Mariliza Chatzelli

As my five star rating indicated, the overall trip was wonderful. Mariliza was prompt in letting us know of any changes in the itinerary prior to the actual trip and what alternative options were available. The only last minute change was the Samaria Gorge hike in Crete. When we learned a few days before from Mariliza that a group tour was no longer available we were given two options: a private tour at 405 USD per person or to do it alone at 230 USD per person. We thought both options were very expensive so we declined the offers and decided to go to a travel agent in Chania (Crete) and book the trip ourselves which was considerable less expensive at 53 Euros each. We were somewhat puzzled of such a huge price differential even with the understanding that all parties need to make a certain percentage of profit.

My recent trip to Greece with my friend, Richard, was wonderful in all aspects. Mariliza devised an itinerary of really worthwhile tours, mythological & archaeological, also cultural, food & wine. The trip plan also allowed for free time so that we could further explore areas on our own. We had a fantastic guide, Magda, for our tour of the Acropolis. For Delos, we had Pantelias who was really passionate about history, mythology and culture. In Naxos, Yiota highlighted life in medieval times there. And on Santorini, we were fortunate to have Panos for 2 tours wherein we were able to discuss local foods and wines, and of course sample both!
All of the places (Athens, Mykonos, Delos, Naxos, Santorini, Crete) we visited had their own unique/different features and I loved them all equally.
I would like to give special mention to our driver in Athens (Pascal??) who ensured our safety and got us to our destinations stress-free. And thank you to all the other drivers who willingly shared local knowledge.
Thank you again Mariliza!

Hotel Reviews

Myconian Kyma Design Hotel

Mykonos

Beautiful hotel with wonderful amenities.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Located a short walking distance from town

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Xenones Filotera

Imerovigli

The views from the hotel are spectacular!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

SanSal Boutique Hotel

Chania

Great location, walking distance to Old Town.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Easy walking distance to attractions, restaurants.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

NLH Monastiraki

Athens

Our first room happened to be in a part of the hotel that is adjacent to a nightclub that was open until 0400. Needless to say we had a sleepless night. We were changed to another room for the following night.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Location is within walking distance of attractions, restaurants, eyc

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cyano Suites

Naxos

Located a short walking distance from town. Beautiful view from hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Family run hotel with very nice ambience.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Discover Santorini, Semi-Private Tour

Santorini

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit the UNESCO's archaeological site of Delos, Guided Tour

Mykonos

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Medieval Citadel, Private walking tour

Naxos

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Greek Food & Wine Tasting

Santorini

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Free afternoon in Athens

Athens

Quality of Experience

Athens Highlights / Mythology Tour

Athens

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My husband and I just got back from our 10-day trip in Greece. We started our trip by visiting Athens for a few days. Our hotel was a perfect fit. Close to a lot of things so it was easy to walk around to find places to eat and visit. It was also very clean, and the staff was super friendly.
-We did the Mythology walking tour. This was a great way to see various Greek Mythology sites and learn a little bit about their history. I would recommend this tour.

Our next island was Kefalonia. We were hesitant as we didn't know much about this island. We are SO glad we went as it was beautiful. The water was amazing. Again, our hotel was very clean and nice. We sat on both the public and private beach.
-We also did a private 1/2 day island tour. Our tour guide was great and very knowledgeable. It was a great way to see and learn about the island.

We finished up our visit by going to Santorini. Again, we really liked out hotel the staff was very friendly, and the hotel was clean. Maybe the only down fall was it's more in the middle of the island, so it made it harder to walk to places to eat. At least a 45min walk. But we liked that it was quieter and away from the big crowds.
-We did a BBQ boat cruise to see the sunset. It was fun to see Santorini from the water. I would recommend. We booked an e-bike tour while we were there and that was probably one of our highlights of the trip also.

Probably the only down fall of our vacation was the amount of flying we had to do between locations. But that was pretty minor in order to be able to see various locations.

Overall, I would book with KimKim again! Our trip was so smooth, and we loved all the things we did. Everything was exactly like it said it would be and we never had to worry about a thing!

My husband and I always plan our own trips and have fun doing so. This was our 30th wedding anniversary and while I wanted some of the fun of planning the trip, I was overwhelmed with the options of traveling in Greece, and I wanted to be taken care of a bit! Mariliza was wonderful helping us plan this trip from start to finish and incredibly accommodating whenever we needed to make changes to our itinerary. She definitely had a sense of what we were looking for and found us amazing places to stay and planned amazing tours! All of our accommodations were wonderful, and despite some hiccups because of the floods and high winds and the ferry strike, everything was amazing. We also want to thank Afroditi who helped us out when we were not sure about the road closures due to the floods, as well as making alternate plans during the ferry strike. Both Mariliza and Afroditi were warm and patient and were not flustered when we were flustered about needing to make last minute changes. Thank you to both of you!

Hotel Reviews

Cocomat Jumelle

Athens

The hotel is very charming and the staff were absolutely wonderful! Incredible breakfast, healthy options and delicious homemade pastries. The only thing lacking was storage space for our clothes. There was a rod with some hangers and one small drawer, but for two adults traveling for two weeks in Greece, we would have liked more storage.

Authenticity & Character

Location

We could walk everywhere, but it was also quiet at night.

Staff

Everyone was warm and kind and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

As noted above, we would have liked more space for our clothes.

Naxos Island Escape

Naxos

A quiet and beautiful escape, away from the hustle and bustle of Naxos town, and steps away from Plaka beach, which was also quiet and peaceful. So easy to get to town with the local bus or a cab if you prefer. Absolutely incredible breakfast each day! Naxos Island escape is clearly a labor of love for Marios, who was always available and who helped us with many logistics during our stay. Highly recommend!

Authenticity & Character

Incredibly beautiful property, comfortable room.

Location

Away from the buzz of the old town, which we prefer, yet easy to get to.

Staff

Marios was a gem, so warm and lovely and full of knowledge about this beautiful island.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Tanneries Hotel & Spa

Chania

Staff were extremely accommodating, warm and kind. All rooms face the ocean and have a view to Chania old town, which is only a 20 minute walk from the hotel. The rooms are modern and well-equipped, incredibly comfortable bed and linens. Breakfast was excellent with different choices every day, and different varieties of fresh fruit juices.

Authenticity & Character

Location

The view of the sea and Chania old town was incredible.

Staff

Everyone was helpful and warm and lovely.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Incredibly clean, small and quiet hotel.

Chroma Fashion Rooms & Apartments

Athens

VERY basic hotel in a fun neighborhood outside of Athens.

Authenticity & Character

Updated air-conditioning would be nice. Our unit cycled on and off throughout the night, which kept waking us up, and also the temperature was inconsistent.

Location

We stayed here on our last night in Greece in order to avoid Monday morning traffic to the airport. It fit the bill. Cute area with lots going on and lots of good restaurants.

Staff

Lovely front desk when we arrived.

Cleanliness & Comfort

All very basic, but definitely clean. The couch in our room (maybe a sleep sofa) definitely could be replaced. We were there for so little time that it didn't matter, but if we were there for longer, it might have.

Activity Reviews

Athens Highlights Mythology Tour

Athens

Wonderful tour guides, Alex (Temple of Zeus) and Maria (Acropolis)!

Quality of Experience

The beauty of the city, the history, the food... so much!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Everyone was so kind and helpful.

Transport

So glad to not have to think about this aspect of traveling. And, we did love having the opportunity to drive ourselves at times.

Free afternoon in Athens

Athens

Loved wandering and eating amazing food wherever we went.

Quality of Experience

Being able to walk and wander.

Discover Divine Delphi, Overnight in Meteora

Greece

This review is solely based on our trip to Delphi, since sadly we were not able to visit Meteora because of the floods. We will definitely have to return - we were so looking forward to Meteora, but peoples' safety is most important! Delphi was incredible and highly recommend. We drove up there ourselves, which we loved. Seeing the incredible mountains makes you understand how the ancient Greeks believed in the Gods. It felt like they were still there. We had a wonderful tour guide, who also recommended a restaurant to eat lunch in Delphi, which was delicious! (Pictures of the mountains don't do justice.)

Quality of Experience

Should not miss.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our very knowledgeable tour guide, George, was amazing!

Free day in Naxos

Naxos

We had two free days in Naxos because sadly our all day sailing cruise was cancelled because of high winds. We rented a car and drove up into the mountains, which was absolutely incredible.

Quality of Experience

It was all amazing.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Marios, the proprietor of our hotel (Naxos Island Escape) gave us amazing recommendations of where to go outside of Naxos town.

Transport

Totally fun to drive a manual transmission up into the mountains!

Welcome to Crete

Greece

Beautiful island. Wonderful people. Incredible food.

Quality of Experience

The people, the food, the history.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Lovely cooking lesson in the mountains with our incredible guide Yannis.

Transport

Yannis was so lovely and filled with knowledge and love about the history of Crete.

Cooking Lesson in Chania, The Real Cretan Cooking Experience

Chania

So much fun. A small group tour into the white mountains of Crete. Incredibly beautiful. Wonderful tour guide (and driver) Yannis, who knows so much about Cretan history and clearly loves his home. Incredible cooking lesson using the freshest of ingredients taught by a lovely woman (whose name I sadly can't remember but she was amazing), and hosted also by her son.

Quality of Experience

Lovely hosts. Beautiful setting in the mountains. Unforgettable.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Yannis had so much to share about the history of Crete and the land and the food.

Transport

Yannis was an excellent driver!

Our experience working with Mariliza was amazing! She booked great experiences and accommodations for us for the entire trip. It was really nice to not have to worry about setting up really anything on our own. Mariliza really understood what we were hoping to do while on our trip, and we would not have wanted to change a thing. Santorini was such a beautiful island and Mariliza was even able to upgrade our accommodations there to a private villa, which was so beautiful. Our experience working with the KimKim team and Mariliza was great and I would definitely recommend to anyone thinking of planning a trip!

Hotel Reviews

Aspronisi Luxury Villa

Megalochori, Santorini

The staff here was amazing! They are extremely friendly and go out of their way to make sure you have a perfect stay. The view from the hotel pool was beautiful and did not get old to look at.

Authenticity & Character

Location

The view from the pool was amazing! Only a short walk to restaurants and grocery stores.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Blend Hotel Athens

Athens

This hotel was very centrally located to tons of restaurants, cafes and shops. It was also a pretty short walk (20 minutes) to get to historical sights like the Acropolis. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful for our first time to Greece.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Athens Highlights / Mythology Tour

Athens

Really awesome tour to see 3 different historical sites! We like these kinds of tours because it gives you background and history on what you are seeing rather than just taking pictures to say you were there.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset Wine Tasting & Dine

Santorini

It was really cool to learn the history of wine making in Santorini. We had a lot of fun with our tour guide and other people on the tour with us.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

⛵ Sunset Sailing Tour & BBQ on a luxury catamaran

Santorini

This was the coolest experience we did in Santorini and has to be a must do for anyone traveling there. The guys working the boat were super fun and helpful. They made sure you had everything you needed. The food was also amazing.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Caldera Hike

Santorini

We were not staying near Oia or Fira so this hike was really cool to get to see both of those towns in Santorini. The hike was long, but very worth it. You get many incredible views along the way.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The guides were excellent. We spent the day, 9 hours, with Nota in Athens. She was very knowledgeable and friendly. Antoni spent the day showing us the island of Milos. He detailed it to our wishes. It was a good way to see local places and restaurants. Or guide in Santorini also, spent 9 hours with us. This tour entailed local cuisines and historical landmarks.

The food was good for all of our tours, including the sailing trips. The staff on the Santorini sailing tour, made vegetarian meal, just for me.

We stayed at the Elia Ermou in Athens, the Santa Maria Village Resort and Spa in Milos, and the Santorini Palace Hotel. The staff at all the hotels were friendly and helpful. The hotels were all well situated, in walking distance to restaurant and shopping.

Kimkim did an excellent job planning our trip.

Hotel Reviews

Elia Ermou Athens Hotel

Athina

The hotel was in a great location, but the room setup was a bit unusual. There was no counter space to put things on, which was inconvenient. However, overall, the room was comfortable and decent.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Santa Maria Village Resort and Spa

Milos

The Santa Maria Village Resort & Spa was my favorite hotel. The room and location were excellent.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

🚙 Jeep Safari in Milos

Milos

This wasn't exactly what I expected. I thought it would be a real Jeep, but it was more of a four-wheel drive car. However, the guide, Anthony, was incredible. He genuinely listened to what we mentioned and tried to take us to different places than initially planned. This made the tour feel personalized and unique

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

⛵ Boat Trip to Kleftiko with catamaran, H/D

Milos

Despite some rain, I had a great time on the boat trip. The crew was friendly and accommodating, which added to the overall enjoyment of the trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All time classic Santorini, Full-Day Island Tour

Santorini

I truly enjoyed the full-day island tour in Santorini. Our guide was exceptional. We visited an archaeological site and had a memorable day.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

⛵ Sunset Sailing Tour & BBQ on a luxury catamaran

Santorini

The sunset sailing tour was enjoyable. The food prepared on the boat was good and added to the overall experience.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip to Mykonos, Santorini, Crete and Athens was fantastic. The itinerary was a great pace and the transfers were seem-less. The drivers were safe and timely and the guides were knowledgable and definitely added to the understanding of the history and the people of Greece. If we ever had a question or needed clarification Mariliza got back to us quickly and efficiently. The acropolis tour and the food tour in Athens were excellent. Our hotel in Chania was very special. Thank you!

Activity Review

Acropolis & Flavors

Athens

Both of our guides on this trip were phenomenal!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

There were 8 of us (my husband and I, our 2 grown children, my in-laws and brother and sister-in-law). We gave Eleni a few suggestions of places we wanted to go and things we wanted to do, and she took it from there. She and Mariliza booked all of our hotel reservations, tours and transportation. From the time we got off the plane in Athens until we departed two weeks later, everything was seamless. Our tour guides were all extremely knowledgeable and friendly, our drivers were prompt and courteous, and the hotels that they selected were top-notch. A few highlights: our stunning view of the Acropolis from the Electra Metropolis hotel, shopping in Hydra, lunches at Safran in Ios, and a sunset catamaran tour in Santorini. It was a perfect mix of sightseeing and relaxation, and Eleni and Mariliza were extremely helpful, flexible and professional. I was originally planning to make the arrangements myself, but I am so grateful that my daughter found KimKim online. It wouldn’t have been the same without their expertise and guidance.

Hotel Reviews

Electra Metropolis Athens Hotel

Athens

Incredible view of the Acropolis from the rooftop restaurant. The pool was nice for cooling off in the afternoons. The location was fantastic - no need for cabs, we walked everywhere! Great breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Leto Hotel

Hydra

Quaint boutique hotel, a short walk to shopping and dining, friendly staff and nice breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Liostasi Hotel & Suites Ios

Cyclades

Absolutely stunning property! The staff was so friendly and welcoming (Eleni is so sweet!). The sunset views were breathtaking. It was a short walk into Chora, the main town, but very quiet and relaxing. We had a great dinner at Grandma’s restaurant (on property) and enjoyed sunbathing at the infinity pool. The breakfast was amazing. In addition to an extensive buffet, there was also a menu of options that you could order from. We stayed in a suite with a bedroom upstairs for us, and sleeper sofas downstairs for the kids. It worked out perfectly!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Katikies Garden Santorini

Fira, Santorini

Very unique property (it used to be a monastery) , conveniently located right in Fira. The manager, Lea was so helpful and friendly. The infinity pool area was very nice and had a beautiful view, and the breakfast was delicious and had plenty of options. The fresh-squeezed juice was a favorite for our group.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Ios Highlights Tour

Ios

A driver picked us up in a nice Mercedes van and took us to visit the main sightseeing spots on Ios - Homer’s Tomb, the Odysseas Elytis Theatre, Paleokastro and Mylopotas Beach. It was so beautiful!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Acropolis & Flavors

Athens

Eleni was so knowledgeable and friendly! The tour of the Acropolis was great. Because we were with a tour, we were able to enter the Acropolis from the back side and avoid the lines. From there, she took us to a cute restaurant for Freddo Cappuccino and orange cake. We walked around the city, visited a meat and fish market, and sampled olives at the local outdoor produce market. From there we visited Bougatsadiko Thessaloniki restaurant in Psirri for spanakopita. She offered to take us for souvlaki, but we were already stuffed and decided to head back to the hotel. It was a perfect way to see Athens!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset Wine Tasting & Dine

Santorini

This was a great way to get familiar with the island. The first stop was Koutsogiannopoulos Wine Museum. It was a little cheesy, but it was very informative and we learned about the history of winemaking on the island, then sampled a few of their wines. Our general impression was that they were good, but we didn’t love them enough to buy bottles to bring home. We visited the town of Megalochori, walked the cobblestone streets and visited ancient cave dwellings. Our next stop was Profitis Elias Mountain (the highest point in Santorini). There we visited a little church and bought products made by the monks at the local monastery. We tried caper leaves for the first time (delicious!) and bought some sun dried tomatoes to bring home. Elena poured us each a glass of wine and we drank it overlooking the entire island. Next, she took us to a restaurant where we had traditional Greek dishes on a rooftop while we watched the sunset. A perfect way to end the evening.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All time classic Santorini, Private Tour

Santorini

Another awesome tour in Santorini! This day we visited Museum of Prehistoric Thera, and then went to Akrotiri, an active archaeological dig site of an ancient fishing village covered by a volcanic eruption thousands of years ago. Our tour guide, Tonia, was very knowledgeable and taught us a lot about the ancient civilizations. From there we visited Perivolos Beach and had an amazing sushi lunch at Forty One. We were supposed to go to Profitis Elias Mountain, but since we had done that the day before, we opted to spend some extra time at the black beach. The restaurant allowed us to use a few of the lounge chairs for free, since we had eaten lunch there, which was really nice. We went to another winery for a wine tasting (not sure of the name, but the views were stunning!) and then back to the hotel.

Quality of Experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transport

⛵ Private Sunset Sailing & BBQ on a luxury catamaran

Santorini

The highlight of our trip! Evie and Eleni were fantastic. They took us to the red beach and the white beach to swim and snorkel (the water was crystal clear!) and then around the volcano. They made us a delicious dinner on the boat, and then the wind picked up so Evie raised the sails and we sailed around for about an hour before we watched the sun set. It was a perfect way to end our trip.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I didn't ever think I would use a travel agent. It's not very "millennial," but with a wife in medical school, two-year-old at home, and a full-time job, I decided to take my dad's advice and try out KimKim to plan our honeymoon vacation to Greece (after three years of delays due to the pandemic).

I couldn't have been more happy with my choice! Eleni and Mariliza were fantastic and picked out guides, tours, and experiences that were exactly what my wife and I were looking for. It was such a relief not to have to book hotels, worry about transportation, etc. The service was really out of this world and deeply refreshing to someone used to scrounging for deals on AirBnBs and fretting over public transit when traveling abroad.

In particular, my wife and I loved our experiences hiking in Meteora and Zagori. Our guide (Jim) in Meteora was very knowledge, but also hilarious and a great story-teller. We had a blast the whole time. I had never even heard of Vikos Gorge until Eleni suggested it, but ended up loving hiking out in the remote mountains of Eprius. Our guide (Athena) in Vikos was patient, engaging, and very attentive to our level of fatigue/comfort through the hike. The restaurant recommendations we got throughout the trip were also fantastic--with so many options to choose from (esp. in Athens) it was great to be able to pick from a smaller list. We never had a disappointing meal!

We also appreciated that Eleni/Mariliza were willing to let us "take the reigns" toward the end of the trip. My father is Greek and we wanted to spend time visiting family in Kavala. Eleni/Mariliza arranged a very smooth transition from the part of the trip they planned with the time that we spent seeing relatives. It was reassuring to know that they were there and available to help if we needed them, but not pushing us to buy/do things that we didn't want or need to.

Overall, we are really happy. Next time we take a big trip abroad, we will definitely use KimKim. This was so much better and more relaxing than doing everything ourselves. Now that I've tried a modern travel agency, I don't think I can ever go back. :)