40th Anniversary Celebration to London, Paris...
England
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Jun 17 - Jun 27, 2025
40th Anniversary Celebration to London, Paris, and Normandy
Planning this trip was a totally awesome experience. Working with Alexsandra could not have been easier. She worked with us to provide great accommodations and events that fit exactly what we wanted to do during our 12 day trip. We were able to add, remove, and modify anything we needed. When one of the items was not available, Alexsandra was able to move one day's activities to a different day and add another tour that was only available on a specific day! She also handled all of our transportation needs via trains and taxis during the entire stay (other than flights to and from our home and a rental car). She also made a great suggestion that we walk instead of taking a taxi from our hotel to a train station because it would be significantly faster than taking a taxi (and seeing the traffic backup on our walk, she was right!). We were able to request an earlier pick-up time for the taxi to the airport and Alexsandra handled it quickly and made sure we had proper confirmation.
Our trip included 5 days in London, 4 days in Paris, and a day trip to Caen (Normandy). There is no easy way to pick a favorite part of our trip because it was all so wonderful. In England our day trip via train to Windsor Castle and Oxford along with our tour of the Palace of Westminster (British Parliament) topped the list. In Paris, our private tour of Versialles, along with the Montmartre area were highlights of those days. Our day trip to Normandy to see the history and drive through the small towns was something we will never forget.
I would highly recommend using KimKim for your travel needs if you want control of planning your trip and activities, while using the expertise of a person knowledgeable in the area you are travelling to help coordinate the activities and handle the logistics. We did not want to just be a part of a big tour group; we wanted to experience things mostly on our own.
If you are traveling to the United Kingdom, I would highly recommend Alexsandra to assist you in your travel planning.
Our experience with KimKim was incredible and we will use KimKim again for travel in the future.
Hotel Reviews
Great location within 5 minute walk of 2 tube stations which allow you access to major attractions. Hotel was clean and roomy for a large city hotel. The staff was helpful and friendly. The breakfast was very good providing a traditional English breakfast buffet.
Great location just north of Boulevard Champs Elysees. Clean room with nice ammenities. The staff was friendly, but was not responsive to issues after we checked in. The room was hot when we arrived late in the evening and it took a while for the air conditioning to be turned on in our room. Each room had a fan, but ours was not working. After bringing this to the attention of the front desk and being promised to have it looked at, we never heard from them. The room eventually cooled down sometime after midnight.
A very lovely and charming bed and breakfast just outside of Caen, France. The owners were friendly and pleasant. The breakfast was simple with breads, pasteries, homemade yogurt and jams, and fruit (some grown on the property). Though over 300 years old, the rooms clean and well furnished with spacious and updated bathrooms. Note that this property does not have air conditioning and the room we stayed in did not have any windows that could be opened. The temperature during our stay was not unbearable so this was not an issue; however, it could be during higher temperatures.
Staff was friendly and helpful. Rooms were clean and updated. Rooms are a bit small but not out of line for large city accommodations. Breakfast was a little lacking with the food on the buffet not being restocked while we were eating. We had to store our luggage upon early arrival and they had to store it out in the lobby behind the bar. Nothing was missing but it provided a bit of concern.
Activity Reviews
Great way to see the sights without needing additional transportation. Easy to hop on and off. We did this on our first day after travelling overnight. It helped us get our bearings and see areas that were not on our itinerary later in our stay. We were delayed with heavy traffic.
If you are into WWII history this is a must see! Our guide was imformative and knowledgeable. He presented the a lot of information while walking us from the meeting point to the actual museum. Many of the items are as they were when the war ended, and the rooms were abandoned.
This was a very pleasant surprise of our trip. We had initially planned to remove this, but changed our minds and glad we did. The cruise started down the Thames with the first course of our meal and live music to entertain us. When we reached the turn around point, we were fed our main course and dessert which was excellent! The gentlemen provided entertainment following the meal. The setup of the boat was great. The views travelling back as the sun set and the lights of the city illuminated, were fabulous.
Wasn't sure what to expect when we arrived but was pleasantly surprised. Led by a graduate student, we received a ton of information about the area and the university that we would have never been able to get on our own. Excellent guide who made the trip enjoyable.
We had never been on a private tour before and after this experience we will consider these more in the future! Our driver and guide Paul picked us up at our hotel and drove us out to the Palace. On the way he provided the history and background we needed to better understand what we were going to see. He answered questions and provided pleasant conversation during the entire trip. Once there, he managed us into the gardens and palace without any delays or waiting in line. He allowed us to take pictures and ask questions while moving us through and keeping us on schedule. He had a wealth of knowledge about the subject and again provided us with information we would not be able to get if we had toured on our own.
We used this company 3 times during our stay in Paris and each time they communicated with us prior to arrival, at arrival, and got us to our location with no issues. From our hotel to the airport, the driver was early and got us there on time. The driver was helpful, courteous, and friendly.