Uma Natarajan

Uma did an outstanding job of asking questions about our interest and then proposing an amazing trip. We had a wonderful 3 weeks so saw a lot of New Zealand. We would highly recommend her to others.

Hotel Review

SkyCity Hotel

Auckland

Super location and views. Dinner in tower is a must

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Mitai Maori Village

Rotorua

Waitomo Glow Worm Cave Tour

New Zealand

Cape Reinga Half Day Tour by Aeroplane

New Zealand

Waiheke Island Vineyard Explorer

New Zealand

Enjoy the panoramic view of Auckland from Sky Tower

Auckland

Uma was fantastic and created an excellent itinerary for us. She had terrific suggestions about places to visit and activities. She was very knowledgeable and helpful. I would highly recommend working with her to plan your trip to new Zealand.

My sister-in-law, Mindy, and I recently returned from an amazing trip to New Zealand. It was a once-in-a-lifetime trip, filled with adventures, new experiences, and unparalleled beauty. I believe it was all of that because Uma from KimKim helped us every step of the way, from ideas, to planning, to reservations, to support while we were there.

Mindy and I started talking about going to New Zealand about a year ago. We knew where it was, and had heard lots of rave reviews about how gorgeous it is, but not much else. When we got more serious about making it happen, we didn’t know where to start.

While searching online for some ideas, I came across the website for KimKim. I liked that the person who would be helping us actually lives in New Zealand. I decided to give them a try.

We communicated with Uma via messages on their site. She gathered lots of information from us via a detailed questionnaire – length of stay, whether or not we wanted to drive, how strenuous we wanted the activities to be, and our interest in many things, such as tours, hiking, biking, bungee jumping, city vs. nature, budget vs. average vs. luxury accommodations, and so much more.

With that information, Uma suggested that we would enjoy touring the beauty on the southern island. Two islands? Who knew?! She sent us a preliminary itinerary including lots of details and asked for feedback. Over the next couple of weeks, communicating back and forth, we had our plan in place. Uma set everything up for us – booked all the hotels, transfers, tours, and activities.

Uma stayed in touch with us as the date of our trip approached, making sure we had the correct documentation and travel visas in place, correct clothing for the weather and sun protection, travel vouchers, and anything else we needed.

Every day of the trip was filled with fun and adventurous activities. The most memorable was Mount Cook National Park. We spent an hour and a half hiking up Mount Cook on well-kept gravel paths and steps and across a long, moving (& scary for me) suspension bridge. The area was absolutely stunning! The bridge spanned over a small river of runoff from a glacier at the base of the mountain. Mindy and I couldn’t believe how lucky we were to be experiencing this!

Another favorite was taking a cruise from Queenstown across Lake Whakatipu on the TSS Earnslaw steamship. The scenery on the cruise was amazing! It took us to the gorgeous Walter Peak Farm, which is a real working farm. They served us a bountiful, delicious meal and then taught us about sheep shearing and sheepdogs. Afterward, we cruised back to Queenstown. A most enjoyable experience!

Another highlight was the drive from Queenstown to remote Milford Sound and the cruise around the sound. This was another amazing experience with sights so breathtaking, I had to pinch myself to make sure it was real. We decided to take a small plane back to Queenstown – another first for us, and it was worth the price being able to see the beauty from above.

We had many more memorable experiences on our trip to New Zealand. There were only a couple of “hiccups” in transfers, and Uma was just a text or phone call away to take care of it. I truly believe we couldn’t have fit in so much wonderfulness if we had planned it ourselves. We highly recommend visiting New Zealand and using KimKim to expertly craft the perfect itinerary for you.

Hotel Reviews

Te Waonui Forest Retreat

Franz Josef Westland

Loved the foresty setting and vibe. Upscale and beautiful, great restaurant!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

We were treated like royalty!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Couldn't have been better!

Millennium Hotel Queenstown

Queenstown

Beautiful and upscale. Had everything we needed.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Very helpful and accommodating!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rydges Latimer Christchurch

Christchurch

Not fancy, but a nice hotel and very clean. Their restaurant, Bloody Mary's, has fabulous food and service.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very conveniently located for our tour.

Staff

We were very well taken care of!

Cleanliness & Comfort

We were pleased with the comfort and cleanliness.

Activity Reviews

Milford Sound Coach - Cruise from Queenstown

Queenstown (NZ)

The Milford Sound tour was incredibly beautiful and impeccably organized. It was a smooth experience with no issues, and the stunning landscape was like something out of a dream.

TSS Earnslaw Cruise to Walter Peak, BBQ Dinner, Farm Tour

Queenstown (NZ)

The TSS Earnslaw Cruise to Walter Peak was remarkable! The cruise itself was excellent, and the visit to the farm was surprisingly wonderful. We had a delightful meal and really enjoyed the sheep farming demonstration. It was a unique and memorable experience.

Christchurch to Queenstown Via Mt Cook & Tekapo Small-Group Tour (One Way)

Christchurch

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip was wonderful and I would promote nearly all of those experiences to future travels. As someone with a moderate travel history(3 prior trips aborad), I did feel the service of KimKim was overpriced and didn't really create something special. All of the experiences were textbook. My biggest gripe is the company lacked transparency with expenses - I had to communciate multiple times that the proposed costs were too high for our budget and still feel we overpaid. Numerous times throughout the trip, I lamented to my partner "I don't see the value in what we paid for," It was only the convenience, certainly did not have any special, off the chart, or "bumped up" experiences. I wouldn't use it again and would go back to solo-planning, since every single thing I could have booked online or literally day of, likely for a cheaper price overall. Additionally, the amount of back-and-forth with the planning agents equated to the work I'd put it in researching and booking things myself. Nonetheless, the local specialists and platform were easy to use and provided good customer service. The biggest benefit was having a simple document to print with the itinerary for everything.

The experience ranks highly. But I would put the "value" as quite low, though that wasn't the rubric for the questions.

Hotel Reviews

Carnmore Hotel Christchurch

Christchurch

Great staff. The room was clean and comfortable, though the bed felt small. Guest services were adamant it was a king, we disagree - it felt queen.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

JetPark Hotel Rotorua

Best staff we encountered in NZ, which was a high standard. Location is a little removed, but its a small enough place that it was central to all our experiences. You can smell the sulfur throughout the hotel. Across the street from grocery story to pick up on travel essentials.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Auckland City Hotel

Auckland

Good location in Auckland and to get out of Auckland. Parking was congested, but street parking was limited.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

An unforgettable scenic cruise at the 8th Wonder of the World

New Zealand

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Nevis Bungy and Swing

Queenstown (NZ)

OUSTANDING. Team made you feel very safe. The transportation was elite. The even accommodated day-of reservation changes. If you do the bungy, the swing feels a little secondary.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Top tier transportation.

Hobbiton Movie Set Tour

New Zealand

This felt like a very well produced experience. Fantastic. Drink at the end was a special treat - and they had a non-alcoholic version perfect for us sober visitors.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

OUTSTANDING tour guide.

Transport

Very comfortable shuttle.

Zipline Canopy Tour Ultimate Experience

Rotorua

Outstanding! Highlight of our time in NZ. The ultimate experience was very worthwhile. Felt very safe and well accommodated. Guides were outstanding and supportive. They shared about their conservation efforts in an impactful and meaningful way that didn't every feel pushy either.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

EXCELLENT leaders.

Transport

The Hell's Gate Experience

Rotorua

This was sold to us as "spa" like experience by a travel agent, which was inaccurate. I'd describe it more as geothermal landscape with a short immersive experience. We liked the mud bath for the memes and hilarity, but it is essnetially timed and monitored. The baths were fun, but not something to spend 40-minutes doing, which is how it was sold to us.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Big Sky Stargazing

Aoraki / Mount Cook Village

Missed out due to weather, which is out of their control. Their full refund was an excellent recourse.

Waitomo Glow Worm Cave Tour

New Zealand

Loved that it was owned/operated by Maori. We had an excellent tour guide through the cave. The actual "experience" observing the glow worms was actually much shroter than anticipated (5-10 minutes in the boat). The majority of the time is walking through, explaining the formations, etc. The greatest value cost wise was knowing its in good hands of its caretakers.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Uma was amazing with great local recommendations and was available throughout the trip with changes.