Iceland Offbeat

Hanna was the best. Every time we had a good moment we’d stop and laugh and say Hanna did good 😂. Will be planning an itinerary for every trip from now on, everything felt like a surprise which allowed for no expectations from over planning and looking at “perfect” travel photos

Othman asked the right questions and listened to our particular needs. We like having a little space, we wanted nature and some flexibility to linger if we wanted. Othman got it all. Often it was ‘go to this spot just next to this popular spot for a similar but more intimate experience.’ Or ‘this is not to miss and these others are optional’. It worked perfectly for us.

Our trip to Iceland with Alicia from KimKim Travel was absolutely amazing. The Magma hotel in Tunga was charming, and the food experiences were delicious and memorable. From the Blue Cave tour to the New Year’s cruise, every moment was well-organized and exceeded our expectations. We felt like family and created lifetime memories.

Planning a vacation has never been easier, thanks to having true experts to guide us (the KimKim team). We were especially pleased to learn that our travel planner, Èric, actually lived in Iceland. His familiarity with the country—its culture, terrain, and hidden gems—gave us complete confidence that we were in excellent hands.

We shared with Èric the kinds of activities we enjoy, the cultural and natural sights that were important to us, and the pace we wanted for our 22-day trip. With so much time to explore, we chose to rent a 4-wheel-drive vehicle so we could occasionally go off the beaten path and linger at our favorite places. Èric fully understood this style of travel and tailored everything beautifully.

Over the course of a year, we worked with Èric casually but consistently, and we deeply appreciated his prompt and easy communication. He is an excellent listener and wonderfully tactful as he guided us through unfamiliar territory. He created an initial itinerary as a baseline—never pushy—giving us all the time we needed to review and make thoughtful decisions. We kept the heart of his plan but added our own ideas and research, and he was always accommodating. When he had a better suggestion, he presented it diplomatically and with clear reasoning.

Throughout the planning process, it truly felt as if Èric were sitting right beside us, helping shape our journey. Once everything was finalized, he delivered a beautifully detailed and well-organized itinerary where every piece of information we might need was right at our fingertips.

Our time in Iceland was an amazing, fun, once in a lifetime trip. The accommodations chosen for us, the country’s natural beauty, the history and culture we learned about, and the wonderful Icelandic people we met made the experience truly exceptional. We couldn’t have asked for anything more—except perhaps a little more time!

We couldn’t have asked for a better planning experience and highly recommend working with Èric for an unforgettable Iceland adventure.

Activity Reviews

Reykjavik Food Walk

Iceland

It wasn’t quite what I expected. Our guide, sorry, I don’t remember his name, was an unforgettable character and spent a lot of time talking about local history, culture, and had some great jokes to share as well. But I was there to experience some delicious unfamiliar exotic local fare and thought this would be a great cultural food introduction of Iceland as we navigated to different eateries throughout downtown Reykjavik. I’m not a foodie, but it was not a good introduction as I shortly learned throughout my travels in Iceland, having meals at small local cafes in other towns and villages. What was offered on the tour was completely subpar to what I experienced elsewhere so I have to say that the food tour failed as an example of how delicious the traditional dishes really are. The food in the country including stops at some of the fuel stations were much better and delicious. But don’t let my opinion of the tour discourage you. Walking the city, enjoying the camaraderie of our group of 10, and getting a good idea of the lay of Reykjavik under the guidance of our big burly host was worth the time in itself. And you may have a completely different opinion of the food offered on this tour. Not all taste buds are alike!

Katla Ice Cave Superjeep tour

Iceland

My husband and I loved this tour! Our group of 8 others were friendly and fun. Our guide (sorry I don’t remember his name) was upbeat, funny, and so informative. He’s a skilled off road driver and really took us on a fun, scenic ride. For us it was all about the Super Jeep. It’s soooo cool! Once we were at our location we were suited up and had a nice moderate walk to the ice caves. It wasn’t a very extensive cave but it was a great example of an ice cave and beautiful inside. Throughout the tour we didn’t feel rushed. Our guide answered every question we had for him without hesitation. We couldn’t wait to get back into the Super Jeep for the ride back!!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon Kayaking Tour

Iceland

When we first arrived at Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon the sun was shining and it was an absolutely stunning sight! The color of the water and different shades of blue coming off the floating icebergs took me by surprise-such beauty with the Vatnajökull glacier as the backdrop. It made me excited about kayaking the lagoon-a first for me to paddle amongst icebergs! But within the hour clouds took over and a light steady rain began. Suddenly the tour didn’t seem like it was going to be much fun. But our small group suited up and braved the walk with paddles in hand to where the kayaks waited. Instructions were given on safety while kayaking the lagoon and how to paddle. And I should mention that the outfitter had appropriate waterproof and warm gear for us during this wet and cold paddle trip. The weather deterred the majority of the visitors that were there earlier so we had the lagoon to ourselves. It was quiet and serene on the water and the rain stopped the moment we started our paddle. The clouds remained but didn’t take an ounce of beauty away from the experience. I had goosebumps paddling around the looming icebergs. They were pieces of artwork. Our guides were fun and informative and made safety a priority. The equipment was in very good condition, kayaks are sturdy. Our suits were a Godsend. The experience was unique and memorable. This is a good trip for people with any level of kayaking experience. I loved this experience. After our excursion we crossed the road to see Diamond Beach. Another amazing surprise!

Quality of Experience

Outstanding natural beauty, great equipment, terrific guides.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Care about paddler’s safety, did a great job of making sure we all had a fun experience.

We had fabulous trip to Iceland. We enjoyed the comfort of knowing that we had a solid itinerary planned for us, car and accommodations booked.
On arrival we got a call from the rental car company who met us and conveniently took us to our rental car. Everything was easy, which was really nice when you arrive at 6am without a good nights sleep.
We drove to The Secret Lagoon - which we enjoyed immensely. The place was clean, friendly and enjoyable.
Our first accommodations, Blue Hotel, was very nice. It was clean, friendly and quiet. The breakfast was really good. We also enjoyed the hot tub which was the perfect end to a day of touring.
The restaurant across the road - Mika - was excellent.
The day we spent seeing the sights on the Golden Circle was terrific. The directions were clear and the description were accurate.

Our next hotel in Vik, the Farm House was decent, but did not have the same warm vibe of the Blue Hotel. We had an issue with our door not locking. The solution from the staff was that “this is Iceland” no one will bother you. While this might be true we were not comfortable sleeping in an unlocked room. We did finally get the door to lock so it turned out fine in the end. We just were surprised that the staff did not seem to take our concerns seriously.

We stayed in one of the lodges which was nice. It had 2 rooms. But we suspect there might have been a mold issue- Dorian is very sensitive to mold and had an allergy flare up while staying there. (He was fine before and after our stay there.)
The breakfast was decent but nothing special.

The first day in the Vik area we saw the nearby glacier- which was incredible. We also went to the beach and enjoyed the views. We would recommend the su ur’Vik we had a very nice meal there and the service was great.

The second day in Vik we decided to scrap the itinerary which was a long day of driving to a park and another glacier. I’m sure would have been wonderful but we were tired of driving and wanted a day to rest. We went to the lava show - which we really enjoyed. Then a quick walk on the black sand beach. We would not recommend the halldorskaffi - the meal was not to our liking and the service was not friendly.

Our next stop was Reykjavik. We stayed at the Residents Inn. We were upgraded to a family suite. It was very nice, comfortable and convenient. The staff was friendly and helpful. One small thing is that this hotel has many locations so we ended up at the main location which was not where we were to stay. There was a lot of construction going on around the main building so we could not park near the entrance. Fortunately we decided not to take our luggage until we knew where we were going so it worked out fine. Just wanted to let you know for future reference.

We had a very fun evening wandering the streets of Reykjavik - great atmosphere loads of places to eat, drink and shop.

The next morning we walked to our whale watching tour with Elding. We enjoyed this immensely! The day was beautiful and we saw dolphins and 2 kinds of whales. 🐳

In the afternoon we walked to the local swimming pool - we throughly enjoyed the hot tubs and local custom of spending time soaking in the wonderfully warm waters. For dinner we went to the Hereford Steakhouse- another fabulous meal. I will also add that we really appreciated having breakfast included with our stay, they brought a very nice spread to the room each day with fresh bread delivered by 8am. This was a very thoughtful addition to the plan - thank you!

On the final day as we made our way to the airport we went to Seltun geothermal area.
The drive from Reykjavik to Seltun was beautiful! Would definitely recommend this detour.

I am not very tech savvy and maybe there is a way to do this that I am not aware of but one thing that was slightly annoying about the itinerary is that we had to scroll through the whole thing to get to each day’s plan. It might be easier if there were tabs for each day so you could go directly to the day without scrolling the whole thing. If there is a way to do this that I am not aware of perhaps a short tutorial on how to use the system would be helpful.

Thanks for planning a wonderful trip for us!!
We would recommend your services to others.

Adam worked closely with us to determine our interests and degree of difficulty. His experience and knowledge was spot on. Everything, every site, timeframe worked like clockwork! The weather made our whale watching trip adjust the start time and the communication was prompt and accurate. We were rewarded with seeing humpbacks!
We encountered no challenges with our car rental or accommodations. We strongly recommend the walking tour of Reykjavik- fascinating!

We knew Iceland would be amazing and it didn’t disappoint!
Thank you to Adam and the KimKim team for a wonderful trip!