Stephanie Louw

I had done a trip through KimKim before and had a good experience, so I decided to use them again for traveling to South Africa and Zimbabwe with my daughter. As it turned out, and this was last minute, my daughter couldn't go, so my son went instead. Steph did a nice job of not only organizing our activities and the awesome places we got to stay but she was really good about taking care of my last-minute change. It was also nice that she was available to talk to me live even though it was late in the evening for her.

All of the people helping us spoke excellent English and we never had to worry about missing a flight, etc, being picked up to go from one place to another. In Cape Town we also used Uber which was incredibly easy. In Cape Town and Hermanus, Debbie took care of us and did a great job. She has a nice sense of humor and we got along really well. What stuck out for us especially was the Simbavati Waterside Lodge we stayed at for three days. Very luxurious and everyone did a great job in taking care of us.

In Zimbabwe (we also wanted to see Victoria Falls), we stayed three nights at the Victoria Falls River Lodge, in their Malachite Lodge section. Another luxurious place for us to stay and we were even able to arrange for someone to drive us into town to attend church on New Year's Day.

We always felt safe and everyone seemed so accommodating and wanting to make sure we were having a good time. In Cape Town, make sure to take the Cable Car to the top of Table Mountain. If it's a popular day you probably wat to get a Fast Track pass because they are worth it. You skip the 3-hour long line going up and the one-hour line coming back down. In Victoria Falls take the 25 min Angels Flight. This is the longest flight option and well worth it. You make several passes over the falls, which is a stunning view, and you also take a look at elephant herds.

Can't believe all we did, but we also had a lot of time to relax. Great job, Steph! Hope to use you again soon. :-)

Mark did a wonderful job showing us around the Cape Town area. He was extremely knowledgeable of the area. Every place he recommended to eat was great food and reasonably priced.
Eddie was our guide at DeHoop Nature Preserve. We had a great time seeing all of the animals in the area. We had never seen so many zebras before. The chef made some amazing meals. Everythi ng tasted great.

My hat is off to both Nadia and Stephanie! This almost 4 week trip to Africa was spectacular. Everything went off without a hitch except for one incident in Tanzania which Stephanie handled professionally and without incident. The incident in question was not KIMKIM's fault or the guides but that of the guide's office in Arusha. My son and I were very well taken care of and every request along the way was handled timely and efficiently. The guides were extremely accomodating for all my son's requested related to getting the photography he wanted. We have traveled extensively as my son is a professional photographer so we are well experienced. This is the second time I have used KIMKIM and I will do it again probably for Norway and Patagonia in the near future. Again Thank you to Nadia and Stephanie for a great African tour.
Judie and Chris Behrend

We three couples from India had a great time in South Africa and Victoria falls thanks to KimKim and Steph our trip planner..This is our third trip with Kim Kim.Perfectly planned and coordinated by Steph,who needs a special mention.She was very patient and catered to all my wishes and suggestions.Especially celebrating my wife s birthday in Kruger shalati train on the bridge.A memorable celebration.Mark our guide in Capetown was exceptional and took proper care of us,very punctual and friendly.In Victoria falls we had little problem in coordinating with the guides and pick ups.Kruger Shalati was again an awsome experience
Now the negatives in our trip though very few need to mention it here,
1)The sunset cruise we were given in all the itineraries was Sunset cruise luxury signature deck experience by Pure Africa,but we were taken to a small cheap boat with basic drinks and hot sun with no shade and hard wooden benches to sit..After a very hot day we were just looking to relax and unwind on the luxury cruise with artisanal premium drinks and canapes and watch the famous African sunset.A very bad experience.Especially with the signature deck cruise sailing next to us all the while.Stephs explanation that small boats reach better places wasnt very convincing.Didnt know why KimKim has compromised on this.This happened for the first time in my three trips.
2)They were few mix ups in flight bookings that made our hearts to beat lil faster with stress in the airport ,but were immediately resolved by Steph.Thanks once again Steph.
3)We were told we will be given visa on arrival for Zambia.The Bushtracks driver who took us to devils pool,stopped at Zambia immigration ,went inside and came back saying sorry you cant go to Zambia today as Indians need prior visa to enter.Then again he goes in and comes back saying if you pay a little extra(bribe) they will give you visa in 10 mins otherwise it will take one day as the visa has to come from Lusaka.So we had no option to shell out that extra bribe along with 50usd visa fee(which also am not sure that it ll be so much for a day tripper)Just informing you this so that this will not be repeated with your future clients.
Apart from these incidents,the trip had gone well with amazing experiences like Penguins,Devils pool,shark cage experience,shalati stay n safari,thanks once again Steph and Kimkim from six of us for curating an amazing trip

Hotel Review

Kruger Shalati Train on the bridge

Kruger National Park, Skukuza

A great stay on the train on the bridge.enjoyed every moment of our stay.An experience of a lifetime ,courteous staff,knowledgeble safari guides,ours was Elvis ,with lot of patience showed us the Big five.The views from the room of the sabie river and the game that come to drink water too good!The pool with an infinity view and bar was a high light

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Elvis the safari guide,Remember the guy in the restaurant need special mention.And also all the singers and dancers at the evng dinner who wished my wife on her birthday

Cleanliness & Comfort

The bed and the pool

Activity Reviews

Full Day Boutique Winelands Tour

South Africa

We missed the tour and participated in Capetown marathon

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full day touring Boulders Beach and Kirstenbosch Gardens

Cape Town

Mark was an amazing guide and took us for local sight seeing to areas like Bo-kaap and other areas of caoetown which was not there in the itinerary.African penguins are cute at Boulders then went to Kirstenbosch gardens which was also lovely

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The guide cum driver Mark

Table Mountain Tour

Cape Town

Sadly missed the cable car tour because oh high winds,but Mark our guide made it up by taking us on a city tour

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Steph did an amazing job. Coordinating our flights and ground transportation to the safari camps was flawless.

Cape Town was fun. Skip Karibu restaurant. Plenty of much better places nearby

Cape of Good Hope is a must do. Book a private tour. Our 'small group' tour had 23 people on a 23 seat bus. Several were ill and they passed it along. 24 hours of down time.

The foodie tour was unimpressive.

Our hike up Table Mountain was fantastic. Justin Hawthorne is an amazing guide. 10/10.

The Safari camps were great.

We liked Umlani camp in Timbavati: it had the best animal viewing of the trip. The camp itself is just great.

Rhino Post Lodge is amazing. Just a beautiful place and excellent service. Our Guide Wesley was great.

The Vic Falls tour was more crowded than we would have preferred. Batonka Guest Lodge was just great. We would avoid the Boma dinner: very touristy with crowds of people taking selfies. No thanks. Highly recommend the helicopter flight over the falls. We also enjoyed the river cruise upstream of the falls.

Hwange Bush Camp tied with Mana Pools as our favorite places. The Bush Camp is beautifully set overlooking a huge savannah. Sophie and Anthony are great hosts. Our guide Darmesh, was great. We also spent two nights at fly camp. We were the only guests and were treated like royalty. Spent 3 days tracking Black Rhino with two trackers and Darmesh. Walked 25 miles and never found them. Nevertheless an amazing experience out in the bush.

John's Camp/Croton Camp is great. Set near the shore of the Zambezi River, you overlook the flood plane with the mountains of Zambia in the background. Breathtaking. Milo is a wonderful host. We spent one night in the treehouse. What a unique experience.

Overall very happy with the trip.

Without a doubt, one of my most favorite vacations despite missing four days due to flight disruptions. The first part of our trip, we spent three nights in Cape Town and stayed at the La Splendida Hotel with an ocean view and minutes away from the waterfront. Bridget Wilcox was our tour guide in Cape Town to a Penguin Safari, a drive along the coast to Cape Point, Hirschenbosch Botanical Gardens and wine tasting. Bridget was friendly, informative, funny, and knowledgeable. We enjoyed having Bridget as our tour guide while in Cape Town. I appreciated, Laurel, a representative from Capi Tours, meeting my husband and I at the airport while we waited for our ride to the hotel given the chaotic start we had. From Cape Town, we flew to Kruger National park - Shalati. The 3 day safari was the highlight and best part of our adventure. Shalati did not disappoint from the staff, accommodations, food, surroundings/atmosphere and overall experience. Definitely exceeded all of my expectations. Benedict from what I observed ran the place well, professional, helpful and made it a point guests were taken care of. Shout out to Subisiso and Lurrecia, both waited on us the majority of our stay and super friendly and helpful. The game drives were quite an experience like no other. We were able to see 4 of the Big Five and in complete awe of seeing them in their nature habitat. The last leg of our vacation, we flew to Zimbabwe. We saw Victoria Falls (no dead pool swimming) but pretty neat regardless and then a Bomba dinner that evening. Our last night, we had lunch at Dusty Road and a sunset cruise. It was such a pleasant evening on the cruise and surprisingly had a great time.

My biggest complaint: La Splendida Hotel and theft. We had a few items laundered with a next day return. I picked up my clothes at the front desk from Lucille (manager) the morning of our last day in Cape Town. I took the clothes to my room and left for our all day wine tasting tour. When we returned, I noticed 4 of our laundered items were missing. I immediately notified the front desk and was told to talk to the manager in the morning, which was the morning we were flying to Kruger National Park. Lucille tried to deflect that it was a possible mix up with another guest's request, plausible but very unlikely. Someone with a key entered our room while we were away and stole our clothes!! We had laundry service at Shalati and Pioneer and had no issues or experienced theft of any kind. Apparently, others have also reported theft at La Splendida (something we found out later after the fact). With a service such as Kim Kim, it is their responsibility to vet hotels, tour guides, etc. and ensure they are reputable before recommending to their guests. I paid for and relied on Kim Kim's expertise to do that on my behalf. In this regard, they failed in my opinion. Stephanie did work with the hotel to recover the stolen clothes. It's been almost 6 weeks since we've been back and I have yet to receive them, if ever.

Hotel Reviews

Pioneers Lodge Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls,

Loved the quaintness and coziness of Pioneers!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kruger Shalati Bridge House Suites

From the moment we arrived to departure, service was top notch. Everyone was friendly, welcoming and helpful. Wonderful experience and highly recommend!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Being able to see elephants, hippos, baboons from our room was incredible!

Staff

Shout out to Subisisco and Lurrecia!

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Splendida

Mouille Point, Cape Town

Theft! Need to hire trustworthy employees. Online pics were so misleading because our room was no where near what was shown in the pics!

Activity Reviews

Dusty Road Lunch Experience

Victoria Falls

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full day penguin safari - Cape Peninsula

South Africa

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boma Dinner and Drum Show

Victoria Falls

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kruger Shalati Train on a bridge

South Africa

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset Cruise - Signature Deck

Victoria Falls

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arrival at Kruger National Park

Kruger National Park

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip to Cape Town and the Kruger National Park area was amazing!!! We first started in Cape Town and our transport driver, Leon Witz, was so cool. He took us wine tasting, to the Cape of Good Hope, to see the penguins, and lastly to go whale watching. Leon is super knowledgeable about the area, and since this was our first time in Cape Town, it was amazing to have a guide that knew so much about the local area. This was also my (now) fiancée’s and I engagement trip, and it was really fun to celebrate with Leon afterwards! He got us a bottle of champagne to celebrate! 🍾 🥂🎉

After Cape Town, we flew up to the Kruger National Park area to stay at Tangala Camp. The employees and managers at Tangala, particularly, Reason and Louis, were awesome! The managers, Johan and Madeleine, were also super nice and very accommodating. We saw a bunch of wild animals (painted wolves, hyena, leopard, lions, etc), and the driver/spotters knew everything about the animals and answered everyone’s questions. The camp is small with <20 people staying there, so we made friends with the other visitors in our car. The houses are really neat; they’re thatch roof style cabins that were fun to stay in. There are also various antelope that wander through the camp, which was fun to see.

Overall, we had an amazing experience with KimKim, and will definitely be booking again with them in the future. For other trips, we have generally always booked everything ourselves, but KimKim trips are a great combo of independent travel that is still flexible while also helping with the booking and coordinating logistics. Finally, we also had a very positive experience with the local agent, Steph, who did a great job planning everything and picking out activities for us. I appreciated her attention to details and organization of the trip. Thanks all again!

Hotel Review

Tangala Safari Camp

After Cape Town, we flew up to the Kruger National Park area to stay at Tangala Camp. The employees and managers at Tangala, particularly, Reason and Louis, were awesome! The managers, Johan and Madeleine, were also super nice and very accommodating. We saw a bunch of wild animals (painted wolves, hyena, leopard, lions, etc), and the driver/spotters knew everything about the animals and answered everyone’s questions. The camp is small with <20 people staying there, so we made friends with the other visitors in our car. The houses are really neat; they’re thatch roof style cabins that were fun to stay in. There are also various antelope that wander through the camp, which was fun to see.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Louis and Reason were amazing on the drives!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Tangala Safari

South Africa

After Cape Town, we flew up to the Kruger National Park area to stay at Tangala Camp. The employees and managers at Tangala, particularly, Reason and Louis, were awesome! The managers, Johan and Madeleine, were also super nice and very accommodating. We saw a bunch of wild animals (painted wolves, hyena, leopard, lions, etc), and the driver/spotters knew everything about the animals and answered everyone’s questions. The camp is small with <20 people staying there, so we made friends with the other visitors in our car. The houses are really neat; they’re thatch roof style cabins that were fun to stay in. There are also various antelope that wander through the camp, which was fun to see. This was my (now) fiancé’s and I’s engagement trip and also our first big trip that either of us have taken out of the U.S., and it was perfect!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport