Kimkim Trip Reviews

My father and I spent 11 days traveling around Morocco with kimkim and had an absolutely incredible time. Right from the start, our local specialist, Brahim, was attentive to our questions and priorities, responsive and very patient as we put together our itinerary. Our trip was planned last minute-- we only had about 3 weeks between the time we contacted kimkim to when we landed in Casablanca, and kimkim was able to cater to our spontaneity, customizing the perfect trip for us. Brahim... read more

My father and I spent 11 days traveling around Morocco with kimkim and had an absolutely incredible time. Right from the start, our local specialist, Brahim, was attentive to our questions and priorities, responsive and very patient as we put together our itinerary. Our trip was planned last minute-- we only had about 3 weeks between the time we contacted kimkim to when we landed in Casablanca, and kimkim was able to cater to our spontaneity, customizing the perfect trip for us. Brahim checked in with us several times throughout our trip to make sure things were going well and we always felt looked after.

Our driver, Amine, was polite, always on time, and flexible if we wanted to change plans or linger in one place. It wasn't long before he felt like a trusted friend. Most importantly-- he was a VERY safe driver-- particularly in Marrakech we were impressed with his driving skills, where the roads are chaotic. Getting to know Amine was one of the highlights of our trip.

Our tour guide in Fes, Hafid, blew us away. He was knowledgeable, charming, and spoke English very well. He was also very flexible with how long the tour lasted-- we didn't feel rushed and he kept asking if there were other things we'd like to see. We couldn't have enjoyed the Medina nearly as much without his local insight.

We chose 3* accommodations and found them perfectly adequate for a father/daughter duo. Always central to wherever we were staying, sparkling clean, with friendly staff and a delicious, fresh breakfast. The riads in Rabat (Dar Alia) and Fes (Perle de la Medina) were breath taking.

It's difficult to pick a most memorable place-- but I think I enjoyed Fes the most. We stumbled upon Cafe Clock; we actually went there twice for dinner because we enjoyed the vibe so much.

Speaking of restaurants-- the only negative about the overall experience I can think of was the surprising lack of diversity in cuisine. It seemed like almost everywhere we were taken to, tagine was the main offering, and after the first 1-2 times of tagine I craved something different, but did not find much variation. We didn't often pick where we ate for lunch (and we would have no resources to know where to go anyway), so I don't if it's just the way moroccan food is, or if it was because of the specific places we were taken to. So unless you know you love tagine, try to make sure your meals have some variation, even if that means eating non-Moroccan food at times. I think we liked cafe clock so much (we went 4 times! 2x in Fes and 2x in Marrakech) because their menu had interesting things to offer besides tagine, and you could tell it had a youthful, cultural community vibe.

Overall a 10/10 for kimkim and all our guides and the people who made our trip unforgettable! Thank you so much!

Holly

From beginning to end, we were extremely well taken care of. From our first communication, Yassine patiently helped us prepare an itinerary that was perfect for our group. Once we arrived in Morocco, everything was seamless and well organized. Our driver Mohamed was polite, helpful and charming. He helped make the long drives between cities enjoyable, and assured that we were always comfortable. We were quite pleased with the selection of riads; all three were beautiful and special, each in... read more

From beginning to end, we were extremely well taken care of. From our first communication, Yassine patiently helped us prepare an itinerary that was perfect for our group. Once we arrived in Morocco, everything was seamless and well organized. Our driver Mohamed was polite, helpful and charming. He helped make the long drives between cities enjoyable, and assured that we were always comfortable. We were quite pleased with the selection of riads; all three were beautiful and special, each in their own way. Guides were polite and well-informed. Ali in Marrakech did a great job choosing restaurants for us, and we had a few memorable and delicious dining experiences thanks to him.

All in all, we had an excellent trip, and were extremely satisfied with the level of service from KimKim. We would do it all over again if we could.

Thank you for an wonderful experience!!

Where do we begin?!

From the moment we were greeted by Mohammed, our driver, at the airport, our driver/guide throughout the trip made us feel extremely comfortable from the start. Mohammed was on-time and ready to go as we left the airport and took us to our transportation which was as described by our local specialist Radia - a spacious and modern Mercedes van. The vehicle was fully supplied with fresh snacks, cold water and charging ports for our phones. The wifi was extremely helpful... read more

Where do we begin?!

From the moment we were greeted by Mohammed, our driver, at the airport, our driver/guide throughout the trip made us feel extremely comfortable from the start. Mohammed was on-time and ready to go as we left the airport and took us to our transportation which was as described by our local specialist Radia - a spacious and modern Mercedes van. The vehicle was fully supplied with fresh snacks, cold water and charging ports for our phones. The wifi was extremely helpful and worked throughout our entire trip! Mohammed made sure our ride to the hotel was smooth and along the way began talking to us about Morocco and its rich history, culture and surrounding areas. For the entire trip, Mohammed was ready and always EARLY for all of our trips. We visited 4 cities - Marrakech, Casablanca, Chefchaouen, Tangier. Mohammed was accommodating throughout the entire trip.

All the accommodations that were selected and booked met or exceeded our expectations and we were delighted to stay in locations that were central to where we wanted to be, yet distant enough from the hustle and bustle of the cities. We were impressed by the seamless check-in/check-out processes at each stay, the friendly hotel staff and their willingness to accommodate all requests. At the local Riad's we enjoyed amazing teas and Moroccan desserts. All the rooms selected met our needs and was spacious and clean.

Our various tour guides were all amazing. Ahmed, in the city of Marrakesh, was extremely knowledgeable, friendly and eager to share his knowledge and history of Morocco and its amazing historical sites. Lotfi, our tour guide in Chefchaouen, was an amazing person, super friendly, personable and did an amazing job of photographing our time in the 'Blue City'. Lotfi was accommodating to all of our requests, was extremely well known throughout the city and clearly had a passion for showing us all that the Blue City has to offer. We spent about 5 hours with him and he did a great job.

The food in Morocco is truly amazing. All the selections made by Radia that were included in the package were well selected and did not disappoint. The selections for the lunch and/or dinners were perfect for each occasion. Both Rick's Café & Rhizlane were truly amazing for us. While we enjoyed all of the locations, these two stood out the most for it's quality of food and locations. We truly couldn't have picked better places to eat and enjoy local Moroccan cuisine.

Overall, we highly recommend utilizing KimKim for this or any other trip. We can't wait to not only come back to Morocco but also using KimKim for other future adventures. It was our first time using the site and while hesitant at first, we truly do not regret using the service and only wish now we could have found it sooner to have booked our other vacations in the past! This was truly an unforgettable experience as we went to celebrate my birthday! We truly encourage anyone to consider KimKim for taking care of it all and just sit back and relax and know that your interests and needs will be fully taken care of and far exceed your expectations on your trip!

The whole trip with my daughter was fantastic!
Brahim was very good in working with us to find the best trip. Our driver Amine, was always on time and talked to us about his country.
In the end we felt like family. He even invited both myself and my daughter to his home to have dinner. It was quite the experience.

I've always loved the planning process for my holidays but while researching on Myanmar on a tight timeline, I felt increasingly unsure as I navigated through inconsistent and outdated details from Tripadvisor forums. For once, I wanted to just sit back and not worry about planning and timings etc. And than I came across KimKim.
I had sent Anne a query on a weekend and heard back from her in under an hour with recommendations based on my needs. The itinerary was so thoughtful that I didn't... read more

I've always loved the planning process for my holidays but while researching on Myanmar on a tight timeline, I felt increasingly unsure as I navigated through inconsistent and outdated details from Tripadvisor forums. For once, I wanted to just sit back and not worry about planning and timings etc. And than I came across KimKim.
I had sent Anne a query on a weekend and heard back from her in under an hour with recommendations based on my needs. The itinerary was so thoughtful that I didn't even think to make any changes. And with that, two weeks later I was packed and ready to visit Yangon and the lesser known southern towns of Mawlamyine/Hpa-An.
I was guided by the knowledgeable Nwel in Yangon. What an incredibly smart and articulate guide - no history question fazed her, and I am determined to come back and explore more of Myanmar with her. And then we moved to Mawlamyine and Hpa-An for the next 3 nights with the kind and sincere Akm. To anyone who is curious about Hpa-An... my advise to you is - go! I was blown away by the scenic - many a times I felt like I was in Jurrasic world (no kidding), and curious to why such a beautiful and idyllic town does not see as much visitors as a place like Bagan. When you go, you must stay at Hpa-An Lodge. We were incredibly sad to leave the place and are determined to bring more of our friends back.
And lastly, we want to give a shoutout to our kind, earnest and affable driver Thaw. He was with us the entire 7 days and we greatly enjoyed his presence that it almost felt like we made a new friend.
If you're thinking of going to Myanmar, go. And go with Anne from Kimkim/Myanmar Pure - you will have the trip of a lifetime.

It was incredible. Mingmar and the two porters were knowledgeable, patient, and simply outstanding. They handled the entire experience seamlessly and were incredibly accommodating to myself and fellow trekkers. Honestly could not have asked for a better experience.

From start to finish the whole experience was amazing. Thanks to all involved especially our guide Chomba and porter Nila.

The driver Kapila is wonderful
I have been very impressed with his responsibility and care received from him.
I have enjoyed this trip so much.
Thank you

What a great trip. Morocco is a beautiful country and our fabulous driver Mohammed made us feel comfortable, safe, and right at home. Our first stop at the beautiful Hassan II Mosque was really incredible. We had not had a chance to change our money and Mohommed, without hesitation, gaves us some money and said not to worry until we get to a bank. That was above and beyond and we really appreciated it. We travelled to 8 cities in 18 days. Mohammed was always close by and always offered his... read more

What a great trip. Morocco is a beautiful country and our fabulous driver Mohammed made us feel comfortable, safe, and right at home. Our first stop at the beautiful Hassan II Mosque was really incredible. We had not had a chance to change our money and Mohommed, without hesitation, gaves us some money and said not to worry until we get to a bank. That was above and beyond and we really appreciated it. We travelled to 8 cities in 18 days. Mohammed was always close by and always offered his services in the evening if we needed him. The local guides in each city were very good and I highly recommend you do them to get the lay of the land and go to special places you otherwise may not have seen. The riads we stayed in were really nice. Our favourites were Casa Lila in Essaouira, Riad La Clé De Fès in Fes, La Petite Chefchaouen, and our favourite Riad Kalaa 2 in Rabat. The Sahara dessert camel ride and overnight through Hotel Yasmina in Merzouga was excellent. Our cooking class in Marrakech was so much fun. The people in Morocco are very friendly, kind, and always helpful. We ate in some fantastic restaurants and the experience in Marrackech's central square was crazy fun and very memorable. Our home is now adhorned by wool carpets, ceramics, jewellery and hand made wooden items. All in all our trip was fantastic and highly recommend Brahim and his team to provide you with an unforgettable trip to Morocco!

I wasn’t sure what to expect as this was my first trip to the Philippines and my first experience with kimkim. The trip more than met my expectations and frankly, I was blown away. Leo from Uncharted Earth kept in touch, answered my questions, and made and adjusted arrangements quickly and graciously. He sent photos, bios and cell numbers for everyone I would be guided by in the Philippines so I knew who was supposed to be meeting me. While in the Manila area the guides, Don-Don, EJ and Jhon... read more

I wasn’t sure what to expect as this was my first trip to the Philippines and my first experience with kimkim. The trip more than met my expectations and frankly, I was blown away. Leo from Uncharted Earth kept in touch, answered my questions, and made and adjusted arrangements quickly and graciously. He sent photos, bios and cell numbers for everyone I would be guided by in the Philippines so I knew who was supposed to be meeting me. While in the Manila area the guides, Don-Don, EJ and Jhon were fun, friendly and knowledgeable. They helped me try new foods and I had a great time seeing the sights. I seriously underestimated the effects of heat and humidity and they adjusted accordingly, cheering me on and helping me out at Taal Volcano, Laguna Waterfalls and the boat ride down the rapids. We also saw historical buildings in the area. All must-see excursions. The Bayleaf hotel was also nice while in Manila. Ana Santos from Uncharted Earth was always available throughout my tour modifying travel plans and getting another driver for me when plans changed at the last minute; a flight was cancelled so that she had to fix my stay at the hotel and transportation. The only time I had problems the hotel was supposed to arrange transportation; I called Ana and she fixed that, too. While in Donsol, Donsol Eco Tours and Elysia Hotel were wonderful, adjusting for the change in flights cheerfully, the food was grand and I highly recommend the firefly boat ride, Krishna was a great guide. I would highly recommend Donsol Eco Tours and the Elysia Hotel for anyone seeing the area. While in Palawan, Stephen Tuboc showed me the sights and arranged my island hopping schedule so that I missed the crowds at each stop, the boat crew provided an amazing meal, as good as any restaurant, right there on the beach- heaven. They even managed our time so that I got to see a magical little enclosed lagoon all by myself. Truly a mind-blowing day. The Atremaru hotel was also wonderful, peaceful and felt like you were really living in the jungle. I would highly recommend Stephen as a guide, really knowledgeable. Everywhere I went the scenery was amazing, food was wonderful and I’m sure it was because Uncharted Earth did such a good job selecting the tours and lodgings. If I’ve forgotten anyone, I apologize. Two huge thumbs up.

Everything was fantastic, we did the W trek, it went flawlessly. Would highly recommend this service.

Right from the start Elina was excellent at helping to plan our trip . Elina and Gareth always responded quickly to our questions and were very helpful in providing us with information from what clothing to wear to what camera to buy.
Our trip was amazing from start to finish . Gareth picked us up in Kittila and drove us to Ylläs and Kilpisjärvi , then on to Tromso. Our accommodation were beautiful cabins in the woods (exactly what I had asked for ). Our activities, snowmobiling, dog... read more

Right from the start Elina was excellent at helping to plan our trip . Elina and Gareth always responded quickly to our questions and were very helpful in providing us with information from what clothing to wear to what camera to buy.
Our trip was amazing from start to finish . Gareth picked us up in Kittila and drove us to Ylläs and Kilpisjärvi , then on to Tromso. Our accommodation were beautiful cabins in the woods (exactly what I had asked for ). Our activities, snowmobiling, dog sledding, reindeer farm , snow shoe walks and Northern Lights hunting were all fabulous. Gareth personally took us on 3 fantastic snow shoe walks which were unexpected highlights . His enthusiasm for Lapland is infectious and he is great company . Gareth guided us on 4 Northern Lights chases. He helped our daughter with her camera and taking the Northern Lights pictures , which we saw 4 nights out of 6 and every night we went looking . Gareth looked after us , took us to the supermarket, lent us bigger boots and ‘grandma’s ‘ knitted socks to help keep us warm. He was totally focused on making our experience as wonderful as it could be .
Thank you Gareth and Elina for an unforgettable stay in Beautiful Finnish Lapland .

The trip was well-planned by KimKim staff, and was very enjoyable. The few snags we ran into were quickly corrected. Randall was very attentive.

We especially enjoyed our time in Monteverde, perhaps because the chilly wind and clouds are what we're accustomed to in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. The day at Selvatura was fabulous - the nature hike, led by Juan, introduced us to many plants and symbiotic systems. Zip-lining was fabulous (team of about a dozen energetic guides). Grace and... read more

The trip was well-planned by KimKim staff, and was very enjoyable. The few snags we ran into were quickly corrected. Randall was very attentive.

We especially enjoyed our time in Monteverde, perhaps because the chilly wind and clouds are what we're accustomed to in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. The day at Selvatura was fabulous - the nature hike, led by Juan, introduced us to many plants and symbiotic systems. Zip-lining was fabulous (team of about a dozen energetic guides). Grace and Renzo were excellent hosts at El Viandante, and gave very helpful advice on getting around the town.

We also enjoyed the hike at Volcan Arenal, led by Esteban. Our driver kindly stopped the van on the drive there so we could see howler monkeys and coati. Jimmy, another driver, was happy to answer our many questions, and he stopped so we could see a sloth up close at a produce stand. The chocolate-making tour and Proyecto Asis were interesting (guides Kyle (?) and Hector, respectively).

At Manuel Antonio we loved seeing all the animals right outside our hotel room. We never tired of watching iguanas and birds. Our tour of the national park, on Christmas Day, was too crowded to properly enjoy it. Our guide, Milo, was very good.

Rancho Corcovado was complicated. Our itinerary did not specify how we were to get from Sierpe to Rancho Corcovado, and our driver did not know where to leave us. When he learned where we would be staying, he knew which of the two boat landings we needed to get to. But we didn't know when our boat would arrive or how to recognize it. Between Randall's help and a call to the hotel, we got there. Boating on the river was pleasant, but getting through the surf was scary and unexpected (it took the driver two tries to make it through the waves). The hotel room had either no hot water, or scalding water. Sometimes no water at all. The food was very good, the trip to P. N. Corcovado was wonderful (Luis was an excellent guide) and the snorkeling was spectacular (excellent guides - Carol and a woman whose name I did not catch). There was an upsetting incident one night when angry people visited our next-door neighbors. All in all, the trip to Corcovado involved very good times and the least pleasant times, as well.

Our drivers were all good - Ricardo, Christian, Andres. The Hotel Don Carlos was a lovely secluded place in San Jose. We found a very good lunch at Cafe Rojo near the hotel, and spent a pleasant morning at Zoologico y Jardin Botanico Nacional.

A fantastic trip!
My guide Lhakpa was brilliant. Really appreciated his experience and sense of humour, particularly when compared to other guides along the way.
Will definately do this again with Lhakpa next year!
Thank you very much.

We had Mingmar, Dawn and Dorze on our trip. They were nothing short of amazing. We were very pleased with their knowledge and expertise.

Our Ednza tour with Juan was great,he was very informative,friendly,and went out of his way to take lots of group pictures for us too!...It was beautiful, and I would defiantly recommend this guided tour....Great Job!!!! Tom

It was a wonderful experience. Mario & team assisted us to customise our trip to the needs of my 4yr old and 65yrs+ parents.
We were a bit pressed for time but our stay in Florence was the best.
Guide Paulo at Rome was very thorough and detailed at all the various historic sites.
Was a great trip.
One thing to note was at some point there was not transport arranged n we were a bit confused about it. Nonetheless arranging ourselves was not tough.

Carmelo arranged an eBike tour for us in Tuscany, starting in San Gimignano, through to Siena and up to Montalcino. We finished it off with a couple of days on Lake Como. This was fabulous, and Carmelo organised everything perfectly. The bikes were waiting for us when we arrived, with very easy to follow route instructions. Drivers were there to pick up and carry our bags between towns when they said they be there. The accommodation Carmelo selected was perfect and the cycling route was... read more

Carmelo arranged an eBike tour for us in Tuscany, starting in San Gimignano, through to Siena and up to Montalcino. We finished it off with a couple of days on Lake Como. This was fabulous, and Carmelo organised everything perfectly. The bikes were waiting for us when we arrived, with very easy to follow route instructions. Drivers were there to pick up and carry our bags between towns when they said they be there. The accommodation Carmelo selected was perfect and the cycling route was exquisite - through rolling Chianti hills, with relatively little traffic. I can't recommend both KimKim and Carmelo enough.

Life changing experience,

From the moment I arrived at the Nattrip lodge I knew it was going to be a great experience. Lucas and Guilherme ( the guides ) were very welcoming and even shared some of their home cooked diner. The trekking started the next day, and I have to say, the trekking days were absolutely amazing!! Both guides were very knowledgeable, caring and fun. The trek can be physically demanding at some points, but worth every effort. Actually most of the time it felt effortless... read more

Life changing experience,

From the moment I arrived at the Nattrip lodge I knew it was going to be a great experience. Lucas and Guilherme ( the guides ) were very welcoming and even shared some of their home cooked diner. The trekking started the next day, and I have to say, the trekking days were absolutely amazing!! Both guides were very knowledgeable, caring and fun. The trek can be physically demanding at some points, but worth every effort. Actually most of the time it felt effortless due to the great company and beautiful surroundings. I saw two sunsets and two sunrises, which do not compare to any I’ve seen before. Furthermore, the guides were very good at adjusting the trek to fit our physical limits. For us this resulted in two ‘bonus’ tracks with amazing panoramic views (which I would have never seen without a guide!!). I would definitely recommend this trek to anyone. Above all, I would recommend to go with Nattrip. You will learn a lot about the surroundings, feel safe and looked after, have some nicely cooked food at diner and breakfast.

I made friends, saw amazing views, but most off all I felt alive during the whole experience. Consider me coming back for more adventures!

Overall great experience. Very organized. Good communication along the way.
Only guide was Sandra. Great several hours touring Buenos Aires.
Small tweaks. Highlight cost of national parks and that it is cash only.
Acknowledge that AM tours may be late because of multiple pickups. Important to be ready however less stress if you know that last pickup may be 30 minutes after set time.
Note actual length of bus rides.
I would combine the two itineraries provided.
Overall well put together trip.

We had a wonderful experience booking through KimKim and Adriana for our 10-day Honeymoon to Costa Rica! Adriana was professional, responsive and accommodating. We wanted a mix of adventurous yet relaxing, cultural but touristy, romantic but casual, and Adriana planned THE perfect vacation for us. My only hiccup was not receiving our arrival packets 2 days before our departure, as noted, but someone else from the KimKim team stepped up and responded to our message stating that Adriana out of... read more

We had a wonderful experience booking through KimKim and Adriana for our 10-day Honeymoon to Costa Rica! Adriana was professional, responsive and accommodating. We wanted a mix of adventurous yet relaxing, cultural but touristy, romantic but casual, and Adriana planned THE perfect vacation for us. My only hiccup was not receiving our arrival packets 2 days before our departure, as noted, but someone else from the KimKim team stepped up and responded to our message stating that Adriana out of the office. Those thoughts when booking through a website always pop into your head, "What if no one shows to pick us up? What if this is too good to be true?", but we truly felt both safe and taken care of upon arrival - in the shuttles, at the hotels and everywhere in between. We flew into San Jose with an overnight stay, then spent 2 nights in La Fortuna, 2 nights in Monteverde and 3 nights in Manuel Antonio. During our trip we hiked a volcano, swam in a natural hot spring, went ziplining, took a sunset/snorkling catamaran, visited a National Park and somehow still had plenty of time to sit by the pool and ocean to rest. Our activities were perfectly spaced out, allowing us enough time to not feel rushed with travel, check-in or excursions. Our transportation to and from the airport as well as to each city and excursion was timely, professional and labeled with their respective companies. Some of our favorite parts of the trip were simply traveling between cities! Our guides were knowledgeable, fun and even gave us suggestions for local cuisine and hang out spots. Thank you to KimKim & Adriana for helping us create such a memorable trip, we will be booking again in the near future!

We are one couple that were from a group of 10 but we did not have any part of the planning we simply were part of the group, others in our group did the planning and therefore had all the interactions with the team.
We were greeted at the departure from the cruise ship by Mauricio Masserano and spent the majority of 4 days with him touring the wineries of Chile. His English is impeccable and he has a very broad understanding of the wineries. He took us to lots of wineries that had... read more

We are one couple that were from a group of 10 but we did not have any part of the planning we simply were part of the group, others in our group did the planning and therefore had all the interactions with the team.
We were greeted at the departure from the cruise ship by Mauricio Masserano and spent the majority of 4 days with him touring the wineries of Chile. His English is impeccable and he has a very broad understanding of the wineries. He took us to lots of wineries that had different and unique places for example each day would be at least three wineries that had totally different ways of making wines. We visited some really great wineries and Mauricio chose different luncheons at very unique places that were all very delicious.
He and the driver left us at our hotel and the next day we had a father and son that gave us a tour of Santiago and took us to the airport for our flights home. They were both very knowledgeable with the City of Santiago and we enjoyed our day immensely. They also chose a very unique restaurant that was truly a great experience.

Mohamid our guide was early which we appreciated and was a very nice person. On getting in the very back of the vehicle I put my hand on the back seat nearest the window and it collapsed and on the way it collapsed more.
Our guide stopped on the way to go in the Mosque and pray.
When we arrived at the place to let the tyres down for the sand dunes we were pestered to buy something from the shop. The people there then propped up the seat with breeze block bricks. One of our male party... read more

Mohamid our guide was early which we appreciated and was a very nice person. On getting in the very back of the vehicle I put my hand on the back seat nearest the window and it collapsed and on the way it collapsed more.
Our guide stopped on the way to go in the Mosque and pray.
When we arrived at the place to let the tyres down for the sand dunes we were pestered to buy something from the shop. The people there then propped up the seat with breeze block bricks. One of our male party needed the toilet which was a disgrace and advised us not to use it as it was flooded and blocked. We arrived at our destination and then we were told we would have to pay for the meal someone came and saw us and asked for the paperwork then gave us a ticket to say we had paid for it. If there had not been six of us I would have found this very daunting but we had a good laugh although I felt guilty about everything that went wrong as I had booked it.

Regards

Carole Perry

My guide, Solomon, was always on time and knowledgeable about a site. I was walking on a sore foot and he was sure to help me navigate all steps. However, I had some difficulty understanding his English but I have hearing aids and had trouble understanding many of the Sri Lankans, so I don't know if it was his English or my lack of hearing well. My major complaint was that we had arranged for me to meet a friend of mine in Colombo on the last day of the private tour and we never made it to... read more

My guide, Solomon, was always on time and knowledgeable about a site. I was walking on a sore foot and he was sure to help me navigate all steps. However, I had some difficulty understanding his English but I have hearing aids and had trouble understanding many of the Sri Lankans, so I don't know if it was his English or my lack of hearing well. My major complaint was that we had arranged for me to meet a friend of mine in Colombo on the last day of the private tour and we never made it to Colombo on time to meet him. I really felt that Solomon did this on purpose as I got the impression that he thought my friend was my Gate 1 guide before my private tour and that my friend was encroaching on his territory. Actually, it was someone I had met on a tour in Europe and who had convinced me to visit Sri Lanka. To meet him again was to be a highlight of my time in Sri Lanka and I was very disappointed. Solomon did not know that a boat from Delft Island was canceled, so we had to wait two hours for another boat to leave. He said that there was no place to eat lunch on the island so I was starving but he did find a place that I could buy some cookies. The Big Game Camp was recommended as a place to stay. It was the worse overnight accommodations that I have had anywhere--a tent that was too dark even during the day and the worse place to rearrange items for my flights home the next day. I was not told in advance that the scheduled trip to see the dolphins would require leaving the camp at 5 a.m. in the dark from the dark tent and the trip would have been on a fishing boat, which my friend had warned me was unsafe. I decided to not go on it, which resulted in having my last day on the tour just driving around. The boats going to and from Delft Island was enough of an experience already as they were far from being tourist boats. All in all, my private tour of Northern Sri Lanka was quite an experience, an adventure, though I wish that it had worked out a bit better.

Our experience using KimKim to book our trip to Colombia was amazing. It saved us time and made our trip run smoothly and painless.

Sharon was our guide in Bogota and she was very knowledgeable and gave us great recommendations for things to do or places to eat after our tours were over. We really enjoyed the trip up to Monserrate and eating the delicious food in Paloquemao market.

Juan Carlos was our guide for 2 days in Medellin and we had a great time. He went above and beyond and... read more

Our experience using KimKim to book our trip to Colombia was amazing. It saved us time and made our trip run smoothly and painless.

Sharon was our guide in Bogota and she was very knowledgeable and gave us great recommendations for things to do or places to eat after our tours were over. We really enjoyed the trip up to Monserrate and eating the delicious food in Paloquemao market.

Juan Carlos was our guide for 2 days in Medellin and we had a great time. He went above and beyond and added in a few stops between our tours to show us more of the city.

In Cartagena we had a great guide who answered all our questions and even took us to a grocery store when we needed to grab a few items.

We are already set up with kimkim to book our next vacation to South Africa, we hope that we get the same great service we received from all the ladies in Colombia from kimkim.

I planned my very first trip to Africa (specifically Uganda) using kimkim and I could not be happier with the outcome. I was picked up at the Entebbe airport upon my arrival and dropped again at the airport after 3 weeks to fly back, and in between I had quite a few memorable adventures which I will remember for the rest of my life.
Uganda is a wonderful country full of natural parks, lakes, and wild animals, but I should say the most amazing part of my trip was interacting with Ugandan... read more

I planned my very first trip to Africa (specifically Uganda) using kimkim and I could not be happier with the outcome. I was picked up at the Entebbe airport upon my arrival and dropped again at the airport after 3 weeks to fly back, and in between I had quite a few memorable adventures which I will remember for the rest of my life.
Uganda is a wonderful country full of natural parks, lakes, and wild animals, but I should say the most amazing part of my trip was interacting with Ugandan people on different parts of the country. Ugandans are extremely warm and friendly and no matter on which part of the country you see them, they always greet you with warmth and smile and I should emphasize once again that having the opportunity to travel around the country and meeting these wonderful people has been the highlight of my trip.
I had a wonderful and knowledgable guide (Paul Buzinde) who drove me around the country for 21 days. He knew all the roads in the country, the name of all the birds we encountered in the natural parks, and most importantly made utmost effort to make the trip as smooth and enjoyable as possible. I want to use this opportunity to thank Paul for making this trip a memorable experience for me.
If you're interested in visiting Uganda, 3 weeks of road trip should take you to most of the places that tourists generally visit, but if you want to plan a shorter trip then there are some places that in my idea you should definitely visit. In no particular order they are:
1) Kidepo Valley National Park - Many visitors don't go to this place since it's in a pretty remote area but I think a trip to Uganda should definitely include visiting this wonderful natural park. I visited some 6 national parks in Uganda and by far Kidepo was the most beautiful of them because it has a very open savannah where you can see miles and miles of grasslands with overwhelming beauty. Most of my wildlife sightings also happened to be in Kidepo. In addition, since not many people travel to this park, you might easily happen to have the whole park to yourself, which was the case with me while doing my safari. Keep in mind that traveling to Kidepo will also take you through the remote northeast region of Uganda which is home to Karamojong tribe. Consider this as an added bonus in traveling to Kidepo.
2) Murchison Falls National Park - You will not see hippos and crocodiles in Kidepo but there are plenty of them in Murchison, the views of Nile river is just breathtaking, and hiking to the top of the Murchison Falls and seeing the drop from the top is just an amazing experience.
3) Gorilla tracking in Bwindi National Park - Much have already been said about this elsewhere, but I have to emphasize again that tracking gorillas and spending an hour with them is truly, truly a remarkable experience. If you plan to do only one thing in Uganda, this is it.
4) Lake Bunyonyi - Serene, beautiful lake with plenty of isolated islands scattered on top of it. You will have the opportunity to hike on the hillsides surrounding the lake and interact with local people living on the hillsides.
I would have liked to spend more time visiting the villages on the road but unfortunately this is something which I didn't think about before planning my trip. I suggest for anybody who plans to visit Uganda to consider a couple village walks in different regions of the country, specially in the Karamojong region. It will be a wonderful experience.

Thanks to Kimkim our W trek was amazing. Diana was fantastic in all sense. She responded promptly and made changes to our itinerary as required.

Only one suggestion, which is for fantastic sur, on day we could have stayed in Frances, day 3 Paine Grande which would have made things a bit better in terms of covering more.

We will definitely come back to Kimkim for our next Chilean and Argentina adventure

Thanks,
Pre and Elisabeth

I can definitely recommend the trip that was organised for me by Clara (and others).

- All communication was prompt and easy.
- Every single transfer/pick up was bang on time. This I thought very impressive given I had so many of them! Not once was I left waiting at all. That is obviously comforting when you are travelling alone.
- The itinerary was very well spaced out, not too much, not too little. It was nice to have a little bit of down time, especially in the Sol y Luna Hotel... read more

I can definitely recommend the trip that was organised for me by Clara (and others).

- All communication was prompt and easy.
- Every single transfer/pick up was bang on time. This I thought very impressive given I had so many of them! Not once was I left waiting at all. That is obviously comforting when you are travelling alone.
- The itinerary was very well spaced out, not too much, not too little. It was nice to have a little bit of down time, especially in the Sol y Luna Hotel which was absolutely magnificent.
- All of the hotels that were booked for me were excellent.
- All of the tour guides were great company in their own unique way. All really friendly and knowledgeable.

Tips for improvement.

I can only think of two tips whereby the trip could be made even better. Hopefully these tips will benefit future travellers.

- I was booked on a horse riding activity ( I am a novice). The guides were fantastic, the horses were fantastic and the scenery was just incredible. My tip here however is that a novice such as me would be better served riding for say 2 hours/half a day. The ride I was on was an all day affair and the terrain very challenging. The guides conceded that the difficulty level was high. Having checked my iPhone, I believe I clocked up something like 28km's! It was an awesome experience without question, it just needed to better reflect my ability level.
- This tip relates to the amount of time spent in Machu Picchu town (Aguas Calientes). I saw Machu Picchu itself in the morning (absolutely fantastic) leaving me the afternoon to explore the town in the afternoon and evening. I wasn't booked to leave the town until around 4.00pm the next day. If that departure can be moved forward in the day, you would get to enjoy more of Cusco (I arrived at approximately 8.00pm that night).

Many thanks once again to Clara and the entire team. I would absolutely recommend this company.

If you decide to go to Bhutan, Windhorse is a good choice for anyone. They customize, advise and will comply to your needs, budget and visits you want to make along your way. The pick ups were very important; we don't know who to trust, so we don't have this worry. Bas was dependable and pleasant at all times and that gave us the opportunity to have the trip we desired. The Bhutan staff was super-professional, prompt, informed and tried to accomodate our desires. Yentin was crystal clear... read more

If you decide to go to Bhutan, Windhorse is a good choice for anyone. They customize, advise and will comply to your needs, budget and visits you want to make along your way. The pick ups were very important; we don't know who to trust, so we don't have this worry. Bas was dependable and pleasant at all times and that gave us the opportunity to have the trip we desired. The Bhutan staff was super-professional, prompt, informed and tried to accomodate our desires. Yentin was crystal clear and all of these things and we were grateful!

Additionally we visited Agra, New Delhi, Kathmandu and Chitwan. All of the ground staff was prompt and courteous. in Agra was accommodating. Laxman in Kathmandu was very helpful and pleasant. He stored some bags while we took a flight so we could travel lighter and he generally understood our needs.

The Resort in Chitwan was very lovely and memorable! Our naturalists/guides Saki and Krishnan were amazing. They made certain we had a memorable time!

Incidentally, I cannot fault Kimkim for anything but I don't think Kimkim was helpful. In fact, they didn't answer the phone when I needed something. I don't know if Kimkim cares at all! It's hard to understand what they do(?)

Your team did a great job with the overall organization of the trip. We were met at EZE by Ceci, who provided a bottle of wine. All connections were spot on. We took two trips out to Perito Moreno glacier. If I had realized how long it takes to get out there, I might have made a change in our daily itinerary...still, not a big deal. I thought the cave on the way to Torres Del Paine Park was interesting, but not sure it was worth the time. Everything else was spectacular. We were well... read more

Your team did a great job with the overall organization of the trip. We were met at EZE by Ceci, who provided a bottle of wine. All connections were spot on. We took two trips out to Perito Moreno glacier. If I had realized how long it takes to get out there, I might have made a change in our daily itinerary...still, not a big deal. I thought the cave on the way to Torres Del Paine Park was interesting, but not sure it was worth the time. Everything else was spectacular. We were well prepared for the weather, and the changes. I had no idea of the wind conditions. Not a complaint, but wow, Puerto Natales was windy!! The hotel in El Calafate was well located, but they had some issues with the heat (too much). I think El Chaltén is a special place. The hiking was unbelievable, even though I came up about 600 Meters short of the lake on the Fitzroy trail. My sons made it. Was surprised how cheap food was in Argentina, but also how expensive it was in Chile (relatively speaking). Another thing I found interesting. The size of the area and how long it takes to get around. El Calafate to Puerto Natales...especially going down was a long haul. Again, not complaint, just an observation. Thank you for all you did!!

Thank you, Erin for organizing a terrific trek to Muldau and Poon Hill for us in the short time we had available in Nepal. The scenic views of the Annapurna range are magical and the wonderful memories of the trek will last a lifetime. I especially appreciate the quick adjustment to our itinerary, due to unexpected snow at lower elevations while we were on the trail, which prevented us from reaching Muldau, but had no negative impact on our experience. You and the staff at KimKim were great... read more

Thank you, Erin for organizing a terrific trek to Muldau and Poon Hill for us in the short time we had available in Nepal. The scenic views of the Annapurna range are magical and the wonderful memories of the trek will last a lifetime. I especially appreciate the quick adjustment to our itinerary, due to unexpected snow at lower elevations while we were on the trail, which prevented us from reaching Muldau, but had no negative impact on our experience. You and the staff at KimKim were great to work with.

I also want acknowledge our guide Mingmar and porters, Dorze and Dawa. They were the best company on the trail. It was so much fun! A round of Sprite for all! (Inside joke between Mingmar, Dorze, Dawa and our group)

Sangrita planned all the logistics including flights, hotels ,transfer, and guides. Sangrita answered all our questions quickly and everything worked perfectly! She was in constant contact with us throughout our trip. We highly recommend her company!

Jorge organised the trip for us, and Demi was our guide for the Mexico City. First day we decided to go to the Teotihuacan and Basilica de Santa Maria de Guadalupe and on the second day wandering in the city. We liked pyramids in Teotihuacan the most. Demi explained everything and also he knows english so that was a bonus. Even we got stucked in the traffic jam Our driver Eric and guide Demi were very calm and easy going. Would recommend them also to the others!

Best regards,
Dina

We were quite apprehensive embarking on this trip due to the fear of the unknown. However, right from the onset our fears were allayed by the excellent planning by Tara and her team and the constant follow up throughout the trip. We felt assured that if we ran Into any problems, they would be taken care of by Tara.
Overall the iterarany planned between Tara and us was excellent!!! The only suggestion we would have is for the day trip to the Drakensberg should be done in two days if time... read more

We were quite apprehensive embarking on this trip due to the fear of the unknown. However, right from the onset our fears were allayed by the excellent planning by Tara and her team and the constant follow up throughout the trip. We felt assured that if we ran Into any problems, they would be taken care of by Tara.
Overall the iterarany planned between Tara and us was excellent!!! The only suggestion we would have is for the day trip to the Drakensberg should be done in two days if time allows. Otherwise you end up driving over 12 hours in a day!!!
The Earth Stompers tour was absolutely fantastic!!! Our guide Christine deserves many kudos as she dealt with everything with expertise and a constant smile!!!
Tours organizers in St. Lucia we’re also awesome. We were very happy with the game we saw and we would certainly recommend Cape Vidal. Our guide Arno was beyond amazing. His knowledge, passion for his job and again a constant smile made the tour incredibly fun.

Overall a fantastic trip!!! South Africa is beautiful and so are the people.

Overall working with kimkim was a great experience. Norway in winter was beautiful. The best was wisely saved for last. Or experience at Trasti & Trine was magical. Hannah, or dogsled guide was terrific and Johnny's food was an event every meal. We will definitely be back and will use kimkim again.

booking process was easy, feel fees are a bit high could consider flat fees rather than a percentage of total costs.

Experience Morocco provided a great itinerary and their service was impeccable. Our driver, Amin, was courteous, knowledgeable and spoke very well english.

the local guides were amazing providing a broad range of information as well as local culture and spots.

I recently visited Nepal for the first time. I used Kimkim because I wasn't familiar with the country and I didn't have much time to plan the trip personally. Using Kimkim was the best decision I could have made.

Kripa from Himalayan Trails was helpful beyond belief and provided an itinerary that was exactly what I was looking for. She arranged the accommodations, guides, and all other logistics. Although it seemed somewhat expensive up front I realized I got an extraordinary deal! I look forward to using Kimkim and Himalayan Trails again soon.

Highly highly recommend it.

Carmen organized a perfect first trip to Jordan for us, and our driver, Azzam, could not have been a better ambassador for Jordan. We saw and explored wonderous sites and take home with us wonderful memories. The value for money spent was excellent. The hotels were good value with the exception of the Grand Hotel in Madba, which was sub standard. We highly recommend Carmen and KimKIm!

I found the web platform and payment method a bit challenging as I was travelling with a group. Marie-Lou was generally prompt in responding to me. It would have been better if we could have talked directly to Mauricio, our guide for the wine tours as he had a plan that would have involved less driving. We went the way I requested but that was because I really didn’t understand the driving times/traffic etc. However, we did enjoy driving up the coast from San Antonio to Valparaíso as we were... read more

I found the web platform and payment method a bit challenging as I was travelling with a group. Marie-Lou was generally prompt in responding to me. It would have been better if we could have talked directly to Mauricio, our guide for the wine tours as he had a plan that would have involved less driving. We went the way I requested but that was because I really didn’t understand the driving times/traffic etc. However, we did enjoy driving up the coast from San Antonio to Valparaíso as we were able to see where Chileans spend their summer holidays.
Mauricio was very good - he was always striving to give us a good experience. The wineries he chose were so diverse that we were always surprised that we were learning something new. Mateo and Leo were our guides for touring Santiago, were very good at answering questions and giving us options (such as walking or driving through the city center). Going up the gondola for the city view was a highlight.
The hotels - Hotel 17 in Valparaíso - great location, beautiful rooms with amazing views, Good breakfast, but a little run down and it could have been a little cleaner. Inca Hotel in Los Andes, Great pool area, good location, good breakfast, modern looking but moldy showers! Hotel Torremayor Lyon - nice neighbourhood, very good breakfast but this once very beautiful hotel needs renovations - it wouldn’t even look that bad if the floors were cleaner and stains removed from upholstery and carpets. The pool was very grubby.
Our guides and drivers definitely made this trip enjoyable and informative and I would recommend them to anyone. I would also use Kimkim in the future as it is a good way to find customized, unique travel experiences.

Our 4 day trek in Nepal was fantastic. Gelu was a great guide, took it at a nice pace and looked after us all.
I loved the different terrains we walked through. Meeting the locals and being thoroughly looked after.
The trek was a good challenge, long days but do able and very rewarding.
We were lucky with the weather, a little snow storm the afternoon we reached base camp but it added to the mood. Getting up early in the freezing cold to summit was a struggle, but to get outside to see... read more

Our 4 day trek in Nepal was fantastic. Gelu was a great guide, took it at a nice pace and looked after us all.
I loved the different terrains we walked through. Meeting the locals and being thoroughly looked after.
The trek was a good challenge, long days but do able and very rewarding.
We were lucky with the weather, a little snow storm the afternoon we reached base camp but it added to the mood. Getting up early in the freezing cold to summit was a struggle, but to get outside to see clear starry skies was amazing.
We stuck in, and made it to the summit just in time to see the sun rise. It was breath taking (the walk up and the views). The mountain range standing tall, fantastic view of mt Everest and surrounding mountains. Out of this world! Definitely felt I had accomplished something. Smiles all round!!
A massive thank you to Gelu, Tongba and the two porters! A trip we will never forget.

Goody and Ziggy showed our group parts of Iceland that few tourists get to experience. We climbed to the bottom of a large crevasse on Mýrdalshreppur Glacier and had the whole location to ourselves. Ziggy gave us a personal tour of Midgard Base Camp and Goody introduced us to the owner of Hotel Ranga whose entertaining stories were “mostly true”. These personal touches made for an amazing trip.

Working with Sophie from L'Objectif France was great. She took the time to phone me to ask important questions. She was quick to reply to my questions and requests. Thanks to Sophie, we were able to fit in a lot of neat things in such a short tip. The Road Book Sophie put together with the itinerary and directions - including maps - was fantastic. I have never seen a comparable book from another agent.

The car transfers arranged in Brussels with Blacklane were superb. Clean, comfortable... read more

Working with Sophie from L'Objectif France was great. She took the time to phone me to ask important questions. She was quick to reply to my questions and requests. Thanks to Sophie, we were able to fit in a lot of neat things in such a short tip. The Road Book Sophie put together with the itinerary and directions - including maps - was fantastic. I have never seen a comparable book from another agent.

The car transfers arranged in Brussels with Blacklane were superb. Clean, comfortable vehicles and professional drivers. Drivers were on time/early.

Waffle tour (can't remember company or name of guide) was really neat and provided a memorable experience. The waffles we made themselves were so-so, but the history and knowledge of Belgian waffles in general was really neat.

Day trip to Ghent and Bruges with Brussels City Tours was good. Weather was pretty miserable, but the guide was great and knowledgeable. Spoke/walked at a good pace. Made for a long day, but I felt like I got a good sense of both places without being rushed or with too much time doddling.

City tour of Brussels was ok, also with Brussels City Tours. This was originally scheduled for our first day, which is ideal for me as a traveller in order to get a sense of the city at the beginning of the stay. This tour was rescheduled due to low booking. Sophie was great about getting in touch to communicate the change and allowed us time to decide if we wanted to keep our booking. They ended up having a last minute cancellation, so it was just the two of us on the tour with a big coach bus. Was nice to see more of Brussels other than the city centre, but there was too much time on the coach and I would not have enjoyed the tour if the bus was full. Definitely prefer tours with more walking.

The chocolate tour of Brussels with Groovy Brussels was amazing! Highly recommend.

Private tour of Liège was good. Interesting city history. Guide focused a lot on architecture and churches a little too much. Felt like we could have seen more if we didn't spend so much time on individual buildings talking about windows and lines.

Kimkim overall was a useful tool. As a Canadian, I would have liked to pay in the local currency rather than USD so I didn't essentially pay the exchange rate twice. There seemed to be a technical glitch when a second traveller was added, which made payment more complicated than it would have been otherwise. If it worked properly, would have worked great to split the costs between two travellers. It also would have been nice to have a breakdown of costs for each itinerary item as well as more info upfront about how the agent's costs work. I noticed each time I asked for a change, her fees went up. This made me hesitant to ask for changes. However, the amount of time I saved by not looking up tours and hotels myself was well worthwhile.

We had a three day tour of Greece and it was wonderful. Christos was great at putting everything together and making sure that we knew where we were going and when. He even called a couple of times during our trip to ensure that everything was going well. Our guides Theodorus (Epidaurus/Meteora) and Anastasia (Thessaloniki) were both very knowledgeable, spoke English well and enjoyable. I would definitely consider using kimkim and Christos again if we ever came back to Greece.

Well to sum up our trip it definitely met the "Incredible India" tour. We found the whole trip to be wonderful. A few items could have been better but both my wife and I believe we truly got immersed into India, history, culture, cities, countryside and most importantly the wonderful people of India.

We were met at the Mumbai Airport at 3AM in the morning by a guide and driver who took us to a money exchange person at that time of the night and got a better rate than the airport exchanges.... read more

Well to sum up our trip it definitely met the "Incredible India" tour. We found the whole trip to be wonderful. A few items could have been better but both my wife and I believe we truly got immersed into India, history, culture, cities, countryside and most importantly the wonderful people of India.

We were met at the Mumbai Airport at 3AM in the morning by a guide and driver who took us to a money exchange person at that time of the night and got a better rate than the airport exchanges. We were driven directly to Hotel Godwin and got checked in with NO problems. We received our documents and vouchers for our whole trip. Hotel Godwin proved to be a very nice hotel at a great location near the India Gate in Mumbai. Since we got in so late we took the day off and just wandered around the area with no problems. Breakfasts were very good at the hotel but the restaurant in the evening (Cloud 9) was just so-so, not bad - not good.
Our tours were nicely timed typically our pickup was about 15 to 20 minutes after the agreed on time but considering the traffic we were not displeased. Elephant Island was very interesting and our guide was informative. The great thing was our guides were conversant in English and they were with us to make sure we got to the right spots, offered tips on how and what to do and gave us a very great analysis of what we were looking at. Victoria Train Station was fun and interesting as was the outdoor laundry amazing place. Bollywood was OK fun to learn about the filming process, the dancers were just students in a tiny stage versus a real Bollywood performance. Watching a 3 hour Bollywood movie got boring very fast as we did not understand Hindi, just an hour of so would have been plenty. I was nice to visit a movie theater and sample the snacks. The Dabbawallas were very interesting and it was great to learn how they perform their services. Fun little train ride and to buy tickets. Another outdoor laundry and we were driven to the airport with plenty of time to spare so we have no last minute hassles. Good Mumbai visit.
We were picked up at Delhi Airport and deposited at the Taj Princess Hotel. Hotel was good also breakfast was OK and the location was nice allowing us to wander the street. Old Delhi was a very good visit, riding in Rickshaw, visiting temples and mosques etc. Amazing place with animals in the streets and crowded bustling area. We were a little disappointed we did not get to sample "street food" as we were warned the water and oil used in the cooking process might not be the best for us. Probably good advice but it sure smelled good (we love Indian food of all sorts) The Gandhi memorial was nice but the real great thing was the Gandhi house with the little museum, learned a lot and it was very nicely done without hurrying us along. The New Delhi was very nice wide roads and modern government buildings. The annual independence day was coming up so we got to see preparations for the parade and a few groups practicing. The Qutab Minar and the Humayun Tomb was great and our guide very informative. The visit to the Delhi slums was interesting and we got to provide some bags to chips to the children again something you need to see. This tour was to a "newer" slum as the Indian government is trying to rebuild the area providing better housing. Our guide Samar in Delhi was very good providing us with a lot of information.

Our driver for much of our northern India tour was Ravinder Tiwani and he was excellent getting us thru unbelievable traffic without any mishaps. Our drive to Jaipur took us thru countryside. He took us to the Hotel Suryaa Villa which was a nice hotel good breakfast. My wife was not too happy with her dinner but I kind of liked my dinner at the hotel. The Pink City tour was great and the Amber Fort with the elephant ride was very good. We asked for some extra time to allow my wife to walk the Jaipur markets and our guide made sure we had the time we asked. Our tour of the Jai Singh II Observatory is not to be missed (I actually thought of cancelling it BUT am SO glad we did not cancel) I was very impressed. The Maharajah Palace tour was good as well. Our poor driver worked a long day as we did the evening Indian cooking class we love Indian food and learned so new tricks to making a great Indian dinner. Fun and Yummy at the Harsoli Haveli with Beena as our host.

Now on to Ranthambore a long drive but again we got to see the countryside stopping at the Om Rudra Priya Resort - what a great room huge. Disappointed at no wifi in rooms and one evening no hot water but a very nice place. We wandered out and took a tuk-tuk ride into town to wander around. Our tiger safari was wonderful. We made a mistake and did not have a blanket with us in the morning so we were extremely cold riding to the reserve BUT we had the great luck of seeing a tiger in the open and got great pictures of the tiger and the herds of deer, antelope, crocodiles, monkeys, birds etc. Wow was this fun!!! Breakfast was very good and our evening dinner was nothing short of excellent - do not miss the pre-fix dinner too much food but incredible veggies and a little butter chicken. We were so surprised and happy exactly what we were looking for.

On to Agra with a stop at the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary. We had been told to see the Bird Santuary from an Indian ex-pat here in the US but I was kind of skeptical about seeing birds. Once again I was totally wrong what a great stop our guide was Krishna was excellent. We learned a lot and got to spend some time walking the park with him. He was an enthusiastic Indian tourist supporter and made our visit great. Also he found a few Indian Rock Pythons for us to view.
Our hotel in Agra was the Howard Plaza The Fern. A very nice modern hotel with a great breakfast. Our tours of Agra were also very good with of course the Taj Mahal being the star. Our guide suggested a few tour modifications since the Taj in winter is hidden in early morning fog so we took his suggestion and visited the Red Fort first - as interesting as the Taj in my opinion. We saw the exterior of the Taj and then early the next morning we visited the interior. Our guide was great. He allowed us time to explore the town on our own where we walked and rode tuk-tuks. Fun to visit the local market place but watch out for the open sewers.

Our driver got us back to Delhi with plenty of time to spare to catch our flight to Varanasi. As usual we were met at the airport and escorted to our hotel the Temple on the Ganges. Although the location was very good on the Ghat Assi it was certainly the worst hotel of our stay. Our room was not cleaned although we were there three nights we just asked for fresh towels. The bathroom was tiny so when you showered the whole place was wet. Small room and the breakfast was so-so. I ate dinner there one night and it too was OK but nothing special. Varanasi is a very special place not to be missed. Our guide did a great job getting us to the right places and explaining the city with its temples, Hindu and Buddhist, Ghats in the morning and at night. At the end of our temple tour they dropped us off to allow us to wander the streets and Ghats. We spent a lot of time watching the cremations and walking the streets. We finally took a tuk-tuk ride back to our hotel but then stopped at a restaurant called Diyva near our hotel. Again we ended up with a spectacular vegetarian dinner so good I asked our waiter to write down the names of what we ordered so we could try to make some of these items at home. Lots of open sewers, animals of all sorts wandering the street, traffic and blowing horns but we got the full immersion into India. We were driven to the airport with plenty of time to get our flight back to Delhi. Once back in Delhi we were met at the airport to be transferred to the International Terminal for our flight out of India.

Spectacular trip which we will never forget. By and large the hotels were good with amazing wifi access except for Ranthanbore. Our Varanasi hotel left a bit to be desired. I think the location of all of the hotels were located in almost perfect spots to allow us to walk the streets. We had no problems in the streets and never felt unsafe. There was enough English speaking available for us to get around and purchase what we wanted. We were very pleased with the drivers and guides across the board. Having our "own" driver and guide made the trip extra special as we could make minor changes along the way. We recommend Kimkim and Active India if you want a tour tailored to your specific requests.

Highlights
• The archaeological sites. The English-speaking guides were excellent.
• Cycling off the beaten track (except for the Horton Plains descent)
• The Temple of the Tooth Relic
• Kandy
• Sri Lankan food- especially at local restaurants
• Mountain scenery
• Horton Plains walk
• Udawalawe Big Game Camp and Safari
• Cycle through Sinharaja forest
• Meeting local people and school kids.

Cycling Guide
Our cycling guide, Manjual, was very hard working, easy going, and a joy to travel... read more

Highlights
• The archaeological sites. The English-speaking guides were excellent.
• Cycling off the beaten track (except for the Horton Plains descent)
• The Temple of the Tooth Relic
• Kandy
• Sri Lankan food- especially at local restaurants
• Mountain scenery
• Horton Plains walk
• Udawalawe Big Game Camp and Safari
• Cycle through Sinharaja forest
• Meeting local people and school kids.

Cycling Guide
Our cycling guide, Manjual, was very hard working, easy going, and a joy to travel with. His organizational skills were excellent, and he responded to unforeseen incidents very well. He was a strong cyclist with good cycle maintenance skills. He was honest and trustworthy, and very resourceful and always concerned about safety. His positive personality is his key strength and he worked hard to make sure we were happy and had a good time.

Driver
Our driver Santha was easy going and a very careful and safe driver. He also helped out on other tasks and fit in with the group very well. A good person to have on a tour and we were happy with him.

All our guides were informative, polite and eager to make our experience memorable. However, each guide was also eager to take us to a particular shop, each saying there was no pressure to buy.
Both our drivers, Vinod and Thaslim were most accommodating, and Thaslim often suggested places we could look at, or that we might find interesting. This added to our experience. We appreciated Vinod's driving skills, which were exceptional but unfortunately we also found it a little difficult to... read more

All our guides were informative, polite and eager to make our experience memorable. However, each guide was also eager to take us to a particular shop, each saying there was no pressure to buy.
Both our drivers, Vinod and Thaslim were most accommodating, and Thaslim often suggested places we could look at, or that we might find interesting. This added to our experience. We appreciated Vinod's driving skills, which were exceptional but unfortunately we also found it a little difficult to communicate with him to his lack of English and our lack of Hindi. The guide which met us at Cochin airport was very informative and spent the time talking through the itinerary - we really appreciated this and would have like this to happen in Delhi.
Transitions from place to place and guide to guide was flawless and very well managed.
It would be hard to write about the most memorable place as every place we went was fantastic. Each of our family members liked something different. My husband particularly enjoyed the Ranthambore National Park, spotting 2 tigers and 2 leopards, as well as the boat ride on the Ganges. I loved the Mehrangarh Fort.
We were a little bit sad that our organiser had written on our form that we were to visit places that weren't actually open on the days we were there. Such as Cochin - Mattancherry Palace and the Jewish Synagogue. Also in Jaipur the bazaars weren't open as it was a festival. The tea museum was also closed. Checking the timetables against opening times and special days etc is not difficult. Unfortunately when you arrive somewhere and are told that it is closed can be disappointing especially if you have been looking forward to it for a very long time.
All hotels were good, whilst some were fabulous. Unfortunately our first impression of India was not good with our stay at the Taj Princess - we arrived late evening and was put into a room which was not nice - it was dirty and the bed was very soft and uncomfortable. We asked to be moved and the staff were happy to do this. Unfortunately this room, whilst looking better, had electrical sockets hanging off the walls and the toilet seat was not attached. At this point both my husband and I were very apprehensive about our choice to go to India for our holiday of a liftetime - this was not a good first impression and we would recommend that you do not use this hotel anymore (I also feared for our safety). However, the food and people were wonderful. We had an issue with some chocolate that we had bought for our grandchildren was stolen at Clouds Valley Hotel - we reported this and the chocolate was replaced but we weren't really happy with how it was handled.
Whilst a lot of this sounds negative. I have written about the hotels as feedback so that you can do something to improve this and perhaps consider their selection in the future.
I would thoroughly recommend Active India to everybody and have already done so to a family member. We loved our time in India and will start saving to come back in the next couple of years. Thank you.

We loved our trip to Colombia, it completely surpassed our expectations. The country and people are so warm and vibrant!

Nicolas helped us to build a great itinerary and he was available for us to contact in country. There were a few issues where information seemed to be lost between Nicolas and the tour providers on the ground, but everyone worked quickly to rectify them and ensure we had a great trip.

All of our guides were very knowledgeable, friendly and keen to ensure we experienced the best of Colombia.

Natalia did a wonderful job planning our trip to Colombia. She worked with me to ensure that I had the accommodations and tours that I wanted. We loved all our tour guides. Everyone was on time and super friendly. We loved our hikes, coffee tour, and bird watching. Thanks for a great trip!

Great trip all in all.

Trip to morocco was packed with adventure and can’t wait to take more trips with Kim Kim would highly recommend to any traveler

I just returned from an 8 day trek to Annapurna Base Camp. It was outstanding! The whole process of booking was seamless. Pasang Sherpa was extremely responsive and customized my trip and made excellent recommendations including hotels. She checked in on me during my trip through my guide. I was greeted by my guide Lhakpa Chhetar Sherpa and Lakpa Sherpa, his colleague at Nepal Myths, at the airport. They are both so courteous and took me to my hotel on the first night in Khatmandu. My guide... read more

I just returned from an 8 day trek to Annapurna Base Camp. It was outstanding! The whole process of booking was seamless. Pasang Sherpa was extremely responsive and customized my trip and made excellent recommendations including hotels. She checked in on me during my trip through my guide. I was greeted by my guide Lhakpa Chhetar Sherpa and Lakpa Sherpa, his colleague at Nepal Myths, at the airport. They are both so courteous and took me to my hotel on the first night in Khatmandu. My guide made the trip extremely fun, and we even diverted from our itinerary and took side trips to see a Buddhist monastery and hot springs. I highly recommend trekking to ABC. The trek is moderate in difficulty and we trekked 5-7 hours each day, which was just right. The different landscapes that you cross are spectacular, from rhododendrum forests, bamboo forests, waterfalls, streams, and of course the snow capped peaks. Everything was great! I would highly recommend Nepal Myths and Mountain Trails as the outfit to choose when trekking in Nepal. I definitely want to go back!!

How do I even begin to review our 21 day Patagonia trip? It was incredible. After trying and failing to figure out the logistics of what we wanted to do, we found Ditmar Adventures and worked with Erin via KimKim. After the intro phone call, we felt like Erin had a really solid idea of what we were looking for and had nothing but faith that her and her team would put together something that we would be pleased with. That was an understatement. She worked with our group in the planning phases... read more

How do I even begin to review our 21 day Patagonia trip? It was incredible. After trying and failing to figure out the logistics of what we wanted to do, we found Ditmar Adventures and worked with Erin via KimKim. After the intro phone call, we felt like Erin had a really solid idea of what we were looking for and had nothing but faith that her and her team would put together something that we would be pleased with. That was an understatement. She worked with our group in the planning phases and was able to make the trip everything we were looking for and within our price point despite varying numbers on participants. Ahead of the trip, she was super helpful in our preparation and packing (bringing our own food and snacks was a lifesaver).

Once we arrived in Chile, everything was handled - a luxury that we have never experienced. All of the lodging selections were wonderful and fit perfectly with what we were looking for in the way of being affordable without doing the hostel thing. Each destination that we stayed at was exceptional in its own way and Erin anticipated the amount of time that we needed in each location very well. While trekking the Cerro Castillo circuit was something that we added in ourselves, it proved to be an amazing addition to the trip and the Ditmar team's support of that sub-trip was excellent. David meeting us in person before we embarked was also a treat. He had so much insight to share on where to eat and things to see along the route. The tips in the itinerary on where to get gas and money along the route were invaluable as well.

Overall, everything we had asked for, all of the activities that we wanted to take in as a group were accounted for. We saw craggy peaks and hiked a lot, drove through some of the prettiest (and ugliest) landscapes I've seen, saw the marble caves, rock climbed, fished, drank all the red wine, ate all of the delicious food, sat on front porches and watched sunsets, stood in wide valleys with snow kissing our cheeks, sat in hot tubs with mountains of bubbles, and savored every moment of it. While the hours saved in planning such an adventure were worth every penny, the most vital element of their service was that it afforded us all the opportunity to be free and present in the moment, something we all desperately needed and are very much grateful for. Aside from a few flat tires (which as Clayton mentioned were a blessing in disguise), everything exceeded any expectation I could have had. I can't recommend this route enough for adventure-loving folks and Ditmar enough for making it possible. Cheers!

A few attempts needed to convey that we did not want city/corporate style hotels. The stand out accommodation was Ahilya By the Sea, which we sourced ourselves.

Guides were good (other than Elephanta) - drivers were excellent. Trips were broadly ok but nothing we could not have organised ourselves. However, more thought needs to be put into making a tour special. The itinerary pretty standard, was disjointed and needed rearranging. Whilst we were able to do this, on one occasion it required... read more

A few attempts needed to convey that we did not want city/corporate style hotels. The stand out accommodation was Ahilya By the Sea, which we sourced ourselves.

Guides were good (other than Elephanta) - drivers were excellent. Trips were broadly ok but nothing we could not have organised ourselves. However, more thought needs to be put into making a tour special. The itinerary pretty standard, was disjointed and needed rearranging. Whilst we were able to do this, on one occasion it required a guide to travel by road overnight from Mumbai to Nasik (!). Otherwise, we would have been having a wine tasting straight after breakfast (!). Not sure why a local guide would not be available.

Major issue on our last day in that a dolphin tour was substituted with a fishing trip and an afternoon on a beach without any communication. In fact, in was only when we were on the beach (not to our taste at all) that we were told that we were not on a dolphin trip. Whilst I understand the reasons for the John's Tours trip being cancelled, alternative dolphin spotting trips are promoted via Trip Advisor, including one at Coco Beach (where we were staying!). What a waste of a day....

The offer of dinner hardly compensated and to add insult to injury, Kim Kim refused to pay the drinks bill (just INR 1550!). In context, we paid over $9,000 for this trip.

Going over old ground again, shortly after we paid the balance for the trip, our preferred hotel was changed for the first 3 nights in Mumbai. We remonstrated at the time without success but Kim Kim somehow construed that we were happy with the replacement hotel option and decided to change our final night in Mumbai (2 weeks later) to that hotel also. Whilst the replacement hotel was good, it was not our choice (which was Abode - a 'must visit' in a number of guide books).

All this is of course covered in your T&C's but it does not lead me to conclude that Kim Kim is a quality operation and I would not recommend. Quite the reverse in fact.

Sandun, the trip planner, could not have been more helpful. He answered questions promptly and always courteously and professionally. He helped me through the someone arduous process of securing permits to fly a drone, and made sure that my itinerary included a variety of sites, including temple visits, World Heritage Sites, mountains, valleys, hikes through rice paddies, a safari to see wildlife, and a day at the beach. Many thanks to him and appreciation for all of his hard work. My driver throughout my two-week stay made sure I got to each destination safely without incident.

Please note that this review pertains to the Elgin Africa travel agency, and is not a reflection of the small group tour we joined, which was delightful.

My boyfriend and I chose to use KimKim because of the wonderful reviews and business model – offering customized, local attention for a 5% service fee. We are economical travelers and have spent nights in modest quarters (including a tent in the desert without heating, cooling or a personal toilet). Which is why we specifically described... read more

Please note that this review pertains to the Elgin Africa travel agency, and is not a reflection of the small group tour we joined, which was delightful.

My boyfriend and I chose to use KimKim because of the wonderful reviews and business model – offering customized, local attention for a 5% service fee. We are economical travelers and have spent nights in modest quarters (including a tent in the desert without heating, cooling or a personal toilet). Which is why we specifically described our accommodation needs as “something comfortable, but it does not need to be luxurious. Comfortable and affordable will do as we do not intend to spend much time confined to a room.” However, we quickly realized while on our trip that we had been hoodwinked into needlessly extravagant lodgings. On our first night we were booked in a 5 star hotel with amenities that, since our flight was not scheduled to land until nearly 11 pm, we could not even take advantage of. In addition, during the group tour, we discovered we had been booked at completely separate and more expensive accommodations than the rest of our group. On one night we had an entire two story, two bedroom “castle” with a balcony overlooking citrus orchards completely to ourselves. Does that sound like comfortable and affordable to you? Several other couples on the tour had backpacker en suites; yet we were never even provided that option. Being separated from the group was far from ideal and required extra busing back and forth, less time with our companions, and a greater expense.

We also discovered, during the course of the trip, that none of the added activities we had scheduled were included in the final price. Why, then, was it imperative to know which activities we would participate in to finalize the bill? We presumed, since we were not given the final invoice until after we determined our full course of activities, that the activities were included in the total price. What an unpleasant surprise to discover mid-trip.

In fact, now knowing the true cost of the group trip (based on materials emailed directly from the tour company), we actually appear to have been overcharged at least ZAR6,600 given that our only extras on top of the tour were a one night hotel stay and an airport transfer. After the trip concluded, I sent a note to the specialists asking to see an itemized breakdown from the trip as well as a rationale for why we were not offered the backpackers en suite option, but have received zero response.

Using a service like KimKim I expected much better. My boyfriend and I debated greatly amongst ourselves over the cost of the trip, but we certainly did not presume we were being exploited. Since we may never have another opportunity to visit South Africa, we made sacrifices to pay for the trip only to find out after that we could have paid far less. Elgin Africa did not provide full transparency and tricked us into the most expensive accommodations package with no apparent motive beyond fattening their own wallets.

Hi Erin

We have recently returned from our travels, which included our W trek co-ordinated by your team from 31 December – 5th January 2019.

Overall – we thoroughly enjoyed our opportunity to experience Patagonia and the wonderful places we visited during our time in Puerta Natales and Torres Del Paine National Park.

We would particularly like to give mention our guide Sophia. She was simply outstanding. Her experience, and the knowledge she could share with us ensured that we... read more

Hi Erin

We have recently returned from our travels, which included our W trek co-ordinated by your team from 31 December – 5th January 2019.

Overall – we thoroughly enjoyed our opportunity to experience Patagonia and the wonderful places we visited during our time in Puerta Natales and Torres Del Paine National Park.

We would particularly like to give mention our guide Sophia. She was simply outstanding. Her experience, and the knowledge she could share with us ensured that we had the best possible time on the trek. She is clearly very well-known and respected by her peers that we met along the way as well, and certainly we cannot recommend her highly enough for her skills, humour, practical sensibilities and care she took to ensure we had the best possible time. Sophia was also not advised that one of our group had a Cheese allergy.

We experienced many different weather scenarios along the way – snow on the walk to the towers and blazing sun on our way to Frances. Wind in the French Valley and gale force 80+kmh gusts heading to Glacier Grey. Throughout our entire time we felt confident that Sophia had our back and put our safety first.

On day 4 – we were meant to walk to Refugio Grey and catch the boat to go to the Glacier before return to the bus pick up point. This could not occur due to the fierce wind on that day, and indeed we watched the ferry turnaround as it was unable to continue on the lake in the extreme weather that was in play that day. As such, we returned to Paine Grande and caught the ferry across Lake Pehoe to pick up the bus transfer there. We assume as a result there is a refund due to us for the Grey Glacier boat tour that we unfortunately could not enjoy. Can you please advise details on the likely refund for this portion of our travels.

On a more serious note, we also need to provide feedback on the planning and execution of our trek. What we had discussed with us prior to departing NZ, and also during our briefing with Emily in Puerta Natales was not the trek experience we had and as such we planned poorly for some aspects of our trip which could have mitigated had the correct information been provided. As travellers, we are all very experienced and well rounded people who can manage what is required through careful research and planning. We are not a group of people who try to wing-it. We like to be sure we are careful and well informed on what we need to have with us to ensure our safety.

During our time corresponding with you, we started out with a plan to stay in the Refugios during our time on the trek. As there was limited space available – you suggested an alternative itinerary which saw us camping – the first night out of the park, an hours bus ride away at a camping site, then camping Frances on night 2, camping at Paine Grande night 3. We had expectations that this indeed was our itinerary until we received our paperwork and itinerary from Emily late Nov/Early December before we departed NZ. This shows that instead we were back on track with the original plan – that we would be in refugios, we would be staying at Los Torres on night one, Cuerno on night two, and Paine Grande night three. We queried this as we wanted to be sure we packed appropriately for camping versus refugios, and it was confirmed that we would have beds as per the itinerary. We met with Emily and had a detailed briefing with her upon arrival in Puerta Natales on Dec 30th – again querying our accommodation details, and having it confirmed that we were in Refugio accommodation as per the itinerary. So no need for camping style preparations, we would be in the refugios.

The morning of departure we met Sophia, and embarked on our journey in the bus. She mentioned our camping arrangements prior to departure, and we met Daniel our lovely driver as he would be driving us to the offsite location etc. You can imagine we were all quite shocked to hear that now we are back to the Camping plan as per our previous correspondence with you. Mentally and indeed from a gear perspective – we had all prepared for our time in refugios. During the first hour of our journey to the national park, we all took time to reflect on this new development, and indeed at our coffee stop – we sat Sophia down and explained that we are quite taken aback by the news that we are camping as only 36 hours prior – we had sat with Emily, in the Dittmar offices, and confirmed a completely different itinerary. Sophia could see we were all a little concerned about what we were doing, so took the time and went through step by step with us, the camping plan, the fact Rodriguez would be cooking for us on the first two nights and breakfast mornings, and ensured we had all the details about what were actually booked for.

Our first day was particularly long, in part due to the snow and cold, and the fact we were prepared for a day of around 18km, when in fact it was more like 23km. We arrived at our camping site on night one, and there were no tents for us. It was 10:30pm, we were freezing cold, the shower block had no power, and potentially we had no bed. With no power, we showered in the dark, in the hope we would warm up a little. Thankfully Sophia clearly managed to call in some favours for us and was able to get two domes for us to sleep in, and we squeezed our party of 7 into domes designed for 2 people each and through exhaustion all slept fitfully on night one. The team at this camping site found some sleeping bags, but due to their thin-ness, also rustled up some blankets and cushions as make shift pillows, and found some sleeping matts for the extra bodies that needed to camp on the floor. It wasn’t a great start to our trip, as we are sure you can appreicted. But at his point we realised how invaluable having our guide Sophia would be. Night 2 and 3 – tents were ready for us when we arrived so that was reassuring to us all.

As a group of travellers, we are resilient and we will roll with the punches. Indeed this is what we did during our time. We had to make the best of our situation. And we did, and so did Sophia.

However as far as the organisational skills that went in to preparing us for this guided tour experience, we would like to express our abject disappointment. We were not prepared for the trek as well as we should have been. We paid well for a guided all-inclusive experience, as we wanted to do our best to have no surprises (within all reasonableness). The team at Dittmar let us down by being ill prepared with the wrong itinerary. It was potentially dangerous as we did not necessarily pack the right level of clothing and accessories for the camping accommodation we ended up with.

As such we feel that it’s very important that we bring this to your attention, to try and eliminate this kind of error for your future travellers. We would be interested to hear about Dittmar’s willingness for some compensation for the group as well, as I am sure you can appreciate where we are coming from around what we felt we paid for versus what we ended up being delivered.

Finally, we would like to reiterate that Sophia made our time on the W trek, special and memorable for us all – and for that we are eternally grateful to her. She was the consummate professional always and it is a credit to her for her ability to assess and manage every day and we absolutely enjoyed the scenic splendour. Our thanks to Rodriguez too for looking after our cooking for us(very tasty and muchly needed!), and to Daniel for looking after our transportation.

We look forward to hearing back from you with you feedback.

Kind regards

Gabrielle Satherley and friends

Having decided to visit Sri Lanka on the way back to Australia after spending Christmas and New Year's Eve in the UK, we investigated options and decided on a slightly modified version of the 12 day Highlights of Sri Lanka tour featured on kimkim's website. Kimkim put me in touch with Sandun from Experiential Journeys, who modified the itinerary to include the Millennium Elephant Foundation and the Hundunugoda Tea Estate, both of which had been featured on an Australian television show we'd... read more

Having decided to visit Sri Lanka on the way back to Australia after spending Christmas and New Year's Eve in the UK, we investigated options and decided on a slightly modified version of the 12 day Highlights of Sri Lanka tour featured on kimkim's website. Kimkim put me in touch with Sandun from Experiential Journeys, who modified the itinerary to include the Millennium Elephant Foundation and the Hundunugoda Tea Estate, both of which had been featured on an Australian television show we'd seen. Having had a great experience a year ago with a holiday in Iceland organised through kimkim , we had high expectations of our Sri Lanka trip, and were not disappointed. On arrival in Sri Lanka, we were met at the airport by our driver and guide, Lakitha, who looked after us very well for the next 12 days.

The itinerary we had chosen included both cultural sites and wildlife experiences, but the highlights were undoubtedly our elephant experiences, firstly at the Millennium Elephant Foundation, which is basically a rescue and retirement home for working elephants who would not survive if released into the wild. We walked around the grounds with Rani, who had a snack and a drink along the way, then some of us chose to help bath her in a stream using coconut husks. This was a much better experience than an old-fashioned elephant ride; better for us, and better for Rani. Almost as good was our early morning wildlife safari in Udawalawe National Park, where we lost count of the wild elephants we saw in their natural environment and an abundance of other beasts and birds.

All of the hotels we stayed at were good to excellent, but the Thambapanni Retreat at Unawatuna deserves special mention. We had mentioned in passing to our guide Lakitha and to the hotel manager that we would be dining at the hotel to celebrate our wedding anniversary. When we came back from a day exploring Galle with Lakitha, our bed had been decorated with flowers and leaves, spelling our a happy anniversary message, which we thought was a nice touch, and when we headed to the restaurant for dinner we discovered that we had a special , beautifully decorated, table setting in the garden adjacent to the restaurant, and we were looked after very well, enjoying a great meal of fresh jumbo prawns, cooked to order, followed by a surprise anniversary cake. We discovered later that Lakitha had mentioned our anniversary to Sandun, who has conspired with the Thambapanni Retreat hotel manager to make our anniversary a special and memorable event.

We usually self-drive when travelling to places like the USA, Europe, UK and Iceland, but we accepted the consensus advice that we'd be better off travelling with a driver/guide, and that turned out to be an excellent decision. Lakitha not only kept us safe on the roads in the face of interesting overtaking manoeuvres by oncoming traffic, but he looked after the details of our site visits, including local guides, and ensured we got the most out of our time in Sri Lanka. He turned a good itinerary into an excellent experience.

Thanks kimkim, and thanks very much Lakitha and Sandun.

Overall I enjoyed a really cool holiday. My highlights were definitely the cycling days, and particularly doing the Twin Coast Trail. It was brilliant to have the shuttle services and flexibility around accommodation for that as well as for the Haureki Trail. While I also enjoyed cycling Waiheke Island, the cycle hire place was less helpful which limited the cycling I felt confident to do.

The walking aspects of my trip were good - certainly the Park Run events were great, but the other... read more

Overall I enjoyed a really cool holiday. My highlights were definitely the cycling days, and particularly doing the Twin Coast Trail. It was brilliant to have the shuttle services and flexibility around accommodation for that as well as for the Haureki Trail. While I also enjoyed cycling Waiheke Island, the cycle hire place was less helpful which limited the cycling I felt confident to do.

The walking aspects of my trip were good - certainly the Park Run events were great, but the other walks I was interested in were a bit hit and miss. I found it difficult to get information about suitable walks, and perhaps the biggest disappointment was being located quite a distance from Turangi, which meant I didn't get to do any of the walks in that area, although I had indicated I wanted to do that.

However, the places I went to were interesting and there was generally a lot to do. The accommodation was good and the car hire worked.

Best accommodations: Blue Water Motel in Tairua, Scenic Hotel in Paihia and Left Bank in Kaikohe.
Most challenging accommodations: i) Heritage Collection Waitakere Estate - while in a magnificent setting with great views of Auckland, they provided basically no information about what to do on site and near by. Even if they had, it would have been challenging due to the steep terrain and and lateness of arrival. There was also no offer to clean the loo despite indicating to the front desk that it was not up to par. Etc. And ii) Palm Motel Waihi, which was just a long way from the shops/cafes when you don't have a car.

The planned activities/tours were all good. And the freedom to take up other activities worked well for me, although the ultimate cost of these was far more than I expected. Highlights: seeing the massive Kauri trees in Waipoua Forest (and around), dinner up the tower in Auckland and fish and chips in Mangonui, and the Te Toto Gorge.

I definitely appreciated the follow-up by Valentin and knowing that I had someone to contact if I had any difficulties.

So all good - and in the end, I had a relaxing and very enjoyable holiday. Thanks!!:)

Our trip was great and well planned by Yassine. Our driver Nabil was wonderful and very responsive. He gave us a little phone that allowed us to easily contact him when we needed. We couldn't have asked for better help in a land that we were unfamiliar with.

Our trip was seven days and packed, we were in Tangier, Chefchaouen, Fez, Casablanca and Marrakesh. Admittedly, we should have narrowed down the places we went to, to allow for our type of travel which is a little more leisurely.

We... read more

Our trip was great and well planned by Yassine. Our driver Nabil was wonderful and very responsive. He gave us a little phone that allowed us to easily contact him when we needed. We couldn't have asked for better help in a land that we were unfamiliar with.

Our trip was seven days and packed, we were in Tangier, Chefchaouen, Fez, Casablanca and Marrakesh. Admittedly, we should have narrowed down the places we went to, to allow for our type of travel which is a little more leisurely.

We stayed at 3 star locations and most were great! Riad RK in Marrakesh was great, the fact that they had a Hammam in the location made unwinding much easier. Our Riad in Chefchauouen was also very beautiful and the staff there were very helpful.

On the downside, our riad in Fez (Dar Malika) was nice enough and in a central location but we had a less than ideal situation while there. They are admittedly under transition and do not have a person who works there that stays overnight. This makes it very difficult to talk to someone when the water isn't working (which it didn't for us). The house was very cold outside of the room we stayed in and the second day the groceries went on strike so our breakfast was only a little bread and yogurt. Going to the tannery and not being able to shower was a huge miss. This is the one place I would not stay at again.

The tours that Yassine booked and the guide in Fez was also wonderful. The only downside is that we started to feel like we were only being taken places to spend money instead of simply to admire the culture and choose to buy things if we wanted. We started to feel like the tour was very planned to only go to places that would eagerly show us things only to get us to buy very expensive items. I could do without all the shopping that seemed to be most of the tour, it was very repetitive and didn't allow for much downtime or peace.

There were so many good things and a lot of lessons learned. I will vocalize more about what I'd like in the future and also be sure to know that less is more when booking. Thank you Kimkim, Yassine, Nabil and all of the staff at Morocco off the Beaten Path, you were wonderful!

We contacted Kimkim last year to arrange a locally organised trip. From the beginnin* excellent communication and we were put into contact with Jorge Reyna bested at Totonal. Jorge was fantastic. He listened to our requests whilst bringing his own experience of travelling in Mexico. Arrival in Me I o city was perfect; met on time and transferred to the lovely central zocalo central hotel. Pablo Yuichi was our guide and was very knowledgeable, very friendly and worked very hard to maximise... read more

We contacted Kimkim last year to arrange a locally organised trip. From the beginnin* excellent communication and we were put into contact with Jorge Reyna bested at Totonal. Jorge was fantastic. He listened to our requests whilst bringing his own experience of travelling in Mexico. Arrival in Me I o city was perfect; met on time and transferred to the lovely central zocalo central hotel. Pablo Yuichi was our guide and was very knowledgeable, very friendly and worked very hard to maximise our experience in Mexico City. Highly recommend Pablo and his charming father who drove us. We had a 3+ hour delay for our flight to Tuxtla but our driver was waiting despite the early hours of the morning and saw us safely into our hotel room. Pepe our guide was fabulous. We had a great trip along the Canon del Sumidero and Chiapa de Corsa. Our visit to the indiguviilages was fascinating. Still with Pepe an early but worthwhile journey to Agua Azal Waterfalls onto Palenque. Our next great guide Hector toook us along with other travellers to Yaxchilian and Bonampak sites. Fabulous. Onto the lovely walled city of Campeche, Terese, our final guide and driver was amazing. She took incredible care of us. Very professional helped me find the mexican cooking ingredients in particular the elusive dried epazote. Finally onto Isla Holbox. A fantastic, very well organised trip with great local guides who made this a truly memorable experience. One again thanks to Jorge.

Communication was great. Every question answered promptly. Everything planned was delivered as promised.

We had an amazing adventure trip from start to finish.
Great communication from Rendell who took on board what we wanted to do. It was far better than we expected.
Fez our guide was absolutely fantastic along with our drivers and extra guides especially Martine who guided us on our long hike.
All food, all accommodation was brilliant.
Everyone was so friendly and made our trip truly wonderful. Thank you all at coast to coast.

Marco our bilingual guide was a very safe & entertaining driver with whom we were able to practice our conversational Spanish .The 5 day Avenue of volcanoes tour was an amazing series of national parks and hacienda stays which enabled us to reach Guayaquil for our Galapagos trip visiting markets,walking in beautiful places and experiencing the unique hospitality of haciendas.

Overall I can sum up our experience as Excellent!! Thanks to Linda who did a wonderful job of getting the tour planning and arrangements taken care of. Our entire trip was very well organized and worked like a clock right from the day we landed in Quito. Linda worked methodically answering every question that we had during the planning process, customizing the minute details, dietary requirements, transportation, guide information etc. I liked the personalization of the whole package. I would... read more

Overall I can sum up our experience as Excellent!! Thanks to Linda who did a wonderful job of getting the tour planning and arrangements taken care of. Our entire trip was very well organized and worked like a clock right from the day we landed in Quito. Linda worked methodically answering every question that we had during the planning process, customizing the minute details, dietary requirements, transportation, guide information etc. I liked the personalization of the whole package. I would recommend Kimkim travels to anyone who considers planning a vacation to the Galapagos and Amazon. Great staff, very courteous and affordable.

We had an amazing trip to tromso and senja. All the activities were perfectly planned.
And luckily we have seen the northern lights twice! 😊
We would definitively book here again!

Elina and Gareth from Adventure by Design put together an amazing Finnish Lapland experience for our family. After sharing with them the general structure of our holiday they sourced terrific providers and developed an itinerary that would ensure we made the best of the limited daylight. The traditional sauna and ice swimming at Wild Blueberry was a magical experience. As it was a small family business the service was personal and of a very high standard. We had so much fun on a snowmobiling... read more

Elina and Gareth from Adventure by Design put together an amazing Finnish Lapland experience for our family. After sharing with them the general structure of our holiday they sourced terrific providers and developed an itinerary that would ensure we made the best of the limited daylight. The traditional sauna and ice swimming at Wild Blueberry was a magical experience. As it was a small family business the service was personal and of a very high standard. We had so much fun on a snowmobiling tour run by another smaller company, Kinos Safaris. Our nights in a glass igloo and the ice hotel were memorable. The jewel in the crown for our whole visit was our guide Tuija. She was so friendly, welcoming and accommodating from the minute we met her. It soon became apparent that she was a highly experienced and knowledgeable guide, who went above and beyond to ensure our Finnish experience was perfect. She played joyfully in the snow, teaching our children to toboggan, ice fish and snow shoe, and through her local knowledge of weather and location, guided us to see the northern lights. Spectacular! Thank you Elina & Gareth for doing all the background work to prepare for our holiday. And thank you Tuija for making our visit to Lapland even more wonderful than we hoped it would be.

First, our driver Ravi Kumar was excellent. A very kind man, attentive to our needs and a very good driver in India traffic. Most memorable was the Jain temple and of course Agra Taj Mahal, but many of the other sites were also amazing. We had a lot of fun and made great memories. The tour was well organized and Ravi was always very punctual for our outings. The choice of hotels were adequate, of course a few were 5 star and extremely modern and comfortable. All of our city guides were knowledgeable and performed nicely.

This was one of the most memorable trips my family ever had. Guides were really great and we felt taken care of the whole trip. Food was amazing and schedule ran very smoothly.
Thank you to kimkim and its amazing team!!

loved it

This was an wonderful immersion into the UAE! Pradeep was better than I could have wished for!

We initially began with email correspondence outlining/brainstorming various areas of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and beyond that centered around my photographic exploring. I would bounce locations off of Pradeep and he would also suggest places and things to do. He was always quick to reply despite the time difference and picked up on my interests swiftly!

We ended up creating a very solid itinerary over... read more

This was an wonderful immersion into the UAE! Pradeep was better than I could have wished for!

We initially began with email correspondence outlining/brainstorming various areas of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and beyond that centered around my photographic exploring. I would bounce locations off of Pradeep and he would also suggest places and things to do. He was always quick to reply despite the time difference and picked up on my interests swiftly!

We ended up creating a very solid itinerary over the course of two days that covered a lot of ground from the top of Jebel Hafeet in Al Ain all the way north to the abandoned town of Al Jazirah Al Hamra just south of Ras Al Khaimah and numerous stops in between including the renowned Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi. He was also very insistent that things were not set in stone and I could alter the routes or locations as I saw fit and that was cool and comforting.

I was also transferring from Abu Dhabi to Dubai after the second day and he worked that into the itinerary.

Upon my arrival in Abu Dhabi we were in contact almost right away and he picked me up from the hotel the next morning right on time

It was a real treat having Pradeep in the driver seat! He was personable, knowledgeable (being in a new place, I had a lot of questions) and had a wonderful sense of humor! He was attentive to my needs and always focused on the photography aspect of my exploration being aware of the light or angle for each location and always suggestive of other angles etc for everyplace we visited. During the ride between locations he would educate me on the system of government, other things to see and do and things to eat while visiting the UAE and other insider items a foreign visitor may not know about. Two somewhat unplanned stops I loved we’re the Fish Market in Abu Dhabi and the Blue Souk in Sharjah, these weren’t places I had even thought of but Pradeep suggested them and I was so happy he did!

By the time he dropped me off at my hotel in Dubai on the second day I felt much more confident in my knowledge of the United Arab Emirates and very fortunate to have seen so much with such a spectacular guide that now I would call Pradeep a friend.

Overall, this was such a fantastic experience! I would highly recommend Pradeep and his services for anything UAE related! I really don’t think it could have worked out any better!

Huge thanks to Pradeep, kimkim and the wonderful United Arab Emirates! I’ll be back!

Most sincerely,
Trevor Christian
Boston, Massachusetts USA

Anne was fantastic for start to finish. Easy to communicate with, understood our requirements ..... and delivered. All the guides without exception were great, as were the drivers and the sub guides in the various specialised areas.

Myanmar is a brilliant destination. People are suffering in the tourism industry due, seemingly unjustly to the misinterpretation of “ the troubles “ in the Rokine State by the international media. It is unfortunate that the fall out from this means less tourists, less jobs & less income.

Always available
Can make things happen for you
Tailored needs
books only with most reliable companies and guides
Overall I would suggest Carlos for my friends and families.

This was an incredible trip all thanks to Adriana! I was able to see so much of Costa Rica and enjoy the unique vistas and wildlife experiences that only this country can offer. I feel like I was able to get off the beaten path a little bit and really experience the country. From relaxing in hot springs in Arenal to gliding through the Monteverde canopy on a zipline, to watching dolphins play behind our catamaran on a sunset cruise in Manuel Antonio, Adriana took care of all of the back stage logistics so that I could focus completely on living Pura Vida.

First of all, a big thank you to Yassine and the other members of his team: Hassan, Mohammed & Nabil as well as Chris and Kellie from Kimkim who all worked together to arrange this trip for us. A special thank you to Mohammed, our driver, who drove us all over Morocco, covering great distances. He was an extremely safe and responsible driver who knows the roads and traffic conditions of his country very well.

Ever since I saw the BBC documentary " Sahara" presented by British Actor Michael... read more

First of all, a big thank you to Yassine and the other members of his team: Hassan, Mohammed & Nabil as well as Chris and Kellie from Kimkim who all worked together to arrange this trip for us. A special thank you to Mohammed, our driver, who drove us all over Morocco, covering great distances. He was an extremely safe and responsible driver who knows the roads and traffic conditions of his country very well.

Ever since I saw the BBC documentary " Sahara" presented by British Actor Michael Palin, many years ago, I wanted to visit Morocco and the Sahara desert. And in January 2019, the day finally came. Before our Morocco tour started, my husband and I have been travelling in Southern Spain for a week. On 11 January, we took the FRS ferry from Tarifa in Spain across the Straits of Gibraltar to Tangier. We spent one night in Tangier and our driver, Mohammed, met us the next morning on 12 January to start our Morocco of the Beaten Track tour.

Our first stop on the tour was Chefchaouen. The winding road from Tangier to Chefchaouen through the Rif Mountains was very picturesque and a great way to see the greener countryside of Morocco. People often think of Morocco as mostly a dry desert landscape, but the route from Tangier to Chefchaouen is very green and beautiful. Chefchaouen was one of the highlights of our trip. The accomodation at La petite Chefchaouen in the heart of the old town on the hill was great. This small boutique hotel is run by two young brothers who were always extremely kind and professional. The decorations were modern and stylish and practical, similar to small boutique hotels in Australia and Europe. The breakfast was great and the wifi always reliable. The town itself was lovely and the locals very friendly. We always felt really safe walking around on our own. A shop keeper invited us up to his roof terrace to show us the spectacular view and meet his ginger kitten. It was great that he genuinly just wanted to show us the view and was not trying to sell us something. In Chefchaouen in general, we felt more relaxed and not so hassled by every second person as in Fes or Marrakech. When you walk around the Medinas of Fes and Marrakech, everybody wants to sell you something or be your guide. The Moroccans are great sales people, but not all toursits want to constantly buy things, so it can be quite exhausting to keep saying no. If you do not want to buy something, the 2 most useful phrases to learn and to say firmly but always with a smile are: La Shukran or Non Merci!

From Chefchaouen we drove to Fes, again with spectacular views over the Rif and Middle Atlas Mountains and rows and rows of olive plantations. En route we stopped near Moulay Idriss to see the Roman Ruins of Volubilis. For people with an interest in history and museums and archaeology, these ruins are a must see. The views over the surrounding countryside and Moulay Idriss from the ruins are great. Since the trip involves a lot of time on the road, it can sometimes be hard to find a clean restroom, so even if you are not that much into ancient ruins, I would highly recommend a stop at Volubilis, to stretch your legs and walk among the ruins and it also has very clean toilets. Just make sure you have enough coins to tip the cleaning ladies.

We then stayed in Fes for 2 nights at a beautifully old renovated 300 year old house in the Medina, called Dar Mallika, owned by an Australian writer, Susanna Clarke. In winter it is quite cold in Fes and the house was very cold, but the room had heating and airconditioning and the electric blankets on the beds were great. It was also good to have a choice of different high quality English Breakfast and other Teas as well as several international News Channels in any language of your choice, to stay up to date with what's going on in the world while on holiday. There was also a selection of music to listen to while having breakfast, from classical, jazz to Arabian pop! Si Mohammed, the Riad manager was also a great host, very well organised, helpful and professional. Fes was a fascinating city and a journey back in time. It was great to see the intricate hard work and centuries of tradition at the pottery workshop and handmade carpets. The guided tour of Fes was great, however a bit too long for me. I would have preferred a half day tour, but that depends on the type of traveller you are. I think some people will enjoy having a guide all day and don't feel comfortable exploring on their own and prefer the guide to make restaurants recommendations or shopping recommendations for them. I personally am very independent and like to explore on my own and make my own restaurant choices, so for people like me, a half day tour would be better. Nevertheless, the guide was excellent and we learnt a lot from him about the history of Fes.

The drive to Merzouga from Fes takes about 8 hours, so if you want to do the camel ride around 5pm in order to reach the desert tented camp by sunset, you really need to leave Fes no later than 8 am and it is not practical to have too many stops. We left at 8 am and since it was only my husband and I and our driver, we told Mohammed we don't want to make many stops, we prefer to get to the desert early. But for older travellers who may need more stops and rests, I think it may be a good idea to rather stay 2 days in the desert, first night in the desert hotel, and then do the camel ride the next day without having to rush. We had limited time in Morocco and only 1 night in the desert, so for us, leaving Fes early and driving without many stops worked well. That said, it is important to make a few short stops to give the driver a break. It's such a great distance to travel and the roads are not easy, I think all people doing a tour should be considerate towards the driver, as he has a massive task to drive everyone from point A to B safely and deserves to have lunch and tea breaks too. We had a late lunch in Erfoud at a cafe I would like to recommend. It's not that easy to know which restaurant or cafe to pick on the road in this remote part of Morocco, but we were lucky to find the Cafe Restaurant Dakar Erfoud. The cafe had seating outside on a terrace and inside. It was very clean and the young men who ran the cafe spoke very good French and made us feel at home. We didn't want to have a big sit down meal. Just a quick sandwich or pizza, and since they are a pizza place, they made us a Moroccan flavoured pizza from scratch and within 35 min, we were on our way to the desert. The pizza was delicious and the cafe also had wifi and even features in a French Spy novel (we found out later when we did some research about the cafe). Here is their website, have a look.
https://www.restaurantdakarerfoud.com

We arrived at the Hotel on the edge of the desert around 4:30pm, and reached our tented camp after a 1 and a half hour camel ride on two camels called Aslan & Anlal, lead by their master Yussuf who only spoke Arabic, Berber and a few words in Spanish! Yussuf was great, he knows the camels and the desert very well and he was very friendly and an enthusiastic photographer. He took many photos of us on our camels. We watched the sun set over the dunes and reached the camp just after sunset. The dinner at the camp was nice, although a bit cold. One thing I would say about doing a desert safari in winter, is be aware that it gets very cold in the desert at night. It was -1 degrees celcius. So if you travel in winter, or if you are an older traveller with health issues or not the outdoor camping type, make sure to pack enough warm clothes, the kind of clothes you would pack if you go camping on an alpine mountain hike in cold weather!

We left the desert the next morning on the same camels with Yussuf leading the way. This time we saw the sunrise. We met our driver back at the main desert hotel and started our drive to Ait Ben Haddou through many dusty little mud brick . We stopped to see some fossils as well as stops in the Todra & Dades Gorges. We had a great walk through the Todra Gorge, took some great photo and had lunch in a town on the edge of the Gorge, called Tinghir. This town was really pretty and a great tourist stop with many hotels and good restaurants. Since it is such a long drive, I would suggest especially for older travellers to stop in this town for lunch or even one night, before continuing the journey to Ouarzazate or Ait Ben Haddou as it is a very tourist friendly town, you can take beautiful pictures of the gorge and do some shopping. I saw some great inexpensive rugs and clothes and other souvenirs in this town, much better value that what I saw in Marrakech. We ate at a restaurant called Inass, popular with tourists. The food was good and they also have an indoor and outdoor seating area and very clean toilets. Again, run by a group of young Moroccans. I really enjoyed seeing the young moroccans running B&B's and restaurants. They seem to know what tourists want and these guys could also speak very good English and French.

After a quick stop in Ouarzazate, the film studio town of Morocco, we arrived in Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage site and a famous movie setting: Gladiator, The Mummy, Laurence of Arabia and many more were filmed here. We stayed at the beautiful Riad Caravane, owned by a French artist who bought a ruined Kasbah and after 5 years of renovations and art collected from all over Africa & Asia, turned it into a 1st class small boutique hotel with very professional staff and fine dining. The Riad also has a rooftop and small splash pool with panoramic views over Ait Ben Haddou. Although we only stayed 1 night in Ait Ben Haddou, I think it is a town where one could spend more time, especially after travelling such long distances.

On Day 6 of our trip we left Ait Ben Haddou for Marrakech. Although Marrakech is not really that far from Ouarzazate or Ait Ben Haddou, the journey takes a long time due to unfinished road works on the Atlas Mountains. We saw some spectacular scenery driving through the Atlas mountains, but the road is quite scary and unfortunately the only way to get to Marrakech by road from the desert. However Mohammed did an excellent job always driving slowly and very carefully.

We arrived late in the afternoon in Marrakech and that is where we spent out last 2 nights in Morocco. I liked Marrakech, the red (dark pink) city . The Riad in Marrakech was nice, again very friendly helpful staff. This one was very traditionally decorated and also had a spa & hamman. Marrakech highlights for me were the Marjorelle Gardens, Bahia Palace and Koutoubia Mosque. The Jemma al Fna square was interesting to see and a must see especially on a first visit, but too many people. The Marrakech Medina is good for restaurants and shopping but I found it hard to walk there with vespas and motorcycles coming from all directions and also too many people for me. By this time we also did not want to buy anything else as we’ve already done all our shopping. I think staying in the Medina is interesting and gives you a true feel for the place, but it is also quite exhausting to keep saying no to everyone who wants to sell you something and if you don't like crowds, like me staying outside the medina might be more peaceful.

Our guide in Marrakech, Nabil was great. He has a lot of knowledge about the city and showed us some interesting places. He was also easy going and flexible, so when we were tired, we could take a break. I would definitely visit Marrakech again, 2 nights and 1 and a half day was not enough to properly explore the city and I can see there is a lot more to Marrakech than the historic medina. Now that I know the medina, next time I would prefer to stay in the area near the Marjorelle Gardens outside the medina, where it is a bit calmer, less motorcycles and people and more open spaces. But that is just my personal taste. If you like staying in the buzz of everything, a road in the medina is definitely for you!

Now that I know the country a bit better, I think 7/8 days is not enough to see all the things we wanted to see and next time I would make it at least 10 days and spend more time in the smaller towns like Thingir, Ait Ben Haddou and Chefchaouen and also try to see more of the coast.

All in all it was a great first visit to Morocco and we are very grateful to Yassine and his team for this excellent introduction to Morocco. The tour was very well organised and they always took such good care of us. It was always easy to communicate with Yassine and his team and they were there to help 24/7! I would recommend them to anyone who would like to to visit Morocco! Just be clear about what you want and what you like and they can arrange it for you!

Our guide Tony and driver Daniel were fabulous. They took care of everything we needed and wanted. For example we had never had the opportunity to taste durian. Daniel knew a particular fruit stand that sold the best. He drove us through heavy traffic to find it. Tony made sure the fruit vendor sold us a tree ripened fruit. It was a very interesting taste. They recommended restaurants for us to try and took us there to compare menus. One evening we went to see the classical dance. It was... read more

Our guide Tony and driver Daniel were fabulous. They took care of everything we needed and wanted. For example we had never had the opportunity to taste durian. Daniel knew a particular fruit stand that sold the best. He drove us through heavy traffic to find it. Tony made sure the fruit vendor sold us a tree ripened fruit. It was a very interesting taste. They recommended restaurants for us to try and took us there to compare menus. One evening we went to see the classical dance. It was pouring rain. Daniel sat in our hotel lobby while we changed and drove us there so we would not have to order a taxi.

The activities were well suited to our interests. We enjoyed the archeological sites, markets, palaces and batik. The birdwatching and cycling through the small village were highlights. Whenever we wanted to stop and take photographs Daniel accommodated us.

We just got back from an amazing trip in Guatemala. Chris from Old Towne was so amazing in arranging an unforgettable experience for me and my mom despite the time constraints (we only had an extended weekend to spend in Guatemala). Chris has a thorough and very professional team to support a large variety of trips tailored to your needs. He is connected with local guides on the ground that can make your dream come true depending on what you want to concentrate on. I would definitely come... read more

We just got back from an amazing trip in Guatemala. Chris from Old Towne was so amazing in arranging an unforgettable experience for me and my mom despite the time constraints (we only had an extended weekend to spend in Guatemala). Chris has a thorough and very professional team to support a large variety of trips tailored to your needs. He is connected with local guides on the ground that can make your dream come true depending on what you want to concentrate on. I would definitely come back to Guatemala and hands down would go there again by utilizing Chris's services and team. Special thanks to Marco, who was so wonderful in guiding us through Guatemala ensuring we are having a good time and taking wonderful pictures of us all. Wili was just wonderful in following up with my mom while climbing the Volcano and preparing us a one of a kind picnic meal.

The trip was terrific and we had a great time. Beautiful country and hospitable people. THe hotels and the activities (ziplining, white water rafting, hikes with guides) were fascinating and run by knowledgeable experts.

This is the second time we have used kimkim and would readily use your services again. Bill

Having never visited Norway before, we are so glad we found KimKim, and more specifically our specialist, Linda. With her knowledge of the area, we were able to collaborate and design the perfect itinerary. She was always prompt in responding to my (many) questions and a pleasure to work with.

We were also impressed and appreciative that Linda, or her co-worker Ingrid, were so available to us during this trip. Linda checked in with us periodically throughout the trip to make sure... read more

Having never visited Norway before, we are so glad we found KimKim, and more specifically our specialist, Linda. With her knowledge of the area, we were able to collaborate and design the perfect itinerary. She was always prompt in responding to my (many) questions and a pleasure to work with.

We were also impressed and appreciative that Linda, or her co-worker Ingrid, were so available to us during this trip. Linda checked in with us periodically throughout the trip to make sure everything was going smoothly and when we had weather-related transportation issues, they were readily available to help us out. Most companies we have worked with send you on your merry way with documents and a “have a good trip” and then you never hear another word from them. Linda's "customer service" is excellent and the best we have dealt with in our many travels.

Our trip to Senja and Lofoten was an amazing adventure and many thanks for this goes to Linda.

We highly recommend Linda if you're considering going to Ecuador. Linda was extremely responsive throughout, and on top of that, she was in constant communication with local guides to make sure we were taken care of when we got sick during the trip.

We had considered going there on our own, and we're so glad we didn't. The itinerary that Linda put together for us was perfect, as we were able to truly see how distinct and diverse different parts of the country are. The local guide that she... read more

We highly recommend Linda if you're considering going to Ecuador. Linda was extremely responsive throughout, and on top of that, she was in constant communication with local guides to make sure we were taken care of when we got sick during the trip.

We had considered going there on our own, and we're so glad we didn't. The itinerary that Linda put together for us was perfect, as we were able to truly see how distinct and diverse different parts of the country are. The local guide that she paired us with, Christian, was great as well. He was very knowledgeable about history of the country, and he also recommended some hole-in-the-wall restaurants, which made our experiences very unique and memorable!

Don't think twice about contacting Linda if you're considering going to Ecuador!

Really enjoyed my trip with KimKim and would highly recommend.
Usually I would plan my own holidays and research everywhere, but with my Mexico trip I didn’t have this luxury. I trusted kimkim and they were fantastic. Not only did they plan me an awesome trip within my budget, but they were also available 24/7 for support which was really helpful!
Thanks so much to the team.

Overall, we had a very nice trip. Nicolas prepared a diverse itinerary for us. We got to see a lot, although we all found the pace to be too rushed. My primary criticism is the car trip from Tayrona to Cartagena. We were told that the trip would take 4 hours but it took 7 hours due to heavy traffic.
I would recommend either flying to Cartagena or driving at night, if the roads are safe. As far as the guides, Jairo in Bogota was by far the best, due to his knowledge and enthusiasm. The... read more

Overall, we had a very nice trip. Nicolas prepared a diverse itinerary for us. We got to see a lot, although we all found the pace to be too rushed. My primary criticism is the car trip from Tayrona to Cartagena. We were told that the trip would take 4 hours but it took 7 hours due to heavy traffic.
I would recommend either flying to Cartagena or driving at night, if the roads are safe. As far as the guides, Jairo in Bogota was by far the best, due to his knowledge and enthusiasm. The guide in Bambusa was adequate and the guide in Cartagena was poor. The hotels were very nice- especially Bambusa, and Cartagena Sofitel. The setting of Los Naranjos in Tayrona was beautiful, but the meals were not very palatable. Bogota's EK Hotel, although very nice, charged for water, which left a bad taste in our mouth (no pun intended). Nicolas, although mostly responsive, did not receive our message that we were canceling trip to Rosario because we were too tired from long day of travel to Cartagena. He called us and woke us up early in the morning. Nor did the driver to the airport in Cartagena show up, so we had to order a taxi. We should be reimbursed for the boat excursion to Rosario. Overall, I would commend Nicolas for a job well done but urge him to take relaxation time into account when planning a trip.

Everything was very well organised from the time we arrived in Costa Rica to the moment we were taken to the airport for our return home. Randall listened to what we wanted and came up with a trip that suited all of us in the timescale that we had. We enjoyed staying in all different types of accommodation from hotels, lodges, a boardinghouse and campsites. Some of the best meals we had were home cooked, using fresh local produce. It was a great way of seeing this amazing country, the... read more

Everything was very well organised from the time we arrived in Costa Rica to the moment we were taken to the airport for our return home. Randall listened to what we wanted and came up with a trip that suited all of us in the timescale that we had. We enjoyed staying in all different types of accommodation from hotels, lodges, a boardinghouse and campsites. Some of the best meals we had were home cooked, using fresh local produce. It was a great way of seeing this amazing country, the activities were far from easy (cycling, hiking and rafting) but we had a real sense of achievement when we reached the end. Fez was an excellent guide, full of knowledge as well as being encouraging and understanding. He made sure we always had everything we needed and was happy to arrange any other activities we wanted to do. He always had time to chat, joined in with card games in the evening and generally made us all feel welcome.
I would thoroughly recommend this holiday to anyone looking for a more active break, I never thought I would be cycling through a banana plantation and crossing bridges and rivers or hiking through a jungle but the scenery is breathtaking and all the animals you see along the way is an added bonus.

Thank you so much kimkim for connecting us with Sylvia. She helped us put together a magical adventure in Costa Rica. It really was the trip of a lifetime with my son and daughter-in-law. With Sylvia's guidance we had a diverse itinerary chock full of adventure that immersed us in the beauty and culture of this most amazing country. Sylvia was very responsive on the kimkim platform and arranged for several phone conferences during our planning stages. She listened to our preferences and... read more

Thank you so much kimkim for connecting us with Sylvia. She helped us put together a magical adventure in Costa Rica. It really was the trip of a lifetime with my son and daughter-in-law. With Sylvia's guidance we had a diverse itinerary chock full of adventure that immersed us in the beauty and culture of this most amazing country. Sylvia was very responsive on the kimkim platform and arranged for several phone conferences during our planning stages. She listened to our preferences and several times we tweaked and fine tuned the itinerary to get the experience we wanted. When we were "in country" she was available to help us with any issues that arose. We enjoyed private transport the entire trip, and the drivers and ALL the guides were friendly and extremely knowledgeable. Pura Vida!!
Gracias kimkim.
Gracias Sylvia.

Excellent experience overall! Everyone involved was great, from initiating the planning process with Clara to working through problems with Paul.

All of our guides were top notch and very knowledgeable. Everyone was prompt and went above and beyond our expectations to ensure we had a great trip. Would definitely recommend KimKim to anyone wishing to travel without the stress of planning.

Myanmar, what an amazing desitination! Such a diverse country and the people are so very gracious.
Tourism is just starting to take off there, so go sooner rather than later!
Our trip organiser Anne put together an amazing trip for us and included everything we asked for plus more! We went to all the main areas....Yangon, Mandaly, Bagan, Inle and a few not so frequented spots. Our accommodation in Inle was at the very tranquil south end and was our very favourite memory, we went to a... read more

Myanmar, what an amazing desitination! Such a diverse country and the people are so very gracious.
Tourism is just starting to take off there, so go sooner rather than later!
Our trip organiser Anne put together an amazing trip for us and included everything we asked for plus more! We went to all the main areas....Yangon, Mandaly, Bagan, Inle and a few not so frequented spots. Our accommodation in Inle was at the very tranquil south end and was our very favourite memory, we went to a community based elephant project in Kalaw, a cooking school in Bagan where some of the money goes back to the community, we went to Loikaw and visited some of the local tribes and lastly spent time chilling on beautiful Ngapali beach!
Nothing was ever too much trouble for Anne, she was incredibly accommodating....she even delivered imodium to us when we were struck down with Burma Belly.
Our trip didn't miss a beat...it just ran so incredibly smoothly and the guides were all amazing and so very knowledgeable, they taught us so much and added to the overall experience of our trip.
I can't recommend Anne enough, she's on the ground in Myanmar and knows her topic incredibly well, which was apparent in her recommendations she made to us. Plus she kept in touch with us during our travels in Myanmar...how may travel agents do that!!!!
If you're considering Myanmar don't hesistate!

CBF. It was an amazing trip.

The trip to La Paz, Sucre and the Altiplano including Potosi, Uyuni and southern altiplano was excellent. We had a few days to adjust to the altitude flying in from NYC and Mexico City in La Paz (we all speak Spanish so no need for English guides etc and well connected to diverse local communities). We headed of to Copacabana and Titicaca Isla del Sol with Carlao a fine guide and caring individual and stayed at the excellent EcoLodge before heading back to Tiwanaku and la Paz. The walk was... read more

The trip to La Paz, Sucre and the Altiplano including Potosi, Uyuni and southern altiplano was excellent. We had a few days to adjust to the altitude flying in from NYC and Mexico City in La Paz (we all speak Spanish so no need for English guides etc and well connected to diverse local communities). We headed of to Copacabana and Titicaca Isla del Sol with Carlao a fine guide and caring individual and stayed at the excellent EcoLodge before heading back to Tiwanaku and la Paz. The walk was strenuous on Isla and perhaps too long. Would have made more sense to visit the ruins and then take the boat closer to the Lodge. Breathtaking experience.

We flew to Sucre for a few days enjoying the amazing art of the Tarabucu and Jalka indigenous groups before a drive by Wilfredo to Potosi and trip into the mines. Wilfredi was exceptional. Both a local Potosino and from a mining family he graciously shared all of his intimate knowledge and insured we were well looked after. A trip highlight as we paid respects to El Tio and imagined Cerro Rico's impact over centuries.

From there W drove us to Uyuni where we stayed at fine lodge and were handed off to Carolina del Norte tour group with Ariel our driver and guide. Spectacular day at the Salar. And then a deep drive south into the desert, lagos, lagoons, flamingos, vicunas, llamas, volcanoes, etc at the border with Chile and back up to Uyuni for flight to La Paz.

Extraordinary trip we will remember deeply and a long list of things to look up, come back to and savor.
Milenka mil gracias por tu atencion y cuidado. Un abrazo fuerte. eric

Overall we had a great trip. Unfortunately we had two night in Ajloun which were dreadful. We were so cold we slept in most of our clothes (coats, scarves and hats), there was no running water and nobody else staying there so clearly everyone else knew that it’s not a great place in winter so I was disappointed that we had x2 nights there. We missed out on two other places which were on our itinerary; Lots cave (because it was closed that day) and bush walk on our last day because our driver didn’t know about it.