Mimpi Nusantara Asia

I have used Kimkim twice now. The first time was for a two-week trip to the Philippines about six months ago, and everything was so wonderful that when I decided to take my two daughters to Bali before one headed off to law school and the other started college, I didn’t hesitate to book through Kimkim again.

For this trip, I wanted something a little different. We were looking for eco-conscious luxury, beautiful nature, authentic cultural experiences, and places that felt a little off the beaten path. One thing I especially appreciated during my first Kimkim experience was being paired with a local travel specialist who really understood the destination and culture. I asked whether I could receive a quote from a different specialist this time, but was told I couldn’t. I decided to move forward anyway even though I would have liked to have shopped agencies. (Since Kim Kim is basically a matchmaker site between local agencies and the consumer of travel).

The itinerary was pretty basic and the activities were primarily “self guided”. The trip was definitely highly marked up.

The planning process was fine, and after a few itinerary adjustments we were on our way from the San Francisco Bay Area to Bali.

The biggest disappointment was the level of communication from our travel specialist. We were only checked in on once after arriving, and during that message she didn’t even remember my name. It lacked the warmth, attentiveness, and thoughtful personal touches that I experienced on my previous Kimkim trip and that friends have also described. It certainly didn’t ruin our vacation, but it was noticeably different from the level of service I had come to expect.

Now for the part that made this trip absolutely unforgettable:
Our driver, Made (pronounced “Mah-Dee”), was extraordinary. I was initially told that he was “just a driver” and that a guide would cost extra. In reality, Made became one of the biggest highlights of our entire vacation.

He consistently went far above and beyond what anyone could reasonably expect. He was incredibly knowledgeable about Balinese culture, history, religion, traditions, food, and daily life. He answered every question we had with patience and enthusiasm, made wonderful recommendations that improved our itinerary, and was always thinking several steps ahead to make our days smoother and more enjoyable.

As three women traveling together, we always felt completely safe in his care. He was professional, respectful, kind, punctual, and genuinely invested in making sure we had the best possible experience. By the end of two weeks, he felt more like a trusted friend than simply our driver. If Kimkim has employees who represent the very best of what travel should be, Made is one of them. He deserves tremendous recognition.

The accommodations were also outstanding. Every hotel was an eco-luxury retreat, beautifully designed, surrounded by nature, and unique in its own way. The prices were very reasonable for travelers looking for this sort of resort . The markup from kimkim was huge and next time I will book these hotels myself and saved a lot of money. I never saw an itemized cost breakdown but did the math and I could have spent 1/2 the price booking myself. Each location had its own personality, yet all maintained the same high standard of comfort and hospitality that was standard for the areas where we stayed.

Even with my disappointment regarding communication from our travel specialist, this was still probably the best trip of my life. Bali is magical, and Kimkim put together an itinerary that allowed us to experience its beauty in a meaningful way. If I could make one suggestion, it would be to ensure every traveler receives the same level of personal attention during the planning process that Kimkim has built its reputation on.

And if you’re lucky enough to have Made as your driver, know that you’re in exceptional hands. He was worth his weight in gold and was one of the biggest reasons this became a trip my daughters and I will remember for the rest of our lives.

Hotel Reviews

Wapa Di Ume Sidemen

We spent our last three nights in Bali here. It was the perfect place to end the best vacation EVER. The staff were so attentive and thoughtful and kind. We attended their “BBQ by the river” which is a must! The restaurant was great. Breakfast was lovely every morning. The room was perfect for me and my two adult daughters. We had such a great time here. The staff really made it special . The views were priceless .

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pondok Santi Estate

Nusa Tenggara Bar.

My adult daughters absolutely loved this resort. The location and staff were phenomenal. We spent 4 nights here and we felt so close to everything but loved being on this quiet southern tip of the island . He could hear the ocean and wake up to a beautiful sunrise every morning from our generously appointed villa. The outdoor showers such a great touch . The perfect amount of nature and luxury. The staff were incredible. I will definitely visit again someday!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Across the street from a beautiful stretch of beach and set back away from the party atmosphere of the island .

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ubud Valley Boutique Resort

We loved this place! The staff was top notch . The room was so beautiful. The craftsmanship of the villas were absolutely breathtaking .

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Elevate by Hanging Gardens Munduk

Munduk

We had a wonderful stay at Elevate by Hanging Gardens Munduk. The property is beautiful, and the views of the mountains and surrounding greenery were absolutely breathtaking. It was such a peaceful place to relax and unwind. The staff were kind, welcoming, and attentive, and our villa was comfortable, thoughtfully designed, and felt like a special place to stay. As a vegan, I was pleasantly surprised to find several great vegan options on the menu, which made dining easy and enjoyable. The cooler weather was a nice change, and we really enjoyed spending a few days in this part of Bali. It felt like a wonderful place to slow down and take in the scenery. We would absolutely recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a beautiful, relaxing stay surrounded by nature, and we’d love to return someday

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Sound Bath & Healing Experience

Ubud, Bali

This was just okay. I wouldn’t do it again.

Quality of Experience

Visit Jatiluwih Rice Terraces

Indonesia

Our tour guide was so sweet! This place is beautiful . Take your time and just soak in wonder of this place. Bring money for snacks and buy goods from the people from the village they are so kind and thoughtful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our tour guide was wonderful. Our driver showed up just as we were finished - no waiting in the hot afternoon sun!

Transport

Sacred Wellness Journey in the Sidemen Valley

Sidemen, Bali

Anandini was wonderful! Surya was so kind wise and patient. Everything about the day for myself and my daughters was such a special gift. We will always remember this place as well as Surya.

Quality of Experience

Such a magical resort restaurant garden and wellness center. I’d love to stay in one of their villas the next time I’m in sideman ! There are the most precious pups on site and it’s all Vegan which meant I could eat everything on their amazing menu!

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our Drive Made did all of our driving and he was knowledgeable of every place we went. Transportation was always exceptional! anandinil Was so close to our resort but he still picked us up drove us and made sure we were good to go at the reception desk. There was torrential rainfall the morning we arrived so the help was so appreciated!

Catamaran boat trip around the Gili islands

Indonesia

The boat “utopia” is a beauty!! We loved this so much. The staff played great music and were a lot of fun! The snorkeling was great with a perfect amount of stops and lots of time to play in the water, paddle board or float around the boat before and after lunch. We had a great group on board with us and everyone had such a great time!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The staff were phenomenal and provided friendly and exemplary service!

Transport

Sekumpul Waterfalls Adventure

Indonesia

If you can make the hike back UP the mountain side, taking the trip down to the rivers and the falls is a MUST. This was such a surprising adventure! Probably our favorite activity on our trip to Bali. The local guides are amazing and the views are awesome inspiring. The sort of beauty that is so difficult to even capture with a cameras I was glad my daughters and guide took pictures because I was speechless and totally lost myself in the magic of this place.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Myriam, Budi, Putu, and all of the other guides and drivers were amazing. The trip was perfectly planned, and everything was smooth as could be. I would give this team my highest recommendation!

This trip was an adventure. Something different every day and the guides were fabulous. I could not tell you which activity was my favorite. Sometimes the days were too long and could have been made a little shorter by eliminating some of the village trips. However village trips like the one immersing the culture of Bali was wonderful. But trips where we watched someone make palm sugar and tempeh were not. The hotels were absolutely great and we wished that we could linger in them a little longer like the one in Jiwa Jawa. I know that this was an adventure trip but I wish that we had some time to explore local markets. I like to buy a souvenir to remember my trip.

Hotel Reviews

FM7 Resort Hotel Jakarta

Tangerang, Banten

Nice hotel but rather removed from everything, therefore it was not possible to go and walk outside. The plus was that it is near the airport.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Sun of Granary Resort and Villas

Ubud,Bali

Beautiful hotel. But the restaurant had a rather limited menu.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Menjangan Dynasty Resort - CHSE Certified

Pejarakan

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ketapang Indah Hotel

Banyuwangi

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Jiwa Jawa Bromo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very inviting lush gardens where you can linger all day

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Phoenix Hotel Yogyakarta - MGallery Collection

YOGYAKARTA

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Anara Kualanamu

Sumatera Utara

Only slept there so cannot make a comment

Ecolodge Bukit Lawang

Bukit Lawang

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Cultural Immersion and traditions at Rumah Desa

Indonesia

Wonderful introduction to the culture of Bali. Taking part in the a religious ceremony and helping to cook a meal as well as a close excursion in the rice field and watching the field being prepared and the rice transplanted.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sekumpul Waterfalls Adventure

Indonesia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Driver and staff were excellent. They insisted that we get out of our wet clothes after a drenching rain and brought our suitcases to us. Then we enjoyed a warm home cooked meal at the local restaurant,

Transport

Snorkeling around Menjangan Island

Indonesia

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Exploring the Local Plantations

Indonesia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunrise from the Mount Bromo Caldera

Indonesia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Traditional Javanese Villages

Indonesia

Sharing the culture and food with the family of this village was wonderful. Interacting with the young children added to the trip. The home cooked meal was one of the best.

Quality of Experience

Food

the home made food was one of the best

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Borobudur: A UNESCO World Heritage Site

Indonesia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Prambanan: Indonesia’s Largest Shivaite Temple Complex

Yogyakarta

Quite crowded but we went at the end of the holidays, so many people there.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bukit Lawang trek to bat cave and Landak River

Indonesia

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Becak tour

Indonesia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jungle Exploration & Adventure Day - Meet the Orangutans

Indonesia

I never thought that I would see an orangutan this close. The orangutan performed for us for 20 minutes. This activity alone made my trip.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had all wonderful guides who were prompt and took us to all the places that they were supposed to. They were all knowledgeable and helped us to understand what we were seeing. Due to the holiday after Ramadan the traffic was unusually heavy, and we spent a long time traveling. One guide seemed to be on a schedule and she took so much time getting us to our next place. She did not want our arrival to be before a set time. It was late and we had an early flight out. It was much too much for one day.

Marc, our travel agent, prepared the trip to our specifications. The hotels were all good.

Thanks for planning this trip so well. We enjoyed it.

Judith Lewin-Kossover

Our driver, Odik, was just a delight. He was always early, which meant we were never running behind schedule. He answered our questions, and provided commentary from time to time, especially when the Guide wasn't with us. He was very alert to my desire to take a photo from inside the car and would stop or slow down as traffic permitted. And speaking of traffic, it's a little crazy navigating the roads. There were a few times when I closed my eyes because I thought something bad was about to happen, but it never did.

Our guide, Badi, was likewise very engaging and informative. He provided lots of great historical and background information on the places we visited. He dealt with our on-the-fly requests to find an ATM we could use, and to buy some liquor to take home with us.

All of our outings were much better than the descriptions. We were particularly happy with the cooking classes at Rumah Desa and Paon Bali were excellent! Well-organized, efficiently delivered, and informative. The Monkey Forest was a delight as well, getting to be up close and personal with the animals.

One tiny downside...it would have been helpful to have a level-of-effort rating on some of the walks. I was able to do pretty much everything, but my traveling companion had to forgo some of the walks, or sections of walks, because they were just a little too strenuous.

In the end, though, I will be happy to recommend Kimkim and our consultant, Marc Urban to anyone who asks!

Hotel Review

Tejaprana Resort & Spa

Bali

We felt like we sat down in the lap of luxury when we arrived at Tejaprana. Once you turn off the very busy street, you descend (literally) into an island paradise of quiet and green and luxury. Frankly, we were happy to spend all of our free time at the resort, partly because we'd been traveling for a long time, and partly because it's just so damn nice. Similarly, Aruna Restaurant is excellent! We ate our way through most of the Balinese offerings they had on the menu, sometimes more than once. Staff is very friendly and welcoming, from the top management to the people cleaning the resort.

Authenticity & Character

I can't speak to the authenticity of the establishment, since I've had little exposure to the culture. But the character was very much in line with what I expected.

Location

It was relatively central to all that we wanted to see. It took us a while to understand that you can't move very fast in Bali, particularly in congested areas. But all was great.

Staff

From top to bottom the staff was excellent! Pandi, the restaurant manager, was particularly helpful and welcoming.

Cleanliness & Comfort

When your hotel is in the middle of nature, as is Tejaprana, you can't expect it to look 100% pristine at all times. So there were times that there were leaves and other natural debris scattered about. But it wasn't in the least offensive. Cleanliness was top-notch.

Activity Reviews

Visit a local market & enjoy a cooking class

Indonesia

The market walk was interesting, because it gave us such a good glimpse into daily life. The cooking class was exceptional, start to finish!.

Quality of Experience

well-run and delightful from start to finish!

Food

OMIGOD! SO GOOD!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Staff was really great! It seemed like they very much enjoy what they do!

Transport

Cultural Immersion and traditions at Rumah Desa

Indonesia

It was absolutely fascinating to step into the world of a Balinese family, if only for part of a day. Our guide (I wish I could remember his name, but he was 6'5" tall, so very distinctive among Balinese men) did a great job introducing us to religious traditions and other aspects of daily life. I enjoyed learning about their 18-character alphabet, and getting a memento of my name written in Balinese. It was also interesting to see the amount of labor that goes in to producing coconut oil, coconut milk, and grated coconut.

Quality of Experience

Nope. Start to finish, it was excellent.

Food

The meal we helped to prepare was excellent!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I've talked about our driver elsewhere. The staff was uniformly warm and welcoming.

Transport

Discussed elsewhere.

We had an absolutely amazing experience planning our holidays. From the very first steps of the planning process to the final days of the trip, everything was seamless and incredibly well organized.

Myriam and the team truly understood what we were looking for. They didn’t just plan a trip, they created an experience. We didn’t just visit different places in Indonesia, we really got to understand the country, its culture, and its people in a meaningful way.

And the cherry on top was our incredible driver, Edi. He made every single journey enjoyable, shared so much about the local food culture, and always showed up with the best attitude and a smile. He honestly made the experience even more special.

We couldn’t have asked for more and we can’t wait to be back! 🌏

Hotel Reviews

Alamdhari Resort & Spa

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sri Ratih Cottages

Delicious breakfast, well located. Amazing views and clean Staff extremely helpful

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Rafting or Tubing on Telaga Waja River

Indonesia

An extreme fun adventure

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Undisan Cultural Activity Day: Dive into Bali’s Heartbeat

Indonesia

The highlight of the trip :) Immersive activity getting to know the locals

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We used Kimkim to plan our honeymoon to Bali and Lombok, and it was an incredible experience. Our specialist, Marc, was thoughtful, responsive, and truly understood what we wanted—romantic, relaxing, and stress-free. All three of our drivers/guides were fantastic.

When I asked about making changes to the itinerary, Marc took the time to explain why it was originally planned the way it was, and I’m so glad we trusted his expertise and left everything as he designed it. The trip flowed perfectly, the accommodations were amazing, and we never had to worry about a single detail. We also got pretty lucky with the weather since it was rainy season in Indonesia, but much less crowds and I couldn’t imagine going when it’s crowded everywhere and humid!

We’re so grateful to Marc and Kimkim for creating a honeymoon we’ll never forget. We would absolutely use them again and highly recommend them to anyone planning a special trip.

Hotel Reviews

Merusaka Nusa Dua

Bali

Very nice hotel and room. We had some issues with the TV and AC in our first room, which required some elevation to management and finally requesting a new room to get fixed. The hotel itself is the nicest we stayed at. It’s also a very touristy area, so it’s very catered to western standards and safety. Also loved how close to was to the airport for the end of our trip.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Qunci Villas Hotel

Senggigi

It was a great hotel overall, but the rooms could use some updates. The cleanliness was OK. A few issues with cleaning that they promptly fixed when asked. It should be noted the shower is outdoors, which is so fun but can be a bit of an issue sometimes with rainy season. There is also only a shower, no tub. The restaurants were fantastic!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tejaprana Resort & Spa

Bali

Our favorite place we stayed. The cutest little villa with our own private plunge pool. The welcome drink and massages were great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to ubud but far enough away from the hustle and bustle

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Kecak Dance Performance

Indonesia

We loved this! So unique and it was great to do the temple tour prior to the performance. Our guide was very experienced and spoke English so well. I am so glad this was a part of our itinerary.

Quality of Experience

The show was spectacular, especially at the earlier time because sunset happened during the show.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide spoke really good English compared to most people in this country and he had been doing this almost 30 years!

Transport

Waterfall Exploration and Traditional Sasak Village Visit

Indonesia

The waterfall was so beautiful! It was a really cool little hike through a river and forest there. Our guide was so fun and took great photos.

Quality of Experience

Sooo worth it. Beautiful.

Food

The fried chicken was awesome, meal was authentic and fresh

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Best Beaches of Lombok

Indonesia

I’m sure the beaches are really great, unfortunately it was raining the day we had this scheduled so we got stuck in some rain storms. It’s also a little far from the resort we stayed in.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Balinese massage

Indonesia

Quality of Experience

Boat trip and snorkeling around the Gilis island (Meno, Air)

Indonesia

Our favorite activity- highly recommend this. We even went back to the gili islands another day because we loved it so much. So so many sea turtles!! The viewing glass upgrade to the boat was nice, but overall a speed boat would have been amazing for faster travel. Also, a nicer boat with a better area on the front to lounge would have made it perfect.

Quality of Experience

Food

Sitting on the beach to eat was awesome!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A fast boat or nicer boat would have been ideal