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Vaseem Akaram

I am a travel professional with over 7 years of experience in the travel & tourism industry. My passion for travel led me to pursue higher education in travel and tourism. I have a master's degree in Tourism Management. A few years back I came to the south of France for a year's diploma in Sales & Marketing. French culture, food, the weather of the south of France, and yes people and their welcoming nature amazed me so much that I decided to stay here to experience more about French and European culture. My passion for working in travel and tourism encouraged me to travel around France and Europe and that further led me to step into tourism in France and Europe.

Basic information:

Born: A city of Tajmahal Agra (India)
Educations: Masters in Tourism Administration, Masters in International Business (University of Montpellier, France)
Working Experience: 7 years in Indian & France Tourism
Hobbies: Traveling, Singing

What places and activities do you specialize in?

"Cultural Trips, Family Trips, Honeymoon Trips, Luxury Holidays
"

How did you get involved in travel?

"Having grown up in a world-famous tourist city in India called Agra (the city of Tajmahal) inspired me to get involved in the tourism industry. Since my childhood, I used to like to talk with foreign tourists and get involved in tourist activities.

Here's what you can expect from me as a travel specialist:

> Tailored Itinerary: I understand that every traveler is unique, and I am committed to crafting a personalized itinerary that perfectly aligns with your interests, preferences, and goals for this trip.

> Local Expertise: With my extensive knowledge of travel destinations, I can provide you with insider tips, hidden gems, and must-see attractions, allowing you to immerse yourself fully in the local culture and experiences.

> Seamless Planning: I will take care of all the logistics, from booking accommodations to arranging transfers and tours, so you can relax and enjoy your journey with peace of mind.

> 24/7 Support: Should you ever have questions, need assistance, or face any unexpected situations during your travels, I am just a call or message away, ready to provide the support you need."

Please share a unique travel experience you will never forget.

"I traveled from India to Nepal, for 26 hours by bus. During my journey, I had fun with other passengers, talking, singing, etc. I also witnessed the natural beauty of mountains, rivers, forests, etc. The best part of my trip was when I visited the city of Kathmandu wearing the ethnic dress called "Daura Suruwal". "

Vaseem is part of the following groups: France Travel Agents
Top itineraries and travel advice
Family itineraries
Luxury itineraries
Road trip itineraries
Honeymoon itineraries

Favorite experiences

Kayak in Calanques National Park

Set just outside of Marseille, you'll find the scenic Calanques National Park. This is one of Europe's newer protected areas, as it was established in 2012. It's unique in that it comprises over 100,000 acres (520 sq km) between Marseilles and the seaside town of La Ciotat, protecting both land...

Montmartre & Sacré Coeur Walking Tour

As one of the true must-see neighborhoods of Paris, Montmartre offers a romantic glimpse into an era when raucous cabarets, bohemian soirées, and unbridled creativity were the norm. You'll transport back to those days and learn about the origins of the Moulin Rouge, the majesty of the Sacré Coeur...

Avignon & the Pope's Palace Walking Tour

Explore the historical center of Avignon on a walking tour with a passionate local. You'll start by climbing to the top of the fortified medieval city walls, enjoying a view of Avignon stretching along the Rhône River. As you walk, listen to stories and facts about the rich historical past of...

Recent trip reviews for Vaseem

We had a wonderful time in France. Vaseem, Lu...
France | Mar 4 - Mar 13, 2024

Emily
Emily T.
Deer Valley, AZ | Reviewed on Mar 14, 2024
We had a wonderful time in France. Vaseem, Lucie, and Audrey took good care of us and helped us navigate our first trip abroad as a family of four. The highlight of our trip was Paris. We loved the guided museum tours and especially loved our Pastry Tour of Le Marais with Rachelle! Read more

We had a wonderful time in France. Vaseem, Lucie, and Audrey took good care of us and helped us navigate our first trip abroad as a family of four. The highlight of our trip was Paris. We loved the guided museum tours and especially loved our Pastry Tour of Le Marais with Rachelle!

Hotel Reviews
Hotel de l'Amphithéâtre

It was very quiet and the staff were all friendly. A bit dated but charming.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Disney Sequoia Lodge

The lobby and restaurants with breakfast buffet were great. The rooms are very dated and the beds a bit uncomfortable.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Ten minute walk to the parks.
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Activity Reviews
Visit of the Eiffel Tower with access to the summit
Visit of the Eiffel Tower with access to the summit
Paris

The views from the top are incredible!

French macaron bakery class for families
French macaron bakery class for families
Paris

The location of the class was very cool, we had no idea we would be in Les Galeries Lafayette. It was nice and quiet in the baking room but not totally sure it was worth our time if I’m being honest. Not super interactive for our 5 and 7 year old.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Louvre Treasure Hunt
Louvre Treasure Hunt
Paris

The Louvre is overwhelming but we were thankful to have Claire as a guide. She had a fun game for the kids to hunt for specific parts of paintings which kept them engaged. We were not prepared and the kids were thirsty and hungry and water was not easily accessible in the museum. With that aside it was a great time!

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Guided visit, wine and olive oil tasting at Chateau Romanin
Guided visit, wine and olive oil tasting at Chateau Romanin
France

Lovely winery, knowledgeable staff and stunning scenery!

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Self-guided exploration of Aigues-Mortes and Safari in Camargue
Self-guided exploration of Aigues-Mortes and Safari in Camargue
France

While the driver was so sweet and friendly, this tour just missed the mark for us. The advertised photos are a bit misleading. There are no wild horses in France as our guide informed us, we drove around to fenced in horses, a very cool salt marsh, some flamingos, and a fenced in bull pen. There was no tasting of local products, we were late due to an issue with weather, but I don’t believe it would have been included either way.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Day in Disneyland Paris
Day in Disneyland Paris
France
Half day visit to the Royal Versailles with transfers
Half day visit to the Royal Versailles with transfers
Paris
Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Pastry Tour of Le Marais
Pastry Tour of Le Marais
Paris

This was a hit with all four of us, Rachelle was kind, knowledgeable, and a not bit gimmicky. We had a wonderful time with her and didn’t want it to end! Also, the pastries were delicious!

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Local specialist: Vaseem Akaram

Fantastique experience
France | Oct 12 - Oct 24, 2023

J
Jeffrey S.
Rolling Meadows, IL | Reviewed on Nov 13, 2023
This trip was several weeks in the making. There were some changes along the way and all booked and suggested experiences were spectacular. Vaseem was patient and took a lot of pride in making sure that my wife and I saw France through the same bright lens he saw through.
Each day was thoughtfully planned. Not hurried, we were able to explore at a decent pace. There was careful consideration given to daily and weekly activities. We used the underground, Uber, bicycles when we were not able...
Read more

This trip was several weeks in the making. There were some changes along the way and all booked and suggested experiences were spectacular. Vaseem was patient and took a lot of pride in making sure that my wife and I saw France through the same bright lens he saw through.
Each day was thoughtfully planned. Not hurried, we were able to explore at a decent pace. There was careful consideration given to daily and weekly activities. We used the underground, Uber, bicycles when we were not able to explore on foot.
All accommodations were excellent as were the ease of being able to download tickets or directions as we proceeded. Vaseem checked in on occasion and minor adjustments were able to be made in real time.
Thank you for a most memorable experience. Thank you Vaseem, thank you KimKim. Most professional.

Local specialist: Vaseem Akaram
Vaseem
Vaseem Akaram
Local specialist in Montpellier, France | Replied on Jan 08, 2024

Hi Jeffrey,

Happy New Year!

Thank you so much for your lovely feedback. Thank you for trusting Kimkim and providing us with the opportunity to organize a wonderful trip for you both. It was really a great pleasure to organize your trip to France and so good to know that you had a great time here.

I wish you both all the best!

Best regards,
Vaseem

A lovely trip but please be more transparent about costs.
France | Oct 5 - Oct 18, 2023

J
Joy W.
Nicetown-Tioga, PA | Reviewed on Oct 25, 2023
We had a lovely trip. I do have a couple of reservations, which I'll talk about below. First, I should say that Vaseem was very responsive and helpful. We probably contacted him more than he would wish while we were traveling! We did find one of the hotel rooms quite cramped, and we don't think 15 square meters should be called "spacious" for a couple, especially with a huge bed taking up most of it. But my main reservation is about the Kimkim model in which buyers get no breakdown of costs.... Read more

We had a lovely trip. I do have a couple of reservations, which I'll talk about below.

First, I should say that Vaseem was very responsive and helpful. We probably contacted him more than he would wish while we were traveling! We did find one of the hotel rooms quite cramped, and we don't think 15 square meters should be called "spacious" for a couple, especially with a huge bed taking up most of it. But my main reservation is about the Kimkim model in which buyers get no breakdown of costs. This makes it very hard to tell whether we are getting reasonable value for the money, and to weigh and choose different elements. We chose to reduce the level of hotels, but in retrospect might have dropped some of the private pickups instead. These were very uneven in service. On the plus side, all the drivers were on time. But we expected help with luggage (being rather old), and while some were great about this, one young fellow in Lyon led us on a long bag drag without offering help, just peeking around occasionally to see if we were trailing along behind. We passed a line of taxis we would have loved to jump into instead.

We greatly enjoyed the Beaujolais wine tour with Eddie and Roman history tour with David. For each of the tours we were given inaccurate information about the meeting place and time, which led to some unnecessary worry and inconvenience. We liked most of the hotels, except for getting luggage up and down spiral staircases. The most charming was in Montpellier (luckily the kind concierge gave us a room in the portion of the hotel with an elevator, so there was only a little bit of spiral staircase). Our hostess in Avignon was extremely helpful with advice about sights and restaurants.

Anyway, thank you to Vaseem and the tour guides. To Kimkim management, please be more transparent about costs. I know we're not the only travelers who want this.

Hotel Reviews
Best Western Hotel Le Guilhem
Montpellier

This is a charming old hotel, with a lovely patio and terrace for breakfast. It does have spiral staircases in spots, so could be a challenge with heavy luggage or mobility limitations. The location in the old city is great, though on a small street that's a challenge for cars.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Staff were helpful with arranging an accessible room for us, as well as taxi service.
Cleanliness & Comfort
The room had a tea table with chairs looking out at the cathedral, as well as a daybed.
Garlande Hotel
Avignon

This is a charming hotel with a wonderful hostess who offered us lots of great advice. The spiral stairs are a challenge for those with heavy luggage or limited mobility. It's in a pedestrian zone.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Right in the center of the historic city.
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Local specialist: Vaseem Akaram
Vaseem
Vaseem Akaram
Local specialist in Montpellier, France | Replied on Nov 03, 2023
Hi Joy, Thank you for trusting Kimkim and providing us with the opportunity to organize a trip for you. It is good to know that you had a lovely trip. It was a pleasure to see you in Montpellier. Again, please accept my sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused to you during your stay in France. As soon as you informed me about this inconvenience, I talked to the manager of the hotel. I am sorry that the room could not have been upgraded due to full occupancy. Concerning your... Read more

Hi Joy,

Thank you for trusting Kimkim and providing us with the opportunity to organize a trip for you.

It is good to know that you had a lovely trip. It was a pleasure to see you in Montpellier.

Again, please accept my sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused to you during your stay in France. As soon as you informed me about this inconvenience, I talked to the manager of the hotel. I am sorry that the room could not have been upgraded due to full occupancy.

Concerning your meeting point in Lyon, let me tell you that for a private tour, the pick-up is from the accommodation of the traveler, but for all small group tours, generally, the pick-up location is a tourism office or central square (which was indicated to you) of the city. I am sorry that the meeting point for your guided tour in Lyon was a square which made your meeting with the guide inconvenient. I have noted it down for future tours. Your feedback will help to improve the services.

Your concern about the 8-minute delay in pick up for the tour in Avignon and concern about not offering help for carrying your luggage with the driver in Lyon had been taken into account on the day you informed me during your trip. I talked to our local operator and advised them not to repeat this with future travelers.

Thank you again for trusting Kimkim

I wish you both all the best!
Best regards,
Vaseem

Magical trip to France
France | Sep 13 - Sep 22, 2023

Michele
Michele B.
Wolcott, CT | Reviewed on Sep 29, 2023
We had a wonderful trip. Vaseem was very responsive to our questions during the planning and throughout the entire ten days. The pastry tour, cooking class, Champagne tour and D Day beaches were the highlights of the trip. Read more

We had a wonderful trip. Vaseem was very responsive to our questions during the planning and throughout the entire ten days. The pastry tour, cooking class, Champagne tour and D Day beaches were the highlights of the trip.

Hotel Reviews
Hôtel Place du Louvre - Esprit de France
Paris

This was our favorite hotel! The staff and breakfast were amazing! The rooms were smallish yet very clean and comfortable. Can’t say enough about the staff. They were more than willing to help us with our many questions about getting from one point to another.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Central location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
HOTEL CAMPANILE REIMS CENTRE - Cathédrale
Reims

This was a lovely hotel. The staff were very accommodating and the breakfast was adequate. Really great coffee station. Rooms were clean but a little warm.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Hotel Spa Pasino
Le Havre

We stayed here just one night but the staff could not have been more accommodating. The breakfast was delicious as was the complementary drink and dinner that evening we arrived. We also enjoyed the pool and hot tub.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Chateau de Bellefontaine 4*
Bayeux

This was a very charming chateau. They let us order room service the night we arrived as we were quite late. The breakfast was delicious.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Edgar & Achille
Paris

The hotel was very lovely and decor was ultra modern. Bathrooms are very small. The breakfast was across the street at the restaurant and was really an amazing breakfast.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Did not love the location. Very far off the beaten path.
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Activity Reviews
Audio-guide visit of the Eiffel Tower with access to the summit
Audio-guide visit of the Eiffel Tower with access to the summit
Paris

I loved the visit to the Eiffel Tower at night. It was just magical.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Discovery tour of Paris by vintage car
Discovery tour of Paris by vintage car
Paris

We loved this tour! Our driver was awesome and answered our many question along the way.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Local specialist: Vaseem Akaram
Vaseem
Vaseem Akaram
Local specialist in Montpellier, France | Replied on Nov 03, 2023

Hi Michele and Lori,

Wow! Such lovely pictures of you both. It goes without saying that you had a great time in France.

Thank you for trusting Kimkim and providing us with the opportunity to organize a wonderful trip for you both. It was really a great pleasure to organize your trip to France.

I wish you both all the best!
Best regards,
Vaseem

We had the best time in France!!!
France | Sep 14 - Sep 20, 2023

Peggy
Peggy I.
Hope, ND | Reviewed on Sep 24, 2023

We had the best time in France. We worked with Vaseem. He was so helpful planning our trip. He had everything planned from picking us up at the airport, taking us to our hotel, to lining up cooking classes and booking our train tickets to wine country. We will definitely use KimKim again for future travels.

Local specialist: Vaseem Akaram
Vaseem
Vaseem Akaram
Local specialist in Montpellier, France | Replied on Sep 26, 2023

Hi Peggy and John,

Thank you so much for your lovely feedback. Thank you for trusting Kimkim and providing us with the opportunity to organize a wonderful trip for you both. It was really a great pleasure to organize your trip to France and so good to know that you had a great time here.

I wish you both all the best!

Best regards,
Vaseem

Paris June to July 2023
France | Jul 4 - Jul 13, 2023

S
Sara C.
Ossining, NY | Reviewed on Jul 14, 2023
Vaseem was great. We particularly loved Sandrine (Louvre treasure hunt) and Regis (Normandy DDay beaches). Making macarons in Montmartre was lots of fun. Timed tickets were a good idea, but, given the time, I would have booked them myself. Eiffel Tower visit was chaotic, but I wouldn't attribute that to Vaseem. The Seine cruise wasn't worth the time and money spent.
Problematically, Kimkim doesn't break down the costs of each item, which doesn't allow users to decide if they want to...
Read more

Vaseem was great. We particularly loved Sandrine (Louvre treasure hunt) and Regis (Normandy DDay beaches). Making macarons in Montmartre was lots of fun. Timed tickets were a good idea, but, given the time, I would have booked them myself. Eiffel Tower visit was chaotic, but I wouldn't attribute that to Vaseem. The Seine cruise wasn't worth the time and money spent.
Problematically, Kimkim doesn't break down the costs of each item, which doesn't allow users to decide if they want to spend money on each activity. But I can't fault Vaseem for anything. He was more than patient and accommodating.

Local specialist: Vaseem Akaram
Vaseem
Vaseem Akaram
Local specialist in Montpellier, France | Replied on Sep 26, 2023

Hi Sara,

Thank you so much for your lovely words. Thank you for trusting Kimkim to organize the activities for you, your husband, and your granddaughter. It is really good to know that your guides that were booked by us, made your days memorable. Booking the tickets in advance by Kimkim’s local specialist makes the traveler hassle-free and gives the surety of the availability, especially for the activity like Eiffel Tower which is sought-after.

Thank you again for trusting Kimkim!

I wish you both all the best!

Best regards,
Vaseem