KimKim and Rutopia in Mexico City don't mix

Mexico | Nov 24 - Dec 1, 2024

To preface, we have used Kim-Kim 2 previous times and were pleased with the experience each time; this time was the exact opposite. The over arching issue was poor communication. Throughout the planning process we were very clear in our desires. When we expressed them, Andrea would agree and then present a plan which was different from discussed. This disconnect progressed for 3 weeks (2 months before the planned trip) when we finally called KimKim admin to step in for a better person to work with.

Gustavo jumped in to help, and honestly things did not improve significantly. Like before we would try and be clear about our desires and he would agree to our requests. Then he would present something different. As we got closer to the trip, there were also delays in responses to our questions. Excuses were given, always different, but the delays for prompt answers to our questions kept piling up. This affected our ability to make plans outside the official tour related events. We wanted to figure out meals, restaurant reservations, shopping opportunities etc. This was especially challenging and anxiety provoking since we were a travel group of 11 which included travelers aged 11 to 80, half of which were seniors. Gus kept making the excuse that we keep changing the plans. Our perspective is that the proposed plans have not been satisfactory and we keep catching the flaws.

Specific issues with our planning involved our desire to have a tour focused on food and religiosity for our visit to Mexico City. We wanted an overview type day - tour of the city and food tour at the beginning of the week were in CDMX. Then each day would have a mass/visit to church and as the week progressed we build on the great beginning city tour. Didn’t seem like a big ask - but they couldn’t do it. In the final itinerary, we were offered a city tour with food tour at the last day of the tour, the exact opposite of what we wanted. After we continued to push, they relented and placed a city/food tour on day 2 of our itinerary.

When day 2 arrived, our local guide Yuichi Pablo was very nice and educational. He took us a tour of Metropolitan Church and a limited walking tour of the city. But not a single food tour or sample. NOTHING. So when we got to lunch, we complained and also contacted the local tour operator, Ibis Murillo at Rutopia. They apparently knew nothing about the agreed food tour on the itinerary. This was maddening. So Yuichi’s adjustment on the fly was to take us to a sandwich shop.

To appease us, Yuchi promised to try and add food elements into our itinerary. To meet this end, he added a lunch stop at a touristy restaurant each of our tour days. As you can see, very underwhelming and disappointing. Yuichi was a wonderful guide in terms of meeting our goal for religiosity - he really understood the special history of the Catholic Churches we visited and helped us worship and attend mass each day. So kudos to that.

One final knock against our travel week is the driver they used for our week visit, Carlos. He drove a large Mercedes van for us and was a great driver and kept the vehicle clean. However he also had poor communications skills with Yuichi and the parent company, Rutopia. When he dropped us off for a site visit and then parked, he was always late upon returning to pick us up. The worst was on the second to last day of our trip, he dropped us off at Teotihuacan (pyramids). When we finished he did not come to fetch us for over 30 minutes - in the hot sun with our aged parents, aunts and uncle. Our guide Yuichi unsuccessfully messaged him in watsapp and called on his cell phone but he never answered. On the final day, we had early flights out of Mexico City and he was to pick us up at 4:40am. When he hadn’t shown up by 4:55 (15 minutes past the scheduled time) I used the whatsapp to contact our on call tour operator, Ibis. I sent her messages 2x with no response. I then tried calling Ibis directly and finally got hold of her. She proceeded to call our driver Carlos directly, but she said he wasn’t answering her phone calls. This was completely unacceptable especially on a travel day.

These poor experiences really tested our patience and dampened our excitement. It certainly ruined what could have been a great visit to CDMX.

Ultimately I cannot recommend KimKim based on this experience. We also caution travelers who decide to visit Mexico City to make sure they do NOT use Rutopia, or any travel firm that associates with them.