Kimkim Trip Reviews

Wonderful accommodations, great menu

Very relaxing, great menu and friendly service

Wow, most educational

Loved the set up and choices for stops

We missed it due to a late flight

This was the most special place we have ever stayed. Truthfully just breathtaking experience

Perfect location, fabulous room and outstanding staff, Loved this place and hated to leave

Hreat location, great room, even greater staff

Good location if you're needing a place in proximity of the Athens airport. It's a big place (compared with boutique hotels) and located on the waterfront at the Port of Rafina (with ferry boats). Nothing else was particularly noteworthy about the hotel or the room (very small, as usual in Europe). Front desk staff very business-like. Breakfast (included), quite ample. Hotel restaurant quite decent, with view over the port/harbor and optional outdoor seating.

Gorgeous newer hotel on a hill above the town of Apollonia. The rooms (with private balconies/patios) were spacious (by European standards), super clean and modern, tastefully decorated. Just a 10-minute walk (downhill) into town. Breakfast (included) was delicious. Hotel restaurant (open for lunch and dinner) was also delicious. Staff very, very helpful and friendly. Highly recommend this place.

Gorgeous, newer hotel. The proprietor, Alex, was exceedingly friendly and helpful. His dog, Arthur, was quite charming too! Alex will help with anything you need. The rooms were spectacular - top-notch beds, tasteful decor, and spacious by European standards! Lovely private outdoor patio. Even though no breakfast was included, we loved this hotel.

The location can't be beat. Backs up to the waterfront and entrance is on a pedestrian-only street in the heart of the Old City. We walked out the front door to into the center of action! You can walk to everything from this hotel - easy peasy. We had a harbor-view room - WOW! The sunrises and sunsets were gorgeous. The room itself - very small by US standards (but common for Europe) - was fine. Our only complaints were gigantic decorative pillows that took up WAY too much space in a small room, the steps up to the bathroom, and a loud, automatic bathroom fan that we could not control or turn off. Be aware that this hotel is part of a large group of boutique hotels all owned/managed by a larger company. As such, our breakfasts (very delicious and ample) were a block away in one of the other hotels. Also the staff in the "lobby" (tiny reception area) work at many different locations so they aren't always totally familiar with all the details of the Elia Zampeliou. Also, one staff person had a bit of an "attitude." She was at the front desk many times during our stay and was never friendly to us. She seemed quite bothered by anything we asked. We tried to avoid her when possible. Guess people like that are everywhere.

The location is superb, if you want to be in the thick of things (which we did!). We were just a few blocks from Monastiraki Square...one of "the" places to be in Athens. We walked everywhere from our hotel, including to the Acropolis. The staff at the hotel were very nice and helpful. The rooms were great (small by US standards, but par for the course in Europe) - modern and well equipped. The hotel's 2nd floor lobby and breakfast room was roomy and nice and the breakfasts (included) were DELICIOUS and ample. They have a lovely rooftop bar. The only complaint we had was that getting around the hotel is a bit of a maze. There are many different wings and half floors. Finding our rooms was a bit of a challenge (it took a few tries to finally get the hang of it!). Just be aware that if you're not completely sober you might "get lost" in the hotel!

Again, practically, we did not have enough time to utilize the many great suggested hikes for this day. We had to catch a late afternoon ferry to Athens. Also, it was raining quite hard until noon so our options were very limited. The day before, however, two of us ventured out to Faro Beach (by bus from Apollonia) and then hiked to Platis Gialos Beach - a lovely, scenic stretch of foot path on the island's southeast side.

Practically, we weren't able to see everything recommended for this, in actuality, half-day. So we had to be selective. We decided not to "beach it" and ended up hiking to Kastro. It was a lovely walk (maybe 2.5 miles?), largely downhill, often on old (VERY old) stone paths. We learned that the many, many ancient stone paths on the island are popular hiking routes for many visitors. They are supposedly well-marked, but many times we found ourselves very confused at road and path junctions. We later discovered that some of the trails are well marked (with red and white painted blazes) and others not so much! Kastro is a lovely, very historic village perched on a hill above the sea. It's totally charming and walking the narrow streets through the little community was fun. The views from the seaside edge of the village were stunning. We did not walk all the way down to the Church of the Seven Martyrs (perched on a little jetty out in the sea) because we heard it was closed. We were able to bum a ride back to Apollonia in a Greek tour bus that had vacant seats! We also explored the village of Apollonia, walking the entire Steno (shopping/restaurant district) and through town.

We'd have preferred to do this tour during the daytime slot but apparently it wasn't possibly with our schedule...so we began at 6 PM. We had the same guide for this tour as we'd had the night before, for Taste of Sifnos, Ronia (sp.). Therefore it felt very comfortable and familiar from the start. Because we'd already been in Sifnos for 2 full days, we'd already visited a few of the destinations planned for this tour (e.g. Kastro, Artemonas, Platis Gialos beach). Our guide tried to make adjustments to accommodate our recent experiences (for instance, we did not visit Kastro again). Also, because the tour was in the evening, a few things that were listed as part of the Hidden Gems tour were not possible because they were closed in the evening (such as the Profits Ilias church/museum, museum in Kastro...). We did, however, visit the Monastery of Panagia Chrysopigi which was very cool (though 2 of us had already visited it earlier in the day) and also, just after sundown, drove the very steep, windy road up to the Ageos Symeon church (on top of the highest hill above the port town of Kamares). The views were spectacular at night, but bathrooms and most everything else was locked up. The very first thing we did on our tour was visit one of the island's 14 currently operating pottery workshops. We did this because we requested it! It was a wonderful experience. The potter/landowner we met was a super cool dude - very talented, hospitable, friendly, funny and owns a lovely, scenic piece of property with lots of artsy things adorning his surroundings. Our guide, Ronia, gave us a nice tour of the pottery workshop, explaining the process and the significance of pottery in Sifnos' history.

It was fun to meet some of the proprietors of little places we visited. Our guide, Ronia (sp?) was very knowledgable and affable. She pointed out lots of historical and cultural things in addition to food stuff. The little treats we were given to take home were cute and tasty...these included a cookie from a bakery (that we were instructed to eat right away...wish we hadn't because it ruined our appetites for the food to come later), a nougat-type taffy with nuts inside of a wafer, a little ceramic cup, etc. We had "hors d'oeurves" at a little bar on the street in Apollonia. Our guide brought different Greek "pies" for us to try - spinach, mushroom, cheese and meat. We were also given complimentary beverages of our choice. After this we totally weren't hungry and then we were taken for DINNER - yikes! Dinner was at a little place in Apollonia - nothing fancy but the food was very good and it was a total shame we barely put a dent in it because we were so full. It was also a shame that people were smoking near our table and it was difficult to enjoy the food (one person in our party had to leave the restaurant due to lung issues).

Best laid plans... We didn't know about the meltemi winds in the Cycladic islands. Lucky us, we hit a 2-day stretch of very strong north winds the day of our all-day sailing trip around Milos. Our boat tour company had to change our departure location as well as the route of our trip. Our group of 14 was driven to the south of the island (a 30-minute drive) where - 4 at a time - we were put on a tiny inflated raft with a motor and ferried out to the sailboat. It took about an hour to get going after we first met that morning. Then, instead of going around the island, we simply sailed the south shore, going east to west, with Kleftiko Beach as our turn around point. It was INTENSELY windy and it was difficult to stand on the deck of the boat most of the time while the boat was moving. Nonetheless, it was quite beautiful. We stopped at some very scenic locations, and with a bit of sheltering from the wind, we were able to swim and snorkle a bit. The water clarity and color were magical. We were fed a rather incredibly tasty and filling lunch aboard the boat by the very nice and competent crew. Lots of cold drinks, beer and wine, and fruit. Kleftiko Beach was stunning.

We didn't really follow the self-guided hiking suggestions provided to us. After getting situated in our hotel in Pollonia, Milos, the effort and expense involved with getting around the island proved more cumbersome than we wanted. Instead we opted to explore Pollonia - the waterfront in town, and the hike out to the lighthouse and church on a peninsula...which was plenty lovely. Feral cats were EVERYWHERE and we enjoyed them very much.

Our driver was competent and friendly. Our guide for our hike was a young, fun guy who had hiked the Imbros Gorge dozens and dozens of times. He was kind, knowledgable and helped a member of our group who wasn't confident on big or slippery rocks. The Gorge is very pretty and the goats were fun to see (and hear...their bells!). There are some very interesting plants in the Gorge (if you're inclined to notice such things). It's highly "civilized," compared with wilderness trails in the US: there are trash cans, and a snack/beverage stand (with bathrooms) mid-way. There was a bit of extra walking at the end before meeting our driver. It seemed we didn't have all that much time for the promised lunch and possible swim in the Liberian Sea after the hike. Our driver dropped us at a restaurant and we only had an hour before he said we needed to return to the van. So our lunch was a bit rushed (though the view over the sea was lovely) and there was no time to take a dip in the water (and we had brought our swim suits and towels with us).

The White Mountains are gorgeous and just the drive alone was worthwhile. Vas (Vasilly or Vassilius?) was our guide and driver again (he was also our guide and driver for Balos Lagoon and Falassarna Beach the day before). Once again, he expertly guided us through the day, telling us all sorts of relevant and interesting things about olive growing and oil making, agriculture in Crete, wine making, etc. Visiting the olive orchard with the one of the world's oldest olive trees was very cool. Vas took us around the facility a little bit and showed us the owner's private fruit orchard and farm animals. He also gave us a tour of some of the old, traditional equipment used in making olive oil. The wine and olive oil tasting destination was next and a lot of fun. The tasting room was very chic and the servers were extremely knowledgable and friendly. The samples of food and oil and wine were AMPLE! Next we drove to the entrance of the Samaria Gorge and the scenery became dramatic and awesome. We were given lunch at the restaurant above the Gorge entrance, on a ridiculously scenic balcony. The lunch was one of the best meals we had in Greece. Vas arranged the menu and served us the food. It was MEMORABLE!!!

Our driver was THE BEST. Vas (Vasilly or Vasillius?) was the coolest dude ever. He mastered the skill of telling us lots of interesting things without telling us too much. He knew how to read his audience. He also knew when to stop talking and when to give our group of 4 time to ourselves. Vas expertly drove a very scary road out to and back from Balos Lagoon overlook. We saw hundreds and hundreds of goats - all over the roadsides and hillsides, which was great fun. Vas pointed out the sea onion plant that was just beginning to bloom all over the mountains above the lagoon. The view to the lagoon itself was AWESOME. The word gorgeous doesn't do it justice. A sight to behold. Pretty windy on the ledges, though. Falassarna Beach was possibly the most user friendly beach I've ever experienced: water at a perfect temperature, as clear as sea water can possibly be, no rocks, no seaweed, no seashells, soft sand. Wow. Vas took us to our reserved lounge chairs and left us alone for a couple of hours. We later met him at the beachside restaurant where he arranged a huge, delicious lunch for us (kindly accommodating my pescetarian diet). It was a FABULOUS day.

Old Town/City Chania is charming beyond measure. The Venetian waterfront/harbor is gorgeous (the water is crystal clear) and one restaurant after the other is quite a sight. The shops in Old Town are endless - the leather goods, clothing, art, on and on. And the gelato and ice cream and frozen yogurt - OMG. Cretan history is fascinating and OLD. The many occupiers/conquerers over the millenia is fascinating and evident everywhere....some of the earliest known civilizations in the western hemisphere were in Crete...the Minoans. Ruins are easy to spot. The Jewish history of Chania is also fascinating and the Etz Hayyim synagogue was well worth the visit.

Our driver was great - super knowledgable and willing to tell us everything he knew. He went off-script, per our questions, and made a special stop at a WWII related memorial for Greek partisans who were ruthlessly murdered by the German occupiers. At Delphi itself, we had a guide that was very knowledgable and spoke good English but his accent was super strong and, consequently, we lost maybe 1/3 of what he was saying...which was unfortunate. The many tour groups visiting the site (particularly the museum) at the same time made for some logistical crunches and squeezes. All to be expected at a world renowned tourist destination. We were taken to a restaurant for lunch in the "modern" town of Delphi that was exquisite. The food was fabulous and the view from the outdoor patio....WOW!!! Down to the Sea of Corinth and overlooking one of Europe's larges olive orchards.

One can't visit Athens without seeing the Acropolis, for good reason. It's absolutely worth braving the crowds and doing the walking and stair climbing. We had a good, supremely knowledgable tour guide (Theo) who spoke excellent English. This greatly enhanced our experience. Good luck navigating through all the tour groups and crowds - a necessary circumstance when visiting this inimitable site.

The Monastiraki Square area and the adjoining Athens neighborhoods provide endless opportunities for exploring shopping, food, culture and more. Just roam around and get lost (your phone GPS will get you back to your hotel)!

Good location to old town

Bit of walk from train station but just a short walk to old town and river tour location

Great location near old town. Easy walking. Nice breakfasts.

Great breakfast

Easy walking tour of four stops. Lots of additional information provided by guide

Relaxing tour on covered boat.

Nice easy walk through the old town.

Neat visit, very nice lunch pizza

Easy walking tour. Loved the tour

Good views even though raining all day. Easy to get around.

Nice Monday visit. Not nearly as crowded as weekend. Great beers and meal in the main tent. Radius tours is way to go

Nice visit to the museum and tour of facilities wasawesome

Our stay at Heliotopos Hotel was absolutely amazing! Perched high on the mountain, it offers spectacular views and unforgettable sunsets … truly postcard perfect. The location was ideal, peaceful yet close enough to enjoy everything Santorini has to offer. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, the staff attentive, and the setting simply magical. Watching the sunset from our terrace each evening was an experience we’ll never forget. Heliotopos is a place that captures the beauty and spirit of Santorini ! 💙

Our stay at Anthony Suites Naxos was absolutely amazing! The location couldn’t have been better …just steps from the beach, close to restaurants, shops, and all the main sites. The staff were incredibly welcoming and accommodating, always going out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed. One of the highlights was the beautiful breakfast delivered right to our door each morning in a charming picnic basket…such a thoughtful and delightful touch! Everything about our stay was perfect …comfortable, relaxing, and full of authentic Naxian warmth. We couldn’t recommend Anthony Suites more highly … it truly made our time in Naxos unforgettable. 🌅

Very clean and centrally located…beautiful roof top bar overlooking the city.

Elegant and very well situated. The staff was mist accommodating in all areas.

Room fine, location good. Breakfast consisted of a tray with a few stale, packaged biscuits(?) and a water boiler and ttea and instant coffee.

No staff on hand and restaurant closed. However. Manager, when reached by phone, arranged for a taxi to take us to a local restaurant. The cab driver was a delight as was the restaurant and it turned a stressful situation into a delightful local color evening!

Nice, modern hotel. Staff was very friendly and accommodating. Well located.

Charming place. We had an excellent dinner in the restaurant. Very well located.

The staff were so friendly, knowledgeable, and accommodating. Our home away from home!

Cave was amazing. Details were well worked out. We even got in on an earlier tour!

Again an excellent, well informed. Very personable guide. She gave us an excellent lunch recommendation which was one of our favorite meals. Also gave us some indoor recommendations that proved to make a blustery. Rainy day enjoyable.

Beautiful location so close to our accommodation.

Again an excellent local guide whose family had a long historic connection to the city. Very personalized.

Our guide was delightful and so well informed. Great intro to the city. Very personalized.

Staying at Riad Fleur d'Orient was a delightful experience. The people there were fabulous and incredibly friendly. Everyone was always smiling, which made our stay pleasant. The riad itself was not the fanciest but definitely the most interesting. I absolutely loved the atmosphere.

Our day in the desert with activities like the sunset camel ride was absolutely special. The food was wonderfully prepared, and the hosts were incredibly accommodating. We felt welcomed, and the entertainment provided made it an unforgettable experience. Truly a highlight of our trip.

The guided tour in Marrakech was fantastic. Our guide was knowledgeable and very nice, making the whole experience enjoyable. He added a personal touch, taking us to what he claimed was a relative's drug store, which was quite fun without any hard sell. It was a memorable part of our visit.

Excellent hotel! There is subtle luxurious, both restaurants: Apotekegata No 5 & Sjobua are excellent, food was much better than expected. Breakfast was of very high standard. The sauna followed by dipping into fjord takes your tiredness away. Overall very good standard on all rounds.

Should not be using this guide - interested in nothing except selling us rugs in his ‘family’ shop.

Another highlight

Highlight, best part of our visit

Clean, modern rooms. Great location. Yummy breakfast. Helpful staff!

The staff as amazing and the food was great! Hotel rooms were always cleaned nicely!

The Ducato di Oia Boutique Hotel in Santorini had some beautiful aspects, like the lovely patio and the plunge pool, which provided great relaxation. However, the room had some dangerous steps that were not well-marked, making it hard to navigate. We also had an unpleasant experience due to cigarette smoke seeping into our room from the staff break room nearby and garbage bags stacked right outside our door, which was odd. Despite these issues, the location was undeniably beautiful.

Sweet Home Hotel in Athens was my favorite accommodation during the trip. It had so much charm, and the people there were incredibly welcoming. The room offered a marvelous view of the Acropolis, which was spectacular. The only downside was that it was a bit on the small side, but overall, the experience was delightful with a great neighborhood to explore.

The Evening Neighborhood Food Walk was an excellent experience. We had the guide all to ourselves, allowing for a personalized tour of the local cuisine. It was a delightful way to end the day.

The Knossos Palace Experience was enjoyable, especially with the cultural and historical significance. However, it was a bit disappointing to learn that many of the best art treasures were moved to a museum. A visit to the museum would have complemented the experience nicely.

The Delos & Rhenia Sailing Cruise & Lunch was a terrific experience. It provided a unique way to explore the areas, with lunch being particularly good on this cruise. It was a highlight of our cultural experiences on the trip.

I really enjoyed the Ancient Athens Acropolis & Mythology Walk despite a little bit of rain. It was a great way to be immersed in the rich history of Athens, and the guide was knowledgeable and engaging.

The hotel was really nice but it was in the middle of nowhere, there was nothing else around.

This trip was a lot of fun, we got to see hump back whales and a blue whale.

This is only for very experiences hikers- there is a log but to get to the log you have to get over a large area of rocks, just hanging onto a wire hand rail. Neither of us went across and it looked like lots of other people did not want to chance it as well.

Very glad that we got there so early in the morning as it got very busy by the time we left.

This was a really great tour! The guide was so knowledgeable and taught us lots of fun and interesting things about the food and wine in Italy! All of the food was incredible! This tour was definitely a highlight of our trip!

Our stay at Riad Le Pèlerin in Marrakesh was an unforgettable experience. The staff was incredibly helpful, ensuring we knew how to get around and checking in on us. The rooms were nicely appointed, and staying in a riad was a unique and wonderful way to explore Moroccan culture. Definitely recommend experiencing a riad at least once!

Riad Braya in Fes was quite lovely, and the breakfast was amazing, but there was a bit of confusion around meals as our guide informed us we could have dinner there, only to find out no food service was available in the evening. It was also advised to stay close to the riad at night, which made going out for dinner tricky. Despite these minor issues, it was otherwise a great place to stay.

Very nice hotel in Chefchoaune. Excellent location overlooking the medina. Helpful, friendly staff, nice rooms and a very nice roof top bar and restaurant.

The Scenic Day Trip Journey to Aït Benhaddou was absolutely stellar. The views, history, and opportunity to explore up close and climb to the tower were marvelous. It's a must-see for anyone visiting Morocco!

This is a once in a lifetime experience. You can taste some of the most amazing foods from sweets, to hearty tangia, to fresh juices and more. Do not miss this excursion!

This hotel was centrally located. We were able to walk to every place we wanted to visit. The view from the rooftop of the Acropolis was amazing both in the day and night. Great breakfast buffet on the rooftop with lots of choices every morning.

Great location. Walkable to everything. Loved the look of the entry way and the breakfast area. We had a room with the private rooftop terrace. So nice to sit in the hot tub and see the city around us. Staff very kind. We had an early flight, so they even boxed up a breakfast for us to take with us. The breakfast was very good and had large portions.

Hotel had such a relaxing feel. It was so nice to have our own private pool and lounge chairs. Also very easy to take the hotel shuttle to their private beach with food and beverage service. The food at Anasa was some of the best food I had. We ate there for dinner both nights. The breakfast buffet had a ton of choices. The staff was very helpful and helped arrange transport into the city for us.

The view is worth every penny. We had gone out to eat for the sunset view and found out that the view from here was just as stunning. Breakfast was very good and plenty. It was nice to sit in the outdoor pool and watch the people and donkeys go by on the sidewalk below. There are a lot of steps, but worth the view. The staff is great. I wouldn't want to carry that luggage and they do it as if it is nothing. Rafail, the manager, had great suggestions and was very helpful. It is centrally located to the shops, and tavernas.

Amazing hotel. The staff was so kind. We even did the vineyard experience with the owner, Dimitris, and met most of the family. Breakfast was very good with large portions. Everything was very clean. Loved having our own pool, but used the main pool too. The whole place was beautiful to look at. Short walk to beach and tavernas.

A great ending to our Greece trip. It was a beautiful yacht. There was plenty of room to move around. It was very relaxing and amazing views. Great crew and food.

We loved Olga. She was so easy to talk to and felt like a friend by the end of the day. We drove through the breathtaking landscape to Elafonissi Beach, the famous pink beach. It was really cool, but maybe not as striking as in some of the pictures. We got there early and got sunbeds. It did get crowded later. Olga called ahead and found out the next beach we were going to was windy, so we stayed longer at Elafonissi. We did go on to Falasarna Beach. It was windy, but pretty. It had some pink sand too.

Nicolas was so kind and informational. He had waters and a special dessert treat for us. He did a great job of showing us some highlights of Crete. Since it was just us, he geared it to some places we wanted to see. The landscape was breathtaking as we drove from place to place. We first went to a botanical garden. Is was amazing to see all that can grow in Greece. We went to 2 monasteries (females make sure to wear something that covers your legs). We then went through a Gorge and to the village of Argioupolis. He took us to a darling taverna tucked into a hill with a waterfall. It was so pretty and the food was yummy. It was a great way to travel from Herkalion to Chania.

This was a small group excursion. There were about 18 people on the boat. The sunset was beautiful. Had a couple stops to swim. We chose to stay on the boat and spread out a little more while others were swimming. They had wine and beer and dinner.

The Santorini Luxury Travel had such nice drivers and clean spacious vehicles. They even came and got our luggage and stored it for us when we were leaving Santorini, so we could walk around in between the time we had to check out and they drove us to the ferry.

Marina was a great guide and Vasilis was a great driver. Got to walk around Oia and see the blue domes. We then went to the wine museum. It was very interesting and informational, but had very outdated special effects and scenes. The wine tasing was yummy. Then we went to the Monastery, the Megalochori Village and the Black Beach. Great way to see lots of Santorini that you would not be able to see without a car.

Beautiful sunset view on rooftop. The food and service were great too. Loved the grilled salad and bread.

George was great. So kind, and informational. He also had beers, waters, and sandwiches for us on the boat. The boat was the perfect size for us and the landscapes and sea were beautiful. The water was a little cold, but very refreshing. We loved Koufonisi. It was so quaint and quiet.

Maria was so sweet and took us to some hidden gems. We also walked around and learned lots of history. We visited a wine bar. Had some great wines and cheeses. Nikko, our waiter. even brought us a special treat since we were on an anniversary trip. We also went to a great restaurant in a beautiful courtyard. Maria ordered some yummy local dishes. There was so much food, we could only eat a portion of it. Maria even emailed me a digital copy of a cookbook she had written. We stayed a little longer and walked around on our own and went to cute bar.

Jenny was so sweet, easy to talk to, and fun. She picked us up at our hotel and we walked to a wine bar first. The wine and pairings were great and Jenny and the staff explained each very well. We then went to a restaurant that we would have never found on our own. Jenny ordered the some delicious dishes I would never have ordered on my own. Last we went to a rooftop bar that had great drinks, amazing views, and a great vibe. She even gave us other ideas for the rest of our stay in Athens and for the other islands we were going to.

Helen was a great guide. She was so informational. The earpieces helped being able to hear when other people were around. It did get a little crowded with people near the gate.