Wendy Romero

Overall the trip was fantastic. Especially all the help with the Airlines and basically anything else that I needed. The only couple of things that I would change is the hotel in Pasto and in Bogota on the last night. The hotel in Pasto was ok but incredibly loud and the room didn't have a window, AC, fan anything so it was just hot and bad air. When you drive through the student district there are a bunch of restaurants there and hotels that would be more fun to stay in and have the opportunity to go out. The hotel in Bogota that I am talking about is the last night. Again just had a window but with the airplanes you couldn't have it open. No toilet paper in there, towels etc again which is ok because I know it was booked for the convenience of being able to get to the airport early.

One other thing that I would add is the guides need to be more clear on what days they will be with you and for what times. This may be an American thing but I wanted to tip the driver and guide at the end of the time that I would be with them so each day I would ask...are you with me tomorrow? Sometimes they would say yes, sometimes it was just the driver etc. Again non of this is a problem but for me to tip I want to tip at the end of the journey not each day. With that being said it was hard to make sure I had the right amount of cash on hand not knowing what day the guide would leave or if I had the same driver daily. Hopefully that makes sense.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Cuellars

San Juan de Pasto

The hotel was loud and hot. No air in the rooms and not even a window to open. You could hear someone on the phone from 3 doors down. I would of rather stayed in the student district than here.

Authenticity & Character

The hotel handled more large groups with music and meetings than feeling like you were at a local nice hotel.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Habitel

Bogotá

No toilet paper, no towels just not ready to stay in. There was a window but you couldn't keep it open because of the planes so the room was hot.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Took a very long time to check out in the morning especially being at 2AM and me being the only one there.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Volcano Mud & The Pink Sea

Cartagena

This was sold as the Pink Sea but in reality its a man made salt production that has no reason to go to. It was a waste of a day in my mind and I would tell everyone going to skip it.

Quality of Experience

Food

Finally got taken to a real restaurant after asking multiple times and it is so much better than the tourist food.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

11 day trip to Medellin, Pereira and Cartagena. The experience was wonderful. Wendy was extremely helpful and accommodating during the planning and in our communications while we were traveling. All of our guides were amazing! Lina in Medellin was so engaging and excited about us learning all about her city; she was so great with our 2 children, making the experience fun for them too! Natalia, in Pereira, was prompt and easy going for our relaxing time in the coffee region. Our private horseback riding tour at La Maria was an experience we will never forget! What a view! And Carolina in Cartagena was diligent in making sure we saw and tried everything the city had to offer. This was our first experience with Kimkim so we did not know what to expect; the experience was seamless! All of the transfers were waiting for us and there was never a single issue; everyone was so accommodating and cheerful. Thank you for our awesome family vacation!

Wendy, our local operator, planned the entire trip flawlessly and made sure to stay in touch with us before, during, and after our visit to ensure our well-being. The guides, who were all exceptional, showed great flexibility and knowledge. Luis gave us a wonderful tour of Bogota, while Juan led us through Leticia and the Amazonas, preparing us well for hikes in the rainforest and going above and beyond to ensure our enjoyment. Our visit to Colombia was unforgettable, and we are grateful to Wendy, Luis, Juan, and the local guides in the forest for creating such wonderful memories.

Overall we enjoyed the trip thoroughly. ALL the staff including Wendy, Andrea, Andreas, Martin, and, everyone were knowledgeable, kind, caring and very attentive to our special needs. Aside from the physical strains of walking hills where unavoidable, we have no complaints. The hotel in Bogota (Sofitel) was a gem and we loved it. However, the same cannot be said for Park 10 (Medellin). This was one of the WORST places I have ever stayed. It was exactly the opposite of what we had requested. These people were very kind and tried to help, but have no idea how to operate a hotel. We had NO hot water most of the time, no one could adjust the A/C so that we were not cold all the time, no one could get the TV (Direct TV) to produce anything but Spanish speaking channels, numerous technical issues which never were resolved, etc. The original hotel would have been great except the brochure does not mention that most rooms could only be accessed by long, steep, dangerous stairways with no railings. When none of the rooms we were supposed to get were available they were of no help in accommodating us. Really ruined a good part of our stay in Medellin.
So after this long litany of complaints, let me conclude by thanking your entire organization for providing us with a wonderful memory of our anniversary in your beautiful country, with its kind people and welcoming spirit.

I had a wonderful trip to Colombia, and I am so happy that I worked with KimKim to plan this experience. I had three wonderful city guides in Bogota, Santa Marta, and Medellin. I also had a number of hiking guides for various outdoor excursions in Bogota and on the trek to Ciudad Perdida. Each guide was extremely well-informed and did a great job sharing the history and culture of the place along with time for me to just enjoy and take it all in. The trip was a great balance between activities and free time: I was so happy to have a series of scheduled activities, but I was also glad to have plenty of time to myself to make my own plans or to explore the cities I was in. I wholeheartedly recommend booking through KimKim and working with Wendy and her team in Colombia!

Not knowing much about this vibrant country we really needed some guidance and KimKim with the assistance of Wendy really helped us. We arrived and left the country stress-free! All arrangements were exactly as per the trip plan.
Highlights:
Street Food tour in Cartagena under the guidance of Willy Gutierrez
Sends Koguiwa Hotel next to Tayrona Park
Tours in and around Bogota under the excellent guidance of Daniel Espejo
Thanks KimKim and Wendy for helping in making our visit memorable!

Activity Reviews

Magical Sunset and Dinner from a Cartagena Island

Cartagena

Not really a sunset cruise as we left at 7pm when it was already dark. Food not very tasty. Very friendly reception and views from the boat was nice. Gave an idea of the layout of Cartagena.

Quality of Experience

Actually leaving at sunset. Better food!

Food

Not tasty at all

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly and very helpful

Transport

On-time, clean, safe

Discover the Magical City of Cartagena & Getsemaní

Cartagena

This tour covered the most important parts of Cartagena and is definitely worthwhile.

Quality of Experience

Covers the most important sights of Cartagena

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Everybody was very friendly and helpful

Transport

Clean, safe

Street Food Tour

Cartagena

We had an excellent guide who made the experience extra special. Stopped at about 6 street vendors including a visit to an emerald shop.

Quality of Experience

Variety of street-food under excellent guidance

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Professional, knowledgeable, friendly and well-spoken guide

Barú & the Rosario Islands

Colombia

Interesting excursion although not what we really expected. Being a national park, we expected serene beauty but the area is actually very build-up. There were also a lot of boats arriving from Cartagena making the beaches and snorkeling very crowded. We did go during a national holiday weekend, so maybe that made the crowds even worse?

Quality of Experience

Crowded, build-up not very pristine.

Food

Tasteless and poor presentation

Guides, Drivers and Staff

As always friendly

Transport

Clean, safe

Hiking in the Tayrona National Park

Colombia

This is a beautiful park with beautiful vegetation and beaches. Beware that there is only one trail that everybody takes. It was very crowded and at times we came to a complete standstill. After about an hour the crowd spread a bit. Then it was more pleasant.

Quality of Experience

I would suggest timed-entrance to alleviate the congestion.

Food

Tasty meal on the beach

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly

Transport

Clean, safe

Discover La Candelaria & The Monserrate Hill

Colombia

This tour covers the most important sights and museums of Bogota. Highly recommended.

Quality of Experience

Well-timed visit to views and museums.

Food

Excellent down town restaurant with delicious local food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Excellent, well spoken and knowledgeable guide

Transport

Clean, safe

The Salt Cathedral & Zipaquirá

Colombia

A very interesting visit to a unique site. Worth visiting.

Quality of Experience

Uniqueness of this site

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledgeable and well spoken.

Transport

Clean, safe

Guatavita Lake

Bogotá

Definitely with the visit. Interesting history and beautiful nature.

Quality of Experience

Views, historical importance, nature

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledgeable, friendly

Transport

Clean, safe

Our trip to Cartagena was great. We wanted an exotic getaway (without the kids) and since we did not have a lot of time to research and plan, we decided to use KimKim. Our local specialist, Wendy was very easy to work with. We discussed our plans initially over a call then everything else was handled via messages. Wendy was very responsive to our needs regarding our itinerary and settled on a 5 day trip that was a great mix of down time and exploration/tour time. A day or two before our trip we got all the contact details we needed. We were picked up the the airport and later at the hotel for various outings. We never once was left wondering what was happening or felt unsafe.

Our city guide Roberto and snorkelling/nature guide Philipe Louis were awesome - not pushy, providing lots of fun conversation and information. Dean our local coordinator was always reachable whenever we had questions. In our 5 days, we did a city walking tour, a drum safari/workshop, a trip to the market and a full day at the Rosario islands. We felt we were able to get in touch with a more local side of Cartagena. Something most tourist would not experience. All in all, a very memorable trip. Thanks to everyone involved!!