Maria Jose Jaramillo

WE had several guides throughout our trip. Vivianna was very knowledgeable and thorough. The lunch at the tortoise reserve was quite outstanding, Edwin was also very knowledgeable, considerate of the age range of our group and a watchful eye during our snorkeling adventure! David was with us for a full plus day touring the Historical District and Middle earth. Again he was very aware of or different ages and capabilities. I think he knew everything about everything Ecuadorian!!
Our trip was challenging because weather delays were responsible for 2 lost days. Maria Jose had to rearrange flights and hotel rooms. She put a best effort forward. She arranged for our lost luggage to be delivered to our hotel in Puerto Arroya! We were all pretty sure we would never see that luggage again. Thank you Majo!!

we had an amazing time in the galapagos & Quito unfortunately we had some weather issues affecting our flights from home causing us to reschedule flights & lost luggage our kim kim specialist Majo was able to get our luggage to the galapagos & although we missed a day & half in San Cristobal we had a wonderful time in Santa cruz for 3 days & when we returned to the city in quito a most delicious dinner arranged & paid for by kim kim . Plus a birthday party for our friend doug who this whole trip was planned for his 60th also arranged by kim kim . Great tour guides & drivers in both places & transfers went well . Majo & her team went up & above to help us & was reachable easily . This is my third Kim Kim trip & each one has been a great experience.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Palace Guayaquil

Guayaquil

dated but clean small restaurant only stayed 1 night on way to Galápagos

Authenticity & Character

They have a interesting history

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Holiday Inn Quito Airport, an IHG Hotel

Tababela

very helpful, professional, pleasant & courteous. 10min from airport, free shuttle. We had an issue with lost luggage they assisted our travel specialist kim kim to help get our luggage delivered to galápagos. Bernie bar manager was awesome!! we loved staying there breakfast was great too , very comfortable beds & rooms!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

10 min from airport free shuttle

Staff

Great staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Guayaquil - Free afternoon

Guayaquil

we got there at night it was day of the dead so we just had dinner about 3 blocks from our hotel & left early next day

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Ecuador: Let Your Adventure Begin!

Galapagos Islands

we had travel issues related to weather kim kim was helpful in responding & rescheduling activities to fit our schedule

Quality of Experience

Reachable , concerned & adaptable

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Excellent drivers & guides

Transport

excellent

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