Kimkim Trip Reviews

We had the trip of a lifetime to Norway and Finland…Thanks to Moonika! She was absolutely amazing! She kept us well informed on any updates to our activities and helped plan alternative options! We loved all the accommodations that were selected for our group! We loved the location of our hotel in Tromso! It was centrally located and we could walk pretty much anywhere in town! We also loved the hotel in Senja! Loved the cottages right on the water and we enjoyed the hot tub in the snow! That was an awesome experience! The owner of Norwegian Wilde was such a lovely person! We loved talking to her every morning at breakfast!
The Northern Lights Ranch was awesome! Loved lying in bed and watching the snow fall and the stars above! The food there was delicious and the staff was amazing! We loved Kristina in the restaurant! She was so sweet and looked out for us!
Our snowshoeing experience was so much fun! We had such an awesome guide! We loved Andres! He made my first experience snowshoeing so much fun!
We were so happy that we got to see the Northern Lights several times on our trip! The best was our last night at the Ice Hotel & Glass Igloos! Loved that they had an aurora warning alarm in our room! We knew when to look out for them!
This was such an amazing experience and loved the trip! Thank you Moonika again for taking such good care of us! Can’t wait to return and explore more!

It was a wonderful trip a couple hiccups, but they’re bound to happen on a long trip like mine was. One thing I could mention is that flying from Quito to Baltra Island. I was not told there was a stop in between. I was very tired and I was dead asleep and didn’t really hear or understand the announcement and consequently when we landed I thought we were there and I got off had to book another flight myself and a hotel and get on the flight the next morning to go to Baltra while at the airport, I talked to a girl the same thing happened to her. She was not told there was a stop over and she had gone to sleep as well so.
But for the most part, the trip was wonderful. I was always picked up on time brought back the guides and the drivers were wonderful. The hotels were excellent except in QUITO I had to have cold showers. Other than that my showers were all hot, but that hotel was very nice even with the cold showers. The quality of the tours were terrific. I enjoyed every one of them one person who is very instrumental in helping me was Leo QUITO who came to the hotel and explained several things to me that I didn’t understand and that made a world of difference. I have told many many people how my tour was organized because as travelling alone, I spoke to everybody and they all wanted to know about my tour for one person for such a long period of time so I told them Kim Kim was an excellent company and I had used it a couple times before and would definitely be using it again. Weather was excellent so that was a good time to go. Things weren’t as expensive as I thought they would be food was excellent all in all. It was a trip of a lifetime thank you Dorothy McConville Vancouver Canada.

Seven of us (college class mates) did a Patagonia trip using KimKim. Erin as well as Jessica (Dittmar Adventures ) worked with us to customize our plan the way we liked it under her expertise. They helped us all the way through the trip. We did three beautiful hikes including Mirador base Torres, Laguna de Los Tres and Laguna Torre. We are all over sixty years old and different in fitness. Some did not compete all three hikes but we all completed one hike (Laguna de Los Tres) because of Fran, our guide from Walk Patagonia. She taught us the techniques to hike in this terrain when and how long to stop for water and snacks.

Moonika did an amazing job of booking everything and going with the flow to rearrange things upon some cancellations or additional requests!

Hotel Reviews

Arctic SnowHotel & Glass Igloos

Rovaniemi

Just to see all the ice hotel rooms and ice sculptures was amazing! Sadly the warm weather had caused some melting

Authenticity & Character

Very unique! You could tell all the hard work that was put into creating such a place!

Location

Staff

Shayne was an amazing host, safety guide and was helpful to answer all our questions!!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Northern Lights Ranch

Köngäs

What a cute and unique property!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very remote , but great place to enjoy nature and see the northern lights

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cahkal Hotel

Kilpisjärvi

Nice hotel, the clothes dryers were a nice touch! The sauna was nice. The 3 course dinner menu was really tasty. Christina was an awesome dinner host we enjoyed chatting with her!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Not too much around the area, but good place to enjoy nature

Staff

Christina and Lena both were awesome and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Norwegian Wild

Vangsvik

Absolutely beautiful cabins and location!!

Authenticity & Character

The cabins were so unique and allowed beautiful views of the water and the northern lights

Authenticity & Character

The cabins were so unique and allowed beautiful views of the water and the northern lights

Location

Such natural beauty everywhere

Location

Such natural beauty everywhere

Staff

It was nice to meet the owner and hear about the history of this facility. She definitely has passion for her vision of creating a serene place to enjoy nature!!

Staff

It was nice to meet the owner and hear about the history of this facility. She definitely has passion for her vision of creating a serene place to enjoy nature!!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cleanliness & Comfort

Enter St Elisabeth Suites & Spa

Tromso

Very nice rooms and the spa was amazing!!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Up a steep hill from the main shopping street

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Scandic Ishavshotel

Tromsø

Clean , quiet and comfortable , rooms a bit small and the lighting switches were a little tricky to figure out.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right on the water

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Arctic Fjord Cruise

Tromsø

The weather really put a damper on some views and we weren’t able to go to the fishing village , but the crew made the most of it by providing more informational content and samples of the fish for us.

Quality of Experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transport

Omar, our driver, was incredible. He was warm, kind, and professional -- he kept us safe, fed, and laughing the entire time! He was knowledgeable about every place we went to, and so kindly shared his culture with us. We couldn't imagine being there without him. Will 100% recommend him and Original Travels to all of our friends in the states!

The activities were incredible, without exception.
The local guides were fantastic, all spoke very good English.

We encountered a few issues on the ground:
- we were not on the list of passengers in our first boat activity and tried unsuccessfully to reach out to the Kimkim team. We managed to resolve the issue ourselves, but it wasn't a good experience.
- our contact info was not shared beforehand with one of the tour operators (kayaks) which created coordination problems.
- we were not explained beforehand if we needed to purchase entry passes to the TDP park. Our first guide asked us to buy them and we did. The guide the next day said that those were purchased on our behalf by her. To date, I don't know whether we bought them twice or not.
- Our itinerary had the wrong start time for one of the activities, consequently we waited a long time to begin the activity (no fault of the guide on the ground).

Activity Reviews

Day Trip to a Patagonian Estancia

Chile

Quality of Experience

Food

Best meal of the trip

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hiking in Torres del Paine, Aionikenk and Laguna Azul

Chile

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Torres del Paine Full Day Private Tour

Chile

Carla was an amazing guide

Quality of Experience

Food

Mediocre lunch box

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kayak Lago & Rio Grey

Chile

The best overall experience we had in TDP

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boat Tour to Bernardo O Higgins National Park, Serrano & Balmaceda Glaciers

Puerto Natales

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This was our first time in Morocco and we loved it! The tour agency did an excellent job picking out the itinerary and Riad hotels. Our favorite Riads were in Chefchauen, Fes, and Marrakech. They really stood out in quality and service! We had a great driver Ilyace who spoke perfect English and was so helpful! Besides driving us, he did little extras, like finding us the safest ATM bank machines and even found a local laundry service. He always kept in touch with us as to when and where he would drop us off and pick us up. It was a very relaxing trip and the we saw the highlights of Morocco in 14 days. All of the optional tours were also wonderful! We loved the Hammans and the cooking class in Marrakesh. Maison D'Arabe did a great job!! Hiking to the Falls in Imlil and Ourika Falls was also fun! Morocco is a beautiful country with such a diverse landscape. The people are so friendly and we felt very welcomed.

Everything worked out well. We had no hitches, delays, obstacles during our entire 9 days. We went primarily to see the Northern Lights which we did see really well the second night on a guided trip. Made it well worth it. But I think for both my brother and me the highlight of the week might have been learning how to mush huskies. We thought we would get a nice tour of the husky farm and a demonstration but we actually got trained in how to drive a sled and manage the dogs and then we drove the sled for 6 miles! Great experience through "Visit Inari." we also went net fishing/ ice fishing with a biologist on a nearby lake. This was also a great experience learning how to net fish and having the opportunity the ice fish. We caught a trout in the nets and grilled it right on the lake. Our biologist was a great resource about all things nature related. We also visited a reindeer farm which was nice. We got to feed the reindeer and then went to their house and cooked reindeer steaks. Nice experience.
The hotel Inari was fine but the hotel Fabian in Helsinki was excellent. The staff went out of their way to give us directions and help. And a fabulous breakfast! Our tour guide in Helsinki was also excellent.
I would say it's very important to make sure visitors know about renting cold weather gear in Inari. The "Visiting Inari' office was great about it and very flexible and they provided insulated overalls, socks, boots and gloves. These were essential for the dog sledding and the ice fishing and should be clearly spelled out not to go out without them.
I did not go to the Sami museum in Inari but my brother did and he thought that should definitely be an emphasized part of the Inari experience.
And lastly I would like to highlight Moonika who was radically available anytime I reached out to her. months before our visit and during the entire time we were in Finland. I think she answered all my questions within 10 or 15 minutes after I emailed her. And everything worked out perfectly -- all of our drivers were great and friendly and competent.
And let me say the Finnish people were wonderful. Everyone we met was helpful and friendly and eager to answer our questions. I was not prepared that everyone spoke fluent English! Puts the U.S. to shame :)
I would highly recommend this tour to anyone. I have a good friend who is a travel agent in the U.S. and I have given her Moonika's contact info.
Thank you!

I would highly recommend this tour to anyone

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Inari

Inari

a good experience. clean hotel and staff was friendly. great location. I believe there is no room service / clean towels, etc unless you pay extra Breakfast is excellent. Dinner is excellent but a bit expensive

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Fabian

Helsinki

Great hotel. great location. staff was super friendly and helpful. the breakfast was fabulous

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Home Visit and Local Food Experience

Inari

great to visit the farm and learn all about reindeers and especially reindeers in Finland

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arrive in Helsinki in Winter, Explore

Helsinki

Quality of Experience

Private Glass-Roof Sleigh Ride and Traditional Winter Net Fishing

Inari

Our guide was great. very knowledgeable about all things fishing and nature. spent a lot of time with us --- highly recommend this experience

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Husky Experience

Inari

The highlight of our trip ! the tour and staff were excellent and it's not just a demonstration. you actually learn the drive the sled and manage the dogs and then go out for 10 kms!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Northern Lights Tour with Professional Photos

Finland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Helsinki City Walking Tour (2h)

Helsinki

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had an amazing time on our Thailand adventure! Pom was our guide in Bangkok and was fun and knowledeable. Mona was our guide in Chiang Mai and was kind and knowledgable. We had an amazing time in Phuket and highly recommend the sea canoe tour. Our guides were fun and engaging and the views were gorgeous. Hoa was exceptional and did a great job coordinating to make this vacation incredible!

Iceland in the winter can be a challenge but a wonderful challenge if your guide prepares you!. Gummi was a great guide through KimKim! In a short but action packed week we were able to see the Snaefellsnes peninsula, reykjavik, the golden circle, a lava cave, a glacier, ice caves, northern lights, number of waterfalls, Vik, and a whale watching tour. Make sure your rental has studded tires and use the weather and safe roads apps to check on things everyday. I really can't say enough about our service. We had to make many adaptations but missed on nothing. We got some great personal recommendations and also hit the big attractions. Iceland is a wonderful gem. Next time we will see it in summer!

Due to the unusually warm weather we had numerous cancellations, but thanks to Monika’s quick thinking and rescheduling we had a fantastic time anyway! Monika was great to work with. She kept up with the evolving weather and various cancellations and schedule changes our group had. All her hard work and planning made sure we enjoyed ourselves. Our dream Northern Lights trip was well worth the cost.

BEST VACATION OF MY LIFE.

Traveling with KimKim is a dream. No stress about making big decisions, getting reservations or planning activities. In the past, I've hit a wall vacation planning - not knowing what hotels to stay out, what to do - I would just get overwelhmed and shut down. I plan to travel the world now with KimKim.

Our trip to La Fortuna, Monteverde and Tamarindo was beyond exquisite. I was travelled with my 15 year old daughter and we came home closer than ever before. Hiking, white water rafting, ziplining, sloths, hotsprings, anteaters, rare birds, climbing a volcano, surfing, watching baby turtles hatch, shopping, sun tanning, kayaking, eating, making friends, and most importantly memories that will last a lifetime.

Our local guide Elena was beyond extraordinary. She was available at the drop of the hat via Whats App. She provided fantastic recommendations and helped with last minute reservations.

For the hotels : The Arenal Springs Resort was fantastic. PERFECT for families and for couples. Rooms were the best on our trip. You get your own private condo like structure which provides a sense of privacy - with a view of the volcano. Breakfast was great. Hot springs were to die for. Location fantastic.

Sibu Hotel Lodge was boutique and had a gorgeous restaurant. All teak tables and interior that rivals an NYC hotspot. You get access to a nearby sister hotel with a pool, jacuzzi and spa. View was fine but very centrally location.

Diria Hotel in Tamarindo was great. Elena booked us a beachfront room with a view. I would've NEVER done that on my own and it made all the difference. We were right on the beach with astonishing sunsets. She connected us with a local surf instructor who took us sea kayaking and then taught us how to surf the next day. Nico was so awesome. We were both able to actually surf at the end of the lesson. Priceless. The turtle tour was fine. I gave Elena my feedback and she handled it immediately.

Elena also rented a car for us. I was hesitant to drive on roads, but she encouraged us to do it (plus its cheaper than a driver). BEST DECISION. We had freedom when traveling between cities and got to stop and take pictures of the breathtaking landscape. People do not drive fast so you can really control the car on the roads up and down the mountains. My only criticism is that I would've driven to the zipline park in Monteverde instead of getting picked up at the hotel by a shuttle bus. It would've given us more freedom to leave when we wanted to.

Activity Reviews

All Day Adventure at Selvatura, including Zipline, Hanging Bridges, and Fauna Exhibitions

Costa Rica

I would've driven to the location instead of taking the shuttle bus.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Whitewater Rafting Sarapiqui River (Class III-IV)

Costa Rica

We had our tour guide Bella again. He was so much fun and awesome. Challenging - but not too challenging. LOTS OF LAUGHS.

Quality of Experience

Bella

Food

SO GOOD. Real Costa Rican food.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledgable and kind.

Transport

Arenal Volcano Hike & La Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our tour guide Bella was outstanding. He was able to spot animals and birds that were SO FAR AWAY. The hike was fantastic. Very interactive and fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My family's trip to Costa Rica was exceptional. We used Kimkim to get it set up and found it was a very easy process. Bryan Leon, at Serendipity Adventures, helped to plan, organize, and manage our trip. Bryan, Nancy, and Adrian, among others, worked diligently to make sure everything ran smoothly.

Truthfully, I was very impressed. Our goal was to enjoy the vacation itself, not all of the minutiae normally required. We flew into Liberia, got picked up immediately and had a 3 hour drive (after a 5 and half hour flight) that felt like it was about 15 minutes long. The driver, Alex, was super friendly and was telling us stories all the way to our first resort. Every transport or activity was handled punctually and professionally. We stayed at 3 separate resorts over 8 days and each resort had it's own unique and interesting flavor. Every single guide was great and made the activities very engaging. Completely worth the cost, I've never had this much of a stress free vacation. The only thing I had to do was to show up and enjoy myself.

Serendipity Adventures set up an itinerary that was great. Transports were always 15-20 minutes early, and we had no issues the activities. Every guide was friendly, knowledgeable, and very engaging. I've never been on guided hikes with tour guides before and this trip spoiled me. It's so much more fun to go with someone who knows the area and can fill in so many details about the land and animals.

Shout out to all of the tours/guides:
Esteban at the North Fields Coffee tour (my wife now loves to mix light and dark roasted beans)
Bryan at the Arenal Volcano Park hike, thank you for being so engaging. The coconut drinks at the end of the hike were perfect.
Sergio at the Arenal Hanging Bridges walk, thanks for pointing out so many different animals and the history of the area.
Jorge at the Tapir Valley Nature Reserve Night walk. Such a beautiful area, seeing the Tapirs so close was great. Walking through the Tapir Valley at night is an incredible experience.
Manny at the Rio Celeste hike. Thank you for guiding my family on the hike and finding all of those small snakes and insects we never would have seen otherwise.
Kevin from the Patron fishing boat. I can still taste the tuna you and the crew prepared, one of the most delicious meals I've ever had.

Activity Reviews

Introduction to the Gulf of Papagayo

Gulf of Papagayo

Absolutely beautiful area.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Fishing Tour with Patron

Gulf of Papagayo

Great time, was my first time fishing in the ocean. Enjoyed it immensely. Caught a tuna and Kevin and his crew prepared the best meal from it I've ever had.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rio Celeste & Tenorio Volcano Private Hike

Bijagua / Rio Celeste

Beautiful area, great hike.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tapir Valley Nature Reserve Night Walk

Bijagua / Rio Celeste

Possibly the highlight of the entire trip. Walking through the forest at night was incredible. Starting the hike in the daylight and then watching the sun set before continuing was amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Jorge was an incredible guide. So very knowledgeable about the area and it's history.

Transport

Arenal Hanging Bridges Guided Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

Everything was great, walking over the hanging bridges was an incredible experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sergio, the guide was excellent and extremely knowledgeable.

Transport

Private Guided Hike in Arenal Volcano Park 1968

Arenal/La Fortuna

So much fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee, Chocolate and Sugar Cane Farm Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

So much fun, eating chocolate and drinking coffee in the morning, what more can one ask for?

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide, Esteban, definitely can talk coffee and the best way to prepare it. You're definitely in good hands if you want to learn how to brew a perfect cup of coffee.

Transport

We enjoyed everything in New Zealand and Monika did a great job tailoring the itinerary for what we wanted to do. The only thing we would change next time it to spend only one night and/or skip Christchurch. It was just another city with not much to offer us for what we liked to do. The beach was nice, a little far from the center city, but the area near the beach was basically closed down. The hotel we had was nice, but had homeless people right outside the door. Can't really help that, I understand. We loved all the other cities/towns we went too and had amazing sights! The Milford Sound boat was spectacular.

Spent a fantastic week in Paris planned by Audrey. She was so helpful in listening to what we wanted to explore and helping to make it a reality. Blue Fox Travel was a great company for our one day trip to Normandy with Antoine and our other to taste champagne with Matthew. Both tours were educational and fun with great hosts. Hotel Lorette’s rooms were well sized, comfortable, and it was a nice perk to be able to visit their other locations when needing a break while walking around the city. Would absolutely recommend the Seine River cruise, going atop the Arc de Triomphe, and taking a food tour around Paris.

Hotel Review

Hôtel Lorette - Astotel

Paris

Hotel Lorette’s rooms were well sized, comfortable, and it was a nice perk to be able to visit their other locations when needing a break while walking around the city. Nicely located nearby the metro, grocery store, pharmacy and many wonderful restaurants.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to metro, grocery, and pharmacy.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Super clean and comfortable

Activity Reviews

Gourmet food tour in Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Paris

We had the most delicious food on this tour! Was so interesting to learn about not only the food but also the skilled artisans. Felt personalized and not rushed. We were full after!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Full-day excursion from Paris of D-day beaches - U.S. sector

Paris

So happy we went in the off season to learn about D Day and visit the historic sites and museum. There was so much to learn and our guide Antoine was a wealth of knowledge. Absolutely worth it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Antoine (Anthony)

Transport

Small group was really nice

Unveiling Masterpieces at the Louvre Museum

Paris

You really could spend all day at the Louve. Iconic for a reason

Quality of Experience

Self-Guided Visit of Arc de Triomphe (Entrance Tickets)

Paris

Amazing views of the city. Very easy to do on your own. Look for the signs to go under the ground to the Arc as you cannot dodge traffic.

Quality of Experience

Reims Tour Champagne (small group tour)

Paris

Very interesting to learn about champagne, Dom P, and visit multiple champagne houses. Appreciated being able to see both large and small scale production. Nice there was no pressure to purchase, only enjoy the day. Lunch in Epernay was also nice. Our guide Matthieu was knowledgeable, easy to understand, and fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Matthieu

Transport

Seine River Cruise

Paris

Absolute must for anyone visiting the city for the first time. Easy way to see the big attraction sites. Bundle up as being on the water is always a bit chilly (have done this at night both in March and June).

Quality of Experience

Transport

From start to finish our Morocco experience was one to remember. Nihad was professional and prompt with any questions or actions required. The hotels and riads we stayed in were fascinating and well chosen, particularly for location. Our city guides were informative and knowledgeable and helped us understand the cities and sites we visited. We had two drivers, and the second one in particular, Abelhadi, made us feel welcome and our long journeys safe and enjoyable. Moroccan hospitality is warm and we would love to explore it more.

Monika and KIMKIM:
Thank you for helping to make our trip to Aotearoa an amazing experience. Your arrangements were flawless and made our busy schedule flow easily. I enjoyed the Great Barrier Island backpack trip, the Aotea Trek, arranged by Mike. The scenic drives around the country were a pleasure, especially Rotorua to New Plymouth and Oamaru to Queenstown. The Transalpine Rail trip and hike were a highlight. The backpack trip up the Caples and Greenstone Rivers was fantastic. And I really enjoyed the Doubtful Sound Cruise, kayaking and diving into the Doubtful Sound from our ship, the Navigator. I also enjoyed the time we spent on Kapiti Island, birdwatching, hiking and learning more about the Maori culture and New Zealand's conservation efforts. I would love to come back and slow the pace a bit.

Original Travels (Hamza and Said) made the booking of and in-country experience incredibly easy and enjoyable for our trip to Morocco. Everyone was so polite and cared for our comfort every step of the way. We had a few local guides throughout our 9 day trip that were very knowledgeable, polite, and showed us places we would not have found on our own. Our accomodations were excellent everywhere we went. But best of all was our driver Tayeb who immediately became part of our journey. He was certainly professional and made sure our transfers were comfortable and the experience we wanted, but he enriched the adventure with great conversations, sharing so much knowledge about Morocco both historical and present, and we left feeling like he was a close friend.we highly recommend asking for Tayeb if you travel to Morocco!!

From day one, Noga planned an incredible trip with all the sights and attractions we wanted for our first Iceland adventure. From how easy it was to get around Reykjavik to our Blue car rental for the driving part of the trip, everything went smoothly. You can't predict Iceland's unpredictable weather, and some outdoor activities were canceled due to a blizzard. Nick and Maria were quick to adjust our itinerary. Our car rental's AI system still had glitches even after being turned off. I contacted Nick, who immediately reached out to the car rental company, and within minutes, we knew it was safe to drive. Our safety was the top priority, and with our expert team of Noga, Maria, and Nick, every question and concern was answered instantly. We can't praise our dedicated team of Noga, Maria, and Nick enough! 🥰

Pom was our first guide in Bangkok. He was very knowledgeable and full of positive energy!