My Lisbon Holidays

We had an incredible trip thanks to Tiago! His advice and guidance was invaluable!

Joao's experience and advise were invaluable - guiding my wife and I through the planning process as well as while we were on the trip. All were glitch-free - quite important for us first-timers to Portugal. Traveling in the cities and in the regions we were in - as well as traveling to them/and through the country - was simple and stress-free. Of particular note are the service providers - transport and local guides - Joao used. They were knowledgeable, friendly, and engaging - well done to all. We began our trip in Lisbon, then on to Porto via high-speed rail, then to Lagos via rented car and finished our trip for our flight home back in Lisbon. Doing so allowed us to see a great deal of this beautiful country. Like many others before us - allowing 2 weeks would have been better than our 10 days, but maybe another trip sometime!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Lisboa Plaza

Lisbon

Great location in all respects - sites, restaurants, guides and other supporting providers. Many are easily walked to while others are just a short ride. Staff was very friendly and helpful - well-versed in English! (Thank you!)

Authenticity & Character

Boutique in nature, very much portrays the Portuguese culture.

Location

Great location in all respects - sites, restaurants, guides and other supporting providers.

Staff

With our limited knowledge of Portuguese - their English language skills were welcoming and welcome.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Exe Almada Porto

Porto

Located in the university area - very walkable to many of the sites of Porto. Highly recommend for this alone, but all other aspects of this hotel were excellent.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Located in the university area - very walkable to many of the sites of Porto.

Staff

While all of the places we stayed at had helpful, friendly staff - this one really stood out. Whether questions about laundry service, places to eat, getting around town, etc - staff was fantastic .

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vila Galé Lagos

Lagos

Great location in terms access to the beach. A bit of a walk (not quite 2k) into town, but the walk is beautiful along the beach walkway. A large facility built to accommodate large touring groups and the summer throngs of visitors to the Algarve. The hotel lacks the cozy feel that boutique hotels have - but the pool and beach access are hard to beat. Food was so-so - especially the buffet-style dining built to for the masses. The smaller two non-buffet restaurants were better both for food and ambience.

Authenticity & Character

Large facility built to handle large numbers of guests.

Location

If you want the beach - hard to beat!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Meliá Lisboa Aeroporto

Lisbon

Hard to beat the proximity the airport - very walkable to terminal 1 - though a free shuttle to the airport is provided.

Authenticity & Character

Location

If you want close to the airport this one is for you.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full-Day Guided Tour of Cascais & Sintra

Portugal

The #1 best thing about this trip was our guide. Thoughtful, informative, flexible to our needs, fluent in English and friendly.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Food Tour

Porto

Eat very lightly for this food tour - plenty of food and beverage along the way. Be prepared to walk a bit, but not excessive as a fair portion of the tour is at one market.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Pedro is a great ambassador for Portugal!

Transport

All walking' of course, but not overly hilly or lengthy, Short distance between stops.

Cave Boat Tour

Portugal

A short excursion that is well worth the trip. The cliffs and caves were gorgeous from a distance and from within!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Funny, engaging and safe!

Transport

Guided day trip to the Douro Valley with visit to wineries and Rabelo boat River Cruise with lunch

Portugal

A must-do for anyone visiting Portugal. Beautiful valley, great port wine and meet/visit wonderful places and people along the way.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Pedro was energetic, engaging and an encyclopedia of all-things Portugal.

Transport

Half-Day Guided Tour of Lisbon

Lisbon

We ended up not doing this excursion, but Jaoa did give us an abbreviated driving tour of Lisbon! Thank you Jaoa!

This trip was an awesome experience. The planning stage was conducted by Thiago with a professional and flexible approach until we ended up with the right plan. His input and suggestions were invaluable. Once on the trip everything went extremely smoothly with every booking arranged perfectly. The 3 hotels Thiago arranged were excellent in every respect. The eat walk tour in Porto was excellent as was our guide Flavi. Our private drivers between Porto and the Douro Valley and then on to Lisbon were great.

I would not hesitate to book and plan another trip using KimKim and would thoroughly recommend them to any of my friends who travel overseas.

Hotel Review

Ozadi Tavira Hotel

Tavira

A very nice hotel located just outside the town of Tavira. They have a shuttle to town but if you have a car it is a 5 minute drive. Rooms and breakfast were excellent.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Algarve Caves Boat Tour

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Of all the places we visited in Portugal, Madeira was definitely the highlight—a must-visit destination. The island’s beauty left us in awe, and having such wonderful guides there made the experience even more memorable. They went out of their way to ensure we saw the most breathtaking sights and views.

In Porto, we were fortunate to have Jelena as our guide, and she was truly one of the best I’ve ever had. She was incredibly informative, knowledgeable, and thoroughly prepared, which made exploring the city an absolute pleasure.

We also loved our time in the stunning Douro Valley, where we enjoyed a peaceful boat trip along the river—a perfect way to take in the scenery.

I left all the hotel suggestions up to João and the ones he booked were all well located.

João was wonderful to work with, he was extremely knowledgeable and helped steer us in the right direction in terms of tours and main attractions. He was also very responsive and helpful whenever I had any questions or comments both prior to the trip and during the trip, which was much appreciated! He provided a clear and transparent Road Book that listed all the activities with guide names and contact information, which made it very easy to find the right people (in a foreign country) and helped us plan out our day. Lastly, he personally drove from Lisbon to Lagos to pick us up, which we greatly appreciated and helped us maximize our time in Lagos stress-free. It was a pleasure working with him and I would reach out to him again the next I'm in Portugal.

We worked with very knowledgeable guides in each city, which helped us feel more connected to the people and culture of Portugal. Francisco in Lisbon was a great guide who was very knowledgeable about the history of the city and provided useful tips to help us avoid major tourist lines and optimize our time. He also recommended a wonderful restaurant that turned out to be our favorite meal of the trip. He accompanied us to Sintra and was a huge asset in helping us navigate crowded sites and optimize our day. He provided a ton of interesting background information on Pena Palance and Quinta de Regalaeria, which helped us appreciate the experience much more. He also insisted we try the local pastries in Sintra (which was a highlight of the day) and advised us to tour the National Palace of Sintra, which is a must-see and not too crowded.

In Porto, we worked with Manuel, who was very passionate about Porto and very eager to show us his home city. He gave us great advice on what to see or do in our down time and is very knowledgeable of the history of Porto. We felt very comfortable with and thought he was very patient with us as we took our multiple photos! He even gave me a small token to remember my trip, which I greatly appreciated the thought and gesture. In Porto, we did a Duorro Valley wine tour and had the best driver/guide Andres. He had such great energy, and was funny, lively, and passionate about the port wine industry! He gave us great tips of what to see and overall made our Duorro Valley experience more enjoyable!

Overall, we had a great time booking with Kim Kim, which allowed us to work with local experts on planning a customized action-packed itinerary. Kim Kim also took care of most of our transportation needs to and from the airport, train station, and hotels, which made our vacation much more enjoyable and comfortable. Lastly, all the guides were very knowledgeable, professional, and passionate about their job, which added to our overall experience! We would definitely work with Kim Kim again.

João planned an amazing trip for my group for our first time to Portugal! Originally we were supposed to be 2 people, but then added my mom halfway through the planning process and he was very accommodating in adjusting the reservations. He kept in contact with us the entire time we were there and was very knowledgeable everywhere we went. The excursions were perfect for our group and a great balance between activity/free time enjoying the cities we were in. We can’t wait to go back and thank you again to João for making our first trip to Portugal unforgettable!

Hotel Reviews

Villa Zawaia B&B

Lagos

Beautiful hotel but staff wasn’t consistently there to assist.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Someone being present more often throughout the day

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Lisboa Plaza

Lisbon

Authenticity & Character

Location

No

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Eurostars das Artes

Porto

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Cave Boat Tour

Portugal

Nice easy way to see the beautiful caves in Lagos! Not too long of a tour so you still have the rest of your day to explore!

Quality of Experience

No

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had an amazing time visiting Portugal! Our travel Guide, João was the best and helped us plan the perfect trip! He was very knowledgeable and helpful in all our planning and was very accessible via text to answer any questions throughout our trip.
He was also our guide in Lisbon which was wonderful!
We couldn’t have had a better experience!

Hotel Reviews

Casa dos Lóios by Shiadu

Porto

Very nice boutique hotel. The staff was very friendly and helpful, and spoke English which was a plus!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Within walking distance to most everything!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Lisboa Plaza

Lisbon

Located in the center close to shopping, and most of the sights you would want to see in Lisbon. Staff was friendly and helpful. Great breakfast!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Belmar Spa & Beach Resort

Lagos

Great resort with beautiful rooms, 3 pools , a nice gym, and beach access! Breakfast was great! Very friendly and helpful staff. Would definitely stay there again!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Cascais & Sintra Guided Visit

Portugal

Our guide João drive us out to Cascais and Sinatra and even booked a lunch for us at this very quaint restaurant on the beach! It was amazing! The beaches in Cascais are beautiful!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Algarve Caves Boat Tour

Portugal

A must when you are in Lagos! Loved it!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Food Tour

Porto

Our guide Andre was great! Very knowledgeable and did a great job explaining the history of Porto and the wine and food we tried! Loved it!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Six Bridges Douro Cruise

Porto

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Port Wine Tasting Tour

Porto

Visited Ferreira winery and loved it! The Port wine tasting was excellent and brought a bottle home!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half-Day Guided Tour of Lisbon

Lisbon

João our guide was excellent! Got a very nice tour of the city, and a lot of the history of Lisbon.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dinner with Live Fado Music

Lisbon

João planned this for us and it was a great experience! The food was authentic Portuguese food that was delicious! The Fado was amazing!

Quality of Experience

K

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tiago was the best travel agent to make my trip come to fruition! Tiago and I spent several months planning for my trip to Portugal with two friends. Overall, he was very responsive and accommodating. At one of our hotels, our room was not ready and he immediately reached out to the hotel to resolve. He also consistently communicated via WhatsApp to ensure our itinerary was going smoothly. I would 100% recommend Tiago to other travelers, as well as the itinerary that he thoughtfully curated for us.

Hotel Reviews

Mercure Porto Centro Aliados

Porto

Absolutely loved this hotel! The location, staff, and accommodations were spectacular. Just one hiccup was that our room was not ready upon arrival even though in their system it said it was. The hotel held our luggage while we walked around and the room was ready within the hour.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Lisboa Plaza

Lisbon

This hotel was great overall. The location and staff were amazing and the breakfast buffet was nice. However, I would not recommend room service for dinner. The quality of the food was not so good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Restrooms in the room could use a little updating. The shower curtains were not the length of the tub, so water would splash and the paper was behind the toilet so it was difficult to reach.

Activity Reviews

Culinary Tour of Porto

Porto

We loved this experience! We really like self-paced tours so this was perfect for my group. At the pastry shop, they ran out of the Jesuita, because those sell out by early morning. Therefore, they gave us a tasting of other pastries from the storefront. The only hiccup was that one of the restaurants was closed for holiday, so we got to experience 4 out of 5 restaurants on this activity. However, we were very full by the end!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We guided ourselves.

Transport

We walked on foot to eat restaurant.

Wine Estate Visit in the Douro Valley

Portugal

My friends and I decided to rent a car this day and it was spectacular driving ourselves! However, if you don’t prefer driving, getting a private car would have been a good option too. The wine tasting was about 45 minutes of information throughout the tour then ended with a tasting and a very nice view! I would definitely recommend this day trip from Porto!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We rented a car.

Portuguese Cooking Lesson

Portugal

Cooking classes are a special way to immerse yourself into culture. Everywhere I travel, I like to take one and this was a great experience. Chef Gui knows how to host and make everyone feel comfortable. We started with an overview of the 9 dishes while drinking wine and eating Couvert then everyone chose which dish they wanted to prepare. All of the dishes tasted spectacular and the company of others was great too. I would highly recommend to other travelers!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Chef Gui was amazing!

Transport

We walked 15-20 mins from our hotel.