Kimkim Trip Reviews

Hosteria El Paraiso in El Chaltén was not as comfortable as expected due to the lack of air conditioning. The hot weather made it difficult to sleep peacefully. It would have been helpful to know this in advance, as I could have brought a small fan. However, the location itself was beautiful.

The Remota Patagonia Lodge in Puerto Natales was absolutely lovely. The ambiance and service were excellent, making our stay enjoyable and relaxing.

The Full-Day Trek to the Base of Torres del Paine was quite interesting. We ended up walking the trail on our own as the guide allowed us to break off due to our quicker pace and the large number of hikers. The guide wasn't necessary since the hike was straightforward, and we felt that only transportation was needed, as the guided aspect was minimal and mostly in Spanish.

Fun, quirky B&B with a very nice host. Lots of personality and local history in the decor. We had a room with a lovely little sitting area over the garden that we enjoyed for several hours. Great breakfast service. Conveniently located in the arts district and just a few minutes driving from downtown Auckland. Only negative was that the bed itself was extremely hard.

We would not elect to stay at this property again, nor would we recommend booking for others. It was not very clean - there was hair from previous guests and either black mold or corrosion on many of the fixtures in the bathroom, as well as just a lot of wear, tear, dust, & staining on the furniture, bathroom floor & fixtures. They had a little sticker asking us to "please excuse any staining from the sulfur in the water" but I didn't perceive that to be the only cause. The window had been left open, allowing the sulfur-rich air from the adjacent lake to permeate everything with humidity & unpleasant smell. The balcony was just plain uninviting, and the walls were very thin, making the noise from other guests in the hallways and courtyard very hard to ignore. We seriously considered calling the travel agent for an alternative, but stayed only because we did not have time before our dinner commitment to manage re-booking / relocating and already had an activity weather cancelation issue for the next day they were working on.

Good hotel in the city center. Very convenient to many of the central tourist spots. Similar amenities to many of the mid-range chain hotels we're used to in the US, but room was a little more spacious, which was handy since we were re-packing / shuffling souvenirs at this point in the trip. We had a hard time with parking, as it required interacting with the front desk multiple times, and we were there over a holiday, so it wasn't staffed full-time & the gate to the garage they had specified was lowered & locked on the holiday itself. We ended up finding our own surface parking, down the street.

Really cool property that is clearly a much-loved passion-project for the owners. Definitely in our top 2 accommodations for this trip! Bed & bath were the epitome of luxury, the shared sitting rooms were so inviting, and the location is super-convenient to dining, shopping & main roads. Loved the simple, contactless check-in process, but we also used the help number during our visit and were attended to promptly.

Great quality for a boat berth! Bathroom was small, but had separate sink & a shower corner, so actually larger than I expected, being accustomed to boats with wet-baths.

Great, convenient location for walking to main tourist areas in Queenstown without actually being right in the nightlife / bustle. Good partially-obstrcted view from our room, too. Standard but good-quality chain hotel amenities & services. Front desk staff were universally welcoming, polite & helpful.

(Note: This review is for the Ruru PurePod instead of the one listed, due to schedule change. ) Just an amazing experience all around! We enjoyed the drive & walk across the farm to reach the Pod, the tranquility, amenities, stargazing, and local food. The bed was so comfy & the shower / bathroom was so much nicer than we expected for an off-grid experience - true luxury quality. We requested dinner & breakfast with our stay and the hosts really delivered a thoughtful and delicious menu that was a pleasure to eat while enjoying the view. Only one warning: the hike from the "carpark" is a little steep, so definitely recommend packing in as little with you as possible!

Fantastic, especially for Tolkien fans! Clearly done with respect to the source material, and as magically quaint as we had hoped. The tour guide was great, dropping little tidbits about the making of all the movies & construction of the sets, but without ruining the magic behind it. (I also really enjoyed learning about the Alexanders' farm operation & how they are running the tourism stuff in parallel today.) We both loved getting to go inside the hobbit hole near the end of the tour & having a pint at the Green Dragon. There were so many opportunities for photos & just enjoying all the "Easter eggs" the designers included in each hole design - the tour could easily have been twice as long in duration for adults, but I did notice the timing was pretty perfect for the kiddos in our group.

Great learning experience & delicious meal. Very talented staff in the show & excellent service throughout the night. The interactive activities at the learning stations were a great way to understand more about the meaning of the performance elements before seeing it & to give guests a chance to ask questions. The staff did a really nice job acknowledging it was a performance while also asking for respect of the source material & deeper meaning of some of the rituals for those participating in them. I don't know how they did it or if it was just luck, but our dinner seating couldn't have been more perfect - we were with two other young adult to middle-aged couples who all enjoyed traveling & spoke English, so had great dinner conversations, too.

Our tour guide, a local farmer (whose name I've blanked on already 🫠) was excellent & joined in our rental for a driving tour around the area. He gave us a great history lesson about NZ, the tribal wars, the ongoing debates in Parliament between the Maori & settlers' descendants over the terms of the original treaties, the farming history and trends, and its native forests - as we passed farms filled with sheep, cattle, dairy herds, red deer, and crops (wheat, corn, hay, alfalfa, clover, & fodder beets). After visiting a lovely little church and learning about how the settlers constructed it from native resources, we enjoyed a picnic tea service at a park, and then walked up into a small portion of protected native forest to view huge, old Tōtara tree. It was beautiful, and the ferns & moss along the walk to it were just as lovely. We then made our way over to view & learn about the huge river-water retention pools & distribution channels they constructed in the 1930's that have enabled the shareholders to triple farming capabilities in the region. Along the way, we engaged in fascinating conversations about all kinds of other topics - it was a fantastic way to get a Kiwi perspective on the world!

Our driver / guide, Steve, did a great job sharing about the local area, farming / ranching practices, outdoor sports, and wildlife, while navigating the challenging route & adeptly spotting aforementioned wildlife roaming the mountains, fields, and tarns for us to view. The local chocolate & glacial spring water stop at the waterfall & cabin was an unexpected & much appreciated treat. The variety of terrain we covered in just a few hours was amazing & really helps you appreciate the ruggedness of the region.

Top quality experience all-round, and the most memorable & unique of our trip. The location is absolutely stunning - from Lake Manapouri, over the Wilmot Pass, throughout the fjord, & even at the edge of the Tazman Sea. Staff were excellent, & knowledgeable. Accommodations were even better than I expected for a relatively small ship. Meals were great, too. We had unusually pleasant weather & thoroughly enjoyed it, but now also really want to go back in the rain to experience all the wet-weather-only waterfalls.

Great way to see the lake & mountains, delicious dinner, cool old ship, and nice sheep shearing & herding demo. The boat rides were lovely bookends to the evening. Would have loved just a bit more info in the farm show on the current operations and a little more time after it to view the animals, walk the grounds, & poke around the shop.

Awesome views over Christchurch. Smoothest gondola I've ridden on. Great staff & lots of activities once you're at the top. The luge was very well designed and a real blast. Fun to watch others parachuting off the mountain-side and gliding down into the city, as well as the boats zipping around the lake below from the viewing platform & restaurant area.

Terrible hotel smells the whole bathroom smelled and room smelled like urine

Our stay at La Casona de La Ronda was delightful and surpassed our expectations. It was definitely a nicer experience than we had anticipated.

My wife and I did a 7 day expedition to the Galapagos Islands arranged by KimKim. During our Galapagos expedition we stayed on the Bonita Cruise Ship, a small ship that sleeps about 16 people. Daily we had the opportunity to hike the islands, travel in small boats along the coast viewing the various wildlife, and snorkel in the many bays on the islands. Most days we did all three. The crew performed their duties efficiently and expertly, doling out specific equipment for the day's activities, providing zodiac transpiration to and from islands, keeping the cabins clean, serving chef prepared delicious meals and even a small party on Christmas for both the crew and the guests. The crew was polite, and extremely helpful during our stay.

Our visit to the Charles Darwin Station & Tortoise Breeding Center met our expectations. We were there primarily to see the tortoises, and there were lots of them. Our naturalist, Alex, provided thorough explanations, and it was nice that the place wasn't crowded, making the experience more enjoyable.

The Quito Cooking Class was a fantastic experience and exceeded our expectations. Although we initially thought it might be in someone's home, having it at a restaurant was a pleasant surprise. The chef's professionalism and the way he explained the chemistry behind cooking, not just recipes, were excellent. The food turned out great too!

We went through Coffee and Chocolate tour - there was nothing mentioned about Sugar Cane - guess it wasnt that important for us, but would be nice to not include it from the beginning, so not create any expectations. Also, not sure if the pricing we paid was "extra".

You absolutely need a guide here, since they will show you close up views of animals, spiders, birds etc. The beach is also great but we did not really use it.

I have mixed feelings about Hot Springs - the activity was late in the evening - the dinner was good but the hot springs were ok especially with limited visibility in the dark.

This was the best activity - enjoyed the views of the Arenal Volcano from close by.

What an unforgettable experience! The cabins were cozy, the vibe perfect for the Amazon. They also have many exciting activities to choose from. The staff especially Fatima, Nayruth, Cesar and Alejandro made the experience perfect for us with their caring, kind, hospitable and professional demeanor. Loved the place and definitely want to go back!

the b ginza was a nice hotel for our last night in Japan as the subway option to get to Haneda Airport the next day was very straight-forward. We appreciated the location, the quietness and the welcome beverage upon check in. The shower in the room was amazing and we were able to figure out all the shower instructions quickly. Beds were comfortable and pillows were soft and so comfortable. The layout of the room meant that one person did not have acess to a bedside table and we were surprised that there was no phone to call reception in the room. We did not have breakfast as we don't love pancakes which seemed to be the only complimentary breakfast item. Overall, location is nice, but we may choose to stay somewhere else if we return to Ginza, Tokyo again.

If you like to be in the middle of the action, this is an excellent hotel for you! We were happy with the location, but it was a bit noisy and smaller than many small rooms we stayed at in Japan. We had a corner room which seemed larger than other rooms, but the bed by the window was cool and drafty in the winter and the curtain blew on you when sleeping. The bathroom and amenities were very nice. No breakfast was included which was okay, but would have been nice. Location was very good for us as there were a ton of dining and shopping options nearby, as well as a quick walk to Namba station (which also has fantastic shopping) - including Don Quijote, but otherwise we might plan to stay somewhere else next time we are in Osaka.

This hotel was nice, but not ideal for us. It was the most expensive of our trip and although it was quite large, all the modern amenities and lack of clear information on how to use them was dissappointing. The private bath looked so lovely in the pictures, but was too difficult and frustrating to use in real life. We also did not realize we could have eaten breakfast and dinner in our room- whcih did have a lovely table and full dining area. So instead we ate in the main lodge - May not have been a problem in summer or spring, but in December it was quite cold in the lodge and uncomfortalble. Finally, the room has in floor heating as well as furnace heating. It was around 28 Celsius in our room all night as we could not find clear instructions to cool down the room. This is likely one of the nicer accomodations in Koyasan, but we would not choose to go back as the price was quite high and we were not able to use the ammenities offered as instructions in English wer unavaible or were unclear.

This is such a classy hotel! The restaurant and breakfast were outstanding! Could not have had a nicer spot to dine nor better food for breakfast. Very well done! The room clean, the beds very comfortable and the shower hot and easy to use. Loved the windows in the room. Gave light without compromising privacy. The front desk folks were exceptional, including the woman who helped forward our bags on to Osaka and the young gentleman who suggested Yonefuku for dinner the night of Dec 21, 24, when we were very tired and very hungry (and the restaurant was hosting a performer). THANK YOU! Excellent staff, comfort and good location. We would stay again!

We loved this hotel. The room was small as we expected, but well appointed and everything we needed was in the room, including a hair dryer :) The bathroom was spotless and the shower was wonderful. We also felt the location was great for first time sight seeing and ideal for the first few nights in Tokyo as it was not noisy or overly crowded in the surrounding areas. Breakfast was also very good. We would stay here agian.

We loved being back in Tokyo and Ginza was a nice last stop, although we liked other areas of Tokyo better - including Asakusa, Shibuya, Rippongi. Being fairly independent travelers, we liked not having something specific planned for us and were happy to walk to a well reputed sushi restaurant for our last night in Tokyo. Our favorite spots were Asakusa, Cappiness Cafe in Tokyo, All things Kyoto including Hotel Resol Trinity, Arashiyama and the amazing sushi lunch we had there. Highlights for us were the lovely Japaneese people and culture of walking, cleanliness, efficiency, quiet, and a sense of gratitude and respect for others. THIS is what makes us want to return, not to mention the food! Amazing quality and diversity of food was so fun for us!

Sadly, this was our least favorite activity. We wish we would have had more time in Tokyo, Kyoto or Osaka instaed of the journey to and from Koyasan. We also felt that the trip between kyoto and koyosan back to osaka was a lot and made the time at Koyasan feel rushed. The staff and amenities at Syukubo Ekoin were okay, but we felt staff were a little young and unclear about where different activities were located, how dinner and breakfast were typically done and how to use amenites. Overall, we felt that the length of the journey to and from Koyosan wasn't worth what we missed in other parts of Japan that we liked better. We recognize that we had asked for a temple stay and probably should have done more research before committing to this particular activity/trip. We appreciated seeing traditional buddhist practices, but would have skipped it knowing how much of the trip it would use up.

Mana was a lovely guide for our full day tour. Knowing that we were quick walkers and liked to see as much as we could, she paced the day very well for us. We feel like we got to see a lot this day! We also appreciated Mana's help navigating the travel to and from Nara as well as the other sights in Kyoto. The temples and shrines we saw that day were incredible. We particularly apprecitated Nara, not only because of the cute deer, but the temple and the HUGE buddha and gate were stunning. One of the things we most appreciated was Mana teaching us basic phrases and numbers in Japaneese. We used these things a ton on our trip and her presentation of them was fantastic. You can tell she's been a teacher before and we learned so much from her! Finally, we apprectiated Mana walking us back to our hotel.

Fuka Fuji was fantastic and her English and understanding of both Japaneese and USA culture was so helpful. We really enjoyed going grocery shopping with her and learning how to get the best items for our meal. The meal was also excellent and LOTS of food. Sake tasting was fun, but wasn't necessary for this class. We very much enjoyed our time with Fuka- We do think the class could be done in three hours. Four was maybe too long for what we did, but we were lucky that it was just the three of us

This tour was fun and Ellen was a great tour guide, but it was a little long for us- especially on the first day of our tour after another 4 hour guided tour. We apprecitated trying Wagyu beef (and did not need to eat it again as it was not our favorite). We loved talking to the chef and appreciated Ellen's interpreting for us. The whiskey spot was super fun and nice to try the japaneese whisky. The most fun was meeting Ellen's older lady restaurant owner and watching her cook for us and explain how she makes her food.

Shino greeted us promptly in the morning and was very kind and friendly. We appreciated her welcome gift the night before as well. This tour was our first of the trip and her English skills were put to the test with our many questions about culture, education, politics and religion. We so appreciated her helping us navigae the subway system and showing us the highlights of Tokyo. A four hour guided tour was plenty for our first day in Tokyo and gave us the confidence to try to navigate on our own a little more. Thank you, Shino for your patience, knowledge and guidance AND for the great pictures you took! The one thing we may suggest is adding a small stop for a snack or drink as we were famished by the time the tour was done at 1300.

The Traditional Stay in Patan offered very clean rooms, but the room configurations were quite strange. We had to change rooms a few times because each had a separate issue. The accommodation was cold with no proper heating in the rooms, which was a bit uncomfortable.

Hotel WoodApple was okay but not quite up to our expectations. The room felt very cold and dark, unfortunately. However, the breakfast was okay. The hotel itself seemed pretty empty during our stay.

We really enjoyed our stay as Aabas, the breakfast was great, shower, bed and amenities were above our expectations, the view from the rooftop pool is awe inspiring.

We had so much fun learning from Rita and Sangita the art of making MoMo. Ours weren't particularly perfect, but with the help of our teachers we got to enjoy a great meal of our making. The food came out amazing and since we made everything from scratch we can now make it to our friends back home.

Tour was great but Luxor to Hurghada Long ride- we would have preferred to fly,

Simple place. Nice enough.

Nice and comfortable.

Ok place, but too musty for me. Make sure room is accommodating for your age and physical needs. We had two stories with very steep stairs. Restaurant ok.

For being in an isolated area, very nice. When not touring one has few options. Lodge could provide more activities, especially due to rainy weather, (when the swimming pool was not always suitable) and an ‘iffy’ internet connection in the rooms. In the public areas of the lodge, internet was ok if not always at its best, but then, one is in the isolated tropical forest, We enjoyed lying in hammocks under a covered, open space while it rained. Some tourists brought cards and games with them, which was a great idea for the free times.

First night poor, no air conditioning, mechanical building noise and outside noises that of course the hotel cannot control. 2nd night good enough.

Saw Whales! Extra special guides as hosts who kept us safe and provided levity!!!

Despite the rain which fortunately let up, wonderful experience. Friendly knowledgeable guide!!!

Long trip. Food stop area pleasant. Transfer point from bus to boat is rustic, including bathrooms. Final boat trip to park is fun!

Loved!

We ran out of time to play this tour escape game. However, I know we would’ve liked to play it as it’s a great multi-age group game and a fun way to discover new places in Haarlem! We will do this next time for sure.

Kinderdijk windmills, water taxi to the windmills, Cube Houses, and Markthal for dinner were terrific! Markthal closed at 6:00 pm, which ended up being just enough time to get and eat dinner for us.

Be on time! The reservations tell you this, but you must be waiting in the alley at your ticket time or they will give your place away to others waiting. We had a late train because of a prior train accident, which forced us to run to the museum to make it just in time!

We liked the city of Haarlem very much! We purchased tickets for the Corrie ten Boom museum on our own after reading her book The Hiding Place and really enjoyed the 50 min. tour. We liked the canal cruise very much. Shopping was fun by all, and we sampled and enjoyed the street food vendors. Emma planned an Escape Tour and made dinner reservations for us also, but we had one person in our group who wasn’t feeling well, so we went back early for the day.

Place is great! 22 year old son said the cheese-tasting was his favorite thing of the week. Liked the cafe for lunch afterwards, and we bought cheese and souvenirs to take home before we left.

Booked this on our own without KimKim. Was a fun event to soon Christmas Day since most things are closed. Emma arranged transport and we were so thankful we had drivers Reuben and Ibo!

Our tiny boat’s propeller quit working and we were close to having to abandon ship during the cruise. The driver June was hanging over the side repairing it in the dark. Would probably suggest another boat company or bigger boat for future groups. The lights in the canal were pretty. June packed hot water bottles to keep our laps warm which was nice.

Was an extremely packed place on 12/23, likely lots of families visiting because of the holiday week-