Jane Davey

We found Kimkim's travel planning to be very helpful with regard to finding the hotels and arranging transportation during our stay. Jane was very patient and responsive during the planning process, and we were always able to reach either Jane or Pauline when we needed assistance during the trip.
The hotels were all very nice and unique. We especially liked the White Hart Royal hotel in Moreton-in-Marsh, as well as the afternoon tea there, which was lovely. We had no problem carrying our bags, but some people might need to know that there are no elevators in the first two hotels. The Park Plaza hotel in London was excellent, too, and the location was great. The drivers were all very prompt and courteous, and their vehicles were in great condition.
Regarding the road book, we have a few comments / suggestions:
- The book listed a specific time to go to Stonehenge (2 p.m.) and did not clarify that we could go at any time or that it would be better to go in the morning (10 a.m.), especially when the day's itinerary was revised to include Salisbury cathedral that afternoon.
- The staff at Salisbury cathedral said we did not need the "all-in-one" Stonehenge + cathedral ticket and that it should be refunded because the regular cathedral tour was unavailable during the flower festival. (We realize that Kimkim had to buy a special ticket for entry during the festival.)
- We did not realize there was a Stonehenge bus stop about one block from our hotel; the instructions sent us to the stop at the train station, a 15 to 20-minute walk.
- The book did not clarify the class of train ticket for the Oxford trip, coach or first. Fortunately, we sat in coach; for the price, first would have been a nice touch.
- Pauline provided very useful directions for taking the Underground from Paddington station to our hotel in London. Perhaps this could have been included in the road book, along with a one-day Underground pass, as well as information on how to pay for additional tickets (with a simple credit card swipe). We had no problem taking the Underground.
We will definitely consider using Kimkim for future travels!

Activity Reviews

Oxford: University and City Walking Tour

Oxford

This was one of our favorite activities. We enjoyed seeing the architecture and learning the history of the university. The walking tour was a good length, the student guide was very informative, and we got to go inside Trinity College. It happened to be graduation day, so the town was extremely crowded, but on the plus side, we got to see the students in their graduation gowns, and the atmosphere was happy and festive.

Harry Potter Walking Tour in London

London

Alex, our guide, was full of enthusiasm and made the tour fun even for those of us who weren't Harry Potter superfans. We discovered some new parts of London and enjoyed the walk very much as we learned a lot of new things.

Entry into the Roman Baths

Bath

The museum at the baths is very extensive and well worth the visit.

Stonehenge tour from Salisbury

Salisbury

It's always gratifying to see such a famous sight up close, in person. We enjoyed the walk through the field to get there.

Full day in the Cotswolds with small group and driver/guide

England

Jason, our driver, was the best! He conveyed a lot of information in a relaxed and entertaining manner. This was a good introduction to a very large area.

Jim and I are very grateful for the help Jane provided in putting together our holiday to London with our 11 yr old grandson, Fort.
We had a terrific experience. Regret we lost our first day, but know it was no one’s fault due to a fire at Heathrow. It took Jim until 3am that Thursday night to obtain flight verification to London and it ended up being by was of Frankfort Germany on Lufthansa. What a story!! We arrived in London the next day- mid morning.
Our guided tours to Royal London and Beatles Walking tour were exceptional. How amazing we ended up one on one with our guides. Fort loved both tours and enjoyed interacting with both men.

In retrospect, we probably had too much scheduled as we didn’t make it to a couple of places. But, everything we did was terrific AND only makes us and Fort want to return!!

Jim loved the Beatles tour… we all enjoyed it, but he loved it!! Loved Westminster Abbey. Cutty Sark was a huge hit and Greenwich was so interesting. We all loved Churchill Bunker- Jim and Fort stuck together to take it all in. Again, a great success.
Weather amazing- only rained when we were on train to Windsor- we were lucky! We actually headed to Windsor as soon as we got into our hotel. It didn’t give us a full day and we exited with guides…asking questions the whole way. It was still wonderful. The doll house will have to wait!! So proud we successfully navigated metro and train to get there!! We walked 10-12,000 steps daily…so we certainly saw and experienced a lot!!
Hotel was quite nice- accommodating, comfortable, good breakfast…lovely dining area.
(I know I’ve left out something…- forgive me if I did!!)
Thanks to Jane for her patience with us. We tried to make it perfect…and we we’ll say it was awfully close to it!!

Many thanks-

Jessica/ Jim Robinson

Hotel Review

The Clermont London, Charing Cross

London

Comfortable. Professional, clean, quiet, nice dining area, concierge was helpful-

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful diningroom, tall ceilings, beautiful staircase

Location

Great central location

Staff

Concierge was very helpful-

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Best of Royal London - including Tower of London and Changing of the Guard

London

Lee Emmerson was a terrific guide- excellent tour…grandson really enjoyed being with him/

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We were fortunate to have our guides to ourselves…

Transport

Hello,
This was just a delightful experience was the most amazing. Jane out did herself in every aspect of my experience bring to life history, beauty and romance. From each hotel to the tour guides was spectacular. Jane took each email and brought my dream to life.

I love each and everyone of our guide. however Nick which one I believe the last guide was just outstanding. his knowledge, to charismatic personality, to his time management was just epically exquisite.

We discovered Scotland to be its own brand of magnificence, from city to rural and windswept scapes over the Isle of Skye. Not sure we have ever enjoyed seeing a country as much as this and the help from our KimKim team made that possible as they catered an itinerary unique to what we wished to see and do and where to travel. We especially loved the daily itinerary with maps downloaded and vouchers already paid and available for some of the sights (Edinburgh castle and Uruguart Castle along Loch Ness) and our arranged hiking guide, Mark, who took us to the Hidden Valley near Glencoe was terrific. Among our main criticisms was that, over the course of our making arrangements there were four separate people supporting the plans as several 'left' the company and that made coordination a confusion. We also were very disappointed with some of the accommodations (in fact, one was simply unacceptable: dirty, six flights of stairs, cold and paint peeling off walls in a town far from our stop in Inverness) so had to book our own en route. I would definitely use KimKim for the many details of arranging a visit as broad as ours but would only book accommodations on one's own. A second stay, rated as four stars, was the equivalent of a motel travelodge in the States and a third, in Isle of Skye, had a room we could barely both stand at once with our luggage!
Overall, it was a remarkable visit and many of the arrangements were satisfactory (car rental easy, arrangements for afternoon tea in Edinburgh on a rainy afternoon delightful) but often rather jam-packed (we like to wander to discover) and the lodging was sub-standard but for our own arranged hotels. The change in hands before and then during the trip made it rather challenging to know who was actually in charge but, in the end, Jane made good on our expressed disappointments and displeasure with accommodations at our final stay in Glasgow and escalated the concerns to ensure our trip went well overall. We would probably not be inclined to use KimKim again as a result of these concerns but are quite satisfied with the visit in general and would recommend Scotland to anyone curious to see a country of beauty, tranquility, castles, tea and whiskey and landscapes broad as the sky.

This is our second trip with kimkim and it did not disappoint! We worked with Jane and Marine-Heloise, and they were a dream team! They put together a two-week trip with the highlights of London and Scotland based off the things we enjoy. Every day was an adventure filled with new discoveries with ample free time to add things along as we went.

I LOVE to travel and have FOMO - but I also don't have the time to do a ton of research for the best places to see and visit.

The roadbook guide is extremely detailed with times and places we needed to be with notes about how long it took to get to each place via walking or public transport. All of the arranged private drivers were on time, and very kind. There was no confusion about where we were supposed to be, or when we supposed to be there. These ladies nailed it.

We had such an amazing trip and love the flexibility that kimkim offers. We had a mix of private tours, group tours, and self-guided tours. Each was unique, fun, and educational.

My only regret is that we didn't have more time in the UK. It is such a beautiful country with so many more things to discover. The people, the food, the history, the landscape - it was all so wonderful!

