Kimkim

We love KimKim travel. Have used for a few trips now. We worked wtih Tasos on our Italy trip and he was easy to work with and very accomodating. We had a couple of snafus on our trip (our fault, we left a couple of items in the hotel room) and the hotel reached out to KimKim who contacted us and all was remedied. All the hotels, transfers, tours were wonderful. We had the best family trip!!

Hotel Reviews

Gentle Hide Hotel

Salzburg

Interesting hotel, great location, spacious rooms

Authenticity & Character

Cool vibe, the breakfast buffets were great, outside area to sit and have a cocktail was super cool, rooms cool vibe

Location

Great location, easy to walk everywhere

Staff

Not the most friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

comfy, clean

La Briosa

Bolzano

Great location and very cool hotel, staff friendly and breakfast buffets were delicious!

Authenticity & Character

Very cool vibe, modern feel

Location

Great, easy central location to walk to everything

Staff

Very friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spacious room and bathroom, very new feeling and clean

Il Sogno di Giulietta - Relais de Charme

Verona

We loved this hotel. Great location, fun to have Juliet's courtyard to ourselves after hours. Room was fantastic. Very cool hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Such a cool place and rooms are amazing!

Location

In Juliet's courtyard...very unique and fun!

Staff

Very friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean and comfortable.

Art Hotel Commercianti

Bologna

Great location, staff not the most friendly. Room was TINY but we only slept there.

Authenticity & Character

Very unique vibe

Location

Staff

Not overly friendly or helpful staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tiny room and bath but clean

Palazzo Niccolini al Duomo

Florence

SUCH a GREAT location and the hotel was very comfortable! Definitely recommend

Authenticity & Character

very charming!

Location

steps away from the Duomo, central location

Staff

friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

air conditioning, spacious room and bathroom

Activity Reviews

Private Half-Day Walking Tour of Hohensalzburg Fortress

Salzburg

so fun to see and having a private tour we were able to get into areas and see things other tours could not.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was so sweet and shared a ton of great information with us

Transport

walking

Full day Dolomites tour with hike

Italy

The Dolomites are just beautiful! Our guide was fantastic!

Quality of Experience

Such a cool experience, wish we had more time to hike more

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was so fun to talk to and spend the day with!

Transport

Sirmione & Lake Garda Tour from Verona

Verona

Beautiful!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was great!

Transport

Easy!

Valpolicella Wine tour

Italy

Loved this, visited two beautiful properties with amazing wine!

Quality of Experience

the beauty of the wineries

Guides, Drivers and Staff

driver was so friendly and the staff at both wineries were so friendly and shared a lot of great info

Transport

on time and friendly

Private Verona Walking Tour

Italy

Great tour to get a good feel of the city. Our guide showed us some really cool things and had great knowledge about the city.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

he was knowlegeable, very personable and funny!

Transport

walking

Parma Tour With Parmigiano, Prosciutto & Balsamico

Italy

this was a bit long, could have skipped the prociutto portion

Quality of Experience

the guide was just ok and this tour was a bit long

Food

could skip the proscuitto portion

Guides, Drivers and Staff

our guide was not the most friendly but was knowledgeable

Transport

easy and our driver was great

Evening Food & Wine Tour

Bologna

great, friendly, knowledgeable guide and the food was amazing. glad we did a lot of walking to balance the eating! :)

Quality of Experience

Food

authentic and delicious!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

super friendly with great info

Transport

walking

Private Florence Highlights Walking Tour

Florence

Perfect length of time and our guide was so friendly and knowledgeable

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

able to walk

Irene did an amazing job or organizing our trip. Travel was seamless, getting from airport to train station to scheduled tours.
I would have to say Florence was my favorite part of the trip. It was a bit more laid back and less crowded. We really enjoyed our cooking class!
Anna, our tour guide for Pompeii was wonderful. Very informative and easy to talk to.
Kathy, our guide for the Colosseum did a fantastic job. Showing us Palatine hill (which we were not even aware of) and showing us the history of the city and ending the tour with the colosseum.
Such a special and memorable trip.

Dear Kim Kim,

I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to take a moment to share some feedback regarding our recent trip, as this vacation is incredibly meaningful to my husband and me. It serves as our yearly honeymoon — a special time for us to reconnect, especially since we both work in law enforcement and rarely have time away together.

First, I want to express my appreciation for your attentiveness and professionalism throughout the planning process. However, I don’t feel that my preferences and expectations were not fully understood or reflected in some parts of the trip.

Our hotel in Athens was nice in terms of accommodations, but the lack of concierge service was a major disappointment for us. Personalized service and assistance are very important elements of our travel experience. While the hotel staff were friendly and welcoming, the absence of a concierge made it difficult to navigate the area and arrange activities smoothly.

We also encountered an issue with our tour guides in Athens. There was some confusion about our meeting location, and the guide became upset and raised her voice when we didn’t meet her outside as she expected — we had been waiting just downstairs. While this was uncomfortable, I do want to acknowledge that she was very knowledgeable and that the remainder of the tour went well.

A more serious issue occurred when departing to Egypt. We learned from the airline that our travel agent should have verified that our passports were compliant for our destination. Unfortunately, my husband’s passport was not accepted initially because it expires in April 2026, leading to a 12-hour delay. We made multiple calls and sent messages but received no response. After pleading with the airline, they finally allowed us to continue our travel. By the time we arrived in Egypt, it was 3:45 a.m., and we reached the hotel around 5:45 a.m. Our scheduled day tour at 8 a.m. had to be postponed to 11 a.m., causing us to miss several experiences. This situation created a domino effect that impacted a significant portion of our trip.

On a positive note, our time in Santorini was absolutely wonderful. The hotel, staff, and tour guides there exceeded our expectations and made that part of our trip truly memorable.

I’m sharing this feedback because we truly value these annual trips, and with a few adjustments, future experiences could be exceptional from start to finish. I would appreciate any follow-up or resolution you can offer, particularly regarding the passport issue and the missed portions of our tours.

Thank you again for your time, and I look forward to your response.

Warm regards,
Racquel Gil

Hotel Reviews

Dreams Luxury Suites

Santorini

We truly cannot express how much we loved everything about this hotel. Every detail, from the warm hospitality to the breathtaking views, made our stay extraordinary.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Our cleaning lady and the staff member who delivered our food each day were absolutely the sweetest. They went above and beyond to make us feel welcome and taken care of — we’ll never forget their kindness.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ergon House Athens

Athens

The hotel was nice in terms of accommodations, but the lack of concierge service was a major disappointment for us. Personalized service and assistance are very important elements of our travel experience. While the hotel staff were friendly and welcoming, the absence of a concierge made it difficult to navigate the area and arrange activities smoothly.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Premium Sunset Catamaran Cruise in the Caldera lagoon

Santorini

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Local Transfer in Santorini

Greece

The local company we worked with was outstanding. Their kindness, professionalism, and attention to detail made a lasting impression on us.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Santorini Farm Tour: Food & Wine

Santorini

We absolutely loved our guide! Her kindness, knowledge, and thoughtfulness stood out. She made sure we took plenty of pictures and helped us create memories we’ll cherish forever.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The local company we worked with was outstanding. Their kindness, professionalism, and attention to detail made a lasting impression on us.

Private Acropolis Hill & Museum Tour

Athens

Experiencing the rich history and culture firsthand felt like stepping back in time — it was absolutely spectacular.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

There was no transport we walk everywhere

The first interactions with Chris were great and he was always quick to respond and provided great detail. In retrospect though, I think I should have demanded a phone call so that I could have talked to Chris directly and truly understood the service he was providing. I thought I was interfacing with a local and getting some local knowledge and expertise that would be carried on during my trip as rather promoted and promised on KimKim. I was quite surprised to receive a communication post payment to KimKim and only about 7 -10 days prior to our departure that our whole booking was outsourced to some group I had no knowledge about of Travel12 MAMKITA and a new contact named Christos for whom I had never heard of nor spoken to. In fact, the notification specifically said "local partners don't recognize KimKim and therefore may be confused" - well I was confused!! And, nothing from Chris?? Once actually on the trip, Travel 12 Mamakita and outsourced yet again to Luxury Tours and apparently a couple of different car services.
Therefore, I really don't know what I paid for with KimKim? And while Chris told me that things would be winding down as far of the season on Naxos -- frankly that was way off too -- the hotel where were were staying was literally the ONLY hotel open at the beach -- not one single restaurant or hotel, market, bar, restaurant was open - so not one single restaurant recommendation was accurate - all were closed. I really thought a local would have known this?
I just believed there was no value added and I likely paid 40 -50% more that I should have or for what I could have simply booked on my - Certainly Chat GPT could have laid out the trip I got.

Once in Greece, I had yet another new contact on WhatsApp named Dimitris? Once I did experience problems on my trip with my flight back to Athens being canceled, I received little assistance and ultimately found my own way to the port of Naxos and booked a ferry. A strong text exchange had to occur to get the local agency, (now yet another contact named Tasos) to re-organize a private transfer pick up at the ferry versus the airport which had been paid for -- that private transfer did end up happening but was ultimately refused unless and until we paid more? What they finally organized was a taxi.

So overall - it was "ok"? I just don't know what KimKim did. They were recommended by a friend who had a good experience but my experience not so much. Doubt I would do again.

Hotel Review

Ammothines Cycladic Suites Naxos

Naxos

Authenticity & Character

Location

Travelers should know that EVERYTHING on this beach closes October 15th - this hotel is the only thing open.

Staff

Staff powered through but were tired and were staying open for the last guests booked - as the season was over.

Cleanliness & Comfort

housekeeping was FAST but again there were only 7 rooms occupied so I'm sure they got in/out so they could go home early each day

Activity Reviews

Local Transfer in Athens

Greece

It was a taxi - what can I say. He was there when we arrived so we were happy for that but didn't speak english, threw bags in the car and took us to the hotel. Very transactional - not bad but certainly not a "private transfer" or any executive or special service.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Perhaps book what we paid for?

Local Transfer in Naxos

Naxos

I think we just got lucky on this one - Billy aka "Billy the Bear" was the highlight of the trip. Was very friendly and engaging. He was passionate about making sure we had a great day given that we had challenges with the island essentially being finished for the season. He gave us a lot of local information about the island and some personal stories. He was just a very joyful person and seemed to really enjoy his work.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Billy!

Transport

Naxos off the beaten path Foodies’ Tour

Naxos

Elizabeth was the guide and she was quite passionate as a generational Naxonian, she gave great insight to the culture and people of Naxos.

Quality of Experience

Good pace between activities

Food

Restaurant owner/chef came out to greet us. Guide Elizabeth did eat with us and was lively in conversation. It was also apparent that Elizabeth and the restauranteurs and vendors all were friends and were generally happy to see her and us as her guests.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide Elizabeth was very good, excellent English, was passionate about Naxos and it's people.

Transport

Clean car - friendly driver

Food & Culture tour in Naxos town

Naxos

Very knowledgeable and was actually a local.

Quality of Experience

Food

Tour guide watching us each and not participating with us was a bit odd and uncomfortable but food and location was good.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Other guides were Dimitris and Klio
This is our third KimKim adventure. It was the first time we rented a car to possibly have more flexibility. Everything was smooth when we landed in Athens and hopped to Crete. We were met but Kosta from Kosmos car rental and got a new car (but the windshield washer did not work). Off to Rethymno and we realized how Greeks drive. The double yellow lines in the center of the road is merely a suggestion. After a while driving went from unnerving to terrifying. Our hotel in old town Rethymno was lovely and so were the people there. We know you recommended staying in Chania and Heraklion and we elected to stay in Rethymno. We wish that you had persuaded us and said something about Greek drivers. As it was, we eliminated trips to Elafonisi beach and other places. We went to a beautiful beach Skinaria, the drive through the gorge was beautiful. The last leg of the drive to the beach was again terrifying. It really put a damper on our beach trips. We take some responsibility as you did warn us that it was 2.5 hours to Elafonisi. The tour of the Palace of Knossos was fabulous and Viv is a great tour guide. The museum was amazing. The hotel was nice and the people very friendly and helpful. The room was OK but we read that room 106 has a balcony and that would have been nicer.
Our tour of Chania with Petros was very good too. Parking was very challenging but manageable.
Athens was great. The Elysium was a beautiful venue for dinner with a perfect view of the Parthenon. The hotel was delightful. The car pick up was perfectly convenient and getting out of Athens was surprisingly easy. Hearing about the marathon scheduled for that day made us apprehensive but not a problem. Also it was nice to have a hotel with an elevator.
Nafplio; the drive was straightforward but after our experiences in Crete we were nervous and omitted some of the planned drives. The Athena hotel in Nafplio is beautiful with a nice room at the top floor. Of course, 70 stairs from the lobby to our room carrying heavy bags was not top of my list of exercises. I am 71 years old. I suppose I should have checked into that.
On our last KimKim adventure (Portugal) we thought about renting a car but then changed our minds. I wish we had done it differently on the trip.

Hotel Reviews

Athena Hotel Nafplion

Nafplio

If you are healthy enough to take a lot of stairs (70) then try for the rooftop room. Amazing views to the castle, the city and the harbor. If you are not in the best of shape, the stairs can be a lot. There is no elevator. Also, we could have used a better description of the location as we drove right past it using GPS. There is no parking at the hotel but you can briefly park 10 meters away. Parking is touch and go. There are parking lots and if you are lucky you can get a place not too far from the hotel.

Authenticity & Character

A very nice venue with the best shower of the 3 hotels. The room had a good amount of space.

Location

In the heart of the old city. Easy to get anywhere.

Staff

The only complaint was that there was nobody who could carry our bags up the 70 stairs

Cleanliness & Comfort

Noma Hotel Athens

Athens

Old but updated with a nice elevator, large bed, nice bathroom and shower and a balcony! Its location is close to the destinations we wanted to see and lots of nice areas to explore nearby.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to the Plaka and not far from Syntagnia sq. Close to the Elysium rooftop and Ergon House.

Staff

Friendly and willing to help.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Veneto Boutique Hotel

Rethymno, Crete

Room 107 has small floor-level windows. The restaurant is great, and the breakfast offerings are delicious and with a lot of options. Beds are comfortable, the shower is nice and the AC works well. Get room 106 as it has the only balcony. The staff are delightful and very helpful.

Authenticity & Character

The hotel is a 600 year old monastery that is beautiful and well kept.

Location

Please note: you cannot drive to the hotel, even to drop off your luggage.

Staff

Very helpful when we needed to change plans or get restaurant recommendations.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The beds are very comfortable and the rooms and dining area are kept very clean

Activity Reviews

Acropolis of Mycenae Guided Tour 

Greece

We were surprised that this area was not as developed/restored as Knossos. It was however very interesting.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Again as with all guide, certified, knowledgeable and very personable.

Transport

George was a very good guide.

Local transfer in Nafplio

Nafplio

This was OK since it was major highway. The car was OK except when the check engine light came on causing a lot of distress and anxiety as we were on a 2 lane road with no area to pull off.

Quality of Experience

I could have elected to get a transfer.

Sea Kayak above sunken Epidaurus

Nafplio

The weather report was for cold and wet so we did not go.

Car Rental Drop-off

Greece

Easy, drive up, park, toss the keys through the hole. Done

Private Knossos & Museum Tour

Greece

The Palace is much larger than we expected and it is very well presented with excavations and restorations.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Viv is a wonderful and knowledgeable guide! We loved her discussion of the palace and her insight.

Transport

We rented a car.

Private Old Town of Chania guided walk

Chania

Petros was very accommodating as we got there a bit late due to traffic and could not find parking close to the meeting spot. He is very knowledgeable about the area and its history. He recommended a great place for lunch that was not overwhelmed by tourists. Chania is a delightful place with a lot of history to explore.

Quality of Experience

Coastal Greece has a lot of history from the ancient times, Venetian then Ottoman occupation. All have left their imprint on the island.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Petros was terrific. Very good guide!

Transport

We rented a car and as we said before, driving is not the best part of the experience.

Car Rental Pick-up

Greece

Kostas met us at the baggage claim and brought ut to the car. Very convenient.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Although the car was new, the windshield washer did not work so I needed to carry a bottle of water to wash the window manually.