Kimkim Trip Reviews

THANK YOU MONIKA - NEW ZEALAND TRIP

This was our 4th trip in a row that we have booked with KimKim and again it was everything we had hoped for.

Monika, you were amazing in everything you did for our recent 3 week bucket list vacation to New Zealand, which went seamlessly. Your blend of the north island on the first part of the trip and then flying to the south island to spend much more time was perfect. All of the accommodations were superb and a very nice mix of traditional and modern. Since we are active people we asked you in the beginning stages of planning this trip, to include unique daily excursions. The things you booked were fantastic and every day was different in their own ways. On the north island, a few of the things that we really enjoyed was the nighttime kayak trip to see glow worms in the caves, The Hobbiton Movie Set and the performance and dinner at the Maori Village which was highlighted by the Haka dance. Once we arrived on the south island for over 2 weeks, your choices of things to do is really too much to describe as we did so many things. If I was to list some of our favourites, they would be as follows. Starting out in Queenstown, the full day jet boat ride up a river and then returning in a 2 person inflatable Funyak (kayak) ride back down with the current was so much fun. Also, the overnight in a beautiful 20 person catamaran in the fjord laden Milford Sound which included kayaking in the Tasman Sea was amazing. On to the nighttime viewing of the blue penguins, sperm whale watch, hiking and much, much more. But, one of the top highlights for both of us was the HalfDay Heli/Glacier Hike at Mount Cook. Hiking on top of the glacier and down into beautiful ice caves was something we will always remember.

I could go on about more things we did on this trip, but I would like to finish with saying how much we appreciate everything you did to make this trip one our top trips ever. Your organizing skills with our itinerary, your punctuality in getting back to us so fast during the planning process, your professionalism and being a genuine nice person, truly was second to none and we highly recommend you!

Thanks again Monika and thanks to Kimkim for being our No. 1 choice to handle our travel plans.

Bryan and Jill Turkstra
Canada

Really enjoyed our wine-focused trip to Central Chile. Working with Nara was great - she was responsive to our desires for the trip, and she did a great job finding us terrific wineries to visit. Felipe was a wonderful guide - knowledgeable, personable, and easy to be around.

Hotel Reviews

Clos Apalta Residence

Santa Cruz

This is a stunning property. Everything was wonderful, from the casita to the restaurant to the wine tour. Highly recommend.

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Casona at Matetic Vineyards

Lagunillas

Lovely relaxed winery stay. Comfortable room, beautiful grounds, very good restaurant.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Gran Hotel Gervasoni

Valparaiso

This is a lovely period building, and the decor is simple and elegant. However, the bathroom in our room was on a lower floor, accessible only by a steep spiral staircase. Breakfast was good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Accessibility

Hotel Solace

Providencia

Good solid choice for lodging in Santiago. Breakfast was comprehensive, although nothing fancy. Staff was helpful. Location is great for getting around the city.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Convenient

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Santiago City Tour

Chile

Jose was a great guide - knowledgeable and very proud of his city. Unfortunately, we scheduled our trip for Monday, when most of the attractions were closed.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wine Tasting in Aconcagua Valley

Chile

Escorial Winery was our favorite of all the wineries we visited in all the valleys. Their story is inspiring, and the wines were delicious. Sadly, they do not export to the States, so we spent a great deal of our limited take-home wine allowance here!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Maipo Valley Wine Experience

Santiago

All the wineries we visited were impressive in their own ways, but we particularly loved El Principal and Haras de Pirque.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Great itinerary loved the diversity of locations and the fact the team worked with me to craft an agenda the fit our wants. To break it down:
First Stop – the airport reception and half day tour was very trouble free, and I appreciated the guide being flexible with our ask including finding a very local spot to grab lunch and making sure we had time at all the spots we wanted to see.
Second Stop – Lucky was very knowledgeable about everything and was a very gracious host. We very much enjoyed our day on the boat and all the activities that were planned. I would not change anything about that.
Third Stop – Our guide in Da Nang was extremely knowledgeable about local history and culture and made the trip very enjoyable from a cultural experience. All the activities and transportation including the hotels were top notch.
Forth Stop – We enjoyed our time in the city and more importantly we had a great experience on the bay. The cruise ship was very well managed, and accommodation was excellent. Again, it would not change a thing.
Overall.
Hotels – Top of the line, great rooms and great service
Guides – All very attentive and professional, felt like they wanted to make sure we enjoyed ourselves.
Transportation – Did not miss a beat, on time and great coaches at all stops.

Hotel Reviews

Indochine Grand Cruise

Quang Ninh

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

GM Premium Hotel Hanoi

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Le Sands Oceanfront Danang Hotel

Da Nang

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Silverland Mây Hotel

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

VIP Fast Track Service (including visa application)

Vietnam

Not nessasary, did not feel like we gained anything with this. The regualar service was fine.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We loved the whole trip! Bella did a great job! The elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai was amazing, as was the hotel. We enjoyed Koh Lanta and all the drivers that were organized. Our guide in Bangkok was also phenomenal. Well done Bella and KimKim

Ariel was incredible - always responsive, helpful, and there when we needed. Everything was well organized, from the pick ups at the airport or hotels, to the excursions themselves. Ariel created the perfect itinerary for my family based off what we were looking for. Would highly recommend using kimkim (and Ariel!!) if you’re looking for the perfect trip to the Galapagos!

Hotel Reviews

Albemarle

Puerto Villamil

Acacia Galápagos Boutique Hotel

Puerto Ayora

Beautiful hotel with a great breakfast. Perfectly located. Super clean with nice bathrooms and very comfortable beds. Staff was extremely nice! Would recommend!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Old Town Quito Suites

Centro Historico, Quito

Great location and super unique hotel. Very nice and large rooms with a cool authentic feel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Excursion to an uninhabited island

Galapagos Islands

All day experience but so worth it! You will be on a very cool sail boat for about a 2.5 hour ride (both there and back). We were served a delicious breakfast and lunch. Snorkeling was great, as were the views from the top of the hike!

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Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Snorkel at Los Túneles

Galapagos Islands

We snorkels in two locations - both were great. The first was through the tunnels themselves which was so cool and in the next we saw a TON of sea turtles, as well as a sea horse and reef shark. Darwin was an incredible guide. We also had a delicious lunch on the boat. My family’s favorite activity we did while in the galapagos. It was also nice because we left at 11:30 and returned by 5:30, so it didn’t take the whole day!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Darwin was awesome and super knowledgeable!

Transport

I strongly recommend kimkim and particularly the local specialists.

a 3 week trip with lots of moving parts was perfectly planned. any questions along the way very answered immediately regardless if it was Sunday 6am or Wednesday 11pm. Just extraordinary customer service.

thank you for the great experience kimkim team

Thank you so much for organizing such a wonderful and memorable trip to Cairo. The experience was truly exceptional from start to finish.

A special thank you to our driver, Mohammed Ragab, who was outstanding throughout the trip. His professionalism, punctuality, safe driving, and warm attitude made all our transportation smooth and stress-free. He was always attentive to our needs and ensured everyone was comfortable at all times.

I would also like to commend our tour guide, Karam, who was absolutely fantastic. His knowledge, enthusiasm, and engaging storytelling brought every site to life. He was informative, patient, and genuinely passionate about sharing Egypt’s history and culture, which made the experience even more enriching for everyone.

Ahmed Madani was also amazing, he gave us the city tour on our first day.

Overall, the trip was extremely well-organized, informative, and enjoyable. We truly felt well taken care of, and the whole experience exceeded our expectations.

Hotel Review

Fairmont Nile city

cairo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Free Day

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coptic Cairo - Salah El Deen Citadel - Mohamed Ali Mosque

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dinner Cruise

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Grand Egyptian Museum tour

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pyramids, Sphinx, Sakkara, Memphis and camel ride

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Every accommodation and every tour was amazing. All the transfers and transportation was seamless. I would absolutely use Kim Kim again!

Marcela was great! Everything went off like clockwork. We had some problems with an adjoining trip which affected the start of this itinerary but Marcela and her team handled the changes with complete efficiency. Gaboo gets a call out too for excellent service and assistance!
The drivers and guides were on time, did a good job and were personable.
Especially like Juan Pablo from the Buggy ride in the desert and the kayak guide.
Dinner (you called it lunch, but it was at 5pm so it was our dinner) with the red rocks tour was fun and a pleasant surprise.
The only tour we didn’t like was the moon valley. Too big of a group and a very disorganized start and it just wasn’t that interesting.

Hotel Reviews

El Refugio - La Casa de Don Tomas

San Pedro de Atacama

Pretty place - nice pool area and places to sit outside. Rooms comfortable. Loved we got complimentary sparkly wine once a day and the restaurant was very good. Good service.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Cabaña Del Lago Puerto Varas

Puerto Varas

Amazing breakfast room and great location. Nice size rooms

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Casa de la Patagonia

Puerto Natales

Loved the breakfast room. Staff was great - but it was VERY noisy! Only 7 rooms and people were loud going up and down the wooden steps starting very early in the morning and then late at night and it sounded like someone was clanging dishes in the breakfast room starting at about 5. Also bathroom was way to small - no shelf space and there wasn’t much storage in the bedroom either.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

It was clean, just not that comfortable - see above

Hotel Ladera

Providencia

They had a coffee maker in the room, but charged for a tny cup of coffee. Also the hot water took forever to warm up

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Valley of the Moon Tour

San Pedro de Atacama

Not interesting and way too long

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour of Tatio Geysers

San Pedro de Atacama

Well done

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Puritama Canyon Trek

San Pedro de Atacama

Didn’t give as much info in English and lots of loose rocks - so hike was challenging

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Stargazing Experience

San Pedro de Atacama

It was delayed until 10:30 so really late at night - hard to see each other and the wine/snacks table was kind of awkward

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Explore the Atacama Salt Flats & Lagoons

San Pedro de Atacama

Beautiful landscape made for amazing pics A little too much back and forth time in the van Wind made it kind of uncomfortable Breakfast outside is a fun touch

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Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bike & Beer

Puerto Varas

Beautiful town to start and countryside to ride in. Beer and pizza were fun One of the best drivers Guide was great

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Trekking in Alerce Andino National Park

Puerto Varas

Really muddy- I sunk up to my knees at one spot. Our guide, Rafael was amazing. Great guide. Nice lunch provided.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Trekking and Condor Watching

Puerto Natales

It was a tough hike mostly do to the incredible wind. and we didn’t see any condors

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Trekking Torres del Paine Active

Chile

Good challenging hikes. Great staff

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Buggy Safari Through the Desert

San Pedro de Atacama

JP was superb! Maybe our best guide of the tour. He had a good sense of humor, taught us much!

Quality of Experience

Guide, equipment, all top-notch.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

JP was a great communicator and fun to be around.

Transport

He picked us up in a comfortable vehicle and took us directly his home where we got the jeep

Kayaking in Eberhard Fjord

Puerto Natales

A little strenuous but in a good way! We really go a workout and learned about the history of this area. The guide was excellent!

Quality of Experience

It was private. The guide was very attentive to our capabilities and was a good coach.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Valparaíso & Wine Tour - Private

Santiago

Claudia was very good! And the wine tasting was amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Santiago City Tour - Private

Chile

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The best was our guide Ismael!
He made the difference absolutely, solving each and every detail!
The worst, food in Hotel at Desert!
The rest an amazing experience!
Hoping to have a new one soon !

Hotel Reviews

Riad Hanael Garden & Spa

FES

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Kalaa

Rabat

The best place

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

THE ORION DOME AGAFAY MARRAKACH

Marrakech

Food was bad

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Elegancia Riad Boutique & SPA

Marrakech

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hammam & Spa Session 5 Pm at your Riad Accommodation .

Morocco

Visit the Fes Artisan Community

Fes

A Family's Guided tour of Fez

Fes

Guided Tour of Volubilis

Morocco

Rabat – Meknes – Volubilis – Fez ( 3 Hour Drive).

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half-Day Private Sightseeing Tour in Rabat

Rabat

Buggy Ride

Morocco

Agafay Desert Camp overnight

Agafay

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hammam Spa & Massage in Marrakech 3 PM Session

Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Trip to Atlas Mountains Ourika Valley

Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Exploring Marrakech's Wonders: A Family-Friendly Guided Tour & a Special Visit to the Tomb of Imam Al Jazuli´

Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Family Visit to the Majorelle Gardens

Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My mom’s dream was always to visit India. I am so blessed that my friend recommended this company to help plan our dream vacation! We had safety concerns as it was only two women traveling but all that was squished the moment we passed all the customs at the airport. From the initial pick up and warm welcome to the last good bye and arranged transfer between terminals on our way back was an amazing experience. We didn’t just feel safe but always taken care of, treated with respect, patience and kindness. We had a tour guide at every city who was very knowledgeable, spoke good English and looked after us like their own family member. Helped us shop at safe locations, always gave us heads up about any customary things that we didn’t know, spoke about local traditions and and answered all of our questions and we had a lot of those :) also very important note: most of the tour guides took amazing pictures of me and my mom! We had one driver the whole time and he was very nice but most importantly his driving experience was amazing! He was so sweet and caring, took care of our luggage and made sure the car was clean every day! our tour was planned in such a way where we saw a lot of touristy attractions, learned a lot about history, experienced different nature but also had a cooking class, ride an elephant, watch locally made crafts like hand made rugs, jeep safari, boat ride and more. So it wasn’t just visiting the forts, temples and palaces. We got to experience a lot in between. The best part I didn’t plan any of it! I just let them know that we want to see and get to feel India. They asked a few questions and all was planned for us in a couple of days. All the hotels and things to see and do where suggested and we could make any changes that we wanted when planning it all. You have your freedom to make this trip what you want it to be! After all tha we just showed up and enjoyed the ride :) will do it again in the future and will recommend it to everyone!

Activity Reviews

Old Delhi Sightseeing

Delhi

A very fun way to start our tour of India! Our guide was absolutely amazing and made sure we got all that we wanted to see and took so many great pictures of us!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Udaipur Sightseeing

Udaipur

What a beautiful city, you need more than one day here! :)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Free Time in Delhi

India

This was a great idea! We booked some long massages at our hotel and got to relax after a long travel day and adjust to the time, have nice food and relax before hitting all the spots :)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Afternoon visit to Bagore ki Haveli and enjoy a cultural evening of Rajasthani Folk Dance

Udaipur

What a fun evening to watch this show! So happy with our guide who brought us there. Him and his family has been in this business for a long time so due to the connections we got to enter first and get the best seat in the house!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jaipur Sightseeing Tour

Jaipur

We absolutely loved our tour guide in Jaipur. He was so kind and patient as we got so excited about their market :)) he carried our bags for us, took us to a great spice shop where we got some saffron that we wanted. We made us feel very at ease, thought us how to safely cross a street in India and just over all went above and beyond of his duties by answering all of our questions. Very professional and knowledgeable!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Morning and Evening game drives at Ranthambore (Sharing Jeep)

Ranthambore

This was a very fun activity! We got to learn about different animals living in the jungle, their calling sounds of danger, beautiful views, piecful surroundings. Even though we didn’t get to see the tiger it was amazing experience!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cooking Class, and Dinner with Local Family

Jaipur

What an amazing experience! We didn’t just got to cook, they emailed us all of the recipes that we made so we don’t forget. Also we got to connect and talk about every day things and learn so much from regular family’s perspective. They do this with love and we left home with a huge smile, full belly and home made cookies also!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Spiritual Walk in Jaipur

Jaipur

This was not too long of a visit but very beautiful. Highly recommend coming here with the guide! We loved hearing about the religion and Gods and how everyone is so accepting. It is a stunning temple!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore the marvelous and historic monument : Agra Fort

Agra

This was very memorable and beautiful! Highly recommend to explore this. So much history in here and so interesting to see the different architecture also!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was great in Agra!

Transport

KimKim is so thorough with planning our trip , we went to Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Bangkok and Phuket. Everything is exactly like our wish ,we felt very well taken care of. Love that Kim can answer any question we had.
Long our tour guide in North Vietnam is so knowledgeable with history and places. He always reminded us where and what time to meet.

We had an amazing 17 days traveling the island of Sicily!! Eleonora was great and worked with us to get everything exactly how we wanted it. They checked in almost daily to make sure everything was in order for the day. Would highly recommend!!

Activity Review

Palermo and its street food walking tour

Palermo

So fun, would highly recommend!!

Vicky did an outstanding job planning and executing our Itinerary!!

Activity Review

Uluru Sacred Site & Sunset

Uluru

Tourist trap.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

4 of the 6 places we stayed were great but the first one in La Fortuna was only "OK" and the one we were first put into in Tamarindo was terrible and known by all locals to be unacceptable. Almost all of the tours we were booked for were very good but often the details we were given were totally wrong (3 hour plans were actually 5/6 hours in actuality). And one in Tamarindo did not even occur despite our wasting time because of messed up pickup due to our lousy location.

Another great trip planned by Olivia and the team at KimKim; it was a true winter adventure. The prefecture of Hokkaido is not to be missed in winter. The Sapporo snow festival and visit to Otaru were my cultural highlights of this trip and would have been missed without Olivia’s guidance! Thank you ensuring we experienced those.
And of course was the snowboarding! The japow! Unforgettable experience again with true ski in/ski out facilities.
Thanks again and can’t wait for the next one!

Hotel Reviews

Hilton Niseko Village

True ski in/ski out!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mitsui Garden Hotel Sapporo West

Sapporo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Shiba Park Hotel

Tokyo

Activity Reviews

2026 Sapporo Snow Festival

Sapporo

Otaru Winter Stroll: Canals, Lights, and Love

Japan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tokyo Bar Hopping Night Tour in Shinjuku

Tokyo

Our guide was great - knowledgeable and great energy!

I have to say that my and my wife’s trip to Vietnam was amazing. We both have traveled a fair bit, sometimes curating trips ourselves and sometimes using fairly high end travel companies. Our 10 day Vietnam experience ranks equal to the best we have done.

I worked with our local specialist Trang for five months ensuring everything was exactly the way we wanted. Trang was incredible. She was knowledgeable, organized, helpful with ideas and patient!! Our trip went perfectly. Trang checked in throughout and helped with a couple of modifications during the trip based on our whims. We cannot thank her enough.

As for Vietnam. Well it’s everything our friends have told us. Highly recommend putting on anyone’s list.

An absolute 10/10 trip. My time in Japan was 2 weeks, next time it’ll be a month, and I’ll probably work with kimkim. Li, Mie and Satoko were all friendly, copacetic, and wonderful one on one. As part of a group, you will feel informed and with your friends. My trip was solo, so if you work one on one, you’ll have made a friend. Thank you for the best trip I’ve ever had, and I’ll definitely be coming back. Ja matta!

Hotel Reviews

the b asakusa

Tokyo

Great location! Asakusa has everything Tokyo had to offer, but you should still visit the rest of Tokyo. Great staff, great breakfast! Thank you

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Miyako City Osaka Hommachi

Osaka

Good breakfast. Overall great experience. I like the lounge

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Vischio Kyoto by GRANVIA

Kyoto

Excelllent! Liked the robot! Came in handy

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ryokan Aura Tachibana

Hakone

Excellent stay. Lovely onsen

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Full Day Mt. Fuji with Lake Kawaguchi & Oishi Park

Japan

Beautiful experience I’ll never forget

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Overall the trip was good in that it combined hiking and biking, as well as some beach time at the end. The Bike Borneo guys (Christian & Hakeem) were great and they had sorted out some nice bike routes and a nice homestay.
The 3 day hike with Rosli (and Andy and Jackie who were friendly but I'm not sure why they were there) was not what we expected. It would have been best characterized as a 3 day hike where we camp in villages on wood floors and have outdoor squat toilets rather than being described as homestays. The "homestays" were much more primitive than any of our other homestays in Borneo (which had mattresses and indoor flush toilets). If we knew we'd be sleeping on wood floors we would have brought or requested padded sleeping mats. The trails were narrow and slippery with many creek crossings and the leeches were incredibly numerous. We ended up walking out on a dirt road on the third day which made for better travelling but it cost us an extra 250 ringitt for the transport out.

It is going to be hard to fit all of the great times we had in this review. Stephan was amazing in helping plan. Meeting him was a great time and I am glad we got to. Truly Swahili and Stephan did an absolutely perfect job. I so appreciate them.

The trip started with us getting picked up at the hotel by John (our driver, guide and now friend). He was absolutely the best guide I have had on any trip. He knew everything (but we will get into that). I found out that he really enjoys peanut butter cups as we found out with the candy we brought for the trip.

We started in Amboseli National Park and stayed at Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge, This was my favorite place we stayed during our trip. The animals and accommodations were great but the people were incredible. We felt so at home there. We met Roger, a security guard, who talked about saving these places for future generations. We met Gerald who was a self taught guitar player and singer and Vincent who helped us during our meals in the dinning room. He was awesome and so friendly. The entire staff was really wonderful. We also saw so many animals but I wont list them all here :)

Next, John drove us to Giraffe Manor....this place lives up to its reputation. From the moment you pull up you will be treated like family. The food and drinks are amazing. Cynthia took care of us for meals and she was also great! Walter the bartender was a great guy and made amazing drinks while have some really good conversation. The place is expensive but if you are traveling all the way there and can stay a night (2 would be perfect) you should. It was a magical lifetime experience and worth the money if you can afford it.

Next, John drove us to the Ark which was absolutely my friend Cindy's greatest place to stay. If you are in love with elephants this is the most amazing place. They have an elephant blind and you are able to watch them from ground level as they interact. The sounds they make.....so cool. She was in heaven. Julia helped us with meals and drinks here and she was so cool. She would find me downstairs to make sure I didn't need anything. She really was great. We also met David who worked there and went and got eggs to get the serval cat to come up the stairs. If you have never seen one of these they are very cool. Cindy loved it and it was kind of him to do. Also, on safari here you will see elephants on road and other animals. The Ark is a great place for what it is. It is not the most fancy place but the food and service were very good and the animal viewing from so many places in the hotel make it amazing. There are so many levels of viewing.

Next, John took us to Samburu Sopa Lodge. We saw so many animals and birds here. John knew the name of every bird. We are the type of people to stop and see everything (even a turtle and small birds). John was loving it and at one point I asked him if he was making these bird names up. He actually had a book that him and Cindy would look together at and start to mark down what we saw. We saw a cheetah as well which was very cool. The entire staff was friendly and great place to stay. We were gone a lot of the time there but the place was really a great place to stay

Next we went to Sweetwaters Serena Camp. This was a great place. David was our dinning person and he was great. he has such a great smile that you couldn't help but smile when you saw him. We again saw all kinds of incredible animals but the people here made the trip. The entire staff here really went the extra mile for each guest. The chef came out and was serving as we went. He was proud of the food and we enjoyed talking to him. We also had the end tent so we got to really enjoy the animals and the quiet at the end of the property. bush bucks were out there and we could watch animals just walk past the property. We also got to visit the Ol Pejeta. This place is home to the last two remaining northern white rhinos (Najin and Fatu). This was a highlight of the trip. You can get up close and really learn about the efforts going on at this conservation place.

Finally in Kenya we stayed at Sarova Mara Game Camp. We visited the Maasai village and we were the only 2 there. We got to interact on a wonderful level visiting houses, talking to all the folks, purchasing items from them and just learning about their way of life. It was really a great couple hours. I got to dance with them and appreciated that (for an old guy I can jump pretty high) LOL. Everyone is aware of the animals in Maasai Mara so I won't spend a ton of time on that but we did see a Leopard that left a kill in a tree and lions stalking prey. When we saw the lions we were practically alone. It was amazing. Buffalo, Crocodile, Hippos, etc...We visited the border with Tanzania as well. We had lunch under a tree in the park with John and talked about his mom, wife and son. Just an amazing experience. The hotel was wonderful and friendly and the staff went out of the way to make you feel welcomed. This is the place to come if you want to see animals in layers like you always dream it will be. Also, we got to see the black rocks and the black rock boys...you can view it on Youtube.

Next we had to say goodbye to John. This was a bitter sweet moment as I knew we would be friends for a long time. I cannot tell you how much he enhanced our trip. We laughed so much over so many things. We ate ice cream, I paid to much for sodas and we just had the best time. I cannot thank him enough for the time he spent with us. I know he missed his son but we truly enjoyed the time with him. Now on to Uganda

In Uganda we stayed at Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla lodge. This is probably the most complete place I have ever stayed. The view, the staff, the food, the environment were incredible. The road getting there is long and rough but it is absolutely worth it. The next morning we hiked in to see the mountain gorillas. They were amazing. Truly incredible. James our porter was so good and attentive. We learned a lot about his family and living in Uganda and I appreciate his openness. The gorilla experience itself really leaves you speechless. They are such powerful, gentle and wonderful creatures. The silverback is huge. He is not like you see in the zoo.

We also went on a canoe ride and got to visit the Rwanda border both of which were great. We did spend a lot of down time at the lodge. It was that good. the view, food and just place is somewhere only in your dreams. Amos was our room attendant and he did a great job and really was fabulous for anything we could have needed. Isaac was our dinning person and he was absolutely perfect as well. We missed him on the day we left so I hope everything is ok but it was great to get to know him. Isaac gave us Gorilla key chains with our names and I thought that was very nice. The first day here we were the only people in the lodge (we went during slow time and there are not many rooms). I made good friends with Beno and Edward at the bar. i sat in the beautiful bar area and had a few beers and just learned about their culture and country. It was perfect. The entire time it was never crowded. Cindy got massages and I relaxed. The place is truly incredible. Thanks to Rogers the manager as well. He runs a great place and it is truly one of a kind.

To sum this trip up I would say...you guessed it INCREDIBLE truly Swahili did an absolute wonderful job. When I take these trips I want to be able to learn about local culture and immerse myself in their lives as much as possible. This was the trip of a lifetime and every person at every stop had a role to play. I have been to 37 countries and this is probably the most incredible trip I have taken.....thank you to everyone. Ed and Cindy