Espíritu Travel

This trip was our first thru KimKim. In the past we have done bus tours with lots of people. We liked the idea of planning our trip based on what we wanted to see. Marina did a fantastic job planning the details and provided us with a stress free and memorable experience. Our guides at each location were friendly and knowledgeable. There is a huge sense of pride in each of them educating us on the wonders and historical value that is Spain. The Flamenco shows were one of our highlights, but there were so many. Madrid has this great vibe. Toledo! The Toledo cathedral was one of the most beautiful we’ve ever seen. Seville and the Alcázar Palace! Granada and the Alhambra! We ended our trip in Madrid @ the Prado Museum. Amazing collection of art. Thanks to all for such a memorable experience. Oh, the Calamari, and the Alhambra 1925 Lager. My new favorites!

Sincerely

Roger and Lori Madrazo

Everything was flawless from car rental, hotels, guided tours & private transportation! This service took all of the stress of planning local details off our plate. The communication within the app made the day to day travel plans effortless! Thank you

Activity Reviews

Montserrat & Penedès: Nature, Devotion & Cava

Spain

The Vineyard was spectacular with a rich history!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Taste Barcelona: Authentic Tapas & Neighborhood Walk

Barcelona

Very fun tour with lots of non tourist locations! Our guide was interesting and hospitable. We were able to sample many great Tapas & drinks

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Spain Important Trip Information: Please Review Before Departure

Spain

everything we needed to know was at our fingertips

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Barcelona Highlights: Guided Walk & Iconic Sagrada Família

Spain

Our guide was heartfelt & passionate about the Sagrada & Catalonia. He added many details and was perfectly relaxed about touring us through the Gothic District with a personal touch! The Sagrada was a favorite of many in our group! Our guide accessed tickets and we skipped right through the line! Learning the rich history and story made this extra memorable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

From Market to Table: Cook Authentic Spanish Dishes

Barcelona

Lovely experience ….some of the best dishes we ate! The class is held in a gorgeous authentic old building that adds to the charm.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We planned a nearly two-week trip to Italy with KimKim after previously using them for a similar trip to Norway. From the beginning, we made it very clear that our two priorities were hiking and maintaining a vegan diet.

I’ll start with the positive: all of our accommodations were lovely, clean, and felt safe.

Unfortunately, the trip planning itself was disappointing.

For the Lake Garda portion of our trip, our hotel was approximately 1.5–2 hours from both our planned KimKim tour and the hikes KimKim recommended. This resulted in spending at least 3–4 hours driving each day during the four days we were there. With numerous accommodations available around Lake Garda and in the surrounding hills, this made very little sense. We were not given options for accommodations closer to our planned activities, which is exactly the type of logistical detail we expected a travel-planning company to help us navigate.

We also understand that traveling vegan can require additional planning. However, we specifically discussed our diet multiple times and asked about vegan-friendly accommodations. We were led to believe there were not better options available. Once we were in Italy, we discovered that there were vegan resorts and other accommodations in the area that would have suited us much better. We trusted KimKim and our planner, Anita, and therefore did not independently research every accommodation before the trip. Discovering these options while already traveling was extremely disappointing.

Most concerning was the inaccurate information we received regarding the most important hike of our trip. We specifically asked Anita before traveling whether a parking pass/reservation was required and were assured that it was not. Once there, we learned that this information was incorrect. Because the necessary arrangements had not been made approximately 30 days in advance, we had to scramble to find a way to complete the hike and ultimately do it at a time that was not what we had planned or wanted.

This was particularly frustrating because we had proactively asked about the requirement before leaving. We relied on Anita’s expertise and the information she provided—one of the primary reasons we chose to use a professional travel-planning company.

We understand that unexpected issues can arise while traveling, but these were not unforeseen circumstances. They were planning and logistical issues that could have been avoided with more accurate information and greater attention to the priorities we communicated from the beginning.

After two trips with KimKim, we will not be returning as customers

Hotel Reviews

Antica Locanda dei Mercanti

Milan

Great central location for touring downtown.

Authenticity & Character

Set in a 18th century building that has been renovated. This had the best AC of any of the locations we stayed. Despite being downtown, it was very quiet.

Location

Staff

Extremely welcoming and friendly. They readily helps us carry our bags into the hotel without hesitation since the entrance of the hotel is on the second floor. The only downside was that parking was about a 7 minute walk away from the hotel.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean

Floris Green Suites

Castelrotto

Beautiful suites in a beautiful location. Staff went above and beyond to help make sure our breakfast had no animal products. They even surprised my husband with a special note and gift on his birthday. The attention to detail was very sweet and really made you feel the warm character of the region.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Small town area but with grocery and hikes near by.

Staff

extremely friendly staff. They gave us a tour of our suite upon arrival and were always happy to provide us with ice on request

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Piccola Vela

Desenzano del Garda

Upgraded room was spacious. Room was nice and clean. There was plenty of green space for our dogs and the hotel was dog friendly. Location was good for family activities. It was not ideal for our trip needs.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Listen to clients purpose for trip goals

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Italy -Important Trip Information: Please Review Before Departure

Italy

See initial review of trip Rental car was very uncomfortable for th amount of driving that we ended up doing. We would have much rather been offered an upgrade had we known that we would be traveling hours everyday in the car.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Between Heaven & Earth: Madonna della Corona Sanctuary

Italy

Guide was friendly and knowledgeable about the area. She spoke perfect English.

Quality of Experience

We had no interest in seeing a Catholic Church and never expressed this to be important.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

2 hours away from our lodging. We were told to meet our guide at the wrong location. Luckily she reached out to us via Whats App

Overall, we had a very good trip to Sardinia and came home with some wonderful memories. The basic itinerary was well planned, and there were several highlights that we truly enjoyed.

Our first hotel was excellent, and San Pantaleo was probably our favorite town of the entire trip. We absolutely loved it and would happily return. The sailboat excursion was also very enjoyable and a beautiful way to experience the coastline. Our only disappointment was that the captain spoke no English, so we missed having any commentary about where we were going, what we were seeing, or the history of the area. That would have added a great deal to the experience.

The cooking class was another highlight and was very well done.

The drive to Santa Maria Navarrese was beautiful, but it was much farther than we would have preferred. Unfortunately, the Lanthia Resort was the biggest hotel disappointment of the trip. The staff was very good and the food was excellent, but our room was not at all what we expected. There was an enormous green bathtub in the middle of the room, something we had not anticipated from the photos we had seen beforehand. When I later looked again at the hotel website, I still did not feel the photos adequately conveyed what the room was actually like. The hotel had no alternative room available, so we could not move.

Accessibility was also an issue. Reaching our room required navigating cobblestones and stone steps with our luggage, and there were no porters available to help. At our ages, this made arrival and departure unnecessarily difficult.

The drive from Santa Maria Navarrese to Alghero was again quite long—longer than we would have chosen for this trip. Once we arrived, however, we loved Alghero. It was a delightful town, and our hotel there was wonderful.

The one experience that I feel was a serious mistake in the planning was Neptune’s Cave. I had provided our ages and explained that my husband is dealing with cancer, so I was very surprised that this excursion was recommended for us. Reaching the cave involved 654 steps down and, of course, 654 steps back up. Inside the cave, the walking surfaces were also quite slippery. We did complete it, but I felt it was inappropriate for us and potentially unsafe. Had we been given an accurate description of the physical demands beforehand, we absolutely would not have chosen this excursion.

Despite those issues, we really enjoyed Sardinia and would definitely visit again. If I were planning the trip over, I would keep much of the northern portion of the itinerary but eliminate the long drive south to Santa Maria Navarrese. I would have preferred to stay in northern Sardinia and find a comparable catamaran or boating experience there. That would have reduced the amount of driving considerably and made the trip feel more relaxed.

There was a great deal that was done very well, and we are grateful for the experiences we had. I think the biggest opportunity for improvement would be to consider not only what is interesting to see, but also the distances involved and whether particular hotels and activities are appropriate for the travelers’ age, mobility, and circumstances.

Hotel Reviews

Villa Las Tronas

Cagliari

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lanthia Resort

Santa Maria Navarrese

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Suera San Pantaleo

Olbia

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Splendide Royal - The Leading Hotels of the World

Roma

Great

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Italy -Important Trip Information: Please Review Before Departure

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A Day at Sea: Sailing Experience in the Gulf of Orosei

Italy

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Authentic Sardinian Cooking: Pasta & Seadas

Olbia

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A Boat Day to the Protected Marina Reserve of Tavolara

Italy

it would’ve been helpful if the boat captain had spoken English

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

kimkim and Hector did a fantastic job organizing our trip to Barcelona and Madrid. My wife has some medical issues that made her extremely anxious about such a long (11 day) trip. So a big thanks to kimkim and their local partners for being so good about crafting schedules for trips, tours and meals that did not overwhelm our schedule. Your flexibility in trip planning, easily usable website, detailed instructions and, most importantly, your regular communications while were were on the trip were greatly appreciated. It all made my wife and able to relax and really enjoy such a beautiful country.

So many things to comment on
1. Ticketing for trains and site visits. These were all done clearly and correctly. It was great to have them all easily available on the kimkim app. And, when we decided to take an earlier train back from Toledo to Barcelona (temperatures neared 40 degrees C in the afternoon!), it was no problem because kimkim bought the tickets directly from the train system, not through a third party and Natalia worked it out with the station agent.

2. The hotels in Barcelona and Madrid were well chosen, given the price range and interests we identified on your app. Great locations and very welcoming staff. We spent the longest time at Hotel Meninas in Madrid, and would particularly recommend that anyone.

3. The Tapas & Tradition tours was so much fun. And delicious. We were part of a group seven, plus our guide Andres. Andres had chosen and prepared the 3+ restaurants well. So we enjoyed the tapas, drinks and learning about the traditions around this wonderful way of eating with friends. It helped a lot that everyone in the group was wonderful and fun to hang out with. What a great start to our first night in Madrid. Thank you Andres!

2. Walking tours of Madrid old town and Toledo. On separate days, two engaging and extremely knowledgeable guides really gave us a sense of the history, beauty and life in these two very different cities. Because it was a private tour (just me and my wife), Geza (Madrid) and Natalia (Toledo) made sure to build in plenty of stops along the tour so my wife could rest her legs and still enjoy the trip. I think both of them know the location of every bench along the tour route! That would not have been possible if we were in a larger tour group that we would have had to keep up with.

Thank you Geza and Natalia!

And it was funny to run into Geza leading a larger group two days later near our hotel! And a special thanks to Natalia for thinking to thoroughly explain El Greco's painting The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, initially using a picture on her phone, while my wife could remain seated at the back of the room and then later go up to look at it closely. Very thoughtful guide work.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Meninas

Madrid

Authenticity & Character

The hotel and street seemed very much a part of and older area of Madrid, which we liked very much. We felt very much in the middle of the city, but on a quiet street.

Location

Easy walk to the Royal Palace, Plaza Major and the Opera. Interesting neighborhood to walk around. As it was on a small, narrow street, but super easy to get to the places we wanted to visit.

Staff

Oh, the staff here were so nice, helpful and welcoming. And no-one laughed at my poor attempts at Spanish (just kidding, they would never do that). We felt very much at home here.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very well designed and maintained. The lobby was comfortable to hang out in. And the breakfast on floor -1 was delicious.

H10 Art Gallery

Barcelona

Beautiful artwork in a modern setting. Love the patio area out the back of the lobby and the included breakfast. The staff were very welcoming and helpful. Great location in central Barcelona.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Nice neighborhood to walk around in. Easy cab ride to El Sagrada Familia, Gothic Quarter, the beach and all the other sites. I like the pool and exercise room as well.

Staff

Super friendly and helpful with anything we asked for like taxi arrangements, dinner recommendations, etc.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very modern feel, but also welcoming and comfortable.

Activity Reviews

Spain Important Trip Information: Please Review Before Departure

Spain

As we noted earlier, the H10 Art Gallery was a great choice. We loved the amenities, patio, art, lobby, but especially the helpful staff.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We arranged for a private care to the airport and that worked out seamlessly.

An Excursion to Toledo by Train, Guided Walk

Madrid

Natalia was the best! I gave details earlier, but we really did learn a lot and enjoyed her company around this amazing city.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Walking Madrid’s Old Town

Madrid

I didn't know these individual pages were coming, so I put my details on the first page. Geza was fantastic.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tapas & Tradition: A Madrileño Evening

Madrid

I shared to details of this on the first page of this review. Andres, the restaurants and the whole group were great.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

As I said in the first page of the review, Andres was a perfect person to learn from and share tapas with.

Transport

We took a taxi to the meeting point

This trip was difficult to plan from the beginning. It was for 2 people with different arrival and departure dates. Also, 2 nights of accommodation were already booked. Hector never seemed to get exactly when who was going to be there. I said my son was going to be there on the 6th and he booked a room for him on the night of the 5th. Many of the days had shopping as the main activity. I had said we were interested in nature and culture. The hike that was booked for us turned out to be a 4x4 ride which was disappointing. I was in Madrid and the Prado was not scheduled as a tour until I asked for it to be added on. I believed Hector when he said that the last minute nature of the booking made the expensive but when we looked at daily room rates when we were there, they were not high. I think we were overcharged by about 50% and want a refund of at least $5000.

Activity Reviews

4x4 Jeep & Hike the Cares Route, Picos de Europa

Picos de Europa

This was a 4x4 without a hike.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Walking Madrid’s Old Town

Madrid

Great tour

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Raquel did a fantastic job curating a fun, active and culturally rich itinerary for us.

We would use her again in a heartbeat!

Hotel Review

H10 Villa de la Reina

Madrid

Friendly staff, comfortable rooms and wonderful breakfast made this hotel within walking distance to most points of interest a perfect stay

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Flavors of La Rioja: Hands-On Cooking Experience

Spain

Hands on cooking class was a fun way to learn about local La Rioja cuisine.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I heard about KimKim through a friend who frequently uses the service. I decided to take a chance and use the services for my upcoming trip to Portugal with my boyfriend. Beatriz was super easy to work with and made adjustments based off of my input. It was very easy to approve the final itinerary and was stress free since all I had to do was make final payment. Our flight was cancelled and we were rebooked and I was able to reach out to have our driver pickup updated. I was very happy they were able to accommodate us. One first tour was scheduled on the date we landed. We met at the meeting point but there was no tour. We learned the tour was accidentally booked for the wrong day. I was able to reach out to get help and the agent I spoke to was very apologetic. She refunded the tour costs and double checked to make sure everything else was booked correctly. That incident put us a little on guard but the rest of the trip went perfectly! All of our tours went as promised and our drivers were all on time (early). We especially loved our day tour to Sintra. Our tour guide, Teresa, was very pleasant and super knowledgeable. It rained early that morning and she had extra umbrellas for us. For lunch, she took us to a local spot and we enjoyed being able to eat some authentic Portugese food. We were very happy with how everything went minus the one tour hiccup. I would def recommend and use again.

Hotel Review

Exe Almada Porto

Porto

Great location! This hotel was like a Portugese hotel with American amenities. Hotel staff was friendly and I loved how clean everything was. The location is perfect and we were able to walk just about everywhere. I'd recommend and stay there again when in Porto!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Discover Sintra & Wines of the Old World

Portugal

Kimkim was great and getting a trip organized in such a short period of time. We went to Milan Italy and then took day trips via public transportation throughout the week. The team was responsive to all concerns that we had during our trip. Anita was great and helping us plan our day trips and getting excursion scheduled. My only complaint is the hotel that was chosen was so far from everything else that we did. I felt like we spent so much time traveling back-and-forth on trams and trolleys and trains to get to where we needed to go when we could’ve been closer to the city center. There were no restaurants or shopping nearby our hotel. If we had been closer to the city center, it would’ve made for a much more enjoyable trip.

Overall, we were pleased with our accommodations and the experiences that Hector planned. The Iberostar resort was perfect for our family, and my cousin and I loved our windmills tour with our wonderful guide Birgit. Most of the family also enjoyed the catamaran trip and swimming. The Gran Hotel Havana in Barcelona also suited us well, and we loved our tour guide for Girona (Manuel and his driver Wandr) so much that we lobbied to have them for our second tour (of Montserrat) which was amazing. We also loved the sunset boat trip with the guitarist.

One of the two reasons we did not give 5 stars is because our original flight from Mallorca to Barcelona was scheduled without our agreement to leave at 8:30 in the morning which would have been extremely difficult with three small children. When we requested to move the reservation, we received a lot of pushback and almost tried to make arrangements ourselves (since we received no credit for the original reservation). When we did finally get rescheduled at considerable expense, we learned at the airport that my son would be on standby and his 1-year-old son who is a lap child, had a confirmed seat. It took a great deal of effort to get my son on the flight with no help from Espiritu who blamed the airlines and did nothing to help despite having been responsible for the reservation. I don't believe that the fact that we were with three small children was adequately considered.

The second reason is that we did not receive much help in figuring out where to go to watch the eclipse. Most of the suggestions we received were not helpful because the government was closing many of the streets in Mallorca for security reasons, and they were therefore inaccessible. My daughter did a lot of research online to learn this and did find for us the best place possible given where we were staying, but we would have had a difficult time and probably missed it entirely if we had relied on the information we were given.

Hotel Reviews

Gran Hotel Havana

Barcelona

The rooms were very comfortable and attractive and quiet. Most of the staff were helpful and polite. It was good to have room service and the rooftop restaurant available when we did not want to go out, and the included breakfast buffet had lots of good choices.

Iberostar selection Playa de Muro Village

Playa de Muro, Mallorca, Illes Balears

The rooms were clean and comfortable mostly (one had a problem, but the staff moved those of us in that room to a better one). The pools and private beach were perfect and greatly enjoyed, and the breakfast buffet (and other food options) were all amazing. The staff were all helpful and friendly.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Discover Montserrat & Catalan Wine of Penedès Region

Barcelona

Again, our guide Manuel made it extra special. It is also a beautiful and spiritual place. Some of us are not religious but were deeply moved nonetheless.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

From Medieval Girona to the Villages of Costa Brava

Barcelona

Our guide Manuel made this a very enjoyable and memorable experience. And some of our group said that the beach where he took us after Girona was the best one they had ever been to.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Manuel was knowledgeable, warm talkative, fun and great with the chidren.

Transport

The vans were very comfortable.

Mediterranean Sunset Sailing Experience & Live Spanish Guitar Music

Barcelona

We loved the guitar, and the route was very calm so no one became seasick.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

One of us has balance problems and the captain and staff were very helpful in getting on and off the boat.

Transport

It was a beautiful catamaran sailboat. The only thing that would have been better would have been if it actually sailed instead of motoring the whole way, but that did not impair the experience.

Barcelona for Kids: Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia & Park Güell

Barcelona

The Sagrada Familia on the inside just blew me away; I did not expect to be so moved and impressed.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

She could have been more enthusiastic and warm.

Mallorca by Sea: A Boutique Sailing, Tapas & Snorkeling Experience

Spain

The swimming in the Mediterranean was wonderful. The only problem was that two of our group got seasick.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Windmills & Villages: A Journey Through Mallorca’s Interior

Spain

Birgit was so knowledgeable and warm. My cousin and I really enjoyed learning about the history, traditions and current day people of Mallorca from her. She was great!

Quality of Experience

our guide Birgit

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Birgit was outstanding and made the whole experience one I will not forget.

Transport

We were grateful that since only two of us went, Birgit picked us up at our hotel.