Exotic Voyages

My trip to Vietnam was packed with highlights. Here are the tops:

1) My first few days in Hanoi were great. I really enjoyed Kien and his historical perspective that he was able to provide about Hanoi and Vietnam. It was clear that he studied history at the university, and had many interesting stories and perspectives to share. I walked away with a very rich view of Hanoi and Vietnam, both historically and present day. Kien also let me take my time and come back to him with questions which... read more

My trip to Vietnam was packed with highlights. Here are the tops:

1) My first few days in Hanoi were great. I really enjoyed Kien and his historical perspective that he was able to provide about Hanoi and Vietnam. It was clear that he studied history at the university, and had many interesting stories and perspectives to share. I walked away with a very rich view of Hanoi and Vietnam, both historically and present day. Kien also let me take my time and come back to him with questions which I really appreciated.

2) The third guide Ngoc was equally excellent. He provided a great perspective of Ninh Binh, Hoa Lu, Tam Coc, the many religions of Vietnam, and daily life in Vietnam. He provided a great cultural perspective that gave me a real picture of what it was like to be Vietnamese. He also shared great personal anecdotes. Our boat ride on Tam Coc was a beautiful highlight!!

3) All hotel accommodations were excellent. The staff were professional and welcoming, the rooms were very clean and well- appointed, and the breakfasts delicious. Each hotel was comfortable and relaxing, including the cruise on Halong Bay. Each night I was able to sleep very peacefully.

4) Transportation was also excellent. All drivers were on time, courteous, and drove safely. This was a great feature for sightseeing!

My only feedback is on the second guide Sang in Sapa. Compared to Kien and Ngoc, she was not as engaged. She didn't share any stories or anecdotes about the region. I would ask her questions, and her answers were very limited. I eventually gave up and starting asking other tribal women we encountered hiking. I bought something from another tribal woman and gave her a big tip since she was more informative and interesting; I talked with this woman more than I talked with Sang.

Sang also made me feel very stressed out about the train back to Hanoi on November 20. She wasn't sure how to get my ticket for the train, and kept asking me for details. Eventually, she figured it out but I'm not sure why she panicked. This was the first and only time that I was concerned about logistics and my itinerary.

Despite my interaction with Sang, the trip was still unbelievable. Vietnam is a special and beautiful place that I hope to visit again.

Both the one day tour and the longer tour were very good. The one day tour suffered from going to two very touristy spots with a long drive for one day. I think it would be more advisable to recommend closer experiences if possible for a one day trip. The guide Bom was excellent.
The guide for the longer trip Apple was very personable, friendly and helpful but we did feel at times that her English language skills were below par particularly in vocabulary and fluency in passing on information... read more

Both the one day tour and the longer tour were very good. The one day tour suffered from going to two very touristy spots with a long drive for one day. I think it would be more advisable to recommend closer experiences if possible for a one day trip. The guide Bom was excellent.
The guide for the longer trip Apple was very personable, friendly and helpful but we did feel at times that her English language skills were below par particularly in vocabulary and fluency in passing on information eg the history of an area. The content of the trip was on the whole very good though could have been a little more imaginative in some areas - we found that we consulted our Lonely Planet guidebook regularly eg for hints on good museums, other sites not on the itinerary. For instance the Sukhothai Museum turned out to be excellent for those interested in the local history , we also found a very interesting ceramic workshop which ran interesting tours . A range of additional things should be able to be suggested by a good guide. Sukhothai was a highlight for us particularly as the Loy Krathong festival was so brilliant with the illuminated historical site - a piece of info which was not included in our itinerary nor particularly emphasised by the guide. The Loy Krathong dinner which we attended in Chiang Mai hotel was fine though somewhat overrated (and artificial compared to Sukhothai event) . It would have be useful to know we were paying such a large amount for that particular event - the buffet food was definitely not memorable.
Also I may have missed it in info provided but it would be good to have some guidance on tipping (for guides/drivers) in Thailand as each country has been different approach to this.

If given the opportunity to use this this site again - I wouldn't hesitate! The experience from first conversation with Andy to the last adventure on the Vespa tour of Saigon and each incredible adventure in between was perfection! Our guides and driver in each city (Hanoi, Hoi Ann, Mae Chau, Saigon) were professionals, full of knowledge and fun. We fell in love with Hoi Ann and wish we could have spent more time there!

The ryokans hotels were cheap 2-3 stars rating the most. Should not cost more than USD $200 for 2 for one night. Kim Kim charged us over USD$ 600 for 2 for one night. It was a rip off. We feel this is a lesson we learned and it will be our last dealing with your group, in the meantime we will warn other about your deceptive practice.
I you have any decency you should refund us for over charging us.
Ken and Katherine Wong

We were so pleased we chose to use your services. Andy, our local specialist, was very attentive right from the beginning of planning our trip. We were undecided about the various places to travel while in Thailand, but knew we were flying into and out of Bangkok and knew we, at a minimum, would want to spend a day or two to visit the Grand Palace and other temples. Both my daughter and I agreed that had we not had a guide to go through the Temples we would not have benefited as much... read more

We were so pleased we chose to use your services. Andy, our local specialist, was very attentive right from the beginning of planning our trip. We were undecided about the various places to travel while in Thailand, but knew we were flying into and out of Bangkok and knew we, at a minimum, would want to spend a day or two to visit the Grand Palace and other temples. Both my daughter and I agreed that had we not had a guide to go through the Temples we would not have benefited as much visiting them. Andy employed Mr. Peak to be our guide. Mr. Peak was wonderful! He was not only such a pleasant person, but was knowledgeable about the Temples and River, but also was hospitable and offered so many times to take our pictures at the various places that I believe he knew would capture in a picture wonderful memories for us. We are home and still saying to each other how lucky we were to have a guide, and that our guide was Mr. Peak!

Our transports to/from hotel and airports were punctual and easy to find and the instructions Andy gave us to do so were spot on!

Thanks for your assistance in our journey to Thailand!

We had a great time touring Vietnam and Cambodia for three weeks. We wanted a trip that covered the main tourist areas, as well as getting out to some of the national parks to see the birds and wildlife. Kimkim put together a package that encompassed everything we wanted to do, and suggested more items too. Everything worked according to plan. We had six different guides in various parts of the countries, and all did an excellent job. All spoke English to a reasonable or better standard,... read more

We had a great time touring Vietnam and Cambodia for three weeks. We wanted a trip that covered the main tourist areas, as well as getting out to some of the national parks to see the birds and wildlife. Kimkim put together a package that encompassed everything we wanted to do, and suggested more items too. Everything worked according to plan. We had six different guides in various parts of the countries, and all did an excellent job. All spoke English to a reasonable or better standard, and were a great help in navigating our way through the trip. It was great having such personal attention. The guides were flexible in the itinerary as well. We changed our minds a couple of times about what we wanted to see, and were easily and happily accommodated. Highlights for the trip would have been seeing the ruins at My Son in Vietnam, and Angkor in Cambodia, as well as some amazing birdwatching tours through Cat Tien N.P. in the south of Vietnam. Other memorable moments included kayaking in Ba Be National Park and Halong Bay Bay, and even an impromptu game of volleyball with some locals in a small village north of Hanoi, and all the amazing food that was served to us, especially in small local places.

Andy took care of our 6 weeks tour of Asia and everything went well. We had a good time and most of it, drivers, guides, Hotel etc were perfect. I will used Andy again for a another trip for sure.

The guides and in country contacts from Exotic Voyages were great. There was one change made to the itinerary after our deposit that was unacceptable. It involved an eighteen hour trip on a non express train. The in country contact (Giang) was wonderful in dealing with the problem, and more than made us happy. Saigon, the Mekong Delta, Hue, and Bach Ma National Parks were great places for visit. Hoi An was also beautiful, but the people being brought in by buses from the cruise ships... read more

The guides and in country contacts from Exotic Voyages were great. There was one change made to the itinerary after our deposit that was unacceptable. It involved an eighteen hour trip on a non express train. The in country contact (Giang) was wonderful in dealing with the problem, and more than made us happy. Saigon, the Mekong Delta, Hue, and Bach Ma National Parks were great places for visit. Hoi An was also beautiful, but the people being brought in by buses from the cruise ships are destroying what should be a great vacation spot. Siem Reap, Cambodia was everything we expected. The trip out to the large lake was also nice in that it showed the life in Cambodia away from the temple sites.

My wife and I just returned from an incredible month in Vietnam and Cambodia. What an incredible blend of culture, history and cuisine. We are recently retired and have always been fiercely independent travelers. I pride myself on my research and trip planning, but being Vietnam, we decided to get some local help.

After reading the positive reviews, we selected Kim Kim as our travel platform. They put us in touch with Andy Carroll, the Vietnam expert and the process was flawless. Andy... read more

My wife and I just returned from an incredible month in Vietnam and Cambodia. What an incredible blend of culture, history and cuisine. We are recently retired and have always been fiercely independent travelers. I pride myself on my research and trip planning, but being Vietnam, we decided to get some local help.

After reading the positive reviews, we selected Kim Kim as our travel platform. They put us in touch with Andy Carroll, the Vietnam expert and the process was flawless. Andy was very responsive and answered all my emails promptly. He put together a proposed itinerary and we worked together on selecting hotels, side trips, museums, cooking classes, etc.

Bottom line- 30 days, five internal air flights, one overnight train, one overnight boat, two countries, 10 cities and it was flawless! Every guide and driver showed up on time, the accommodations were truly 4 and 5 star, every mode of transportation was on schedule-- I don't think that would happen in the USA!

We are culture and history tourists and the guides Andy lined up were all superior. Incredible knowledge, fairly good but certainly passable English and true ambassadors to their country and their employer. Since we were a tour group of "two", they all went out of their way to ensure we had a fantastic and flexible holiday. The guides and drivers really made the trip!!

Using an internet travel company was a big leap of faith for me (would the guides show up, would the hotel have our reservation?) but I can report unequivocally, that KimKim is worth your trust.
And I am not a guy who lavishes praise easily!!

We booked with kimkim for our week in Vietnam, mainly for travel (car transport, mid-week airfare, lodging, etc.), as well as one full-day tour of the Mekong Delta. After a small hiccup in the communication during the trip planning, I have to say that everything went smoothly. Transport was on time, the lodging was excellent and had great locale, and our Mekong Delra tour guide, Lucy, was very good. It became clear that we were actually experiencing a local travel agency (that we gave a... read more

We booked with kimkim for our week in Vietnam, mainly for travel (car transport, mid-week airfare, lodging, etc.), as well as one full-day tour of the Mekong Delta. After a small hiccup in the communication during the trip planning, I have to say that everything went smoothly. Transport was on time, the lodging was excellent and had great locale, and our Mekong Delra tour guide, Lucy, was very good. It became clear that we were actually experiencing a local travel agency (that we gave a review for, too), and that kimkim is actually more of a middle-man service, but that's no bother. I would book with kimkim again for their choice of agency and talented guides.

Thank you, thank you and thank you again Andy for putting together such an exhilaratingly wonderful itinerary for me in Vietnam !! I loved the way you listened to what I was interested in when we chatted and texted several times beforehand because you really knocked it out of the park for me with everywhere I went !! Each place and all accommodations from the tropical feel of my hotel in the colorful and ancient city of Hoi An, to the gorgeous hotel in the significantly historical city of... read more

Thank you, thank you and thank you again Andy for putting together such an exhilaratingly wonderful itinerary for me in Vietnam !! I loved the way you listened to what I was interested in when we chatted and texted several times beforehand because you really knocked it out of the park for me with everywhere I went !! Each place and all accommodations from the tropical feel of my hotel in the colorful and ancient city of Hoi An, to the gorgeous hotel in the significantly historical city of Hue, then up to Hanoi and my adorable boutique hotel, with an outstanding 2 day side trip out onto HaLong Bay staying overnight on a lovely classy boat, then all the way down to Phu Quoc island only to stay in the magnificent eco friendly resort of Mango Bay and then wrapping it all up in Saigon ... well it was simply just superb !! I loved all of my guides and especially have such fond memories of Mr. Troung and his driver who schooled me with emotional sights and many unknown historical facts of the war.
One of my most fun days was deciding to ditch a couple museums and hop on the back of the scooter of my guide in Hanoi and ride with the masses of those who miraculously and artfully flow through the city streets of organized chaos. It was tremendously exhilarating !!
I do not typically return to places I've already traveled to for the sole reason that our world is so big and I want to see it all, but I most definitely would return to Vietnam, travel throughout more of the country and hope for more beautiful encounters with it's warm and loving people ... but only if Andy was in charge of making it happen for me !!!

Everything from KimKim was great. I had a large group with a lot of moving parts. Andy was calm, cool, and collected each step of the way. I had some people in the group who extended their stays for private tours - Andy helped them each individually and gave them exactly what they wanted. I couldn't have asked for more. The chat setup made communication easy, payment was a simple link, and when one member of my group had an emergency visa problem, KimKim stepped in and got it done in... read more

Everything from KimKim was great. I had a large group with a lot of moving parts. Andy was calm, cool, and collected each step of the way. I had some people in the group who extended their stays for private tours - Andy helped them each individually and gave them exactly what they wanted. I couldn't have asked for more. The chat setup made communication easy, payment was a simple link, and when one member of my group had an emergency visa problem, KimKim stepped in and got it done in less than 12 hours with concierges service. The entire staff is great at KimKim and they work beautifully together as a team to make everything perfect and more. I will be using KimKim again for groups in the future! Thank you, Andy!!

Had a fantastic trip. Well worth it. I would recommend Kimkim to anyone that would like their trip organised for them. Andy was really easy to communicate with and our guide Dat was very knowledgeable and accommodating.

The trip was simply amazing. We loved all our hotels as well as our guides. The only area we were disappointed with was communication with Andy. He never checked in with us once during our 17 days in Vietnam and Cambodia. When we emailed him from the states he was slow to respond and sometimes failed to address our questions. When we emailed him from Vietnam he was slow to respond, sometimes inaccurate in his responses and one time failed to respond at all, regarding a timely issue.

The trip planning was great. Trying to get 7 people organized was like trying to herd cats, but all our requests were handled well.

Andy went through all the details prior to our visit, so when we arrived, the trip was tailored to exactly what we had asked. The organization, once we were in Vietnam, was excellent. Someone was always waiting to meet us, and the guides were all friendly and informative.

No effort was spared to make little tweaks and changes. Correspondence was friendly and made us feel very comfortable about trusting Andy with our trip.

Really impressive timely response and really appreciated the flexibility to make changes to accommodate different dates. Having now visited Vietnam our only comment would be that it would perhaps have been good to get more and wider suggestions to choose from to tailor the trip e.g. a cooking experience or an interesting stop on the car journey from Sapa to Hanoi. it did feel a bit as if we were on the 'standard' tourist circuit that could have been booked fairly easily locally - although the... read more

Really impressive timely response and really appreciated the flexibility to make changes to accommodate different dates. Having now visited Vietnam our only comment would be that it would perhaps have been good to get more and wider suggestions to choose from to tailor the trip e.g. a cooking experience or an interesting stop on the car journey from Sapa to Hanoi. it did feel a bit as if we were on the 'standard' tourist circuit that could have been booked fairly easily locally - although the service level we got from having booked with you ( guide, driver) was excellent

The guide Ngoc was really excellent. very knowledgeable, helpful, punctual and happy to move things around ( e.g lunch booking when we opted to leave Sapa early because of the rain) . A great guy we'd be happy to recommend to friends.

Overall, the trip was very good. There could have been a lot more communication about the daily itinerary and I wish that there had been more optionality provided for what was done each day. For example, when visiting the Elephant Sanctuary, there were several tour options that the sanctuary provided, but one of the tour was just selected for me without providing me an option (when I would have preferred to be on another tour). Also, I feel like many of the days ended the activities... read more

Overall, the trip was very good. There could have been a lot more communication about the daily itinerary and I wish that there had been more optionality provided for what was done each day. For example, when visiting the Elephant Sanctuary, there were several tour options that the sanctuary provided, but one of the tour was just selected for me without providing me an option (when I would have preferred to be on another tour). Also, I feel like many of the days ended the activities earlier than expected without any option to visit more sites or deviate from the itinerary. Overall, while the tour was great, I was expecting more for the money that I paid (even despite the fact that I realize I paid a premium for being a solo traveler).

Andy was phenomenal in some respects, especially when I was presented with a health issue. But again, some of my comments about the optionality of the trip and the communication could have applied. I think we could have come up with a more tailed trip for me if I had been provided more options and there had been more communication.