CK41 Tours

Everything was so easy. All of my transportation was arranged. Every guide I met in each location was helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable. They went out of their way to help me get plenty of pictures on our tours. When I ran into a flight delay due to weather, Bella immediately helped rearrange my ground transportation and room accommodations and really helped turn it all into a minor inconvenience rather than a major travel setback. The location choices and excursions were thoughtful. I had a wonderful trip and it couldn't have been easier to arrange all of it.

Tina planned an amazing 8-day trip for my group across Bangkok and Phuket, and overall, we had a truly great experience. The itinerary was full, well-organized, and we made incredible memories together.
For the Bangkok portion, our tour guide Leenna was wonderful. She was knowledgeable, kind, and gave us the perfect amount of information without overwhelming us. We also loved having the same driver throughout our time in Bangkok — it made everything smooth and stress-free.
There were a couple of areas that could be improved for future travelers. Several parts of the itinerary mentioned stopping by temples, but it wasn’t clearly stated that we would be entering them. Because of that, we weren’t prepared with the proper attire and ended up having to purchase clothing almost every day. It would be really helpful for clients to know ahead of time when temple attire is required.
When we arrived in Phuket, our guide Ben was very sweet, but she talked a lot, to the point where it became a bit overwhelming and didn’t allow us the autonomy to just enjoy and soak in the beauty of Phuket at our own pace. We still had an amazing time at all of our excursions — everything we did was incredible — but the guiding style felt a little intense at times.
Another small challenge was that in Phuket we did not have one consistent driver, and we weren’t given advance information each day about who our driver would be. Not knowing who to look for during pickups was nerve-wracking at times, so having either a consistent driver or clearer daily communication would make a big difference.
Despite those minor issues, the trip was truly amazing overall. We had a fantastic time, created beautiful memories, and I’m very happy we went. Thank you to Tina for helping us plan such a memorable adventure!

Overall: Our trip to Thailand was an incredible experience with many once-in-a-lifetime experiences. I gave the trip 4 stars out of 5 mainly because the Ko Phi Phi portion wasn’t for us and if we had it to do over again we would have spent time at a different location. This is not a reflection of KimKim and the outstanding service provided, but our lack of research. We would use KimKim again and highly recommend KimKim without hesitation. KimKim did an excellent job coordinating a great itinerary and logistics were excellent with a couple of minor issues - one pickup was delayed substantially and required calling KimKim. Tina, our itinerary coordinator was exceptional - always available to answer questions and help with any issues that came our way. We will definitely use KimKim for future trips.

This review will cover each of the itinerary items in detail. But overall the itinerary was a great collection of activities. We really appreciated having all the airport transfers organized ahead of time-this relieved a lot of stress. A couple of issues to point out: the itinerary was probably too fast paced for us - in one case we had to cancel an activity because we needed a bit more leisure time to recover from travel. Also, scheduling a 3 hour tour of temples, in the heat of the day, immediately after arriving at our hotel after a morning of travel was not desirable. We understand there is a desire by KimKim to fit in as many activities as possible.

Day 1 - Arrival in Bangkok
Pickup at the airport was without issue. The airport was quite busy (as expected!) with many groups being picked up. However, we were connected with KimKim and transported to our hotel relatively quickly. Our hotel, the Quarter Ari, was quite nice and our suite fit our family well. Pickup required meeting multiple family members at the airport at different times and KimKim’s flexibility in supporting multiple pickups was nice.

Day 2 - Walking Tour of Bangkok
We were greeted by our tour guide, Betty, in the morning (right on time). Betty was fantastic, one of the best tour guides we’ve had, not only on this tour but any. Betty took us on tours of temples, the recently opened Grand Palace, and the flower market and weekend market. The tours were great and Betty was a fount of knowledge, explaining many historical and contemporary facts relating to Bangkok and Thailand.

Day 3 - Floating Market, Railway Market, and Chinatown
We met Betty and our driver in the lobby of our hotel in the morning right on time to drive to the Floating Market and Railway Market. The Floating Market was great. The Railway Market was a bit cramped for what we wanted at the time.

One note: with Floating Market and Railway Markets back-to-back we didn’t have time for lunch so got a late lunch (~3:00pm) when we were back at the hotel. However, when it came time to eat in China town we weren’t hungry - fitting in time for a lunch meal earlier would have been better.

China town was very interesting, but probably too crowded for us after a long day (and the day before), and as mentioned we weren’t hungry for the dinner Betty bought for us. We got our first taste of mango sticky rice which was delicious!

Day 4 - Travel to Chiang Mai and Temple Tours and Flower Market
Travel to Chiang Mai went perfectly. Our driver met us at the hotel and transported us to the airport on time. Pick up at the Chiang Mai airport was also seamless. However, when we arrived at our hotel we were immediately greeted by our guide to take us on tours of the historic Chiang Mai temples. It would have been much better to provide an open afternoon after our arrival to adjust to Chiang Mai and our hotel the Phra Singh - which was excellent (probably the best hotel of all that we stayed at). One of our group decided to skip the tour because they needed to rest. Also, to be honest our guide was not good for the temple tour. He was a very nice man, but his English was difficult to understand, and he often didn’t respond to our questions because it seemed he had difficulty understanding us. The Flower Market was nice, but not much compared to the one in Bangkok, so maybe this could have been skipped.

Overall, Chiang Mai was incredible. Great laid back vibe, with a lot of art and culture. Could have stayed an extra day.

Day 5 - Grandma’s Cooking Class

Met our driver and departed for the cooking class on time. Grandma’s cooking class was excellent. The Chef/Instructor was great - spoke great english and was very enthusiastic and effective at managing and teaching the class. When my daughter burned her finger he was very attentive. Highly recommended.

In the afternoon, because we were quite tired we canceled the Temple and Hill Tribes tour.

Day 6 - Elephant Sanctuary

Met our driver on time for a nice drive to the Elephant Sanctuary. The tour of the sanctuary was great. The guide was excellent, introducing us to the elephants, their behavior, and the philosophy of the sanctuary. Recommended.
In the afternoon, several of us had wonderful massages at the spa across from the hotel.

Day 7 - Travel to Phuket

Travel to the Chiang Mai airport for our flight to Phuket was uneventful. Tina helped us check in to our flight and provided all necessary booking information. Pickup at the Phuket airport was a bit delayed requiring us to call Tina to inquire about who would be meeting us. The Novotel Hotel was nice. It would have been nicer had we requested a room with a view. We also would consider upgrading hotels in the future.

Day 8 - John Gray’s - Hong By Starlight

To be honest we were dreading the fact that this event was scheduled to go from 10:00a - 9:00p. But this activity was fantastic - probably the highlight of our trip. The islands were incredible, John Gray’s did an outstanding job as tour guides and navigating the sea kayak’s. Food was some of the best on the trip, and the sunset, starlight tour with bioluminescence was absolutely magical. Highly, highly recommended.

Day 9 - Leisure day

It was great to have a leisure day.

Day 10 - 12 Ko Phi Phi

I’ll review Ko Phi Phi overall as there weren’t many separate activities other than the Scuba Diving which was excellent. Although, to be honest other than the diving, Ko Phi Phi wasn’t really for us as we were looking for more of a beach experience.

Travel to Phi Phi via ferry was on time. Tina provided us with the booking information, check in and travel went without incident with our hotel reps picking us up at the pier. ChaoKo PhiPhi had a couple of issues. While the hotel grounds and facilities were nice if spartan, our rooms faced trashy alleyways and one room smelled to the point that we needed to change rooms, which took over a day. It didn’t appear there were any hotels on the island that were any better - so were we to do it again we would probably find an alternate destination rather than Phi Phi.

The scuba diving was exceptional. Blue Water Divers was excellent, friendly, safe, thorough. Highly recommended.

Day 13 - Travel to Bangkok

Travel on day 13 was long - speed boat to Phuket pier, pier to airport, flight to bangkok, ride to Hotel, all of which took the entire day. Travel was uneventful and well coordinated by Tina. One note: we took a speed boat from Phi Phi to Phuket which was very rough (in part due to the weather). But the speed boat might not be for everyone, especially those who get sea sick.

Day 14 - Shopping in Bangkok, Traveling back to the U.S.

It was nice to explore Bangkok a bit more and do some shopping. Travel to the airport was uneventful. The departing flight was on time.

Hotel Reviews

ChaoKoh Phi Phi Hotel and Resort

Krabi

Nice hotel in a great location. However our room had a view of a trashy alleyway and our second room had a smell that required moving rooms. Staff was not particularly friendly.

Authenticity & Character

Reflected the culture of Phi Phi

Location

Right in the center of Ko Phi Phi

Staff

Could have been nicely and more responsive, required two days and multiple complaints about a bad smelling room for any response.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean except for the smell.

Novotel Phuket Kamala Beach

Phuket

Very nice hotel on a great beach location. Great service, in hotel restaurant. But we would have liked a room with a view.

Authenticity & Character

Seemed to capture Phuket nicely.

Location

Great beach, not too far from shopping.

Staff

Friendly, attentive

Cleanliness & Comfort

We would have liked a room with a view.

Phra Singh Village

Chiang Mai

We loved this hotel. Great staff and service, great location. Tucked away in a private alley for privacy.

Authenticity & Character

Historic character

Location

Right in the heart of old town Chiang Mai

Staff

Very friendly and attentive.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean

The Quarter Ari by UHG

Bangkok

This was a great hotel in a great location. Very friendly service.

Authenticity & Character

Great modern Thai character.

Location

Great shopping and restaurants in vicinity

Staff

Very friendly and attentive.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean

Activity Reviews

2 Fun Dives for Certified Divers

Ko Phi Phi

The diving was amazing and diving company and divemaster/guide was amazing. Unfortunately one of the two diver opted not to dive. Also, there was no need to pay for the park fees ahead of time.

Quality of Experience

Amazing diver with a great diving company

Food

Great lunch of fried rice.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Staff was very friendly. Divemaster was great. Orientation was thorough.

Transport

Great boat ride out to dive site.

John Gray's - Hong by Starlight

Phuket

This was the highlight of our entire trip to Thailand.

Quality of Experience

Amazing experience - staff and guides were amazing. Food was equally good.

Food

Some of the best Thai food we had during our entire Trip.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Amazing guides.

Transport

Perfect

Elephant Nature Park Visit

Chiang Mai

Great visit to the Elephant Nature Park. It was amazing to interact with the Elephants.

Quality of Experience

Elephant guide/driver was great. Interacting with the elephants and learning about the nature park was amazing.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was great, communicated well

Transport

Perfect

Grandma's Home Cooking School

Chiang Mai

This was an amazing experience. Cooking class was great with a great chef/instructor at a very nice farm. The only unfortunate thing was my daughter burning her finger during the cooking class - the instructor was very attentive.

Quality of Experience

Aside from the finger burning the class was perfect!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Chef was great!

Transport

Perfect

Welcome and Temple Treasures of Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai

The temples were incredible. But it was very difficult to go on this tour immediately after traveling from Bangkok to Chiang Mai in the heat of the day. Our guide was not good and transport was delayed.

Quality of Experience

Better guide and transport, not scheduling it right after arrival in Chiang Mai

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide did not speak English well enough to communicate.

Transport

Pickup was delayed by about a half hour.

Enjoy Food Tasting in Chinatown!

Bangkok

Very interesting but crowded.

Quality of Experience

Very interesting - eating bugs!!

Food

Bugs were a bit over the top. Other food was amazing especially the Mango Sticky Rice.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Amazing guide

Transport

Perfect

A visit to Mae Klong Railway market and Damnoen Saduak Floating Market!

Bangkok

The floating market was amazing. The Railway market was a bit crowded and hot.

Quality of Experience

Great experience.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tour guide was incredible.

Transport

Perfect

Exploring Bangkok by local transfers and walking tour

Bangkok

Great tour of historic temples and sites was the perfect start to our vacation.

Quality of Experience

Historic sites

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tour guide was one of the best we've had.

Transport

Perfect

Loved the kayaking in Puket. Would suggest to stay at a hotel closer to where you get the boat. Driving way down to the party town of Puket doesn't appeal to older tourists. All of our guides were outstanding. Was amazed at how everyone showed up on time and always welcomed us at the airport with our name on a sign. Providing bottled water and cool towels on our van rides were greatly appreciated. May want to communicate that bottled water is provided and only 1 type of outlet C is in all the hotels and a converter will be needed.All the temples and Halong Bay were amazing. There were a few details lacking for the guides that we had in our trip itinerary. Overall this was a fantastic trip for us and we would use KimKim again!