Tasos Mylonas

Our family cannot say thank you enough to Tasos and the KimKim team. Tasos worked with us to create a vacation that exceeded all of our expectations. Tasos provided us with a detailed outline that we iterated together to match our specific ideas for our desired Italian vacation - exploring traditional foods, staying in a Tuscan Agriturismo, and experiencing Rome. Every city included at least one private tour for our family with guides who understood that if our kids are engaged, everyone... read more

Our family cannot say thank you enough to Tasos and the KimKim team. Tasos worked with us to create a vacation that exceeded all of our expectations. Tasos provided us with a detailed outline that we iterated together to match our specific ideas for our desired Italian vacation - exploring traditional foods, staying in a Tuscan Agriturismo, and experiencing Rome. Every city included at least one private tour for our family with guides who understood that if our kids are engaged, everyone is happy. And all the transfers were pre-arranged, so there was never any stress. On the morning of our 8 AM Vatican tour, there was a car waiting outside our hotel at 7:30 to take us across town.

On our last night in Italy as we walked around the lit-up Coliseum, none of us wanted to go home. 19 days in Europe with their parents, and our teenagers wanted to spend more time with us! In fact, most days in Italy ended with one boy commenting on how awesome the day had been, and other boy agreeing. Next summer our family vacation will be to Greece, and we are excited for the adventure Tasos will plan for us!

Hotel Reviews

Fattoria la Loggia

San Casciano in Val di pesa FI

Fattoria la Loggia was everything we hoped it would be! Most of the guests were families with children, and the atmosphere was warm and family friendly. The pool was fabulous and definitely our boys favorite. The three-bedroom apartment with a kitchen was great for our family. On our Parma and Modena days, we bought cheese, prosciutto and balsamic vinegar on our tours; we supplemented those with some fruit and bread, and that was our dinner for two of our nights at la Loggia. As we expected, there was no air conditioning. Keeping the shutters closed during the day kept the apartment from getting too hot, and with fans we were able to sleep well. The managers also gave us a wonderfully fun and delicious cooking lesson outside with views of the vineyards. We would highly recommend staying there!

Authenticity & Character

Italian villa!

Location

In the center of Tuscany and 30 minutes from Florence.

Staff

The cooking class is fantastic.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Be ready for no air conditioning...but with the right expectations the fans are enough!

La Bella Modena Centro

Modena

This small hotel is owner operated with a part-time front desk. The owner is available by phone, and was very helpful.

Authenticity & Character

The rooms were the most efficient use of space, with innovative closets.

Location

Just outside the old city, everything was close.

Staff

The owner/manager was attentive and went out of her way to help us.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean and comfortable.

Hotel Gran Duca Di York

Milan

The staff at Gran Duca di York in Milan was very attentive and having a happy hour in the hotel was great for our larger group.

Authenticity & Character

We felt welcome

Location

Center of Milan

Staff

Very attentive.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The rooms were clean and comfortable, but small

Hotel Capo d'Africa - Colosseo

Rome

This hotel was interesting, with fully staffed lobby bar and roof top bar, but no patrons. The one night we went to the roof top it had a night club feel, but we were the only ones there. The breakfast was excellent.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Three blocks from the Coleseum!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The rooms were clean, comfortable and good size, especially for Europe.

Activity Reviews

Milan Highlights With Duomo & La Scala

Milan

The tour in Milan was the right tour for us because it focused on exactly what we wanted, the Duomo and La Scala. Nina (our guide) was very informative and extremely thorough and wearing the headphones allowed us to wander but still hear everything she had to say. But at 4 and a half hours it was a little too long. A little less detail and an hour shorter would have been better (especially with our teenage boys).

Private Modena Walking Tour

Modena

Our guide, Elisa, was a local teacher who gave tours in the summer. She was a very fun guide who gave us a wonderful tour! We enjoyed the mix of history and trivia she gave us.

Local transfer in Rome

Rome

A car waiting outside our hotel when we needed it, fantastic!

Afternoon Florence Highlights Walking Tour (Semi-private)

Florence

Our tour guide, Antonella, gave us the very best tour we have ever been on! She was so engaging (even to our two teenage sons). It was certainly a “Renaissance” tour. Antonella was so proud of her home city; she gave us such a complete understanding of the city and how it changed the world. She shared such a wonderful mix of historical facts mixed in with human interest, that we were captivated every moment. When we mentioned that we were reading a book about Michelangelo, she began to cater to stories and artwork that were specific to Michelangelo, complimenting what we were already learning about from the book. She was wonderful!

Cooking Class in Tuscany

Italy

The couple who manages Fattoria la Loggia were engaging teachers, the setting was spectacular and the meal we made was delicious! Fresh pasta with roasted vegitables for dinner and tiramisu for desert.

Private Sunset Rome Walking Tour & Orientation

Rome

This sunset walking tour was wonderful and a great way to get to know the city. Our guide, Giuseppe, helped us to get our bearings, giving us a great overview of the city and where we wanted to spend more time. He also taught us how to drink from one of the many Big Noses of Rome and gave us a great recommendation for a restaurant to eat at that evening.

Private Colosseum & Roman Forum Tour

Rome

This tour with Sarah Napolitani was also one of the very best tours we have ever been on! We were a few minutes early, and Sarah took us straight out, so we were one of the first into the Forum when it opened at 8 AM. She timed our route so that we avoided the massive crowds of tourists for as long as possible. But once we got to the Coliseum avoiding crowds was no longer possible…the crowds were insane! But we just followed Sarah and let the chaos go on around us. She provided a very interesting mix of history, funny stories and thoughtful moments that had all of us mesmerized. We had so much fun with her!

Catacombs & Underground Rome Tour

Rome

This was really an interesting tour. The Capuchin Crypt was very unexpected, a bit bizarre and beyond interesting - the bones of monks made into art. In one of the crypts shoulder blades were arranged as butterflies. Even though we were only there for about 30 minutes it was absolutely a must see! For the Catacombs portion of the tour our guide was a geologist who had helped map these Catacombs, admitting to having been lost in the Catacombs as a student more than once. We did not get lost!

Bike The Appian Way

Rome

Biking the Appian Way with Fabrizzio. What a fun way to see this important part of Roman history! The tour started with a ride across Rome through the Jewish Quarter and past the Circus Maximus before heading out the Appian Way. This was a real bike ride (no e-bikes for us!) with some strenuous sections. We rode past Italian villas on the way to the Catacombs. On our way back we continued clockwise around the Forum, biking by the Arch of Constantine, down dei Fori Imperiali and past Curia of Pompey, where Cesar was assassinated. Fabrizzio was interesting and gave us many new tidbits of information on places we had seen. He also trusted that we knew what we were doing on bikes - this was not a tour for rookies! Back at the shop, Fabrizzio and the owner shared with us some of their favorite spots.

Vatican Guided Tour

Rome

What a way to start the day - a black car waiting for us at the hotel curb at 7:30 for our 8 AM early entrance Vatican tour. All of the pre-arranged transfers really made a huge difference! At the Vatican Sarah was another wonderful guide. She gave us a wonderful tour of both the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica, and while there is no way of covering all of the art and history of these two places in three hours, she chose well which pieces to focus on and gave us both historical and religious perspective.

Everything with Tasos and the Travel12 team was flawless and smooth. We were very pleased. read more

Everything with Tasos and the Travel12 team was flawless and smooth. We were very pleased.

Taos did an amazing job. Everything (drivers, trains,flights) all came off without a clitch.. Our tours were amazing and our guides were outstanding. Our accommodations for the most part were excellent. We had a fabulous time and will recommend to our family and friends.

Regards and Thank you
Linda and Ken Orlowe read more

Taos did an amazing job. Everything (drivers, trains,flights) all came off without a clitch.. Our tours were amazing and our guides were outstanding. Our accommodations for the most part were excellent. We had a fabulous time and will recommend to our family and friends.

Regards and Thank you
Linda and Ken Orlowe

Hotel Review

Villa Poggiano 

Montepulciano

My favorite of the trip. The view was amazing and everyone was so helpful and friendly. The breakfasts’ were excellent.

Authenticity & Character

Accomodations

Location

The view

Staff

Exceptional

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean and very comfortable

Activity Review

Private Val D’ Elsa Wine Tasting

Italy

Danny our guide was very informative, and made our tour a total success.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

All of them were very knowledgeable and interesting!

Transport

I'm glad you didn't put a character limit on the review - this may take a while. I'll start by saying that we learned something new every day and had a great time doing it. The drivers (for the most part) were great and the tour guides amazed us with how easily they taught us about the history and every day living of the populace of centuries ago. The only downside we experienced on the trip was it forced us to realize we weren't 20 years old anymore. It would have been nice to not have... read more

I'm glad you didn't put a character limit on the review - this may take a while. I'll start by saying that we learned something new every day and had a great time doing it. The drivers (for the most part) were great and the tour guides amazed us with how easily they taught us about the history and every day living of the populace of centuries ago. The only downside we experienced on the trip was it forced us to realize we weren't 20 years old anymore. It would have been nice to not have to get up early nearly day and rush through breakfast to get to the tour - or to have more down time during an afternoon. We always had a good time, but we were getting tired by the end of our trip.
Villa Poggiano was the perfect first stop. Fantastic staff, grounds, and meals. There was a small field in our back yard with a farmer plowing up the ground with a small tractor and a 2 bottom plow. It took him 3 days. In the U.S. - that would have been done in about 5 hours. Just shows a different pace of living. Montepulciano was a lovely little town where we fell in love with a small little wine bar and the various shops. The staff at Villa Poggiano was great about calling a cab for us if we needed one. The taxi drivers were a little crazy, but we found that to be true all over Italy. Our driver - Danny - went out of his way to make sure one of our travelers was able to get a needed medication that was left at home, and in the mean time, kept us fully engaged with stories.
Palazzo Niccolini is in keeping with the small boutique hotels that sometimes gave us a "WOW" factor when we first walked in because of the paintings in the rooms. Supposedly original and untouched over the years, but maybe someone should "touch" them. It appeared as though there were water drips running down the walls and they needed some help. Again - meals were great and the people were fantastic! I'm sorry I don't remember the name of our guide (Livitaly Tours), but she was very good.
Train - Florence to Rome. Once we figured out how to read the train schedules, we were ok, but still managed to exit the train 1 station early. Louise was able to contact the driver and he picked us up with no problem.
Hotel Modigliani - location was great. Meals and staff were, once again very good. The room was way to small - to the point where it was uncomfortable and I wouldn't recommend it. Our sunset Rome walking tour, with Riccardo as our guide, was super. He was (in my mind) so typical "Italian", speaking with his hands so much, that I had to video him for about a minute. It was a great tour and while my preconceived notion was to not expect much, I'm glad to say it wrong and I would highly recommend this. The private Vatican tour with Sam gave me a lot of "wow's" because of the art, but I didn't feel this was exactly what I would consider a "private" tour, and Sam could have moved a bit more often. The constant standing in one place was starting to drain my knees and feet and it seemed his voice was becoming a constant monotone. It's a fabulous place and I think a different guide might be able to add more than I got out of it.
Our private Colosseum tour was probably the highlight of all the places we visited. I'm sorry to say I forget the name of our tour guide because she was really good! (Liv Italy tours) Walking through the bowels of the Colosseum gave me the chills wandering all tunnels and trying to imagine what it was like thousands of year ago. Really, really great!
Train to Naples. No problem. We got off when we were supposed to! 😉 Driver to the Caruso Place Hotel was jerk. He drove like a maniac (although it appears as though that is common in Naples), gave us a brief - and inaccurate - description of how to get to the hotel, and then asked for a tip! (so I told him to drive slower) We wandered around and helped by a local shop keeper who called the hotel and Alessandra came to our rescue. She led the way to the lobby and helped us get checked in. This was absolutely the nicest hotel we stayed in during our 3 week trip. The pizza making class turned out to be much more entertaining than I had anticipated - something fun for tourists to go to. The Pompeii tour was quite eye opening. I had no idea that the digging had to go down so far to find the artifacts and quite amazing at how well preserved they were. I can't remember the guides name (again), but she was just the opposite of Sam when we did the Vatican. She kept on going at a rapid pace, but still explained everything as we went along. Could have slowed down a little, but better than just standing around. Other than the Colosseum, Naples was probably my favorite city in Italy - but the drivers are crazy!! Glad I didn't rent a car while I was there.
On to Greece. An alphabet that I'll never figure out. We probably laughed more, and more often, than any one time in Italy. It wasn't that things were boring in Italy, it just happened that we clicked with our guides. Arrival to Athens was uneventful. Our first stop - Zillers Boutique Hotel. Great place, but the highlight was the view of the rooftop bar at night. There - in all its' glory, is the Acropolis all lit up. It's like seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time - all you can do is say "WOW!" Our tour guide the next day was Kiki. She was great at letting us catch our breath on the way up the hill, but still talking about the area or the ancient Greek society while resting. Somehow or other, she got us to the top but made it feel like we didn't work that hard. After that the rest of the tour was almost an afterthought. Kiki was one of the best guides we had if for no other reason than the pace she maintained. This was the one tour I was really looking forward to and it was overshadowed only by the Colosseum.
Our driver for the rest of the mainland was George. Always on time, always smiling, always a smooth and careful driver.
On our way to Olympia, we stopped at "My Precious Olive Tree". Ioanna was our guide. I thought this was just going to be a gimmick to sell us something, but we not only got lunch, we adopted an olive tree (thanks to Tasos). The best part was after lunch was over, we met Ioanna's father, mother, and the farm manager - Jimmy. Well, Jimmy is now my new best friend. He produced a small bottle of Tsipouro! Never had anything like it, and we drank and laughed and everyone had a great time! That was the hardest I've laughed in months. Great stop on the tour!! We finally made it to Olympia and while we weren't expecting a Marriott, but the Leonidaion certainly was step down from what the last couple weeks were. We all realized that we are not in a major hub, so the idea of a new, modern hotel was out of the question. It was clean, and breakfast was good, and Damion was a first class host always offering his help and giving us directions and making sure our dinner next door was taken care of. Great guy. The hotel? - you have to remember where you are. It was fine. The tour of Olympia was everything I was expecting. Nothing spectacular, but I wanted to see what it was like at the beginning. Lots of temples, statues, and pillars. Much the same as what we have already seen. Fortunately, our tour guide left time for us to sit and take pictures when we wanted. This tour might not be for everyone, but I'm glad we got to see it. Well worth the time. We also stopped at the Kilo Honey farm, met the owner, got a little tour and explained how it was all done. It took no effort and really wasn't out of the way, so I have no problem doing this.
Last stop on the mainland was Nafplio. What a cute little town. A big fortress on top of the hill to protect it years ago. Sitting right on the water, we had a front row seat to some extremely fancy yachts coming and going. Great little restaurants all over town. We stayed at the Amymone Suites hotel. No elevator to get our bags up to the 3rd floor, but we did have a balcony and breakfast next door at the Wild Duck was delicious. Our tour guide was Theo for evening and the next morning. There is more to be seen than meets the eye and while I wasn't thrilled with him in the evening, he earned his keep the next day. Our dinner the last night was from Alaloum restaurant (courtesy of Travel 12 - thank you) and it was fantastic! I had never had roast rooster before! Our final stop was a wine and farm tour at Venikos. Cate was our guide and by the end of the tour we were laughing like we were old best friends. The lunch was very good and they were kind enough to get me a beer when I told them I don't drink wine.
Last but not least - Santorini. The Ambassador Suites Hotel was listed as 5 star, and while it was nice, the up and down of all the steps (and there were many) would cause me to look for something else. ...but the view was great, the breakfasts were just about anything you want, and they have their own helipad - just in case. The second day was guided by Will from Argyros Travel, and he not only did a fantastic job showing us things that everyone wants to know about, by the end of the day he turned out to be everyone's best friend with a big group hug to say goodbye. Finally - our Catamaran cruise in the Caldera lagoon. What a perfect way to end the trip. The crew on board was top notch, and the food and drinks were never ending. We happen to be lucky in that we got a good group of people to help share the cruise with.

Tasos did a fabulous job from our very first interaction. All of our guides were knowledgeable and personable and the response times from Travel 12 were immediate and helpful in all situations. read more

Tasos did a fabulous job from our very first interaction. All of our guides were knowledgeable and personable and the response times from Travel 12 were immediate and helpful in all situations.

Hotel Reviews

The Zillers Boutique Hotel

Athens

The rooms were tiny but the building itself was a lovely and in a fabulous location. The upstairs restaurant had a wonderful breakfast with beautiful views. Service was exceptional in all cases.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Heart of Plaka district

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Katikies Mykonos

Cyclades Islands, Greece

The hotel itself was beautiful and the rooms were lovely and comfortable. The shower however was a bit slippery. The restaurant served delicious food and the staff across the board were friendly and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

A bit isolated, requiring transportation wherever we went.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Poseidon Hotel & Spa Paros

Paros Island

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very far from everything, and taxis were very expensive no matter where we wanted to go, requiring us to rent a car during our stay.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ambassador Aegean Luxury

Santorini

Beautiful and comfortable

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Dinner in Athens

Athens

Dinner at Nolan was a highlight of our trip

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Acropolis Hill & Museum Tour

Athens

Lize was incredibly knowledgeable and very personable. We learned a lot and enjoyed her company.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Local Transfer in Mykonos

Mykonos

Most of the drivers were friendly and helpful, however one was annoyed because he had been given a particular time to pick us up and we had been given a later time and he was annoyed that we were late even though we were following our instructions. Another one was on his cell phone the entire time so we were unable to ask him any questions or get any information from him. The rest were just lovely

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Farm Tour & Wine Tasting

Mykonos

Although the meal was tasty, the tour itself at the little farm was not all that interesting and we would probably not recommend this tour.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day-Trip to Delos Island

Mykonos

Fascinating and educational

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Sunset Boat Trip

Paros

Although the family whose boat it was were lovely and friendly, we were fairly disappointed in the experience. We expected to move around a bit more and there was some confusion between the driver and the captain as to what time we needed to be back in port so as a result our dinner was almost not served at all and when it was it was sort of rushed.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Naxos Food & Culture Tour

Naxos

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Local Transfer in Paros

Paros

We really enjoyed our driver whose name we couldn’t quite understand no matter how many times we asked. It started with a PAN and he was an absolute delight

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Local Transfer in Santorini

Santorini

Our tour guide and also our driver on most occasions was Vasili who was absolutely delightful and knowledgeable and a joy to spend time with.

Santorini Oia & Highlights Tour with Wine Tasting

Greece

Vasili was fabulous

Quality of Experience

Semi-Private Morning Catamaran Caldera Cruise

Santorini

A must

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We so loved your assistance and helpfulness in planning our trip. Your accessibility was greatly appreciated. Always responsive to our questions I’d recommend your services to all our friends
We had some very positive experiences and a few weak ones
Athens
Nolan is a must do restaurant in Athens
Lisa (?) our guide for the Parthenon was excellent. Great knowledge of history
Mykonos
Great hotel and food
The driver from airport was not very helpful almost a bit rude. (Only one)
The... read more

We so loved your assistance and helpfulness in planning our trip. Your accessibility was greatly appreciated. Always responsive to our questions I’d recommend your services to all our friends
We had some very positive experiences and a few weak ones
Athens
Nolan is a must do restaurant in Athens
Lisa (?) our guide for the Parthenon was excellent. Great knowledge of history
Mykonos
Great hotel and food
The driver from airport was not very helpful almost a bit rude. (Only one)
The farm to table wine tour was mediocre teeny vineyard and ok food. Would have preferred a different experience
Delos was excellent as was the guide
Paros
Hotel location setting was beautiful. But very removed from everything. This hotel needs to have a car for its stay. The restaurant at the hotel was mediocre as were the rooms. Our guide for Naxos, George was good. Our sunset sail was a C the captain and his family were lovely. However, We didn’t really go very far. We thought we’d see more of the sea The food was a problem. Only cut up fruit for appetizer, boxed wine, and the dinner got really messed up. Misunderstanding? I personally don’t feel it was the polished experience we expected
Santorini
The hotel was a B. The rooms very simple. The restaurant poor and dirty and torn lounge chairs at hotel pool. However the staff were friendly
Our highlight tour was superb with Vasilli(?) his knowledge, friendliness and helpfulness made for a great experience
The catamaran tour was excellent. They knew what they were doing snd also the food was delicious. A great trip
I hope my comments help you with other clients needs. Your company is excellent and we’d highly recommend you to anyone We enjoyed our trip immensely and thank you for all your time. If you need further details please feel free to reach out

Hotel Reviews

The Zillers Boutique Hotel

Athens

Good location spacious room and a nice restaurant for breakfast with view of Parthenon

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms a bit stuffy. Not great ventilation

Katikies Mykonos

Cyclades Islands, Greece

Great hotel with views. Very good restaurant and very helpful staff

Authenticity & Character

Lots of steps to rooms to be aware of

Location

Staff

Very helpful and kind

Cleanliness & Comfort

Poseidon Hotel & Spa Paros

Paros Island

This hotel has a beautiful location on the beach but far from everything. Rooms were very minimal and sparse Restaurant was ok for breakfast, better for lunch. Poor for dinner No service at all for beach. Only 1 bottle of water for the room for 5 day stay. This is not a 5 star hotel

Location

Beautiful view. Far from everything

Ambassador Aegean Luxury

Santorini

Pretty views but minimal sparse room. Lots of steps to rooms (110). Poor breakfast. Awful lounge chairs at main hotel pool. Dirty and torn. Helpful staff

Location

Activity Reviews

Dinner in Athens

Athens

Nolan was one of the best eating experiences we’ve had in all our travels

Food

Nolan was incredible.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Great guides both for quick city tour and Parthenon

Transport

Private Acropolis Hill & Museum Tour

Athens

Lisa was super. Very knowledgeable

Quality of Experience

Local Transfer in Mykonos

Mykonos

Pu driver was a bit rude

Farm Tour & Wine Tasting

Mykonos

Not as expected and not suggested for other clients. Wine vineyard so small and not interesting food was ok.

Quality of Experience

Food

Day-Trip to Delos Island

Mykonos

Excellent experience. Great guide

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Sunset Boat Trip

Paros

Nice captain and family but disappointing boat experience. Ok food which should have been higher quality. Messed up the dinner and almost didn’t get served. Box wine. Low quality experience

Quality of Experience

Food

Private Naxos Food & Culture Tour

Naxos

Very enjoyable way to see another island. George was friendly and knowledgeable

Useful Information

Greece

Paros hotel has a lovely view and beach. But hotel is minimal, far from everything and mediocre food Guests must have a car to see the island

Local Transfer in Paros

Paros

Our driver was excellent but cannot recall his name Very helpful and fun

Santorini Oia & Highlights Tour with Wine Tasting

Greece

Vasili was our best guide of the trip. Extremely helpful, knowledgeable , friendly and good English. A joy to be with for a day

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Local Transfer in Santorini

Santorini

Poor English speaking driver. Couldn’t communicate with him

Semi-Private Morning Catamaran Caldera Cruise

Santorini

Perfect day. Very professional crew, good food and wonderful experience.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We were extremely pleased with the service provided by Kim Kim and the local travel specialists they partnered with in Greece. Tasos planned a great trip and was very responsive to all our questions. All our hotels were wonderful and we were met by very friendly hosts. Sweet Home hotel even packed us a to-go breakfast for our early morning ferry pick up. The private transfers, ferry and airline reservations all worked seamlessly. Lampros Travel in Athens was exceptional, especially the sunset... read more

We were extremely pleased with the service provided by Kim Kim and the local travel specialists they partnered with in Greece. Tasos planned a great trip and was very responsive to all our questions. All our hotels were wonderful and we were met by very friendly hosts. Sweet Home hotel even packed us a to-go breakfast for our early morning ferry pick up. The private transfers, ferry and airline reservations all worked seamlessly. Lampros Travel in Athens was exceptional, especially the sunset tour on our final evening. Argyros Travel in Santorini hosted a lovely wine tasting tour that included sunset views. We would most certainly recommend Kim Kim for international traveling!

Brilliant! Do not hesitate!! This is our second time using Kim Kim as a travel service. Their team was incredible, there for us at every stop, and moment of need. Even when things didn’t go as planned (which can happen) their members were diligent & present by phone, text, email immediately. Cannot recommend them strongly enough. Their suggestions for things to do as a family, excursions, hotel recommendations were perfect! read more

Brilliant! Do not hesitate!! This is our second time using Kim Kim as a travel service. Their team was incredible, there for us at every stop, and moment of need. Even when things didn’t go as planned (which can happen) their members were diligent & present by phone, text, email immediately. Cannot recommend them strongly enough. Their suggestions for things to do as a family, excursions, hotel recommendations were perfect!

Hotel Reviews

Casa Howard Firenze

Florence

Fun & well located. Great staff recommendations

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Borgo di Pietrafitta Relais

Castellina in Chianti

stunning

Authenticity & Character

Location

Vistas

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Modigliani

Roma

Good location & helpful staff

Authenticity & Character

Location

G

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Vatican Guided Tour

Rome

Wonderful ! Was not enough time - even at 3.5 hours

Quality of Experience

Seeing everything

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Answered all my questions

Transport

Great guide & experience

There is absolutely nothing bad I could say about my whole experience with booking this trip through KimKim and Travel12. Everything was EXCEPTIONAL.

My trip was initially postponed because of Covid and then a personal emergency caused really last minute re-bookings and changes to my itinerary. In all the shuffling and change requests, Tasos and his team did not miss a beat nor did they steer me wrong. They guided me fully and I honestly felt truly looked after. I gave Tasos the... read more

There is absolutely nothing bad I could say about my whole experience with booking this trip through KimKim and Travel12. Everything was EXCEPTIONAL.

My trip was initially postponed because of Covid and then a personal emergency caused really last minute re-bookings and changes to my itinerary. In all the shuffling and change requests, Tasos and his team did not miss a beat nor did they steer me wrong. They guided me fully and I honestly felt truly looked after. I gave Tasos the specifics of what I needed and I got that and more. So if you truly are honest about what you want, you will not be disappointed. Tasos and his team will likely even exceed your expectations!

My accommodations, transfers and even the various versions of my tours/itinerary were carefully detailed and perfectly thought out. The places we stayed, tours/transfers we did, were simply fabulous.

Every question or concern I had was addressed in a timely manner and I felt they genuinely cared about my situation and particularities.

I experienced just a taste of Greece this time and I will not hesitate to use Tasos again for my next trip!

We went to Greece for 10 days (Athens, Naxos, and Santorini) and it was simply amazing! Tasos and team made everything so easy and really did a great job with the itinerary. 10/10 would recommend and everything went so smoothly. Anytime we had questions, concerns, or asked for recommendations, Tasos and team responded very quickly. A must have on the bucket list of places to visit! read more

We went to Greece for 10 days (Athens, Naxos, and Santorini) and it was simply amazing! Tasos and team made everything so easy and really did a great job with the itinerary. 10/10 would recommend and everything went so smoothly. Anytime we had questions, concerns, or asked for recommendations, Tasos and team responded very quickly. A must have on the bucket list of places to visit!

Hotel Review

18 Grapes Hotel Naxos

Naxos

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Enjoy Athens by Bike!

Athens

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cooking Class in a Traditional Village

Naxos

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Riviera & Cape Sounion Sunset Tour

Athens

We had a wonderful trip to Greece! It was the trip of a lifetime! It was so well planned and organized, they had wonderful recommendations and reliable connections with the places we were traveling too. If he had any questions, concerns or issues the travel team was available and ready to help. I would highly recommend Tasos and the Kimkim team!! They made the trip so easy. read more

We had a wonderful trip to Greece! It was the trip of a lifetime! It was so well planned and organized, they had wonderful recommendations and reliable connections with the places we were traveling too. If he had any questions, concerns or issues the travel team was available and ready to help. I would highly recommend Tasos and the Kimkim team!! They made the trip so easy.

We will never travel abroad without using KimKim!!! I could not believe how smooth our trip was. Our group had a detailed itinerary so all 8 of us always knew what to expect and when. Tasos and his team made sure that our hotels had received and printed our boarding passes for flights and ferries. There was one logistical hiccup that was due a a minor misdirection by a driver, but we got on the phone with Tasos' team and it was fixed in a matter of minutes. They are all wonderful... read more

We will never travel abroad without using KimKim!!! I could not believe how smooth our trip was. Our group had a detailed itinerary so all 8 of us always knew what to expect and when. Tasos and his team made sure that our hotels had received and printed our boarding passes for flights and ferries. There was one logistical hiccup that was due a a minor misdirection by a driver, but we got on the phone with Tasos' team and it was fixed in a matter of minutes. They are all wonderful communicators. AND it was super easy for non urgent Q&A to use the chat on their site. All of us could access and see the responses. They get an A++ for communication.
A highlight of our trip was our 4 days in Naxos. Not only was this my favorite island, but we LOVED the hotel, Lagos Mare. The staff was one of the most welcoming, kind, cheerful, and warm that I have ever experienced at a hotel. Especially Daphne (front desk), Petros (bartender), and Asteris (driver).
For us, this was a trip 3 years in the making, and it did not disappoint. We made memories that will last forever, met wonderful people, ate fabulous food, and learned a ton about Greek history and culture, and our experience would not have been so wonderful if we had tried to make it happen without KimKim.

Our trip to Greece was three years in the planning due to covid delays and we were thrilled to finally go on the trip this June. Tasos was amazingly responsive and helpful during the planning stages and re-worked our itinerary several times to adjust for our needs and the date changes. All of the accommodations that he selected were perfect for us, it is often a challenge to find enough space to accommodate a family of 5 adults, and the properties selected for us were wonderful. The catamaran... read more

Our trip to Greece was three years in the planning due to covid delays and we were thrilled to finally go on the trip this June. Tasos was amazingly responsive and helpful during the planning stages and re-worked our itinerary several times to adjust for our needs and the date changes. All of the accommodations that he selected were perfect for us, it is often a challenge to find enough space to accommodate a family of 5 adults, and the properties selected for us were wonderful. The catamaran rental he arranged was our favorite part of the trip, the boat was lovely and the crew was fantastic!! All of the transportation that he organized was prompt and perfect. We had a seamless trip to Greece, it was truly a trip of a lifetime for us!! Thank you, Tasos and thank you, Kim Kim! I would recommend this service without hesitation.

Everything was planned and even when plans changed they made backups that were great options to help us have a great time. Love all the tour guides and learned so much more than I would have not having them! Everything was top notch and would recommend him to everyone for an amazing trip!! I will use him again!! read more

Everything was planned and even when plans changed they made backups that were great options to help us have a great time. Love all the tour guides and learned so much more than I would have not having them! Everything was top notch and would recommend him to everyone for an amazing trip!! I will use him again!!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Modigliani

Roma

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel NapoliMia 

Naples

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

NLH Monastiraki

Athens

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Trastevere Afternoon Aperitivo & Food Tour

Rome

Quality of Experience

Explore Pompeii Walking Tour

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Planning this trip took longer than I hoped but at the end of the day it was fabulous. The only issues were that Imbros Gorge was a more difficult hike than expected and because of that we opted not to walk from Oia to Fira. Also the car that was selected for us in Crete was too big and we damaged it trying to maneuver in small places. Hotels chosen by Tasos we’re great. We loved our time in Greece. Thanks Tasos!

What a wonderful journey! We had a great time in Italy and this was the least stressful travel experience I have ever had. Our travel specialist Tasos thought of everything. We just had to be ready for the day and the rest was taken care of. Our kids got to see Italy and learn about this history and culture in the process. The trip for our budget and had everything we hoped for! read more

What a wonderful journey! We had a great time in Italy and this was the least stressful travel experience I have ever had. Our travel specialist Tasos thought of everything. We just had to be ready for the day and the rest was taken care of. Our kids got to see Italy and learn about this history and culture in the process. The trip for our budget and had everything we hoped for!

From beginning to end, KimKim did an amazing job. Tasos was knowledgeable, helpful, patient (with my many questions), and spot on with his suggestions. He truly listened to our wants and provided much information.

As soon as we were picked up from Athens, our journey began…and on time. Our drivers were always on time, and we had many. They were friendly on every island. Especially Manos in Santorini.

The boutique hotels were great. NLH was comfortable and in a hip area. Antoni... read more

From beginning to end, KimKim did an amazing job. Tasos was knowledgeable, helpful, patient (with my many questions), and spot on with his suggestions. He truly listened to our wants and provided much information.

As soon as we were picked up from Athens, our journey began…and on time. Our drivers were always on time, and we had many. They were friendly on every island. Especially Manos in Santorini.

The boutique hotels were great. NLH was comfortable and in a hip area. Antoni from Bay Bees, In Mykonos, was a fantastic host and extremely welcoming and helpful. The location was walking distance to the best beach. Kastro Suites had amazing views and welcoming staff. All hotels were clean with great views.

Our Athens Food Tour with Pavlina was spectacular. We tried many different foods and walked the many unique neighborhoods.

Tatiana and Thomas were the best Captains for the South Beach Cruise. Again, super friendly. They brought us to a few beautiful beaches. We swam as they cooked up a yummy Greek lunch.

We also had a highlight and wine tour in Santorini with Vasiliy. He was spectacular. It was like walking with a history guide, as he had so much knowledge and was so courteous and nice.

While we relaxed and played, the KimKim Greece 12 Travel Team worked behind the scenes. Answered our questions, sent our tickets to us and the hotel for printing. I never had to ask for anything, everything just appeared in my in box. One of our travelers was a day delayed due to a canceled flight and the KimKim team worked to get her transportation to pick her up and bring her to us!

I put all our trust in the KimKim team to create a memorable vacation and they did not let us down. They are truly the best and I will use their services again.

Cathy

My husband and I had an amazing trip to Greece. This was our honeymoon and we could not have been to a more beautiful destination to celebrate. We had a tour of the acropolis with our awesome guide, Alex who did a great job explaining the history of Athens to us. We did a food and wine tour in Santorini where our guide, Ana helped us cook traditional greek cuisine and explained the history of wine making on the Island. For a trip so far from home we only had a few hiccups. Our seats for both... read more

My husband and I had an amazing trip to Greece. This was our honeymoon and we could not have been to a more beautiful destination to celebrate. We had a tour of the acropolis with our awesome guide, Alex who did a great job explaining the history of Athens to us. We did a food and wine tour in Santorini where our guide, Ana helped us cook traditional greek cuisine and explained the history of wine making on the Island. For a trip so far from home we only had a few hiccups. Our seats for both trips on the Ferry to and from Santorini were not next to each other, since we were on our honeymoon we were hoping to be together on such a long trip (6 hours), we also were late to one of our pickups for a tour, the time listed on our itinerary was 15 minutes later than the actual pick up time. This is not to take away from the other seamless transitions and pickups, which if we had planned this on our own would have been much more chaotic! Overall, we had a 10/10 experience and would go back and use Kimkim in a heart beat! Will definitely be using for future trips abroad!

Tasos listened to what we were hoping for on our trip to Greece; authentic food, people, places, and experiences with just enough of the top tourist destinations. Then he put together a plan that exceeded our expectations. Our personal tour guides; Katarina in Athens, and Katia on Naxos were brilliant, but very personal too. We discovered that we could order a salad and 2 or 3 appetizers and split it all between us and be more than satisfied and get a nice sampling of the Greek food. We... read more

Tasos listened to what we were hoping for on our trip to Greece; authentic food, people, places, and experiences with just enough of the top tourist destinations. Then he put together a plan that exceeded our expectations. Our personal tour guides; Katarina in Athens, and Katia on Naxos were brilliant, but very personal too. We discovered that we could order a salad and 2 or 3 appetizers and split it all between us and be more than satisfied and get a nice sampling of the Greek food. We also enjoyed finding the local cafes for some really good and inexpensive street food. One of our highlights was sitting at dusk at the edge of the marble paved town square on Syros just to watch kids of all ages playing hide and seek, kicking a soccer ball, riding bikes and scooters, and just playing their hearts out without much if any supervision, and without any issues! That is just one memory that stands out.

Tasos and the whole team provided us with a wonderful amazing trip filled with lifetime memories of Greece . Everyone was so gracious and courteous dedicated to making our trip a success! Thank you so much! read more

Tasos and the whole team provided us with a wonderful amazing trip filled with lifetime memories of Greece . Everyone was so gracious and courteous dedicated to making our trip a success! Thank you so much!

Hotel Review

Avli Lounge hotel

Rethymno, Crete

We cannot say enough wonderful things about this establishment. Having fabulous breakfasts in the garden every mornings. The suite was absolutely gorgeous the staff was always willing to help us in anyway they could the best service in the world.

Tips for future travelers

Enjoy enjoy enjoy!

Authenticity & Character

The location was wonderful to walk among the wonderful shops and restaurants and streets in the old town.

Location

Enjoy enjoy enjoy!

Staff

The location was wonderful to walk among the wonderful shops and restaurants and streets in the old town.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Decour the authenticity the integrity of the building was truly amazing

Activity Review

Private Mykonos Island Driving Tour

Mykonos

Going off the beaten trail and seeing the culture and the history of Mykonos.

Quality of Experience

Take your time and enjoy. The old town coffee shop, the Vineyard, and the lighthouse.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The old town coffee shop, the Vineyard, and the lighthouse.

Transport

Timely and comfortable.

Tasos was very helpful. Our trip turned out to be even more amazing than I imagined. All of our tours were either private or had no more than 2 people from another party which was awesome. Our drivers always only had my family of 4 in the vehicle and were always on time. I did wish the itinerary was more clear on when we had to find our own ride. But when I asked Tasos he was responsive and answered all of my many questions. I think next time I use Kimkim I'll be more familiar with their... read more

Tasos was very helpful. Our trip turned out to be even more amazing than I imagined. All of our tours were either private or had no more than 2 people from another party which was awesome. Our drivers always only had my family of 4 in the vehicle and were always on time. I did wish the itinerary was more clear on when we had to find our own ride. But when I asked Tasos he was responsive and answered all of my many questions. I think next time I use Kimkim I'll be more familiar with their itinerary formatting. Our most favorite part was the Amalfi Coast and the private boat tour. There's nothing we would have changed in our trip. Highly recommend Kimkim and look forward to working with Tasos again.

Working with kimkim, and especially Tasos allowed us to fully experience the culture and beauty of Greece. Tasos listened to what we were interested in doing, curtailed a schedule that fit those interests and made sure that we were happy with the plan. We had one issue while visiting, and it was quickly resolved. The support we received throughout the process was wonderful. No question or request felt bothersome and he guided us through the experience. I was also impressed with the... read more

Working with kimkim, and especially Tasos allowed us to fully experience the culture and beauty of Greece. Tasos listened to what we were interested in doing, curtailed a schedule that fit those interests and made sure that we were happy with the plan. We had one issue while visiting, and it was quickly resolved. The support we received throughout the process was wonderful. No question or request felt bothersome and he guided us through the experience. I was also impressed with the transfers to hotels and excursions. All of the drivers were professional, on time and shared their love of Greece. Lampros was our driver in Athens. He was exceptional! His information was interesting, he was such a gentlemen and went above and beyond to ensure we were comfortable. His English was very good. One of our favorite experiences was in Nafplio when we went traveled with Dominic, the tour guide, to Nemea. While visiting the Temple of Zeus, he brought the story alive through his knowledge and passion of that time period. Then we visit wineries and finished at a local organic vinegar producer. Nickos and Maria cooked us a delicious lunch using their vinegars and local foods and vegetables from their garden. I truly appreciate that Tasos planned tours that took us off the touristy path and immersed us in the culture while trip placing us in boutique type hotels that were close to many restaurants and local markets. We hope to use kimkim in the future-Bravo!

Hotel Review

Sweet Home Boutique Hotel

Athens

We loved our stay at Home Sweet Home! It truly felt like home due to the owner's personal touch. She was there everyday helping with breakfast and she was helpful answering questions and guiding us to local places to eat. The breakfast was delicious and the rooms were impeccably clean. There was an elevator to help with luggage which was helpful. It was walking distance to the most of the sights in downtown Athens. Wonderful!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Semi-Private Morning Catamaran Caldera Cruise

Santorini

The sights that we saw were outstanding and the crew on the Catamaran were exceptional! Great music during the sunset and loved when the captain shared information of the various sights as we came upon them.

Quality of Experience

Food

I liked that there was a variety.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We would rather take a taxi back since we drove to an hour to get home. There were 2 large vans and it was confusing upon leaving the catamaran as to which one we were to get on.

Waterless Farming: an insider's food & wine tour

Santorini

Ana was a wonderful tour guide, very knowledgable of the wine making and she made the experience so enjoyable.

Quality of Experience

Food

Fava beans, tomato fritters and greek salad was outstanding. For dessert we had greek yogurt with the farm made sweetened marinated cherry tomatoes!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Enjoy Athens by Bike!

Athens

Great way to get familiar with the city in a short amount of time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Soto was an amazing guide. He was passionate about Athens and biking!

Private Riviera & Cape Sounion Sunset Tour

Athens

Cape Sounion was a beautiful place to see the sun set. We wish we could have brought a blanket and bottle of wine! Lampros made frequent stops allowing us to get out and captures some pictures at scenic spots, while sharing some information about each place. Fantastic!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cooking Class in a Traditional Village

Naxos

Katerina and her mother were so welcoming! How lucky they are to live is such a scenic villiage!

Quality of Experience

Food

The stuffed tomatoes and peppers were outstanding! Wonderful hosts!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Alex was great. There was a language barrier but luckily Adam came for the villages tour so that he could support and communicate more clearly. Thank you kimkim for this.

Transport

Okay, this was the most amazing trip I have had in my entire lifetime. From the transportations to and from the airports and train stations to the fantastic planned activities, everything was tailored to us in the most fantastic way. Tasos planned our honeymoon just perfect, we thoroughly enjoyed ALL of the excursions. We would, without hesitation, recommend Kimkim to our friends and family, thanks.
Terry read more

Okay, this was the most amazing trip I have had in my entire lifetime. From the transportations to and from the airports and train stations to the fantastic planned activities, everything was tailored to us in the most fantastic way. Tasos planned our honeymoon just perfect, we thoroughly enjoyed ALL of the excursions. We would, without hesitation, recommend Kimkim to our friends and family, thanks.
Terry

My husband and I finally got to have our Italian honeymoon (2 years delayed thanks to Covid). Over 2 weeks we experienced Venice, Florence, Rome, Pompeii, Ravello, Amalfi Coast, Capri, and Naples. Tasos helped us put this unforgettable experience together and it was perfect! We did all private and small group tours which really helped us get the most out of our trip. Some of our biggest highlights included gelato making with Tulio in Florence, The Colosseum with Elisabetta in Rome, an evening... read more

My husband and I finally got to have our Italian honeymoon (2 years delayed thanks to Covid). Over 2 weeks we experienced Venice, Florence, Rome, Pompeii, Ravello, Amalfi Coast, Capri, and Naples. Tasos helped us put this unforgettable experience together and it was perfect! We did all private and small group tours which really helped us get the most out of our trip. Some of our biggest highlights included gelato making with Tulio in Florence, The Colosseum with Elisabetta in Rome, an evening golf cart tour of Rome with Gianluca, and our private tour of Pompeii and Vesuvius with Giuseppe. The entire trip was truly amazing. I wouldn't change a thing!
As for support during the trip, all questions / assistance were quickly answered / resolved with help from Tasos and the Travel 12 team. I had a special request for ice each night (recovering from ankle surgery) and Tasos worked with each hotel to make sure it was provided for me upon our return to our hotel each night. They even worked with our hotel in Naples to set up our Covid tests to return home. Everything was above and beyond all expectations!

What an amazing trip and an awesome service kimkim provides! Everything went so smoothly for our 8-night trip to Athens, Naxos, and Santorini. The hotels were all top-notch (Zillers, Cyano Suites, and Petit Palace Suites), our activities were fun and informative with great guides, and all of the logistics were handled so we never had to stress. Tasos was there every step of the way to provide feedback and insight based on our desires, especially as we navigated the covid landscape, and his... read more

What an amazing trip and an awesome service kimkim provides! Everything went so smoothly for our 8-night trip to Athens, Naxos, and Santorini. The hotels were all top-notch (Zillers, Cyano Suites, and Petit Palace Suites), our activities were fun and informative with great guides, and all of the logistics were handled so we never had to stress. Tasos was there every step of the way to provide feedback and insight based on our desires, especially as we navigated the covid landscape, and his team was there to help make adjustments along the way (such as helping us rent a car last minute in Naxos). Some of our favorite activities were the cooking classes, as we got to spend time making delicious food with charming hosts. The catamaran cruise also was not to be missed.

I am normally a person who does a ton of planning before I travel, but I felt totally confident putting our trip in the hands of kimkim, and they did not disappoint!

We thought KimKim and Tasos were great!! Tasos planned all aspects of our Greece trip (including a sailboat charter, numerous excursions, car rental and boutique hotels) and did a wonderful job. He selected boutique hotels and suggested excursions that on our own would have been difficult to find or research. We especially enjoyed the sailboat charter and the boat captain and his deckhand were great Tasos was very responsive and as questions and issues happened he and his team got... read more

We thought KimKim and Tasos were great!! Tasos planned all aspects of our Greece trip (including a sailboat charter, numerous excursions, car rental and boutique hotels) and did a wonderful job. He selected boutique hotels and suggested excursions that on our own would have been difficult to find or research. We especially enjoyed the sailboat charter and the boat captain and his deckhand were great Tasos was very responsive and as questions and issues happened he and his team got back to us immediately with feedback. We ended up asking Tasos for suggestions on where to eat and all of his choices were excellent and better than the places we picked on our own. It was especially comforting knowing Tasos and his team were available during Covid times and he assisted us in getting a second Covid test when the results of the first test were delayed. I would highly recommend using KimKim and Tasos if you are thinking of planning a trip to Greece.

Of course the Parthenon is most memorable and our guide (Eleni), also an archeologist, had an encyclopedic knowledge of Greek history and mythology. I really enjoyed running on the 1896 Olympic Stadium track. Thank you. Cooking class was fabulous. We loved what we cooked and the wine tasting...so much fun. Ilia and Demetri were fantastic. The tour of Delphi and our guide Penny were superb. Brava, as Penny would say. Great hotel and nice swimming in Galaxidi. The tour of Olympia was... read more

Of course the Parthenon is most memorable and our guide (Eleni), also an archeologist, had an encyclopedic knowledge of Greek history and mythology. I really enjoyed running on the 1896 Olympic Stadium track. Thank you. Cooking class was fabulous. We loved what we cooked and the wine tasting...so much fun. Ilia and Demetri were fantastic. The tour of Delphi and our guide Penny were superb. Brava, as Penny would say. Great hotel and nice swimming in Galaxidi. The tour of Olympia was too quick. Not enough time to explore. The tour of Mycenae was a bit rushed also but Theo was great. So glad we stayed in Nafplio. Seeing Prometheus Bound at Epidauros was a dream come true. It was on our bucket list. Corinth was cool - Eleusis not so much. The last day/night in Vouliagmeni was a nice touch - wonderful dinner.

We just returned yesterday (September 16, 2021) from a fantastic 18-day vacation in Greece (Athens and Naxos with day trips to Paros, Delos, and Mykonos). kimkim provided a great platform for planning this vacation and Tasos Mylonas and the Travel12 team in Greece provided 5-star expertise, advice, recommendations, itinerary planning, flexibility in details and so much more during the planning process. In the end we had a customized vacation package (except for the international travel and ... read more

We just returned yesterday (September 16, 2021) from a fantastic 18-day vacation in Greece (Athens and Naxos with day trips to Paros, Delos, and Mykonos). kimkim provided a great platform for planning this vacation and Tasos Mylonas and the Travel12 team in Greece provided 5-star expertise, advice, recommendations, itinerary planning, flexibility in details and so much more during the planning process. In the end we had a customized vacation package (except for the international travel and travel insurance) precisely tuned to our desires and integrating Tasos' recommendations for a perfect vacation in Greece.

We approached kimkim in April 2021 to start planning this vacation after Greece announced that they would be opening up to tourism in May. They put us in contact with Tasos and he worked with us through the kimkim platform over the next few months listening to our interests, proposing itineraries, fine-tuning things, and (when all was settled) handling all the booking arrangements for our time in Greece. We really... really appreciate his patience, expertise, responsiveness, thoroughness, and friendliness.

The trip itself went spectacularly, without a hitch. One activity had to be rescheduled due to weather but we had enough flexibility in the itinerary that this presented no problem. The Travel12 team provided great support during our travels -- answering our occasional questions, providing updates, and the like.

One aspect of this trip that made it really special for us was that it included several (okay, seven!) guided tours ranging from a few hours to almost a full day. The guides were local experts who provided stories, information, and context that we would never have gotten if we had explored on our own. And, perhaps best of all, for all the tours but one, it was just the two of us and the guide! (The other tour had a total of five plus the guide.) We loved this! (We also participated in a day-long catamaran cruise on Naxos with about 20 other passengers -- this was a fun day!)

In addition to the tours, we had many full days to do our own thing (by design). Tasos provided excellent recommendations (e.g., neighborhoods of Athens, beaches of Naxos, and villages of Naxos), which we took advantage of (as time permitted) but we also did a few things completely on our own (or recommended to us by some of the people we met).

All in all, we would highly recommend kimkim and Travel12 if you are looking for a vacation customized to your interests, where you can be "on your own" but can also have the support of a great team when it's needed.

The best part of our 14 day vacation was the choice of hotels. Our first two nights at Posta Di Veccia were a perfect way to start the trip. We relaxed the first day at the hotel right on the sea, and then spent the next day touring Rome with a great guide. The second hotel was Il Pelicano, which we also loved. At both hotels we had really nice rooms with amazing views and felt really welcomed and well taken care of by the staff. The food and location was amazing at Il Pelicano on a beautiful... read more

The best part of our 14 day vacation was the choice of hotels. Our first two nights at Posta Di Veccia were a perfect way to start the trip. We relaxed the first day at the hotel right on the sea, and then spent the next day touring Rome with a great guide. The second hotel was Il Pelicano, which we also loved. At both hotels we had really nice rooms with amazing views and felt really welcomed and well taken care of by the staff. The food and location was amazing at Il Pelicano on a beautiful little island that we toured in our convertible. We went to Elba Island next and we were schedule to stay at Villa Ottone for 4 nights, but we stayed there only one night and moved to our next hotel 3 days early. Unfortunately Villa Ottone was listed as a 5 star hotel, but it was mire like 2 star. We really did not like it there even though they did try there best to make us happy. Luckily kim kim was able to change our itinerary and it worked out beautifully staying at Castello di Velona for 6 nights! We loved this hotel so much and felt like a prince and princess living in a castle! Each day we would drive up to a half out to different hilltop towns to walk around and have lunch and then we’d come back to the hotel to lounge in the thermal water in the afternoon. My favorite hilltop town was Montalcino, and it was only 15 minutes away. The last 3 nights were in Florence, at Villa Cora. This was a stunningly beautiful hotel and they gave us a beautiful room on the top floor with a balcony overlooking the city and the sunset. We loved exploring Florence and then relaxing at the pool in the afternoons because it was so hot. Our last night we went to the Four Seasons for their tasting menu and it was such a beautiful night with a really cool dj playing during our dinner. We loved this trip so much. It was the most romantic honeymoon I could have imagined! Thank you Tasos and team!!!!!

Tasos and his team made our trip simply unforgettable!! What a professional and on point team! My husband and I had a fantastic and memorable trip to the most beautiful place. All vendors were on time, the tour guides were extremely knowledgeable, hotels were amazing and restaurants were the best!
Greece was such an unique place and we will use KimKim for all of our future trips.

Thank you so much!

Mirelly Friedland

We are seasoned travelers and always plan our own trips. When we decided on a spur of the moment, month-long, post-pandemic trip to Greece we put ourselves in the trusted hands of Tasos. We are so glad we did. From his smart itinerary planning to outstanding communications to flawless transfers; from the quality of local guides and tours, to the charming boutique accommodations, the whole experience was top drawer and great value for money. Working with Tasos was a great partnership. We brought our experience and enthusiasm and he took care of the details. Well done and thank you.

Tasos and his crew provided a wonder adventure for us in Greece. Due to Covid restrictions and concerns our trip was put off for over a year. Also due to the same concerns we upgraded our trip to basically a private tour. We were provided the same private driver for every trip while in Athens. He was timely, provided a clean neat car, had excellent English and was able to provide information on everything we asked. Our first days of our trip we stayed at Sweet Home Hotel. A very small, clean... read more

Tasos and his crew provided a wonder adventure for us in Greece. Due to Covid restrictions and concerns our trip was put off for over a year. Also due to the same concerns we upgraded our trip to basically a private tour. We were provided the same private driver for every trip while in Athens. He was timely, provided a clean neat car, had excellent English and was able to provide information on everything we asked. Our first days of our trip we stayed at Sweet Home Hotel. A very small, clean and comfortable hotel in walking distance to many things. This is a family ran establishment. Aphrodite was our hostess. She made sure we were comfortable all day every day. She and her mother provided a home cooked breakfast to order everyday. One day we even met her husband as he filled in. On our first night we had a complimentary dinner at The Ergon. What a wonderful roof top restaurant to get a taste of wonderful Greek food. The sunset view of the Acropolis Hill and Parthenon from this roof top was gorgeous. Our Private tour of the Acropolis, temple of Arthena Nike, Erextheion, and Parthenon provided a lot of history and myths. We also visited the markets, Psiri and Monastiraki neighborhoods. Add to all the history a taste of Greece and you know you have had a good day. Our location was wonderful for us to walk to several neighborhoods and get the feel of "small town" Athens. Our same driver delivered us to Kalabaka to see the UNESCO site of Meteora. We stayed at Monastiri which was a short walk to the bussel of the city. Chris was our local driver and tour guide. Chris was born and raised in Kalabaka and was able to provide a lot of information. The rock formations and Monasteries is a site you do not want to miss when visiting Greece. Then we were off to Thessaloniki. This city has so much history. Our hotel was a block from the water front in walking distance to all of Old Town. We did not get to take in all the sites because of Covid restrictions. However our guide was able to provide a lot of history. We made a morning trip to Vergina to see the UNESCO site of the royal tomb of King Philip 11, father to Alexander the Great. His tomb was found untouched. What a unique and wonderful find. Our 3rd day we had Christina as a guide on a Food and history tour. Christina was very refreshing with a lot of information. My favorite part of her tour was the coffee shop in the old Turkish baths. It was in the center of old town and from the top you had a beautiful view of old town. Due to an issue with a canceled flight from Delta Airlines we had an "emergency". With the help of the evening clerk at City Hotel and the wonderful replanning by Tasos we had an excellent one day extension to our trip and was able to stay in another neighborhood of Athens on the water. What could have been a disaster was actually turned into another adventure in Greece. I would highly recommend KimKim and their sister company in Greece travel12.

Our trip planning was a breeze and our trip was infinitely better because of Tasos. He made sure we had the best guides, saw everything we wanted to see with plenty of time to explore and enjoy. We also made some last minute revisions during our trip that Tasos seemlessly worked into our trip. We are forever grateful. The next time we travel to Greece we will definitely be contacting Tasos!

We had a wonderful trip to Greece thanks to Tasos at KimKim. Our guides in Athens, Syros and Santorini were excellent and tailored the trip to match our interests. We felt well cared for and had the time to get to enjoy the best of Greece, In Athens our driver Lambros brought us to great sightseeing locations around Athens and was so welcoming. Our other guides in Athens were extremely knowledgeable about the city and gave us a great tour of the Parthenon and the various neighborhoods... read more

We had a wonderful trip to Greece thanks to Tasos at KimKim. Our guides in Athens, Syros and Santorini were excellent and tailored the trip to match our interests. We felt well cared for and had the time to get to enjoy the best of Greece, In Athens our driver Lambros brought us to great sightseeing locations around Athens and was so welcoming. Our other guides in Athens were extremely knowledgeable about the city and gave us a great tour of the Parthenon and the various neighborhoods around the city. Our guides in Syros Antonio and Mario were fabulous and such a joy to be with- Mario was watching out for us on our boat trip and spotted a jellyfish before we jumped into the water! We felt very cared for. On Thira our guide Manos used my mobile phone to document our cooking classes with photos that I will always treasure! I highly recommend KimKim!

We had a fabulous trip to Greece from start to finish. Everything went incredibly smoothly, in fact I didn't have to get in touch with Tasos or KimKim/ Travel 12 once the entire trip. All our hotels, guides, tours and drivers were wonderful! I wish I knew how to spell all of their names but they were all so much fun as well as knowledgeable and kind. We also enjoyed all the hotels very much. Sweet Home in Athens was in a great location and had a wonderful breakfast and super comfortable... read more

We had a fabulous trip to Greece from start to finish. Everything went incredibly smoothly, in fact I didn't have to get in touch with Tasos or KimKim/ Travel 12 once the entire trip. All our hotels, guides, tours and drivers were wonderful! I wish I knew how to spell all of their names but they were all so much fun as well as knowledgeable and kind. We also enjoyed all the hotels very much. Sweet Home in Athens was in a great location and had a wonderful breakfast and super comfortable beds. We LOVED the welcome dinner at the Zillers rooftop restaurant which had amazing views of the Acropolis. The Adriani Hotel on Naxos was beautiful and also a good location within walking distance of the port and St. George's beach. We really enjoyed the food and culture tour of the island as well as the medieval hike and our driver both days (Yannis?) was awesome! Naxos is beautiful and less "touristic" than Santorini although the Volcano View Hotel is simply stunning. The views of the caldera are mesmerizing and my only regret was that we didn't spend most of the last day sitting in lounge chairs simply enjoying the view. We did enjoy the insider's food and wine tour and Anna was wonderful but I had expected/hoped to see more of the island on the tour. The sunset catamaran cruise in the caldera was fantastic with great food and people. Tasos had arranged for a birthday cake for my dad who turned 80 that day. It was unforgettable! The only small glitch was that my mom who had hip surgery a few months ago had lots of stairs to climb at the hotels on the islands which did not have elevators. But overall it was worth it and I think her strength improved with all the activity! I would enthusiastically recommend Tasos and KimKim/Travel 12 and hope that we have the opportunity to work with them again for future trips!! Thank you Tasos and team for putting together a trip that was absolutely incredible!!

We were extremely pleased with our trip to greece. It was all that was promised and more. We were always picked up at the exact time that was expected. Dinner at mani mani the first night was delicious and a great way to start our holiday. The first day we tried to call about our flight e tickets early in the morning but no one was in the office so we went on our tour and figured we would call later. We were very impressed that you saw the missed call and tried many times to get to us. ... read more

We were extremely pleased with our trip to greece. It was all that was promised and more. We were always picked up at the exact time that was expected. Dinner at mani mani the first night was delicious and a great way to start our holiday. The first day we tried to call about our flight e tickets early in the morning but no one was in the office so we went on our tour and figured we would call later. We were very impressed that you saw the missed call and tried many times to get to us. We really enjoyed that each hotel was unique and different from eachother. The room in acropolis hill hotel was aLittle to small. We left the Alcnea hotel in Chania early in the morning to catch a plane and they packed us breakfast. We loved our hike in Naxos. Would just suggest that hiking shoes are recommended. Very much enjoyed the food tour also in Naxos. We loved your suggestion that we tour cape sounion the last day. It extended our vacation another day with a wonderful tour guide. We felt very well cared for. Every tour guide was professional and knowable and extremely nice. A++ I have already been recommending you and will definitely use kim kim on our future travels.

We enjoyed our trip around Greece and the arrangements made by Travel12 were top notch. We normally make all our own arrangements but decided to try KimKim because we could customize our itinerary and let KimKim make all the detailed arrangements. It turned out to be a very good combination. The hotel locations were centrally located which we like, and the tours were all very good. The transfers to/from the airports were very convenient. That’s something we have never arranged on our own and... read more

We enjoyed our trip around Greece and the arrangements made by Travel12 were top notch. We normally make all our own arrangements but decided to try KimKim because we could customize our itinerary and let KimKim make all the detailed arrangements. It turned out to be a very good combination. The hotel locations were centrally located which we like, and the tours were all very good. The transfers to/from the airports were very convenient. That’s something we have never arranged on our own and we really appreciated the time and stress it eliminated.

The photo tour in Athens was outstanding with Spyros from Athens Insiders. I’m an amateur photographer and he helped me with several tips to improve my skills. He also took us to very interesting locations in the Plaka neighborhood that we would never have found on our own.
The food tours in Athens and Santorini were both very good. The one in Athens was more about the history of Greek food and the one in Santorini was more about their wine history. I must say we had our first and last taste of Greek coffee, but it was worth the experience.

An unexpected highlight was the small fishing village of Galaxidi near Delphi. We had a wonderful seafood dinner where the waiter said that the “fish was swimming this morning”. Thank you Tasos for booking us in Galaxidi rather than tourist filled Delphi.

We did have a couple of disappointing experiences. I think the tour company in Meteora had forgotten about us. The clerk at the hotel had to call them and they said there was a miscommunication about the starting time. The tour itself was very good, it just started an hour late. The hotel accommodation in Nafplio was on the top floor with 3 long flights of stairs that proved to be a challenge for us since we are in our 70’s. The room had very low loft pitched ceilings that made it uncomfortable to move around. However, the location was great.

Our holiday was intended to give my wife and me a first time taste of cultural Greece.
Tasos from the Travel12 team suggested a great mix of archaeological sites as well as food and wine experiences extending from Athens to islands in the Cyclades, the astounding monasteries of Meteora to the Peloponnese and then Delphi. Our drivers were excellent, punctual and always courteous and friendly. All of the guides were exceptional, Tania and Constantine of Alternative Athens, Anastasia in Mykonos,... read more

Our holiday was intended to give my wife and me a first time taste of cultural Greece.
Tasos from the Travel12 team suggested a great mix of archaeological sites as well as food and wine experiences extending from Athens to islands in the Cyclades, the astounding monasteries of Meteora to the Peloponnese and then Delphi. Our drivers were excellent, punctual and always courteous and friendly. All of the guides were exceptional, Tania and Constantine of Alternative Athens, Anastasia in Mykonos, George on Delos, Ilias with his deep knowledge of Greek history and the archaeological sites of Mycenae and Mystras as well as his home town of Nafplio. Lastly Tania of Alternative Athens led a tour of Delphi, a wonderful place.
We can recommend the wooden boat cruise in the caldera of Santorini, with a Greek BBQ dinner on board and a saxophone player entertaining us at sunset with a wonderful view of the white clifftop buildings of Oia, breathtaking!
We can also recommended a cooking class on Naxos where we picked vegetables with Jacob from the garden of his working farm and prepared stuffed tomatoes, eggplant and capsicums which we then ate with delicious white wine, nice!
The Travel12 team were always readily available with guidance and solutions to any problems that occurred. All in all a wonderful holiday experience.