Liz Neal

Thoroughly enjoyed the trip. In the future I probably won’t have so much scheduled, would have liked a bit more free time, but we did have lots of fun.

Activity Review

Full Day Uncork the Barossa Valley

Adelaide

Loved the wine tour and that’s saying a lot considering we don’t much care for wine. The views of the vineyards were amazing and our guide was very personable, really enjoyed him. Learned a lot. Definitely recommend the tour wether you are a novice or much more.

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We recently completed the 8-night Sydney, Cairns and Melbourne Australia trip. Liz was very helpful in designing and adjusting the trip for us. Hotels were in good locations, within walking distance to attractions and restaurants and airport transportation arrangement worked smoothly.
Though the weather sometimes was challenging, we enjoyed the Sydney Opera House tour and chances to visit local farms. The Gold Class Kuranda Scenic Railway was a nice treat and the Penguin Parade in Melbourne was quite an experience. Thanks KimKim in helping us in this memorable trip.

Hotel Reviews

Pan Pacific

Melbourne

Nice location to walk to attractions. Close to Crown Casino. Staffs are very friendly and eager to help. Modern design and clean .

Pacific Hotel Cairns

Cairns

Great location but hotel is not clean as it should be. We found dust covered on coffee pot and hot water pot etc. Hotel was informed. It seems to be a group tour hotel too. There were school students staying while we were there.

The Grace Hotel

Sydney, NSW

A hotel with much history. Great location. Close to Sydney harbor and many restaurants. Breakfast starts at 6:30am which did not work us with early full day guided tours.

Activity Reviews

Depart Australia

Australia

The ride is okay. With all of the airport pick-up and drop-off in the entire trip, the Sydney pick-up experience, the car and the driver, is amazing. I guess it is a small city. The cars used in Cainrs is so so. But all drivers are courteous.

Full Day Phillip Island + Penguin Plus with Dinner

Melbourne

Funning and knowledgeable tour guide Sara. We enjoyed this tour.

Full Day Cape Tribulation, Daintree & Mossman Gorge

Cairns

Daintree River Cruise and rainforest are good highlights. The bus driver and tour guide Denial was great. However, Mossman Gorge does not seem that interesting. This trip involves winding mountain ride. It took a long drive to reach to destination.

Full-Day Kuranda Rail & Skyrail - Gold Class

Australia

Location is wonderful and the Gold Class train ride was a good treat. The bus driver, however, is not as good as all other guide.

Welcome to Cairns!

Cairns

Full Day Blue Mountains Deluxe Day

Sydney

A long drive to a few lookout points for photo shoots. I wish we have more time to walk around the Three Sisters. Knowledgeable tour guide.

Sydney Opera House Tour

Sydney

Great tour to be able to see the performing stage of the Opera House.

Morning Panoramic Sydney Sights

Sydney

Tour guide was very knowledgeable. It is a good tour to know the city first before picking places to visit at free time.

Dinner Cruise Sydney Harbour

Sydney

Lovely cruise to see the Sydney Harbour. Food is actually good. Window seat is a plus.

This trip was amazing. It was a 76 day trip to see both Australia and New Zealand. My Specialist Liz Neal was amazing and fantastic. She worked with me for almost a year to organize everywhere I was going to go and the day trips and I also wanted to make sure that I had drivers to pick me up from the Airport and for the daily outings and they were there. The booklets that she sent me with all the daily information of all the outings and plane information was a fantastic idea. I carried it everywhere and will use it when I do my photo album.

The only thing is that I need to keep some days off for myself. I was so excited about this trip and I wanted to see everything that I booked something every day. Liz tried to get me some time off from visiting but I just wanted to experience everything. In hindsight, some time off would have been good to actually do things I wanted to do but had no time like either sleep, shop or just walk around. Something to keep in mind for my next trip.

It is too bad that Liz is an expert only on Australia and Zew Zealand. I would love to have her as my agent for all my next trips.

Thank you for this amazing experience.

Liz was amazing, helping make adjustments to the itinerary as needed.

Activity Reviews

Your Wildlife Habitat tour

Port Douglas

The one on one tour gave hands on quality time with all the animals all the while learning about their habitats and how they are providing aid to these wonderful creatures.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

My guide was so knowledgeable and such a wonderfully kind person

Full Day Blue Mountains Hike the World Heritage

Sydney

Highly recommend the option to hike instead of the lunch. Beautiful, breath taking views

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We just got back from our 19 day adventure in Australia! We went from Sydney, Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, Ayers Rock and Port Douglas! Liz did an excellent job at planning everything for us! She planned all our hotels, flights and excursions! It was fantastic! We appreciate Liz and all her work towards our trip! We came out of the gate full speed ahead to see as much as we did so to end our trip in Port Douglas was awesome too as it was a beach town and more time to relax! Simply beautiful amazing trip! Thank you for all!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Grand Chancellor Adelaide

Adelaide

Hotel Grand in Adelaide was a nice hotel too. The bartender in the their bar was so friendly. We enjoyed a couple of drinks there with appetizers. Food was good. I have to say, the location across from the bar wasn’t the best. The bar across the street seems to go all hours until morning. Even at 630am bus pickup from our hotel for tour, the bus driver had issues with drunk folks trying to block the bus etc. I think I would pick a different hotel just due to the location. Otherwise, had really no issues with hotel itself.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

PARKROYAL Darling Harbour

Sydney

Parkroyal was a nice hotel. Good breakfast that was included and better than we expected. The hotel staff was extremely nice and offered help when needed. We felt very safe walking around here and getting to places, even in the evening with restaurants near by. We would recommend staying there again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Port Douglas Peninsula Boutique Hotel

Port Douglas

This hotel was the best! Perfect location to walk everywhere and the beach was 100ft away! Loved it

Authenticity & Character

Location

Perfect location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Perfect location to everything!!

Activity Reviews

Dot Painting Workshop

Uluru

This was a nice tour to do to understand more of the set means and their story.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The host was good at her job

Transport

Patji Outback Adventure - Afternoon

Uluru

Our tour guide was awesome. The Anangu host that rode along to “share” information was as informative that we all hoped for.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The Guide was fantastic, she loves her job. The Anangu host was fair. We hoped for more info from Tina to talk more than she did.

Transport

2 day 1 night Kangaroo Island - Cruise / Cruise Day 2 (SL)

Australia

We loved Kangaroo Island. The tour was a 2 day and very busy tour. We were on a couch bus and the driver/guide did a great job for the 2 days. We felt in some places we wished we had long time but understood that to see “everything” they had to keep us moving. Definitely have to see the beauty of this Island!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day River Drift Snorkeling (morning/afternoon depending on season)

Australia

This was a fun tour to do!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full-Day Barrier Reef & Coral Cays Boat Tour

Port Douglas

Great Barrier Reef was amazing! Tour was great!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset Camel Ride

Uluru

So much fun to do in the Outback! I highly suggest it!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Climb the Harbor Bridge

Sydney

This was a great and fun experience!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hi Liz,
The trip to New Zealand and Australia was probably one of the best we've ever had. The highlights were the Women World Cup soccer games we attended in both countries. In addition, Helen, Alexa and I enjoyed the town and activities you planned for us in Queenstown (Milford Sound and wine tasting). The city that we were unexpectedly pleased with was Nelson. At this city we were able to enjoy a cruise along the coast of the Abel Tasman NP and hike a portion of the great walk at this park. Our driver in Nelson was also very good in giving us a good education of the area and we enjoyed our conversation with her during the trip.

In terms of hotel accommodations I believe City Life in Wellington was the best It was both spacious and very comfortable. However, in retrospect we could have decreased the number of days we spent in this city and spent those days elsewhere. The hotel we liked the least was the Nasuto Stadium hotel in Auckland. While the location gave us easy access to the downtown area, the additional bed placed in the middle of the living room contributed to our luke warm review, although on our return visit to the hotel before leaving for Sydney, we were given a room that had two separate bedrooms.
We enjoyed our trip to Rotorua. The Maori cultural venues (teaching school and village experience) were very interesting. Helen and Alexa went to a new spa in Rotorua that you might want to check out. Its called Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa. Its right on the lake and they enjoyed their experience at the spa,,, it was new and not crowded. I found the Hobbiton experience a little underwhelming, and probably would not recommend it to the casual visitor. However, we really enjoyed or visit to Sydney. We were able to attend a symphony in the Opera House and the tour. We found the restaurants in Sydney to be plentiful and varied. Our trip to the Blue Mountains was okay but I probably would not recommend it if time is a consideration. There are so many other activities to attend to in Sydney..
All in all, we believe your recommendations help us enjoy our trip to these two countries. Thank you so much.
Jim

Hotel Reviews

Tides Hotel Nelson

Nelson

Given the budget restrictions placed on the trip, the hotel was adequate for our needs.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

CityLife Wellington

Wellington

This was the best hotel on our trip. Very specious and comfortable

Authenticity & Character

Location

Central location in the middle of the city

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Copthorne Hotel & Resort Queenstown Lakefront

Queenstown

Given the budget restrictions placed on the trip, the hotel was adequate for our needs. We thought we had a lake view room and had to asked for a different room from the one initially assigned

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Millennium Hotel Rotorua

Rotorua

Given the budget restrictions placed on the trip, the hotel was adequate for our needs.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Nesuto Stadium Auckland

Auckland

See written review

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

90 Minute Weta Workshop Unleashed

Auckland

We learned this Weta Workshop was not the same as the one in Wellngton. We heard from others the the one in Wellington was better than the one in Auckland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Everything went off pretty much without a hitch. Flights booked through KK worked out well timewise and all the tours were well worth the time and money. They also hit all the major things I wanted to do st each location (Queenstown NZ, Sydney AUS, and Ayers Rock AUS). Liz was super helpful and made this super stress free to plan. Thanks KK!

What a perfect family vacation! Liz planned a wonderful trip that enabled us to experience the best of Australia and New Zealand. She was very responsive and worked well with us to put together a memorable trip for all!

Liz Neal booked our family a wonderful trip to Tahiti, Moorea, and Bora Bora. From airport transfers to a ferry ride, ground transportation, a dolphin experience, and two Motu boat tours, everything was on time and exactly as planned. Our flight was nearly disrupted by an airline strike a few days before our trip, and Liz kept in touch with us the entire time, checking in and making sure our backup plans were in place. She took care to message me during the trip as well and make some wonderful suggestions! This was our second time booking a trip with Liz, and once again, it was smooth sailing and an excellent vacation. Bora Bora is like no place we've ever seen before -- a truly unforgettable trip!

Activity Reviews

Shark & Ray Lagoon Safari and Motu TAPU - Full Day

Bora Bora

Our tour guide, Vatea, was amazing. He was so friendly, knowledgable, and had a great singing voice alongside his ukelele! The food was quite good and the lunch on the Motu had a nice setup with picnic tables in the water and fish swimming right by your feet as you ate. Snorkeling at the designated coral garden was incredible. And an unexpected bonus, Vatea stopped by the channel to the ocean and we saw many dolphins swimming nearby.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Outrigger Miti Lagoon Tour - Full Day

Moorea

We weren't quite prepared to have this boat tour on a day of pouring rain and wind. We were cold and uncomfortable for the day, but our guide was pretty entertaining.

Quality of Experience

Perhaps a cancellation/backup plan for inclement weather.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dolphin Watching & Encounter - Educational Manea Program

Moorea

The dolphin expert at the Center was really knowledgable and made it a fun experience. It was incredible to observe the dolphins in the water firsthand.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Moorea !

Moorea

If we could do it over again, we would stay at the Hilton Moorea over the Manava Resort. Manava was nice, but our room air conditioning was not great and had a musty smell. However, the dinners and amenities (paddleboarding, kayaking, snorkeling) were nice. Our outrigger boat tour landed on a day that was rainy and windy, so it wasn't super pleasant, but it was just bad luck with the weather. However, the dolphin excursion at Moorea Dolphin Center was amazing.

Quality of Experience

Would rather have stayed at another hotel besides Manava

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The dolphin expert at Moorea Dolphin Center was really knowledgable and great.

Transport

Ferry ride to Moorea was pleasant, and we had very easy and seamless air transport from Moorea to Bora Bora.

WELCOME TO TAHITI!

French Polynesia

Intercontinental Hotel was great. We enjoyed snorkeling in their lagoon area and loved their restaurant service, which included a traditional Polynesian dance show one breakfast.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We were greeted at the airport and given all our travel info, with quick transport to our hotel.

We had such a fabulous time and Liz made it so easy by planning things perfectly down to all the important details. Our 2 week trip went extremely smoothly and we really loved our itinerary. Liz was super knowledgeable about Australia and very supportive of our family's long wish list She struck a good balance between giving us advice and listening to our priorities. Scheduled flights, transportation, and accommodations all went smoothly without a hitch. We (including kids) all loved the variety of places we visited (Melbourne, Darwin, Port Douglas, Sydney).
We loved the tours she scheduled for us and she went out of her way to make last-minute tour adjustments when needed. All our tour guides were wonderful and gave us unique experiences.

Hotel Reviews

The York, by Swiss-Belhotel

Sydney

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Silkari Lagoons Port Douglas

Port Douglas

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Argus Hotel Darwin

Darwin

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Adina Apartment Hotel Melbourne

Melbourne

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Blue Mountains Hike the World Heritage

Sydney

The farm stop was redundant for us as we had already been to many sanctuaries, so had great experiences already with the animals. If we didn't visit other wildlife habitats already then the farm would have been a more fun stop. Breakfast was less than expected. We loved the scenic drive and lookouts. The guide was awesome and very friendly and educational. My whole family unexpectedly all loved the hike. the views were beautiful, and the trail was challenging enough to have been fun for our 3 teens. I thought the Botanical garden was nice was didn't add to the experience of being in the Blue mountains, as the garden in Sydney was even bigger and nicer.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Climb the Harbor Bridge

Sydney

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Afternoon Kuranda Rail & Skyrail

Port Douglas

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Low Isles (from Hotel)

Port Douglas

Quality of Experience

no one's fault but it was very windy so rough boat ride and water was cloudy.

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Flood Country - Northern Kakadu Experience

Darwin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Indigenous Litchfield Spectacular

Darwin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Phillip Island Full day tour Moonlit Sanctuary + Penguin Plus

Australia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Working with the agent I was directed to, Liz, was wonderful. She was responsive, knowledgable and flexible. A few small adjustments I would have made in regards to size of some of the activities we booked as they were a bit bigger than we expected or requested but we still had a good time. As for Kimkim's pricing structure, the lack of transparency is a bit disconcerting. Since KimKim "can't" share, I tracked what everything cost, rack rate, and came to about a 20% mark-up in comparison so I think I would have preferred knowing the cost as a line item.

Hotel Reviews

Crystalbrook Byron

Suffolk Park

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Reef House Boutique Hotel & Spa

Palm Cove

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

PARKROYAL Darling Harbour

Sydney

Very big and busy. Felt corporate and full of groups. Nice rooms and a good breakfast but not much character or charm.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Half Day River Drift Snorkeling (morning/afternoon depending on season)

New Zealand

You're really on the very edge of the Daintree and you don't see much with the snorkeling.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Outer Reef Cruise - Snorkeler

New Zealand

I liked that this was a privately owned company although there were a lot of people on board.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Climb the Harbor Bridge

Sydney

It's well organized with a very friendly staff but it's HIGH so be prepared.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Dinner Cruise Sydney Harbour

Sydney

It was very long and a bit cheesy.

Quality of Experience

We saw the same sites taking ferries to other areas.

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had a fantastic trip around Australia. Liz listened to our needs, scheduled fun and memorable activities for us, worked around other events we had scheduled, and did it quickly and efficiently. Liz, as well as the rest of the KimKim team, is an excellent, relaxed communicator who kept us updated with any changes. It was a pleasure working with KimKim yet again. We have used KimKim twice now and both of the trips rank at the top of all the trips we have ever taken (and we travel A LOT). Great Job!

Everything was amazing! Liz planned a perfect trip for us and answered all of my little and big questions along the way. She worked within our budget and we felt like we were treated so well throughout. The drivers were where they were supposed to be at the times they said they would, the tours were all so well done!
We started in Sydney. We had a change to our harbour tour but ended up getting to see the lights of Vivid with the evening tour. We hit all of the iconic expereinces- the Sydney Opera House tour and the Bridge Climb. Liz was able to change our reservation to twighlight and we were on the bridge as the lights came up. It was terrifying and spectacular, and I would definitely recommend. The tour guides there- Nick gave us the tour and Molly set us up- were so fun. It is such a well organized plan that, even if you are afraid of heights, or anxious about being 134 meters over the water, you couldn't help but feel at ease.
We did the bike tour with Bonzo bikes in the Rocks. Stu was a great guide and, after being totally ovewhelmed by Sydney on my first exhausted day, felt so comfortable and able to really enjoy the sights of the city. It is beautiful-even in winter, the trees are evergreen, so it felt like spring in the northeast/US.
We stopped at Calmsley Farm on the way to the blue mountains. This was a lovely site with helpful guides who know the animals. We learned about the koalas, kangaroos, wallabys and more.
Our trip to the Blue Mountains included a hike and a lovely picnic lunch. We got to see some beautiful views and a waterfall on our hike.
We traveled to Melbourne via Quantas. We stayed at the Batmans Hill on Collins. This was our best accommodation! It was a really interesting building. We had plenty of space for our crew of 3-me, my husband and my 20 yo daughter. They had laundry for a small fee. The staff were so friendly and helpful throughout our stay. It was convenient to the train as well as the light rail which is free within the city. We stopped at the moonlit sancturary where we got to feed the wallabys and kangaroos! We saw the Penguins at Phillip Island, the Yarrow Valley for a vinyard tour= Cam from Vinetrekkers was great. We had a fun, chatty group and really enjoyed the otherwise rainy day! We walked to the aquarium and checked out the Royal and Block arcades on our free days. It felt like being in Hogsmeade-if you are a Harry Potter fan! Definitely felt like a throwback for us!
Off to another flight to Cairnes for our stay in Port Douglas. I can't say enough about the crew at Sailaway who took us to the outer great barrier reef! So knowledgeable and fun. Safety was always at the forefront. We even witnessed their first whale sighting of the migration north just off the point of Snapper Island. We learned a ton about the reef and sustainability.
We headed to Kuranda via the skyrail and scenic rail tour. The little town had a lot to offer. The views were spectacular and we were able to have lunch with a view.
Our Billy Safari tour of the Daintree rainforest was our last official tour. We were exhuasted but still enjoyed Daniel's storie and the views. The river tour was great- we saw several crocodiles and some resident birds.
Our day was back in Sydney to get our flight home. We used the train system to get to the Wildlife museum where we finally found a playpus! The dollar was in our favor so we really were able to eat, visit and enjoy without much fuss.
Our daughter prompted this trip by doing a semester at The University of New Castle in New South Wales. She had an amazing experiece. We were all so impressed by the kindness of the people, the ease of navigating the cities and the amazing opportunities Australia had to offer! We are so thankful we stumbled upon Liz and Kimkim when trying to figure out how to plan a financially manageable trip! Thanks for everything! We all had different highlights but all agreed it was too hard to pick a favorite!

Hotel Reviews

Villa San Michele

Port Douglas

The location was great- right in the middle of town, but in a quiet community! We really should have chosen a larger room for the 3 of us- it was a bit tight for 3 adults in the 1 br apt.

Batman's Hill On Collins

Melbourne, VIC

The building was really unique. We had a lot of space, laundry was easily accessible, food was good and staff were all friendly! We had seen some reviews which did not reflect the same experience, so we were really pleasantly surprised and it was the best accommodation of our 14 day tour of Australia. The location was great. We walked to the aquarium and the local arcades. We took the free light rail to the night market pretty easily.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Holiday Inn Darling Harbour, an IHG Hotel

Haymarket

Clean and close to the light rail. Breakfast was included and good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Located in China town. It was a cool location, just a tougher walk than we realized. Once we figured out the light rail it was easier!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full-Day Barrier Reef & Coral Cays Boat Tour

Port Douglas

We loved our experience with Sailaway! The crew was fantastic-fun, knowledgeable and comfortable to be around! They were on top of everything from safety to motion sickness to reef knowlege and conservation. Can't say enough!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Yarra Valley Wine and Food Tour

Melbourne

We had a great day with Cam and Vinetrekker despite the dreary day! Lots of great people and chatter! The wine was good, too :)

Quality of Experience

Food

We had a lovely meal with some local fare!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Climb the Harbor Bridge

Sydney

Nick and Molly helped us through the process. So well organized and safety conscious. We had amazing time, seeing the lights come up for Vivid! Amazing experiece despite some mild terror! They are so good about putting you at ease and making you feel safe! Picture is our celebratory drink after the climb!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Phillip Island Full day tour Moonlit Sanctuary + Penguin Plus

Australia

Kevin was a great tour guide! He got us where we needed to be and knew the best way to navigate the crowds. We had a cold, rainy night but still had an amazing time and saw around 800 penguins come ashore! It was amazing!

Sydney Guided Bike Tour - Shared Tour

Sydney

Stu was a great guide! It was a very relaxed outing and I felt like we saw Sydney in a way that I never would have on foot! We enjoyed the info and the chatter! We took our helmets off for the photo!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our trip was absolutely amazing! Liz did a fantastic job of coordinating our travel plans, even when there were some last minute changes. I am thankful for her willingness to go above and beyond to help us with those changes. All of our flights, hotels, pick ups/drop offs, and tours went smoothly and as planned. Visiting Sydney during Vivid and doing the Vivid BridgeClimb was absolutely breathtaking! We also thoroughly enjoyed the nocturnal tour with Wait a While Tours in Cairns with Paul. During the tour we were able to to see two platypus in the wild...a dream come true! And, of course, you can't beat snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef. Last of all, my favorite place was Kangaroo Island. Seeing koalas, kangaroos, and sea lions in the wild was incredible. And, Admiral's Arch is a must see for anyone visiting KI. Thank you, Liz, for all that you have done for us! It was a trip of a lifetime!

Hotel Reviews

Mercure Kangaroo Island Lodge

American River

The hotel was secluded and peaceful. Loved walking along the lagoon in the morning. However, there are limited dining options.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Grand Chancellor Adelaide

Adelaide

The hotel was downtown, but Adelaide was a bit congested and not as pretty as other locations.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

PARKROYAL Darling Harbour

Sydney

The hotel was nice and well-located.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Rainforest Adventure & Nocturnal Wildlife Tour

Australia

The Wait Awhile tour in Cairns with Paul was great. He was very knowledgeable, and we saw two platypuses in the wild as well as other wildlife.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ultimate Kangaroo Island Tour (Day 2)

Australia

Remarkable Rocks was another highlight on Kangaroo Island. The island was remote and full of wildlife.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ultimate Kangaroo Island Tour (Day 1)

Australia

Kangaroo Island was beautiful, especially Admiral's Arch. Highly recommend doing the two-day tour!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Marine World Outer Great Barrier Reef - to pontoon

Australia

The pontoon on the Great Barrier Reef had an all-you-can-eat buffet, submersible, and underwater window view. The snorkeling experience was enjoyable, even for someone who doesn't swim or snorkel much.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Climb the Harbor Bridge

Sydney

The bridge climb during Vivid Night was amazing, even for someone who is scared of heights. Highly recommend!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Liz was great in setting up the itinerary with suggestions, modifications, and final bookings. Final day on Green Island could have been better. Mostly the contractor providing the trip was into upselling higher priced scuba and outer reef experiences. Normally the trip could have been shortened to fewer hours than the full day, but THEY decided against running additional mid-day boats.

We were so happy to have connected with Liz! She took the time to get to know us, what we were hoping to do and see in New Zealand and what types of things weren't a priority for us. I love that her expertise of the area gave us the opportunity to experience some really special things that we may not have otherwise known about. The schedule was a perfect balance of booked activities and free time for our own adventures. She worked within our timeline and budget and was super responsive and always helpful!

Liz did and amazing job providing us some amazing and memorable experiences! The heli cruise heli trip to Milford Sound was incredible, as was the PurePod stay, the Akarao nature cruise (where we saw both the world's smallest penguin and the world's smallest dolpin), and the glacier boat experience at Mount Cook!

Hotel Reviews

The Rees Hotel

Queenstown

Our fave hotel of our 14 day trip. Beautiful hotel, unbeatable views and excellent, friendly, helpful staff!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pohue Pure Pod

Pohue

Extraordinary experience with amazing views and excellent food! Must be in good shape for the uphill hike to the accomodation.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very secluded hilltop near Banks Peninsula with amazing views!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Funyak Safari Trip with Jetboat & Lunch (Shared Tour)

Queenstown (NZ)

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half-Day Macetown 4WD Tour

New Zealand

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Onsen Hot Pools - 1 hour Indoor Soak.

Queenstown (NZ)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Milford Heli Cruise Heli

Queenstown (NZ)

One of the best experiences of our lives. The heli views were incredible and the boat ride through Milford Sound was beautiful with lots of waterfalls and amazing views. Ben was an incredible heli pilot for first time heli passengers.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mt Cook & The Glaciers

New Zealand

wow, just wow! Flying over the snow capped mountain was unbelievably beautiful! Ben was a great heli pilot. Very calming for our first ever heli trip!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Glacier Boat Trip -

Aoraki / Mount Cook Village

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Two Hour Akaroa Harbour Nature Cruise

Akaroa

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Full Day Arthurs Pass with Train

Christchurch

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Te Ra Guided Experience (90 minutes)

Rotorua

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Full Day Whirinaki Forest Walk with Lunch

Rotorua

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mitai Cultural Experience & Dinner

Rotorua

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Rotorua

Rotorua

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Waitomo Glowworm Caves Guided Tour

New Zealand

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

One of the best things we ever could have done was worked with Liz to organize our trip to Australia and New Zealand. The process of organizing our trip (hotels, transfers, events) was so much easier working through Liz as it narrowed down the millions of options and she kept us within a reasonable amount of our budget. What really stood out was when our flight to Australia was completely canceled. Between Liz and Leslie in Australia, they helped reorganize our trip, working with the tour companies to ensure our trip was still amazing. They were both so helpful and we would have been so much more stressed without them during that time. Also, Liz was able to coordinate our tours so that all but maybe two tours picked us up at our hotel, eliminating the need for a rental car everywhere we went.

A couple highlights for others planning to go to Australia and New Zealand who love the outdoors:
Sydney
- Explore the Gardens
- Do a harbor cruise at night, the views are worth it!
- Full Day Blue Mountains Tour -> One of the top things we did, the most amazing day and most amazing guide
Cairns
- Great Barrier Reef is a must, Passions of Paradise was the company we took and the experience and what we learned was amazing!
- Wait-a-while Evening Rainforest Tour was amazing! The guide was so knowledgable and friendly!
Brisbane
- We rented a car and did the Australia Zoo ourselves which was perfect because we got there right when it opened and left just as is was closing. You need a whole day!
Auckland
- Afternoon Wilderness Experience
- We did a shared tour to Hobbiton that dropped us off in Rotorua, cutting down on travel time which was great!
Rotorua
- Mitai Maori Village Cultural Experience was a must to learn about the culture and the history of New Zealand
- Loved the Regent of Rotorua Boutique Hotel, it was central and near tons of places to grab a bite to eat!
Queenstown
- The Rydges Lakeland Resort was stunning and made it easy to walk to places in Queenstown
- Full Day Routeburn Hike --> Absolutely stunning!
- Milford Sound
- Full Day Funyak Safari Trip --> So much fun! JJ led our group as we kayacked down the Dart River and was just so much fun to chat with and explore!

Thank you Liz for our recent adventure in Australia. The Sydney Harbor Bridge walk was phenomenal. Very intimidating when viewed from afar, but quite achievable and exciting when being done. Once in a lifetime experience. The Sydney City tour with Graham was awesome, very knowledgeable. The Blue Mountain tour was excellent with many beautiful views. The Sydney Opera House tour was unforgettable. Our side trip to Cairns with the snorkeling trip to the Great Barrier Reef as the highlight was exceptional. Floating and hiking the Daintree River and Rainforest was the ultimate experience. The raucous birds and traveling bats were like nothing we had ever seen. Again, thank you for helping us to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience in Australia.

Activity Review

Climb the Harbor Bridge

Sydney

Although intimidating at first sight, the bridge walk is a must do for anyone traveling to Sydney. Once on the bridge, the views are breathtaking and with all the safety gear and excellent guides, we never felt unsafe. We were accompanied by a 90 year old woman celebrating her birthday with her daughter and she MOTORED through it. Put the rest of us to shame. Easily the highlight of our entire trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My mom and I wanted to take a trip to New Zealand but we were really overwhelmed with where to start and how to plan to see as much as we could in a 10 day period.

Kimkim was a really cool website that was visually appealing and helped us easily select options of preferences from what kind of stay to activities and things to see. It gives a “like to do” and “must do” option so your specialist can get a really good idea of how to plan the perfect trip.

After Liz reviewed our preferences she came back with an awesome proposal! It had beautiful hotels and so many really cool activities. We had a couple suggestions on taking some out and adding in others and Liz was so quick to respond and accommodating everything perfectly.

Our trip was really SOOO amazing and unforgettable! Having everything planned out made the whole trip flow so smoothly and I have to say it was SO nice having transportation pick up to and from the airports. Transportation was always so friendly and on time :). We did have one activity that cancelled unfortunately due to weather concerns. When I called the local office for customer service they got back to me within 30 minutes and had another activity moved and substituted which worked out so well!

We loved our specialist Liz! The printed itinerary booklet was beautiful and such a good memory keepsake and we appreciate all the help and follow up before during and after the trip. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Kimkim and our specialist liz to anyone planning a memorable vacation :)