Vicky Steinhardt

As an avid traveler, I spent some time trying to find a travel agent that would be able to plan the type of trip I wanted for my first trip
Down Under. Vicky worked with me consistently throughout the planning process. She was absolutely amazing with answering my questions, providing suggestions, and even helping with one of the tours that cancelled last minute. She was super considerate of our priorities and even was thinking of switching something to make sure my mother was happy during the trip. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Vicki and would highly recommend her plan your trip to Australia.

Vicky from Kimkim helped us setup the graduation trip of a lifetime. We had a fantastic time going from Sydney to the Hamilton Islands to Cairns and finally the Daintree Forest. The entire family really enjoyed the experience. Vicky worked with us to find the right places and she really helped with some amazing excursions and tours. Too many to name but Naomi who did the all day Sydney tour was great as well as Blue Mountain and Hunter Valley. Snorkeling and scuba diving on Great Barrier Reef in the Hamilton Islands and Cairns was something we all wanted to do and met every expectation and the some. The Silky Oaks Lodge in the Daintree Forest was also as an experience to remember and one of the nicest places we've ever stayed and the tour from Grant was a real trip. The entire family will remember this trip for a long time. One more shoutout to Vicky from kimkim who went above and beyond before and during the trip.

Hotel Review

Silky Oaks Lodge

Finlayvale

One of the best hotels we've stayed at. The place was just simply the best. The views, the resort, the furnishings, the staff and service, the food......Everything was great. I would definitely stay here again.

Authenticity & Character

Cabins nested in the jungle next to a river

Location

The Daintree.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Private Sydney Full Day Tour Including Sydney Opera House, Bondi and Manly

Sydney

Naomi gave us a great tour. Really enjoyable and memorable

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

From the first suggested itinerary all the way through to the final trip, Vicky and KimKim were wonderful to work with. In general, I love to plan and coordinate all of our family vacations; however, Australia was a daunting project given the size and logistics of what we hoped to see. I spoke with a number of agencies but felt that Vicky's vision best matched our travel style, and she happily incorporated any of the new ideas I threw into the mix. Communication was always prompt, friendly, and helpful.

Right before our travel, I asked if it would be possible to incorporate a surprise birthday cake after our full day excursion & Vicky and the hotel came through with the most beautiful cake, decorations, and a bottle of wine! It was the perfect icing to the day. Thanks Vicky for making our family trip a huge success!

We had the best trip and are so grateful to Vicky for helping us plan our itinerary! From the start, Vicky was very communicative and responsive to our questions and concerns. She provided great advice along the way, especially as we decided between excursions and activities to add to our trip.

We really enjoyed the excursions Vicky chose. There was a focus on choosing day trips with smaller groups of people, which meant we had a more personalized experience on our journeys. All of the trips chosen for us were led by amazing guides who ensured we had great experiences.

All of our travel information was shared ahead of time and we had no problems at all in any airport or with any of our tour companies. Our only regret is not having more time to explore!

We would definitely recommend using KimKim to plan your vacation!

Hotel Review

Laneways by Ovolo

Melbourne

This hotel was great- it was a perfect landing pad for us. We were out and about most of the time, but we had a lot of space to ourselves and found ourselves right in the middle of a lot of great restaurants, coffee shops, and points of interest. The staff was so lovely.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It's central to so many great restaurants and destinations. Extremely easy to maneuver the city by foot.

Staff

Chris welcomed us in after our 14-hour flight and helped us check in early so we could settle in. When she found out it was our honeymoon trip, we came back to the room to a complimentary bottle of champagne and some candies! Everybody was so lovely and we really appreciated how much they cared for us.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Great Ocean Road Scenic Tour

Melbourne

We really appreciated the small group size for this trip. We felt our guide was really knowledgeable about the area and we were given a good amount of time to visit each location. Along the way, we saw kangaroos from afar and also spotted some koalas in various areas! It was really exciting to see and a really nice day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

AMAZING trip of a Lifetime!
Working with Vicky was a pleasure. I was going to Australia to see birds. That was my #1 priority. Because of that I did some reaserch first. Vicky took my suggestions and augmented them with great options. In the end my birding tour with Del Richards (Fine Feather Tours) was perfect! Since we were near the Great Barrier Reef we HAD to go snorkling we also wanted a mountain bike ride. Vicky found us the most amazing tours! We went snorkling with a small family owned business ABC Snorkel Charters. They had prescription goggles to use and wetsuites. The team was so knowledgable and friendly. She found us Biked tours for mountain biking, e had Glen as our guide. He was all in for biking and birding!!!!! all 3 tours were really good! we stayed at the Silkari Lagoons for part of the time. It was an apartment with laundry and a kitchen! And Finaly - Fancy at the Thala Nature Reserve - WOW! what an amazing beautiful place! We had breakfast and dinner included so did not have to worry about anything!

Hotel Reviews

Silkari Lagoons Port Douglas

Port Douglas

This was a lovely hotel. We stayed in an apartment so had access to laundry and a kitchen. Very conviently located in Port Douglas. Silkari does not have restraunt - But they partner with the Ramada next door with discounts at dinner and breakfast! Very comfortable, I would stay there again!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right on the main road to all the food and activitys

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Thala Beach Nature Reserve

Oak Beach

BEAUTIFUL place to stay! It is out of the way and in its own space. They have a great restaurant with yummy dinners and breakfast! The rooms are individual cabins in the rainforest which was really wonderful and private. So relaxing and comfortable. They have miles of trails/tracks on the reserve. You want to be sure to have a day to just stay on the property!

Authenticity & Character

Location

So Great - It is out of the way and private

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Bump Track Port Douglas - Mountain Biking

Port Douglas

What a BLAST! We had Glen to guide us for the day. We had a great time. We choose a long ride (40km) so I loved having an electric bike. My husband used a standard bike and was soo happy with the ride. We went through many ecosystems, the differences were really neat. Glen even humored us and we did birding and biking. woo hoo. The equiptment was all in top shape. The logistics were well thought out. We all earned our beer on the beach at the end!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

ABC Snorkel Charters Port Douglas Snorkelling max 12 passengers

Port Douglas

LOVED LOVED LOVED This day! Everything about ABC Snorkel Charters was amazing. The crew were very professional and knowledgeable. They had Prescription Goggles!!!!! That is a HUGE game changer! They also fed us snacks and lunch. Every step of the way we were asked if we had questions or concerns. They always want us to be comfortable and safe. Best of all their knowledge of the Great Barrier Reef. We were taken to the most incredible places and saw the most beautiful reef and fish! This IS the company to go with to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef!!!!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

When you go on a trip to a faraway place it is great to be able to have someone working close to the locale to put together various tours, tickets, lodging, transportation options and a well thought out agenda that meets your needs. Even more important, especially when there are so many different vendors and moving pieces, is that when something goes wrong - and inevitably something *will* go wrong - there is someone who is quick, responsive, kind, caring and capable to manage things and smooth out those bumps. This was very much the case working with Vicky on our Australia trip. We were traveling with a diverse group of 4 people: myself, my wife, our 28yo son who is on the autistic spectrum and my 85yo mother who is 85yo! We were travelling to Oz for our niece's wedding and wanted to work up a tour of major attractions on the East Coast around that given that once you're there, you had best stick around and check out the wonders of the place. Vicky worked with us to build up a trip plan with sufficient activity for our son, sufficient rest days for my mother and sufficient highlights for us all to remember. She connected us with private and small group tours all with excellent guides and she set up comfortable accommodations throughout. She was also mindful of our budgetary limitations and worked with us once we arrived to tweak, adjust and troubleshoot as necessary. The bumps were few but when they happened, they were quickly resolved, and the entire trip has provided a lifetime of memories for us all. I found kimkim/vio through an internet search and Vicky through random assignment, but I do feel like I won the lottery on the whole experience.

I'm not usually the “book through a tour” type but this was my first time traveling to the other side of the world and I didn’t want to leave things to my planning chances. It was a gamble and I am so glad I took it! From the initial planning phases everything was a breeze. Vicky mapped everything out according to our budget and preferences and tweaked everything we wanted to fully customize the trip to our desire. She was fully available during the trip providing updates on your changes and even making changes we requested during the trip.

Our tours were all exceptional and we experienced so much more by utilizing this service than I could’ve dreamed of planning myself! Each tour guide was unique and offered so much information and knowledge on the different days. We were the lone hikers in Sydney which was a nice break and allowed us to take in the scenes quietly. Queenstown was breathtaking and the LOTR tour was actually a way more fun experience than expected (and was a good mix of film stuff and non film stuff for those of us who aren’t die hards). Who knew I’d like NZ wines so much too? Cairns was a different vibe and completely different climate but it was nice to be tropical! And I’m so glad I worked with Vicky on the ordering of that piece of the tour for that reason!

I only wish I could’ve stayed another week to see even more. Wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you Vicky & the Kimkim team.

During the trip we had to making some changes and Vicky was readily available and putting the effort forth that created an amazing experience with little hiccups. She was extremely attentive to changes, and ensured that we were abelk to complete everything we wanted to do at all the different locations we went to thorughout the tirp. There was maintenance on one of the items that caused her to have to reorganize our trip pretty last minute. She did amazing handling these changes!

She managed to fit everything we wanted to do and add suggestions for us in a 12 day trip to Australia which was already amazing and allowed us to enjoy our trip stress free!

Hotel Reviews

Pullman Port Douglas Sea Temple Resort & Spa

Port Douglas

Off the beaten path, really good for someone seeking a quiet vacation full of poolside relaxing. The hotel was amazing, the room was bueatiful and guest service was amazing. However the breakfast was the same everyday, and for us it was a bit to far off the path.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rhapsody Resort

Surfers Paradise

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Premium Guided Dive Trip - Outer Great Barrier Reef

Port Douglas

The dive instructor only handles small dive groups of around 4 people max, it ended up being just myself and partner on our introductory dive. It was phenomnial and everyone was amazing.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vicky was amazing before and during the trip. I have worked with many travel agents in the past, but she was by far the most responsive and attentive agent I have used. All of our questions were answered quickly and comprehensively, which led to a very relaxing trip very far from home. We both felt very safe and secure knowing that if anything went wrong, vicky would have been there to help immediately. I have recommended her to a few of my friends and family because she was amazing.

Hotel Reviews

Pullman Port Douglas Sea Temple Resort & Spa

Port Douglas

We had a very nice room that had a private pool. Food was difficult to come by at the resort and transfers are needed to and from port douglas since it is too far to walk (~3 miles). Staff was great, spa was relaxing

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Emporium Hotel South Bank

South Brisbane

Super luxurious hotel close to brisbanes central business district. Very beautiful area to walk around with a lot of good diverse food options. The spa was AMAZING, and definitely better after a long plane ride. 10 times out of 10 I would stay in this hotel right when I land in australia. The rooftop restaurant was good, but a little expensive for the portions they give you. Drinks are their bread and butter there, made very strong.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rhapsody Resort

Surfers Paradise

Very good location in relation to the boardwalk. We spent a lot of time riding the electric bikes and there was a station right outside the hotel so we could ride up and down the boardwalk easy. A fair amount of construction around the building, which should clear up eventually. The sheets were alright, could be a little more comfortable, but the view was amazing. Theres a convenience store connected to the hotel at ground level which had lots of options for food we liked.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and Brisbane River Cruise

Brisbane

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Great Barrier Reef Sailing and Snorkeling Cruise from Port Douglas

Port Douglas

Quality of Experience

Quality of Experience

Food

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transport

Croc Express to Australia Zoo

Gold Coast

Loved the australia zoo, ride there was a little bit long though. About 3 hours there and back from the gold coast.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Premium Guided Dive Trip - Outer Great Barrier Reef

Port Douglas

Absolutely breathtaking. Our guide was super attentive and made sure myself and my fiancé understood the trip and how to dive. It was her first time diving and she ended up loving it. The guide was awesome

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This was our first experience with Kikmim, following directly on their Exploring 6-days Australia tour. My husband and I are delighted to give Vicky at Kimkim an "excellent" rating on this tour. From initial contact, to booking, to superb coordination by the tour organizers, the excellent knowledge and wonderful humor of our guides, and the selection of tour sites, the trip was organized and run smoothly and with the interests and comfort of the participants always kept in mind. They are by far the best tour operator we have traveled with.

Hotel Reviews

Vibe Hotel

Melbourne

Location is very good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vibe Hotel

Sydney

Good location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Holiday Inn Cairns Harbourside, an IHG Hotel

Cairns North

Little bit far from the pier and downtown areas.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Great Ocean Road Scenic Tour

Melbourne

Amazing tour and fabulous experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private City Kickstart Tour: Melbourne

Melbourne

Our tour was cancelled without a notice.