Huyen Nghiem

The Saigon Food Tour was a highlight in the South, the Amania resort a highlight along the coast, the Hoian custom fitting shops and the river tours in the Central and Halong Bay in the North were all super! As were the guides… would not recommend the country without guides and Kim Kim’s were great!
Thanks for helping to make this a trip of a lifetime!
The Ahrensdorf Family

Hotel Reviews

Can Tho Ecolodge

Can Tho

The Can Tho Ecolodge was amazing. The rooms were great, the pool was nice and the setting was really cool. However, the service in the restaurant was below par, and the food was average at best. We wanted to get massages, but they didn't have enough masseuses working the hours we wanted. The water heater system was also noisy and disruptive.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Amiana Resort Nha Trang

Great resort with world class accommodations! Your trip to the EasternCoast needs to include this place!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right on a quiet part of the sea away from the busy city.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Best pillows in Vietnam

Activity Reviews

Join in Local Home-Cooked Dinner

Hanoi

This was an amazing experience. It was great to immerse ourselves in the culture and learn about the Vietnamese family's lifestyle. The language barrier was a tiny issue, but our guide helped with the translation. This was one of the best parts of the trip and I'd highly recommend it to others.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

ISLANDS AND SNORKELING TOUR

Nha Trang

The Nha Trang Snorkeling tour was very average. The location was overcrowded and the waters were murky. I recommend skipping this tour and snorkeling at the Amiana beach instead.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The tourguide Garvin was a very hardworking, warm and detailed person who offered great hospitality and introduction to Ha Noi and Vietnam.
It was amazing to visit local market, interact with local family and learn to make rick cake. 😍

The guides, KimKims service and Vietnam were all amazing, I would strongly recommend going! I've not used an online travel agent like this before but having done it once I will definitely use it again for future trips. Thanks again KimKim!

Hotel Reviews

Queen Ann Hotel Saigon

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hoi An Rose Garden Hotel

Hoi An

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cozy Boutique Cruise

Halong,

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sapa Relax Hotel & Spa

Lao Cai

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

HOMESTAY Mr Don

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

HOMESTAY MR BINH

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hong Ngoc Dynasty

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hoian - My Son half day tour

Hoi An

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hoi An - Tra Que Village & Hoi An Ancient Town Tour

Hoi An

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lan Ha Bay - Flight to Danang/Hoi An

Lan Ha Bay

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanoi - Lan Ha Bay Cruise

Lan Ha Bay

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Saigon - Cu Chi tunnel and city tour full day

Ho Chi Minh City

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sapa - Lao Chai - Ta Van - Sapa

Vietnam

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ho Chi Minh - Ben Tre - Ho Chi Minh (2,5 hours transfer)

Ho Chi Minh City

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Morning Hike in Mù Cang Chải - Transfer to Sapa

Vietnam

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Muong Lo – Mu Cang Chai – Trekking

Mu Cang Chai

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanoi – Muong Lo - Walking

Nghia Lo

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanoi - City tour full day

Hanoi

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

KimKim provided us great service on our trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. They created a 15 day itinerary with us and were flexible along the way when we wanted to make changes. Our local specialist was very responsive and made sure we were happy with everything. the tour guides were prompt, knowledgeable and very friendly. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and would use KimKim again.

Hotel Review

Victory Star Cruise

Hanoi

Beautiful boat with a fantastic cabin, fresh delicious food and a very nice crew. The excursion to the cave and the hike were both fun. Very relaxing and rejuvenating few days at HaLong Bay. An experience not to be missed.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Halong Bay - Train to Hue

Ha Long Bay

Train was ontime. We reserved a sleeping car (bought all four bunks for two of us). It was private. Bathrooms were dirty. Sheets were not clean.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Evening Walking Street Food Tour

Hanoi

We loved seeing the local environment and tasting local foods that we could not have at home. Our guide made it easy and made us feel safe!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Christmas in Vietnam! We had a WONDERFUL time as a family of 4 in Vietnam. Huyen put together an awesome 10 day itinerary that was very responsive to our interests and limitations traveling with 2 kids under 7. Each hotel was excellent, the activities were fun and interesting and the guides were very very very knowledgeable, flexible and kind. Thank you so much Huyen and the rest of the team!!

Huyen was very responsive and was very adept at answering our questions regarding our trip, but I felt the trip activities were very repetitive, subpar, and had poor time management in which we had hours between activities or didn't have enough time.

Day 1- Hanoi
The first day we had a great time with the photographer in the morning time at the hotel taking glamour shots. However, the cooking class/market was incredibly disappointing. The "bustling" market had no people walking around due to the time. The market is busy during the early morning, but we got there around 10am. The cooking class itself was the main disappointment. We made 3 separate dishes. The first dish was making steamed rice crepes and then hand wrapping them with premade filling. Making one or 2 is fine, but I didn't see the value in us making 30+ when we didn't want to eat that many. The second dish was basically wrapping tacos also with premade fillings with fried egg and rice paper. It was very very oiley. Also made a lot of them for no reason. Then we had an intermission where we made vegetable garnishes. It was fun, but very time consuming and also something we can do anywhere. The third dish we didn't even cook, we just watched her make a noodle soup and then ate it. Due to the time needed for the cooking class, we had very limited time for the rest of the day which we were supposed to have the photographer. The temple of literature was fun, but we didn't get any time to walk the old quarter and were very rushed while visiting the sword lake which was very picturesque before we had to go to the water puppet show.

Day 2-3 Ha Long Bay
Ha Long Bay was beautiful. I had initially questioned whether it was worth it to drive 3.5 hours there and then 3.5 hours back for an overnight stay, but the beautiful sights changed my mind. We took the ship Victory Star. The ship was clean although a bit rusty on the outside. Food was very mediocre. English speaking guide was ok. It was a bit difficult to understand him. The squid fishing and karaoke that was on the itinerary did not happen. The Me Cung Cave and climbing up for panoramic views were incredible. On the second day we were picked up from the boat and headed to the airport. We had over an hour before we needed to check in at the airport and we had to ask and get approval to have them take us to a restaurant before then heading to the airport. We were not checked in advance so we sat very far back in the airplane

Day 4-5 - Hoian
Hoian had the best hotel. The hotel staff was wonderful, the food very good and the itinerary was largely very good. The bike ride through the old quarters in Hoian, the Japanese covered bridge, Ancient house, Chinese temple and old house was very scenic and I really enjoyed the architecture. We then took a very long motor boat "cruise" along the river which didn't contribute much value in my opinion. The coconut village was fun though. We cast a net although no fish was ever caught. My sister was able to do the swirling coconut ride where the fisherman would basically rock the boat, but we didn't get that option (don't know why). Then we took a very long bike ride to the herb garden for lunch. We put on farmers clothes and took pictures and that was interesting, but the food was not great. I would have picked a different place for lunch if taking pictures was the draw. Day 5 - we had our own free time.

Day 6-8 Ho Chi Minh/Saigon
The flight that was scheduled for us was in the afternoon so by the time we landed it was past 2pm and half the day was gone. Again, we were not checked in in advance so we sat at the end of the end of the plane.
We were supposed to go check in the hotel first, but due to the time constraints we immediately had to go from the airport to driving around the city despite not feeling very well. We were also short of VND and wanted to exchange money at the airport, but wasn't given the time. We could feel how the guide felt immensely rushed from the speed of his walking and we were left with 2 hours to travel to 6 different places, before everything closed and the driver was off. Unfortunately, due to the illness of one of the travelers, after the first stop, we wanted to drop off the one traveler at the hotel (5 minutes away) before resuming the tour. Unfortunately, the driver left after dropping us off at the hotel before his time was up.

Day 7 we were scheduled to go to the Mekong delta/Ben Tre and then the Cu Chi Tunnels. The problem is that it would have had 5.5 hours of travel. We chose to only do the Ben Tre and then do Cu Chi the next day. Ben Tre was ok. It was a 2 hour trip to get there. While we were there, we took another really long motor boat ride that again didn't really provide much value. We had a very short display of how they made coconut candy, watched someone make straw mats, and then took a motor cart to lunch. Lunch was at Green Coconut. Presentation was nice, but food again was very mediocre. I would definitely have chosen to eat someplace else. Then another boat ride before going to the hotel.

Day 8 - we chose to explore HCM that we had planned for the prior day instead of doing the Cu Chi tunnels. It was a lot of fun and I wish we had spent more time exploring HCM instead of spending 4 hours of driving the day prior.

Huyen was very responsive and very nice, but I wish we were given more options and we could have picked what sounded interesting versus just being given a plan and then objecting to parts of it. We unfortunately didn't know what else there was to pick from.

In regards to exchanging money, I did not know that the crispness of the bills were of importance and it would have been immensely useful to know that.

Overall KimKim was flexible, but we found the planning to be not great. One of the things that could have helped would be an itinerary broken down with times and flight numbers. That way we would be able to tell the guide what we want to spend more time on or whether we want to spend 6 hours of the day in a car. In many days I felt rushed and also my time wasted due to the inefficiencies of the trip. I would have much more enjoyed having more time taking pictures and having more time to explore the city vs spending so much time seeing pheasant activities. I really don't see a value in seeing multiple farmers markets in the afternoon when no one is there and it's not even open. I don't see a value in taking so many boat rides. I also see no value in watching someone cook. It would have also been nice if there were restaurant recommendations for our down time.

Hotel Reviews

Eden Star Hotel & Spa

Ho Chi Minh City

Amazing location. Hotel felt a little dated. Food was mediocre.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Oriental Jade Hotel

Hanoi

Nice hotel, but the views are a bit lacking. Food is pretty good

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Allegro Hoian

The best breakfast buffet of my whole stay in Vietnam. Very clean and the staff was nice. Close to the night market and walking distance to almost everything I wanted to do.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Victory Star Cruise

Hanoi

The boat was clean if a bit rusty. Food was very mediocre and I had trouble finishing it. The tour was fun if a bit rushed. Tour guide was a bit hard to understand. Not all activities on the itinerary set by the boat was done.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Ha Long Bay Overnight Cruise

Ha Long Bay

Food not great, but the scenes were very nice. Tour of the cave was fun as well as the hike up the mountain for views.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ho Chi Minh - Ben Tre - Ho Chi Minh (2,5 hours transfer)

Ho Chi Minh City

It was not worth the 5 hour round trip drive. We drove all the way there, watched them make some coconut candy, straw mats, took a motor car ride, and then had a mediocre lunch. Redundant boat rides

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hoi An - Tra Que Village & Hoi An Ancient Town Tour

Hoi An

The bike ride through the old quarters in Hoian, the Japanese covered bridge, Ancient house, Chinese temple and old house was very scenic and I really enjoyed the architecture. We then took a very long motor boat "cruise" along the river which didn't contribute much value in my opinion. The coconut village was fun though. We cast a net although no fish was ever caught. My sister was able to do the swirling coconut ride where the fisherman would basically rock the boat, but we didn't get that option (don't know why). Then we took a very long bike ride to the herb garden for lunch. We put on farmers clothes and took pictures and that was interesting, but the food was not great. I would have picked a different place for lunch if taking pictures was the draw.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanoi Cooking Class & City Tour

Hanoi

The first day we had a great time with the photographer in the morning time at the hotel taking glamour shots. However, the cooking class/market was incredibly disappointing. The "bustling" market had no people walking around due to the time. The market is busy during the early morning, but we got there around 10am. The cooking class itself was the main disappointment. We made 3 separate dishes. The first dish was making steamed rice crepes and then hand wrapping them with premade filling. Making one or 2 is fine, but I didn't see the value in us making 30+ when we didn't want to eat that many. The second dish was basically wrapping tacos also with premade fillings with fried egg and rice paper. It was very very oiley. Also made a lot of them for no reason. Then we had an intermission where we made vegetable garnishes. It was fun, but very time consuming and also something we can do anywhere. The third dish we didn't even cook, we just watched her make a noodle soup and then ate it. Due to the time needed for the cooking class, we had very limited time for the rest of the day which we were supposed to have the photographer. The temple of literature was fun, but we didn't get any time to walk the old quarter and were very rushed while visiting the sword lake which was very picturesque before we had to go to the water puppet show.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Huyen did an amazing job planning our trip. It was incredibly affordable considering everything we were able to do. She connected us with highly qualified drivers and guides, it made our trip so easy and seamless. We were busy almost everyday from 7am to 9pm, seeing sights, trekking, trying food and learning about culture and history. We were able to travel to multiple cities and rural areas that were absolutely incredible. We definitely recommend! Also, we went for our honeymoon and every hotel decorated our room with flower pedals and towel swans, it was so sweet! The Vietnamese culture was so warm and welcoming, can't say enough about how wonderful our trip was! Thank you Huyen!

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.

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!

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

The planning process was great but the itinerary was a little dull. We were looking for a little more adventure. Luckily our local guide was able to change our itinerary to better suit our needs.