Kimkim Trip Reviews

Highlights:
* Day 1 -Our Hotel and view from our room in Dubrovnik was amazing! The many options for meals (which were delicious) and the beautiful views from those areas were great! The beautiful pools, and the safe places to jump into the Adriatic and swim was really exciting!
* Day 2 - Our friendly local guide, Alberto, was SO knowledgeable about the history and people of Old Town through the centuries. He shared great tips for our own self-touring that afternoon. An extra highlight was that we were able to meet
Marija, in person that a.m. as she was there with another group and made a point of finding us to meet in person. That was a fun surprise.
* Day 3 - Marija planned our seamless arrival of our rental car and we were on our way to Split. Our local tour guide, Ivana, met us at our boutique hotel and it was a convenient walk to Diocietian's Palace. Ivana, who grew up in Split, was a great guide and pointed out the amazing features of the Palace, as well as sharing her experiences as a young girl growing up during the 5 year war.
* Day 4 - We had a beautiful drive to Krka National Park. The waterfalls there were spectacular and this day was a highlight of our trip! On to Zadar where we checked in to the Hotel Bastion, with views of the harbor nearby and easy
walk to experience the Roman and Venetian ruins on the Old Town peninsula. Lots of restaurants to choose from as well!
*Day 5 - Drove to the most famous National Park in Croatia, Plitvice Lakes where Marija had already provided tickets for
us to tour the area. Again, the waterfalls were stunning, and were so worth the walk, in spite of the cloudy day! Then on to
the capitol, Zagreb. We had another seamless transfer to our hotel after dropping off our rental car. Our driver was a great young man who shared his perspective about the 5 yr. war (at my urging). He had been a "celebration baby." His
father had survived the war, married his mother and he was born. He shared that every year they go back to the city in Eastern Croatia, where his father had fought alongside other Croatians to remember those who were lost, such a poignant story.
*Day 6 - Met up with our local guide, Josie, at our hotel and got a great tour of the center of Zagreb. Josie is a vibrant and energetic young woman who loves her city and was so excited to show the many highlights and learn from her about Zagreb's history..... from the City Square, to the famous Cathedral of Zagreb, St. Marks Church, the Dolac Market (amazing daily fresh produce, meat markets, bakeries, wine/olive oil specialties galore!), and riding the Funicular Railway from the upper town back down to the lower town. It was a FUN last day and we topped it off with having an authentic Croatian dinner where the locals go to have a great meal (one of Josie's favorites that she recommended to us). We were not disappointed!!! The BEST local food and great people!
*Day 7 - Marija arranged for our on-time driver to pick us up at 4:30 a.m. for a short, relaxing drive to the Zagreb Airport.
We had plenty of time to relax, buy a few more souvenirs and talk about what an AMAZING trip we'd had.
THANK YOU MARIJA!!!

Hotel Reviews

Royal Neptun Hotel

Dubrovnik

The Royal Neptun Hotel in Dubrovnik was absolutely amazing! Located at the north end of the city, it offered stunning views, especially at night with all the beautiful lights. It was a wonderful start to our vacation.

Hotel Luxe

Split

The Hotel Luxe in Split was in a great location for exploring the city, only about a ten-minute walk to major attractions. The hotel itself was lovely with a wonderful breakfast. The only downside was the parking situation, as it was very challenging to navigate the narrow one-way road to the hotel's parking area.

Bastion Heritage Hotel—Relais & Châteaux

Zadar

The Bastion Heritage Hotel in Zadar was absolutely beautiful. It was conveniently located just a five-minute walk from the stunning Roman ruins. The hotel offered a great breakfast, and despite some rain, the view of the inner bay with yachts was spectacular.

Best Western Premier Hotel Astoria

Zagreb

The Best Western Premier Hotel Astoria in Zagreb was nice and located conveniently near a major square.

Activity Reviews

Private Guided Walking Tour of Dubrovnik Old Town

Dubrovnik

The Private Guided Walking Tour of Dubrovnik Old Town was fantastic. Our tour guide, Alberto, was incredibly knowledgeable and seemed to know many of the locals. His stories and insights into the area's history made the tour so interesting and memorable.

Private guided walking tour of Zagreb

Zagreb

The Private guided walking tour of Zagreb was fantastic, led by a passionate and knowledgeable local guide. I loved learning about the city and visiting so many great places. Being shown where the locals eat was a wonderful touch, and the dinner was delicious.

The people and trips were simply amazing! We highly recommend food tours to get to know the cities and regions.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Firenze

Venice

The staff were very polite and full of recommendations. They made us feel right at home.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Bigallo Florence

Florence

The room was very, very small. The staff were okay, but not warm and friendly.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Florida Residence

Positano

Wow! No words can describe the view! The staff were beyond amazing. So friendly and helpful!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

I can't say enough about how friendly and caring the staff treated us.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel del Mare

Sorrento

We weren't pleased with the view of our first room. It looked at a side of another building and there was a dead bird outside. I mentioned it to the front desk assistant. They worked hard to fix our concern by moving us to another room the next day. I can't thank them enough! Very friendly and helpful!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Great location! We were able to walk to the water and to the downtown.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Venice Bacari Food Tour

Venice

The guide was fantastic and authentic! Excellent way to meet people and become familiar with your surroundings!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wine tasting & dinner in Chianti vineyard

Italy

This was our most memorable activity on our trip! Food and wine were incredible. We met so many new friends!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tuscany Highlights: Siena, San Gimignano & Pisa with lunch & wine tasting

Florence

Fantastic guide and the towns were full of history! We particularly enjoyed the food and wine tastings!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Capri Cruise

Italy

This trip was canceled due to weather.

From the beginning of planning, Long was incredibly responsive and helpful to pull the trip together. He listened carefully to what we wanted to accomplish on this trip and made very appropriate recommendations. His hotel picks were incredible for the local flavor, location and amenities.

While on the trip when we had any questions, he was immediately responsive. There was a concern with the room we were given on the Hua Long Bay Cruise and Long was responsive and resolved it perfectly.

I would plan another trip with Long and would recommend him to anyone I know that is traveling to Viet Nam or other areas where Long could assist.

Our trip was fun, although we found communication with Kelly to be challenging.

Hotel Reviews

Chatrium Hotel Riverside Bangkok

Bangkok

Authenticity & Character

Location

too far to planned excursions

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Indigo Phuket Patong

Phuket

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Private Night Food tour with Tuk Tuk

Bangkok

This was not a "food tour"....we simply stopped at one restaurant. Would have liked exposure to more.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My experience with you guys was just perfect, especially working with Amanda on the planning, the small details, and her attentiveness to everything I was asking for.
This was my first ever trip to Nepal and my first such a long trek. Everything worked as planned, from the pre-arrival instructions till the final advises and support from the team on the ground - especially the guide (Nuris) and the porter that were assigned to us.
as mentioned to Amanda in our debrief once we were back to Kathmandu - the trek hiking days are well planned including all the accommodations and I will not suggest changing them.
The combination of the Tsum Valley with its unique Tibetan cultural impact, and the Manaslu Circuit on the top of it is just perfect.
It is indeed one of the best trekking experience I've done in my life.
Thank you all for that.

Our trip to Cartagena and Santa Marta/Tayrona was amazing. The combination of history, culture, and nature was a perfect balance. The guides were very friendly and knowledgeable, and the activities were perfectly tailored to meet our family's needs. Margoth was very helpful and quick to respond with proposals to make the trip personalized. I would highly recommend her.

We booked our trip as a Group of 12 and had an amazing time!!! Thank you!

France was stunning! The Eiffel Tower at night is an absolute must! Going to Normandy and having a private tour with John to take us back into such a historic day was unreal! Bayeux was such a cute little town with everything nearby! Saint Malo and the boardwalk to get to the center was stunning! We had so much fun walking around! There was the most stunning church inside Saint malo with all amazing statues of the virgin mother and the most beautiful stain glass windows you will ever see!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel de Turin

Paris

Paris is a very very large city with all different little nooks! We were about 20min Uber ride from the Eiffel Tower! The room was nothing special but it worked for sleeping! The girls working at the front desk were soooo nice! Helped recommend food nearby for us to go eat! The only thing I thought was weird is we stayed there two separate times on the trip and the second time we went to leave the room for the day and they asked us for the key until we got back even though all our things were in the room! I didn’t like this, nothing happened but it was not mentioned and only one man working there ever gave us this issue!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Would have liked to be a little closer to the Eiffel Tower!

Staff

The girls at the front were great!!!!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bathrooms are nothing special but no issues with the beds! Room rather small but was what we needed for the time!

Hôtel Les Charmettes

Saint-Malo

Stunning view!!!! The back of the hotel was on the boardwalk and it was so peaceful! Only negative was no lift so we had to carry all our bags up multiple stairs!!! Location was stunning though and worth it!

Authenticity & Character

The room had a giant window to open and listen to the ocean with the perfect breeze!

Location

We walked into the center of Saint malo and it took roughly 15min!

Staff

So nice!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bed was good and bathroom clean!

Le Bayeux

Bayeux

Perfect location! The staff was SO helpful we had our rental car die and the man at the front desk helped with speaking French where I couldn’t! Our room was huge! So much room for our luggage and bunk beds which my daughter loved!! Right around the corner from all restaurants and there was even a market open one of the days that was awesome!

Authenticity & Character

It wasn’t wicked fancy but the staff made it feel very welcoming

Location

Close to everything we needed!

Staff

10/10 staff!!! So helpful! Spoke great English and weren’t rude!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Beds weren’t the most comfortable or the pillows!

Activity Reviews

Commented Cruise on the Seine River (Group Boat/1Hour)

Paris

Wicked cool! Very relaxing! A nice way to see the most without being overwhelmed!

Quality of Experience

We had been traveling for awhile now so I nice boat tour was perfect!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Weren’t very helpful! Barely saw staff!

Transport

It was raining so we kept going in and out of the boat but it was nice to have the option! Very relaxed! Learned a lot!

Evening Eiffel Tower Tour

Paris

An evening Eiffel Tower tour is a MUST! I just wouldn’t use a private tour like we did! Just go and buy the tickets and do it yourself! Seeing the tower at night is a must and having the experience of going all the way up was incredible! Our guide was an hour and a half late and it just seemed very unorganized! She was so nice but didn’t seem worth the wait!

Quality of Experience

Going up for the tour was unreal! Self-guided would have been better!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I was traveling with a 3 year old and the guide was 1 1/2 late and then very unorganized. Felt like just a friend was with us because she was so nice but not very informative especially for the wait!

Transport

The Eiffel Tower elevator is very crammed so travel light! But the experience was so cool!

From Bayeux to Normandy D-Day U.S Sector & Omaha Beach (Private/4Hours)

Bayeux

MUST DO! If history is even remotely interesting to you this is an absolute! One of the best days in my entire trip! John our guide was unbelievable! So knowledgeable and took us to the places that he knew the big tour buses wouldn’t be starting at to get us some quiet time! Gave us so much information and it was just truly chilling being there and reminiscing on history!

Quality of Experience

Unreal! Definitely do the private tour with John! Totally worth being private to have this experience!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Cannot say enough amazing things about John! Answered all our questions and really brought us back in time with things we would have never known!

Transport

John picked us right up at the hotel and even had a car seat for my daughter! Great driver and made the day amazing! Also on the way back he drove us down an area to show us great food! So nice and highly highly recommend!

Definitely Tayeb was a great guide and driver, always caring every detail of our schedule and needs. Exactly what we were looking for, with great recommendations and knowledge. He has been very kind the whole time. We've enjoyed a lot visiting Tanger, Merzouga and Marrakech...the riads were great at Fes, Tanger and Marrakesh.
Our guide Sherif at Fes was very caring too in the Medina, being so clear and with the knowledge for every spot visited.
For me, visiting Mosquee Hassan II at Casablanca was incredible, as well as Tanger, Rabat was surprisingly impressive, the desert left me without words... Abdellah was always helping to make the last time adjustments and solving which made out trip unforgettable and highly recommended

Hotel Reviews

Barceló Casablanca

Casablanca

Good enough to rest and continue your day outdoors

Authenticity & Character

.

Location

Staff

Good enough

Cleanliness & Comfort

Towels were a little old

Riad Mokhtar Tanger

Tangier

Very comfortable beds, nice rooms... Great location... All good

Authenticity & Character

So cool the decorations

Location

In front of the medina

Staff

Kind

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spectacular

Lina Ryad & Spa

Chefchaouen

The place is spectacular an the room was great... So many stairs but is part of it

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful

Location

You have to walk a lot to arrive to the riad in the middle of the medina, with all the luggage make it impossible to do it by your own

Staff

They were too busy to mind

Cleanliness & Comfort

It could be better

Riad Salam Fes

Fes

One of my favorites riads... The 5 houses are amazing... So comfortable and staff were so kind

Authenticity & Character

Incredibile

Location

Staff

So caring

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tiziri Luxury Camp

Merzouga

It was a great option to stay 2 nights here... They were solving this last time change and helping with everything.

Authenticity & Character

So comfortable

Location

Staff

Mustafa is so kind! The pastelitos for breakfast were great

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Ksar Ighnda

Ait Benhaddou

A great location, very comfortable

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Palais Sebban

Marrakech

The most incredible spot to stay at Marrakesh... Breakfast was incredible

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Guided tour of Hassan II Mosque

Morocco

Great spot, so impressed about the magnificent structure and culture

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tayeb is excellent driver and guide

Transport

Quick Tour of Casablanca with your Driver-guide

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chefchaoeun to Fez via Volubilis, Moulay Idriss & Meknes

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour of Fez Medina

Fes

Quality of Experience

Unbelievable

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tayeb and Sherif... 100% recommended

Transport

Private Transfer from Fez to Merzouga Desert

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

When we were planning the trip, it was a lot of back and forth but okay overall. But when floods came and we had to make changes, Jean Carlo was slow to react and had no real expertise to offer. I actually said, Jean Carlo, you live here I need your recommendations on this. He would say "we've been in contact with the transport company throughout the day" but then have no updates. Finally, we started communicating with the driver directly.

Basically, the company is fine as a trip consolidator- putting together day trips and transport. Although with how good websites are, we could have actually done that on our own. But if you are looking for real travel expertise and support, look elsewhere.

Hi,
Are trip to Thailand was amazing! The accommodations were nice. Are two favorite were the Krabi Sunset Cruises with Michael and his team and also the Elephant sanctuary. We wish we were told to bring a bathing suit and a change of clothes to get in the river with the elephants so we were disappointed about this. So please let future clients know.
Are tour guides Norre for Bangkok and Mur for the food tasting were fabulous and very knowledgeable.
Are Vietnam trip started off a little rocky but ended being great. Queen in Hoi An and Sarah in Hanoi were wonderful as well. The Athena cruise ship was amazing. The staff Mr Ha, Mr Tim, Ms Joey, Mr Kelvin, Mr Thor and Ms Megan for are day trip went above and beyond and were exceptional as was the entire staff.
Thank you all so much,
Debra Ball

Hotel Reviews

Rex Hanoi Hotel

The staff and the hotel accommodations was fabulous here! Highly recommend!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Centrally located

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ao Nang Villa Resort

Krabi

The hotel location, staff with the best patio and overlooking the ocean was great. The hotel bathrooms were not the cleanest and needs some updating.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

The front desk and servers were outstanding

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bathrooms need some updating

Activity Reviews

True Taste of Chiang Mai with Evening Foodie Tour

Chiang Mai

Mur was a wonderful guide with the food tasting! Highly recommend him.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bangkok by local transfers and temples visit

Bangkok

Norre was a excellent guide and very knowledgeable

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Elephant Jungle Sanctuary in Chiang Mai-Half Day

Chiang Mai

We loved the elephant tour but were not told to bring bathing suits and a change of clothes so we missed out on this experience.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

5 Islands Sunset Cruise with Kayaking and Swimming in Bio-luminescence!

Thailand

Michael and his crew were incredible! Probably the highlight of our trip. Food was excellent.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day trip to Phi Phi island and Bamboo island by speedboat!

Thailand

Beautiful but too crowded

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Bangkok!

Bangkok

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Norre was excellent

Transport

Bana Hill Tour

Hoi An

Queen was a very fun guide. We really enjoyed her.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cruising at Ha Long Bay: 3 Days 2 Nights (Day 1)

Ha Long Bay

Mr Ha, Mr Tim and staff were incredible! Thank you to Ms Joey, Mr Kelvin ,Mr Thor and Ms Megan

Quality of Experience

Food

The food was outstanding! The chef made everything look like a piece of art!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A Visit to Limestone Caves and Mountains in Ninh Binh

Hanoi

Our guide Sarah was fabulous and made the tour fun!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanoi City Tour with Food Tasting!

Vietnam

Sarah was fabulous!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Enjoyed a fabulous trip through Andalucia (Southern Spain) organized by Megan. This was an add-on to the original trip we spoke to Megan about but she delivered a wonderful itinerary hitting all the sights we were interested in visiting, or explained why some sights were too difficult to incorporate given the schedule. The guides we had along the way were excellent - knowledgeable, friendly and very welcoming to their city. They felt like friends after our time spent with each of them. Love that it was a customized itinerary just for us - made us feel truly special! Accommodations were great and centrally located. Megan was quite responsive during the planning phase anytime we had a question. I would recommend Megan to my family and friends and anyone looking to travel through this region.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Giralda Center

Sevilla

Great location - not far from train station and close to Plaza de Espana and other sights. Room was very modern, spacious and comfortable. (Room size is comparable to US hotels.) Breakfast buffet was separate. We found out on Day 2 that you can do a la carte breakfast in the bar/restaurant area and it was very affordable. (Not too many cafes walking distance to grab a coffee in the morning.)

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Soho Boutique Capuchinos Hotel

Córdoba

We walked here from the train station - approx 15 mins. (No Ubers available but after we did the trek it wasn’t a bad walk.) We had rooms on the ground level but it was interesting that the window was to the interior core of the building. It wasn’t loud and we didn’t spend too much extra time in the room so it wasn’t an issue. Breakfast was included.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room Mate Leo

Granada

Centrally located in Downtown Granada just a few blocks from the Cathedral. Ubers/taxis can’t drop you off at the door because it’s located inside the business area (pedestrian only) but it’s only a short walk from the main street to the hotel entrance. Rooms were very modern and rooms comfortable. Breakfast is not included but there are coffee shop options a few doors down. Front desk staff was helpful with dining recommendations when we first arrived.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Caterina Victoria

Malaga

This isn’t a hotel but apartment. Bathrooms were a little tight on space but the room was large enough and the living area (dining, sitting area and kitchenette) was plenty big and you could really spread out there. We got dropped off by the Cathedral and since this apartment is located in the pedestrian area, it’s a little bit of a walk through some busy pedestrian streets depending on the time of day. There are bars located at the base of the building so there can be noise depending on how your apartment is situated or what game is playing. Since it’s an apartment, don’t expect daily cleaning or on-site personnel, which was fine with us. But their manager was great in getting in touch a week before our arrival to confirm our reservation and provide instruction on how to find the apartments. There were grocery stores and coffee shops nearby if we needed snacks and drinks. There was also a Nespresso-type coffee maker in the apartment.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

The apartment manager was great about getting in contact with us a week before our arrival to confirm our travel details.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Guided Tour of Seville’s Cathedral, Alcázar & Giralda

Seville

Julio was great! Very friendly, informative tour and always happy to answer questions that we had.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Julio spoke excellent English for us non-Spanish speaking travelers.

Transport

It was a walking tour so no separate transport was used. But the paths we walked were fantastic.

Tapas Tour

Spain

Really enjoyed this food tour. Our guide was a former restauranteur so she could speak in-depth about the food that was presented. Everything we sampled was delicious and we did a small “crawl” or walk from stop to stop. I have a new appreciation for Spanish olive oil.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tour of the Alhambra

Granada

The Alhambra is a must see in Granada and I am happy to have toured it with a guide who can explain so much more of the wonderful history and ornate architecture. We did a morning tour and it was still busy as there are some school groups that visit during the week.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We chose to use KimKim for our second time since we had an an amazing ttrip with KimKim in Italy last year, May 2023. All of our expectations were met and we thought we would have the same experience this year with our trip to Japan. Unfortunately, this was not the case. From the moment, we arrived in Tokyo, there were problems. They were as follows:

1. The room in our Tokyo hotel was small and totally outdated for a 4 star hotel. The bed was small and up against the wall which only allowed us to enter the bed from one side. Needless to say, this was a major inconvenience as we had to climb over each other to get into bed. We contacted Asia Highlights and they rectified the situation the next day by moving us to another room which was bigger and more modern. This was the type of room we were expecting from day one. We spent 5 nights in this hotel.
2. Our guide for Tokyo was extremely poor. He was supposed to contact us the night before
to make arrangements about when and where to meet the next day. We did not hear from him until we decided to contact him. Not a great first impression. Once we met him, Carter, we realized there was going to be a language barrier. His English was poor and his understanding of English was just as poor, making communication a challenge. He was very inexperienced an did not know the logistics of being a good guide. He lacked the knowledge and expertise of a guide and really did not not make our visit to Tokyo enjoyable. We kept giving him the benefit of the doubt, but his performance was sub par.
3. When we arrived in Hiroshima, we met our driver at the train station who would take us to our hotel. Unfortunately, the 10 minute drive to the hotel took 1 hour because the driver did not know where he was going. Again, a real lack of communication.
4. Finally, at our hotel in Osaka, we came across the same problem with our room as we did in Tokyo. The room was again small, bed to one side and the room was very dated. This time, we could not change rooms because all of the rooms were booked. Not pleasant. We are seasoned travelers and these accommodations were unacceptable.

On a positive note, we were extremely pleased with our guide, Ho. (Kyoto to Osaka) He was a true professional and paid strict attention to detail. He made the rest our trip very enjoyable. He made changes to the itinerary as he saw fit and always took our needs into consideration when planning the days ahead. Asia Highlights also tried to make accommodations and were responsive to our many messages back and forth but it really did not make up for the poor execution of this trip. We booked this Trip last December and this should have given them ample time to provide us with the best experience possible. As the company that represents them, a better vetting process should be in place. In conclusion, this trip was highly disappointing.

Our tour of New Zealand went beyond expectations. Because we had activities and accommodations booked by the kimkim team, we were able to enjoy each day worry-free. When we weren't able to partake in something due to inclement weather, Michelle either found an alternative or organized a refund promptly. It was wonderful to know she and the team were there for backup if we ran into any issues.
Stand out experiences, in no particular order:
- tour of Mesopotamia Station with our guide Wayne -- so much beautiful landscape to take in, and so much interesting history, made even better by running into Malcolm, the present head of the Station
- art deco tour of Napier with lovely, informative Kaye
- 1/2 day wine tour led by the wonderful Jill -- so interesting and fun
- Te Pa Tu - Maori Cultural Experience -- incredible knowledge, passion, and skill demonstrated by the family members; the 15 year old young man's singing was exceptional
- Zealandia Night Tour in Wellington -- magical
- Milford Sound boat cruise -- just beautiful
- jetboat tour in Fiordland -- great fun, even in the rain
- Hobbiton -- the lushness, the details! So fun
- luge rides in Queenstown
Stand out accommodations:
- Hotel Britomart in Auckland -- very fine, exceptional attention to detail
- The Vicarage in Geraldine -- as above
- Azur Luxury Lodge in Queenstown -- incredible views and service
Hotels to consider removing from your roster:
- Museum Apartment Hotel in Wellington -- a bit gross, a bit disorganized in the lobby
- Peppers Bluewater Resort in Lake Tekapo -- down on its heel
- Limetree Lodge -- wifi didn't work, weird feeling there

Hotel Review

The Hotel Britomart

Auckland

Fantastic location. Top notch customer service. Beautiful space. Attention to detail. We would stay there again in a heartbeat.

Authenticity & Character

So funky, wonderful reuse and reno of an old building with character.

Location

Central, interesting views, walkable neighbourhood.

Staff

Very welcoming, helpful, and informative.

Cleanliness & Comfort

All the corners were clean and shiny. No dust buildup or fingerprints anywhere.

Activity Reviews

Hobbiton Movie Set Tour

New Zealand

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Te Pā Tū Māori Feast & Performance

Rotorua

The singing, the hakas, the fellowship, the history were all very moving.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Orakei Korako Tour

New Zealand

Quality of Experience

Hawke's Bay Half Day Wine Tour

Napier

Jill was our guide, and what a lovely person she is. We had laughs and learned a lot about New Zealand's fantastic wine offerings. The half day was plenty -- we had just the right amount of sampling. Favourite part: the sheep grazing in a vineyard.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Zealandia - Night Tour

Wellington

Walking in the quiet darkness with our red lights was such a feast for the senses. I loved the evening birdsong and glow worms.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The Road to Mesopotamia - High Country Station 4WD tour

Geraldine

This was one of those experiences that surpassed expectations. It was a full day, but I could have kept going. We learned about a whole other kind of life in New Zealand, the incredibly hard work running a sheep station. Mesopotamia has such unique historical significance. Our guide Wayne even had a book about it, which he kindly let us borrow for a night. What an incredible landscape, too.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The guides on our trip were excellent. Federico, Luigi, Stephania, etc.

Hotel Reviews

Duodo Palace

Venice

Clean hotel, centrally located. Staff, breakfast were very good. Friendly staff.

Authenticity & Character

Traditional

Location

Staff

Ariel.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Minerva Sorrento

Sorrento

Magnificent location with breathtaking views of the Gulf of Naples. Words cannot describe this hotel location. The first night there was a private banquet in their dining room. Despite this, the dining room manager Giuseppe put up a special table for us in a very nice location and served us an excellent dinner. We had a picturesque view of the Gulf of Naples from our room and balcony. Breakfast everyday was on the top floor patio overlooking the Gulf. I would come back here in a heartbeat.

Authenticity & Character

Golf=geous big room with all amenities.

Location

Beautiful view of the Gulf of Naples.

Staff

Unbelievably friendly staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean

Hotel Berchielli

Florence

Nice clean hotel, nicely located. Walking distance from all must see sites. Safe.

Authenticity & Character

Traditionally decorated

Location

Centrally locates and safe.

Staff

Friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean

Al Manthia Hotel

Rome

Well located, safe.

Authenticity & Character

Was a two level room with bedroom upstairs. Steep stairs to go up.

Location

Centrally located and safe.

Staff

Staff was uptight, can be significantly improved

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean hotel

Activity Reviews

Venice Private Bacari Tour

Venice

Very good tour. Would recommend. A must do.

Quality of Experience

Guide was nice

Essential Venice

Venice

Historic place visits.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Explore Pompeii - Private

Italy

Pompeii is a wonderful place to visit. Our guide was knowledgeable but was too descriptive.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Driver was great.

Tour of the Amalfi Coast

Italy

Ah, we were the only ones so it became a private tour. Excellent experience. Luigi our driver and guide was very good. Very knowledgeable and was a local person. Friendly and full of jokes and we had a lot of fun. Positano, Ravello, Amalfi were nice and the coast is just gorgeous. Along the way is Atrani where the movie “Equilizer 3” starring Denzel Washington was shot, just beautiful. If I have a choice to have a second home overseas or to retire overseas, this would be it.

Quality of Experience

Friendly driver.

Food

Food in Amalfi was tasty.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Luigi.

Transport

Clean car.

Walking tour of Florence (Private)

Florence

Saw all the historic sites.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit to Pisa, San Gimignano and Siena with lunch and wine tasting

Florence

Long day 7a to 7p. But must do and great trip. Winery in San Gimignano was nice. Siena is cultural and historic.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tuscan cooking class with San Lorenzo food market

Florence

Magnificent experience. A small group. Roberta our chef was very very good. An absolute must do. Don’t miss it.

Quality of Experience

Food

Food tour among squares and fountains of Rome

Rome

We enjoyed this very much. Stephania was very very good and made our tour so enjoyable. She went above and beyond. Very pleasant and professional.

Quality of Experience

Excellent, excellent. An absolute must do.

Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica

Rome

Breathtaking, overwhelming, wonderful experience.

Quality of Experience

Our guide Stephania was great.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Colosseum - Palatine Hill - Roman Forum

Rome

Very nice tour. Guide was wonderful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Spent a great week on a whirlwind tour of the Golden Triangle organise via KimKim & Active India. The team (special thanks to Ravi and Aditya) worked very hard to make sure our trip was welcoming and memorable. From the first moment we contacted KimKim to the final itinerary, Ravi and his team answered all of our questions and helped make all of our arrangements. We were greeted at the airport and escorted to every site, event, hotel, etc. in very capable hands. The selection of sights and activities was well planned, flexible and included a good variety. We had 1 or 2 minor hiccups while there but the team, having set up a What's App group for us when we arrived, made it very easy to contact them. They were incredibly responsive and quick to resolve our issues. The guides were professional, knowledgeable and each brought their own expertise to our visits. Our driver was courteous, careful and extremely adept at navigating the roads/routes of our journey. Overall, KimKim made planning and experiencing our trip so very easy.

Trang did a superb job planning our trip. She connected us with a marvelous guide, Trung and driver. All accommodations were perfect in both quality and location. Communication was fast and easy with both Trang and our guide Trung. We appreciate the great care given to us in all areas of our travel. Thank you!

I knew that I needed help organizing my trip to Italy, because I had never been there before and I wanted to be able to relax while I was there with my college age daughter. I reached out to kimkim after seeing great reviews, to request trip planning for a 5-day trip to Varenna, on Lake Como, and Verona. The response to my request was super fast, which I appreciated because I contacted them just 6 weeks before my trip. Eleonora asked lots of questions, and then proposed a list of hotels and activities in each place. First, we had the most incredible view of Lake Como from our hotel balcony - it was magical. She recommended shopping in Bellagio (across the bay from Varenna), which was so adorable and had so many wonderful little shops and spots for aperativo. She signed us up for a tour of a beautiful historic villa, with a boat to drive us dock to dock. Then we drove to Verona to our next hotel, which was very centrally located in a beautiful historic district, just steps from the collosseum ruins. We had a food tour with Miriam - who was the highlight of Verona for us - who took us to taste local olive oil, wine, cheese, cured meat, candy, pizzetta rossa, and a traditional Veronese cake. I have limited mobility and so Eleonora went out of her way to research things that we could do that were within my ability, and our hotels were right in the center of everything in both Varenna and Verona, so we were just steps to delicious food. There was an issue with one of our hotel rooms, and her associate local Gabriele, solved it within 15 minutes. They made the trip easy, efficient, and enjoyable which was exactly what I wanted.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Royal Victoria

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Milano & Spa

Verona

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Afternoon at leisure in Bellagio

Lake Como

Lake Como boat tour and guided visit of Villa del Balbianello

Italy

Private food tour of Verona

Italy

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Do not use Hakim as a travel advisor for your trip to Morocco.

I have used Kim Kim to book two other trips and have been pleased with each of the travel advisors, who knew what they were doing and provided useful and actionable advice. In particular, if you are going to Iceland, Gummi is a great trip advisor.

Hakim was unable or unwilling to provide helpful advice for this trip. In answering questions, he would typically reply with flowery, formulaic messages that had no substance and didn’t answer the question. It’s like he didn’t know what he was doing or couldn’t think of suggestions. I got the sense that he didn’t care about making the trip for us; rather he wanted us to follow a set pattern. He didn’t listen. In the end, we did our own research and made our own decision without his help. Hakim was of little assistance.

Given my experience with Hakim, it is unlikely that I will use Kim Kim again.

The itinerary was well thought out and the reservations with lodging and tours went very smoothly. The places that we visited and the people that we ecountered were wonderful, and I believe that we experienced a great deal of what Torres del Paine and Santiago have to offer.
However, some of the tickets for buses were not shared, leading to confusion once we arrived in Punta Arenas. Additionally some of the pick-up and drop-off times often differed by an hour or more, causing us to miss dinner reservations (incurring cancellation fees) and to miss out on other opportuntinues. These errors may fall on the tranportation vendors that were used (CL Mundo, Patagonia Planet), but there seemed to be communication lapses between them and Say Haeque.
Overall, this was a wonderful experience in a beautiful/welcoming country, but there appeared to be a lack of attention to detail that caused us temporrary frustration while in Chile.

Activity Review

Full Day Visit to two wineries in the Colchagua Valley

Santiago

Great wine tour in two scenic locations and the wine was awesome! However, the drop off time at our hotel was much later than expected, causing us to miss dinner reservations and incur cancellation fees. We were told that we would be home between 8-9 PM, but were actually dropped off at 10:15 PM.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pick up and drop off times