beautiful Scotland. This was our first major family trip and we wanted it to be special. They delivered! The activities planned were exactly what we wanted. Highlights for us included making it for two nights on the incredible Isle of Skye at the Bracken Hide hotel. So magical! Cain was our local guide there and did a terrific job even in classic Scottish rain. Our days in Fort William were filled with outdoor adventures tailored to each person.
We hope to go back very soon and can't thank Emily and Romane enough.

Hotel Reviews

The Bracken Hide

Portree

This place was stunning inside and out. Absolutely worth visiting. The staff was also incredibly warm and wonderful.

Authenticity & Character

You stay in your own little hut - like a Hobbit hole!

Location

Just outside of Portree, but about a 20 minute walk.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Eden Locke

Edinburgh

Modern and well appointed rooms with small kitchens. The beds were very comfortable and the cafe was amazing.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Corriegarth Hotel

Inverness

Good location in INverness, but older building. Be prepared to bring your luggage up a few flights of stairs. The neds are older and not very comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

If you like older buildings this might be for you.

Location

Staff

It was understaffed with just one over worked person to deal with everything.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The stove broke so no hot breakfast was offered. Beds are not comfortable.

Garrison Apartments

Fort William

Excellent space and amenities for a short or longer stay. Full kitchen and space for a family to spread out.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Gorgeous view of the river from the balcony!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Colessio

Stirling

Incredibly beautiful building. It looks like a museum from the outside.

Authenticity & Character

It has excellent rooms and a very nice bar.

Location

Right near everything in Stirling. Walk to the Castle and to shops and restaurants.

Staff

Very thoughful, friendly and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Apex City of Glasgow Hotel

Glasgow

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right on a central street making sight seeing easy.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Two hour cruise on the Canal and Loch - Loch Ness

Inverness

This was a relaxing fun way to see the Locke

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Funny and insiteful

Transport

Private guided tour with driver/guide in Skye

Scotland

Cain was a wonderful driver. He was helpful in planning our day and was very kind as the day turned quite rainy. He helped us make the best of it!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Guided Hike of Ben Nevis

Scotland

Peter was a super experienced climber and wonderful guide. He climbs this mountain 3-4 times a week so he knows it well. He helped me with aprehensions I had as this was the first major hike I'd done since major ACL surgery. I could not have done it without his encouragement!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit the Kelpies

Scotland

This was a bucket list item for me on this trip and my whole family enjoyed it. You can spend about 45 minutes and these sculptures are an engineering marvel! What a treasure!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We really appreciate Emily and all she did for us - we had a wonderful trip that we wouldn't have been able to plan on our own so her expertise was very much appreciated.

The Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel in Edinburgh was a beautiful hotel with great breakfasts; Calton Hill and snacks and cocktails at the Dome were a wonderful way to start our trip. Highly recommend all three. The Palace of Holyroodhouse was awesome, the Afternoon Tea was nice (food was amazing, but we probably wouldn't do it again - we ended up with a table right by the door and had to squeeze in to not be in the way) and the History Lovers walking tour was awesome - we can't remember her name but our guide was excellent. The Underground Graveyard tour was not something we would recommend; the guide was nice but it wasn't anything special.

Our rental car experience went perfectly, all the way through, although our GPS took us to the wrong drop off location at the airport in Inverness (apparently drop off used to be just off-airport; now it is at the drop-off area at the entrance to the airport).

The Knockinaam Lodge Hotel was a reason itself to come back to Scotland - what a wonderful place, people and service. We can't say enough good things about it; suffice it to say we might plan another trip back just to spend more time there. Our only request would have been for a better room. We should probably have asked to move, but we didn't think about it until we were already unpacked and had used the bathroom to clean up. Small issue that did not take away from the absolute enjoyment of staying there.

The Mull of Galloway Lighthouse was awesome, as was all the other sights we visited while in the area.

The Hotel du Vin in Glasgow was another excellent place to stay - we very much enjoyed it as well as dinner at Cail Bruich. The walking around Glasgow and the Kellingrove museum was very nice.

Victoria Square hotel in Stirling would not be somewhere we would stay again; it was nice and quiet for the room, but nothing special, nor was breakfast. It was a great location, but not the nicest place for our tastes. The tours and everything about Stirling was very nice though - we enjoyed everything with only one exception. Our PHD level guided tour of Bonnockburn did not live up to our expectations. The tour guide was nice, and he obviously knew his history, but as we had read books on the battle, and knew a lot about it, we expected to be able to walk through the battlefield and have pretty good descriptions of how it progressed, but he wasn't very good at really getting the vibe across and we didn't really get to see what we thought we would be able to.

Our private transfers and train ride, the recommendations (House of Bruar was awesome; Aran Bakery was closed on Sunday; Brodie's Tea Room in Moffat was amazing, plus we bought something nice in one of the shops there) were spot on and everything went smoothly. Again, we can't thank you enough Emily for helping us out and getting everything organized to make our trip go seamlessly. We appreciate the work and will look back to Kimkim next time we are traveling!

Tom & Lesley Hall

The food tour in Galway was fantastic as well as our guide!

Our recent trip to Ireland, arranged by kimkim, was nothing short of extraordinary! From the moment we contacted kimkim, our agent Emily made the entire process seamless and enjoyable. Her expertise and dedication to crafting the perfect itinerary for us were evident in every detail of our trip.

The accommodations were superb, with highlights including the luxurious Aghadoe Heights Hotel and the charming Renvyle House Hotel. Each stay was characterized by exceptional comfort, stunning views, and outstanding hospitality.

The culinary experiences were equally impressive. We indulged in delicious local cuisine that truly highlighted the rich flavors of Ireland. Each meal was a delightful adventure in itself, further enhancing our travel experience.

The excursions planned by Emily were top-notch. Our visit to the Cliffs of Moher was breathtaking, with views that left us in awe. Exploring Killarney National Park allowed us to immerse ourselves in the natural beauty of Ireland, and our tour of Kylemore Abbey was both enlightening and inspiring.

Throughout our journey, Emily's attention to detail and responsiveness made us feel well taken care of. Her recommendations and arrangements ensured that every aspect of our trip was perfect.

We highly recommend kimkim and especially Emily for anyone looking to explore Ireland or any other destination. Their commitment to providing exceptional service and creating memorable travel experiences is unparalleled. We can't wait to plan our next adventure with them!

Everything was spot on! Great job KimKim. No problems. Hotels good. Guides were Great!

Hotel Reviews

The Old Parsonage Hotel

Oxford

Great hotel. Only problem, they were doing renovations.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Easy to walk to sights!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Bird, Bath

Bath

Nice hotel in good location!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Entry into the Roman Baths

Bath

Quality of Experience

Cotswolds and Shakesphere Tour

Oxford

Best guide on this and she was our driver. Diane Clark was a great guide and let us determine what to do if we wanted.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Half Day Stonehenge Tour from Bath

Bath

The guide was great and very knowledgeable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We wanted to experience multiple areas of Ireland as a family but didn't want to drive. Emily set us up with stays in 3 cities and got us to each by train.

We started in Killarney with stunning scenery and a charming, vibrant downtown. Our Ring of Kerry Tour was the perfect length and Michael was an informative guide but didn't dominate the trip. Cannot recommend the Kells Sheep Dogs demonstration enough. Highlight of the trip. We took a carriage tour of the Killarney National Park - Mikey, our guide, was a hoot and turned us on to the local pubs to try.

Cork was a quick stop and a colorful city with people who are very proud of their heritage. Blarney Castle is impressive but don't miss out on the gardens. We wanted Irish Session Music and we got it at Sin e'. Our cab driver also recommended the Corner House and those two both had tremendous atmosphere and music.

Dublin has yet another vibe than the other areas. We went on several tours - Molly was great at the Jameson experience. You can't go wrong in Temple Bar but hit THE Temple Bar early. We really enjoyed the Palace Bar and its adjoining Whiskey Bar. JR Mahon's also had great session music. The EPIC museum felt like the best way to end the trip.

We took a 13-hour bus trip from Dublin out to the west coast for the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren and Galway. Barry, our driver, gave us enough breaks and a lot of interesting history along the way. You cannot beat the majesty of views. It's long day to cross the country and back so we were glad we scheduled it in between Dublin days.

Cannot thank Emily enough for building a trip that was exactly what we wanted while making it seem effortless.

Hotel Reviews

Castle Lodge

Killarney

Friendly staff, great location, good food charming decor. Just a little trouble regulating the heater in the room. Wonderful for walkability to the part and the downtown pubs, restaurants, shopping and the train station.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Maldron Hotel Shandon

Co. Cork

Bit of a hike from the training but we had a lovely turret room. Room was very clean and the views were expansive. Bathroom was very updated.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Academy Plaza Hotel

Dublin

Great value in Dublin right off O'Connell street. Quick walk to the river and pubs. Lovely staff. We found our normal double room spacious and updated. Others in our party had a small double and a single that were very tight, so understand what you're booking. Would stay there again for sure.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Leon at the desk could not have been more welcoming. The bartenders were very helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Guided tour to the Ring of Kerry

Killarney

Michael as an excellent guide. The Kells sheep dog demonstration was a highlight of our whole trip. The tour was paced well with enough time to enjoy multiple areas.

Quality of Experience

Kells Sheep Dog Show, View from lunch in Waterville

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We were stopped for quite a while by and accident on the road. Michael somehow made up the time so we didn't miss anything. He was very informative without distracting from us taking in the views.

Transport

Very nice bus

Visit Blarney castle and kiss the stone

Ireland

We were lucky to visit in the afternoon when it wasn't so busy with tour buses and cruise excursions. Got right through the VERY steep climb to the top of the castle to kiss the stone. Had a great time learning about the castle and touring the amazing gardens.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Dublin Castle

Dublin

State rooms are nice but you don't get to see much as it's not large. It's not an expensive ticket, but if you're expecting Windsor Castle, this isn't it.

Quality of Experience

Cliff of Moher tour from Dublin

Dublin

The Cliffs are stunning and worth the long drive from Dublin. We enjoyed our lunch in Doolin - the staff at McGann's was ready and waiting for us. Doolin itself is a lovely village. The Burren is like nothing we've seen before. Wish we could have spend more time in Galway but we did get to spend time in the quaint shopping area and hear busker and see murals. The people could not have been nicer. Barry, our driver, was very accommodating and kept us informed of the schedule. But it was a long day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bus didn't have charging ports. The pocket in the seat in front of us was ripped.

Trinity College Library : The Book of Kells Experience

Dublin

Really well done tour of the facilities even though the books have been decanted. Enjoyed the interactive presentations

Quality of Experience

Free time in Dublin

Dublin

The Temple Bar area was colorful and fun with the pubs and restaurants. We sampled many and saw Irish music sessions in some places along with modern performers at others. The city center is every walkable. We found that cab drivers and bar tenders were great sources of intel on places to try.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jameson Distillery Dublin - Bow St. Experience

Dublin

This was so much more than we expected. The facility itself is very cool with shops and a unique bar. Even though Jameson isn't distilled here, they celebrate the heritage so well and so a great job of interactively demonstrating how the distillation process works. The tasting room was so well done and our tour group was so friendly thanks to our excellent guide, Molly. Will recommend to everyone to gets to Dublin.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Molly was great!