Kimkim Trip Reviews

Our journey through Morocco was an unforgettable celebration of friendship and life. Traveling with three close friends, we were swept away by the beauty of each city—from the vibrant streets of Casablanca to the serene blue of Chefchaouen, the ancient wonders of Fez, and the sensory delights of Marrakech. What truly elevated our experience was the impeccable service throughout. Our driver, Karim, was not only knowledgeable and kind but also made us feel safe and cared for every step of the way. Every detail—from the charming riads and thoughtfully curated tours to the delicious meals—was perfectly arranged, making this trip seamless, joyful, and deeply memorable.

Hotel Review

Lina Ryad & Spa

Chefchaouen

Best Ryad during our whole trip. The place is a dream come true!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Guided Tour of Fez Medina: Journey Through the World's Living Medieval City

Fes

This tour was amazing. Sherif our guide was kind and knowledgeable! Every detail of the tour was well planned and pleasant. He was very flexible with changes we suggested and waited for us patiently!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half-Day Guided Tour of Marrakech

Marrakesh

Hanan was the most kind and lovely person. We truly enjoyed the time with her. She was punctual, knowledgeable, flexible, and patient. We are so grateful to have been with her in Marrakech!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Marrakech Evening Food Tour: A Feast for All the Senses

Marrakesh

The food choices were amazing. I had been to Marrakech before, but my experience was not as positive. Our guide was kind and knowledgeable. We were able to ask many questions about the food, the city and country, and also the culture. We learned a lot from Mohammed. Fully recommend him!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip to the southern part of Africa is something we will never forget. Typically when planning our trips, I like to do the research and build the itinerary myself. However not being familiar with South Africa and the surrounding countries, I figured I might need a little help. Luckily I found KimKim and Lize!

Planning/ Building The Trip: This step could not have been made easier. I was able to let Lize know what places we wanted to visit and activities we are interested in and POOF - out came a well crafted and smooth flowing itinerary that checked off all the major sites we wanted to visit. This made for an incredibly convenient trip. Driver's waiting for us at the airport when we landed - quick and easy hotel check in - activities already booked and transportation scheduled to take you to them - flight tickets within the country booked (to airport I did not even know existed!).

The accommodations/ hotels we stayed in were immaculate! Specifically we wanted to give a shout out to The Nkorho Lodge in Sabi Sands. All of the staff here was amazing and friendly. Spending time with our game driver Matt made our time here very special. He is very knowledgeable about the animals/ environment, but also a great time to be around. We had a great time chatting and joking with him and Luka as we made our way in and out of the bush. You cannot go wrong with anyone at Nkorho Lodge.

We also wanted to give a shoutout to Baams at the Okuti Lodge in Botswana. We had an amazing time joking and getting to know Baams. It was fascinating learning how he can track certain animals not only by their foot tracks, but also by listening to the birds in the trees. It cannot be understated how much Okuti makes your feel like family from the moment you pull up to the lodge. The entire staff is waiting there to introduce themselves to you and even greet you with a song. It was truly an experience we will never forget.

If you are thinking about planning a trip to Africa, I HIGHLY recommend utilizing KimKim and working with Lize. You will not regret it.

Hotel Reviews

The Commodore Hotel

Cape Town

Perfect location! Steps away from the V&A Waterfront and restaurants/ bars. The staff here is incredibly friendly and eager to help if you have any questions about activities. Breakfast was very good. Hotel bar well stocked and comfortable. Rooms were very clean- beds a little on the firmer side, but I do not mind that (pillows and sheets were comfy).

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nkorho Bush Lodge

Kruger National Park

This is one of the best accommodations we have ever stayed at. The rooms are very spacious and clean. The beds, sheets, and pillows very comfy. Some rooms you can even get a view of the watering hole where animals drop by throughout the day. Food was very good, and the overall vibe is very laid back (which is nice after game drives). Not the mention the infinity pool looking out at the watering hole. However what makes this place special is the staff. We had a blast getting to know and speak with Roscoe, Luka, Carl, Matt, and others. Everyone is so easily approachable and fun to converse with. Matt and David were our game driver/ spotter and we cannot say enough great things about them and how much fun we had getting to spend a few days with them.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Insika Lodge

Victoria Falls

We really enjoyed our time at Insika. The rooms were very spacious and comfortable. We really enjoyed the hotel pool and bar area when we had some down time. We want to give a shoutout to Granger behind the bar. We loved catching up with him at the end of the day. Also the women at the front desk are incredibly helpful with any questions or scheduling needs you have. Breakfast was very good. Lastly we really enjoyed the shuttle into town. It was very convenient and a great perk to getting to explore the local area.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Okuti

Botswana

Our stay at Okuti was one of our favorites of the trip. It is very unusual to show up to an accommodation and instantly feel part of the family. Saying the staff here is amazing would be an understatement. Everyone is so friendly and engaging. They truly want to know how your day is and what your enjoyed about it. We really enjoyed our basket making class in the afternoon. The food here was also amazing. Every night at dinner was made to feel like a big family gathering which was very welcoming and warm. We loved sitting by the firepit afterwards and recapping our day or sharing stories with the staff and other travelers. The rooms here were one of our favorites on our trip. They are very spacious and the most comfortable bed we had during our travels around Africa. Lastly the game drives. We loved joking around and spending time with our driver Baams. He was incredibly knowledgeable and we had a blast tracking lions, leopards, and cheetahs with him.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Tour of the falls and sunset cruise

Victoria Falls

We really enjoyed our tour of the falls, but the only reason I would not give it 5 stars is I do not believe you need to do this with a guide. Perhaps there was not a ton of info to share, but our guide did not have much to say. The paths to walk through the park are well marked and we often found ourselves in front of our group waiting on people. If we did this again, we would just go by ourselves. The views of the falls are AMAZING! It is 100% worth going and experiencing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was not very engaging. You can tell he does a lot of these walks in a day.

Transport

Full Day Cape Peninsula Tour (including lunch)

South Africa

We highly recommend this trip. We had a great time driving around with our guide Ian. He was very knowledgeable and engaging. He made a great suggestion for a lunch stop near Boulder Beach that was right on the water and inevitably ended up being one of our favorite meals of our 3 week trip.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Helicopter Flight

Victoria Falls

Amazing experience and the views you get of the falls and local area are breathtaking. We did the 12-13 minute flight which seemed like it would not be enough time. In fact it was the perfect amount of time. You get up there and make some loops, grab your pictures, and by that time you are good to go.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Afternoon Game Drive

Sabi Sands Game Reserve

The Sabi Sands area is amazing. We were lucky to have a great guide and spotter (Matt/ David). Who made our time in the bush very enjoyable. The safari vehicles are comfortable and in the colder times they will supply you with a blanket should you like one. We really enjoyed our sun downer breaks with cocktails. It is amazing the animals you will see on your safari - remembering it is not a zoo - so you're not guaranteed to see everything. However the guides are very good at tracking and make even the down time engaging and fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Zip Line - Zimbabwe

Victoria Falls

Very fun zip line over the gorge. However it is not like traditional ziplines where you end on another platform. You go up the other side of the canyon and come to rest dangling in the middle of the line. Someone comes down and wenches you back up to the starting point. Absolutely nothing wrong with this, we had a great time, but it is over quite quickly.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Okavango Delta Safari

Okavango Delta

We loved our time in the Okavango Delta. It was really cool getting to experience safari both on land and on the water. We had a great time with our guide Baams.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

It was very helpful to have the hotels close to all the attractions as we were able to walk everywhere. All the guides are super friendly and knowledgeable. We enjoyed our trip thoroughly! The only suggestion I would make for future visitors is during the Douro Valley trip. It would be great if the tour guide were able to stop at the scenic attractions, allowing us to take pictures. We saw the beautiful valley but did not stop to take pictures of the valley, only saw from the car.

Wonderful experience, will use this service again in the future!

All of our guides were really great and I absolutely recommend all them for future travelers.

The whiskey tasting was good, but you only taste whiskeys from Suntory because the bar has an exclusive deal with the distillery. That was a bit limiting, but it was still good to learn more about Japanese whiskey and then we tried other distilleries on our own. Hiro was a good host. Overall, I would suggest a stop at Suntory's distillery for a guest already going from Tokyo to Kyoto.

There absolutely needs to be a guide for the Sumo experience. If not for a guide with another group, I wouldn't have learned or understood a single thing going on in that practice. You have to be completely quiet the whole time and no one from the facility talks to you, explains anything, etc. We really liked going to practice though and immersing more into that historical part of Japanese legacy so I highly recommend for other guests, but absolutely with a guide.

Nick was a good guide for Tokyo. He showed us a few cool spots that only a local would know like the view of Tokyo Station from the corporate business next door.

Yukari, our guide in Kyoto, became a friend during the trip. She quickly pivoted and took us to places with fewer crowds. Absolutely 10/10 guide.

Both Yokos were wonderful and very knowledgable too.

One of our favorite parts of the trip was the Tea Tasting in Kyoto. I wish we had done more immersive experiences like that.

Our hotels were all 5 stars except in Hiroshima, but I know we were a bit budget conscious on that one. I'm also glad we upgraded to the green car for the longer train rides. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH for booking us on the correct side of the trains so that we could see Mount Fuji, what a treat on a beautiful blue day from Osaka to Tokyo on our way home. That was absolutely wonderful!!!

Overall...Sandy was really good, but I just didn't feel like I was working with someone currently local. We asked her about a HUGE event in Osaka - the World Expo - and she didn't know about it but when we got to Japan, everyone knew about it. We should have pushed her more on alternative places to go versus mainstream tourist hotspots. Thankfully we were able to work with our tour guides in each city to learn a little more about what crowds to avoid and how we could see similar sites without as many people.

Hotel Reviews

Asakusa View Hotel Annex Rokku

Odd that we were literally annexed from the main hotel, but I liked that it was smaller and felt more "boutique" from the main location. I loved that we were able to take advantage of the larger hotels high rise breakfast buffet though. One of my favorite pictures from the trip was from the location. Also, the hotel had on floor self serve laundry which we took advantage of twice! It was amazing and I wish more hotels offered that. The biggest issue with this hotel was the smoking room on the 2nd floor, you could smell it so strongly anytime we were around the front desk.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Laundry facilities!

Zentis Osaka

Osaka

This hotel was incredible, very modern. The staff were very friendly and spoke great English. The breakfast was limited to a Japanese and English preset option, but both were very good. We loved our room and the location was pretty good, maybe a little closer to the subway would have been nice.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sumo Stable Tour

Tokyo

This was a wonderful experience, one of our favorites! That said, you absolutely need a guide if you want to learn about sumo and what's going on during practice. Thankfully there was a guide for another group so we could learn some from her, but we still missed out on much of what she was sharing with her guests.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Japanese Whisky Tasting Experience at Local Bar in Tokyo

Tokyo

Good, guide was informative but only tasted Suntory whiskey.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Osaka Local Foodie Tour in Dotonbori and Shinsekai

Japan

So much fun! We loved our private tours, but it was fun to have a group activity for the food tour. Our guide Yuki was wonderful, very enthusiastic. Would recommend to others!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tea Ceremony in Kyoto FLOWER TEAHOUSE

Kyoto

WOW! What a highlight of our trip. We felt taken back in time. I wish the experience had been a little longer but otherwise it was perfect.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver Omar was phenomenal. Friendly, excellent driver, helpful and curious. He made the trip memorable and went out of his way to help. Showing us his family home in Dades was memorable for us. The hotels were great except in Chefchuan the blue city despite our request we got the room several floors up with no elevator and it was dusty and musty smell in the room making my allergies unbearable. The hotel in Marrakech and Fes were excellent. The hotel in Casablanca was not so great and front staff a bit rude. The desert experience even though spectacular was marred by poor camel seats in 2 out of 4 causing loss of thigh skin and constant risk of falling off. The food there very ordinary and entertainment very primitive and amateurs and we couldn’t take it after a few minutes. The SUV driver drove on the dunes recklessly and most of us were sick ignoring our request not to do so. The guide Salaam in Marrakech and host family for cooking class were just amazing. Very memorable.Meeting Abdul for tea in Rose valley was great. Small hotel in Dades valley was very good hospitality was warm and great food even for vegetarians. The vehicle was very comfortable and spacious. The arrangements by Sharon were very efficient.

Hotel Reviews

Hôtel & Ryads Barrière Le Naoura

Marrakech

Great room, food, location and staff

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Chez Ichou

Dades Gorge

Warm hospitality, great food, pretty setting

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Club Val d'Anfa Casablanca

Casablanca

Staff a bit rude, room very ordinary, was dusty with renovations, our request for sea views room was never honored, location good, food was good

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Relaxing Desert Camp - Royal Bivouac

Merzouga

Room okay, food poor, entertainment very poor, manager driver reckless and uncaring

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Nila

Chefchaouen

Dusty, musty, our request for ground or lower floor was not known to the hotel and we had to climb multiple flights with luggage, allergies were bad here. Location very good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Palais Faraj Suites & Spa

Fès

Most amazing hotel palace, very accommodating staff, my room had a window opening to wall do they upgraded us next day to a suite. Food and location perfect.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Euphoriad

Rabat

Very pretty boutique hotel, very nice staff, service and food, good location

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Guided Tour of Fes

Fes

Guide Said, so so little disinterested, city magnificent

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour of Marrakech

Marrakesh

Great guide Salaam . Enjoyed the tour, Souks and atmosphere

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Cooking Class w/ Souk Tour

Morocco

Lovely family, very warm and welcoming. Very nice cooking class, yummy food, getting dressed in traditional Moroccan outfits a surprise bonus.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Marrakech to Dades Valley via Ait Ben Haddou

Morocco

Bit long drive, the Ait Ben Haddou trip got, dusty and tiring, rose and Dades valley very pretty

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Merzouga to Fes via Midelt, Azrou, & Ifraine

Morocco

Beautiful drive, Ifrane just beautiful

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dades Valley to Merzouga Camel Trek via Todgha Gorge & Tinghir

Morocco

Camel ride substandard poor seats, dunes magnificent, camp substandard, poor food and very poor entertainment, reception office before the camel ride unfriendly and asking to paid for washrooms use. Camp manager driving us was reckless and scary.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

{{start_location}} to {{end_location}} via Volubilis and Meknes

Morocco

Roman ruins very nice, good guide

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Driving Tour of Casablanca

Casablanca

Not much to see except the Hassan mosque which was spectacular , beach walk was nice, dinner was nice at the hotel , hotel itself ordinary

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Orientation Walk & Free Afternoon in Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen

Pretty yet very touristy town, asking for money every where for photos, had a great meal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Afternoon Guided Tour of Rabat

Rabat

Guide disinterested, not prepared, couldn’t show us the drive through palace grounds because it was time for royal kids to leave school, could not show us the mausoleum because some special visit. Mostly waste of time. We went and saw the mausoleum next morning on our own.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sarah was great during the planning process (we had a lot of iterations). She was also helpful during our trip - one of the drivers didn't know where to go for the Pagsanjan Falls excursion and another day, there was miscommunication with our driver and instead of viewing the Taal volcano, we went to the city of Taal. It worked out because we went on another day to view the Taal volcano and were also able to go on a boat ride which we really enjoyed. All of our drivers were excellent and we arrived safely to all our destinations (including when one of the vehicles broke down on the way to the airport - they quickly provided another vehicle to pick us up). Our tour guides were great. Glen, who did the tour of Intramuros and China Town was very enthusiastic. He also had us try some food along the way. Andre who guided us to the Taal volcano was very accommodating. We wanted to try balut and he took us to a place we could try it. Overall, we enjoyed everything we did. The negatives included going to the city of Taal by mistake and wasting time, the waterfall we were taken to after viewing the Taal volcano was disappointing (I wouldn't call it a waterfall, it was nowhere near the pictures on their site and the path there was through people's living spaces), we ended up canceling the hike to mount Daraitan because we realized it would be more difficult than we were anticipating after further research and lastly, we cancelled our food tour because we didn't want to return to China Town again when we were already there a couple days earlier.

We have traveled with the assistance of Kim Kim for several years. The level of care and service was outstanding, consistent over time. Our specialist worked closely with us creating an itinerary that was customized for our interests. She was available during our trip in 'real time' to made adjustments if needed and answer questions. Looking forward to our next trip and the special attention that Kim Kim offers.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Metropol

München

Great location in Munich to walking and trains. The staffing had wonderful hospitality. The breakfast was the best. The beds not super comfortable and during our visit very noisy across the street with much construction.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Altstadthotel Kasererbräu

Salzburg

Good location, staffing was average in helpfulness. Breakfast was not the best.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Zipser

Vienna

Location was convenient, mostly in walking distance. Room and outside area was fantastic. Park like setting and quiet. Staff was not very friendly. Seemed like that they did not prefer to assist Americans. Breakfast was average.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Munich Bavarian Beer Tour

Munich

Guide was fun and made the time interesting. We had thought we would visit several establishments, pub hopping. Different than described but very enjoyable. Had a lovely dinner with group at the end of the tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Neuschwanstein Castle Full-day tour

Munich

Had a wonderful day at the castle. The transportation back/forth was very supportive of an enjoyable day. Definitely worth the visit.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The tour operator was disorganized in the beginning, could not figure out which was correct tour and guide. Helpful if guides where a 'standard' shirt and carried a flag or identification. Check in was easy though

Transport

Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial

Munich

Very hard to describe this experience. Much more impactful that watching a documentary, movie and reading about the camp. Hard to say it was amazing due to the nature of the activity but certainly worthwhile and meaningful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tour guide very knowledgeable.

Transport

Bike tour Sound Of Music Musical

Salzburg

This was a blast and highly recommended. Singing songs and riding bike was perfectly hokey! The guide was fun and made the day quiet enjoyable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Lake District + Hallstatt (St.Gilden, St.Wolfgang)

Salzburg

It was great to take a day out of the city and enjoy the scenery and fresh air. Beautiful scenery and an enjoyable day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Drop off at the end of the tour was not the same place as pick up. Was surprised and had to find our own way back to hotel.

The Salzburg Marionette Theatre - The Sound of Music tickets

Salzburg

So glad we went. Highly recommended and lots of fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

n/a - activity on our own with no guide or staffing involved

Transport

n/a - activity on our own with no guide or staffing involved

The Original Bavarian Tour : Berchtesgadenerland (Small Group Tour/8Hours)

Salzburg

This event was cancelled, no feedback to provide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vienna's Old Town Bike tour

Vienna

Great way to see the city instead of walking or bus. Guide was very knowledgeable and loved hearing stories she provided. Tour service was friendly and helpful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vivaldi Karlskirche - Concert Vienna

Vienna

Really enjoyed the concert in a beautiful setting. Lovely night out.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

n/a made our own way to event, no staffing

Transport

Wachau Valley Winery Bike tour from Vienna

Vienna

Great day spent out of the city. Wineries was delicious, informative and cycling is fun way to tour. Tour company very friendly and knowledgeable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

End of tour was different than start. Had to find our own way back in the city. Was surprised, unexpected. Preferred to end where we started at the tour office.

Transport

24/7 assistance in case of emergency

Germany

Kim Kim's specialist are always available if glitches happen with tours, changes occur, Really appreciate that our support is on the same time zone and familiar with the region so they make suggestions of other activities. For example: one tour was cancelled and our specialist quickly booked a cooking class which was so much fun. Kim Kim also refunds quickly, money credited even before I returned from trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Helena really was amazing and I loved the trip she planned for my family and I in Portugal. We visited Porto, Lisbon and Algarve. Just a few comments: I would have liked a little more communication after I paid the trip fees. I didn't realize I was supposed to download a travel app (which I wasn't able to do while I was in Europe for some reason), but thankfully my husband was able to do so. I also didn't realize that I never received detailed itinerary (like times and places to meet for excursions), so we actually missed the first excursion planned and I was a bit stressed out. This was a miscommunication and while I take some blame for not understanding the process as a first time Kim Kim user, it would have been nice to have more communication about this. Also, it would have been nice to know a 24/7 phone number for Kim Kim ahead of time in case of emergency...it took us some time to find numbers/emails while frantic about the itinerary when we first arrived after a long trip of travel to the destination.

One of the 3 hotels I stayed at needed significant renovations (which was agreed to by the staff) and the service was lacking for a 5 star hotel. Also, a second excursion was cancelled due to a prearranged bicycle race that shut down the roads (you would think that the excursion provider would have notified the travel agency ahead of time about this).

However, enough about the critiques...this trip was truly amazing and one that I will never forget in my lifetime and my family members agree. I would definitely use Kim Kim again for my next trip and I would definitely use Helena again for my future planning. We Loved the hotel in Lisbon and Porto and the excursions and transportation planned were awesome picks! I truly want to thank Helena for everything.

Hotel Reviews

Cascade Wellness Resort

Lagos

Not to the standards of a 5 star hotel. The 2 bedroom apartments needed renovation. The first room they booked us in was extremely dirty. Cigarette butts on the stairwell from the patio going to the roof top. Stains on the carpet and the chairs and couch. The entire apartment needed updating (which staff admitted to). Location was decent.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Near amazing water views and walking paths (not beaches or direct access to the water though)

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The rooms

Pestana Porto - A Brasileira

Porto

Great location. Wonderful hotel. I would stay here again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pousada de Lisboa, Praça do Comércio - Monument Hotel

Lisbon

Amazing hotel. Amazing breakfast. Great steakhouse (Rib). Great location. Wonderful staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sintra Heritage Hike: Hidden Secrets

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Car was a little small for our group so we were cramped

Guided Tuk-Tuk Tour

Portugal

It was really great as it followed the Tram 28 destinations...but I do feel like we missed quite a bit of the city. Could have been longer and cover more areas.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This was my first time using kimkim and I was very pleased from the start how easy it was! Emanuela was amazing from start to finish customizing our trip to Iceland. She was in touch with us during the trip and we felt very much taken care of. Having accommodations, excursion vouchers, car rental, restaurant recommendations, side trips, optional stop etc. made the trip easy to navigate. I love that Emanuela is living in Iceland and knew so many of the little details like the old ice cream. Thank you and I'm already looking to have kimkim plan our trip next year.

The trip as a whole was amazing had a really nice time. It went off without any hitch at all.

I don't want to share this because I enjoyed it so much that I don't want people to know about it so that I can return, haha. Naxos was the highlight of our trip, and of that the "Taste of Naxos, food tour" with Natasha was the highlight of Naxos. Such a fun experience and great food. That being said each tour on Naxos had its own special place and memory. The starlight night photography was a unique experience that we look forward to seeing the photo results of. The olive oil tasting mythology tour was really informative. Olives and oil on that experience were super unique and I hate olives but quite liked the tour, and even a couple of the oils.

I will say I was a first time user of KimKim for a pretty big celebration for my wife and I, despite hesitations, KimKim did a fantastic job of putting the trip together and it functioned very smoothly. We are not big travelers and consider ourselves quite needy in help and assistance. However, with KimKim we were well taken care of.

Activity Review

Old Town Food Walk

Naxos

My only suggestion is that it would have lasted longer. I didn't want it to end. Such a great tour.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All of the individual guides were wonderful...warm, personal, knowledgeable, informative, courteous.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Mai Amsterdam

Amsterdam

We loved it. Conveniently located near the train station and our room overlooked a quiet, beautiful canal.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Very friendly and helpful staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The James Hotel Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

9Hotel Central

Brussels

We had a balcony with a beautiful view of the boulevard.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Public Transport Pass Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Very easy to navigate

Quality of Experience

Transport

Amsterdam - Canal cruise (join in)

The Netherlands

Our captain was terrific...funny, informative. The trip was beautiful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Amsterdam - Van Gogh Museum

The Netherlands

Quality of Experience

Amsterdam - Grand Dutch Food Tour in small group

The Netherlands

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Amsterdam - Day trip to Haarlem

Amsterdam

Quality of Experience

Amsterdam - Anne Frank House

The Netherlands

Quality of Experience

Haarlem - self-guided cycling route to Keukenhof & through tulip fields

The Netherlands

This was an exceptional experience. We used E-bikes and highly recommend them.

Quality of Experience

Rotterdam

The Netherlands

We loved it here. We wish we had booked a short, guided tour of the city/architecture/market.

Quality of Experience

Rotterdam - Kinderdijk windmills by public boat (waterbus)

The Netherlands

Transport

Delft - Delft blue pottery

The Netherlands

Quality of Experience

Delft - Vermeer Center

The Netherlands

It was interesting. We were expecting an original Vermeer or two but we liked the experience.

Quality of Experience

Brussels - Private guided walking tour: food

The Netherlands

We loved our private guide, Florence I believe was her name. She was friendly, fun, interesting.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Brussels - Day trip to Ghent and Bruges

Brussels

Quality of Experience

Transport

Ghent - Gravensteen - Castle of the Counts

The Netherlands

We loved this place and especially the audio tour that led us around the castle. Hilarious and informative.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Brussels - Bus tour to Dinant & Luxembourg City

Brussels

This was a lovely day. A large group on the bus but the tour guide was fantastic and kept it all very organized and orderly. We're so glad we included Luxembourg and Dinant in our itinerary.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our recent trip to Brazil was truly unforgettable, thanks to the incredible itinerary crafted for us. From the moment we landed in Rio de Janeiro to our breathtaking days at Iguazu Falls, everything was flawlessly organized.

The hotels were amazing – comfortable, well-located, and with fantastic service. Our drivers were always punctual, friendly, and professional, making every transfer smooth and stress-free. The activities were phenomenal: from iconic sights like Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf Mountain to the awe-inspiring power of the Iguazu Falls, every experience exceeded our expectations.

As a family, we felt safe, well cared for, and completely immersed in the beauty and culture of Brazil. We can’t thank you enough for making this dream trip so special. Highly recommended!

We had a fabulous trip!
The planning was so easy, especially when we wanted to add or change anything. Having used KimKim before I knew that they would be the best choice for our Moroccan adventure!
Our driver Samir was an excellent and took very good care of us. He pointed out interesting things along our route, stopping to see sights and getting lunch and local product along the way.
Our guides in Fez (Sherif) and Marrakesh (Hanan) were awesome! Answering all our questions, explaining history and interesting facts and very patient when we wanted to linger a litter longer.
We were 'wow-ed" by all of the hotels/riad that were chosen for us. All were spotlessly clean with warm and friendly staff.

Both safari camps were awesome. Guide Tips at Muchenje was super. All game drives were great. The boat trip at Muchenje duplicated our houseboat trip. Should have opted for something else like the canoe. This camp was so great that we thought it should have been last. Houseboat had ups and downs. Getting through Namibia immigration was a disaster. We were not aware that there was a visa fee. Fortunately they took credit cards. Took us only 1-1/2 hours to get through because we were near the head of the line. Others in our group took over 4 hours. Then there was the plumbing problem in our cabin. Lucy advocated on our behalf and got us a 25% reduction in our cabin rate. The staff and food was great. We especially enjoyed the village visit. Animal viewing from small boats was excellent. But on our last outing the boat broke down. We had to wait for someone to come with tools to repair. We returned to the houseboat after a long ride in the dark. This was sort of scary. On our return to the Kasame airport we were misinformed by one hour about our Mackair flight departure time. Our Elephant Pan safari camp was awesome with elephants and giraffes right at the camp. We had our doubts on our bumpy hour drive from the airstrip. Our guide Sixteen was the best. Could have done without the hour drive to the River. Didn't seen many animals except hyenas and birds. Our least favorite part of the trip was Victoria Falls. The walk along the Falls was great as was our guide Joy (English translation of her name) from Shearwater. The rest of the activities we could have done without. Sunset cruise was not near the Falls and mainly a cocktail party. Drinking is not something we are very into. The lookout café had nice view, but they tried to seat us away from the view when there were empty view tables. Food and service was poor. The elephant sanctuary just wanted our money. We would have liked to visit more sight around the Falls. Like going out on the bridge and crossing over into Zambia and viewing the Falls from that side. We did pay for a combined Zimbabwe/Zambia visa at the border. All in all it was a wonderful trip Thanks to Lucy for doing all the planning, Kaye & Gail

Hotel Reviews

Chobe Princess Small Luxury Houseboat

Kasane, Botswana

Toilet didn't not flush. Cabin smelled like sewer.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Plumbing in houseboat Maintenance of small boats

Sunrock Guesthouse

Johannesburg

Great staff and food

Authenticity & Character

Great art

Location

Near airport

Staff

Drove us to Cultural villag

Cleanliness & Comfort

Housekeeping goog

Muchenje Safari Lodge

Kasane, Chobe

Great location for animal viewing drives

Authenticity & Character

Great decor

Location

Near chobe national park

Staff

Tips was the best guide

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything clean and comfortable

Bayete Guest Lodge

Victoria Falls

Great restaurant on site. Comfortable room.

Authenticity & Character

Nice decor

Location

Sort of remote

Staff

Restaurant staff great Delivered dinner.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bathroom weird. All floor wet after shower. No grab bar by tub.

Hyena Pan

Botswana

Awesome. Elephants and giraffes right there.

Authenticity & Character

Great decor

Location

Animals came to us

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sixteen best guide Wait staff great. Very attentaive

Activity Reviews

On Safari in Chobe National Park

Chobe National Park

All good. Guide Tips great. Saw lots of animals. Saw encounter between cheetah and leopard on first day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset Cruise - Signature Deck

Victoria Falls

Boring

Quality of Experience

Just a cocktail party. Have some commentary about what we were seeing.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Fewer people to pick up.

Transport

Get the elephant off the road.

Tour Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls

Falls are awesome. Joy was a good guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Joy was great

Transport

Through the eye of an elephant

Victoria Falls

They just wanted our money

Quality of Experience

Less pressure to donate

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Nice folks

Transport

Long drive, I slept

Lunch at Look out Cafe

Victoria Falls

Not worth it. Staff rude. Food not great.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendlier staff

Transport

Joy got us there and picked us up promptly

I had a fantastic experience booking my trip to France with my son through Kimkim. Bastian was incredibly helpful throughout the entire process — he helped us plan a thoughtful itinerary and was always available to answer questions, even when we were already in France.

One moment that really stood out was when we were at a train station and couldn’t figure out where to go because no one around us spoke English. I called Bastian, and he answered right away and guided us through it — it made all the difference and really eased our stress.

Thanks to his support, the whole trip felt smooth and enjoyable. I’ll definitely book with Kimkim again — you can absolutely trust them!

We just returned from a fantastic family vacation to Lisbon and the Algarve, and we can’t thank Pedro and Pepe from All Around Portugal enough! From start to finish, everything was seamless—thoughtfully planned, well-paced, and filled with memorable experiences. Their professionalism and warmth made us feel welcome and well taken care of every step of the way. Highly recommended for anyone looking to explore Portugal with ease!

Our group of six had a very good experience in our recent two week trip to Japan, and we enjoyed visiting Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Hiroshima. Eleanore was our Kimkim trip specialist and we are grateful for her help in planning and making arrangements for tours, bullet train tickets, private drivers, and well informed English speaking guides in all cities. She was attentive and listened to our concerns. She addressed each concern and provided excellent and timely advice before and during our trip. We handled our own hotel reservations and dining arrangements. I am confident we were able to have such a wonderful cultural and educational experience was in large part due to the amount of information and behind the scenes work she did on our behalf. Thank you to Eleanore and the Kimkim team for your guidance and support.

We had a fantastic time in Namibia. The local company, Namibia Safari Journeys were excellent. They met us at the airport, then brought our car to the hotel the next morning where they gave us a full briefing on our trip, and introduced us to our spotless Toyota 4 runner for our duration in Namibia. All the accommodations in Namibia were excellent and we felt safe and well cared for in each and every one.

Hotel Reviews

The Elegant Guesthouse

Windhoek

Great place to be. Hotel staff were very friendly. Breakfasts were very good. Good advice for traveling in Windhoek.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kuoom Serengeti

A very interesting facility. Elevated geodesic cabins for each guest room. Amazing views of the Savanah and lovely deck to enjoy the vistas. Staff were very attentive

Authenticity & Character

interesting concept for the buildings. Not one for those needing assistance as there was quite the walk from the reception to the rooms, and then again to the restaurant which was located at the opposite end to the reception centre.

Location

a bit of a hike outside the park. Roads going in to the camp were treacherous at times, but our driver managed them very well.

Staff

very attentive. When going anywhere outside our cabin, we needed a chaperone to look out for the animals and they were always there accommodating our need whenever.

Cleanliness & Comfort

great attention to detail in the cabins, although they did seem to be a bit unstable as they would shake whenever someone came up the stair to the deck. Didn’t have to worry about anyone sneaking up on us!

Desert Homestead Lodge

This hotel / lodging was an absolute delight! We loved our stay there. The facility was extensive and offered some hiking options for us which was welcomed after a long trip. The food was lovely and presented so artistically, all local grown! The staff was extremely accommodating. Loved our stay there!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Singing Grass Serengeti Bush Camp

This was our favourite bush camp hotel. The staff treated us upon arrival and wouldn’t let us carry anything to our tent/ rooms. The accommodation was extraordinary with a huge lounge area of the bedroom. Meals were fabulous and we enjoyed the bush dinner and breakfast, as well as the campfire and “Bush TV” each evening. Here too, we were accompanied to move back and forth from our accommodation after dark. This time, we would use a radio to communicate with our chaperones.

Authenticity & Character

wonderful atmosphere inside the park.

Location

Right inside the park. Easy access to safari drives to various parts of the park. They even had a local pride of lions that would sing us to sleep each evening! Note: the road access was challenging at times as it was primarily park roads… lots of African Masages getting to and from!

Staff

very accommodating to our every need.

Cleanliness & Comfort

the addition of a sofa and automan in our lounge area gave us a great “indoor” space to relax. There was even an outdoor shower!

Twyfelfontein Adventure Camp

We loved our stay at this hotel / lodging. The addition of the hilltop sunset bar was lovely and we took advantage of it each night we were there. The tent accomodation was extraordinary. Meals were very good. The safari drive to see desert elephants was excellent.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Honeyguide Tarangire Camp

Cape Town

Excellent hotel and staff. Very attentive and lovely meals. Here we also enjoyed the evening bush TV beside a fire made by one of the local Maasai that were hired but he camp. Great experience here. We were also accompanied by Maasai on staff when moving back and forth from our accommodation after”tent” during after dark hours.

Authenticity & Character

Location

located inside Tarangire National Park, it was an excellent location to begin our daily tours.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

excellent, although our hot water for showers was no more than tepid at best. Not a show stopper considering solar heating and the location.

Etosha Safari Lodge

Okaukuejo

This was a larger hotel than the previous ones. We didn’t feel as engaged with the staff, although they were very good. Our individual cabin was excellent.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Onguma Bush Camp

Etosha National Park

Excellent bush camp. We thoroughly enjoyed the outdoor BBQ ont he second night. A great location from which to explore the eastern park of Etosha. Their safari guides were excellent.

Authenticity & Character

Location

about 9 km from the park gates, very good location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ocean View House

Cape Town

This hotel was amazing. Very intimate atmosphere. Incredible gardens, wonderful breakfasts, and very attentive staff. Overall, this was our favourite hotel on our trip.

Authenticity & Character

loved the quirky layout of the hotel. Each room had a beautiful private balcony. And the gardens were wonderful to spend time in. Also had 2 lovely pools.

Location

loved the safe area where we could feel free to walk during the day. Great location to walk into Camps Bay for dinner or to explore the beach and perfect for exploring the Cape of Good Hope.

Staff

these staff could not do enough for us. We loved their professionalism and attention to detail.

Cleanliness & Comfort

the rooms were spotless, although at the end of our first full day, we noticed that the room hadn’t been made up. When I enquired at the front desk, they were very apologetic, and had it cleaned while we were having a brief meeting in the lobby. Ont op of the rapid attention to this matter, they also left a bottle of wine in our room for us as an apology. Very thoughtful, and greatly appreciated.

Kibo Palace Hotel

Arusha

We did not stay at this hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Fontaine Boutique Hotel

Franschhoek

Great attention to client details. Lovely restaurant with great breakfasts. The staff were extremely attentive and helped us with dinner reservations each night.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pablo House

Johannesburg

This was a lovely place for our one night in the city. While the facility looked a little tired, the staff more than made up for it. The restaurant was lovely.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Namib Guesthouse

Swakopmund

The staff at this guest house were excellent. We very much enjoyed our stay at this hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Explore Swakopmund

Swakopmund

We had a blast in Swakopmund, particularly in Walvis Bay where we went kayaking and did a four by four dune ride. Both excursions were absolutely amazing, providing incredible experiences we thoroughly enjoyed.

Self Guided Activities: Dune 45, Dead Vlei, Sesriem Canyon

Namibia

The balloon ride in Sossusvlei was breathtaking. My husband and I were initially skeptical about the cost, but it was worth it. Flying over the world's tallest sand dunes as the sunrise cast beautiful shadows across them was an unforgettable experience and one of the highlights of our trip.

Catarina is one of the best travel agents I have had . She was very knowledgeable and very invested in our trip planning process . She was always open to our suggestions and had clear answers to our questions . She is extremely personable and very willing to help . She welcomed us in person when we started our trip in Lisbon and was always reachable on text and call. Thank you Catarina for helping us create these beautiful memories.
I would highly recommend having her as your agent .

Hotel Reviews

Vila Galé Lagos

Lagos

Authenticity & Character

Location

I

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Exe Essenzia Porto

Porto

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Eurostars Lisboa Parque

Lisbon

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

FD Tour of Sintra - Cabo da Roca - Cascais & Estoril

Portugal

Our guide was very thorough and knowledgeable and personable. We thoroughly enjoyed her tour and company

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

With only a month’s notice, Bruno planned and executed a fantastic trip to Croatia/ Slovenia for me and my wife. We were in Dubrovnik, Split, Zagreb, and a day trip to Slovenia. We also had some special requests that he was more than willing to put in place even after he planned our itinerary. He was there every step of the way to keep us informed of changes due to weather , or just to give us a preview of the next day. Bruno was also our guide in Zagreb and we couldn’t have asked for a better guide to the city.

Overall, it was an excellent trip and Bruno was superb!