Jasmine Harvy

Kimkim's associates in Australia, first Jasmine and later Hugh, helped us plan a wonderful 30-day vacation in Australia. Jasmine worked up a candidate itinerary and we worked with it, tweaked it, and fine-tuned it for several months -- way back in late 2019 and early 2020 for travel in August and September of 2020. But then COVID happened. We tried again in 2021, but Australia still had not opened up to tourism and didn't open up until 2022. We picked it up again early this year (Jasmine had moved on and we were turned over to first Jay and then Hugh with Global Tours Specialists). We worked with them to make a few additional adjustments to our itinerary and Hugh did all the bookings and reservations for our time in Australia. There were some struggles with Australia's recovering tourism industry, but Hugh did a wonderful job handling the challenges. In the end everything worked out almost flawlessly. One of our lodgings (Alice Springs) was a disappointment, but there were no alternatives to be had due to a big auto show that sucked up all available lodging the weekend we were there. We were lucky to get anything, but Hugh found something for us -- better than nothing.

The vacation itself... Wow! We covered lots of ground (literally) from Melbourne to Adelaide, then by rental car to Port Augusta, Coober Pedy, on through the Outback to Uluru and Kings Canyon, and on to Alice Springs. After a couple nights there we flew to Darwin (a few days there), then (by air) to Cairns where we rented another car to explore the Atherton Tablelands and the coast up to Cape Tribulation (including Port Douglas, Mossman Gorge, and the Daintree Rainforest). Our stay in Cairns included a day out on the Great Barrier Reef. We then flew to Sydney for a few days before our trip home.

We spent quite a bit of time on this trip traveling by car (about 2 weeks in the Outback and 6 days around Cairns). This was a lot of driving (roughly equivalent to driving from our home in Southeastern Washington to Chicago!) but what a great way to see the country! We loved it! It gave us flexibility to stop (or not stop) whenever we wanted, stay as long as we wanted, and take little side trips whenever we wanted. We were a bit apprehensive going in (e.g., out of touch in the Outback, long driving days, risk of adverse weather conditions, and driving on the left side of the road), but it all turned out perfectly. We'd do it again in a heartbeat.

All lodgings that were suggested by Jasmine, Jay or Hugh were all excellent (except as noted above). The Flynn Hotel in Cairns was particularly exquisite! Highly recommended (book one of the "09" rooms!). Our room at the Mantra 2 Bond Street in Sydney was really an apartment. Probably overkill, but we enjoyed the space.

Breakfast at the hotel was included on most days and usually was full... very full... breakfast from a buffet (needless to say, we tended to overindulge).

Jasmine and Hugh set up eleven tours for us over the course of the vacation. We enjoyed all of these, but our favorites were the small group ones (e.g., the Melbourne City tour, the Melbourne Lanes and Arcades tour, and the Sydney City tour). The two city tours were just the guide and the two of us -- this was ideal. The big coach tours (Kangaroo Island, Barossa Valley, Uluru, and Kakadu National Park) are not really our cup of tea but this might have been the only practical way of getting a guided tour of some of these sites. Two of these tours (Kangaroo Island and Kakadu National Park) were full days and involved a lot of time on the bus getting to and from the sites -- almost too much time relative to the time we spent actually visiting the sites.

Prior to our travel we set up a WhatsApp chat with Kimkim (actually, with Hugh and his team in Australia) for real-time support during our trip. We did have a few issues that came up along the way, but through this chat we could get their help and they were alway very responsive. Things alway got resolved very satisfactorily.

Generally we prefer vacations where we "park" somewhere for a long restful stay. This wasn't one of those trips. We didn't see any way to give Australia some of the justice it deseres without a lot of traveling. During the planning phase, we tweaked the itinerary to ensure that we had at least two nights at each location (with three or more at several of them). The only exception was the one night we stayed in the Daintree Rainforest. Now we have some good candidates for our "long restful stay" type vacation should we return to Australia!

All in all, this was a great experience and it was a real pleasure working with the team at Kimkim and Global Tour Specialists. They were very patient with us and very adaptable to our preferences and desires. I highly recommend a Kimkim vacation if you want something designed especially for you with help from a local specialist who can provide recommendations where to go, where to stay, and what to see. However, be prepared to spend some time with them to make sure they know what you want out of your vacation and don't be afraid to let them know if something isn't just right. They are there to work with you and are really good at it.

Two weeks in east Australia by Judie Yamamoto and Charley Mullally

Overall, our trip to Australia, arranged by Jasmine through KimKim, was excellent. The accommodations were comfortable and for the most part spacious, modern, and conveniently located, quite more luxurious than we’d expected on the “mid-level” plan we had requested. Transportation (airport and hotel ground pickups as well as our three flights in Australia) went very smoothly, spoiling us for the return home when we had to drive ourselves! And even though we were always based in the city centers, there were enough excursions into the countryside to provide both urban and rural experiences.

Our most memorable day was probably our trip to the Mornington Peninsula, made so by our driver/guide Juliet. She was absolutely delightful and clued us in on local specialties: where to eat in Sorrento, vanilla slices, a little known “secret” oceanside cliff walk in front of million dollar homes. The upbeat music she played enroute didn’t hurt the day, either.

Other highlights:
· Watching wild kangaroos and koalas at the Conservation Ecology Centre in Great Otway National Park (the B&B there looks worth coming back to spend a few days!);
· Views along the Great Ocean Road;
· Up close opportunities to see the remarkable beginnings of recovery from the extensive bush fires that had occurred only a short time before our visit.
· Sydney Harbor cruise and strolling through Sydney’s Chinatown (all those Asian restaurants!);
· Tour of Sydney Opera House followed by dinner and front row tickets for “Six!”
· Swimming in a mountain stream in the Daintree Rainforest

The major downside to our trip was that there wasn’t enough downtime – days with little or no planned activity. At age 78, both of us needed more time to kick back and relax, fewer early morning pickups, less bus travel. We didn’t know that when we OKed Jasmine’s arrangements, but we will be sure to be cognizant of it on our next journey.

Jasmine did a great job listening to me and booking everything. The trip to Australia was beyond my expectations. I definitely will use KimKim and the services provided for all my trips that I can! The value is amazing!

The entire team was great! Whenever we encountered any issues they were resolved very quickly. The paperwork was very thorough and made the driving experience go smoothly. We will definitely contact KimKim for travel in the future.

My Granddaughter and I had wonderful trip.Meeting first with Rogan Lind giving us an overview of what was planned was really helpful. All of the all of the hotels were perfect but the most perfect of all was the excursions we liked them all. Our favorites Sidney Opera House, The Great Barrier Reef, Penguin Parade,Kangaroos& Koalas in the wild. Trip guides were great especially Amy of Echiona Walkabout. I can't thank you enough for helping make this a memorable trip.

Jasmine was very responsive to ALL my questions!

The hotels she chose were exactly what we were looking for. We especially liked the Pullman in Cairns and the Montra Bond in Sydney. Get location and value.

All the tours were wonderful. Especially the 1/2 tour tour of Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef Day.

The only tour we did not like was the Daintree Rainforest. Had we known how long it was we would have opted to do something else. Driving for 5 hours in one day is too much. I think that tour they try to do too much. Long drives and then short stays at the venues.

Thank you very much!

We had an absolutely enchanting trip to Australia, thanks to Jasmine at Global Tour Specialists! She created a perfect itinerary for us that involved adventures like a rock hopping river hike to a day spent in the rainforest sampling ice cream and climbing above the tree line! We snorkeled at four sites along the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns to Port Douglas, cuddled koalas, and just had day after day of top notch adventure.

Travel was seamless and included transportation - which was a huge help since we’re used to driving on the other side of the road! We felt so relaxed and joyful, and grateful to have had Jasmine’s insight and good planning. We appreciated that there was a 24 hour phone number to contact in case of an emergency, and when we ran into minor issues, Jasmine and her team were so responsive.

This is not the type of vacation we usually take — it was a special occasion (our 10th wedding anniversary) and Jasmine did absolutely everything to ensure it was a special trip every day from beginning to end. Thank you so much! We had the adventure of a lifetime and would recommend KimKim and Jasmine at Global Tour Specialists in a heartbeat!

Had a wonderful time , missed flight due to weather and Kim Kim team was right on it . No way we could of experience all the things we did in a short time without their help. Would highly recommend !