Hotel Reviews

ibis Styles London Southwark – near Borough Market

London

Cute hotel - clean rooms - great staff! Perfect location next to Borough Market and so much great food!!!

Authenticity & Character

Cute lobby - lots of style

Location

5 minutes walking distance to the market and tube.

Staff

Everyone was kind.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean hotel

The Resident Liverpool

Liverpool

We were only here one evening but this hotel has a great location - close to the downtown area. The rooms were neat ahc clean! We had a bit more room in these units that was much appreciate!

Moxy York

York

This was our favorite hotel of the places we stayed. The lobby is so cute and fun. Great breakfast and the staff were kind. Perfect location - close to the Shambles. We were only here for one night - we'd definitely stay here again and if we're back would like to spend 2 days in York.

ibis Edinburgh Centre South Bridge - Royal Mile

Edinburgh

Great location!!! Walking distance to royal mile. 4 stars only because the bathrooms were a little odd.

Citadines Trafalgar square

London

We were only here one night, and we came in late and left really early. We didn't really have a chance to spend time in the area. The lobby was clean - the staff was great. The room was nice because it was the only place we all 4 got to be together in one room. The room was clean but definitely needed a few touch ups in the bathrooms. Nothing crazy - we just noticed peeling paint, other handyman stuff.

Activity Reviews

Magical Mystery Tour

Liverpool

We stopped in Liverpool for this tour - my daughter and husband love the Beatles. They enjoyed this tour.

Hidden Gems Food Tour - Tower Bridge to Borough Market

London

This was a great tour especially given the location - we went through the Borough Market which was right around the corner from where we stayed. The guide was very knowledgeable about food in the market but also the history of London. Two of us are vegetarian and he accommodated our dietary lifestyle with ease.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very knowledgeable!

Hop-on, Hop-off Bus

London

I love these tours - we didn't get to complete the whole route as we hopped on late...but what we did get to see was fantastic!

Tower of London Timed Entry Tickets

London

The beefeaters are great guides - lots of humor. We chose to do the 45-minute guided tour with them as opposed to the self-guided audio tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Windsor, Stonehenge & Bath from London

London

This was one of our longer days but totally worth the time. The guide was humorous and knowledgeable. The coach was comfortable. My favorite was Stonehenge - my family loved Bath the most.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Watch a Football Match!

London

One of our favorite days! None of really watch sports but we fell in love with Ted Lasso and wanted to see a match in person. What an experience! I would highly recommend this to anyone visiting.

Quality of Experience

Harry Potter Studio Tour from London (with transport)

London

I love Harry Potter - probably more than our kids! We had a great time at the studios.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Oxford and Cambridge Tour

London

Another long day trip but worth it. The campuses are beautiful! I just wish had a bit more time in each location. They allotted about 1.5 hours at each stop. Once we finished walking through, we didn't have a ton of time to walk through the town squares.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Afternoon Tea at the Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh

Afternoon tea was a treat! And a great break in the day at the castle. The castle is impressive - we came through the front entrance at the Royal Mile. To truly see how expansive this castle is, walk around the outside of the grounds and view from the back side. It is enormous, and terrifying, and beautiful!

Deer & Owl Encounter

England

The drive from Edinburgh to Aberfeldy was beautiful. The guides at Highland Safari Park are knowledgeable and you can tell they really and care about what they are doing. We had a great time here. The deer experience on the grounds was neat and we got to feed them. The Safari was fun off roading and we got to view stags through telescope lens in their natural habitat. It was mating season so you could hear them everywhere!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our Private transfer driver was amazing - he was happy to share knowledge about the area.

Working with the KimKim agency was great -especially for independent minded travelers. All of the tour details for our trip to Great Britain We worked out in great detail before we left the US. This included a great hotel in London, close to all of the major attractions and transportation Plus prearranged tickets to all the special things that we want to see such as Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle, and Christchurch in Oxford, plus many others.