Maria Jose Jaramillo

Majo was excellent to work with! She helped us create our own private itinerary of Peru and Ecuador and was available all the time throughout the trip - she even helped us book an uber from her home one evening when my family were out for dinner without cell service. She stayed on the line with the driver until we got to our destination. That is just an example of her exceptional service and care she puts into her clients and their experience. Our guides each day were similarly helpful and knowledgeable.
We had an unforgettable trip to Peru and Ecuador thanks to the careful planning and continued support throughout from Majo!

Hotel Reviews

Ilatoa Lodge

Quito

Absolutely beautiful hotel with incredibly caring staff!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Excellent for a close location to the airport!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lava House Galapagos

Puerto Ayora

A great hotel with large comfortable rooms, excellent breakfast and just minutes to the main downtown

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Princesa Toa

Quilotoa

Clean and comfortable with attentive staff

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Suchipakari Jungle Lodge

Puerto Misahuallí, Tena Napo

A beautiful hotel in the jungle!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Beautiful and secluded for a memorable Amazon experience

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Isla de Baños Hosteria y Spa

Baños

Beautiful rooms! Lots of space for families!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cuello de Luna Mountain Lodge

El Chasqui - Pastocalle

Charming hotel with lovely staff and the friendliest dogs around

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vieja Cuba

Quito

This a charming and beautiful hotel. Nikki at the front desk was so helpful and pleasant to work with!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Not very close to the historic centre but a good area and easy enough to get to other areas

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mamasara

Cusco

Lovely, clean hotel with spacious room close to the historic central part of Cusco

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Transfer to the airport for your flight back home (Departure)

Ecuador

Our driver and guide, Christian, is so helpful and attentive. He got us to the airport on 2 occasions and each time in a way that was stress or worry free. The day we spent at the middle of the world was so fun as well!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Christian is great!

Transport

Free Morning Until Departure

Ecuador

Discover Pinzon Island & La Fé

Puerto Ayora

Our tour didn’t actually end up following the itinerary. It was amazing nonetheless! We started snorkeling at Daphne island then went to Pinzon after lunch. There was no fishing experience. Other guests were able to request their meal for lunch but we were not invited to do so or it was not mentioned ahead of time to us. It was a bit of a problem for me but the staff improvised on the boat and got me a meal that was safe for me to eat due to a medical condition. That was appreciated!

Quality of Experience

Food

Ensuring all participants are given the chance to pre-order meals

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Morning Bay Tour & Afternoon at leisure in Santa Cruz

Puerto Ayora

We got to see nesting Blue footed Boobies! Definitely the highlight of the day

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Exploring The Charles Darwin Research Station

Ecuador

Loved being here to see all the research and projects going on to protect this amazing archipelago

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Embracing Nature's Giants: Exploring Santa Cruz Island's Highlands

Ecuador

So cool to see these creatures up close in their natural habitat

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arrival to Santa Cruz Island & Afternoon at Leisure

Puerto Ayora

We had a great first day just exploring the town ourselves

Discover Mindo: Full-Day Tour Bus with Hummingbird Reserve, Waterfalls & Chocolate Tasting

Mindo

Very cool to see so many hummingbirds so closely!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Josh was excellent!

Transport

Otavalo Day Trip by Tour Bus: Markets, Waterfalls, and More

Otavalo

This had to be canceled due to the protests in Otavalo

Amazonian Adventure: Exploring Mystical Caves, Waterfalls, and Kichwa Culture

Archidona

Due to communication confusion, we were just driven from our lodge in the Amazon to Quito. We inquired before leaving about seeing the waterfalls and caves but were told we were only being driven to Quito. Thankfully we reached out to Majo at lunch and still managed to go to the Thermals at least.

Quality of Experience

Food

Gina’s restaurant was delicious!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver was nice and helpful where he could be but he was not told of the urinary we were supposed to have

Transport

Chocolate Workshop and Farewell: A Sweet Ending to Your Amazon Adventure

Archidona

A cool learning experience to understand the chocolate making process

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Amazon River Adventure: Wildlife, Kichwa Culture, and Traditional Crafts

Archidona

So busy! It’s a long day but very interesting and worthwhile

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Klever was a great and enthusiastic guide 👍

Transport

Welcome to the Jungle: Hike, River Adventure, and Wildlife

Archidona

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Swing at the End of the World & Waterfall Route in Baños

Baños

So much fun!!! Loved it

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Alpaca Encounter & Kayaking at Quilotoa Lagoon

Ecuador

We loved it here. We enjoyed the kayaking and the breathtaking views both from the beauty and the altitude!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Francisco was so fantastic to travel with!

Transport

Horseback Adventure Through Cotopaxi National Park

Cotopaxi

We were caught in a huge thunderstorm with rain, hail and lightning. We decided to keep our ride short because we were getting cold but the ponchos provided by the riding centre were very appreciated

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Quito - Cotopaxi National Park

Ecuador

Food

The restaurant Francisco took us too was delicious!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Francisco was awesome! So much fun, informative and took care of us like we were old friends.

Transport

Quito Tour Bus: City Highlights, Teleférico, Panecillo & Middle of the World in One Day

Quito

The tour we went on, the City tour hop-on-hop off was good but we never actually went to the Middle of the World or the Teleferico as described.

Quality of Experience

Crown Jewel of Peru: Machu Picchu Sanctuary

Ecuador

Truly a must see! As good as everyone says it is… and more!

Quality of Experience

Food

Loved the restaurant over looking the river

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Richard was fantastic - very knowledgeable and a talented phoyographer as an added bonus! We got wonderful pictures and videos of our visit from him!

Transport

Pisaq Market & Ollantaytambo Adventure

Ecuador

A wonderful tour with lots to see and do.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Raul was an excellent guide and took extra time to teach my daughter to play her new flutes she bought. He was very knowledgeable about the history and local areas.

Transport

Exploring The Salt Mines of Maras & The Ruins of Moray

Cusco

Adriel our guide took us for another amazing tour day! The mines literally made me say ‘wow’ when we first saw them. Morray was so impressive to see.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Superb and friendly! Adriel is excellent

Transport

Uncover the Rich History and Vibrancy of Cusco

Cusco

We learned so much about Cusco and the Inca during this trip. Our guide Adriel was exceptional

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Adriel was so vibrant, knowledgeable and passionate!

Transport

Our trip to Ecuador consisted of a single day in Quito where we were warmly welcomed by a cheerful and lovely guide Francisco. He provided us with prompt and efficient city tour that included visiting the cathedrals and monuments followed by a wonderful cooking class experience.
We then flew to Caco on the edge of the Amazonian forest where we were welcomed by an extremely efficient and organized team of guides. They took their time to explain what we will be doing the next 3 days in the Napo lodge. Following a power boat and canoe rides down the Napo river, we finally arrive at the Napo lodge. The place is charming nestled immediately in front of a small lake in the middle of the tropical jungle. The next 2 days were simply out of this world and made possible by the tightly run group of guides and lodge staff. Everyone was extremely helpful and friendly which made our stay in the lodge very pleasant. I highly recommend doing this part of the trip.
Back in Quito, we were welcomed again by our initial guide, Francisco, for an overnight stay before picking us up the next morning to head to the Galápagos Islands.
The Galapagos portion of our vacation could’ve used a bit more attention, in my opinion. There was insufficient information provided on what to expect on the excursions by the local support person, which made it difficult for us to plan what to carry with us, such as swimsuits or footwear. The last day we were told we were going to go on an excursion to Isabella island, but it turned out that we were booked on a different excursion, which was very distressing. In the last tour we were joined by a very noisy and obnoxious group which made the whole experience even more difficult. The agent was apologetic for the mistake and treated us to a lovely dinner as a sign of appreciation.
So overall, the Galapagos experience was not as pleasant as I expected it to be, and in my opinion it is a bit overrated. The tours are difficult to enjoy because the guides are always rushing to finish and keep people on schedule. So keep that in mind when planning this portion of the trip.

We overall enjoyed the experience of booking our 7 day Ecuador Trip with KimKim. The two travel specialists we worked with were very responsive and helpful. We had a great time during our trip thanks to the itinerary put together by the Kim Kim team. Here is a list of Pros and Cons we have found with the process.

Pros:
-Very simple to get the process started by answering a few questions about the length of your trip and the types of activities you like to do. This saved us a lot of research time and allowed us to focus on enjoying our trip.
- You’re provided ahead of time with all the details about the proposed accommodations so that you can determine if they meet your needs. All accommodations on our trip were great, including two memorable ones, Chilcabamba Lodge in the Andes and Huasquila Lodge in the rain forest.
- Our guide, Diego, who drove us around for part of the trip was fantastic. He was very knowledgeable about the Ecuadorian history and culture, and was happy to share his knowledge with us. He was always early to pick us up so we didn’t have to wait for him. He always made sure we were happy with the plan and was flexible in adjusting it to our needs. He also gave us good recommendations for local dining options.

Cons:
-While information was provided about the different activities we had planned, such as canyoning and rafting, it was not possible to obtain the names of the outfitters ahead of the activity despite repeated requests, even after making the full payment. Knowing the names of the outfitters ahead of time would have allowed us to be better prepared for the activities by looking at their specific website. As a family, it is nice to get a sense of the technical and physical levels needed for the activities, which is often better described on the outfitters’ websites.

-Some of the activity descriptions were too generic, such as “you will visit caves”. If more details had been provided, such as “you will tour Jumandi caves”, we could have looked up what that experience involves on the tour provider’s website to be better prepared.

Our trip was wonderful! All details were taken care of. All transport services were on time. Hotels were very nice. Guides were excellent, so knowledgeable and helpful. Would definitely book another trip through KimKim.

Activity Reviews

History and Nature: Full Day to Floreana Island

Puerto Ayora

Beautiful island and black sand beach. Saw turtles while snorkeling, baby sea lion and a marine iguana swimming and out on the beach.

Quality of Experience

Mo

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wildlife Encountering at Lobos Island

Galapagos Islands

Loved the snorkeling and the baby sea lions that played with us!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Crown Jewel of Peru: Machu Picchu Sanctuary

Peru

Loved the train ride to Machu Picchu and the whole experience of being able to hike through the ruins.

Quality of Experience

Food

All food!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

All drivers nice and on time.

Transport

Cusco City Tour

Cusco

Quality of Experience

Guide

Food

Very nice restaurants and good food.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

History and information by the guide.

Transport

I must say Maria and her team made this vacation a dream vacation for me. As a solo traveler, it went above and beyond my expectations with making me feel valued and safe in my travels!

I have been looking into going to the Galapagos for a few years now for the last couple being serious. I kept reading up reviews on travel companies or looking on sites where they have group tours and reading up information and just became so paralyzed and being able to make a decision because I looked at too much information and overwhelmed myself.

I happen to see an ad for Kim Kim on the internet and email about the possibility of a vacation in the Galapagos. And it was so easy from there. The team of Maria and everyone who helped her asked me lots of questions what I like to do, what time of year I wanted to go ,what my budget look like, the length of time for vacation and took that all into consideration and gave me a different couple of plans to look at to see which one would best fit my needs.

And so after thinking about it for another couple days I pulled the trigger as nervous as I was and I do not regret a second of it.

Once I selected a plan Maria and her team spent time with me on the phone going detail by detail of the plans even letting me know I never had to worry about setting up my own transportation to and from the airport or with any of my planned excursions which was fantastic because I really needed a vacation where I didn't have to think I just wanted to enjoy it. And removing the barrier of me not having to worry about finding cabs or how do I find cabs how do I get from here to there all that worry and stress was taken away.

The casas and hotels I stayed at were super cute staff was friendly I love that they were nice and small facilities I love the nice breakfast, and especially love that lava house had a house dog ❤️

Oh and my driver in Quito and the hotel in Quito were wonderful as well!!

The area of the casas and hotels were so safe I loved being able to walk around the entire Island and not be worried about anything and I was a standard at how clean the Galapagos was there was not a single speck of trash anywhere on the streets.

The first excursion at lobos island was memorable! The guide was so nice and the other people on the tour as well, it was nice and small! I finally got to see, in real life, blue footed boobies!! The snorkeling in the clear blue water was spectacular!! Some of the guests and I even explored around San Cristobal together and visited the Discovery Center and had a mojito together! The restaurants also had amazing food! The fresh shrimp ceviche was mouthwatering!

I must say kicker rock was my favorite excursion! The people on my excursion were all college students and their professor, the guides kept us all entertained and engaged w us all! We saw and swam w hammerhead sharks, manta rays, seals and sea turtles!

To have my last day on San Cristobal involve that was perfect! I must say how ecologically and forward thinking the Galapagos islands were was quite impressive!

Then I left for Santa Cruz on my second leg of the journey ❤️ another fabulous journey that was seamless!

Lava House was an adorable place to stay! Even had a resident house dog that I got to play with. I also loved the hammock on my balcony!

The first day there was a free day and I wandered to the beautiful Tortuga Beach. Breathtaking in scenery! The swimming iguanas were so cool!

My first adventure there involved visiting the Darwin Station and listening to the guides walk us through the history of Galapagos and how the center came to be, with lots of tortoises to see! There was also a lovely beach not far from their either! thet afternoon a trip into the Highlands to visit another facility with land tortoises and lava caves was great! Ran into more nice people there as well

Floreana Island was the perfect adventure to end my stay at Galapagos 🤩 our guide spent so much time talking w us about his island's history, and took us snorkeling in this wonderful lava rock beach. I had at least ten wild sea turtles just swim right with me and literally looked me in the eye! Tons of gorgeous fish like parrot fish, puffer fish, clown fish, and even saw a shark! It was breathtaking!

Next we went to another part of the island and got to swim at the black sand beaches. A wonderful lunch followed with delicious fresh caught tuna, vegetables and lentils followed. The group was small and we all enjoyed talking to each other and learning about everyone

Then we went to the Highlands of Floreana and learned about their efforts to save the tortoise species endemic to their island, explored lava caverns and enjoyed seeing the gorgeous views!

I really enjoyed walking the town when we got back and went back to my favorite restaurant to indulge in tuna ceviche and mojitos.

I sat back and thought that I'd never had such a phenomenal experience - I literally forgot what day it was! All of the memories I will have and pictures I've shown my friends!

My last day was seamless as well with my guide taking me from my hotel to the water taxi and then the airport. Absolutely nothing went wrong or was uncomfortable this whole trip! Any questions I had throughout my trip was quickly answered by my local guide or Maris!

I cannot state enough how much work this team put in to give me the ultimate dream vacation. 2024 was a very rough year. Kimkim and their wonderful team gave me the most memorable birthday day over ever had along with the most breathtaking of memories.

I will not hesitate to use them again. I cannot wait to go back and explore more of our wonderful world with them !!

Thank you so much for all that you and your team did for me! I wish I could write all of my guides to let them know how much their time truly mattered to me ❤️

Hotel Reviews

Lava House Galapagos

Puerto Ayora

Loved this hotel! From the feeling of safety, the proximity to everything, walking was super easy to get anywhere. The room was extremely comfortable and loved that they had a water refill station! But I must say the house dog, lava, was truly adorable and I love throwing the ball for her

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful plants and maintenance around the facility I really love the hammock on my balcony

Location

Super easy location to walk anywhere you wanted to and walk back, a feeling of safety whenever you were outside the gates and they locked it to stay secure

Staff

Always very friendly , the lady serving breakfast were very nice

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa Pimampiro

Puerto Baquerizo Moreno

This was such a a cute casa with an easy walk down to the town area. It stayed locked and secure, the rooms were super comfortable. I loved that the staff asked each day what time I wanted breakfast as well. The conservation reminders were perfect

Authenticity & Character

Very unique

Location

Easy walking distance, safe

Staff

Everyone was super friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ikala Quito Hotel

Quito

I arrived late at night, and was still welcomed with open arms by the staff. My room was so nice and comfortable. I especially loved the reminders the hotel wrote in regards to conservation and waste. I really loved the gift bag w chocolates too! My breakfast was perfect for the early morning trip!

Authenticity & Character

It stayed true to being uniqu

Location

It was not far from airport, was well lit, felt secure and so clean!

Staff

Very friendly and reminded me about my breakfast and asked about any allergies

Cleanliness & Comfort

I packed way too much as the hotel supplied everything I needed

Activity Reviews

Transfer to Airport on Baltra Island - Flight back to Mainland

Galapagos Islands

I am so grateful for my guide that picked me up from the hotel and then took me to the water taxi then rode with me and the water taxi then rode with me on the shuttle to the airport as it's the most unique airport I've ever been to and how to get there. It made it stress-free. In the States you have to get to the airport at least 3 hours ahead of time at that airport I was there an hour and 20 minutes ahead of time and there was no problem. Plenty of time to make the plane and he made sure that I had plenty of time I was never worried

Quality of Experience

My driver was more than I could ask for making that sad day of leaving the Galapagos to go home run smooth

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

History and Nature: Full Day to Floreana Island

Puerto Ayora

This day was utterly amazing. The sheer beauty of floriana just really hits you only 150 people live on this island. Yet there conservation efforts out due our large cities. The cleanliness and respects this place has for nature and its land is just awesome inspiring. The beaches are Christine the waters are clear the people are friendly the food is amazing every experience they'll let you see something different of our world

Quality of Experience

The guide was on point. Very passionate about his island and the shear beauty of nature

Food

That restaurant had the most amazing fried tuna, veggies, rice and lentils 🤤

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Santa Cruz Island: Charles Darwin Station, Highlands & Planting a Tree

Puerto Ayora

The Darwin station is amazing. From the little area you can walk without your guide, to the entire tour from the beginning to the end you just fall in love with Galapagos and it's love for its environment whether it be animals or plants or the water.

Quality of Experience

Food

Transport

Welcome to Santa Cruz Island & Afternoon at Leisure

Puerto Ayora

I really enjoyed getting to explore the island by myself for a bit on my own and visit a beach and some restaurants on my first night

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kicker Rock: A Snorkeling Adventure

Isla San Cristóbal

This by far was my favorite adventure! I really love the whole team that helped get us prepared for this from taking us to the initial Beach and explaining to us how this plays a vital role in the galapagosis ecology and then taking us to see the estuary where we got to see baby white tip reef sharks baby manta rays puffer fish all these unique fish and creatures in the mangroves And then our guy spent a lot of time talking to us about safety and expectations when we get to kicker Rock and that rock is even more intense when you see it in person it's like five stories taller if not bigger and just all the time that we spent snorkeling and our guide took wonderful videos and pictures with his camera so that those of us who didn't have them could experience the beauty and the memories of that excursion

Quality of Experience

The guides did a fantastic job just explaining and showing everything they could of their world in that experience I cannot thank them enough

Food

They have a chicken vegetarian and tuna option but if you're in the Galapagos always choose the tuna it was so fresh with the lentils and the vegetables in the rice loved it

Guides, Drivers and Staff

They were so warm and caring and made sure we all had a great experience and they just feel like a team too

Transport

From the moment I was picked up at the hotel to the water taxi to the boat to the excursion was flawless

Wildlife Encountering at Lobos Island

Galapagos Islands

I truly love my guides on this trip. It was a nice small group so they made sure we were all safe and had walking sticks to go over the lava rocks which were not very stable. We got to see all the animals and he gave a great explanation for why this habitat why this animal needs to protected what this environment is all about and really made you feel in awe of nature

Quality of Experience

The planning and expectations set by the guide were perfect.

Food

I loved having the nice lunch of fish rice lentils and veggies they also had a chicken option and a vegetarian option too

Guides, Drivers and Staff

My guide on the islands David did a great job making sure that I had all my supplies for this trip it was perfect

Transport

Very easy and smooth and you're on a boat so you may get wet

Welcome to the Capital of the Andes; Quito!

Ecuador

I absolutely love my guy who picked me up. We spent a lot of time talking about Ecuador and keto and other places and he was very friendly and engaging got me to and from the hotel super easy I never had any stress about making it on time to the airport the next morning

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

My guide was very nice and friendly and made it so easy to get through customs the next morning to get to my plane it would have been confusing had he not been there

Transport

Majo was amazing! She helped us craft a number of experiences that met our budget, answered all of our question promptly and adjusted her recommendations to meet our needs.

The team they work with in Galápagos was so great! From our arrival at Baltra airport, they had everything covered and through mostly different guides and drivers each day, we were always well taken care of.

The experiences were mostly different so hard to pick the best. We spent most time on Santa Cruz and enjoyed the El Chato tortoise preserve and lava tunnel experience. Kayaking on Tortuga Bay was fun and the guide even stayed with us when we chose to snorkel after (bring your own mask/towel). Bay tour was great as well.

For our trip to Isabela, they took us to the pier for the ferry (with all passes ready for us) and met our guide upon arrival. The Tintoreras tour had a little bit of duplication but still great experience.

Majo and the Galapagos lead Rita communicated with us daily via WhatsApp (we had Airalo eSIM that worked great everywhere). We were well cared for and so nice to be able to relax and just enjoy the amazing experiences they curated.