Kimkim Trip Reviews

Not sure where to begin - from the first interactions with Megan (Wanderlust Voyages) for booking this vacation to the last day of the trip - everything was impeccably planned and executed. Morocco is a "haunting" country where "new age" vibrancy (think Casablanca, Marrakech) meets "old age" charm (think Merzouga/Sand dunes/Atlas mountains). We had a fantastic 11-day trip - right from the airport pickup (Tangier) to the last day drop off at Casablanca - everything was fantastic. Our tour driver, Hassan, was a phenomenal young bloke who knew the country well! The entire roadmap, as planned, was perfect! The Riads (hotels), food, tour guides, stops along the way as planned along with all the experiences (especially the local New Year's Eve immersion at a local restaurant/bar - Malak Emeraude) were absolutely memorable! We had a few small hiccups along the way, but they were quickly resolved via the ever-so-responsive, Sara Z., who it seems, never sleeps! - so a huge thank you to her! The Wanderlust team has been incredibly responsive and for us that was a big deal - timely, prompt and professional communication all along. I would highly recommend Megan L./Wanderlust Voyages for your next Morocco trip!

I planned my trip to Morocco with the assistance of Hakim.  I found his help somewhat useful, but also sometimes not so useful.  In particular, he would (it seemed) cut and paste information and ideas about what to do for each place without actually considering things like drive time or daylight hours, and not until I enquired more closely about what I could actually do and how that would work would I discover that I couldn't do all the things I wanted on particular days.  For example, the trip started with me being picked up at the airport, and then "a self-guided tour of Rabat", which is described in four paragraphs of interesting detail.  However, given that my flight was only arriving in Casablanca at 16:00 (which he knew), and that the drive to Rabat takes at least 1.5 hours (and more at that time of day), that means that I wouldn't arrive in Rabat until at least 6pm, leaving just about all of that moot.

Hakim also did not warn me that visiting the Medina of Fes on a Friday was practically useless - everything was closed.  I might have chosen to visit there that day anyway, but it would have been good to know beforehand - and I wouldn't have chosen to book a guide for so long.  I also found the day descriptions confusing.  For example, for Fes I had "a private tour for 6 hours" and"Pottery & Mosaïc workshop" but it wasn't clear to me if (1) the guide was supposed to be with me for six hours separately from the workshop or (2) the guide was supposed to accompany me to the workshop for part of those six hours.  Also, the description of the workshop was very different from what actually happened there.

I see (now) that in the notes for the desert camp experience it says "You are being welcomed to get the necessary instructions to make sure any of your questions are answered and be ready by having your nomad scarf prepared over your head by one of the experienced staff. Trust me, it’s already a big challenge to do it on your own so make sure you ask one of the staff to help you!"  There was no nomad scarf.  I'm still not sure whether I was supposed to have brought one or they were supposed to have one for me.  For the nomad family visit the notes say "Your first break will be with a local nomadic family that calls the dunes home. Enjoy a cup of traditional tea and listen to their stories."  There was no talking with them, although they did serve me tea.

I did contact Hakim during the trip to arrange/change certain things, and that did seem to work out, but it felt almost like a game of telephone where I would contact him, then he would contact Orion Trek directly.

Thankfully, my driver for the trip, Hicham, was incredible, and was able to resolve almost all the issues and questions and help me throughout the journey.   He was also super friendly, and went out of his way to find me delicious food that was not on the typical itinerary.  I would definitely be happy to ride with him again.

I found most of the guides that I had to be adequate but not great, until Marrakech; Amine, who I had both for a six-hour city tour in Marrakech and then a food tour was fantastic and I would recommend him to anyone as a guide.  

The hammam in Marrakech that they arranged for me to visit (Les Bains de L'Alhambra) I would not recommend at all.  It was like being at a factory, and additionally all the rooms were cold so I was shivering a lot of the time.   Nobody cared.

Hotel Reviews

Dar Baraka & Karam

Marrakech

Dar Baraka & Karam was a comfortable accommodation, but I was surprised to find out that all meals were included without my prior knowledge. My intent in Marrakesh was to explore local eateries, and having meals at the hotel was not part of my plan, which was a little disappointing.

Riad Madu Desert Camps

Merzouga

The Riad Madu Desert Camps were quite luxurious, which wasn't exactly what I was looking for. While the accommodations were incredible, the food offered catered to a high-end experience, not providing the authentic taste of Moroccan cuisine I sought. Being somewhat isolated, it was not easy to find alternatives nearby. I wish I had known more about the type of camp experience in advance to better align with my desires.

Activity Reviews

Full-Day Hike in Imlil Village, Return to Marrakech

Morocco

I enjoyed the full-day hike in Imlil Village, but the experience was hampered by timing issues. The hike wasn't scheduled at the best possible time, which affected our enjoyment. If we could have started earlier, I believe the experience would have been significantly better. The lack of direct communication with the guide made it challenging to address this problem.

Traditional Hammam & Massage

Morocco

I nearly froze to death during this experience, and also it felt like a factory.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Food Tour & Local Gastronomy

Morocco

Best food tour I've ever been on. We got to try a ton of things, including some extra things that I asked the guide about beforehand.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Truly spectacular! The excursions were perfectly timed—early to mid morning, which helped beat any crowds, and left plenty of free time. All the drivers picked up on time, were very friendly, and provided very comfortable transportation. Please forgive spelling of names…Rondo and Sandie were great driver/ guide for our kayak and snorkeling adventure. Very good equipment. We felt lucky to have Srvianni as our guide for the white water rafting on the Sarapequi River. Beautiful! Weather was perfect. River was running with Class 3 and 2 rapids-just enough for a thrill, but still in control. Mariano was wonderful at the hanging bridges. We had a connection from his time in the states in the 1970s where he spent time in Madison, WI, where I went to college. Pas was very knowledgeable at the butterfly garden. Lovely. And our guide at the coffee/chocolate plantation was very funny and engaging (I didn’t catch his name). That visit was a surprise-really enjoyed learning about the coffee and chocolate making process—highly recommend it. Everything was very thoughtfully planned. Well done! Our trip exceeded our expectations!

I wanted to plan Ia 7 day trip in Australia for my in laws after their cruise. Liz was extremely helpful in planning a doable itinerary for them and booking all the hotels, tours, and transfers. They are elderly with some mobility issues so I wanted everything to go smoothly. They just came back and absolutely loved the tour. Everything was on time and the hotels were fantastic. They especially liked the wine tour in Adelaide. I was so pleased that they enjoyed their 80th birthday trip. Thank you Liz!

Our custom private trip through Ecuador designed by KimKim exceeded all expectations. Maria Jose was our local specialist and she was very easy to work with throughout the whole planning process. It took 5 drafts to get the trip to look exactly how we wanted which was a very fast process only taking about 2 days. Maria was happy to make any and all adjustments to the trip until it was exactly how we wanted it. She booked all parts of our trip for us: hotels, excursions, private guides, and private transportation for the entire trip. All of the excursions and activities were amazing and so much fun!
There were multiple points on our trip where plans had to change due to unforeseen circumstances and Maria was quick to get everything handled. She checked in on us daily and even stopped by our hotel the first day to drop off some goodies and welcome us to her country! She was so kind and attentive throughout it all and we are so grateful for her!

Our first guide, David, took us birding in the cloud forest of Mindo. His excitement for birds was infectious and his love for his country was obvious. He was such a wonderful guide and we thoroughly enjoyed our day with him.
Our second guide, Sebastian, was so easy to get along with. Laid back and kind, he took us from Quito to Cotopaxi to Mindo. For 2.5 days, he guided us on little hikes and adventures and he felt more like a friend than a paid guide. We changed plans multiple times and he always was amenable to whatever we wanted. His knowledge about his country was impressive. We had so much fun with Sebastian.
Our final guide was Eva who guided us through the Amazon jungle for 4 days. So kind, so knowledgeable, and so fearless when it came to handling the Amazonian creepy crawlers. We did so many adventures together and it always felt like she was just our really cool friend who was doing everything with us.
All three guides were top notch and had multiple similarities: so laid back, kind, knowledgeable, and were clearly proud to be Ecuadorian.

Our trip was a 10/10 from start to finish and we would absolutely do it all over again!

Working with KimKim took all the hassle and stress out of planning and navigating our trip, well worth the money spent!

Thanks Maria and KimKim!

Kien did an AMAZING job planning this trip. It was exactly the right balance of what we wanted - cultural experiences balanced with nature activities and of course, some time to relax at one of Thailand's beautiful islands. We went back and forth a few times to tweak the specific details; Kien's guidance was incredibly valuable. For instance, I had never heard of Pai and wouldn't have included it on my list of places to see. I wasn't sure what to expect and was even second guessing if it was worth the extra travel time for such a short stay - turns out, it was probably our favorite day of our entire trip!

Trip highlights/favorites:
Lunch overlooking a beautiful canyon (feet literally dangling over the edge!) visiting the Black Lahu tribe
Elephant sanctuary
Private long tail boat - and lunch! - experience in Krabi

Honestly, it was hard to pick just 3 - every day had at least one thing that was truly memorable.

I've never used a travel agent to book any trip before and was a little nervous about the logistics. Kien was very patient and walked me through everything. Everyone - drivers, guides, etc. - showed up EXACTLY when they were supposed to and we had no issue at all. Special thanks to our fantastic guides Scotty (Grand Palace, Wat Arun), Tony (floating and train markets), and Noi (the north including Pai). Our drivers were all extremely courteous and generous with fresh, cold water which was much appreciated.

Hotel Reviews

Amari Vogue Krabi

Beautiful property right on a nice stretch of beach. Perfect if you are looking for quiet and don't mind a slightly longer ride into town which was exactly what we wanted.

Authenticity & Character

Truly beautiful property with lovely architectural details.

Location

Beautiful stretch of beach. Didn't mind being "away" from the center of town - actually preferred it!

Staff

VERY accommodating and friendly staff! We weren't leaving until 5pm on our check out day. We had to leave the room by noon but they arranged for us to shower that later afternoon (after enjoying the pool/beach for the afternoon) in a vacant room which was extremely convenient and generous of them. Also, probably the best brunch we had the entire trip!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Aksara Heritage

Chiang Mai

GREAT location in Chiang Mai. Hotel was very pretty and pool area was great.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful and charming architecture

Location

Centrally located in the old city. Easy to get a tuk tuk or sontaeg to other parts of town.

Staff

Very accommodating whether it was holding our luggage on check-out day or arranging "breakfast to go". Very friendly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Reverie Siam Resort

Mae Hong Son

Beautiful hotel - felt very 1920's but updated. Beautiful grounds.

Authenticity & Character

Felt very authentic and full of character/charm

Location

Not walking distance to Pai walking street but the hotel's golf cart shuttle was super convenient and only took 5 minutes to get to/from town.

Staff

Very accommodating - from "breakfast to go" to never having to wait more than a few minutes for a shuttle pickup, they were great. They even stayed later than normal to pick our kids up in town after New Year's Eve! (Shuttle usually ends at 11 - they picked up at 12:30!)

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean and comfortable room though our room had an issue with humidity. We were only there 2 nights but everything started to feel very damp.

Mode Sathorn Hotel Bangkok

Bangkok

Great location right on the Sky Train line. Nice rooms and a good buffet breakfast

Authenticity & Character

Nice clean modern hotel

Location

Right on the Sky Train

Staff

Very nice - could have been more helpful with concierge-type recommendations (restaurants, etc.)

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Doi Inthanon National Park - A Nature Walk and Culture

Chiang Mai

We didn't actually do this - we did a tour of Doi Suthep instead. Would have loved to do this trip if we had more time!

Half-Day Kayaking at Ao Thalane

Krabi

Beautiful scenery. Not too challenging physically.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Henry was great and also suggested a great local place for lunch.

Transport

Discover Ao Nang Paradise & Sunset by Private Longtail Boat

Krabi

SUCH a great day!! Traveling these islands is a popular Krabi activity. We saw many larger boats with 20-30 people on them and we would not have enjoyed being on a boat like that. Having it be a private boat experience definitely increased our enjoyment of the activity.

Quality of Experience

Food

A fantastic private meal on the beach!!! The staff did a great job setting everything up and it was delicious! Snacks at sunset were on the small side so pack one of two other snacks of your your own choice (from a 7-11 which can be found all over!).

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was friendly but a little hard to understand. But given that it was mostly a beach day, there wasn't much need of explanations!

Transport

The boat was great and we really enjoyed it being just the 4 of us (plus staff) on the boat.

Lanna Lifestyle & Cooking Experience with A Local Family with dinner

Chiang Mai

Very cool! We loved the actual cooking part but also really enjoyed the home tour and learning more about Lanna culture. The appetizers they gave us before we started cooking were amazing.

Quality of Experience

Food

The food was incredible! It was nice to learn how to make some traditional favorites but also to make some things we hadn't tried before. And the appetizers they provided us with were fantastic!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very informative and entertaining guide.

Transport

Elephant Jungle Sanctuary (Morning session)

Chiang Mai

So fun to see the elephants up close and get to feed/bathe them.

Quality of Experience

Food

The lunch provided was just ok. By the time we got back to CM, we were hungry so went out for a second lunch.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Staff at the sanctuary were great. Our driver (who drove us throughout Pai and Chiang Mai and was fantastic) went the wrong way twice and had trouble finding the place.

Transport

Pai - Sunrise at Yuan Lai Viewpoint - Bamboo Rafting at Tham Lod Cave - Ban Jabo Village - Sai Ngam Hot Spring

Pai

This was SO worth the early wake up time!!! The sunrise was really special, the cave was fun but the highlight was Ban Jabo village. Lunch was amazing - the food was my son's favorite meal of the trip and the view/experience of eating overlooking the canyon with our feet dangling off the edge was amazing. This might just be everyone's favorite day in Pai. We did the sunset at the canyon tour the day before but didn't stay for the actual sunset.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sai Ngam Hot Spring

Pai

We changed our itinerary to do this on the day we did the cave instead of the day we arrived in Pai (again because of the long lunch we had - it just made more sense). The water is more of a "warm spring" than a "hot spring" - it was cool to see and soak for a few minutes but it wouldn't have been terrible if we had swapped this activity out with something else in the area.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bangkok - Flight to Chiang Mai - Transfer to Pai

Thailand

Flight was great. Met Noi at the airport for the long drive to Pai. I wasn't sure if our short stay was worth the long, potentially nauseating drive but it really was - we loved Pai! The restaurant we stopped at was more expensive than most and had a very long wait for the food. The restaurant itself had beautiful grounds and a great gift shop but the food was not worth the price or the long wait - it meant getting to the hotel a lot later than expected and rearranging some of our schedule. (We did the canyon instead of hot springs but opted not to stay for the full sunset because we hadn't even been to our hotel at that point and were getting tired.)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Other than the not so great suggestion for lunch, Noi was really great and helpful. Mr. Thoy was a great driver - that is NOT an easy drive!!!

Transport

Comfortable van, especially for such a difficult drive. Mr. Thoy always had fresh cold water for us.

Railway Market & Floating Markets: The Unique Way of Living

Bangkok

Our guide Tony gave great information not just on the markets but on Thailand in general. He also helped us pick some great entrees for lunch (it can be hard to know what to order when you're not familiar with a more local menu). The train market was fun and different. The floating market is VERY touristy - I was glad that we took a boat to get there and then walked through it since the canal in the market was packed. Amphawa market was just ok.

Quality of Experience

Food

Tony gave us great suggestions of what to order at lunch since we were overwhelmed by all the choices.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Night Street Food Tour After Dark by Tuk Tuk

Bangkok

The food was great! Chinatown can be a crazy, crowded and intimidating place so it was nice having our guide there to do the ordering, securing tables, etc. I didn't love all the food though I appreciate that some were Michelin starred despite being "street food". It was nice to try a mix of things.

Quality of Experience

Food

LOVED the duck with noodles and sauce and the donuts with pandan custard. Two of us loved the hot pepper soup.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hidden Local Beliefs

Bangkok

Great tour of the Grand Palace with lots of interesting facts. We really enjoyed going to the meditation center to present offerings and learn more about Buddhism. Wat Arun is beautiful. And our guide picked a great local place for lunch. Scotty was great - knowledgeable and very friendly!

Quality of Experience

Scotty was great - gave really great/interesting information and was very friendly

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Thanks to Othman's patience, knowledge, flexibility and availability, we had an incredible, once in a lifetime Christmas trip to Iceland!!! Although the winter weather was a bit unpredictable, we were able to tour the South East coast, the Golden Triangle and Rekyavik with our family over the course of a week. Othman planned out a reasonable driving route and listened carefully to our hotel requests. The number of excursions per day was appropriate and we had a good selection to enjoy. The Blue Ice cave tour and the Glacier hikes were obvious highlights. We enjoyed stopping at the Diamond beach, Fjadrarjiljufur Canyon and riding the Icelandic horses during a hail storm was an outing to remember! They kept on trotting with their strong and short legs.:)The hotels were perfect accommodation for a family of 5 and we appreciated all we could see on a self guided tour. I was not sure how a trip would unfold with never actually speaking to our advisor, but Othman was a great communicator and paced out our trip, making changes even at the last minute to accomodate things. I would defintiely recommend working with Othman and using KimKim travel for my next trip!

Everyone who our local specialist Nokuthula put us in contact with was amazing. Our guide to hike up Table Mountain, Fatima was very knowledgeable and helpful as well. Everything about the trip was very planned out and outlined in the details. We were in constant communication with everyone if anything came up or if we had any questions during our stay. Couldn’t recommend them any higher.

From Beginning to End Everything was great. I normally plan all of my trips but this time around I was short on time an focused on other priorities. Olman &his staff were patient with me and made sure I and my family's needs were met. All the drivers and staff we met were great, informative and welcoming of us. Our family had a grand ol time and would definitely return to Costa Rica. Thank you for all of your patience, help and knowledge for this trip.
Until the Next one.. :)

We visited Vietnam and Cambodia. Our guides were Gracie, Tom, Danny and ChanSip. They were all wonderful in their own way but Tom deserves a special mention. The VIetcong tunnels are not to be missed, the Saigon Vespa tour with its guides was truly memorable and a once in a lifetime type of tour and, the street food tour in Hanoi was exceptional. The meals and restaurants chosen by our guides were all delicious and not just standard fare served to tourists. We became a huge fan of Vietnamese food! The hotels chosen for us were also lovely, comfortable and well-located. Ms. Huyen was very accommodating of any changes we wanted to make to our itinerary (which were minimal bc it was so well planned) and very responsive. She handled communications with the local guides and it was a truly hassle free trip. Highly recommended!

Being at a loss on how to plan a trip to New Zealand, we came across this company through an internet search. Paula became our contact and adviser and she put together a well-tailored holiday for our needs. Everything went off smoothly from landing in Queenstown until handing in our hire car at Auckland airport. We really enjoyed our trip to Milford Sound and our guide Paulie, was brilliant. Another highlight was our Rob Roy Glacier tour at Wanaka. Our guide Thierry was fantastic and made the trip so enjoyable despite my throbbing feet. Sadly we couldn’t do our tours at Mount Cook due to poor weather but we made the most of the available walks and were taken aback when Aoraki finally made an appearance from behind the clouds on our last day.

It was then off to Rotorua where we watched our daughter compete at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. The Big Kanu glow worm tour was fascinating, as was the Hells Gate experience. We were a little disappointed with the Kahukiwi experience as it seemed a little disorganised and unstructured although the guide was friendly and extremely helpful.

In summary, a well organised and satisfying first trip to New Zealand. We would have no hesitation in recommending your company to others. Our thanks to Paula for putting all together and putting up with our endless messages.

Thanks!

Hotel Reviews

Airedale Boutique Suites

Auckland

Well situated hotel in the business district of Auckland. Handy valet parking took the stress out of finding a car park on our own. Modern comfortable rooms with all the amenities we required. Recommended.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Chateau on the Park -

Christchurch

Our favourite hotel during our holiday. Comfortable rooms, great location and even played a game of outdoor chess. Only criticism: our check in was delayed by a couple of hours due to airline staff being given permission to check out late. Took a bit too long with only a drink voucher to make up for it.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Hermitage Hotel

Mount Cook Village

The place to stay in this area with commanding views of Mount Cook when the clouds clear. Our room although well equipped was on the small side and felt a little cramped. Apart from driving and walking around the beautiful scenery, there isn’t much else to do here. Maybe other activities could be offered when the weather is bad and organised tours get cancelled. All we got was a refund which was fine but perhaps alternatives would be more enjoyable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Edgewater Wanaka

Lake Wānaka

This was a beautiful hotel next to the lake in a tranquil setting. Like being in the centre of a golf course. Although the rooms were well equipped, our room seemed antiquated, with a tired bathroom. Maybe up for renovation soon?

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Scenic Suites Queenstown

Queenstown

Handy apartments for visiting Queenstown. Very comfortable with all the amenities. Only observation was to try to avoid getting a room too close to the road as happened to us. People walking by could look into our apartment and there was traffic noise.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Half Day Kahukiwi Experience

Rotorua

Our Māori guide was a lovely man but the tour lacked structure with just information being thrown at us in a haphazard manner. We did learn about some of the legends but this tour could have been a lot better.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Hell's Gate Experience

Rotorua

Fascinating to see these geysers and hot pools bubbling away. Lethal if you fall in! The mud bath experience was also enjoyable. Recommended!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Redwoods Treewalk day

Rotorua

A comfortable stroll through these amazing trees along walkways and platforms. Nothing. We enjoyed our visit.

Quality of Experience

Big Kanu Starlight Glow Worm Tour

Rotorua

Fascinating to see these glow worms in action when night starts creeping in. The guides were quite entertaining too. Recommended!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Rob Roy Glacier ex Wanaka

Wānaka

We were the only people doing this tour that day. Our guide Thierry was fantastic, from picking us up to guiding us along the walk, sharing his favourite tree with us and sorting us out with lunch. Highly recommended to anyone capable of walking over uneven ground for several hours. You won’t regret it!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Thierry was great!

Transport

Bumpy ride

Full Day Gourmet Scenic Wine Tour

Queenstown (NZ)

Enjoyed our trip to the vineyards and we were lucky with the weather. Finally know a bit more about NZ wines. The meal was interesting and enjoyable. A good day out.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Milford Mariner Overnight Cruise from Queenstown (2 days, 1 night)

Queenstown (NZ)

An overnight tour here was the best thing to do to avoid most of the day cooped up in a coach or car. Milford Sound was a brooding and cascading experience that we would recommend. Hats off to Paulie our guide, who provided so much information about New Zealand and the trip whilst driving us effortlessly through the winding roads.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide Paulie was excellent.

Transport

We had an absolutely fantastic experience with Moonika from Kimkim! The trip exceeded all our expectations—every detail was thoughtfully planned and perfectly organized. A highlight of our journey was witnessing the breathtaking Northern Lights on New Year's Eve, an unforgettable moment that made the trip truly magical.

Moonika was incredibly responsive throughout the process, always quick to answer our questions and accommodate our needs. Her professionalism and meticulous planning ensured a smooth and stress-free vacation for us.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Moonika and Kimkim to friends and family. This was a trip we’ll cherish forever, thanks to her expert guidance and care.

Jane and Celina were outstanding.

They helped us with substantial last minute changes including adding an extra person and making sure all our lodging and activity reservations were modified to accommodate our request. We got great recommendations about things to do in Edinburgh. It is a fascinating city and we look forward to returning.

Hotel Review

Hotel du Vin & Bistro Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Authenticity & Character

Location

Great neighborhood near the university and across the street from the National Museum. Walk everywhere!

Staff

Helpful and courteous in every way.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

A Show at the Edinburgh Playhouse

Edinburgh

This was a rousing show. Great performances in a wonderful venue.

Walk up Calton Hill

Edinburgh

We should have done this earlier in our visit. A great way to see the city from a vantage point. And don't overlook the Old Calton Cemetery directly across as you approach on Princes Street.

Small group visit of Mary King's Close

Edinburgh

Fantastic experience. The perfect way to start your visit to Edinburgh. Learn history, geography, get oriented to the city.

This was our first time using assistance in planning and booking a vacation and it was SEAMLESS! Angel planned an awesome vacation for our family of four from start to finish and was so patient and helpful. We will absolutely use KimKim again!

We went to our first trip to Morocco and it was a blast. We planned it very late with near a week’s notice — and Kimkim did a great job of organizing it.
Riad in Fes was right in the old town and was a lovely experience. Their breakfast was awesome!
Glamping in Sahara was the clear highlight of the trip — the sand dunes, the camel ride, sunrise and sunset.
Marrakech was a rich city with culture and class. The hotel in Marrakech (Kenzi Garden) was comfy even if not a Riad. A special mention about Rashid our guide who was super-enthusiastic about everything Marrakech and quite funny to boot.
Air-Bin-Haddou was a good spot as well — wish we hadn’t stopped overnight there. It wasn’t a great hotel — and we could have spent an extra day in Marrakech.

The guide in Fes wasn’t great — she was patronizing and we had the feeling that we were constantly being sold to (in the shops we were taken to) and sold against (she kept talking about the Riad folks are bad and that they’d sell us stuff, when they were actually very nice)…

Overall, it was a very memorable trip — thanks for organizing this at short notice.

Jose in Satiago, Pierre in Santa Fe de Atacama and ATA in Rapa Nui were very serviceful, attentive to our needs and knowledgeable guides.

Had a great time! Zip lining, canyoning, and hiking were all top notch in LaFortuna. Had a much better view of sloths in Arenal than on the Sloth tour, but we had bad weather during the tour, so no fault to that organization. Don Rufino was tasty, but by far our most over-priced meal of the whole trip. The boat ride from Arenal was nice but I felt it was presented as a way to avoid a long, bumpy shuttle ride. We still had a long, bumpy ride in a van after the boat. We added a coffee tour on our own in Monteverde since our cloud forest hike ended an hour earlier than expected. The forest guide was very informative, but it felt rushed; I would’ve preferred more time to hike and explore the forest on our own at the end of the tour. Treehouse restaurant was the best dining experience. Decent prices on the food and drinks, cool pics with the tree, and the live music was phenomenal. The transfer to Tamarindo was long as expected, but took 2hrs longer than expected. We also stopped twice for 20min breaks. Added 40min unnecessarily. 10min bathroom and snack breaks make more sense. I don’t want to waste vacation time in a roadside gift shop. It was wise not to book anything for that afternoon with the slow drive. Also great was the hotel dining at El Jardin del Eden. Breakfast and dinner half-board was perfect. Huge breakfast spread and gourmet dinner options. No need to waste money outside restaurants. All 3 hotels were great. I would recommend all 3 as long as the people you are booking are capable of the hikes. Lomas was a decent uphill walk from pool/restaurant up to the room, but there’s a golf cart on site if needed. Helped a lot when it rained. Ficus was a grueling hike up from St. Elena. Golf cart on property was good, but back from town was rough. Even Jardin had a long walk from the beach, but it was a flat path. Probably the best part of the entire trip aside from food and stays was the catamaran sunset experience in Tamarindo. Olman and Graciela were both very helpful before and during the trip to help with reservations and transfers.

The sites chosen were very good, though we chose not to go to the last one because we preferred to take it easy and go to a local beach. Hotels also were very good. The boat to Isabella was a bit rough, but I understand this cannot be avoided unless you use a slower service.

While Alvaro was good in the initial stages in scheduling and designing our plan, he was quite absent and not very responsive while we were in the tour. Here is a list of issues:

1. The person handling our baggage sent it to the wrong hotel. I contacted Alvaro and he took long time to respond.
2. On the way to Isabella, I asked Alvaro several questions including suggestions for dinner at Isabella. He saw my message around noon but responded at 11pm, when it was obviously too late to follow any suggestions.
3. Initially when designing the tour, I told Alvaro that one of us -myself- would like to do scuba one day. When I asked later in the tour, he never responded to that. Also when we decided to cancel our last tour, we asked one of the local people that came to pick is up the previous day whether it was possible to get a refund or schedule an alternative. He told us that he had contacted Alvaro and that he would let us know. He never responded to this request.

Overall, we felt that after paying for this trip, we were left pretty much on our own, except for the pickups and dropoffs. We got very little value added from the local team, and in fact we were never greeted nor explained in detail what would happen in during our stay. Alvaro might have been the local specialist, but he doesn't reside in Galapagos so he wasn't there.

Hotel Reviews

La Casita de la Playa

Puerto Villamil

Great location beachfront

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Casa de Judy Galapagos Hotel

Puerto Ayora

Excellent rooms, so and so breakfast.

Location

Its a couple of blocks from the main road

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

History and Nature: Full Day to Floreana Island

Puerto Ayora

We skipped this one. Three days in a row of traveling in boats is not advisable, distances are long 2-3 hours each way. We decided to choose stay local that day.

Experience the Pristine Beauty of Galápagos Islands: Discovering an Uninhabited Island

Puerto Ayora

Very good, nice trip and the volcanic island is quite amazing!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discover the Wonders of Tintoreras Islet: A Journey into Breathtaking Biodiversity

Puerto Villamil

Its interesting but could be skipped. In retrospect, we would have preferred doing a bike ride on the Island or something else.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wildlife Encounter at Los Tuneles (Cabo Rosa)

Galapagos Islands

This was great, you should never miss it! Our guide was great at snorkeling, showed us sharks, turtles, rays. She definitely knew where to find things.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Santa Cruz Island: Highlands (Plant a Tree) & Charles Darwin Research Station

Puerto Ayora

Amazing choice. The guide was good and gave us information, but not an expert guide.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I can’t recommend KimKim enough! From the very start, they made the entire planning process so easy. I had no idea where to start or what to do for my family, but their team put together an amazing itinerary that fit our needs perfectly. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing—it was exactly the trip we wanted without even knowing it.

Every hotel was booked correctly without a single issue, our tours were the right balance of fun and relaxation, and traveling between destinations was a breeze. It was so nice to just enjoy the experience without stressing over logistics.

I’m so glad we used KimKim, and I’ll absolutely book with them again for future trips. If you're looking for a stress-free way to plan an unforgettable vacation, this is the way to go!

Major props to our coordinator, Vicky, who was incredibly responsive and made my family and me feel well taken care of.

This was amazing. Such a thoughtful itinerary with nothing but great guides, hotels, and experiences all throughout. I highly recommend for a trip like this.