Realistic Asia

This was such an amazing trip. First of all, Lucy was incredible. Very responsive. Very helpful. She was always happy to answer my questions, even as I was trying to figure out packing. It was possible that with the storms going on we could have had major stress, but Lucy always was calm and informative, making us feel completely comfortable with all of our plans.
I usually plan my trips myself. Due to some stresses at home and work, I just wasn't in the mental space to try to figure out Vietnam. There just were so many options. So I reached out, hoping to get help. And I am so glad I did. I was able to just go with the flow. All of our local guides were super nice and kind. Our drivers were excellent. I learned so much about the history and culture of Vietnam. I definitely want to go back and would work with Lucy again.
My only advice when working with your KimKim guide - trust them. They are on the ground and see exactly what is going on. I could have cancelled and tried to rearrange our trip when there was the typhoon coming to Hoi An the first day we were supposed to be there (plus flooding earlier.) I was in constant contact with Lucy and she was able to give me the updates and we ended up keeping with the plans. And after a bit of high winds and rain the first day, everything cleared up. Trying to change the plan would have been really difficult and expensive, and when Lucy said she thought we'd be okay, we trusted her. And she was talking to Sam, our guide in the Hoi An region, who knew exactly what was going on. And so we kept with the plan and everything was great. Just having Lucy to help us navigate this whole thing was the most valuable part of the service.

While weather interrupted our travel plans, Hien did a fantastic job to reroute us, set-up new events, and keep us safe along the way. Han and Ha Long Bay were highlights, and we rolled with the changes. Everyone we came in contact along the way (guides, drivers, etc.) was professional, well informed, and a pleasure to work with. TYVM and we will come again! Amazing!

We booked our trip through kimkim, and everything was handled with great professionalism. Our trip was assigned to the local agency Realistic Asia, and they were fantastic. They were always available, keeping us informed about each day’s details and even giving advice for our free days. On short notice, they also helped us arrange extra activities that weren’t originally in the plan — for example, just a day before, they managed to organize a full day of tours, guides, and transportation exactly as we wanted.

The guided tours added so much to the overall experience. The guides were not only knowledgeable about the sites and history but also warm and friendly, sharing personal stories, Vietnamese customs, and modern life. They happily answered all our questions and showed us places we would never have discovered on our own.

Having everything arranged and knowing someone was always there to help or solve any issue made it easy to fully relax and enjoy the trip. We totally recommend kimkim and Realistic Asia!

One piece of advice for future travelers: take the time to really go through the proposed plan. The itinerary is great as is, but you may want to add extra activities or spend more time in certain places (for example, I wished we had more time in Hoi An and Hue instead of Da Nang). Customizing a bit more can make your trip even more special.

Hein was wonderful to work with. Hue was flooded & Hoi A was as well. Hein quickly made arrangements for us to go to Denang. She found a a great hotel, guide & Driver.

Hien provided a great plan and was willing and able to accommodate our many suggestions and changes to the itinerary. We ended up with a wonderful 10 days in Vietnam, traveling from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay to Hue and Ho Chi Minh City. Our guides at each step of the way were really knowledgeable and able to explain everything in excellent English. Our hotels were all top quality and the transportation was very safe and reliable. The sites we saw were beautiful and very memorable.

One unusual thing for our trip was that we were stuck in a very significant flood 8n Hue for a few days. This caused us to need to change a lot of our plans, nd to stay extra days in Hue. Hien was a huge help, orchestrating all of these changes and ensuring that we could stay in our beautiful hotel - the Silk Path Grand Hue - for two extra nights. Without Hien we would probably have never been in such a great hotel and wouldn’t have known what do when the rain started. Having the support of Kim Kim was perfect for this situation.

Hotel Reviews

Orchid Premium Cruise

Incredible food, accommodation, and service. The crew and staff were amazing, especially the chef and manager, Bang.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Silk Path Grand Hue

We were stranded here for 4 days in a major flood. The staff were fantastic and kept us feeling safe and secure in spite of a serious situation in Hue. Thank you!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Hotel nd restaurant staff took wonderful care of us under very trying circumstances.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Our room was wonderfully clean and comfortable.

Activity Reviews

VIP Fast Track Service

Vietnam

Great to have this assistance after a long flight.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

KC was great and knew the best places for us to go.

Transport

Safe and reliable b

Hanoi Sightseeing Fullday Tour with Train Track Coffee

Hanoi

Dinner at Ly Club Restaurant

Hanoi

Food was fine, but a little dull compared to the other places we ate. 100% of the other patrons were also tourists.

Ha Long Bay Scenic Plane

Vietnam

Day Trip to the Mekong Delta (Ben Tre)

Ho Chi Minh City

Amazing and unique.

Hue Half Day Sightseeing

Hue

Interesting but curtailed by bad weather.

Day trip to Hoa Lu & Tam Coc (Ninh Binh)

Hanoi

It’s a long trip but really fun and interesting.

Onboarding Cruise To Lan Ha Bay (Orchid Cruise)

Ha Long Bay

One of the top activities on our trip. Bang and the staff were awesome.

Food

Some of the best food we had in Vietnam!

Kayaking in Ao Ech Area - Disembark Cruise (Orchid Cruise)

Ha Long Bay

Fun kayaking experience.

Hue Evening Foodie Cyclo Tour

Hue

Food

The restaurant was delicious.

Cu Chi Tunnels & Half Day City Tour

Ho Chi Minh City

Very educational. Phil was a great guide.

A O Traditional Vietnamese Culture Show with Dinner

Ho Chi Minh City

Fun and interesting albeit a bit touristy.

Kim Kim knows how to plan a trip! Our tour in northern Vietnam was impeccably arranged with seamless pickups and transfers. All the local guides were amazing and knowledgeable. The scenery and activities we experienced were spectacular. Ashley, the KimKim coordinator, stayed in close touch every day by WhatsApp to ensure our trip was going well. Five stars!

Our visit to Vietnam and the support getting around was absolutely excellent. The initial planning was handled so professionally that any concerns we had were immediately taken care of and then once we were on our vacation any problems we had were instantly corrected. An example of this is on the second night we were on a sleeper bus which was incredibly uncomfortable. We were scheduled to take three more nights of this form of transportation on our itinerary.
We contacted our team and alternate transportation was made immediately to us.

The guides we had for our trip were excellent. Unfortunately I am not very good at names nor writing down their Vietnamese names, needless to say we were delighted with all guides that were provided. Not only were they excellent sources of information but they made sure we were having a good time. The personnel assigned to us were a pleasure to be with. I cannot sa& lucky we were to have this service for this adventure.