Meet and Greet

The experience was great! The transfers, hotels and care line all worked well.

Two points that would have helped:
1) Pantheon Inn wasn’t at the same level as Tasso and Cannaletto. More hotel choices would have been great.
2) With young kids and the heat, the tours were too long.

Thanks!

Hotel Reviews

Pantheon Inn

Rome

Elevator kept going out, breakfast was so so and quality of room / furniture was poor.

Authenticity & Character

Architecture

Location

Easy to walk to all

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Quality of furniture

Hotel Canaletto

Venice

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius walking tour

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Best of Venice guided walking tour with gondola ride

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Colosseum, Roman Forums and Palatine Hill

Rome

Good info and walk, but Too long and too much standing and sitting

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Vatican & Sistine Chapel - Small Group Tour

Rome

Too long on a hot day with young kids.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Francesco was fantastic in planning and executing our Italy trip. He accommodated our interests in the timeframe we had. Rome was very interesting with all the history. Loved the pizza making in Florence. Venice was little underwhelming.
Francesco and his team were available on WhatsApp as needed. They were proactive about a train strike and made sure our trip went smooth.
Only critical feedback would be to also suggest places other than what client wants.

Hotel Reviews

VENICE TIME HOTEL

Venice

Close to train station and boat. Small with almost non existent lobby.

Authenticity & Character

Very vanilla

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

FH55 Hotel Calzaiuoli

Firenze

Fantastic location, minutes from Uffizi gallery. Comfortable room and very friendly staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Guardian Hotel

Rome

Located somewhat close to city center. Would have preferred closer. Rooms were smaller. Staff was helpful. They packed a takeout breakfast when we needed.

Authenticity & Character

Nothing fancy

Location

Was a good 15-20 min walk for most trips. Would prefer closer.

Staff

Helped pack takeout breakfast

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Half day tour Pisa and the leaning tower

Florence

Very convenient half day tour that takes you to Pisa and even climb on top! Highly recommend!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Gondola Ride

Venice

Very underwhelming experience. Took forever to get there. We got on a Gondola that was very vanilla. The guy rowing wasn’t super friendly. It was just 30min of sitting with not much info.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A better interactive ride would be ideal.

Pizza and gelato making class

Florence

Fantastic activity that is so much fun for adults and kids. Highly recommend. Great instructors. Clean kitchen and good quality ingredients. Best Pizza and gelato we ever made. Highly recommend.

Quality of Experience

Great staff, instruction, small group, quality ingredients and results.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Fun and knowledgeable staff

Transport

Near city center

Rome in a Day Tour with Colosseum and Vatican Museums guided tours

Rome

Good tour to finish Colosseum, Forum and Vatican City in a day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Have to take taxi

GUIDED TOUR OF THE UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE OF ANCIENT POMPEII FROM ROME WITH STOP IN NAPLES

Rome

Very comfortable tour and fantastic tour of Pompeii! It’s very short stop at Naples and so wish was longer. Lunch was delicious but few more options would have been good.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Comfortable bus

Rome - 2h Gladiator School

Rome

Fun activity for kids. You learn the history and actually get to do some sword techniques.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hard to find taxi from the location

We had a lovely time in Italy and really did appreciate all the pre-planning done. Our logistics and travel in between locations was very thorough and understandable.
ROME- Our guided tour in Rome was fabulous due to Marco, our guide and our getting it done early before the crowds/heat. Getting our daughter delivered to the hotel was seamless as well. The hotel was nice but a little small as far as space goes. The elevator was hit or miss. The best part was the rooftop area where we could escape the crazy crowds. The included breakfast was nice but nothing great. We stumbled onto several good restaurants but would have liked maybe more recommendations and actual reservations due to said crowds.
FLORENCE-The cooking class was our favorite part and Thomasso our chef was superb. Some of our best meals were in that class. Our wine tour was also excellent and Christina was fun. Great locations and not too far from city center. Our hotel was great…again the gathering space was very small for us but we found a little bar right across the street that made up for that. Very centrally located and was VERY LOUD Saturday night until the early morning hours. One room smelled strongly of cigar smoke but we made it work. Better breakfast at this hotel. As in Rome, you really need reservations for both food and tours which we didn’t have enough of. The Duomo line was around the building everytime we passed and it wasn’t’ open often enough for us to go through with the time we had.
LAKE COMO-Beautiful location and much less crowded than other two locales. We didn’t really have any set plans for Como and that was probably a mistake. I arranged a private boat tour of the lake and it was lovely…Lake Como Boat Tours was responsible and Ricardo was very thorough and sweet. We rode the funicular up to Brunate and would have liked to know more about this area as it was right near our hotel. We got on it very early in the morning so we didn’t get in the crazy lines but nothing was really open at the top. However, the views were fabulous and so was the weather. I guess the takeaway from saying you want to go to Lake Como is that is a huge area and I wasn’t aware that the Villas were so far from the town of Como. WE did not see either Balbianello or Villa Carlotta due to their distance away and no tickets available. The ferry, which we were told would be the best way to get around the lake, had ridiculously long lines every morning and it was very hard to figure out where you really needed to go. I think more planning would have been helpful as far as that goes. Restaurants were easier in Como but we did try to go to one that was simply the rudest we have been treated in a while so I suggest not even trying at Numeronove…they have great reviews but it was very obvious that they did not want Americans in their establishment. One place that we really enjoyed in COMO was Vineria Vitani…very nice kid behind the bar and lovely atmosphere for wine tasting.
Overall, it was a fantastic trip and not having to worry about traveling between cities was great. We did run into terrible delays at Milan airport on the way out and would advise not to use that airport no matter the cost. We missed our connecting flight into London, had to scramble to get on a flight to another state inside the US then had to drive home from there. It was brutal. I suggest connecting in the states to an airport that goes straight to your destination. Lessons learned!!

Our family (me, my husband, and our two sons aged 21 and 27) travelled to Athens, Rome, and Sorrento May 22 through 30. 2024. This was a ‘once in a lifetime’ trip for all of us. Both of the boys have always been very interested in ancient history, so that informed our choices on this trip.

Everything in Athens was perfect! Hotel staff was friendly and helpful. The guides we got were very knowledgeable and easy to talk to. The sights were amazing, obviously. Food was good! Shopping was fun! Locals were lovely! Weather was gorgeous! Really, I couldn’t ask for any improvement. If I could find a Diet Pepsi in the city, I think I could move here.

We were rather disappointed with our time in Rome, although some of it was beyond anyone's control. On our first day there we had a tour scheduled for ‘Ancient Basilicas and the Catacombs.’ We were instructed to meet the tour guide in front of a hotel a ten-minute walk away. As we loitered around the front of the hotel for 15 minutes, (since we were told to arrive early), we spoke to one man who said he had the tour of the catacombs, but it started at 2:30, not 2:00 like we thought. So, we waited and wandered around some more. Finally figured out that was not our tour and found the correct guide. We were also told it was not a private tour, which is why we had to meet someplace that wasn’t our hotel, but we were the only people on the tour. The tour guide was lovely and interesting. The next day was a free day. It also happened to be the day of a cycling ‘tour of Italy’ event. Streets closed, crowds, grumpy taxi drivers. The third day we had a tour scheduled for the Colosseum, Palatine hill and the Forum. Got to the meeting place 15-20 minutes early and tried to figure out where we were supposed to be. There were tour guides there, but none of the names of the tour companies matched anything I had. The original tour guide didn’t show up. Finally figured it out and got underway. This tour was really not very pleasant. Maybe because she was late or was called in at the last moment, she moved like she was in a race. Barely time to take any pictures. Often she was so far away that the audio cut out on the headsets. “You see my scarf? Andiamo!!” Her commentary sounded like memorized bullet points from an index card. And then we got to the Colosseum. I could not believe the crowd. Impossible to see anything, impossible to hear the guide, really miserable. Looking back at my conversations with Emi, this is really where I would have hoped for a little more local insight. Maybe we shouldn’t have done the traditional tour of the Colosseum. Maybe we could have just done the floor tour. I would have appreciated her input here instead of just saying “you have to buy tickets for the floor tour yourself.” Pretty disappointed in the three days we spent here.

The next morning we were on the train to Naples. No problems on the trip and the driver met us even though we were about 45 minutes late. The hotel in Sorrento was amazing. I have never stayed in a hotel that nice and I’m sure I never will again. The tour guide for Pompeii was excellent. I wish we could have spent more time there – visited the museum and the gift shop. The boys went to Herculaneum the next day while my husband and I walked around Sorrento. (There was some confusion as the number of people on the tour was never changed from 4 to 2, as requested.) Again, the boys said the guide was excellent. Then back to Naples the next morning for our flight.

Overall it was a great trip. We saw so many amazing things and met some wonderful people. Since we are not big travelers and we are unlikely to ever do a trip like this again, I felt the pressure was on me to plan and execute a trip as close to perfect as possible. And it was, mostly. Just wish the days in Rome had worked out better.

Overall it was a great trip. The hotel on Tuscany was not what we expected. The staff, one person, was not friendly or welcoming. We had to figure out a scooter tour on our one. There was no concierge and no shuttle. The pick up in Sorrento was a mess. A driver showed up with a sedan and not a van. He was rude and unhelpful. We had to wait over an hour for a van and our train ride to Rome was delayed by an hour. We arrived to Tome later than expected which impacted my last day with my cousins.

We had a great time with no issues at any event! The only hiccup was when we first arrived and the driver was a couple of minutes late and not behind pole three. The Concept hotel had a lovely woman who checked us in and another lovely woman who made breakfast. It was an easy walk to the Spanish steps from there and when we returned for the last night felt like returning home! There was only one outlet in the room which made charging our devices challenging.
Our walking tour of Roma was great as it was just us so we could see what we wanted, linger for photos, and got into the collesium.
The hotel in Venice was also in a great location! The breakfast there was typical best western, meh. I am not in Italy to drink lousy coffee! We enjoyed the boat tour- the second island had little to offer on a cold cloudy day, but Murano and Burano were awesome.
The gondola ride was as expected- on a quiet night actually felt kind of creepy…
The Joy Hotel in Florence was close to the train station, and easy walk to everything, although the neighborhood itself felt sketchy. Joy hotel hands down had the best breakfast!! We truly enjoyed the street food tour. Would do that again !
To top off a wonderful trip, we were able to see the Christmas Eve Mass at the Vatican our last night.

The entire trip was the best vacation my family has ever been on. The WhatsApp group really help us with last minute questions.

Hotel Reviews

Grand Hotel Europa Palace

Sorrento

The hotel is in walking distance of everything. The entire staff was excellent. The view from the room was magical.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bettoja Hotel Massimo D'Azeglio

Rome

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Castello di Gargonza

Arezzo

I highly suggest staying here.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Liassidi Palace

VENEZIA

the view was not good from the room. Also, there was no A/C which should have been ok if the weather was different, but it was still very warm every day which made the room hot at night. We were told to open the windows, but the mosquitos were so bad that we had to sleep with the sheets over our face to prevent.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Rome - 2h Gladiator School

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

DISCOVER CHRISTIAN CATACOMBS AND ANCIENT BASILICAS

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rome Walking Tour

Rome

He had a great since of humor and made the tour very fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private tour of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and Saint Peters Basilica

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private tour of Colosseum, Roman Forums and Palatine Hill

Rome

The tour guide was very knowledgably and made it the best of all of our tours

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day at leisure in Sorrento

Sorrento

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pompeii Excavations half-day Tour

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Gondola Ride

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

MURANO, BURANO AND TORCELLO EXCURSION

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

PRIORITY ACCESS TO DOGE'S PALACE TICKETS

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day At leisure in your castel

Arezzo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Venice Walking Tour

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

AMALFI AND POSITANO DISCOVERY BOAT TOUR - SEMI PRIVATE (max 12)

Sorrento

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Can’t say enough good things about this company…they made our honeymoon vacation in Italy, seamless and stress free. Emi, our consultant from Rome, created a wonderful itinerary for us with great tours and accommodations, car service when needed and a timeline that kept us entertained but not overwhelmed. The couple of hiccups during the trip ( a train strike and mapping error) were handled quickly and easily. We will certainly be using this service again again and highly recommend it to others!

Hotel Reviews

Unconventional Hotel Sorrento 3* Sant'Agnello

Sant'Agnello

Wonderful little hotel tucked away from the main hustle and bustle. Clean, nice view from our balcony, wonderful breakfast and very helpful and friendly staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Cosimo de' Medici

Florence

Great little hidden away gem!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Super close to the train station and very convenient to many attractions

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pillows were very firm otherwise everything else was great

Hotel Ca' d'Oro

Venice

Great little hotel off the beaten path. Very clean and comfortable. Unfortunately we were only there for one night and had to leave early so didn’t get to take in the breakfast

Authenticity & Character

Location

Off the beaten path so was nice and quiet. Just over 20 minute walk to the train station

Staff

Very helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nord nuova roma hotel Rome

Rome

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close enough to the train station to walk there. Also easy walking distance to many attractions.

Staff

Very helpful but not the most approachable

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean, very comfortable and lots of little niceties thrown in

Activity Reviews

Amalfi Coast experience from Sorrento

Sorrento

This area is a must see. Our guide was very informative. Wish we had more time in Amalfi

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chianti colors and flavors: Tuscan countryside with wine tastings

Florence

Amazing!! This is a must do, even for a non wine drinker! Lol

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide, Antonia ( I believe), was terrific! So informative, understandable and friendly

Transport

Day at leisure in Sorrento

Sorrento

Wonderful to have a day to wander and explore the area

Quality of Experience

Accademia Gallery Tour

Florence

This was an interesting tour but sometimes difficult to hear or follow with all the information. Nice to see but not a must

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tuscan Cooking class and S.Lorenzo Market

Florence

So much fun!! A must do!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Stefano and Thomas were awesome. Wonderful teachers and made the whole experience so much fun!

My wife and I just returned from a 16-day trip to Italy, which was arranged through KimKim and their local travel affiliate, Meet & Greet, Italia. Highlights included Venice, Florence, Assisi, Orvieto, Rome, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast region, and Pompeii. Thi trip was the first opportunity for my wife to experience the beautiful country, and for me, a special return after 40 years, when I lived in Rome for a year as an architecture student. Celebrating a special anniversary, l already had a good idea of the special regions and towns that would offer my wife a great sense of Italy’s beauty and ultimately enhance our romantic getaway. Working with Emi at KimKim hi later her business associate, Francesco, I could not have been happier with they expertise, courteous and friendly accommodations, and tremendous service over the course of 8 months, especially in our final weeks leading up to our departure. Emi continuously went out of her way to address my questions, concerns and/or changing itinerary priorities, in the most professional way. I never had to wait more than a day for updated responses / itinerary changes, and most times the response was immediate. Francesco’s efforts were equally impressive, including real-time updates to our online itinerary, which kept my mind at ease before and during the trip. Both Emi and Francesco were accommodating to our own requests, including one request to change our hotel in Sorrento, after reading FB posts from customers who were being relocated due to hotel renovations underway. They also changed a scheduled boat tour of the Amalfi coast to a driving tour at my request. In both cases, their accommodation was a huge help, especially when we confirmed the ongoing issues with the hotel, and realized that the original boat tour would have been canceled that day due to high winds. So Emi and Francesco planned the perfect getaway and the memories will last a lifetime! I highly recommend KimKim, especially Emi and Francesco for a beautiful taste of Italy!!