Sonia Vanzin

Everything went so smoothly. From the initial planning stage, we enjoyed working with Sonia and collaborating together to get the perfect month long trip to Italy. Sonia was always very responsive to my emails and had great suggestions for the flow of the trip and our accommodations. One of the highlights Sonia arranged was a private cooking class in Tuscany. Throughout our trip, we had excellent help/guides: 1) Our private concierge, Barbara, was outstanding. She met us in Milan and helped secure our rental car and then checked in with us periodically to confirm our arrangements. She was very responsive to any requests we had. 2) In Venice, we were met by (another) Barbara who helped us get to/from our hotel. It really allowed us to enjoy the whole experience. 3) We had a 4 hour private tour in Venice with Silvia and she was fabulous. She was so knowledgeable and fun to be with. 4) We had a 4 hour private tour in Florence with Simona and she, too, was fabulous. She gave us a great overall view of Florence and its history (including art) which really added to our stay.
This is the second time we have worked with KimKim (first time in Norway) and, although we are independent travelers, their expertise and attention to detail allows you to fully experience your trip without having to worry about all the details such as transfers, rental car arrangements, and tours. We highly recommend their services.

Hotel Reviews

Forestis Dolomites

Bressanone BZ

An amazing place to stay in the Dolomites. Great service, great food and the location is unbeatable.

Authenticity & Character

It was very elegant in a simple, refined way. The spa was beautiful and the swimming pool was great.

Location

The view of the Dolomites.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Antica Corte Pallavicina

Polesine Parmense

A wonderful place in the countryside outside of Parma.

Authenticity & Character

A wonderfully restored castle. There were two restaurants to eat at with amazing food.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Grand Hotel Cavour

Florence

You cannot beat the location of this hotel, right in the heart of Florence. Our room was on the smaller side but was modern, clean and comfortable. Unfortunately it rained so we couldn't enjoy the rooftop terrace. Breakfast was very nice.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Corte di Gabriela

Venice

An intimate, charming hotel in a great location in Venice.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It was close to everything we wanted to see, but in a side alley so it was quiet.

Staff

Wonderful breakfasts!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Venice walking tour

Italy

Our guide, Silvia, was outstanding. She was so knowledgeable and fun to be with. She made all the reservations for our visit to San Marco basilica and Dogo's Palace so we skipped the lines. And she showed us some hidden treasures throughout the city. It was a great way to get to know Venice so that we could explore on our own the remaining days.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Venice Gondola Ride

Venice

I wouldn't say this was a highlight as it felt a little touristy. But then, when in Venice ..... it was interesting to get to see all the buildings in the canals so the sightseeing did make it a worthwhile experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We arrived early and they were able to accommodate us without us waiting.

Transport

Gondola was beautiful.

Private cooking class at Podere il Casale in Pienza (self-drive)

Italy

This was one of the highlights of our trip. The Podere il Casale is a beautiful farm in the Tuscan countryside and Sandra, one of the owners, was our cooking instructor. Her hospitality was incredible and we had so much fun together. The food was delicious and the ingredients were farm fresh. In addition to the food we prepared during the class, we tasted the cheese they make on the farm and sampled their freshly pressed olive oil along with their homemade bread. We enjoyed this great lunch while sitting on the lovely terrace overlooking the rolling hills of Tuscany. It was one of the best meals of our entire trip and such a wonderful experience.

Quality of Experience

Sandra really showed us the essence of Italian country cooking.

Food

Everything!

Private transfer from Rental Car office at Florence airport to hotel

Florence

Our driver, Maurilio, showed up early so we didn't have any wait time. He was courteous, friendly and gave us information as he drove us into Florence.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private guided tour of the Uffizi and Accademia Galleries (4 hours)

Florence

Our guided tour with Simona was the best way to get introduced to Florence. She was so knowledgeable about Florence and gave us a great overview of the city's history. And her knowledge of art and art history were amazing. We could never have learned so much by ourselves as we did in 4 hours with Simona. She secured reservations to the Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia Gallery so it made it a breeze to visit both. We were very impressed with Simona and the personalized guided tour that she gave us.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide, Simona, was the best.

I would absolutely use them again it was an amazing experience.

Activity Reviews

Private boat tour to Capri

Italy

We enjoyed our guide, it was a beautiful experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lemon Grove- Mozzarella Farm in Sorrento area

Italy

The family was nice, wonderful people I would only suggest something in the city too

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I wanted private transportation because my dad was elderly but our driver was great

Visit of The Amalfi coast Villages Full Day

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip was wonderful! Nine jammed packed days seeing the highlights from Venice to Pompeii from 3 different locations. Sonia listened to our requests as first time Italy visitors and filled our days with great experiences. Everything was incredibly smooth with all of the transportation at and between locations, and knowledgable and engaging guides/tours. My husband and two children (daughter-23 and son-19) agree that it was a great vacation. We were busy and came home exhausted - but that's what we wanted. Sonia listened and put together the perfect itinerary for us.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Carnival Palace

Venice

Great location., nice amenities and service. Good breakfast with great coffee and large selection of food. Quiet neighborhood on small canal, but close to tourist areas, food and shopping. Would definitely recommend.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Palazzo Leopoldo

Radda in Chianti

Castle in quaint town. Lots of nooks and crannies with rooms. Great breakfast and coffee, and restaurant for dinner. We loved everything about it, but the WIFI. As to be expected, with 2 foot castle walls, the wifi was iffy at best.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Private Chianti wine tour with cooking class and lunch

Italy

This was one of our favorite activities. It was a very special experience for all of us (myself, husband, daughter-23, and son-19. The organic vineyard and oil farm was beautiful. We enjoyed learning the history of the farm and about today's offerings. Making of local foods - tiaramasu, bruschetta, and pasta - with our instructor was fun experience. All followed by eating what we prepared with a variety of sauces for the pasta and tasting of wines, limoncello, and grappa. We left happy and satisfied!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Just came back from our trip to Italy. ‘Sonia’ was the organizer for our trip. She did a fantastic job preparing the itinerary and arranging guides and transport. ‘Daniela’ was our point of contact. She was super, went above and beyond to make sure that we had a smooth and pleasurable experience. Guides were local and had plethora of knowledge about focal points to take pics and shop around. This was our 2nd trip with ‘Kimkim’ and we continue to be impressed. A big ‘thank you’ to Sonia/Daniela and their team. We are already thinking about our next adventure with them.🙏🏼

Our trip itself was incredible for the most part. We started off a bit rocky with Kimkim as it took much longer than they said to get us in touch with the local travel agency. I think it was close to a week before I had the discussion with a Kimkim employee and then another 5ish days before getting in contact with the local agency. From everything I read, it said 2-3 days, which was misleading. We had booked our own hotel, but needed assistance with the tours and planning / coordinating everything. Sonia did an awesome job scheduling everything out and even recommended one tour (Tivoli), which we absolutely loved. We also loved the other activities that she suggested (pizza making class, which was much better than we expected, food tour, and winery). All of the tours and tour guides booked were top notch. There wasn’t a single one that was even just “good”. They were phenomenal. All of our cars and transfers were nearly seamless as well. I was told that i would receive a welcome packet upon arrival and so I didn’t need to print anything. Our concierge did not have that for us, so we had no printed documents. This wasn’t ideal and I would have printed everything on my own had I know. Our concierge then said she would message us every morning with our plans, tickets, vouchers, etc for that day. She didn’t. I had to constantly sign into Kimkim and check times, meeting points, schedules, etc, which was not convenient, especially when we were in places with lower quality cell service. We did experience an issue during the trip, as the agency was to book us an overnight stay in Naples (while we kept our main hotel in Rome). We arrived at the hotel after a long day to learn that the agency messed up and booked it for the night before. Understandably, I was irritated and embarrassed. We had a long, hot, sweaty day and were looking forward to relaxing in a luxury hotel with a sea view. The hotel offered to accommodate us in an inferior room, which we did not accept. I had tried to text and call our concierge so she could look into it, but by the time she got back to me, we were in a taxi on the way back to the train station. Upon arrival at the train station, we went to the customer service desk to change our tickets, which were scheduled for the next day. Our concierge was irritated that I handled the ticket change myself, but I was not going to stand around the train station waiting for somebody else to do something, especially when we had a short window of time to catch the next train. I communicated with her before and during of my intentions and what I was doing, so there would be no duplication of effort. After she confirmed the hotel error and got in touch with the agency, I didn’t hear from her for the rest of our trip. She did not add anything to our trip. (We did receive a refund for the room and transfers that needed to get cancelled). Overall, our trip was amazing and our tours were awesome, but many of the conveniences that I was told we would have and that I would have expected were lacking. And the mistakes made were unfortunate, annoying, and not in line with “luxury” service.

Hotel Review

Hotel Eurostar Excelsior

Naples

As mentioned in the main review, the agency made our hotel reservation for the day before we were to arrive and as such, we did not stay. The staff at the hotel was amazing. They were patient and understanding as we tried to get our concierge on the line to figure it out, eventually printing us a train schedule and getting us a taxi. Also, before we left, they gave us a bottle of water each. I would 100% recommend the hotel based on the service we received in a trying time.

Staff

Activity Reviews

Small group tour of Vatican City , Sistine Chapel & saint Peter's Basilica

Rome

This tour was amazing and our guide was great! She had so much history and knowledge to share and I felt enriched. That said, the Vatican museums are absolutely crazy, packed, hot, and difficult to enjoy with thousand upon thousands of other people and the current of the herd.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Group pizza making class

Italy

Monica was our chef and was awesome. I could not have asked for anybody better. She was fun, engaging, and entertaining. Fabio was great and full of personality. We enjoyed this so much more than we thought we would. We are so excited to use the lessons we learned at home with our kids.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Rome Underground & Catacombs Tour

Rome

This was one of our favorite tours / activities. Our guide was Andy the Aussie. He might be one of the best guides I’ve ever had at any activity ever. I learned so much from him and his experience and knowledge made this tour what it was. I would not hesitate to take any future tour from him and might even pay a premium for him! He was great and it was awesome seeing the Roman lasagna layers with him.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our cooking class in Palermo was excellent. Chef Michael and his assistant Melissa were fantastic. We made a wonderful meal and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. In Matera, we had a wonderful baking experience. Our guide was also delightful and created an elaborate picture of what Matera was like during its early history. In Agrigento, our guide was extremely personable and knowledgeable. With her detail to Greek history, she brought the ancient period alive. The other guides were good but these were the stand outs.

We found that the guides who were born in Italy were very passionate about their country and shared their enthusiasm with us. We had one guide who was not born in Italy and while she was good, she did not have the same exuberance.
The hotels were comfortable and centrally located. The villa in Agrigento was fabulous. Instead of the fourth night in Palermo, we would have liked the extra night at the villa.
The only hotel that we did not like was in Aberobello. The staff was not friendly. The bed was hard and uncomfortable. They also did not have air-conditioning. We would have preferred staying in Matera instead of spending 2 nights in Aberobello. A half day excursion in Aberobello is more than enough.

Kimkim was outstanding! The planning process went wonderfully. We felt that the communication was wonderful and that our ideas and things of we wanted to see and do were taken into consideration. The flexibility was also wonderful and we appreciated the effort that went into planning our trip.

The quality of service from everyone we interacted with was outstanding. Our personal concierge was wonderful and very helpful. We had to make some changes and she was flexible and willing to help. She communicated frequently with updates and with anything that we needed. Our tour guides were amazing! They were knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful. We really enjoyed the passion that all our tour guides have for what they do. Our drivers were wonderful and very friendly. They were all very organized, professional, on time, and helpful.

Our highlights or stand out moments were: Lake Como and Bellagio, Parma ham and parmesan cheese tour, tour at Podere Il Casale and tour of De'Ricci, the Amalfi Coast and Capri, and our Colosseum tour in Rome. However, this does not take away from any of the other experiences we had. It was all amazing!

My only suggestion is that if you are planning to drive in Italy, I would do a lot of research of what the road signs mean and what to do at tolls. However, it is something that can be figured out any how.

All in all, it was an amazing and memorable trip. We are eternally grateful for the hard work and effort that was put in by everyone that was a part of our trip.

Activity Reviews

Private guided tour of Lake Como by public ferry from Como

Italy

Our tour guide was amazing! Her knowledge and passion can not be mentioned enough. She was also kind and flexible! The tour really adds to the experience of being on Lake Como. There is so much to learn and so much history that may be overlooked if you are not on a tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private cheese tour and tasting at Podere il Casale in Pienza

Italy

I cannot begin to speak about how amazing this tour was! This is a must experience. Ulises did our tour, the owner of Podere Il Casale, did our tour and I can't speak highly enough about him. Not only is this place and views beautiful but what you learn about their farm is amazing. The cheese and wine was delicious. They are so passionate about what they do. You will instantly fall in love with farming!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Small Group tour of Colosseum underground, Palatine Hill, and Roman Forum ( max 6 people)

Rome

Our tour was amazing! Our tour guide was friendly and extremely knowledgeable. This small group tour with the Colosseum underground experience should definitely be on your bucket list.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sorrento Coast & Capri Boat Tour

Italy

What a beautiful and wonderful experience! Our boat tour was amazing. They showed us many things that we didn't even know were special to Capri. They were fun, knowledgeable and very welcoming. We had a wonderful time in Capri.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All my guides were super special.
We enjoyed the experience very much. It is our second time using the service.
Sonia was a great help.
Alexxa in Italy kept the itinerary flowing.
Guides and choferes alike were terrific.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Ruzzini Palace

Venice

Very well located.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Accessibility, easy to walk around

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms

Glam Boutique Hotel

Vicenza

Hotel not bad. Breakfast could be better.

Authenticity & Character

Small rooms

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Small rooms

Due Torri Hotel

Verona

Love the hotel and it’s location

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Grand Hotel Trento

Trento

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Le Funi

Bergamo

Authenticity & Character

Modern hotel in a mountain

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Villa Flori

Como

Spectacular. My favorite. Well located. Beautiful view. Very comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Uptown Palace

Milan

Authenticity & Character

Location

Construction right in front.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private walking guided tour of Venice highlights

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Venice Gondola Ride

Venice

Must do experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a wonderful trip to Milan. We decided fairly last minute to take a trip and Sonia was able to arrange a great itinerary for us. We were only in Italy a few days, but were able to do and see a lot. Our flight was delayed arriving, but Barbara Fussotto met us at the airport and ensure our transport was waiting. She was there to answer questions throughout the trip and was a great help. Our tour of the city center with Ester Ghezzi was a highlight. It was informative and enjoyable and Ester was a delight. Our side trips to Langhe and Como were great and the transport arranged made it so easy for us. Sonia's planning made it easy for us to just enjoy our time in Italy!

Hotel Reviews

Uptown Palace

Milan

Rooms are small, but generally nice. There is currently construction outside the hotel making it harder to access, but will be in an even more prime location once the Metro expansion is complete. The breakfasts were good and staff friendly.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Walking distance from lots of things and easy access to the Metro

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Albergo Terminus

Como

We only stayed here one night, but the room was very comfortable. The building was beautiful and right on the lake.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private tour of Milan Highlights

Milan

Ester Ghezzi was an incredible guide. Truly enjoyed our tour and the sights we were able to see. She had all the tickets we needed which made things easy. She was very knowledgable

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private wine tour: Barbera and Nebbiolo

Italy

Enjoyed the tour and tasting.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sonia was really great!

She was warm, friendly and responded very quickly to all of our concerns. She also addressed all our inquiries very quickly and thoroughly. We were very happy to be matched with Sonia and had a great trip. I would hope everyone could be so lucky :)

Our request was for the chance to see as much of Sicily as possible within a 10 day period. Sonia came through with a plan that we loved. We began in Palermo, traveled to Agrigento and Romana del Casales and then on to the east coast via Siracusa, Taormina and Mt Etna. In all we feel we have had a great overview of the Island and would love to return someday. The hotels were fine, our car rental went off without a hitch and the connections all worked well. We were met by Tony in Palermo who was there to provide assistance if we needed it [we didn't]. I don't think we would have had such a well organized trip without the input from Sonia.

In general we have had a wonderful trip. We have lots of great memories to think about. Sicily is amazing. Would we go with Kim Kim again? I am not sure because of one reason. I would like to know that line costs for our travels. There is no accounting for what is charged that can be easily seen. I get that it is not always possible to create an exact budget, however, as a consumer, it is common practice to tell people exactly what they are paying for and how much. This is nothing to do with the great efforts of Sonia and co. It is all to do with the business model of kim kim. We might use it again, we might not because I cannot tell if we have paid a reasonable amount, underpaid or overpaid. Had I a clear accounting then I would know and feel more confident that my dollars have been spent wisely. I stress that this is not anything to do with the wonderful trip we have had, but a suggestion for future travels. Perhaps KimKim should figure this part out a little better. Would I recommend KimKim? I honestly don't know, because of the above reason. Travel is costly. We feel we have had value for what we paid. I just cant really tell.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Principe di Villafranca

Palermo

This was fine. We really liked the staff. The breakfast was good. The location was great as we could walk everywhere. It was clean but not fancy.

Authenticity & Character

The amenities were not 4 star or was it 3? Not sure. It was adequate.

Location

You could easily walk anywhere.

Staff

Really liked the front desk staff- they were super

Cleanliness & Comfort

clean but not fancy

Doric Boutique Hotel

Agrigento

This was the best place we stayed on this trip. The welcoming staff were wonderful. The hotel is lovely. Can't recommend it enough!

Authenticity & Character

The people, the farm which produces the food that you eat here, the very thoughtful approach to sustainability that one does not see often enough! You feel welcomed and appreciated as a guest.

Location

Beautiful, peaceful country location with a stellar view of the Temple of Juno. Only a five minute drive to the Valley of the Temples

Staff

This hotel has an excellently trained staff who are very attentive and nice people.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very high calibre. We loved the pool in our room!

Algilà Ortigia Charme Hotel

Siracusa

Lovely hotel in a super good location as well.

Authenticity & Character

I liked the old building in the middle of all sorts of old buildings in various states of repair. This hotel is meticulously kept up and I felt very at home here

Location

You are in Ortigia and can walk everywhere throughout the historic city. WE were delighted with this- It is also on the water's edge which is very special.

Staff

The staff was very pleasant and professional

Cleanliness & Comfort

Also very high caliber in this area.

Zash country boutique hotel & SPA

Riposto CT

I liked the location in an orange grove. It looks out to Mt Etna which is nice. However it was not my favourite hotel on this trip. The countryside is lovely but the entrance to this hotel is THE most awkward I have seen in my travels to many countries. It is not welcoming. There is a very narrow gate between concrete posts and you must speak into an intercom to get the gate opened. It is on a back country road and I thought our GPS was off. The road from the gate [about a kilometer long?] is in very poor condition. There is no signage to indicate the entry to the front desk. On arrival we were told there was no room at dinner [out in the country after a long day travelling]. Then they changed their minds and we had the Michelin starred tasting menu at vast expense [ it was good enough but... there was really no other choice]. The breakfast was good. The second night we declined to eat in the restaurant as there is so little choice... . So- in my opinion, this hotel has some confusion as to what their core business actually is-- Is it a hotel? A Michelin starred restaurant? A citrus farm? A spa? I remain puzzled by this place. Maybe I am missing something...... but I wouldn't return. I also did not like that we were asked to state our arrival time and food preferences/ allergies 3 or 4 days in advance.... travel for us is spontaneous.

Authenticity & Character

Lovely old winery- beautiful grape press in the restaurant. In desperate need of a welcoming and easy entrance with good road and signage.

Location

Yes and no- very pretty but far from town/ really awkward to get in and out. No choice therefore , for dining options for us. [We were offered a list of restaurants in the area on arrival and declined it. If you know that you will have guests for weeks in advance wouldn't you try to accomodate them? Just a very strange place]

Staff

Nice people and quite charming- but off putting at the start as they did not want to feed us. Then we had to pay a fortune for a meal we would not likely have chosen. One is pretty much captive to whatever is on offer here as a hotel guest. We did find the waiters to be very charming and friendly- in fact they saved the whole experience for us.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean enough for our standards. Bed was comfortable.

Activity Reviews

Private driver to Monreale (self-guided tour)

Italy

Emmanuel was terrific! We really liked him and the afternoon was a lot of fun. Thank you!

Quality of Experience

Loved Sicily for its diverse geography , vegetation and fantastic history

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sonia steered us on a very good path. We are grateful. We liked all the people we met, everywhere.

Transport

We rented a car- it is not an easy place to drive but we managed and saw things that we would never have seen had we been on a tour. We are very happy for that as well

Afternoon private guided Tour of Valley of the Temples

Agrigento

Enza was the Best Tour Guide Ever. If you get Enza you are really really lucky. She was v knowlegeable and made the entire Valley of the Temples come to life for us. We were not familiar with this incredible site and yet felt that we had had a crash course in the history of many cultures that have come together in this part of the world. We will never forget our afternoon with Enza. We highly recommend her! Thank you Enza!

Quality of Experience

This is a truly awe inspiring place- like no other in the world that I know of.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Enza was the best

Transport

This doesnt really apply as we drove ourselves.... but it was easy to access.