Mieke Arendsen

Lots of interesting cities in Holland. Had so much fun using public transportation and visiting the sites and museums. Good thing we are fit-lots of narrow spiral staircases in hotels with no elevator (lift). People were all very friendly. Learned alot.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel des Arts

Amsterdam-Centrum

no air conditioning or elevator!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The James Hotel Rotterdam

Rotterdam

modern hotel. Loved it.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Boutique Hotel Museumkwartier

Utrecht

Quaint.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Huys van Leiden

Leiden

had a spiral staircase to get to the bathroom!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Public Transport Pass Amsterdam

The Netherlands

A great addition! Made travel so easy.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Amsterdam - Rijksmuseum

The Netherlands

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Amsterdam - Grand Dutch food & history tour in small group

The Netherlands

Great guide met so nice people

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Amsterdam - Canal cruise (join in)

The Netherlands

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rotterdam - harbor boat tour

The Netherlands

Amazing

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Leiden

The Netherlands

Probably may favorite city. Rented bikes.

Quality of Experience

Rotterdam

The Netherlands

Big city. Good food. Enjoyed the boat cruise.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rotterdam - Kinderdijk windmills by public boat (waterbus)

The Netherlands

interesting

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Hague - Mauritshuis Museum

The Netherlands

Wished we had a longer stay

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Delft - Delft blue pottery

The Netherlands

Probably could have skipped.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

From start to finish planning my trip to Amsterdam was seamless with the support of Mieke. She crafted a custom itinerary that balanced the interests and needs of my 14yo son and 82yo mom. Most helpful was her availability and responsiveness while we were abroad. It’s such a comfort having someone in country to reach out to with questions or, for example, to modify an activity mid-trip when we realized my mom needed less walking. This is my third time using Kim Kim and I highly recommend!

Hotel Review

Dikker & Thijs Hotel

Amsterdam

Excellent location, friendly and accommodating staff, delicious breakfast, charming and clean rooms.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Public Transport Pass Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Easy to navigate, very clean, and enjoyed traveling like a local!

Amsterdam - Private guided historic city walk

The Netherlands

Jan was friendly and knowledgeable

Amsterdam Dungeon

Amsterdam

My son and I really enjoyed this spooky theater that introduced us to the ghosts of Amsterdam's past. Beware, though, it is spooky and not for the faint of heart! Also requires a fair amount of walking and crouching so my 82yo mom was not able to participate.

Amsterdam - Private canal cruise to Van Gogh Museum

The Netherlands

A trip favorite! Our guide was informative and funny and there is nothing like seeing the city from the water.

Amsterdam - Anne Frank House

The Netherlands

A must see.

Amsterdam - Van Gogh Museum

The Netherlands

A must see.

Daytrip to Cheese Farm, Edam and Zaanse Schans

The Netherlands

The cheese farm was interesting, Edam was charming, and the driver Herman was lovely, but Zaanse Schans was insanely mobbed with tourists and felt more like a disney experience than an authentic glimpse into the architectural and engineering feats of the windmills (which were magnificent but better to know in advance that it is a bit of a tourist spectacle)

Amsterdam - Muiderslot Castle by public transport

Amsterdam

We loved taking a walk back through time to the medieval history of Amsterdam. Beautiful grounds and restored castle. The town itself is beyond charming. A trip favorite for sure!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip was amazing on so many levels and in so many ways. Mieke did an incredible job setting everything up. Our guides were great as were all the recommendations for restaurants. THANK YOU so much Mieke and everyone that made this a trip of a lifetime!!

Hotel Reviews

The James Hotel Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Fantastic hotel!! It is very clean and the staff is very friendly.. Great location as well. We would definitely stay here again.

Authenticity & Character

This hotel has great character and authenticity. I really liked it.

Location

The location is prime. Close to shopping, restaurants and plenty of action, yet quiet and comforatble.

Staff

The staff was top notch. Very polite and very helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

This hotel is very clean and very comfortable. Top rated on this too.

Comic Art Hotel

Ghent

We loved this hotel. The comic theme was very cool. It is in a great location as well and the staff was amazing!!

Authenticity & Character

Such great character and with the comic theme it is very authentic.

Location

The location is great. Right next to the canal and a couple blocks from all the action. It is perfect!!

Staff

The staff was amazing!! Incredibly helpful and kind.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The hotel was very clean and very comfortable. Five stars for sure!!

Hotel des Galeries

Brussels

This hotel was amazing!! Great location. Very clean and well kept. I would definitely stay here again.

Authenticity & Character

Great authenticity and character.

Location

Great location. In the middle of great shopping and restaurants, but still private and quiet.

Staff

Staff was very helpful and kind.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vey clean and comfortable.

Boutiquehotel Staats

Haarlem

This is an amazing hotel. The staff was fabulous and everything was very clean. I would definitely stay here again,

Authenticity & Character

This hotel has so much character. I absolutely LOVED it!!

Location

Staff

The staff was so friendly and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean hotel and very comfortable as well.

Boutique Hotel Beekhuizen, Velp

Velp

This hotel is stunning. It is so pretty. The staff was amazing as well. I would stay here again for sure!!

Authenticity & Character

Filled with character and authenticity.

Location

Being in the forest makes this extra special and incredibly beautiful!!

Staff

The staff was very kind and very helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

This hotel was very clean nd incredibly comfortable.

Activity Reviews

Amsterdam - Grand Dutch food & history tour in small group

The Netherlands

This tour was exceptional. Our guide Bo was amazing!! I would highly recommend this to anyone.

Quality of Experience

This was well worth the cost and the time.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Bo was exceptional. Very knowledgeable and very kind.

Amsterdam - Private canal cruise

The Netherlands

A must when in Amsterdam!! Those Damn Boat Guys were amazing!! Very knowledgably and took the time to answer questions and educate us.

Quality of Experience

This experience was amazing!! You get to see the city from a complete different vantage point.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Outstanding!!!!

Transport

The boat was very comfortable and we all felt very safe.

We had such a wonderful trip to the Netherlands. Mieke and Beat the Dutch Travel did such a great job organizing our trip for our two families (4 adults, 1 young adult, 3 kids ages 17, 10, and 8). We felt like we had a great balance of highly tourist activities and also some lower key travel excursions that felt more local. The day by day descriptions and step by step instructions for transportation and navigation made travel very easy. Particular highlights of the trip were the private bike tour with Marc and the kids particularly loved the trip to the Muiderslot castle. The private canal tour with Those Dam Boat Guys tour was also a great way to see Amsterdam.

Best decision I ever made to use KimKim for this travel planning. Saved me the hours of stress and planning to try to accommodate 8 people of varying interests and attention spans. Would highly recommend and happily use them again!

Mieke did a wonderful job in accommodating our wishes and planning our trip to The Netherlands/Belgium since our family ranged in ages from 18 to 82. We had a great variety of private tours including the food tour with Bo which was fabulous in Amsterdam, a private walking tour in Ghent with Christine and despite the rain a great walking tour in Bruges with Roland! They all were so knowledgeable about their respective cities and shared their love of their country with us. They made is so easy to get around from place to place with the public transportation and private transfers as we needed. Their food recommendations and optional activities were very well thought out and provided us with extra excursions where we needed to fill in last minute. Part of our trip included visiting family from The Netherlands and the assistance in planning this part of our trip timeline was extremely helpful as well! The day-to-day instructions/timeline was great for planning each day and made the entire trip easy and fun!

We appreciate your assistance and highly recommend your services! Thank you for helping us make our holiday a memorable and positive experience!

Hotel Review

Boutique Hotel Beekhuizen, Velp

Velp

This hotel was a bit of heaven in the forest! The room was beautiful and spacious for a European hotel. We loved the outdoor patio to view nature. The breakfast was outstanding and the hospitality was excellent!

Authenticity & Character

The large windows in the room provided a beautiful view of the grounds of the hotel.

Location

This hotel is away from the hustle and bustle and there are many paths in nature to enjoy the beauty of the area.

Staff

The staff was very welcoming upon arrival and served a fabulous breakfast.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Beds were comfortable and rooms were spacious.

Activity Reviews

Public Transport Pass Amsterdam

The Netherlands

This public transport pass made getting around Haarlem, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Gouda super efficient and easy.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Easy to scan on/scan off and follow instructions on map to get exactly where we need to be.

Amsterdam - Grand Dutch food & history tour in small group

The Netherlands

Bo was extremely knowledgeable about the food and the city of Amsterdam and shared a lot of history with us. There was plenty of food/drinks offered on the tour and we were completely satisfied.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

My husband , 29 year old daughter and I just returned from a wonderful 9 day trip to The Netherlands & Belgium. Mieke did a fantastic job tailoring the trip to our needs. She picked perfect hotels that provided room for 3 adults. Once she understood our family dynamics she was able to tailor our daily itineraries . Highlights for us were: Visiting the Kuekenhof Gardens, Touring Kinderdijk windmills & exploring The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb using the 3 D tour! Mieke also gave us restaurant recommendations and tips for navigating each city. When we arrived she had a well organized package for us with all of our travel documents. And prior to the trip, Mieke was accessible for phone conversations to discuss our trip. This aspect of the service was invaluable and helped solidify our plans. This is our 2nd time traveling with KimKim and I could not be more pleased.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel des Arts

Amsterdam-Centrum

We had a room for 3 adults. Loved the decor and the view of the canal. The room & bathroom were on the small side but, doable. The breakfast was very nice. Great location. Perfect for our trip.

