Kimkim Trip Reviews

Our trip from start to finish was immaculately planned by Doris. She was receptive of our feedback and made sure to implement our changes where necessary. There were 5 adults planning this trip, all with different needs and requests and she fielded all of them with patience and grace. We were able to meet up with Doris in Hanoi and her sweet personality was memorable. She was able to pack a few highlights of Vietnam in only 10 days travel time - visiting Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Ha Long Bay and Phou Quoc. We had reliable drivers and tour guides in both the North and South and it eliminated a ton of stress from the family dynamic. Luggage, domestic travel, private transfers, tour guides, visa help, itinerary changes - you name it, she helped us with it. I would 10/10 recommend this service for anyone wanting to plan a seamless, enjoyable travel experience abroad, especially to a far and exhilarating country like Vietnam.

This trip has been my dream.
Sangita from Himalayan Namobuddha travel agency made it come true!
Organisation was perfect: accommodations, cultural trips, logistics, no matter if bus, 4x4 or plane.
Mitra was the perfect guide, calm, funny, knowledgeable, UNO player 🤣
Not to mention Pravat, porter, always had a smile on his face, waiting patiently for 2 hours until we finally arrived

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Parkside

Chitwan , Narayani

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Aabas Pokhara

Pokhara

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Beautiful Kathmandu Hotel

Kathmandu

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Trek from Chame to Pisang (3190 m/ about 4-5 hrs)

Pisang

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Drive from Besisahar to Chame(2670 m / 5-6 hrs)

Chame

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Drive from Kathmandu to Besisahar (about 6 hrs )

Besisahar

Not the most comfortable, but that's what I wanted to experience!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trek Briefing

Kathmandu

Quality of Experience

Sangita is a very experienced travel manager, highlighting also the potential difficulties.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Mitra (guide) and Pravat (porter) were never impatient, always smiling and helpful, as well as knowledgeable also in cultural things.

Transport

Perfect mix of public bus, 4x4 and flights!

Very well organized trip, great communication and planning.

Abdellah and his on-the-ground team, Said and Abbesamad were outstanding. They took great care of us and we couldn't have had a better trip.

We had a wonderful journey through central Portugal. Our guide, Joao was helpful and personable. He managed to massage our available days into an interesting and active, yet relaxing itinerary. His hotel choices and transportation facilitation really made the trip easy. He is a font of local knowledge, and his command of Portuguese history, geography and culture made our trip even more rewarding. He was always ready to help with suggestions on WhatsApp when not available in person. We will surely reconnect with him on our next visit to Portugal.

Hotel Reviews

Eurostars Áurea Museum

Lisbon

This hotel was very comfortable and quiet. We had an interior room looking out on a plain courtyard. We were only there for a night because it was our last night and we had to transfer to the airport early so we missed breakfast, but the staff provided a nice breakfast in a bag to go. I loved this neighborhood, and would definitely stay here again.

Hotel República

Tomar

Great location, we did not have a view but it didn't matter, we spent the whole time exploring the lovely town. The breakfast was super.

Hotel Albergaria do Calvário

Évora

Stay here if you can, it's excellent. Staff were very helpful, room was cleand and cozy and the location was perfect for exploring the old town.

Hotel Baia

Cascais

The location of this hotel is outstanding. There were two issues, one was a noise problem due to the city's scheduling of the holiday festivities around the hotel, I talked to the owner about it and he was very apologetic but there was nothing he could have done to fix it. The other issue was the construction going on in the lobby but it did not really inconvenience us. The breakfast buffet was fine, the room was well appointed and had nice views.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Winery Visit with Wine Tasting

Portugal

Fascinating property. We enjoyed the tour and it was a good introduction to Portugal's Antejo wine region.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our travel advisor Joao selected, scheduled and provided transportation to the winery.

An amazing, enjoyable, exciting, and fun-filled trip to Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand all arranged by our spectacular agent Vicky Steinhardt. She did an amazing job of setting an itinerary to meet all our requests. The pre-arranged tours were all first class and hit the major highlights of the places we visited. In addition, Vicky's suggestions of things to do and see in our free time, and restaurant recommendations, were spot on - plenty of variety. We were especially appreciative when she quickly and seamlessly made new flight arrangements due to a late cancellation by one airline, without interrupting our itinerary. If you want the best experience of Australia and New Zealand, all 4 of us highly recommend kimkim, and Vicky in particular.

Enjoyed the overall experience working with kimkim and Krista. There was one hiccup with transportation at one location but everything else went perfectly. Really enjoyed the snowshoeing hike with Tromsø outdoor - our guide was great.

Activity Reviews

Luggage Transfer Service

Norway

Very easy to do and definitely worth it. We did the Norway in a nutshell and was so so much better to not have our large bags or packs with us. The bags even beat us to our next location.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mostraumen Fjord Cruise

Bergen

The staff was great, scenery was amazing and really enjoyed the anecdotes and music played during the cruise.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Snowshoe Hill Hike - Kvaløya

Tromsø

This was my favorite experience during the trip. We had a small group and the guide was personable and made the day enjoyable. We also lucked out with the weather so it was quite picturesque.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My partner and I took a 12-day trip to Thailand. Even before we left, we had a lot of questions and made a number of changes to the itinerary to suit what we were looking for during our luxury trip. Elizabeth was receptive, positive and happy to accommodate until we had it just right. The planning was excellent overall.

During the trip, it was clear that Elizabeth had planned everything exceptionally well. From drivers to tour guides to hotels, everyone was on time, had our requests and treated us well.

In terms of the excursions and activities, they were generally of high quality. When a concern did arise, the communication from Elizabeth was excellent - very attentive, clear and reliable. She also jumped in immediately and resolved the situation and then went the extra step to ensure future tours went smoothly.

KimKim organized a seamless trip for us! Our 2 tour guides (Jaime on Tenerife and Paolo on el Hierro) were fantastic. They were both knowledgeable, passionate about their island, and very flexible with their itinerary to meet our needs.
All transfers were well communicated, on time, and stress-free.
Thank you KimKim!

Hotel Reviews

La Laguna Gran Hotel

San Cristóbal de La Laguna

We were there only 10 hours but it was a memorable stay! Gorgeous!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Rayuela Suites

Frontera

Katherina was a wonderful host. Beautiful home, excellent breakfasts, and gorgeous views.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Parador del Hierro

El Hierro

The most beautiful spot for a hotel! Gorgeous views from every window. Would go again in a heartbeat!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Casona del Patio

Santiago de Teide

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Reconnect with Nature: Mindful Walk in Laurisilva Forest

El Hierro

Paola was an incredible guide. He tailored the experience to our needs which was greatly appreciated. His knowledge and passion about this island was awesome. We'd love to travel with him in the future!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

An Excursion toTeide, Garachico, & Icod de los Vinos

Tenerife

Jaime made this trip memorable. He was knowledgeable and passionate about his job and his island. We learned a lot and would love to take excursions with him in the future!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We absolutely loved everything about Morocco and about Original Travel who planned out whole trip. We are family of 5 with 3 small children, I have never used KimKIm before so I was little bit nervous. But everything went exactly how we planned and went beyond my expectations.
First and foremost our wonderful driver Farid. Btw if you are reading this Farid, kids are still asking about you. He was so patient with us, and so helpful in many situations and kids absolutely love him! He got us safely everywhere from Casablanca to Fez, Merzouga to Dedes and Marrakesh. He never complained about the long hours on the road.
As for the trip, we had only 8 days. but I feel we did a lot. We visited Casablanca, walked in medinas of Fez and Marrakesh; camped in the desert and visited many cabas that were on the way to Marrakesh. All guides that were provided were very knowledgeable with special shout out to Randy who was out guide in Marrakesh. He delivered phenomenal tour full of historical and cultural facts. We truly enjoyed it. Our favorite part was definitely in the desert. Over there we visited a nomad Berber family. The experience was really one of a kind and it put a lot of things in the perspective.
If you are having doubts about signing up to get to see this beautiful country, don't. They are very hospitable and I felt completely safe. Hotels and riads we stayed at were amazing and 5/5.
Thank you to Original travel and KimKim for making this family vacation unforgettable one!

Hotel Reviews

Riad Le Pèlerin

Marrakech

This was the best place we stayed period. Rooms- very clean and very comfortable. The best bed sheets by far! Breakfast- fantastic! Fresh and delicious. Staff- THE BEST! First night we came super late and the kids were hungry. He used his app to order pizza for us and then waited with me for the delivery to come even though his shift was over. That's going extra mile for a customer.

Authenticity & Character

Location

You are literally inside of Medina. The cars won't go in so prepare to walk from a drop off point to the riad with your luggage.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dar Rihana Dades

Douar Aït Ouffi

It is a bit remote hotel but it is absolutely beautiful. Beds weren't that comfortable though. The hotel has restaurant off site so you have to walk to the building next door to go to breakfast/ dinner. and actually, the best part of it is food. It is very fine dining and delicious. I didn't expect that. Even simple breakfast was elevated.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It is a bit far away from the action.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tiziri Luxury Camp

Merzouga

This was truly one of a kind experience. The camp was equiped with everything! They even have wifi! Heaters were running too at night so we didn't feel cold a bit. Each camp has it's own bathroom with sink, shower and toilet. They just ask you conserve the water. Which given the circumstance is VERY reasonable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

You are in the middle of Sahara desert!

Staff

They went above and beyond to make our stay comfortable. Food was also great in their restaurant. Probably the best beef tagine I ate.

Cleanliness & Comfort

This felt like a spa more than a camp which I wanted.

Riad Layalina Fes

Fes

Riad was beautiful and people there were absolutely amazing. However room that was given to us had a bathroom outside the room and across the hall. It wouldn't be a problem but hallways were really cold so taking a shower was uncomfortable. Also we couldn't get heater to work inside of the room . Kids room was much bigger, and their heater worked.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It is very close to medina.

Staff

Probably the best part of this riad. Very, very welcoming. We even met the owner.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Quick Tour of Casablanca with your Driver-Guide

Morocco

This would've been better if our flight wasn't delayed for 4 hours. So we were late to go inside of the mosque. But we went all around and took few pictures. Took us half an hour. The rest was driving through the traitorous traffic of Casablanca.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Overall the Kimkim team performed exceptionally well both in the planning stages as well as communication and support during our trip.
Our hotels were overall excellent. Due to the lateness of the season, some services at hotels were not available. However overall, the hotels met our expectations.
Air reservations were well-arranged and everything went smoothly thought the half-hour time from "wheels down" in Athens connecting with our flight to Zakynthos was a little stressful. In fact, we and our luggage made the flight and we understand that, unless we wanted to lay over a day in Athens, this was our only flight.
One comment, our last night in Athens, we arrived in Athens from Zakynthos in the early evening and had to depart from Athens from our hotel at 4:30 AM. Our hotel was 30-40 minutes from the airport. I would suggest a hotel nearer the airport with this tight layover. The hotel was nice.
We appreciated the pacing of the trip without continuous activities. We were in Europe a month total and it was good to have some down time or simply some time to explore the destinations we stayed on our own. We are experienced travelers.
We loved the activities/tours planned for us. Cape Sounion; Archological Museum, Food tour of Athens; Peloponnese tour, Acropolis, Santorini Village and Wine tours. All our guides were fun and very knowledgeable.
All our transportation connections made it easy to keep our connections stress-free. The ability to Whats App our drivers was especially helpful when connections were late or other complications.
Finally, your Kimkim app worked beautifully and was easy to navigate. The only comment I would add is that, while the app has a link to log in, you cannot actually login. The only way to activate the trip is following the link given us by our arranger. Just a bit confusing. Either let us log in or remove the link.

Vicky was able to accommodate our ever changing schedule. We were so grateful.

Our guide in Jaipur was our favorite and our driver for Agra and kochi were our favorites by far they went above and beyond

Hotel Review

Houseboat

Looks nothing like the photos looks like they took a ferry and put a bed on it

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Bathe, Paint and Feed- A life-time experience with elephants at Elefantastic

Jaipur

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our family of four (kids, ages 10, 12) had a wonderful time in Rome and Florence. Melanie planned a trip that was well suited for our children--they were not bored once and thoroughly enjoyed the cooking class, tours and day tours. We could not have asked for a better trip. Melanie and her team were available every day and updated us of any changes to our plans.

Hotel Reviews

U-Visionary Roma Hotel

Rome

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Calimala Florence

Florence

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Otivm Hotel

Rome

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Pisa and Lucca with private driver

Florence

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vatican & Sistine Chapel Tour

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Accademia Gallery tour - skip the line

Florence

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

COOKING CLASS TO MAKE REAL ITALIAN PIZZA AND GELATO

Rome

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Family Experiences: Colosseum Tour for Kids

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Great job arranging the trips to see Ecuador’s amazing natural beauty. The guides were all very knowledgeable, patient and enthusiastic about the wildlife and landscape. Special shoutout to my coordinator Valentina who was in touch with me everyday to make sure everything was going well.

Planning our trip was easy and seamless. Mathilde was very helpful and responsive. She was especially helpful when there an issue with the Italian railway system, and was able to change our tickets to a different time and route in order to get us to our next destination with time to spare.

Love the trip planned all the right activities. Wish she was a bit more communicative about her travels when she wasn’t going to respond and make sure we had someone to communicate with but she planned a great trip with great activities

When we arrived to Seoul, we were supposed to have a 4 hour tour coming straight from the airport. However, it was 6.5 hours and we only did 2 of the 5 things listed on the itinerary before forcing to call it quits due to the young children in our group. This day was very poorly planned. We got to the lunch spot, bought a few different items, and were ready to go, but we were told we needed to stay put and wait for 30 minutes until our guide and driver had time to enjoy their lunch. This was a waste of our time. The guide also told us she’d reach out to her manager to see about a refund for the spots we were unable to hit and I have yet to hear back. If the cable car is known to have lines and you chose to not purchase tickets in advance, why would that not be the first stop?

The second day at the DMZ was amazing. Vincent was great.

I cannot express how amazing this trip was! Olivia planned such an amazing itinerary based off of the things we were interested in. Her expertise made our trip so easy and fun. Our guide Yoshiko was the absolute best! She went above and beyond and made our days so fun. I hope KimKim gives her a raise because she is one of the best tour guides I’ve ever met. Sonny was also awesome!

Our hotel Sakura Terrace was a lovely stay. They have an amazing ceramic plate sauna, and massage chairs in the lounge.

I don’t think our trip could’ve gone better and I will definitely be using this company again.

With many thanks and appreciation to Ada for planning an itinerary that included most everything that we requested. Ada was there with support from start to finish. Hotels were booked within walking distance to the rail stations, and our rail tickets were sent to our first hotel location. Drivers and guides were prompt, professional, and kind. Ada's attention to detail was amazing. She even helped us to contact and visit with relatives that we initially had no information of their whereabouts. That was the highlight of our trip. Thank you, Amazing Ada!

Hotel Reviews

Daiwa Roynet Hotel KANAZAWAEKI-NISHIGUCHI

Kanazawa

Very conveniently located. Clean, comfortable room. Wonderful breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Authenticity & Character

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Location

Staff

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cleanliness & Comfort

THE BLOSSOM KUMAMOTO

Hotel was convenient. Many shops nearby for shopping. Clean, comfortable room. Breakfast was wonderful. Very friendly staff member offered to take photos of us in the indoor garden.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Around Takayama, Ascend Hotel Collection

Takayama

Convenient for our walking tour of the city. Comfortable, clean room. Wonderful breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Chisun Grand Nagano

Very, very convenient to public transportation. Clean, comfortable room. Delicious breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Taoya Kisoji

Tsumago

Lovely setting. Clean, comfortable room. Wonderful breakfast!

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Park Hotel Kyoto

Kyoto

Room was clean, comfortable, located conveniently for our activity. Delicious breakfast!

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Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

高野山 真田坊 蓮華定院 -Koyasan Sanadabo Rengejoin-

Kota

Luxurious lodging! Wonderful opportunity to attend evening meditation and morning service. Breakfast and dinner were incredible, very interesting, very delicious.

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Forza Osaka Kitahama

Osaka

Very friendly staff. Great location. Amazing breadkfasts.

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Takayama Full-Day Walking Tour

Takayama

This was an enjoyable walking tour of the marketplace and walks along the river. Tomoko san comes from that area, so our tour was more personal because she gave us information as a native of the city. She stopped often and offered to take photos of us at scenic places. She took us to a family operated noodle shop, which was a real treat. We enjoyed Takayama very much.

Full Day Shirakawa-go Tour From Kanazawa to Takayama

Kanazawa

We really enjoyed Shirakawago. The history of the village and the tour of the Temple and the museum were fascinating. I took many photos with hopes that some research now will give me a better understanding about the silkworm business. Naoko san was an excellent guide, speaking English and educating us about the history of the World Heritage Village and offering to take many photos of us. This was high on our list of places we visited. Our driver was prompt and very patient.

1 Day Historic Obuse and Hokusai Mad Man of Art Tour in Nagano

Nagano

We learned quite a lot about Hokusai and were able to see some of Hokusai's work and learn about his history. Our guide was very knowledgeable. We enjoyed our time with him.

Full Day Snow Monkey Park Tour (Join-in) & Sake Tasting

Nagano

Sake is not my drink of choice, but I did settle on a sake that I liked. We were given many choices. Staff at the sake brewery were pleasant and helpful. The Monkey Park was a nice hike up the mountain trail, and we were grateful that one monkey was there to entertain us.

Hike from Magome to Tsumago

Magome

This was the initial reason for going to Japan, but it left me the most disappointed. Tour guide was not astute enough to realize that I was recovering from bilateral Quadriceps strain from climbing the 5 tier pagode in Osaka a few days earlier. I am 84 years old and was carrying a backpack with overnight necessities. She walked rapidly, leaving me about 25 yards behind and then having to rush to "catch up." At one point, I asked her "May I ask a favor of you? Can you walk slower?" As a result of not walking a steady, slower pace, I was unable to physically complete the last bit of the trail to Tsumago. It required a taxi to get to our hotel. Although she stayed with us to register at the hotel, we did not require that help. That added time made her late for her train connection and she had to stay in a hotel that night. We offered to pay for her overtime, but she declined. I am disappointed that I couldn't complete the final part of the Nakasendo Trail.

Enjoy Temples & Bamboo Grove in Kyoto

Kyoto

Hector was a wonderful tour guide who taught us so much about the history of the area as well as of Japan. We will remember him warmly.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Learn the Secrets Behind Ramen in a Cooking Class

Osaka

This was a fun class. Certainly will attempt to put to use what we learned about ramen and gyoza.

Osaka Day Trip: Shitenno-ji Temple, Hozenji Yokocho, Kuromon Ichiba Market

Osaka