High Point Holidays and Randonnees Outre-Manche

Adrian and the team at KimKim were fantastic to work with. Friendly, professional and extremely knowledgeable especially about our destination. We had a basic idea of what we wanted to explore during our time in Ireland, but Adrian helped bring it all to life… not to mention, he asked us about our interests in general and was able to add excursions that we would have never known about that made our trip even more memorable. Any questions that came up over the course of our trip were immediately answered and the customer service was second to none. Since we visited later in the season some of our initial plans had to be adjusted, but it didn’t take away from a once in a lifetime visit! Thank you Adrian!

Hotel Reviews

Waterford Castle

Waterford

The Waterford Castle was an experience second to none. The grounds and estate were beautiful. All of the staff were welcoming, especially Alisandro who crafted fantastic cocktails for us. The food was delicious and the bread pudding was the star of the show!

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Ballea Castle

Cork

Louise and her family provided a fantastic stay at Ballea Castle. Everyone, including the animals, were warm and kind. Our room was wonderful and dinner at Mabel Lane was top notch. We enjoyed walking the grounds with Daisy, Prince and their two lovely cats. A worthwhile stay during our journey through Ireland.

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The Lake Hotel

Killarney

An experience all to itself! A fantastic home base for all of our excursions in Killarney. The staff were incredibly kind and added a special touch to make our birthday celebration truly memorable. The newly renovated wing was beautiful and the views were outstanding. From our balcony we could see deer, ducks, and the most breathtaking view!

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Hotel Riu Plaza The Gresham Dublin

Dublin

We had a nice stay at The Gresham. Its location made it easy to walk to museums, restaurants and shopping. Everyone we interacted with was kind and accommodating.

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Menlo Hotel

Galway

The Menlo Hotel is conveniently located right on the edge of downtown Galway. The staff were friendly and added a special touch for birthday celebrations. The hotel was undergoing additional construction, but it did not impact our trip in the least. The downtown area was a quick taxi ride in the rain and the Shannon airport was an easy drive as well.

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Activity Reviews

Pearse Lyons Distillery: Dublin's Unique Church-Converted Spirit Haven

Dublin

Hidden gem located right next to Guinness. The church was beautifully restored and our tour guide was both friendly and knowledgeable about the Distillery’s history and the whiskey making process. If you’re looking for a smaller / local distillery feel, not to mention some pretty good whiskey, this is your place!

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Viking Triangle - King Of The Vikings

Waterford

Very informative and fun way to learn about the Viking history in Ireland. Knowledgeable guide and cool VR experience.

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Falconry Adventures

Killarney

Don’t miss an opportunity to meet Mark and his birds! Mark’s passion and knowledge make this a great stop in your travels. We learned a lot about the birds of prey, including how they are trained, how they hunt, and got to hold / feed them too!

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Waterford Crystal Factory Tour

Waterford

The Waterford tour was enlightening and we had a great guide (Caroline) who was super friendly. We saw every step in the process and even some of the famous pieces on display. Hit the gift shop at the end and get something special!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Adrian was wonderful and lovely to work with. He listened and did his very best to make our experience exceptional. Also, if getting a driver, I highly recommend Ken Smyth - he was incredible! Five star!

Jane planned a trip that was just what we wanted. Every detail was covered and we had no mishaps with our transportation or lodging or tours. I have recommended Kimkim to all my friends that are planning trips.

Hotel Reviews

The Merchant's House

Salisbury

Delightful historic hotel with a chef who prepares authentic Indian dishes and more conventional dishes as well. Only slight negative was that we had to carry our bags downstairs ourselves.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Centrally located close to the market center and the cathedral.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Eight

Bath

Such a cute place and comfortable too and right in the middle of everything. Next door to Sally Lund’s Buns. The staff were so friendly and helpful. The breakfast was excellent. Only slight negative was the metal spiral staircase which make carrying our bags down interesting.

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The Grand, York

North Yorkshire

Very luxurious hotel and large comfortable rooms. Bigger than the other hotels we stayed in and newer too but we still really enjoyed it.

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Leonardo Royal London St Paul's

London

A large hotel in the city so a bit more impersonal than some of the other hotels but still very comfortable and convenient.

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My

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Activity Review

Dark Tales of York Private ghost tour

York

We had a one on one tour with the most fabulous entertainer and host. I don’t remember his name but I loved watching his face while he told us stories.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Claire was the absolute best with planning our trip. She curated it perfectly to what we wanted and had the best excursions planned. She really paid attention to detail and made the whole process seamless. She was also quick to respond and available with any questions we had along the way.

My daughter and I wanted to plan a trip to Scotland. We generally knew what we wanted to see but felt we needed some local expertise to help us plan and make sure we weren’t missing anything. Jane Davey through Kimkim was an absolute delight to work with. Her personal knowledge of Scotland and genuine interest in creating a memorable and personalized experience for us made for an outstanding mother/daughter adventure. Despite the online Kimkim model - there was a lot of personal interaction with Jane - including video calls with us to go over the details of our itinerary. She and her team built an online road book with every detail of our itinerary included that we were able to reference throughout the trip. Plus - she and her team were available by phone 24/7 to help with any questions.

We loved every aspect of our trip. Scotland is magical and her people are warm and welcoming. We especially enjoyed the historic city of Edinburgh and visiting the Isle of Skye and Lewis/Harris in the Hebrides. We saw gorgeous landscapes, hauntingly beautiful castle ruins, ancient landmarks and charming towns. We did a fair bit of driving - which was an adventure in itself since we weren’t used to left-side driving. We loved it all!

Recently retired and wanting to travel to Scotland, but where to start? Hearing about KimKim from my sister-in-law we contacted them and them and Pauline was our personal agent and advocate! We had appointments regularly so she could glean what were our goals and desires. She listened, then researched and advised. She was SPOT ON! We wanted to experience as much as we could in the 10 day trip and looking back I would not have changed a thing!
Pauline and the team at KimKim made sure to book our hotels close to the train connections and local travel options. My husband and I along with his sister and husband traveled with ease knowing we were backed by the whole group. It made us feel more at ease when questions arose.
We were picked up at the airport and delivered to our first hotel in London for a couple of days starting with the Tower of London and a on a whim the Winston Churchill War Room exhibits. Both were AMAZING! The following day we took infamous Westminster Chapel, which left us breathless.
Off to Edinburgh by train to see the country in comfort! One of our goals was to learn about my husband's Scottish heritage. KimKim connected us to a guide who was such a gem, Alister, who gave a a driving tour of Edinburgh first and then to the family town and castle! Although the castle was in ruins, it was truly remarkable. Alister headed our wish to visits the less busy parts of Scotland and our day along the coastal towns and local cafe's made it all the more memorable.
Then Inverness the trip would not be complete without the castle tours, historical sites with fantastic guides and stories told with their delightful accent! A 12 hour bus tour to the Isle of Skye with photo stops and entertaining and historical stories from our guide, Carin, made the trip a real winner.
The last stop in the quaint town of Sterling staying in a truly landmark hotel, the Golden Lion, and the Sterling castle (which is a MUST see).
KimKim had a driver deliver us to the airport, (another Alister) who was the kindest gentleman, who navigated morning traffic through the backroads with ease to deliver us to the airport.
ALL the details matter and Pauline and her crew hit it out of the park. We are so grateful to have had them in our back pocket!

Activity Reviews

Tower of London Timed Entry Tickets

London

Easy to tour on your own, they have personal audio players so you can spend as little or as much time as you like.

Tickets to Westminster Abbey

London

Truly breath taking. Majestic, solemn, and facsinating. I need a full day!

Quality of Experience

Private day dedicated to the Lumsden Clan

Inverness

Honestly I cannot say enough about our guide, Alister. He was thorough and oh so thoughtful. His research on our family heritage and then driving us to the specific locations was so valuable. We were able to see, walk, read and touch where our family lived hundreds of years ago. We have memories that will be with us forever. Thank you Alistor and KimKim!

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Edinburgh Castle Tickets

Edinburgh

Such a treat to experience REAL history.

Quality of Experience

The Isle of Skye & Eilean Donan Castle

Inverness

Stirling Castle Tickets

Scotland

This was the castle to see! Where Scotland has so much history.

Quality of Experience

Pauline was wonderful! She was very detailed and organized with our plans. She was very attentive to my needs as a disabled traveler. There were some hiccups on the trip but none of them had anything to do with Pauline or Kimkim and anything we approached her with pertaining to those problems she went above and beyond to help rectify. When we travel abroad again we will be using Kimkim!!

We had an absolutely fabulous time. Claire listened to our wants and wishes and fulfilled them well. From the first day we arrived in Dublin, to the last day in Dublin we enjoyed every minute.
We rented a car (best idea) and went counterclockwise around Ireland. We were traveling for 2 weeks.
Pros - The hotels, with the exception of one(in cons):
Iveagh Gardens Hotel - Dublin - Beautifully decorated, great buffet breakfast with lots choices, rooms were a good size, nothing too fancy but very comfortable.
Ten Square Hotel - Belfast - Very comfortable, good location to visit Belfast
Lough Eske Castle - Donegal Town - Beautiful rooms, wonderful staff, great bartender! - definitely worth the stay
Victorian Hotel -Killarney - Lovely hotel. Very cozy, meals were order only(but delish) with a wait staff to be commended.
Sites:
Belfast - Black Taxi Tour - outstanding tour of Belfast and the N. Irelands troubled times. We felt like we were in a history class only with wit and lots of wisdom. I believe our driver's name was Justin and he was wonderful. He picked us up at our hotel and we were off. We thought 3 hours was going to be too long, but we could have continued for another 2 and been very happy.
Kylemore Abbey (Clifden)- an active real abbey - just beautiful, the dining room was majestic, with plates set the table of famous visitors from many years.
The Cliffs of Mohr - There are no words to really describe the Cliffs of Mohr from the ocean. It transports you to another world -imagining everything that has happened to Ireland and how it was naturally protected in many ways.
Rock of Cashel - stunning building, lots of history, very interesting. Great stop between Killarney and Dublin
Book of Kells/Long library - A must for every person who visits Dublin. the book itself is unbelievably beautiful. the long library is under renovations but still a wonder to see. Normally ~ 200K books but down to ~17k. Our guide was earning his masters in history at the college(Trinity) and extremely knowledgeable. It was a wonderful day
Teeling distillery - great tour and great whiskey - what else can I say
Our trip went smoothly, exactly as planned - no problems or issues with reservations, or tours. KimKim gave us a perfect itinerary, complete with directions, sites to see (other that what we had planned), and suggestions on where to eat. I highly recommend Kim Kim and especially Claire, our main contact.
Cons
the only real con we have is the Galmont Hotel ( Galway) - it was a great location for the shopping district and getting in and out of the city. However, it was not cozy, the bathtub was inconvenient for older people, and the room were difficult to get to. I would not recommend this hotel.

We did rent a car and it was great. It gave us the freedom to go where and when we wanted to go. Most of the roads were wide and easy driving but when we took the narrow roads we saw parts of Ireland we would not have seen. We only got lost once and lucked in to seeing cows filling the road, being driven to another field. We were also privy to seeing free range sheep, eating grass outside the fence and a sheep do, corralling sheep in an open field, not on a tour.

Again - we had a flawless trip with the exception of storm Amy, which prevented us from seeing The Giants Causeway, but that was of not fault of KimKim.

Hotel Reviews

Iveagh Gardens Hotel

Dublin

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Ten Square Hotel

Belfast

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Lough Eske Castle Hotel

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The Galmont Hotel & Spa

Galway

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The Victoria Hotel

Killarney

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Activity Reviews

Belfast Political Taxi Tour

Belfast

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Rock of Cashel

Ireland

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Trinity Trails & Book of Kells Guided Tour

Dublin

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Welcome to Donegal!

Ireland

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Kylemore Abbey

Ireland

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Aran Island and Cliffs of Moher cruise from Galway

Galway

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Aillwee Burren Experience ( Cave Tour, Birds of Prey, Cheese Tasting)

Ballyvaughan

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Falconry Adventures

Killarney

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Visit and taste at Teeling Distillery

Dublin

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