Kimkim Trip Reviews

This was our second trip planned through KimKim in 2024. As with the first, it was tailored to our interests and seamless! Working with Eric was again a pleasure, he offered various ideas and options for the itinerary and was responsive to questions and concerns.

Activity Reviews

Forest Lagoon

Iceland

The best of all seven great geothermal baths we visited on this trip! Such a beautiful setting and varied options for soaking and sauna.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Krauma

Iceland

Runner up for the best stop. Beautiful setting, multiple pools for soaking, infrared sauna and a steam room.

Quality of Experience

The view, the variety of soaking pool (temperatures), the saunas

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We were able to enter several hours earlier than reservation time, friendly staff

The Geothermal Vok Baths

Iceland

The beauty of the baths are best appreciated with a little daylight - we arrived after dark, and were unable to visual the setting very well. This is not a criticism of the facility - we understand the concept of keeping artificial lighting to a minimum!

Quality of Experience

The natural setting, several pools and the quiet - other than a few loud guests, but they were just enjoying themselves.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Staff were friendly and knowledgeable. Explained the process upon arrival.

Our Kimkim agent selected 2 hotels, one of which we were very pleased with. The activities he chose were very enjoyable and informative. However, the final itinerary still contained frustrating errors - despite requests to correct it. Plus, I had to remind the agent to send it to me - despite earlier communications about our eagerness to see final details. In addition, the process of planning the trip was not transparent (especially the costs).

Our guides, Ana (El Escorial), Mercedes (Avila),
Luis (Salamanca), and Mariano (La Granja and Segovia) were wonderful, very knowledgeable and easy to understand. The hotels were all very good and centrally located. It was very enjoyable and relaxing vacation.

Trip to Morocco was unforgettable. Megan provided excellent service and answered our every question in a timely manner. Thank you Megan! Our first exerience with a local guide was not as pleasant. Our ferry was delayed and the first words out of our guides mouth was, "I've been waiting for 3 hours". We were tired, hungry and traumatized by trying to navigate our way to the ferry and then find him and didn't appreciate his negativity. However our guide for the week more than made up for it. Kamir was EXCELLENT! He tended to our every need and made us feel safe and comfortable in a very unfamiliar place. He shared his vast knowledge with us and tried his best to teach us Berber and Arabic words. He was very patient and kind, I can't say enough good about him. He really helped us navigate the unknown and was very reassuring the whole time. Thank you Kamir!!! Our Fez city guide was also very good. I think his name was Kamir. My only complaint is that I would have preferred the city tour be more about the history and the sites rather than the heavy emphasis on shopping. Karim Boutellaka was our guide for the Atlas mountain hike and he was also EXELLENT! We learned so much from him about the forest and he even insisted on sharing his lunch with him. He is an amazing guide and very kind and patient man. Sara at Wanderlust was also very helpful. She jumped in when we were considering a moumtain bike trip but unfortunately illness prevented us from taking advantage of her planning. The dessert was incredible and quite an experience. I can't get over the night sky and the quiet of the dessert. The camel ride was fun and the camels were very sweet and mellow. There is so much beauty in Morocco and the people are so kind! It was a great experience.

Hotel Reviews

Meteorites Boulaajoul

Zaida

Nice accomodations. The staff a little too friendly for my personality.

Riad Madu Luxury Camp

Merzouga

Not up to my expectations. Air conditioning didn't work and water pressure was not good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dar Alfourssane

Ouarzazate

Very nice and roomy riad. Staff friendly and accomodating. Rooms were clean.

Hotel & Ryad Art Place Marrakech

Marrakech

Very nice hotel with a good restaurant. Breakfast was included and wonderful! Staff especially in the breakfast restaurant were incredible, very helpful and kind. Room was spacious and clean. Water pressure was great! I finally was able to wash my long, thick hair!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Akchour Falls from Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen

I'm glad Kamir decided to hike with us because our guide spoke little to no English. It would have been much less pleasant if Kamir wasn't with us. Also, we were told the hike to God's Bridge was under water. We spoke to other tourists the next day and find out that was not the case. I would have liked to hike there too.

Tour Fes with a Private Guide

Fes

I would have preferred hearing more about the history and culture and less shopping.

Atlas Mountains Hike

Morocco

Hike in the forest with Kamir was wonderful! He was so kind and knowledgeble!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Camel Trek into a Luxury Sahara Camp

Morocco

I did not like the way the driver drove from the drop off point to where we started our camel ride. He drove like a madman over the sand dunes, very bumpy and unpleasant. The camel ride was great. Not the most comfortable mode of transportation by hey, it's a camel ride in the dessert! Our guide was very kind and helpful. My favorite part was the night sky after all the lights in the camp were turned off. Incredible! We say the milky way, shooting stars and a planet. In addition watching the sunrise and sunset was amazing!

Sahara to Ouarzazate via Todra Gorge

Morocco

Todra Gorge is beautiful. Fun watching the rock climbers. I felt like I was back in Utah where I had just been on vacation.

Ouarzazate to Marrakech via Aït Benhaddou

Morocco

Scenery was spectular during the drip through the Tizi ,nTicka Pass and through the high Atlas Mountains. Enjoyed our stop at Ait Benhaddou.

Food Tour

Marrakesh

We never could have navigated our way through the many food tents so we more than happy to have Mohammed pave te way. Still have no idea why we started the tour with a donut but hey when in Morocco...

Tour Marrakech with a private guide

Marrakesh

Chefchaouen to Fes via Volubilis

Morocco

Very interest ruins. So glad we visited.

A great trip to Paris and area

All of our drivers were excellent! Beautiful, clean vehicles, water provided, etc. Thomas in particular provided some interesting information about Paris upon our arrival. Christian when above and beyond by stopping in our hotel in Paris when we realized we left our passports and wallet. The assistance with making sure we got in the correct trains was very much appreciated.

All of the accommodations were in good locations and provided nice breakfasts. When we got stuck in the elevator in Hotel Monsiuer They were very attentive to be sure we were okay. In Hotel Belle Normandy they opened their kitchen early so we could have some breakfast before our departure.

Our food tour in Paris was excellent! Christina, was knowledgeable, intelligent, entertaining and provided such a great variety of experiences and accommodated our preferences! Ending at the little wine spot with our charcuterie was such a lively way to end our tour. She also recommended a place to go to for great views of the city upon the end of our tour.

Our tour of Versailles was very well done. Tobias was also very interesting and informative. We loved the clear explanations of the history and his perspective of the environment etc We had great conversations!

Montmartre & Sacré Coeur Walking Tour -Was a huge disappointment! Florencia, was anything but entertaining or enthusiastic. We left the tour after 20 minutes.

The Juno Beach tour was very good. Guide was knowledgeable of the Winnipeg participation in the war and so much more. He took the group to a great spot for lunch which provided a nice opportunity to chat with fellow guests as well as enjoy some great food. Between the guide and the fellow travellers we went to a couple of great restaurants before leaving the area of Normandy.

Our food tour in Boudreaux was very underwhelming. Astrid was not familiar with the tour for this company, so it felt like we were just wandering. The amount of food was almost non existent. Paying $50 euros extra for the tiny bit our kids had was ridiculous.

So in closing , Natalie was great to work with she tried hard to figure out what we would enjoy. The drivers and travel was super seamless and excellent drivers. The hotels met our expectations of clean, good location, and good breakfasts. The tours really ranged in quality. The combination of both private and group tours was a perfect mix.

Deanna

Activity Reviews

Eiffel Tower Summit Ticket

Paris

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Seine Cruise with Commentary

Paris

The description of which boat was not made clear. The number of people on the boat was overwhelming, but it was nice to see the city from the water. We were glad we waited for a nicer day. So the flexibility of the tickets was helpful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Day 1: arrival into Hanoi
Pick up at airport was good, stand in guide Mr Thrung was knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and gave a great restaurant recommendation for dinner: we went twice!
Hotel DeSyloia was very good quality; staff attentive; room clean, and everything worked. very satisfied.

Day 2/ 3: Touring Hanoi. Guide Mr Que very effective . All the itinerary was enjoyable, with possible exception of the Lacquerware factory visit, where heavy selling approach was excessive.
Most favourite tour was boat trip at Trang An caves. Outstanding experience, the highlight of Hanoi visit for us, and would highly recommend to incldue in any Hanoi itinerary.

Day 3: transfer by VietAirJet to Hue. Good flight; all went well.

Day4/5: enjoyed Hue markets and cultural stops. Our Guide Mr Hoa was again knowledgeable and enthusiastic, particularly taking us to authentic Vietnamese eateries for lunch, and to local food markets.

Indochine Palace a good hotel. Staff kindly switched rooms to one with a bath tub, promptly and without fuss.

Day6/8: transfer to Hoi Ann. We enjoyed drive from Hue to Hoi Ann, including stop at Bana Hills.
Cultural tour was good, lantern making “ok”, and we enjoyed having time to tour Hoi Ann ourselves.
The biking visit to organic farm was rained off, but, in all honesty, we appreciated a day just to relax after the preceding schedule!

Silk Senses Hotel was excellent, if a bit removed from Hoi Ann centre.

Day 9: Transfer to Siem Reap. Instead of a direct flight, KimKim booked us on a two leg flight from Danang to Siem Reap, with a 3 hour layover in Bangkok. Was worst part of itinerary planning, and basically wasted a whole day. Rest of itinerary planning and communication was excellent.

Hotel Saem Siem Reap was fine, except location of our room (#101) faced reception and pool, which meant a parade of guests walking past our ground floor window all day- so no sense of privacy. It was also next to the bar, which was noisy.

The whole Siem Reap tour was very special, and we enjoyed all of it, including Dawn at Angkor Wat. Our Guide Mr Phal was outstanding, and we felt privileged to have the benefit of his expertise and attention to detail.

Would not hesitate to recommend KimKim as guide and itinerary planners.

I don’t wish the gripes above to detract from a truly memorable experience, that we would strongly recommend to others.

Our African trip was amazing. We had Eric as a guide in Kenya and Rama as a guide in Tanzania. Both were wonderful young man who were so knowledgable about everything. Our accommodations were terrific, and the food was very good as Well. We had wonderful weather. I told Kim Kim to arrange that and he did. This is the second time I have used this company and both trips were wonderful. The first was Egypt and Jordan. I would highly recommend them. They are very efficient and very happy to make any changes at any time, Dorothy McConville

All Greek English Speaking Private Guides made our 01-03 Nov Athens Experiences, 03-05 Nov 2024 Meteora, 05-07 Nov 2024 Thessaloniki unforgetable, incredible, amazing and unique experiences for my wife and I. Same true with our 11-Nov 2024 Aegina with Andreas.

Coco-Mat was a fantastic 5 star hotel for food, location and room to Athens City Center but Wifi was less than stellar for work and reception. Divani Palace for 03-05 Nov 2024 at Kalambaka and Makedonia Palace were both outstanding for food , location, and room to the city centers to both Kalambaka and Thessaloniki.

Hotel Review

Herodion Hotel

Acropolis, Athens

Herodion had outstanding food, location, and service to Acropolis and Athens City Center, but wifi was sub standard.

Authenticity & Character

Incredible authenticity and character.

Location

Next to Acropolis location, restaurants, shops and museum.

Staff

Gave personal attention to our needs.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean

Activity Review

Private Hydra Island Day Trip

Athens

Andreas made our family trip of seven unforgetable. Tour all over Aegina was amazing. All 7 adults of various ages had an incredible memorable time.

Quality of Experience

Incredible experience.. Andreas and the three drivers.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guides personalized the needs for the tour. We are able to see the entire island including Saint Nectarios Church and Monastery.

Transport

Professional and safe with traffic challenges.

Our guide Ana was amazing - great insight into the region’s history, culture. And the sites, food, recommendations were spot on! Fantastic visit to a country I’ll be coming back to!

What a fantastic Kenyan safari trip we have just finished. It was organised by Joseph, we had quick reply’s and great suggestions just cannot fault their service. Then there was our accommodation, The Cliff Lake Nakuru and Entim Camp Maasai Mara, what absolute luxury, these places are unbelievable. The service from the staff and the food is next level, just loved every minute. Then there was our guide/driver Andrew what a bloody superstar! 5 days of adventure with this man. So knowledgeable and the best sense of humour. We saw everything possible with Andrew, the big 5 within a few hours and so much more! We did find the driving on the highways between the camps a little scary but felt so much at ease with Andrew and his driving. We loved the way all the Safari drivers in the parks communicated and if there was something to be seen the radio went crazy and it was all on. We just cannot recommend enough the KimKim team and our absolute legend of a guide Andrew, thank you so much for the holiday of a lifetime!

We took a 7 day tour including Fes, Rabat, Marrakesh and Agafay with a dedicated car and driver. All accommodations were of very high quality. The Riad El Yacout in Fes, a restored 13th century residence, was exceptional in both architectural details and service. Touring the old city and souks of Fes was one of the highlights of our trip.
Rabat was a very clean more modern city on the Atlantic coast, but basically felt like a filler destination. I wouldn't go there again.
In Marrakesh, we enjoyed the very comfortable and beautiful Riad Chergui with the french influences of its owners, and had a fantastic small group food tour around the central square and in the souks and many more hours wandering through the markets the next day. Overall, we preferred Fes to the much larger, noisier, congested, and polluted Marrakesh.
Our final destination was a luxe tent "camp" in the Agafay Valley desert some 40 kilometers south of Marrakesh, with photo-op camel ride. All guests were well-heeled international tourists, if that's the kind of company you travel to Morocco to be with. The dinner meal was exceptional; I probably wouldn't do this again, ever.

The area that Kimkim should most consider upgrading is their advice on tipping. Tipping is basically expected everywhere. Kimkim's brief guide was not that helpful and in many cases was outdated. I fretted most about tipping our driver and guides. Apparently a 10% tip is standard and acceptable, but what we actually paid our driver and the various guides was buried in the overall fee paid to Kimkim. That information would have made our trip much more pleasant for me.

A wonderful experience to the magical Angkor wat complex of sites thanks to Steve whose airport arrival to departure planning and execution greatly added value to the experience ! The local guide he arranged,Mr.Som Sorn was both articulate and knowledgeable.

Hotel Review

The Aviary Hotel

Siem Reap

Authenticity & Character

Well maintained and excellent service

Location

City centre, everything in walking distance

Staff

All of them

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very good housekeeping

Activity Review

Full day temple exploration by remork (with lunch) - Angkor Thom/Grand Circuit

Siem Reap

A magical holiday whose value was greatly enhanced by the excellent management by Steve Lidgey

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We followed up a weeklong hiking trip on Sao Miguel through Portugal Nature Trails with a week in Terceira, Pico and Faial. Tiago managed the details for this week of travel and it was wonderful. The plans were perfect and went flawlessly from the car rentals to the accommodations to a full day ferry trip to Faial with a great nature guide. We especially loved the Lava Homes but found the personnel everywhere we stayed to be helpful and courteous.
As for Tiago, he was the best! He listened as we planned, was always immediately responsive to our questions and checked in with us to see how things were going. He is an amazing person and did a stellar job, before and during the trip.
Thank you, Tiago and KimKim.

Hotel Reviews

Lava Homes

Pico

Beautiful setting, fabulous restaurant and wonderful staff. Highly recommend.

Authenticity & Character

Location, wonderful homes and restaurant

Location

Somewhat remote but restaurant provides excellent food and drink. Homes are lovely.

Staff

Everyone was extremely helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Zenite Boutique Hotel & SPA

Very comfortable accommodations and good location. Only recommendation would be an in-house restaurant.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful views from window, quiet street

Location

Easy to walk places

Staff

Front desk folks were helpful and The bartender was great.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Faial Island guided tour

Faial Island

Our guide Luis was extremely knowledgeable and we learned a lot on our day tour. I would recommend his company.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Covered a lot of sites throughout the day.

Love, Love, Love Gustavo and his support staff. This company is great and exceeded my expectations. Gustavo worked with me and my budget to make a dream come true. My husband and I were truly pleased with every aspect. Even when one tour was cancelled (no part of Kimkim - weather-related reasons, we quickly received a refund). My Kimkim team stayed in constant contact and quickly responded before the trip and throughout the trip when I needed them. Everything about the trip flowed smoothly and was perfect. Definitely recommend this company and Gustavo for Greece travel. Can't wait to use them again for other trips.

Hotel Review

Senia Hotel

Paros

Beautiful hotel, clean, relaxing and 5-star comfortable. Views are amazing; as is the staff, room, infinity pools, restaurant/bar (delicious breakfast!). Close to the beach, port, town-center, fresh restaurants and shopping. Can't wait to come back. Highly recommend for the perfect stay!

Authenticity & Character

Totally island Greek

Location

Walkable close to everything you want

Staff

Attentive and always available.

Cleanliness & Comfort

5-star classy and comfortable

Activity Reviews

Self-Guided Foodie Walk

Athens

Unfortunately, we were not able to try out all the places listed because we started late and many were closed. Missed the market and would have liked more local restaurants with local specialities. The ones that we tried though, were spot-on!

Quality of Experience

We were rushed (our fault) and should have allowed more time. The recommended tastings were great but we were not able to learn about the food and its culture (busy or unknowledgeable staff). Would have liked to learn and try more locally-produced foods (olives, ouzo, wine/beer, meze, cheeses, etc.).

Small Cyclades Sailing Day Trip

Paros

Canceled due to weather. Kimkim quickly refunded.

Quality of Experience

Cancellation notice, transportation options, backup activity

Transport

Arranged transport to/from the port options would have been helpful (or bus availability).

Self-Guided Day Trip to Local Villages

Paros

We reviewed the itinerary and it looked amazing. However, we were so comfortable in Naoussa and the Senia Hotel we never took the tour, and just enjoyed the relaxation and getting to know the town.

Acropolis Temples, Ruins & Museum Visit

Athens

Excellent guide! Kept up with the time, but allowed for ample breaks (much needed climbing the Acropolis, which was amazing and a must-do). Awesome knowledge and historical architecture. Pleased Greece keeps up the restoration after 3,000+ years. A full day could be spent in the Acropolis Museum. Very inspiring.

Quality of Experience

Life-bending

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledge and compassion. Guide was passionate about her work

Visit the Temple of Poseidon at Sounio, with sunset & stargazing experience

Athens

Absolutely AWESOME! Even cold, windy weather couldn't keep us away. George Kokkos as tour guide/driver was AMAZING! He was so friendly, intelligent and knowledgeable about all of Greece, a pleasure to be with. He could explain history and facts about Greek mythology, philosophy, history - more than we could take in. The astrologer and his guide were also very friendly and knowledgeable. He made constellations look easy, and I can even point some out now that I did not know about. This was truly a tour of a lifetime!

Quality of Experience

The Temple of Poseidon and stargazing with an astrologer was totally outstanding. Far exceeded our expectations.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

George was kind, giving and super smart. And a good driver. We have a new friend

Transport

Safe driver

Self-Guided Highlights Walk

Athens

Everything was right in place and perfect.

Quality of Experience

Everything

Overall, our trip to Italy was wonderful! The information Marina gave us was for the most part very clear and timely and correct. We did experience a few glitches in communication which I will detail in a moment. But, again, overall, the drivers, guides, accommodations, and tours were really very good. The drivers were friendly and spoke English well enough for us to be able to communicate, and in many instances very well! The guides for the tours were well informed and passionate about what they were telling us. I am not good with names and was going to get back on the Trip Plans App to retrieve some of those names, but it won't let me. The Trip Plans App was also very helpful in keeping directions, train tickets, guide names etc all at our fingertips! I liked that very much!
Back to our drivers & guides: Coliseum tour: wonderful guide!! Very engaging! We saw her the next day at the Vatican and she came up to us and spoke for a while. Lovely woman! AnnaMarie may have been her name?
The food tour: Delightful young woman, who conveyed the different vibes of the different areas well!
The cooking class: This was a blast! The chef was a lot of fun even though he didn't speak English! He made himself known, and our translator was fun and engaging with the whole group! I may get a pasta maker because of this class!
Pompeii tour: She was so knowledgeable and interesting to talk with! She really knew the history, and conveyed it well to us. Again I'm so sorry I don't have any names!
Trip to Capri Island: She was wonderful as well! Knowledgeable and fun to chat with about life style and cultural things. I enjoyed her very much!
Florence tour with David: Very good as well. She was personable and informative. There was quite a bit of standing while she spoke and that was a little hard. She knew her stuff about Michelangelo and David though and that showed in the way she spoke about the statue!
Our driver and guide for the 3 Tuscan towns were good too. Friendly and informative! The driver was very accommodating. His name was Johnny! We were ready earlier and he was there and we just started out before the time and changed the order of the towns to be seen. It was a lovely day!
Wine tasting day! Fabulous! I think Matthew was our driver/guides name. Funny, informative, (a little opinionated, but that was ok! We understood where he was coming from even tho we may not have agreed on all his points!) He was a lot of fun and we learned A LOT from him!
Jacob was our driver/guide for what should have been our day to Cinque Terre. The rain kept us away from there which was a great disappointment for me as that was the place I was most looking forward to. We went instead to Lucca and Pisa. The day was sunny but I was sad about not being able to spend the day by the sea. Jacob was excellent as well. He was very knowledgeable about all kinds of things and funny too. Seeing the Marble mountains driving by Carrara was a treat we didn't expect. Very cool!
I think our guide in Venice was "Henry" or the Italian equivalent of Henry! He was delightful as well! Really knew the subject of St Marks Basilica and the Doges palace well. There again, we stood quite a bit and that made us tired. That wasn't his fault tho!
Accommodations were very nice! Capo d/Africa hotel: Lovely, friendly staff. Positano Art hotel: very nice! Concierge there was very helpful and personable! Olympia Hotel in Venice: Super friendly staff!! Very helpful! Mamo apartment was very nice as well. I did call for them to come and fix something in our closet, but they couldn't make that happen. We called for additional toilet paper & trash bags and someone decided that it would be good to deliver them at 22:30! We were all in bed! At first I thought it would be far from the Florence sites but the location grew on me! There were several good restaurants we enjoyed very close to the apartment! Good job! :)
Now the down side of the trip were the following: Communication while in Italy. For the most part it was fine but there were several times that the drivers or guides had my sister-in-law, Julie's number. Julie began the process of planning the trip but had to back out in April, so I took over planning. I don't think Marina communicated with Julie anytime past June, so her number should not have been part of the itinerary. When we booked and had to give all our final information I took Julie's name off the list so it wouldn't be confusing, but it was still in Marina's files. Julie ended up getting several calls from Italy (mainly in the middle of the night!). That was annoying for Julie and frustrating for me as I couldn't get to our guides in a timely fashion. This happened most notably on the Vatican tour. Our guide was late, I believe, to begin with, and didn't use a sign with our name on it. She looked up Julie on facebook to see what she looked like to be able to find us. That obviously didn't work. I don't look like my SIL! :)
The Vatican tour was disappointing too as I had requested going to the Rafael Rooms specifically, and that got overlooked.
The other disappointment was the final day in Rome. We didn't get to go on the Appian Way bike tour because of traffic to the airport hotel. And we didn't get any type of refund for this either.
I think this stemmed from the fact that I had no idea about drive times to and from places. I wish that Marina would have explained drive times to me better. It didn't affect too much of the trip, but this last day we may have changed things around had we know about how long it took to get from the train station to the airport and back to town to take the tour. All we did that day was travel, but it wore us out! Plus day light savings time had just ended so it was getting dark sooner than it had up until that point. That threw us off as well. If Marina had explained to us that, since we wanted to stay at the A/P hotel, that we may be taking on too much, we could have cancelled that activity and saved a little bit of money. We did have a nice relaxing evening together at the hotel on that last night!
Oh! One other suggestion! It would have been helpful to have the name of the tour companies for the tours we were on. We would have then been able to be proactive in finding our guides a little quicker. As it was we were completely dependent on them finding us. Just a thought!
So as you can see we had a "Fantastico" trip to Italy! There were some rough spots, but nothing that would dampen my memories of this trip! I have already recommended KimKim to others planning trips to Europe and Italy in particular! Thank you for listening to me!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Capo d'Africa—Colosseo

Rome

Good location, friendly staff and the breakfasts included in the stay were very tasty!

Authenticity & Character

rooftop breakfast and bar in the evenings!

Location

walkable to historic attractions

Staff

Very friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

No problems!

Art Hotel Pasitea

Positano

Lovely hotel! Concierge was super helpful in restaurant selection! He really seemed to enjoy seeing us when we'd come by the front desk!

Authenticity & Character

Fun artwork all over the place here!

Location

Beautiful views! Gorgeous

Staff

Very friendly staff and helpful. Spoke English well for us, which we appreciated!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lovely rooms. Could have had a few more hooks, shelves & storage cabinets. A mini frig would have been nice too!

Mamo Florence Apartment

Firenze

Not as far from the Florence attractions as I initially thought but we did have to do a good bit of walking, which isn't bad! The staff was mostly accommodating to some of our needs. They couldn't come fix a closet issue, and brought us extra toilet paper and trash bags at 22:30! That was late for us Americans! We were in bed already! I would suggest having instructions for things like the coffee maker, washer/dryer & dishwasher. Letting us know what the checkout process was, and what to do with the trash would have been helpful too. Maybe having an information sheet with restaurants, markets, pharmacies etc would have been nice too. The lock for the door was something none of us had ever seen so that was a challenge initially but we got used to it! Overall a nice place to stay!

Authenticity & Character

City feel

Location

Good . Maybe could have been a little closer to town.

Staff

22:30 for delivery? not the best.

Cleanliness & Comfort

It was fine and clean and comfortable!

Activity Reviews

Colosseum & Roman Forum Visit: Arena Access, Gladiators Gate & Ancient City

Rome

Learned a lot! Lovely guide

Quality of Experience

learned a lot

Guides, Drivers and Staff

she was very engaging

Transport

we walked there!

La Dolce Vita: Private Golf Cart in Rome

Rome

Loads of fun! Guide was great and drove us all over the place! He was very knowledgeable and explained a lot of history & culture to us! He was losing his voice and we felt bad about that. a microphone would have help us and him out a bunch!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

so fun and a little scary on the streets of Rome! We had a lot of fun!

Day Excursion to Capri Island and Anacapri

Italy

Started out rainy but turned into a lovely sunny day! Really enjoyed the Funicular and the chair lift to the top of Anacapri!

Quality of Experience

Our guide was very personable and helpful

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Enjoyed our guide very much

Transport

I thought we would get to ride a hover craft out but we didn't get to That was the only downside. Funicular, Chairlift,ride over the MamaMia bridge! Very memorable

Day Excursion to Pompeii & Hercolanum

Italy

Fascinating to learn all the details of these ancient cities!

Quality of Experience

very informative.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Excellent! She knew her stuff and could convey it well to us!

Transport

Our driver to and from Pompeii/Positano was very conversational!

Guided Visit: Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel

Rome

Interesting place. Lots of people. Didn't find our guide for about half an hour. It was beautiful but felt herded like cattle through the Sistine Chapel. Didn't get to see the Rafael Room which was on my list.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

She was passionate about the artwork she was telling us about

Transport

The driver to the Vatican was fine.

Italian Cooking Class at a Local Ristorante

Rome

So fun! Loved this event! Made pasta and an appetizer and were served plenty of wine in the process! Friendly Chef, translator and staff too!

Quality of Experience

Engaging staff! Wine! Yummy food! Fun Chef!

Food

Great food! So fun!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Enthusiasm, outgoing personality!

Transport

the driver got us there! It was fine!

Guided Visit of Florence Including David and Duomo

Florence

Good tour. Lots of information. Lots of standing which is hard sometimes! We did walk a lot though too!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We walked and met her at the designated point.

Chianti Wine Half-Day Experience

Florence

So fun! Really enjoyed the wine, luncheon an both wineries! The guide was very friendly and talkative as well (I talked about him in my overall review

Quality of Experience

Food

Delicious! Italian lunch and olive oil and wine! Who could ask for anything more!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

friendly funny knowledgeable

Transport

driver was our guide! Good!

Day Trip to Siena, San Gimignano & Monteriggioni

Florence

Fun day driving through the Tuscan countryside!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver was super friendly and helpful! He told all sorts of things about the area. Our guide in Sienna was good too! She enjoyed her town and liked telling people about it!

Transport

Driver was great!

Day Excursion to Cinque Terre

Florence

Did not go to Cinque Terre because of rain. Very disappointing to me! We did go to Lucca and Pisa. It was sunny but didn't make up for not being able to see the sea!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver Jacob made the best of a bad situation. He was super friendly and explained a lot of things to us driving down the highways to our destinations!

Transport

Driver was excellent!

The trip to Turkey was such an amazing trip and exceeded all my expectation. My initial planning was with Murat. He was very patient and responsive to all my questions. My dates had not finalized yet and he was very patient throughout the process. I then got a chance to work with Berat who was amazing with all her recommendations and planning. She was very responsive to all my questions and was very accommodating. There was an issue with travel plans but she was very patient and made all the necessary changes needed which was greatly appreciated. While in Turkey, all the suggested tours, guides and drivers were amazing. The hotels were great and I feel like the itinerary showed the best of Turkey. Special shout out to both Hatice and Oguzhan who were both great guides and very informative as well as very attentive. The trip was so amazing because of this. Thank you so much. I would highly recommend Berat and her team to anyone.

The trip to Norway is wonderful and unforgettable. We are four to go on 23 October 2024. We enjoy Bergen but I think too long to stay there. Bergen is a lovely city. We also love Flam , Bodo but Bodo stay 1 night is not enough. Most of all we love more Lofoten. The view there is beautiful. All the trip and activity were all managed well. Your local specialist Krista and Fenne and the 24 customer care is very helpfull. The respond is quick when we need help. Hotel all good and very near to ferry, train station, Unluckily our Aurora hunting was cancelled twice due to bad weather in Lofoten.
But luckily the last day in Bodo we got a very good local guide Mr. Ivar. He is very good, patient, very experience, high responsibility. Actually we already hopeless because the weather is very bad in Bodo. Is raining and snowing. But Mr. Ivar
convince us that we can still see the Northern Lights if we are willing to drive about 6 hours in return to the east. Then we told him we willing. He is very experience tour guide and also driver. AS he said finally we can see the very beautiful Northern Lights. He also help us to take many nice photos. Thanks very much to Kimkim and Mr.Ivar. The car also very nice car include drink and snack. Will introduce Kimkim to my friends

Activity Review

Northern Lights Tour

Bodø

Excellent. Your tour guide Is very good and experience. Without him we were impossible to se the Northern Lights. We thanks Mr. Ivar

Quality of Experience

private transfer, hotel, activity,

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Amazing trek. Our guide Gyaljan and our porter Khawa were superb. They looked after us exceptionally well, from our arrival in Kathmandu to our return to Pokhara. They made sure we had the best rooms in the tea houses and even woke us up some mornings when we nearly overslept..! We had lots of laughs along the way 😁. The trek itself was superb. The Thorang La was tricky and requires a reasonable level of fitness, but the sense of achievement was incredible. Would recommend this trek and our guide/porter/friends Gyaljan and Khawa to anyone who wants to experience this area.

Some portions of the trip were absolutely fabulous and a few things left something to be desired. I'll start with the positive. The hotel in Panama City was fantastic. Our trip to Broquete was almost seamless and our Gapa travel guide, Plinio, was beyond fantastic, especially when one tour had to be canceled due to weather and he came up with a fabulous backup solution. 5 stars for Plinio. Our trip to the San Blas Islands was fantastic, though we felt very underprepared. I wish someone had told us to bring a towel, extra water, and even a snorkel mask. Most other tourists seemed to know this information but we did not. And our accommodations did not remotely match the pictures provided in our itinerary. Maybe we were on a different island? We thought we were getting it huts above the water and that was not the reality. But the island was still great. Our guide via Gapa travel in Panama City was extremely friendly and sociable, but did not have the depth of knowledge I would have expected of a guide and spent a lot of time videoing and posting on his personal social media account. A bit disappointing. There was a bit of a snafu with our driver on the final day to return to the airport but Jesse was very available to help correct the situation. I'm not sure where the breakdown in communication occurred. But we made it in time to make our flight.

Hotel Reviews

Private Cabins at San Blas Islands

San Blas

I don't know where you got this picture but these are not the cabins we stayed in. So I have to rate them as a one because this is what we expected and not what we got. Now if I were rating the actual huts we were in on Iguana Island I would give them 4 stars.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Waldorf Astoria Panama

Panama City

Hotel was absolutely fantastic. The staff was impeccable, their concierge set us up with a number of fabulous tours, 100% would stay there again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Panameña Night

Panama City

The restaurant chosen for this night was fantastic. We started at the Mercado de Pescado for a beer and some ceviche and continued on to a fabulous restaurant whose name I unfortunately don't remember. The staff and food at both locations were great. The only downfall of our tour again, was our guide. While very friendly, he didn't provide any information on Panamanian food culture.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boquete - Hanging bridges

Boquete

This is a fabulous activity and a great way to see the cloud forest of Panama! Highly recommend. We had a great guide through Tree Trek.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Soberania National Park

Panama City

This had the potential to be a fantastic tour but our guide unfortunately, was not very knowledgeable. He knew a lot about birds but not a lot about any other flora or fauna. The walk he chose was strange compared to where other cars were parked. We did see a lot of animals so that was neat. But at times I felt I knew more information having been to Costa Rica six months ago, than our guide. Still a fabulous national Park that everyone should visit. Just go with a good guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee Experience

Boquete

We did the coffee experience also through Tree Trek. Highly recommend, especially if you're headed up to Tree Trek for any of their other activities. We had an extremely knowledgeable guide who gave a fantastic tour that included an up close experience with hummingbirds. The coffee tasting was superb.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The boat trip to Higgins National Park, and the bus tour through Torres Del Paine National Parks were amazing. We were blessed with great weather and a very good local guide, Daniella (on the TDP trip.) The pristine natural beauty of these parks is a sight to behold!

Hotel Review

Altiplanico Sur Hotel

Puerto Natales

Great Service! Excellent food options in the restaurant. Amazing view of the bay from our ocean facing room.

Authenticity & Character

The postcard picture window with unobstructed view of the bay. Comfortable common areas gor sitting around with friends sipping hot tea!

Location

Serenity, away from the crowds.

Staff

Helpful, and easy to communicate with.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room fixtures are dated, but bed was comfortable. Good bathroom with shower stall and towel warmer.

Activity Reviews

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

Puerto Natales

Comfortable boat ride. Great views of waterfalls and glacier. Hearty lunch of barbecued chicken and lamb. An overall great experience!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Torres del Paine National Park (Full-Day Group Tour)

Argentina

Wonderful day-long trip. Very scenic, populated with llama-like deers. Took plenty of pictures with many stops along the way. Good lunch with soup, entree, and dessert. Good local guide, Daniella who made the trip enjoyable and comfortable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport