Lucie Dupuis

Overall, we had very good guides while in Germany. Our tour guides for Dachau and Neuschwanstein Castle were both excellent, as was Marta our food guide while in Berlin.

While it was awesome getting to visit Allianz Arena, listening to an English audio tour while moving around with a tour group being led in German was less enjoyable. While the audio tour was informational, we were unable to interact with the overall tour group and tour guide, especially when she posed questions to the group.

Overall, as a family, we all really enjoyed our time in Munich, and in hindsight, wish we had stayed there an additional day.

All went well with the taxi service provided and the train tickets that were purchased. Getting a taxi (too few uber drivers available) from the Dresden train station was very difficult, and we ended up walking to out hotel, not a huge issue, more just a personal inconvenience as the handle on my luggage had broken. We had an issue with our Elba river cruise, resulting in us taking a much shorter cruise (1 hour) so I think we missed out on seeing and learning more about this city, making it the kids' least favorite city of our trip.

The pacing of our time in Berlin was much slower than the previous two cities, which I think the kids appreciated, as it gave them more down time to recover between activities. Our first walking tour was VERY long (scheduled for 3.5 hours). Kids made it for about 2.5 and luckily our tour guide shortened it at that point. Arriving on a Sunday, I wish we had known that the art market was only open during the weekend. We passed it in the distance on the walking tour but did not have a chance then to return and actually go through it.

We only went to the Berlin Story Museum while in Berlin (wish we had also done Checkpoint Charlie). The museum itself was very interesting and both kids seemed to really take in all of the information there without rushing through it.

All three hotels were located in easily accessible areas (walking in Munich, taking the various subways in Berlin) and provided good breakfast options. None had particularly effective AC systems, but that was more a complaint of my American teenage son. We lucked out with weather that was usually in the mid-60's by evening, so it was never so hot that we all felt the "need" for air conditioning.

Overall, both kids said their favorite days were the ones spent at Neuschwanstein Castle and in Potsdam exploring the town and the palace.

Hotel Review

Hotel Admiral 4*

Munich

Authenticity & Character

cute terrace area in the back and nice hotel overall though nothing that screams "authentic"

Location

easy to walk to the market and the Old City Center, as well as access mass trans

Staff

we were able to check in when we arrived (a few hours early) which set a great tone. Staff was helpful with breakfast and getting us a taxi

Cleanliness & Comfort

quiet location, easy breakfast, overall a lovely experience

Activity Reviews

FC Bayern Museum & Arena Tour

Munich

Great for soccer fans.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Essential Berlin Tour: Landmarks Highlights & History

Berlin

Be aware this is a LONG full walking. While our guide was great in shortening it towards the end (3 hour walking tour was too much upon arrival for my two teenagers), it is a lot of walking and standing. It did help that it was a private tour and we were able to do this. It did, however, give us a better idea of the layout of the central part of the city and gave us context for many of the buildings and architecture that we would not have gotten on our own.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Berlin Street Food Tour

Berlin

Sadly this experience was underwhelming. We were part of a VERY large group (14 people). Though we circled Victoria Market, we didn't visit any of the stalls, which was a disappointment. While I understand that one can only visit locations when they are open, we ended up having a large "snack" first, then dessert, then the after dinner drink, and then the sit down dinner, so everything was out of order. I appreciated the guides "want not, waste not" mentality. At each stop, he asked if everyone wanted their own serving (ex. a whole sandwich?) or if they wanted to share with a family member. This was great in that food was not unnecessarily wasted, but is also means that we paid for a tour for three people and never ate three people's worth of food (two sandwiches, two desserts, two drinks, one final meal).

Quality of Experience

Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial

Munich

While our tour group was a little big, our tour guide was excellent. Tour was well paced and very educational. Train / bus times worked out excellently so we actually arrived back to Munich a little early.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Most of the trip was good.. we had a few misunderstandings along the way and some changes to the original itinerary. We did see a lot and the overall experience was good.

I thought a long time about this review. It was an absolutely awesome trip.
Berlin is the city of my heart. I did not want to leave. It is clean, safe, friendly, and beautiful. We did have to walk a LOT because our phones did not work outside the hotel. I had thought this would likely be the case but also thought there would be prepaid phone stores with travel phones. We never found those. Our amazing walking tour guide, Lee Evan, told us we could get a SIM at the O2 store in the subway. The SIMs don’t work with iPhones but one of us has a Samsung android. It was only data so gave us GPS but not the ability to call a taxi or verify a phone number to use a rideshare app. If we didn’t find anyone to call a cab we just walked. We did find a pharmacy and got Neurofen (ibuprofen) and a generic for Volteran pain creme to rub on our feet. The pharmacist was very helpful.
Dresden is pretty with amazing architecture.
We had a Prague 1 and Prague 2. Because we had to stay an extra night we got a different hotel on a different side of Prague and it was the Prague I had imagined.
To explain, and this has no impact on this review but when moving our luggage from Dresden to Prague I left a small bag on the train. It had my passport. I didn’t bring a purse or crossbody bag because I had heard thieves cut the strap and take them. (We had no encounters like that at all and lots of people carry crossbody bags there). I would suggest when moving luggage from place to place to use a crossbody bag or a waist pouch (bum bag or fanny pack depending on the country) for the passport so it isn’t part of the luggage you have to gather and always of course keep your drivers license and credit card in a small wallet in your front pocket like at home.
So Prague part 1. The lift at the Prague Season hotel wasn’t working so we had to take our luggage up five levels of stairs. They said it would be repaired that evening. It was not. That day was a one day heatwave. We went out anyway. The area was dirty and had graffiti. There were penis things just out in display windows. Penis candles, giant stuffed penis, little plastic figures having sex, and every marajuana themed thing you can imagine. We walked to the astronomical clock, took some pictures there but while we were waiting at the clock I started to get sick from the heat so we headed back to the hotel. By the time I got up five floors I was throwing up. Fortunately ONE of our rooms had air conditioning so we all went in there. I forget what activity we had because we had to cancel. We all spent the night in the room with air conditioning both nights we were there. We all thought we hated Prague.
The little village where the Sedlac Ossuary is located is cute. The person who really wanted to see the bone church was awestruck by it. I was enchanted by the village. It was much cooler that day and we spent a lot of time at the little cafe across from the church having lunch and drinks. None of us wanted to go back to Prague.
Prague part 2. The lift at the hotel did get fixed but even though we had to stay an extra day because of the passport issues we did not want to stay there! We got an air conditioned room at a hotel called The Golden Wheel. The area around there is everything we thought Prague would be! We nearly walked our feet off trying to see it all and at night there is a horror movie themed pub and a real goth bar. There was also an amazing music festival coming up but sadly, we had to go home. 😢

Hotel Reviews

Prague Season Hotel

Prague

I might give it better if the lift had not been broken but maybe not.

Authenticity & Character

Honestly I don’t remember if it was “authentic”. I do know only one of our two rooms had air conditioning so we all slept in there and it was tiny.

Location

If you enjoy penis shaped everything, marijuana themed everything and graffiti, this is the area for you!

Staff

I think the service would have been fine if the lift worked

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean yes, also up five flights without a lift because it was broken and ONE of our two rooms had air conditioning so we all slept in there.

Star G Hotel Premium Dresden Altmarkt

Dresden

It is nice. Plenty of room, amazing view. You can walk all over the central part of Dresden from here

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Albrechtshof Hotel

Berlin

It is a bit of a walk and across the river from everything you came here to see but there are cafes nearby so if you just want to chill in the area it’s fine. It’s very nice, clean, no air conditioning but you do get a large fan. The breakfast is amazing.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It’s a pretty good walk to get to the other side of the river. Everything Berlin is famous for is over there.

Staff

So helpful with directions, calling cabs, explaining things

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Berlin Introduction

Berlin

I love Berlin! It’s clean, safe, friendly, and beautiful! There is so much to enjoy. No matter who you are there is something you will like.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Amazing adaptability, catering and planning from our Kimkim specialist Lucie. Quick turnaround and really worked to ensure we got the itinerary we wanted. We didn't have a lot of guides on this one, but our private tour to Giethoorn was led by a champ. One of us was sick and he was very accommodating. Our private transfers to and from the airport were better than others we've had as well. Another memorable trip in the books!

Hotel Reviews

Buddy Hotel

Munich

Can't really complain as long as you know what you're getting into. Decent priced in the heart of the city. No real breakfast. Get your own cups and coffee/tea pods from downstairs. Basic toiletries and in-room supplies. Check yourself in and out. But other than that quite clean and roomy. A/c worked well. Basic necessities at basic pricing.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Hardly any staff around to rate.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Altstadt-Hotel Zum Hechten

Füssen im Allgäu

Can't say enough good things about this place. Hotel and restaurant staff were super friendly and accommodating. Location is walking distance to eateries and groceries and a museum and the main train station. Room was quite large. 5 stars all around.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Premier Inn Heidelberg City Centre

Heidelberg

Location was great, right across the street from a tram station. There's a full grocery store downstairs. A/C was not working well though so it was pretty hot. Staff also made a mistake and billed my card for the full stay when it was prepaid.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Classic Hotel Harmonie Cologne

Cologne

Place seemed under-staffed although the existing staff were friendly. Pretty roomy. Main complaint is it overlooks a tiny public park where drunks and homeless gather at night and make a lot of noise. Walking distance from main train station and Cologne Cathedral though!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

WestCord City Center Hotel

Amsterdam

Totally awesome location next to the main train station as well as a tram station right in front. Walking distance to a lot of the sights and sounds of Amsterdam. No amenities and not much in the room, but that is to be expected I suppose for the location. Staff were also quite friendly and accommodating.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Free Time in Cologne!

Cologne

The Cathedral itself is a main attraction in itself, but it's also next to a couple large busy streets lined with stores that you can spend hours or days going through.

Quality of Experience

Guided tour inside the Cathedral of Cologne!

Cologne

Guide was knowledgeable and interesting to listen to. The guided tour gets you into a gated section near the altar. I recommend it.

24/7 assistance in case of emergency

Germany

Kimkim has always been good at this. Text or call and they'll help you out with anything.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A very enjoyable trip. The right balance of free time and scheduled activities. Germany is a beautiful country.

Hotel Reviews

Leonardo Hotel Mainz

Mainz

Pros: Good location. A short walk from the train station. Town is easily accessible through a nearby parking garage elevator next door to the property. Cons: Staff when we arrived was less than friendly. We arrived prior to check in and assisting us felt like an annoyance. Room was warm. Air conditioning did not work. Breakfast was included but underwhelming - cold cuts a bit discolored (as though they had been out the day prior).

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

NH Heidelberg

Heidelberg

Great central location to train and Aldstadt. Clean, Great Service and incredible breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Central location, very walkable but also near train and Aldstadt.

Staff

Staff was above and beyond. Really friendly and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Haus im Tal

München

Overall, a good experience. Pros: Great Location, Clean & Good Service Cons: 1 trash can in room, no tissues, dimly lit bathroom, room states Alexa is available but there is none

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Free Time in Mannheim!

Germany

Heidelberg Old Town & Castle Tour

Heidelberg

This was a walking tour that began at our Hotel. Andreas, our guide, was wonderful. Very knowledgeable and accommodating. He recommended a restaurant at lunch that ended up being closed that day during the lunch hour. We returned at dinner and it was one of the best restaurants of our trip (Hackteufel).

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial

Munich

An extremely moving experience. Our guide was very knowledgeable and kind.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

BMW Museum (entrance tickets + guided tour)

Munich