Authenticity & Character

Decor was pretty

Location

View of the canal. Across from the metro. Walking distance to everything.

Staff

Very nice. Helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room was clean. Just a little small. Hard to find a place for 3 bags.

Ghent River Hotel

Ghent

Room was comfortable and provided a very good amount of space for 3 adults. Shower room was a nice size.

Authenticity & Character

Room was a very nice size. Breakfast room was on the rooftop and light and airy with a patio.

Location

Walking distance to everything.

Staff

We were not greeted well by the hotel. When we checked in there was no welcoming manner. The man seemed put out.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Comfortable. There is a bathrobe. Loved the exposed brick wall and the high ceilings. Bedspreads and towels were not special. No color or uniqueness to decor.

Activity Reviews

Amsterdam - Canal cruise (join in)

The Netherlands

Public Transport Pass Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Loved having our card and being able to navigate the trains and trolleys when we needed them.

Haarlem - self-guided cycling route to Keukenhof & through tulip fields

Belgium

Unfortunately the tulip fields were no longer in bloom when we got there. Apparently we missed it by 1 day. Also, we needed better biking directions. We had trouble following the path. That said, people were very happy to help. Also, enjoyed having E- bikes!!! LOVED the Keukenhof Gardens!!! So beautiful!

Day trip to Haarlem

The Netherlands

We didn't spend very much time in Haarlem. We were there just to head out to the gardens. Biking to Kuekenhof gardens was fun but, the directions from the bikeshop were a little challenging. People are very happy to help you out.

Amsterdam - Private guided walking tour on Jewish History

Amsterdam

Inbal , our guide, was very knowledgeable.

Amsterdam - Jewish Museum & Portuguese Synagogue

Amsterdam

Synagogue is so beautiful. History of the area very interesting. Did not see the museum.

Ghent - Adoration of the Mystic Lamb

Belgium

AMAZING!!! Did the 3 D tour and it was such a fun and informative experience!!

Ghent - Gravensteen - Castle of the Counts

Belgium

The outside of the castle is way more interesting than the inside.

Amsterdam - Anne Frank House

Belgium

Very well organized and informative. Powerful experience.

Amsterdam - Van Gogh Museum

Belgium

Wonderful!

Ghent - Day trip to Bruges

Ghent

Pretty city. Think it would have been better if we had a tour guide when we arrived. We did do the bus tour on our own. It was expensive and just okay. But, it did give us a chance to see all around the city. Climbed the Belfry and that was wonderful.

Amsterdam - Rijksmuseum

Belgium

Beautiful museum!

Explore Ghent with a CityCard

Belgium

Easy to show card and take buses and canal tour.

Rotterdam - Kinderdijk windmills by public boat (waterbus)

Belgium

Loved this experience. Very interesting!!

8Ghent - Private guided walking tour

Ghent

Wonderful tour guide!!!

Amsterdam was amazing . And the itinerary Kim Kim put together was perfect . Enables us to go and show up with minimal to no prior research . Hotel was prime location , central and close to all transport , walking distance to millions restaurants . The canal ride is a must , and we would not have known to do the evening sunset one , which was a real treat . The city food tour was a wonderful way to spend the day . We learned a lot , and saw the best of Amsterdam . Well laid out and paced . Just delightful . We had incredible weather , which made the days and flowers perfection . Ann Frank house is not to be missed . And very grateful Kim Kim facilitated as well as got us to get our act together , to be able to get the tickets . Museums , walking , shopping , markets . All great . The public transportation is amazing , and makes it so easy to get around ..

This was my third trip with Kim Kim , so I’m a big fan .
The only thing I would say , although the price of the trip seemed reasonable , as we were there and knew what things cost , it did seem like Kim Kim overcharged. All for them making money , but the distribution didn’t feel good . Which was a little disappointing .

The entire trip was truly spectacular. There was one major, glitch, but Mieke responded very quickly. And they even refunded us for the mistake. I thought that was the right thing to do and they responded immediately. That to me is very important My tip is always check the train schedule, apparently they change it without any notice. We missed our first Eurostar train, but the conductor of the second time slot was nice enough to let us on and even gave us free drinks because we were so frazzled.
Other than that , everything went well. We love staying in Haarlem. Such a wonderful little town and everyone is so friendly and accommodating.. The Canal tour was great and the Anne Frank house was extremely interesting, very somber, but something you had to see.
We loved loved loved our grand Dutch Food Tour with Mark, he was amazing. It was so nice that it was private, just the three of us. Actually, all the tours were private, which made it really a lot better than being in a group.We tasted foods I would’ve never tried, and they were quite good,. What we love the most is he took us to places that tourists do not frequent. It was such a treat. I thought four hours would be so long, but he made it go by so quickly. That was truly a highlight of the trip.
Going to Keukenhof was also a highlight, it was so beautiful, you couldn’t help but smile.. love love love those gardens. Even though they were closing in two days, it didn’t matter we saw some absolutely stunning tulips as well as other flowers in bloom.
When we got to Bruges we had a 2 PM walking tour, but we were late because of all the mishaps along the way and the tour guide. Roland was very accommodating and pushed it back an hour for us. For us, the tour guide was a little boring as was the tour. The content was nothing we were interested in. He spoke a lot about the construction of the old buildings and the bricks and stones that they used. It just wasn’t for us. Perhaps someone else would’ve found it interesting. After we were done with that tour, we roamed around the city and had such a good time. We took a horse and buggy ride, we had a canal tour, we loved the Canal tours. We did a beer tasting and got very silly.
Sunday we went to the Choco factory museum, we found that very boring. I wouldn’t suggest going there. We skipped our day trip to Damme so that we could walk around Bruges but little did we know most of the stores are closed on Sunday, but we made the best of it.
Monday we went to Ghent, our tour guide Veerle was wonderful, she was so informative and had a lovely personality. We really liked her.
After that, we went to the Galvesteen Castle.
Part of it was interesting, but we went through it quickly, it was a little boring for us.
We really really loved the Canal boat tours, we actually took four of them during the entire trip.
I’m sure I left some things out but all in all we had an excellent time and beat the Dutch travel and Mieke we’re great. I would definitely use them again.

Activity Review

Amsterdam - Private Grand Dutch Food Tour

The Netherlands

This is a definite must do, a private tour is the way to go. Mark, our tour guide was amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Overall, the trip was good. We found Mieke very responsive during the planning stage and when on the trip there was 1 hotel issue on a Sunday Kim Kim's 24 hour hotline worked well. I think the error was more on the hotel's side and was resolved reasonable quickly. We found Amsterdam extremely crowded due to its overall destination desirability, Tulip season and travel right before Easter. In hindsight would have spent 1 less day in Amsterdam and another in Belgium.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel des Arts

Amsterdam-Centrum

Overall good. Location is nice being on a canal, however that comes with a lot more noise. Staff at the hotel were very accommodating, breakfast was good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel FranQ

Antwerp

Had an issue checking in which I believe was the hotel's system issue as reservations were booked around 9 months prior. Along with responsive communication with Kim Kim's team we were able to resolve the issue without wasting too much time. Nice location, lovely hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Pand Hotel

Bruges

Excellent location, friendly staff, nice breakfast,

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel des Galeries

Brussels

Only stayed for 1 night but was very nice. Excellent location but very poor signage meant it was difficult to find the hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right next to the Galeries, hence the name and just a couple blocks from the main square.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Ghent - Gravensteen - Castle of the Counts

The Netherlands

Bruges - Hans Memling Collection at Sint-Janshospitaal

The Netherlands

Quality of Experience

Public Transport Pass Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Very convenient, worked as expected.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Amsterdam - Canal cruise (join in)

The Netherlands

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

About a 25 minute walk from the hotel.

Amsterdam - Van Gogh Museum

The Netherlands

Ghent - Adoration of the Mystic Lamb

The Netherlands

This was perhaps the best experience of our trip. We had the high tech experience which was simply mind blowing, it was like having a personal art expert with you.

Quality of Experience

Amsterdam - Day trip to Haarlem

Amsterdam

Enjoyed the city much less crowded than Amsterdam. The flower garden was massively crowded, made Disneyland feel empty by comparison. Go early!

Quality of Experience

Transport

Better signage for the bike route.

Bruges - Halve Maan brewery visit

The Netherlands

Excellent quality beer.

Quality of Experience

Haarlem - self-guided cycling route to Keukenhof & through tulip fields

The Netherlands

Signage was poor.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Better signage.

Amsterdam - Rijksmuseum

The Netherlands

Quality of Experience

Transport

Close to the tram line.

Amsterdam - Walking Dinner private guided tour

The Netherlands

Excellent experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was great we enjoyed this experience a lot.

Amsterdam - Daytrip to Marken, Volendam, Edam and Zaanse Schans

Amsterdam

Enjoyed the drive and ferry crossing. Zaanse Schans was extremely crowded and felt like a tourist trap. Did enjoy the museum however.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bruges - Private guided walking tour

The Netherlands

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was overly focused on architecture, did not show us some of the churches.

Antwerp - Chocolate Nation

The Netherlands

Pretty much as expected, nice chocolate samples. Good experience.

Quality of Experience

Antwerp - Private guided walking tour

The Netherlands

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was 15 minutes late.

Brussels card 48h

The Netherlands

Did not fully utilize. Actually converting the voucher to a card was somewhat difficult.

Quality of Experience

Brussels - Private guided walking tour: food

Belgium

Expected to hit more places for beer.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff