Good Vibes Tours

We had a wonderful time on our family trip to Scotland! Kate came up with a great itinerary for us so that we could see a lot of the sites in a limited amount of time. We had a couple of minor issues but we were able to work through them with some help from Kate. I would definitely recommend!

We loved our trip to Scotland! Our Kimkim agent planned a trip to cover the highlights of NW Scotland starting from where we ended our trek in Fort William. The hotels were gems - historical, great breakfasts, unique in themselves. Staying in the Monkstadt near the sea with its tasting dinner was a highlight. The sites chosen were interesting and we loved Dunvegan Castle and the seal trip. We did have a few hiccups that might need to be considered. The daily suggested times for each site did not always account for the leave times set by the limited breakfast times at the inns and the time it takes to drive to each site as the roads were often one lane and very slow. We dropped a few suggested items and tried to add one back in later which then led to a very long day. Very long days in Scotland mean no dinner as you need a reservation to eat in the small towns which is hard to do when you don't know when you will get there and most of the kitchens close at 8. One day put us back into town at 8:30 due to ferry times but we had made a reservation and were able to run to the restaurant in time for a wonderful seafood dinner along the water - as the kitchen was closing. Either carry enough food for lunch and dinner each day, or plan more time into the itinerary. The two major hiccups were the lack of including a rental car even though the booking said it included self-drive. Luckily, we caught this in time to rent a car, but that was additional funds we did not know about ahead of time. The other one was our itinerary said one ferry time, but the ticket had a different time. Luckily, we also caught that and were able to adjust our plans. The trip was often magical and enjoyable and sometimes a scramble. Such is travel.

We had a wonderful trip to Scotland and really enjoyed our experience with Kimkim. Kate was kind, responsive and helpful throughout both the planning and the trip itself. Whenever we had a question or needed something changed, she was quick to help.

Ness Walk in Inverness was one of our favourite stays and a great recommendation and I wished we spent more time there! We also had an amazing private tour with Sandy, who was very knowledgeable and made the experience so enjoyable. Our journey to Skye with Anca was another highlight, she shared so much with us along the way and made the drive itself part of the experience.

We also really appreciated Kate’s flexibility when we decided last minute to spend our final night in Edinburgh instead of Glencoe. She helped rearrange our transportation and organised a driver for us, which made the change much easier.

Our only disappointment was Glencoe House. We had specifically asked for a castle experience and were happy to pay more for it, but our reservation was in one of the separate lodges rather than the main house. This was mentioned in the itinerary, so I also take responsibility for not looking more closely, but I do wish the difference had been highlighted more clearly given what we had originally asked for. Kate did try to help once we raised our concerns, which we appreciated.

Overall, we had a beautiful and memorable trip, with so many highlights including the Highlands, Skye, the castles and seeing the Jacobite steam train crossing Glenfinnan Viaduct which as harry potter fans was the best thing in our trip! And Ian our driver was so understanding and helped us in arranging the viewing at the right time so we dont miss the jacobite train
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We really appreciated all of Kate’s support and efforts throughout our journey she’s amazing ♡

Hotel Reviews

Glencoe House

Ballachulish

I’m giving it 3 stars because, although the lodge itself was clean, comfortable and well equipped with food, it wasn’t quite the experience we had hoped for. We wanted to end our trip relaxing in the main house, but our reservation was in the lodge instead. The hotel also doesn’t have a restaurant or lounge that lodge guests can use for tea or relaxing, as the main house is made up of private suites. So even though we were staying on the property, we didn’t really get to experience the house itself. If you’re looking for more of a castle-style experience, I’d recommend booking one of the suites in the main house. We had booked for two nights but ended up staying for only one.

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Monkstadt 1745 - Luxury Lodge

Linicro, Isle of Skye

We stayed one night here in the lodge as we had requested twin beds, and the sea view was beautiful, especially at sunset. We also enjoyed having tea at the hotel, it was so cozy we loved it! It was lovely to connect the stories we heard throughout the trip with the history of the hotel. So interesting and one of our favorite stays

Authenticity & Character

The history

Location

We loved the sea view

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ness Walk

Inverness

The best hotel we stayed at during our trip! The service was amazing, and every member of staff was incredibly helpful and welcoming. We also loved the beautiful river views from the hotel.

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The Bonham

Edinburgh

Amazing hotel the staff are so friendly and its located near deans village. We had an issue in the room which we highlighted to the front desk and they quickly resolved it and changed our room.

Authenticity & Character

The hotel has amazing history

Location

Its a walking distance from Edinburgh castle and so close to deans village

Staff

The staff were so understanding and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Inverness Walking Tour

Scotland

This was our favorite tour with the amazing Sandy. Sandy was an amazing tour guide in Inverness! We really enjoyed our time with him and learned so much throughout the tour. He was very knowledgeable, easy to talk to and made the experience really enjoyable for us. We really appreciated the time we spent with him and would definitely recommend him.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Alnwick Castle Tour – The Real Hogwarts from Harry Potter

Edinburgh

As Harry Potter fans, we were so happy to visit Alnwick Castle and see the filming locations! Our trip started from Edinburgh, and our driver was informative, friendly and had a great sense of humour. He shared lots of interesting information about the places we passed on the way to the castle and back. We really enjoyed our time there, although it became very windy later in the day so we couldn’t enjoy the archery. Even if you’re not a Harry Potter fan, there are different shows and activities to enjoy, and the castle itself has so much history.

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Dunrobin Castle

Inverness

I absolutely loved Dunrobin Castle. The castle itself was beautiful and full of character, and I really enjoyed exploring the interiors and learning more about its history. Unfortunately, it was raining during our visit so we didn’t get to properly explore the gardens, but the castle was still one of the highlights of our trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The palace of Versailles and our guide were just incredible. All of the destinations Alessandra recommended were perfect. All transfer rides were timely and professional.

Hotel Reviews

Villa Eiffel

Paris

Great place a second toilet would have been helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

2 Bed 2 Bath Central Shoreditch Modern Flat By Spitalfields Market

London

The home is fantastic and spacious. All the windows allow for a lot of air to circulate as there is no AC. Location is great!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Eiffel Tower Summit Tickets

Paris

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Moulin Rouge Evening Performance with Dinner

Paris

Great seats and the show was fantastic.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had difficulty getting water from the wait staff. They were great with everything else.

Unlock the Secrets of Perfume-Making!

Paris

An absolutely incredibly fun experience. We were all so excited to create our own scent. The staff were so knowledgeable and friendly.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Transfer to the International Train Station

England

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Transfer from Paris to Paris Charles dea Gaulle Airport

France

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Giverny & Palace of Versailles: Art, Royalty & Gardens

Paris

Tour guide was amazing!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We have used KimKim previously for a trip to Norway with success, and had high hopes for our trip to Scotland. Unfortunately, the trip was not planned well, and I feel that this service was mostly a waste of money, and it was a lot of money! We had emphasized at the start of this that we wanted a trip with a focus on nature and history, but ideally would like to avoid a bunch of churches and castles since those get repetitive. We were hoping for walks and museums, mostly.

In Edinburgh the initial old town private tour was very superficial with a focus on shopping locations and Harry Potter trivia rather than the history of the old town and culture of Scotland. It didn't help that it was given by a man who was new to the position and not a native to the area, so he was clearly giving info that he had just recently learned himself. The food tour had the wrong start location, and when we reported this to Tetiana our specialist, she reminded us that we could have checked the start location ourselves. We paid a ton of money so that we wouldn't have to double check all her work, so this was a frustrating response. Of note, our favorite visit in Ediburgh was the Surgeon's museum, which had great history and culture and demonstrated some of the impact that Scotland has had globally. This museum was one we picked ourselves on arrival, it was not suggested by Tetiana.

The Oban leg of the trip was fine, although this was the start of the difficulty with timing. Driving consistently took around 30% longer than our schedule had listed, and so we consistently had to remove one of the stops from each day from this point onwards. Calculating out the timing, we would have been getting back to the hotel between 7 and 9 PM nightly, which was not what we were looking for when the day also included 2-6 hrs of driving. Of note, the church we were supposed to visit in Glencoe on the way to Oban was closed, and it was just a local church for the town, not a destination from what we could tell. There was a war memorial nearby that might have been a better alternative to a closed local church.

Fort William was not very interesting, and when we ran into locals and mentioned this city, they were surprised we would even go there.

For the Isle of Skye, we stayed in Portree, and the museum suggested in the guide did not exist. There is nothing called the "Portree museum," and the closest thing was called the "Skye Museum of Island Life" which is a pretty different name! Especially when we emphasized wanting to get the history and culture of the area, I wish more care had been taken to make sure these museums existed.

The trip to Loch Lomond was fine, also, I have no major complaints.

While some issues with the trip I can blame on Scotland itself (such as the hot weather, lack of trees, lack of birds and small mammals, poor ability to consume the history outside of castles, apparently), many of the issues with the trip could have been avoided if a bit more care had been taken in planning the trip. I will not be using KimKim again, as it has proven itself too unreliable for my money!

Hotel Reviews

Cameron house

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Whispering Pine Lodge

Loch Lochy, Spean Bridge, Scotland, PH34 4DZ

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

No11 Boutique Hotel & Brasserie

Edinburgh

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Seal Spotting Loch Linnhe Cruise

Scotland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vegan Scottish Food Tour

Edinburgh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Edinburgh Castle & Old Town Private Tour

Scotland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Treshnish Isles Wildlife Cruise and Staffa Trip from Oban

Oban

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport