Working with Kimkim and specialist Sarah was ...

Philippines | Dec 17 - Dec 27, 2025

Working with Kimkim and specialist Sarah was easy and accessible. I like the platform of interacting with the specialist (Whats App & Kimkim platform, and email. We went through several versions of our itinerary so I appreciate the patience as this was the first time visiting the Philippines, along with my 91 year old mother. So special care needed to be given. The air and ground transportation went without a hitch. I also appreciated having a local Philippine agent, Angela, who helped with any questions about activities and contacts. Tourist Driver Manila is a reliable agency with comfortable cars and safe drivers -- Ed & Anthony were helpful and patience with us and my mom. We had a wheelchair to transport.

Caba, La Union: Our stay at Solarena Resort was lovely, quiet. I seemed we were the only guests there. The food options were limited, but definitely the stay felt like home, and very familiar to beach living. The staff was accommodating. The hotel is definitely not a "luxury" hotel, but worth the value -- especially since we had a large house with 2 separate beds, 2 TVs (appreciate access to Netflix), our own indoor and out door living area. The hotel also had air conditioning. The hot water for the show was not so hot, but since it was a very humid and hot outside, this was not an issue. The shower actually felt refreshing. Evalyn, the restraunt hostess, along with the other staff were helpful. Evalyn shared her knowledge about how to look for clams at the beach. I found some. This was a nice touch for my personal experience. This hotel is close to the "downtown" area of Caba. I would recommend this place to my family and friends.

Palawan: My favorite island with my favorite hotel, Four Points Sheraton at Sabang Beach. Large, but easy to naviage hotel. Also, a huge pool, great breakfasts, and close to the Underground River. I like that the Four Points had Netflix, and this hotel was easy for me to navigate with my 91 year old mom.

Our only hiccup was that we did not have timely pick up in at Palawan PPA. Somehow Palawonderful Adventures either forgot, or got mixed up. I contacted notified Sarah/Angela. Maybe an hour later our driver picked us up to take us to our hotel. So service was delivered. Palawonderful Adventures made up for the gaffe by sending us a tour agent (Arnel Nalica) who gave extra care to my 91 year old mother, and even held her hand during the Underground River tour and during all of the boat rides. As he explained, he took care of my mother, so I could relax and enjoy myself too. I appreciate the empathy and awareness that he had for his guests.

My only regret, and now that I am aware, was that the Palawan Puerta Princesa Airport was 2 hours away from our hotel, so we did not arrive until evening. The dark, winding roads from the airport to the hotel was unexpected. I actually wished we spent more time on Palawan given the distance, as we only spent 2 nights. Palawan is BEAUTIFUL, and my favorite island.

Boracay: The "Waikiki" of the Philippines -- party atmosphere, if that's what a person wants. However, we stayed at the Crimson Resort and Spa, luxury hotel where we had a private beach -- also fantastic service, fantastic breakfasts, and other restaurants on site. Easy to get other transportation to leave to resort to explore the town and island. I used the beach, spa massages with Hazel (very strong hands!) Helpful staff, lifeguards, and activitie staff -- I think they were all biased towards my 91 year mom as they were attentive to her. The staff arranged for various activities, including parasiling for my 91 year old mom. My only desire was I wish they had Netflix . Otherwise, another hotel I would recommend.