Kimkim Trip Reviews

We had a great trip to Italy and enjoyed the schedule. However, I was first disappointed when I did not hear from KimKim days before my departure and upon my arrival. Even when our driver was not waiting for us at the airport and I reached out. We did finally connect with our driver after about 15 minutes and was taken to our hotel but then he complained that he was not satisfied with the 30 euro tip. I was also disappointed that we were not able to enjoy any time at the beach, which I specifically stated in our planning was important to me. This was because it conflicted with our Lemoncello and hiking schedule. I also had given our ages (I am 67 and my husband is 72) and although we are in good shape, the hiking and stairs in Amalfi were a little much. Added to all the stairs in Positana, we were exhausted after just two days into our trip. The other issue was the accommodations in Tuscany, it was very rustic, more stairs, no coffee pot, no tissues (had to use toilet paper on my face) and the shower went from warm to cold in a short time. KimKim helped us rebook and we moved to Florence. The other part I did not understand is why we flew into Rome and immediately went to Amalfi and back to Positano and then back to Rome, why wouldn't we stay in Rome and then travel to a Positano. The same thing happened when we were in Tuscany, they had planned for us to travel to Florence for tours but then back to Tuscany. Why wouldn't we just stay in Florence for a couple of days. It seems we spent a lot of unnecessary time traveling back and forth which I believe could have been avoided with better planning. As far as the Aristocrat Palazzo with a secret garden, this was a joke and basically a rundown portion of someone's residence. Our guide was over 30 minutes late and once I got a hold of her via phone, said she couldn't lock her door. In the future, I would leave this tour off your itineraries.
I am hesitant to use KimKim and will be looking for other agents as we plan our trip to Greece.

Had an amazing time in France. The trip Alexia put together was incredible. When I needed to make a few changes while on the trip Alexia was super helpful and help sort everything while I was out enjoying the activities and sights we had planned on the day, so I didn’t have to stress.

Staying the night on Mont St-Michel and experiencing it after the flocks of tourists died down was incredible! Also fell in love with Bordeaux would definitely go back.

Hotel Reviews

Le Boutique Hotel & Spa

Bordeaux

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right in the historical center of Bordeaux and with designer stores and stunning cafes and landmark at your doorstep.

Staff

The staff here are amazing, casual but friendly team that work together to looks after guests. Nothing is too difficult and they are super proactive and thoughtful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms are presented beautifully and everything was immaculate.

Mercure La Rochelle Vieux-Port

La Rochelle

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Best Western le Vinci 3*

Amboise

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Originals City, Hôtel Chantecler

Le Mans

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Auberge Saint-Pierre

LE MONT-SAINT-MICHEL

Authenticity & Character

Staying in a Mont St Michel residence couldn’t be anything but Authentic. Definitely recommend over staying near the information centre or main town on the mainland. Just pack light and leave what you don’t need in the car to make getting around easier.

Location

Amazing location being on the island and being able to have view from the top of the village looking back over the main streets, rooftops and coastline.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

A day at the Mont Saint Michel with a small group - Meet us there

Saint-Malo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Martell Cognac - A unique experience

France

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A Taste of Saint-Émilion – Afternoon

Bordeaux

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My wife booked this and let them know we are in our 70s.
They booked us to tight too much in almost every day resulting us to miss or not able to enjoy.
Two of the events in Tuscany region were booked to the same winery.
One of the winery places was so un friendly and room was bad and they did nothing to help get any thing for the remaining 2 days.They did help us find one at the next stop at our expense outside of what we’ve paid.
On the last day they booked a 3:00 walking tour in Venice the guide was 45minutes late and it was really bad we stopped early.
This was our first trip of many we will be taking abroad we relied and paid handsomely for the experience We Did Not GET!
Unless they refund some of our bad booking I will be contacting people NOT TO USE THIS COMPANY. KIM KIM
Italy is wonderful Kim Kim booked us in a manner it seemed like a money grab Not thorough experience.
Anyone is welcome to contact me [email protected]
Stay away from Kim Kim.

Hotel Reviews

Palazzo Scanderbeg

Rome

Great

Authenticity & Character

N

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Villa Gabrisa

Positano

Wonderful

Authenticity & Character

C

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Splendid Venice - Starhotel

Venice

Great people and rooms

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Castello di Fonterutoli

Fonterutoli

Unfriendly staff! Bad rooms a couch that was unusable . Never found the pool. It’s like no one wanted to be bothered. The wine bar up front wasn’t worth the time terribly service inconsistent hours. No coffee in room.

Authenticity & Character

Staff

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

New couch friendly service

Activity Reviews

Visit an aristocratic Palazzo and its secret garden

Venice

An unkept joke

Quality of Experience

Worthless

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was 45 minutes late and shitty

Transport

Beach Club day in Amalfi Coast

Italy

A joke Kim Kim had booked us with so much that day by time we walked there at 5:00 They were closed. Nothing from Kim Kim

Quality of Experience

G

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Most of our drivers were really good the first one was 30 minutes late disoriented. Eve after I gave him a good tip he txt back and wanted more.

Transport

All good but the first one uncomfortable ride and driver

Our driver Mr Emir Kenrick was extremely courteous and assisted us greatly in our transfers.
Our guide for both your - Ken was excellent with his ability to interact, tell informative information, keep us interested and genuinely connect with us.

Activity Reviews

Welcome to Luxembourg City!

Luxembourg City

Luxembourg 1-day Private Guided country tour

Luxembourg City

Great to have same guide - Ken again. He was enjoyable to spend the day with.

Quality of Experience

Food

Sandwich’s were excellent

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Luxembourg city private guided walking, food & wine tasting tour

Luxembourg City

Great to have Ken guide us as a true Luxembourger!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ken cared in making sure the experience was positive and meaningful.

This was our second trip with kimkim and just as amazing as the first. The team does a great job customizing your itinerary to meet your travel habits and desires while offering up recommendations themselves based on local experience. It’s convenient and comfortable to have them by your side while traveling, making themselves available all throughout your trip when needed. I highly recommend their services and will use them again in the future.

Our trip was fabulous! We had a great time. Erica did a great job tailoring the plan to our group. The transfers were easy, the tours were great, and when we needed support it was easy to connect. Highly recommend.

Hotel Reviews

NLH MATI Seafront Hotel

Nea Makri

Only there for one night, so it worked out well for us. Room wasn't cleaned well (previous guests trash under the AC). The air conditioning was not great, the bathroom had a bit of a funky drain/sewer smell, good food and a lovely pool. Views of the sea were great. Worked well as a stopover on our way to the airport but not somewhere I'd have wanted to stay more than a night.

DOM Boutique Hotel

Heraklion

Great location, mostly clean and comfortable conditions. We did have a cockroach in our room but only once. The location in the city is great and the staff were helpful.

Niche Hotel

Athens

We had a great experience here. A lovely stay with helpful staff. The spa shower was an excellent amenity. The breakfast and restaurant in general were fantastic. Would stay here again.

Cretan Dream Resort & Spa

Chania

This hotel was good but not great. Shower water temperature and pressure was inconsistent. In our first room it was really bad, we had to move rooms. It still happened in the second room but not as badly. Rooms are a bit dated. Pool was great, views were great, and the BBQ dinner with traditional music and dancing was a fun time for our family. Staff was mostly friendly and helpful with one exception.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Acropolis & Acropolis Museum Experience

Athens

Maria our tour guide was incredible. She adjusted for our jet lagged 9 year old and made the tour a truly special and enjoyable day. She went above and beyond for us and her knowledge and fabulous attitude were remarkable. Highly recommend.

Private Apokoronas Countryside Day Trip with Tastings & Lunch

Chania

Yanis was great, this was a really lovely tour and the lunch was delicious. Highly recommend!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Falassarna & Balos Beaches Day

Chania

Our tour guide was great, and we had a great time. We needed a larger boat for the size of our group. We also needed more information about what to expect. This was very rustic and adventurous. A great time but very much a more athletic and active outing than we realized.

Morning Catamaran Cruise

Greece

This was our favorite part of the trip. The boat company staff were fabulous. The food served at lunch was delicious. The boat was beautiful. We loved it. Everyone was really impressed and pleased.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The process, as well as the trip, was fantastic! It took us a long time to settle on the particulars of our itineraries. Anna Marie was very patient and helpful as we explored various ideas and time lines. Communication was excellent. We used text, email, the app, phone and FaceTime. All inquiries were handled promptly despite a 9 hour time difference. The local guides and drivers were excellent and very reliable. I heed used KimKim before and would not hesitate to do so again.

Fantastic!! Eric was so professional, knowledgeable and such attention to detail, he put together the perfect vacation plan for us. This was the first time we used a service like this and we would highly recommend it!! After some initial interviewing of what was important to us followed up with phone calls a sample itinerary and final itinerary. K Èric then took care of ALL of our bookings, car rental, hotels and excursions. He then send us a detailed day by day itinerary of any spots we would like to view on our own for each specific day along with all our confirmations. Eric was again so professional with adjustments we wanted to make before the trip after the itinerary was booked. He was a fabulous source for all our questions pre trip and even available for post trip questions when we got an unexpected bill from our last hotel his team handled it on their end. He even reached out to us as we were traveling to let us know of a road work we would experience within a few days and all the links to monitor its scheduled times it would let cars pass. For a traveling Iceland “ on our own” we never felt alone. We knew they were just a call away.
Would highly recommend Eric of Offbeat Adventure!!!
Also, we LOVED Iceland being one with all the amazing nature we left feeling renewed!

Fabulous trip! Just arrived home after 10 days - custom - made travel plan to Sorrento ( base) to Amalfi Coast 8 days & 2 days Naples. Kimkim and Storywalking = Jessica worked seamlessly together to create a trip of a lifetime for a multigenerational family of 6 adults & one 21 month old. Valentina (Storywalking) & team created perfect arrangements with private drivers and guides ( Mario -Pompeii and Naples City) -- superb that were professional, personable, knowledgeable, and fun. The plan worked well-- nicely paced in-spite of the extensive heat! Accommodations were perfect for our family as well. Look forward to another trip with Storywalking in Italy in the future! PS We also had a key family event --specular arrangement with local photographer for Engagement of our son & girlfriend -- thank you Valentina ! Grazie Mille

Tetiana was INCREDIBLE to work with. Excellent communication.

We gave her very basic ideas to start and she completely nailed it. Her recommendations created a trip we could only have dreamt of. I appreciated all her insight and wisdom she shared. So many happy memories made because of her thoughtful planning.

Planned our Greece Honeymoon trip with Siena. She is super helpful and informational. She really knows the best spots to hit out there and made our lives so easy by following her step by step day plans. It’s less stressful knowing what you’re going to do everyday and being able to audible when needed to. The catamarans and cooking classes she booked/suggested were some of our favorite days and I loved how she mixed in relax days in the mix because they’re much needed. Grant was also great to have if we had any questions while there. Loved that both Siena and Grant were reachable through txt if we needed any help. My wife and I couldn’t be happier. Would definitely book our next trip with Kimkim again.

Activity Reviews

Self-guided Exploration of Milos Highlights

Milos

Got an ATV. Saw the whole island. Hit 5 different beaches. Great overall day

Quality of Experience

Made the most with our time. Hit the spots we wanted to see

Half Day Kleftiko Catamaran Adventure

Milos

Wife’s favorite tour. Saw a bunch of beaches we wanted to see. Swam everywhere we wanted and hit more spots that weren’t even on the list. Amazing experience and great crew. Food was also amazing!

Quality of Experience

Seeing what we wanted to see and then some. The surprise visits we got to see due to nice weather and water really took it over the top.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Staff was phenomenal. Captain Paul is great and Anastasia is cool

Transport

Private Villages Exploration with Independent Akrotiri Visit

Santorini

This was our favorite day of Santorini. George is amazing. We learned a lot and saw a lot and so glad we did this tour before we left.

Quality of Experience

The views, sites and history

Guides, Drivers and Staff

George the Goat

Transport

George! Nough said

Cooking Class & Wine Tasting Experience

Santorini

Made some great food. Fava became a fan fave of mine. The instructors were awesome. Only thing I wish was if there was other people in the class with us to do the experience with and more wine to be drank.

Quality of Experience

Food

Bomb food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Great People

Transport

Elsa was fun to be around

Delos & Rhenia Sailing Cruise & Lunch

Mykonos

Amazing day. One of our favorites of the whole trip. Got paired with a family from Maryland that made the experience even better. Whole boat staff and the food was AMAZING!!

Quality of Experience

All the people and the sea itself

Food

Top 2 foods we ate all trip! Including restaurants

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Demetrius, Giannis and Andres are all great people.

Transport

Ancient Athens Acropolis & Mythology Walk

Athens

Very informational. Loved it. Nefali was a fun instructor

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Nefali is a sweetie

Transport

Gummi contacted me right away after we filled in our interests. I was really impressed with Gummi's depth of knowledge and efficiency in planning our 10 day trip despite the short notice. He was able to understand the way we like to do our trips and was able to accommodate our ambitious itinerary. He got us the best possible private guide and driver, David, who was with us for our whole trip. Not only were we able to enjoy all the activities we had planned, David was able to incorporate a few more hidden gems as we traveled. Gummi and David made our Iceland vacation very effortless and relaxing . There were no hidden costs or issues we faced during our trip. I would wholeheartedly recommend Gummi and David and kimkim for facilitating the whole process.

Our trip to Greece was a success thanks to Penny’s patience with the planning, Anthony and Dimitros attentiveness and the entire groups attention to detail, flexibility and knowledge. Thank you so much for a memorable time!

Hotel Reviews

The George Hotel

Mykonos

Beautiful hotel and views, comfortable for family of 4-great staff and breakfast was delicious.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

NLH Monastiraki

Athens

The location is amazing and the rooms were clean. The pull out bunkbed couch is too small for teens. Room was cold with no blankets and breakfast was not great.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Private Mykonos Highlights Guided Tour

Mykonos

Leo was so knowledgeable, flexible and polite.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Varied and fascinating trip of beautiful Norway.
The pan Mathis put together was flawless.

Io was so wonderful to work with throughout the entire planning process. I could not have planned this trip myself. There were many pieces and the trip was perfect!
Lisbeth was our wonderful contact while in Peru and she kept us well informed and was always available to answer all of our questions on WhatsApp.
Our tour guides, Natali and Nataly were excellent, very knowledgeable, and so friendly. We loved spending our days with them! Our drivers were always ready and waiting for us and got us to our destinations safely. Our goal was to see Machu Picchu but we were treated to so much more of Perú. We are so very happy to have gone through KimKim and can’t wait to plan our next adventure!!

Hotel Reviews

Sonesta Posada del Inca

Urubamba

Beautiful hotel, and landscaping , friendly and accommodating staff, wonderful breakfast and many places outside to relax and unwind. The pizza and ice cream were delicious too!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hilton Garden Inn Cusco

Cusco

We really enjoyed the Hilton. The staff was so helpful, friendly, and accommodating. We had an afternoon pickup for the airport and they allowed a late checkout and let us stay on property to relax until our driver arrived. The restaurant served excellent breakfast and dinner and everyone was so very welcoming.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

El Mapi by Inkaterra

Cusco

This was a fun hotel right in Aguas Calientes, excellent dinner and breakfast, located right in the middle of everything, The staff was so friendly, helpful, and efficient.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa Andina Premium Miraflores

Lima

Wonderful and friendly staff, great location in Miraflores, excellent breakfast!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sacred Valley’s Hummingbirds

Sacred Valley

Beautiful and unique little garden with many different hummingbirds! Very quiet and peaceful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Half-Day Cusco Walking Tour: Sacsayhuamán, Qoricancha & San Pedro Market

Cusco

Nataly walked us around Cusco beginning at Sacsayhuamán, then continuing down through the San Pedro market and a couple of other shops. We did a chocolate tasting and finished up at Qoricancha. She even walked us back up the hill to our hotel. She was so sweet! It was wonderful getting to spend 2 days of tours with her!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Machu Picchu & Return to Cusco (Private Guided tour in Machu Picchu) SV

Peru

Visiting Machu Picchu has been on my bucket list for many years. It was unreal, spiritual, fascinating, and just perfect! We were on circuit 1 to see the top view, then circuit 3 with our tour guide, Javier, to walk through the ruins. He was so knowledgeable and fun!! So very happy we were able to take this trip.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ollantaytambo Self-Guided Exploration with Pachamanca Farm Lunch & Scenic Observatory Train to Machu Picchu

Peru

We did not do the self guided Ollantaytambo piece. We chose to relax that morning. But we did go to the Pachamanca lunch which was a demonstration of how our lunch was prepared on hot stones buried underground, along with a brief tour of their coffee production and distillery. We had a tasting too!! Loved that! When lunch was ready, it was family style and so delicious! After lunch, we headed right down the path to catch the train to Aguas Calientes. So easy! Seating on the train was a bit tight but overall was a comfortable ride.

Quality of Experience

Pachamanca food and experience was outstanding and the train ride was so cool.

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private tour to Ollantaytambo, Moray, Maras & Chinchero

Sacred Valley

Nataly took us on this tour and she was awesome! We climbed and shopped and she was so knowledgeable. We later grabbed a very nice lunch at a restaurant she recommended. We then were able you tour a hummingbird sanctuary which was very cool! So many different hummingbirds all around us!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Flight & transfer to The {{end_location}}: Private tour & Hacienda

Peru

Such a wonderful day. The tours were so much fun, our guide, Natali, was excellent, and lunch was delicious!

Quality of Experience

Food

Our lunch was amazing! We had a room to ourselves with an awesome view, excellent service, and delicious food!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We shared some Spanish conversations!

Transport

Our trip to Norway was a wonderful experience. We were impressed by the beauty of the country—the dramatic landscapes, forests, coastline, and charming towns and cities. Trondheim quickly became one of our favorite places, with its history, architecture, and relaxed atmosphere. We also greatly enjoyed exploring southern Norway, hiking along scenic trails, and spending time by the sea. Oslo offered a very different but equally interesting experience, combining nature, culture, and city life. Everywhere we went, we found people friendly and helpful. Norway left us with many wonderful memories, and we would happily return.

Activity Review

Trondheim Walking Tour

Trondheim

This was the first time we used KimKim for a family trip to Portugal. We worked with Emily to plan a trip that would work for everyone. Emily was very patience as we changed the plan a few times. She was very knowledgeable and advised activities based on our interests. There was an incident from a local vendor during the trip but we were able to contact KimKim and they addressed it timely to our satisfaction. Overall, it was a great trip. We will definitely use KimKim again for our future trips.

Hotel Reviews

Jardim da Batalha Boutique Hotel by Shiadu

Porto

Great location. Easy walk to shopping, restaurants and interesting landmarks, Very quaint hotel. Staffs are very friendly and helpful. Great breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean. However, we had some ants issues the last few days of our stay but the staffs addressed it quickly.

Nicola Rossio Hotel

Lisbon

Great central location. Very friendly staffs. Great services.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Central to everything

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Self-Guided Local Markets

Porto

We walked to the market after check-in to our hotel. It was an easy walk from our hotel. Market was clean and had everything you could want. Great food options, local gifts, fruits and vegetables. We ended up bought some local treats and took it back to our hotel for dinner that night as it started to rain and we didn't want to walk in the rain that night for dinner.

Quality of Experience

Private Day Trip to Braga & Guimarães

Porto

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Porto’s Harry Potter Legends: Fact, Fiction & Inspiration

Porto

We actually didn't have the Harry Potter legends walk as my husband and daughter said they weren't big on HP. However, our local guide was flexible enough to give us a tour of the city instead which was great. Afterward, we did get into the famous bookstore which was worth seeing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Alfama Walk & Fado Dinner Performance

Lisbon

While the Fado dinner performance was great, the guide experience was not for us. We booked a private dinner but somehow, another couple joined us for dinner. The guide did not know where we stayed to pick us up nor he was aware of the number of people in our group so all of us didn't fit in the car. We ended up had to walk to the restaurant which we didn't have a change to explore the Alfama neighborhood. Also, we arrived late so the show already started. Because the group is larger than expected, we all share a table in a corner which then was very hot. Then after dinner, the guide told the group that we had to decide which group will leave first as his car doesn't fit everyone.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Fish Market Visit with Seafood Lunch

Porto

This was our favorite activity of the trip! We started the day with a little car trouble but our guide used her personal car to take us on the trip so we don't get stuck in traffic. The fishing village was where she grew up so the tour was very intimate. We had an amazing seafood lunch in the local market. Everything was fresh and delicious! We were able to pick out our own fish from the market and the restaurant grilled it for us. We enjoyed this experience very much!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Would give it a 5 if it wasn't for the car trouble initially

Local Secrets Excursion by Van

Lisbon

It was a good exposure to everything Lisbon on our second day. Marta, our local guide, drove us to places that we would not know or be able to explore on our own. Since she was born and raised in Lisbon, her perspective and knowledge was greatly valuable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Transfer From {{start_location}} to {{end_location}} via Óbidos & Nazaré

Portugal

It was one of our favorite days seeing Obidoas and Nazare on our way to Porto. Obidos was a charming medieval village and worth a stop to see. Nazare was a little busier and a surfing city so it was nice to see but we didn't spend much time there. Our driver was very pleasant and knowledgeable of the areas.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Sintra & Cascais Day Trip with Pena Palace & Quinta da Regaleira Visit

Lisbon

The private trip to Sintra & Cascais Day trip was fabulous. We were able to bypass the long line and get in to the park as soon as we get there. It made the visit more enjoyable. Pena Palace was amazing and worth the visit. Our local guide, Louis, was very pleasant and knowledgeable. We enjoyed his company and learned much about Portugal culture and history from this trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide Louis was awesome!

Transport

Thank you, Noga, for planning a wonderful trip! The app itinerary was well planned out, and worked out well. A few times the cars GPS couldn’t find our destination, so we used the link in your app with Google Maps and found our way. We had a little trouble with the Parka app at the airport, but otherwise had no problems parking. It might be helpful to note that the Blue car rental office is behind the hotel. Your Zoom meeting pre-trip was helpful to take care of any last minute questions and concerns.
Great trip - thanks!

Zurich:
Hotel Central Plaza was a great choice. It was not only well-appointed, but it was the perfect location. Access to the amazing Hauptbahnhof made it extra fun.
Vanessa was an excellent guide. We wish we had booked more time - it was that good.
The suggestions were very helpful - museums etc. helped on a rainy day.

Trains: We cannot say enough about the itinerary planning, timing, and guidance on connections. We LOVED them..

Colmar: Great choice for our Alsace stop.
Hotel Turenne was lovely, new, fresh, great service, and very well located.
Louie, our Epicurean guide was excellent, friendly, and very attentive. The amount of cycling (15 miles) was perfect for us, and itinerary was well curated.

Lucerne: (not feedback for KimKim) My nostalgic choice of a key stop. In retrospect, now knowing all of the Alps we were going to experience - would now probably skip Lucerne.
Hotel Wilden Mann was a great location, and in retrospect was very well-managed for an ancient and historic building.
The guide Sarjon (sp?) for our tour was knowledgable, but very soft-spoken, did not make sure that we could both hear, and did not volunteer information while walking from information point to point. He would answer question in a low conversational way with Maria, and I could not hear at all. It was a difficult, and bad experience.

Locarno: The trip to Locarno was beautiful, and a lovely experience on its own.
Hotel Lago Maggiore was perhaps the best hotel throughout our trip. Location was superb; room and balcony fresh, spacious and beautiful. Breakfast service was the best. Service people excellent.
Rafaella, our guide was phenomenal. Could have spent the entire day with her. Great suggestions as well.
Valentine's suggestions for restaurants and hikes etc. were very helpful.

Zermatt: Wonderful trip through the Centovalli to Domodossola and on to Zermatt - based on Rafaella's suggestion.
Hotel Julen was a cute hotel, nice view, AC, and an amazing restaurant, the Schaferstube. The staff was unfriendly, and their breakfast service staff was uneven, from OK to terrible.
Valentine's suggestions for other activities were as always excellent.
We enjoyed all of our time in Zermatt, and were literally sad to leave so soon.

Montreux:
Hotel Golf Rene Cape was a beautiful location with spectacular views, access to the promenade, and transportation. The staff was lovely, the service excellent, but the accommodations were sub-par, especially the bathroom. It was also hot due to no air conditioning. We realized that our late change from Glion to Montreux put Valentine in a difficult situation trying to find us a hotel in town - and she did well considering.
E-Bike tour in the Lavaux vineyards: Our guide Yves was just terrific. He was super-knowledgeable. He rode a bit ahead of us, not realizing that when we get on bikes, we do not want an easy ride. We are seeking not only a tour, but a good work-out as well - and he never quite "read the room" on that. So, we didn't feel connected in a way that we could carry on a conversation, and ask questions while pedaling. When we stopped, he inundated us (almost overloaded) with amazing geological, agricultural, and historical information. (We would rather have too much, than not enough.) We were a bit surprised that the entire riding portion of the tour was only 56 minutes total. We expected 2-3 hours, like the Alsace tour. The vineyards and the visit to Chapuis vineyard was magical, and tasty. We realized after that we could have contracted Yves for as long as we wanted. That perhaps should be a question to be asked prior to booking.
We so wanted to spend more time on bikes that the next day we traveled to Chatel St Denis to rent bikes from Alexandre at E-Bike Plaisir, (who Yves contracts with). He provided us a custom itinerary based on our request for 40+ Km, and we had a delightful afternoon that took us through farm country, Mt Pellerin, the Lavaux vineyards etc. We got our fix.
Loved our time in Montreux - the people were friendly and welcoming, the Freddy Mercury Days vibe was fun. It lived up the its reputation as the Swiss Riviera.

Grindelwald: The Golden Pass trip was a lovely experience. We had no idea what to expect in Grindelwald, but it was awe inspiring, in the spectacle, the infrastructure, the options, everything.
Sunstar Hotel: Crazy beautiful view, modern, fresh, well-appointed. Only down-side was dealing with the multitudes of bus tours pouring in, and constant navigating through crowds. The room was warm, again no air conditioning - and buggy. We had to get bug spray to handle it. No screens as always.
The bike tour out of Interlaken was an early morning - but the tour was excellent, actually amazing - and Marceau our guide was delightful and knowledgeable.
Valentine's suggestion to change from Wengen to Grindelwald was a great decision. We visited Wengen, and it was a bit too sleepy for us. Her Grindelwald suggestions were perfect as always.
We could have spent more time there - it was that good.

Zurich:
Central Plaza Hotel - again, would not hesitate to stay there if we return. The rooms, the staff and the breakfast service were excellent.

Car Transfers: Probably did not need the transfers from central Plaza to the Hauptbahnhof They were unnecessary.
Luggage Transfers: We hated them - then loved them. For our situation using only a carry-on suitcase and a backpack - it made it quite difficult because everything we needed for the morning rituals went in our suitcases. They were (necessarily) too early for that reason - it forced 5:30 wake-up - not ideal when on vacation. That's when we hated them. BUT, when navigating stairs at the train stations and making connections - we loved them, because even a carry-on fully-packed suitcase is heavy - and we were able to avoid any potential for a fall or injury amidst the throngs of people dragging their huge bags down and up flights of stairs. Would we do it again? Yes - just for the safety factor at our ages.

We loved having lovingly pre-planned excursions (bike trips, tours) as well as days when we could choose what to do. On those days Valentine gave us detailed and amazing suggestions, most of which we happily did!

Valentine was available to us day and night 7 days a week during this trip, answering questions and helping us navigate any uncertain parts. We've never had a travel company provide such on-the-ground assistance at a moment's notice. Valentine gave her heart and soul to us and shared her knowledge of this beautiful area so generously. We are already recommending her and KimKim without reservation to our friends!

Hotel Reviews

Sunstar Hotel & SPA Grindelwald

Grindelwald

The view was exceptional. No air conditioning which meant leaving the door with no screens open all night, resulting in bugs coming in and crawling all over us all night. The staff gave us a can of bug spray which seemed to help. This hotel hosts bus groups of 40 coming and going at all times, so busy. We liked the restaurant quite a bit! Staff was very helpful

Tradition Julen Hotel

Zermatt

AMAZING view of Mt Matterhorn! Excellent restaurant downstairs for authentic and local food. The staff ranged from inattentive to rude, with one exception Coco who was extremely helpful.

Hotel Golf René Capt

Montreux

Amazing view. Restaurant was ridiculously expensive. No air conditioning, hot sweaty nights. Bathroom rather inconvenient, a lovely garden area in the back yard: we had several evenings there relaxing. Right on the walking promenade which takes you into the center of town, as well as to the Castle.

Hotel Lago Maggiore

Locarno-Muralto

You won't believe the views. Wonderful breakfast, fitness center, perfect location.

Romantik Hotel Wilden Mann

Lucerne

Great job managing such an old building. The air conditioning was wonky, loud. Great location, kind and thoughtful staff.

Hotel Turenne

Colmar

Chic, walking distance to Little Venice and the Old Village area, responsive staff, great breakfast.

Central Plaza Hotel

Zürich

Perfect location, small rooms, good air conditioning, excellent staff

Activity Reviews

Guided City Tour of Lucerne

Lucerne

Not great, only due to our guide not being a skilled communicator. We were glad to see the sights we saw, but couldn't hear him very well (there were only 2 of us) and we had to continually ask questions to get him to talk.

Mount Pilatus, Silver Round Trip (Tickets)

Lucerne

Wow! Cog wheel train, gondola, chairlift, AND restaurants at the top! A singing group was performing when we arrived and we felt like we were in a movie. We hiked at the top for a couple of hours: strenuous and wonderful. Also fun to watch the paragliders take off up close.

Chillon Castle (Entrance tickets)

Switzerland

Way more interesting than we thought it would be!! We got the audio tour receivers and this made all the difference (6 ch).

Zürich City Card (72h) : the whole city with one card!

Zürich

Helpful

E-bike tour Lauterbrunnen & Valley of 72 Waterfalls

Switzerland

We loved our guide Marceau and the other travelers who were on this tour (8 of us in all). The cycling was through forests and small villages and delightful! (about 22 miles). This is NOT a beginner bike ride, as some of the gravel paths are very steep and have sharp turns. The lunch our guide prepared was absolutely delightful, and the waterfalls were amazing. Highly recommend.

Jungfraujoch, Top of Europe (tickets and seat reservation)

Switzerland

Unbelievable views, very crowded. We chose to hike down and leave from another train station, which really gave us a feel for the area.

E-bike tour in the UNESCO Lavaux vineyards

Montreux

The views on this ride were life-changing. We wished we could have had more time mainly because we wanted more bike time to actually work out. Yves' knowledge of the history and geology of the vineyards and of the wine was amazing. The wine tasting was personal and fun! We learned a lot!!

Gornergrat panoramic train (return day-ticket & Priority boarding)

Switzerland

Awe inspiring, everything worked like clockwork. For some reason we had a hard time finding the train station for this particular train, but locals helped us out! We hiked up toward the top as well and this was literally breathtaking!

Locarno walking tour and panoramic boat ride

Locarno

Rafaella was a fantastic guide for us, gave us so many ideas and suggestions. She was a delight and we wished we had more time with her!

E-bike: The Epicurean Tour

Colmar

We loved our guide Louie for this private bike and winery tour. Lunch was okay, not much choice. The wine tasting at Cattin was fantastic!

At Leisure : Stein Am Rhein

Switzerland

super crowded.

Private Walking Tour - History & Mystery of Zurich

Zürich

Vanessa was amazing! We had a rainy day walk with her and we were sad when the tour was over. She recommended local restaurants.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Everything was flawless from car rental, hotels, guided tours & private transportation! This service took all of the stress of planning local details off our plate. The communication within the app made the day to day travel plans effortless! Thank you

Activity Reviews

Montserrat & Penedès: Nature, Devotion & Cava

Spain

The Vineyard was spectacular with a rich history!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Taste Barcelona: Authentic Tapas & Neighborhood Walk

Barcelona

Very fun tour with lots of non tourist locations! Our guide was interesting and hospitable. We were able to sample many great Tapas & drinks

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Spain Important Trip Information: Please Review Before Departure

Spain

everything we needed to know was at our fingertips

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Barcelona Highlights: Guided Walk & Iconic Sagrada Família

Spain

Our guide was heartfelt & passionate about the Sagrada & Catalonia. He added many details and was perfectly relaxed about touring us through the Gothic District with a personal touch! The Sagrada was a favorite of many in our group! Our guide accessed tickets and we skipped right through the line! Learning the rich history and story made this extra memorable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

From Market to Table: Cook Authentic Spanish Dishes

Barcelona

Lovely experience ….some of the best dishes we ate! The class is held in a gorgeous authentic old building that adds to the charm.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff