Kimkim Trip Reviews

We just returned from our travels in Australia and are still processing all the wonderful activities and experiences. The trip offered us so many memorable moments, and we are grateful for each one.

We wanted to take a moment to express our sincere gratitude for all Vicky's help and expertise in planning our trip. Her attention to detail and careful arrangement of every aspect were impressive, allowing us to simply relax, enjoy, and savor every moment. Her assistance made our experience truly memorable and enjoyable.

Thank you Vicky and kimkim!!

Donna

We wanted a trip focusing on "birds in Costa Rica", and we were pleased at what a wonderful itinerary we had. First hotel: We loved Hotel Bougainvillea - it is clear that this is a birders paradise in San Jose. It is far from the city center, but the gardens were fantastic. The hotel is a bit old fashioned, but the service was great. Lovely restaurant with an excellent breakfast. We loved stopping at the La Paz waterfalls. Amazing hummingbirds, very educational, and the hikes were fantastic!!! Next we stayed at Lomas de Volcan. This might have been my favorite of the places we stayed in terms of the actual room and amenities. Comfortable individual "cabin" - very modern bathroom, fantastic restaurant and bar, and a great location. I would gladly stay there again. My husband really enjoyed the thermal pools, and the restaurant was "traditional" food and just fine. We loved visiting Arenal Observatory Lodge - and saw lots of birds. It was super rainy, but we got a nice hike in. We next stayed at Natural Lodge Cana Negro. We loved this place - the owner and family were awesome, the staff were very interactive and helpful, and it was a fantastic place to birdwatch. The guide who took us out on the river was very knowledgeable, which made it quite exciting. The restaurant at the lodge is quite good. I will recommend everyone visiting Costa Rica and interested in rain forest and flora and fauna should take the time to get up to this part of Costa Rica. We also loved the Cloud Forest Lodge. We were literally in a cloud the entire time. It was wet and windy, but being able to see Curi Cancha and Monteverde reserves was AWESOME. It gives one a great understanding of "rain forest"! Our guide, David, at Curi Cancha was absolutely one of the best. He was enthusiastic, and we saw a lot of birds because of his knowledge of the area. While we didn't see any birds in Monteverde reserve, we did get a real "rain forest" experience.

While Hotel Villa Caletas was fine, an Italianate hotel in Costa Rica seemed a bit odd. It also had a million steps, and we had to ask to have our room changed. There was no way the two of could manage all those stairs multiple times/day. It has a great view and the restaurant is fine. Our guide into Carara National Park was our only real disappointment. She really knew nothing about birds, although she did know her plants. The only birds we identified was through interacting the guides helping other people. I suggest you not use her again for a birding trip.

Esquinas Rainforest Lodge was an experience! The cabins are rustic, just screens, and it was rather hot and rainy, but nevertheless we loved visiting this part of Costa Rica. The staff here was great. I think we also appreciated the variety in the places we stayed, which on top of the amazing diversity of flora and fauna in Costa Rica made this trip amazing!!

Our final stay was at Savegre National Reserve Hotel. This is a great place. We loved our room, and we had another amazing guide - absolutely the best. We went out twice with him! He has so much local knowledge. It was inspiring.

Altogether, we had an amazing trip - and we ended up seeing 190 new species of birds, including scarlet macaws and the resplendent quetzal. I would recommend this trip to anyone who is interested in wildlife, birds, and getting to see different aspects of Costa Rica. Olman did a great job of putting this together, although I wouldn't go back to Hotel Villa Caletas and Carara National Park.

Hotel Reviews

Gran Hotel Costa Rica, Curio Collection by Hilton

San José

This is a Hilton, and Hiltons have a certain level of dependability. It is located downtown, so it nicely placed if you want to go to the gold museum or the central market. Our room was on the small side. The bed was very comfortable, and the bathroom fixtures modern. You have to valet park your car, which was $27. This quite a hefty charge. You are also a bit of drive from the San Jose airport, so give yourself plenty of time to get there.

Savegre Hotel Natural Reserve & Spa

Páramo

This is the place to go if you are interested in seeing a resplendent quetzal. The guide the hotel arranged was stellar!! The room was spacious, and including a porch where you could look out over the gardens or the stream that runs nearby. The bathrooms were very modern, and the place was modern and comfortable. The breakfast here was excellent, but we did not have the best of luck with having supper there.

Esquinas Rainforest Lodge

Golfito

This part of Costa Rica is hot and humid. You are in essentially a cabin with only screens. The showerhead actually heats the water for your shower. The place lost power during a torrential rainstorm - so no shower that day. However, the beds were comfortable, and the meals (you really have to eat here) were very good. They used local fruits to make pitchers of juice they served at the meals. I found this quite fun. The staff is great, and our bird-watching guide was excellent.

Hotel Villa Caletas

Tárcoles

This is a fine hotel in an Italianate style. The staff were excellent and very helpful. Our room was comfortable, and the place has a lot of old-fashioned charm. My only complaint is that there are a lot of stairs. If you have any mobility issues, this is NOT the place for you. They were kind enough to change our room, because to get to our original room was quite a trek up and down multiple stair cases. From the restaurant area, you have a great view looking out over the Pacific Ocean, and watching the sunset from there was amazing.

Cloud Forest Lodge

Monteverde

This may be the most famous rain forest area of Costa Rica. It is well known because it is amazing. We drove up through the clouds to get here. While it was windy and rainy while we were there, it did not keep us from heading to Curi Cancha and Monteverde Reserves. The guide the hotel arranged was fantastic. I don't think you can understand a rain forest until you hiked through one! This lodge is perfectly positioned to visit both these reserves. Our room was quite spacious, the bed very comfortable, and the bathroom modern. The restaurant is good, and they do a very nice breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Natural Caño Negro Lodge

I think people don't often head up this way on a visit to Costa Rica, but it is a mistake. This area is fantastic, and the National Cano Nego Lodge is great!! The staff was sensational, and the food at their restaurant quite good. Great bartenders too!! The owners are quite gracious. They arranged our birding trip down the river, and it was excellent. They have a bird feeding station that you can look out on while eating breakfast or other meal, and it makes it all the more fun! The Refugio de Vida Silvestre Cano Negro is amazing, and it is definitely worth heading up to this region. The beds are very comfortable, and the bathroom was modern! I highly recommend this lodge as well as visiting this part of Costa Rica. The roads in are a bit rough, so be prepared to bounce around a bit.

Authenticity & Character

The owners are amazing, and the staff very helpful and knowledgeable.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lomas del Volcán

Fortuna

The location of this hotel near Arenal Volcano is fantastic. We had our own little "house", and it was well furnished. The bathrooms were modern, and the property beautifully landscaped and maintained. The restaurant here is excellent, but they have a nice bar with original cocktails. Their breakfast is first-rate. They had many hot and cold options, including an omelet station and waffle maker. The location is great if you are interested in the area around Arenal National Park. We had a flat tire, and the staff was amazingly helpful in putting in enough air and then recommending a great place to get the tire fixed in the nearby town. I highly recommend this lovely hotel. There is a great view of Arenal Volano when it is not socked in by clouds!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Bougainvillea San José

Heredia

This is a lovely hotel away from the center of San Jose. There gardens are fantastic. If you are a birdwatcher, this is the place to stay, as the gardens attract many local birds. The rooms are comfortable, and the restaurant and bar were good. The owner must love rocks, because the lobby has many cases of rocks collected from all over Costa Rica. It was quite interesting.

Authenticity & Character

This is a slightly older hotel, but full of charm. The gardens are wonderful, and the beds comfortable, and the bathrooms are modern.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Early Birdwatching Walk

La Gamba

We had a great guide, and the area is really diverse biologically. It is quite worth visiting this part of Costa Rica!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Quetzal Safari Quest

San Gerardo de Dota

Our quetzal quest was successful, plus there are so many other places to birdwatcher. We went out with our sensational guide twice - amazing!! What a beautiful place.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Carara National Park Guided Tour

Costa Rica

The park is not worth the visit. It is a transitional forest, and we saw very few birds or wildlife. Plus the cicadas were so loud and there were so many of them it was kind of gross.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Early Birdwatching Tour at Curi-Cancha Reserve

Monteverde

By far, the best birding experience in Costa Rica. It is a beautiful place, with a number of different habitats. Our guide David was fantastic! We were even lucky enough to see a resplendent quetzal! This is a "DON"T MISS THIS" type of place!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge Bird Watching Tour

Caño Negro

This is a fantastic area to bird. Our lodge provided us with a great guide, and we went down the river seeing iguanas in trees, caiman, and a fantastic assortment of birds. FANTASTIC!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was quite excellent.

Transport

Said provided detailed planning and coordination and was always accessible and timely in responding to our questions.

Tayeb was superb as our driver and main guide throughout our 12 paradisiacal days in Morocco. He was very knowledgeable on history and other interesting Moroccan matters in all villages/cities and natural wonders he took us to visit. Tayeb is reliable, prompt, experienced and highly skilled. Specially, he is friendly and joyful and very attentive. We will recommend Tayeb as driver to our friends who book via Original Travels in the future.

Thanks to all three local expert guides in Merzouga Tiziri Camp (Said), in Fes (Mohammed H.) and in Marrakech (Mohammed O.). We learned so much from them! Mohammed O took us through an excellent food tour of Marrakech and his in depth history of the city is impressive.

Hotel Reviews

Tiziri Luxury Camp

Merzouga

Authenticity & Character

Location

I’m

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lina Ryad & Spa

Chefchaouen

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Marrakech Evening Food Tour

Marrakesh

Fantastic Marrakech food tour by Mohammed O.!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tamer and Ariel helped plan what we wanted to do on this trip. We were able to specify what kind of activities we were interested in, what animals we wanted to see etc. The recommended itinerary met our requirements very well. It was easy to communicate with them. They responded promptly to our queries.
Liz Arboleda was in charge of the logistics locally. She met us and gave us her number and responded promptly to our queries. When we were going to Isabela, she personally got our boarding passes for the boat trip and held our spot in the queue. We requested a change in the itinerary (we wanted to return from Isabela in the afternoon rather than morning) and she accommodated our request.
Astrid Friere was our guide to see the tortoises and the Darwin Center as well as kayaking another day. She was a pleasure to be around and was extremely well informed about what we were seeing.
Marcelo Friere was our driver for the transfers. Always on time, courteous and efficient.
Rodolfo was our guide on the highlight of the trip, the visit to Los Tuneles in Isabela. We were extremely inexpert snorkelers and he ended up having to tow us around in order not to delay the other snorkelers. He showed us Blue Footed Boobies, including their courtship dances, sea turtles, sting and eagle rays, sea horses. Just an awesome experience.

Overall the experience was wonderful. There were a few times we wished we would have been better prepared for (bring hat, this will be a long walk, bug spray etc as we are unfamiliar with what to expect at some of the attractions). Additionally when booking the excursions we were unaware of how long a day some of them ended up making and in the heat it was a lot for us Canadians who came from a very cold climate. Maybe suggestions to break up some of them would have been better in the end.

Our guide Pom in Bangkok was good. Very fast paced likely due to all the activities that were planned in one day made it so we didn't have much slow time. The van he was assigned left a lot to be desired as the AC was sketchy at times and very rattly. The driver himself was great though. Pom had good energy and was very informative.

Our guide in hua hin was fantastic and she made sure we were comfortable all the way to Kuri Buri to see elephants.

Pookie is Chiang Mai was hands down the best guide we could have asked for. She was soooo informative, had made incredible connections in the area that allowed for some "behind the scenes" access. You can tell she truly cares for her clients and wants us to have a great time. (Even though the hike to Doi Inthanon was more than we bargained for! Hahaha she kept us motivated the entire time"

The hotel options were decent. Would have liked a different area in Bangkok and the room we were assigned was incredible in need of repair but others in the building looked really nice.

The transfer to the airport in Ko Samui also needed to be a hour earlier as that airport was chaos and we barely made our flight with the 2 hour arrival time.

All in all this is a trip we will never forget and are so grateful for Elena and kimkim for curating a great trip for us. We will recommend kimkim and use them in our future travels.

Thank you!

Hotel Reviews

The Culture Samui

Ko Samui

Authenticity & Character

Location

It was decent - close to a 7-11, a few restaurants and pharmacies however quite a distance from Fishermen's village. Getting a grab or taxi was a bit pricey. There is a bunch of construction in front of hotel that has apparently started a long time ago.

Staff

At check in they were really nice and seemed to think of everything we may need for our stay. Had asked us then if we wanted a breakfast box to go on the morning of our departure. We said yes but turns out she didn't order it as promised so we left hotel without breakfast.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Aksara Heritage

Chiang Mai

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Rock Hua Hin Resort

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The rooms were incredibly humid. Not sure if anything can be done to change this considering the property is on the beach but it did make for uncomfortable wet feeling in the bed and on the clothes hanging in the room. BUT the location and other amenities made up for it!

Mode Sathorn Hotel Bangkok

Bangkok

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room we stayed in was questionable in its cleanliness. Stained carpets, smeared stains on the tile, mold in the bathroom. I saw other rooms in the building that looked to have been modernized but not the one we were at. We have paid for an early check in and apparently this was the only room ready so we were stuck with it or we had to wait.

Activity Review

Doi Inthanon National Park - A Nature Walk and Culture

Chiang Mai

The name of this excursion is not representative of what it is. The name says it's a walk but this is a legit hike. We were not properly prepared for what we were doing and therefore didn't have appropriate footwear. There is a lot of downhill walking as well so if someone in the group has any mobility issues - be prepared. The guide was great though and ensured we went slow and took many breaks. She also scores us some really good fresh strawberries and stopped at a coffee plantation to try some local coffee! We were pretty sore the next day but were in the land of inexpensive massages so were able to get some relief!

Quality of Experience

Upfront understanding of the activity

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Great trip. Well planned. Enjoyed the animal parks and seeing the different animals. The Opera House tour was one of my highlights. Walking tours in the cities were very informative. Just a fantastic trip!

Hotel Reviews

The Sebel Quay West Suites

The Rocks

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sails In The Desert

Yulara

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Laneways by Ovolo

Melbourne

Authenticity & Character

OP

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Adina Apartment Hotel Brisbane

Brisbane

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sydney City Small Group Walking Tour (Small Group Tour)

Sydney

Had a hard time understanding this leader. Wish he had a speaker and headsets. Was not able to hear him b cause of the traffic and other people around.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sydney Opera House Tour

Sydney

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wildlife, Waterfalls and Wine (Small Group Tour)

Sydney

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

SEIT Uluru & BBQ Dinner

Uluru

Quality of Experience

I

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Camel to Sunset

Uluru

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Phillip Island Penguin Parade Small Group Eco Tour

Melbourne

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I

Transport

Foodie Discovery Walking Tour

Melbourne

Quality of Experience

lol

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and Brisbane River Cruise

Brisbane

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Working with Hakim and Orion Trek was an absolute dream — they went above and beyond to make our trip seamless and unforgettable. From the very first consultation, their team listened carefully to our wishes and crafted a personalized itinerary that perfectly balanced adventure, culture, and relaxation. Every detail was thoughtfully handled, from private English speaker driver (who we now consider a great friend) and guided tours to hidden local gems we never would have discovered on our own. Their responsiveness and care made us feel supported throughout the journey, turning what could have been stressful planning into pure excitement. Thanks to them, every day felt effortless and perfectly timed, allowing us to fully immerse ourselves in the magic of Morocco. We can honestly say they didn’t just organize a trip — they created memories we’ll cherish forever. This was the best vacation we have ever been on!

Adam provided us an excellent structure for our visit to Barcelona. He took all of our wishes into account and scheduled specific tours with amazing guides, from whom we learned so much about Barcelona's history, art, architecture, food and culture. Highly recommended!

Hotel Review

Hotel Villa Emilia

Barcelona

The hotel was very comfortable and in an excellent location. We looked out at one of the iconic intersections in Barcelona and from this starting point, we were able to walk easily to our scheduled tours. Service in the hotel was also excellent. We would be happy to return again in the future.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Tapas & Flamenco Experience in Barcelona

Barcelona

The tapas at two restaurants and the flamenco performance were a great way to spend the evening!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Montserrat Sunrise & Brunch

Barcelona

One of the wishes that we communicated to Adam was our wish to hike uphill to the Montserrat Natural Park above the Monastery. Our guide, Anthony, provided excellent transportation to the Monastery, arriving just before sunrise, so that we could see the sun rise as we hiked. Anthony had no problem hiking with us up a very steep trail, which was well maintained but totally quiet at this time of day. The tour of the Monastery and brunch afterwards made for a perfect morning!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Gaudí Architecture Walk with La Sagrada Família

Barcelona

Our guide, Diana, from Runner Bean tours was amazing! She knew so much about Gaudi's life and architecture and she was so enthusiastic about sharing her knowledge. I give tours in Chicago and I learned some good tips about being a guide from her excellent presentations. She was a delight to be with, from start to finish!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Gothic Quarter Walk

Barcelona

Our tour guide, Ivan, from Runner Bean tours was absolutely excellent. We learned so much from him and he was a delight to be with.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Absolutely amazing guides; Ali Liddle, Charlotte Taplin, Sven Joest, Annina Scholl, Laura Ouwerkerk, Esther Josten, Marcelo Tarapow, Matthias Kopp and Karoline Baelum; and Pursers Oleksandr (Alex) Lyebyedyev and Roland Garcia.

Our trip to Costa Rica was very enjoyable. Before we discuss the trip, we must
acknowledge how helpful Gustavo was in planning where we went and where we
stayed as well as the excursions that we went on and as it turned out, what he
recommended was just right for us. Also, he was very responsive to any questions and
as I will explain later he and his team were especially responsive during our trip.
Our first stop was in La Fortuna with the Arenal Volcano in the background. As it turned
out our transfer from the airport took much longer than planned because of the unusual
traffic that we had leaving San Jose but the private driver made it his mission to get us
to our hotel, Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs, in time for our tour that started at 4:45 PM.
We arrived at 4:35 PM. There was a mix-up in our reservation, but the hotel manager
told us not to worry that we would have a room, and we should go on our excursion. I
texted to Gustavo and KimKim and told them of the problem. Before we returned from
our excursion, I received a message back from Gustavo, apologizing for any confusion
and let us know that they had upgraded our room to a suite since our original junior
suite was not available. By the way, the suite was fantastic. We recommend this place
to stay. The grounds are beautiful, the staff were very pleasant and accommodating,
and the restaurant both for breakfast and dinner was excellent.
The tours in La Fortuna were Nocturnal Frog Excursion & Traditional Costa Rican
Dinner, Río Peñas Blancas Safari Float Experience, and the Sloth Discovery Walk. The
first excursion took place on a family run farm and after our walk around we were
served a nice dinner. On the walk we saw several very colorful frogs and the special
sighting was a sloth up a tree and she was nursing a baby. The second was a very
pleasant slow drifting raft experience. We saw many birds, a crocodile, and a Cayman.
Our guide was very knowledgeable and told us a lot about the flora and the history of
the area and the river. Here also just before our boat ride we saw a sloth up a tree. On
the third tour, we saw sloths as we were supposed to. The one note is that it was a good
thing we obeyed the recommendation of bringing raincoats because even though it was
the dry season, it rained, although not the whole time. It didn’t bother the sloths and
ended up not affecting us much either. We saw both two and three toed sloths. Actually,
as we learned they were really two and three fingered sloths because all sloths have
three toes on their back feet. We recommend all three of these excursions.
On day 3 we had a private transfer to Monteverde. This included a driver who took us to
the boat, a private boat ride on Lake Arenal, and then another private driver to our hotel
the Hotel & Spa Poco a Poco. The afternoon we arrived we took a stroll down and up to
the town of Santa Elena. There were many nice shops there that had many local wares
and crafts: where we did a good amount of purchasing. The reason that I said down and
up is that essentially the town was on another mountain and we had to go down to the
valley to then go up to get to the two block, downtown. The walk was, actually, not bad

for us Septuagenarians but the remarkable fact is the wind was blowing at 40 miles per
hour with gusts up to 60 mile per hour or so. There also was a cold spell, so we had our
winter coats on and we almost flew down the mountain as the wind seemed to want to
pick us up and take us for a ride. The town was quaint and the people there, as were all
of the people in Costa Rica that we encountered, were really very nice and helpful.
On the next morning, the cold wave that made the entire northern part of the western
hemisphere was alive and well in Monteverde and the winds did not die down either.
The locals remarked about how it is never that cold. Our scheduled excursion that
morning was to take a 1.5-mile walk covering several long hanging bridges. We opted
out of that trip. We did walk around a path that is attached to the Hotel Poca a Poca
which was fun and relaxing and the trees helped block out the winds. The hotel has lots
of nice areas where you can walk and where you can sit and relax. One caveat about
the hotel. As we mentioned, it was very cold, supposedly it broke a local record, and
the hotel rooms only had air conditioners. We were able to score an electric heater from
the few that the hotel had for the second night. We enjoyed the heat that night.
In the afternoon the winds started decreasing and our tour was the Coffee, Chocolate &
Sugar Cane Experience at Don Juan farm where they grow all three of these
commodities. The guide that we had on the tour was not only very knowledgeable but
was a lot of fun. There were several hands on experiences from shelling a ripe coffee
bean and observing how slimy they are before being dried, taking a cocoa bean and
tasting it and not being so enthralled by it, to tasting the coffee that was made fresh
from beans, and making some sugar by grinding sugar canes which one of us was part
of the grinding process using the old hand cranked machine. We learned a lot about all
three including how to judge which is better and which is not.
The next morning, we had a leisurely breakfast and then took another private drive to
Manuel Antonio. On this drive we took several stops to look at birds, and spider
monkeys, and we stopped at alligator bridge where we took a pleasant walk on the
bridge. Once we were out of the mountains, the weather was pleasant. While that drive
was long, it was pleasant both by the accommodations in the vehicle and the views that
we had. One thing I haven’t mentioned previously, is that all but one of our transfers had
WIFI. We arrived late in the afternoon at the Si Como No Resort & Wildlife Refuge.
The Si Como No is situated on the outskirts of the national park and has beautiful
scenery all around. Our room had, as we were told, the highest view and it was
spectacular and certainly worth all of the steps to get up to it. We also had our own
personal jacuzzi. We sat on the porch and viewed the Pacific and multiple birds
including a magnificent red macaw. Some of these birds even decided to use our railing
when we were inside and we even had a spider monkey give us a show out there.

There were two restaurants. We had breakfast and one lunch on the one near the pool
and dinners at the main restaurant. All our meals were very good.
We had a tour of Manuel Antonio National Park Nature Hike through the park with our
guide was not disappointing. We learned a lot about the history and the flora and had
the opportunity to see several sloths, monkeys, snakes, many beautiful birds, and we
even saw a porcupine. We spent a little time at the beach which had very soft sand and
essentially no waves in the ocean. In the afternoon we went across the street to a
butterfly garden that had a restaurant in it. We sat eating a sandwich and having a
coffee with butterflies flying around us. It was amazingly relaxing. Just what we needed
near the end of our time in Costa Rica. The next morning, we went on a Mangrove
Boat Tour. Again, we saw many birds and learned about the history of that area. The
special part of this tour is that the guide brought some bananas, and we went to the
shore and suddenly, we had a family of capuchin monkeys all around with some coming
on the boat. Both my wife and I had the pleasure of having one sit on our head.
Thankfully, I had a hat on.
We had another private transfer back to San Jose where we stayed the night at the
Grano de Oro Hotel. This was a nice modernized old hotel that was very comfortable.
We ate at the restaurant which had good food and a nice old San Jose atmosphere.
The next morning, we had our private transfer to the airport for our flight back home.
We had a great time in Costa Rica and recommend this itinerary to everyone. However,
we could not have had this wonderful adventure without the planning and support of
Gustavo and the whole KimKim team. Also, as we mentioned, while we were on the trip
when we needed them, they responded quickly and took care of the issue. Thank you,
Gustavo, Kate, and everyone at KimKim.

Absolutely loved everything about the trip. Excellent riads, tours and itinerary!

Our driver, Sofiane was brilliant. He is a credit to your company. He couldn't possibly have done anything more and it was great to get to know him.

Thank you so much. I have been so impressed with how the trip was arranged and all the communication in the lead up.

Hotel Reviews

Riad Kalaa

Rabat

Fantastic location, beautifully decorated, comfortable and welcoming.

Authenticity & Character

So different to other riads as muted tones but gorgeous!

Location

Perfect

Staff

Very welcoming

Cleanliness & Comfort

Perfect

Riad Semlalia

Fès

Beautiful view, very comfortable, gorgeously decorated, fantastic food. Lovely and calm location tucked away.

Authenticity & Character

Looks like a palace!

Location

Quiet

Staff

So friendly and wecloming

Cleanliness & Comfort

Perfect

Tiziri Luxury Camp

Merzouga

Incredible location. So attentive. Excellent music in the evening. Staff so friendly and welcoming.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Perfect

Staff

So attentive

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tents are so inviting and comfortable! Warm and snug for cold desert nights. Couldn't have asked for anything more!

Dar Rihana Dades

Douar Aït Ouffi

The food was the best we ate in the whole of Morocco!

Authenticity & Character

Newly done

Location

Beautiful view

Staff

One brief mention being vegetarian and it was rememebered!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spotless!

Palais Sebban

Marrakech

Everything perfect. Location, food, rooms, pools, staff!

Authenticity & Character

Beautifully decorated

Location

Central

Staff

Friendly and so helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything!

Activity Reviews

A Guided Exploration of Rabat

Rabat

Highly recommend. So much to see and also learn. Fantastic guide - she really made the tour fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sand-Boarding in Erg Chebbi (Free of Charge)

Merzouga

Simply grab the board and climb a dune!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Majorelle Gardens

Morocco

Gorgeously peaceful and a wonderful break from the craziness of Marrakech!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half-Day Guided Tour of Marrakech

Marrakesh

We learnt so much! Asked a million questions and our guide answered them all. So interesting and not sure we wouldn't have managed to see everything without our guide!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

So knowledgeable!

Transport

Met at our riad!

Marrakech Evening Food Tour

Marrakesh

Highly recommend and so interesting to try new and different things. Takes you to places you would never go yourself. Very interesting and knowledgeable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Great guide!

Transport

Met at our riad so very convenient!

Everything went perfectly. I was picked up at the airport and then hardly had to worry about anything. Amir has a very good knowledge of history, which he conveyed in excellent English. The excursion to Alexandria then nicely expanded this knowledge with Greco-Roman history. The hotel in Cairo was very well located, clean, and had very polite staff. The breakfast was ample and varied.
The flight to Aswan and the pick-up there went smoothly. My guide's English wasn't great, but he more than made up for it with his attentiveness. The tours always started very early, which suited me perfectly as it allowed me to avoid the tourist crowds and the high sun. The hotel in Aswan was excellent.
The hotel in Luxor had a wonderful garden overlooking the Nile. Unfortunately, I only got a room facing the street, which meant I could never open the window. The street was simply too noisy. I must also mention Omar in Luxor, who took excellent care of all my needs and was always there to help and advise me.
The transfer to Hurghada was a bit odd. The seats were covered in plastic, but there were two exhaust pipes in the trunk without any protective coverings. As a result, my luggage was dirty after the journey. However, the resourceful cleaning staff at the hotel in Hurghada took care of it. The hotel itself was very quiet and relaxing. My only slight disappointment was that they only offered Italian cuisine. When I travel abroad, I like to experience the local dishes... But the staff was great, the hotel was clean, and it was right on the beach.
All in all, a fantastic trip. I would recommend it without hesitation. Many thanks to the whole team.

Hotel Reviews

Iberotel Makadi Beach

Hurghada

Quiet, clean, friendly staff, very attentive cleaning staff, right on the water. I missed having local dishes at the full-board buffet.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ibrotel Luxor

Luxor

A bit noisy, clean, the carpet in the room sometimes makes me a little nervous, friendly staff, wonderful garden with a view

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Basma Hotel Aswan

Aswan

quiet, clean, slightly outside the city, friendly staff

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Royal Great Pyramid INN

Giza

Good location, clean, friendly staff

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Tour to National Museum, Salah El Din Citadel and khan el khalil

Cairo

Lots of mummies, a flight through the history of Egypt, a beautiful view over Cairo, and coffee at the bazaar were great. Amir delivered a very good all-around performance.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Tour to Alexandria from Cairo by Car

Cairo

The journey was a bit long, but Amir managed to make it feel shorter. He also has a very good knowledge of the Greco-Roman period in Egypt.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Giza Pyramids & the Grand Egyptian Museum

Cairo

Amir has a very good knowledge of history, which he presented in good English. There was a change in the order of the visits: first the museum, then the pyramids, which makes sense to avoid the crowds of tourists.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I have no idea how anyone can stand the traffic in Cairo. ;)

From the moment Irene reached out to me to start the planning of our trip, to the time we boarded our return flight - everything went as smoothly as possible.
This was our third trip w/ Kimkim and we are happy that it worked out as we expected.
We are super thankful to Irene and Travel12 team for making our trip memorable.
All the guides, drivers were very knowledgable, respectful and we enjoyed talking to them during our tours.
Thank you!!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Modigliani

Roma

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Royal Continental Hotel Naples

Naples

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

The front desk staff can do better with friendly communication.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Santa Maria Novella

Florence

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Floor

Milano

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Private Tour of Brera District

Milan

Our driver was excellent and made the trip most enjoyable. It would not have been the same without him. He was kind, considerate and went out of his way to make the trip most pleasurable for us. Lela will provide a more detailed review after we return home.

All of our arrangements were done well. We enjoyed both the provided tours and exploring on our own. Our guides were very knowledgeable and great people to talk with as well. The drivers for our transfers were also wonderful. I think one thing that will always stay with me is the feeling I got as I climbed the steps at Monte Alban, knowing that those same steps were once walked upon by the Zapotec people very long ago.

Hotel Reviews

El Sueño Hotel & Spa

Puebla

The room was clean and nice, but we noticed that the lamps by the bed kept flickering and upon inspection the wiring for them was scary. The restaurant was kind of spendy with a limited offering. The breakfast that came with the room was okay at best, and also very limited.

Authenticity & Character

A bit too much spa like for our taste.

Location

The location was good, near most of what you will want to see in Puebla.

Staff

The staff were wonderful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Our room was clean and comfortable.

Majagua

Oaxaca

It felt like some of the staff was exhausted and overworked. The bar was supposed to be a restaurant too but all we saw was a rudimentary breakfast. Most of the staff were pleasant and helpful, but others, not so much. The facility was quite pleasant looking and most things worked well.

Authenticity & Character

New and modern but I prefer traditional.

Location

Adjacent to a great park with lots going on and one of the best Italian restaurants I’ve been to - Arte Italia.

Staff

Mostly fine.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa González

Mexico City

We have stayed at this hotel twice now, it is always clean, the gardens are beautiful and a pleasure to sit and relax in after a day of exploring. The breakfast they offer is as good as you will find in any of the restaurants nearby.

Authenticity & Character

Like the city itself, it is a mix of newer amenities but, with that old world look and charm.

Location

It is located in an area that is very walkable to many sites in Mexico City.

Staff

The staff is warm and friendly, as well as always being ready to help, rather you need something in your room or a recommendation.

Cleanliness & Comfort

This is. Very clean hotel, they also offer laundry service for a reasonable fee.

Activity Reviews

Explore the history and crafts of Oaxaca through Monte Alban, Arrazola, Cuilapam and Coyotepec.

Oaxaca

Fabulous!

Puebla City Tour & Talavera Workshop

Puebla

Bottom line - I’d do it again.

Clemens and crew did an amazing job of putting together a fantastic itinerary on short notice! All plans worked well as we made our way through to countries and over 1000 miles of travel. All accommodations were excellent, trips and tours were interesting and exciting. I endorse using Clemens and his team on any European adventure!

Michael from Chaska Tours set up the perfect itinerary for our family’s vacation. We had fascinating cultural experiences, delicious food, exciting adventures and peaceful relaxation. Knowing that everyday was meticulously planned, including all the drivers and the guides and even most of the meals allowed us to truly enjoy everyday and not have to worry about any logistics. Everyone of our guides (Froi, Sebastian, Joi, Nancy, Thomas, Carlos, Gloria, Mary) was knowledgeable, helpful and kind. Experiencing Colombia with Colombians by our side allowed us to learn so much more about this wonderful country and its people. By the end of our time with them, our guides felt like our friends. I would highly recommend kimkim and Chaska Tours in Columbia if you are interested in an active, immersive, and adventurous trip and don’t have or want to spend the time to organize every little detail.

Hotel Reviews

Ermita, Cartagena, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel

El Cabrero, Cartagena

Villa Maria Tayrona, a Kali Hotels

Los Naranjos

Dann Carlton Medellin Hotel

Medellin

Activity Reviews

Rosario Island Beach Day (Coralina Island)

Colombia

The staff at Coralina Island was very accommodating and helpful. The water was spectacular. They have a boat and a kayak available to use for no additional cost. It was the perfect way to end an active and busy holiday.

Boquilla Mangrove Tour

Cartagena

Peaceful and beautiful tour led by a local. Very authentic and another opportunity to see the real Cartagena. A great tour for bird lovers and watchers. A demonstration of how the locals catfish and an opportunity to do it yourself.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Market Visit & Cooking Class

Cartagena

Visiting Bazurto market was one of the highlights of my time in Colombia. I am pretty sure we were the only tourists there. I felt like I was experiencing the true Cartagena. The sight of all the colorful fruits and vegetables; the sounds of a community coming together, playing music and doing business; the smell of the food, the heat from the oil and coals, all added up to an unforgettable sensory treat. Our cooking instructor, Gloria, led us through the creation of a truly memorable and delectable meal.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Walking Tour & Street Food

Cartagena

My whole family loved trying the street food of Cartagena as well as all of the tropical fruits and juices that we are not familiar with in North America. Our guide Nancy’s love for her country, food, and culture was infectious and rubbed off on us.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This was a walking tour and I like walking

Full Day Trek on the Bunkuany Trail

Colombia

Joi led us on a fun-filled, challenging and rewarding trek through the beautiful Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains to a beautiful and fascinating ruin of an indigenous village. The lunch prepared by the family living on the mountain was delicious. The refreshing and cool swim in the river was rejuvenating and exhilarating.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day: Urban Art & E-Bike Experience

Medellín

It was a pleasure to spend time with our guide Thomas and immerse ourselves in the energy of Medellín.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Serendipity did a fantastic job organising our trip in Costa Rica- plenty of planning discussion on the hotels, schedule and wildlife experiences.. Elena and Nancy were extremely helpful and had lots of useful suggestions to make sure we had plenty of bird watching, nature tours, and visits to Guayabo monument and Turrialba volcano. The trip was amazing and we had great fun managing to dodge between the rain showers even in Tortuguera which provided excellent photographic opportunities on the boats to get close to wildlife, including sloths! Adrian was on hand via the WhatsApp link and was extremely helpful in suggesting additional trips and making sure our pick-ups went to plan. All accommodation was spot on - clean, spacious with great restaurants - lots of rice and beans! All our guides were really knowledgeable and highly motivated. All in all a wonderful holiday, thank you KimKim and Serendipity!

Hotel Reviews

Rancho Naturalista

Cartago

A wonderful place for bird watching and knowledgeable guides ! Meals at set times on shared tables, so plenty of opportunity to talk with other guests

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa Turire

Turrialba

Wonderful hotel full of character and with fabulous gardens. Huge room and great service.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Le Cameleon Boutique Hotel

Puerto Viejo

Fabulous jungle setting, restaurant and beach across the road but very easy access.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Easy to get access to Cahuita and Manzanillo parks. Try Nenas restaurant close by for rice and beans!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tortuga Lodge & Gardens

Tortuguero

Superb room overlooking the river, excellent food and great guides (Manuel and Bernardo). Fantastic boat trips getting close to wildlife.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hampton by Hilton San José Airport

Alajuela

Close to airport and welcoming, frequent shuttle. Special Valentine's breakfast!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Birding at Rancho Naturalista

Turrialba

Thoroughly enjoyed the bird watching- from the early morning feeding of the birds in the garden to the walk around the estate.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Fabian was an excellent guide - spotted lots of birds we would have missed.

Transport

Archaeological Tour of Guayabo National Monument

Turrialba

Interesting - you do need a guide to understand the history and what remains of the structures.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide Roseta was especially enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the archaeology and birds. Sergio was a great and safe driver and took us to an authentic Soda cafe for lunch.

Transport

Private Hike Turrialba Volcano

Costa Rica

Once the cloud cleared (luckily) great views and an interesting hike around the side of the volcano seeing the dead forest and new agriculture.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Cahuita National Park Excursion + Group Snorkeling

Puerto Viejo de Talamanca

The Park was good and the guide excellent - saw 10 sloths and 2 snakes but relatively few birds, great path by the sea. Part of the track was closed due to wet weather. Our snorkeling was cancelled due to poor visibility following turbulent sea.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Boat Excursion Through the Tortuguero Canals

Tortuguero

Boat trips allowed you to get close to wildlife and great opportunities for photography

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This is our third experience with KimKim planning an adventure for us. It was just spectacular. Our original concept was seeing the Olympics, which was an adventure unto itself.

Planning began months ago. But it’s hard to understand everything in advance. Our contacts in Italy, Sonia and Lucrezia, worked around the events we had purchased tickets for perfectly. They were also very patient with our silly questions.

It always starts for us with hotel selection, and once again they were stellar. The location of our Milan hotel was perfect, a very short walk to the Duomo and Central hub for transportation. They introduced us to Larissa our private guide for visiting the last supper and other amazing sites around Milan. We are amazed at our local advisors ability to again identify private guides that speak excellent English and are able to give us the special flavor of the city where they live. The guides themselves become an additional set of advisors for us during our stays.

In Verona, the hotel was not only perfect, but it had a history. Our guide in that city was CECILIA. Amazing, lovely, information packed, and personal. We totally see the value of private guides and all recommendations from Kim Kim have been perfect perfect.

Off to Lake Como and another amazing location with a room facing the lake. We enjoyed our calm time there and our boat guide taking us around the lake, pointing out villas and their histories, and a lovely walk around Bellagio. We also met Max for a bike tour that took us up into the mountains around Lake Como. We were on E bikes, while our guide was on a regular road bike. Pretty impressive thing. He also gave us restaurant recommendations locally of his favorite places, and they were delicious.

Cannot forget the car rental. Seems like a simple effort. We like driving in a nice car when we are in another country. Kim Kim saw to it that our selected vehicle perfectly met our standard again and also met the anecdotal requirement of not being too large. If you’ve ever gone to an Italian parking lot, you will know what I am talking about!

Finally, our local concierge Roberta picked us up at the airport and was available to us all throughout our stay. She checked in regularly and in advance for pre-scheduled activities. Always providing Detail on pick up or meet up location, the name of our guide and the expectation. It was in retrospect, very comforting.

I know that in 2026 people fancy using social media to identify ways to visit foreign cities and find unique experiences. From our perspective, Kim Kim is a very unique one stop shop. They anticipate the details and make our experiences into adventures. We are not the type of people who want to travel on a bus or with a group. We are looking to plan our next adventure to bring our children and their mates so they can experience what we have.

Thank you, Kim Kim, again!

—
Paul and Lynn Essner

Our trip to Morocco was fantastic thanks to Kim Kim! We had 3 kids ages 3-11 and were nervous about traveling with them but the whole experience was smooth, comfortable, exciting and fun! We loved Fez, Marrakesh and especially Essouria. Our driver Mustafa was so skilled, gracious and thoughtful. He did things like making sure that all of our rest stops during long drives playgrounds! The fantastic local guides were knowledgeable, flexible and made sure we spent our money in places that would be high quality and truly support the local people - for example we visited worker cooperatives to learn about everything from ceramics to aragan oil. They are so kind to children generally as a society in Morocco. It was beautiful to experience and made the trip that much easier and more welcoming. Kim Kim and the guides were also good about making some adjustments to the trip as we went along and adjusted to the reality of travel. For example we had over planned and not factored in a day of two for kids to just hang out and play at the pool!

Hotel Reviews

Riad Atrium & Spa

Marrakesh

Authenticity & Character

Charming road. Staff was so nice! The breakfast every morning was a highlight of the trip!

Location

Great location in the median in a quieter area. Away from the major hustle and bustle. Was a bit of a walk from where drivers could pick us up but we quickly got used to it.

Staff

The manager was so sweet as were the chef and the main server/bellman. The manager gave our kids little gifts at the end!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Mimouna

Essaouira

Location and views could not be beat! Lovely staff. Clean historic hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Right in the middle of the medina. Historic building. Very Moroccan decor and style.

Location

Right on the ocean. Fantastic dramatic views

Staff

They answered lots of questions and helped us with what we needed

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Family Cooking Class at Amal Non-Profit Center: Cooking with Purpose in Marrakech

Marrakesh

This was such a unique experience and great for the whole family. We learned how to make traditional Moroccan dishes like chicken and lamb tagine, as well as things like how to prepare a proper Moroccan mint tea, which is way more intricate than I had ever thought. It was wonderful to do this with a local non-profit supporting local young women.

Quality of Experience

Food

I think this might have been the best, or one of the best meals we had in Morocco!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Marrakech Family Food Tour

Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Family pottery and mosaic workshop

Morocco

This was a fun way to learn about ceramics. I thought there was going to be more pottery making by us/kids based on the description but it was really more of a quick fun few minutes for each of the kids. We loved it though. Great unique opportunity to see experienced artisans and work and understand how it all comes together.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A Family's Guided tour of Fez

Fes

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport