Kimkim Trip Reviews

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and the ability to relax knowing that all details were taken care of and that we would be going to lovely hotels and have interesting and fun plans each day. Our local specialist came up with many ideas for our family and continued to work with us to perfect an itinerary, and the ongoing support was helpful for daily reminders and any necessary changes. Our local guides were outstanding. I travel extensively for work and really wanted my children to be able to have authentic and respectful cultural experiences for their first major international trip, and they did. We were charmed and delighted by the whole trip.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to your amazing and trustworthy company, especially to the specialist who arranged our wonderful trip to Finland (Emerson). He was very kind, cooperative and patient with us, and made a great effort to arrange the most wonderful trip. We were there in great luxury and comfort, and lived beautiful moments that will not be forgotten. We will definitely organize all our upcoming trips in cooperation with you. 😍♥️

Our trip to South Africa and Botswana was excellent.
Eileen and her team put together a wonderful trip that completely met our needs.
They listened to all of our requests and after several versions, nailed the perfect trip for our family.
While in country, her team (specifically Lucy) continually checked in with us to make sure that everything was going smoothly and we were having a great time.
I never felt like we were traveling alone and always had someone local looking out for us.

KimKim was a great option for planning a complicated, multi-city/country vacation for our family! We got to see the best of Spain and Morocco worry free. We had an easy to use app that helped keep the plans organized. I would highly recommend KimKim!

The TMB has become a top hiker’s destination, therefore, accommodations can be difficult to arrange. When we decided we would finally make the trip, Rashi shared that the accommodations would be difficult considering our shorter “lead time”. Shortly thereafter, she reached out to offer an itinerary from a couple who canceled their trip, but would require date changes. We were delighted with the news!
Rashi and Thomas were able to make some tweaks to this itinerary to customize the trip for us, e.g.; we added a couple days in Geneva on the front end, added a couple on the backend and were able to build in a break day after each 3 days of hiking. We hiked 9 days, around 100 miles overall and wouldn’t change a thing!
Rashi offered suggestions of “things to do and see” for each of our non-hiking days, which was helpful and gave us options.

We were overall pleased with our accommodations which ranged from 4/5 star rated boutique hotels to (a) shared dorm with bunkbeds and shared bathrooms. Most of the mountain huts have both dorms and select private rooms. We were pleasantly surprised to find most of our private rooms also had en suite bathroom facilities. We were expecting to share in these locations. I’m not sure if that was a special request from Rashi and Thomas on our behalf, or if we were just lucky?!

We chose the luggage service which I would HIGHLY recommend for this trek! It was worth every penny to know we didn’t have to carry everything on our backs, nor did we have to “go without” certain items.

This is the 2nd time using Kimkim for International travel with great results! They work with local experts, like Rashi and Thomas from Allibert Trekking, to handle the logistics AND there is peace of mind knowing there’s someone local to contact if in need.

Perfect trip! Hopped around to a couple of the islands and had zero troubles with any of the transfers or resorts. Awesome, thanks!

Hotel Reviews

Fiji Gateway Hotel

Nadi

We stayed in 4.5 star hotels around Fiji and for some reason the Gateway just hits different! We loved our two stops here while breaking up the trip between different islands. The food was great, bed comfy, rooms cold, the chai tea was to die for and the music was awesome. My hubby and I joked we would be back and just stay and hang at the Gateway!

Authenticity & Character

Location

walking to airport

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fiji Gateway Hotel

Nadi

We stayed in 4.5 star hotels around Fiji and for some reason the Gateway just hits different! We loved our two stops here while breaking up the trip between different islands. The food was great, bed comfy, rooms cold, the chai tea was to die for and the music was awesome. My hubby and I joked we would be back and just stay and hang at the Gateway!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Matamanoa Island Resort

Mamanuca Islands, Nadi

Healthy, breath taking reef! For those new or in love with snorkeling you couldn't pick a better location. Shallow, gorgeous coral surround the island. We loved the massages and walking around the island. Rooms were amazinggggg. Only downside is no dogs on the island. Silly I know but we loved playing with the dogs on the other islands :)

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Navutu Stars

Yaqeta Island

If my husband ever goes missing, I know to look for him at Navutu stars. Yes, I loved the resort too, but he said of all the places we have traveled around the world, this place just felt different. The people are authentic. Yes, they are in hospitality and you can tell but they were also just genuine and kind. I have worked in hospitality and nothing from them felt forced. Just great people. AND GREAT DOGS! If you love dogs, just stay here your entire vacation. I was about to pack Elsa in my suitcase, Dolly, Rocky and Snow White could come too. If you don't like dogs, they will leave you alone. I can say, of the 10 bures... those dogs had 9 of us fighting over them. Excursions were fun and adventurous. We hold very fond memories of this place, the people and the pups!

Authenticity & Character

What amazing people. I wish I would have went to the village to meet more of them.

Location

wow! Worth the long boat ride.

Staff

Authentic

Cleanliness & Comfort

Note, there is no air conditioning however the breeze is strong and the rooms were comfortable

Matangi Private Island Resort

Matangi Island

So much fun. Daily free snorkels and meals included. The BEST food we have had around Fiji by FAR and we stayed at many nice resorts. Everything was yummy. The ridge hike kicked our A$$ in the best way. (don't do it if you're scared of spiders, they do give you sticks). The shoreline hike was peaceful. The village singers and dancers were awesome and the little dance part after was a blast. Even the people who said they wouldn't participate were dancing and having a great time. How could you not. The massage was amazingggggggg and all the animals were awesome. Give Missy, Mary and Lucky some pats for me! I also loved that the visitors all enjoyed the friendly game of stealing the orange cat off of each others front porches. Such a friendly little sweetie! All the staff were great but we definitely enjoyed our free diving chats with bartender Jon, Dan telling us his story and about his time here in Colorado and our snorkels with the activity shack boys. The private time on the bay is a MUST for those who love snorkeling. Well done.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Jons the man!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Navutu Stars Complimentary Activities

Yasawa

Honestly everything was perfect and the dogs were great adventure buddies if you wanted them there. Hiking, kayak or laying on the beach. They would hang if you asked them to :)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Navutu Stars Charged Activities

Yasawa

ADVENTURE! So fun! Loved the cave but long, wet, boat rides. Snorkeling tends to not be from a beach but a boat so check with them about that if you are scared of deep water. Beautiful reef!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Taveuni

Taveuni

Wow that was a small plane (but safe and fun!). The views were awesome!!!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our thanks to Clothilde for working with us to build a memorable trip. She was responsive and timely in helping us lock in an itinerary on relatively short notice. Our thanks also to Joel for stepping in to assist Clothilde while she was unavailable.

We were pleased with our main activities:
Funky Chocolate Shop - fun family activity, I don't remember our host's name but she was very good
E-Bike Tour - good outdoor activity, the Trummellbach Falls were the highlight. Pedro was an engaging guide and he helped us with medical attention when one of our sons took an unfortunate fall.
Trip to Jungfrauloch - maybe the highlight of the week, a unique and unforgettable experience
Riffelsee and Riffelberg Tour - Guide Herbie had the good idea to visit the mirroring lake to the Matterhorn first, before the crowds got there
Likewise, we were generally pleased with the accommodations.

A couple of items didn't meet our expectations:
After agreeing to our itinerary and paying the amount in full, we were notified that the E-Bike Tour we signed up for was not available. After some discussion, we were left with no choice but to pay an extra charge to secure the Tour we had already paid for. That still doesn't seem right to me.
For the private transfer from Zermatt to Zurich, we had instructions to meet our driver at our hotel. When he didn't appear, we had to contact him to find out that he was waiting for us in Tasch, as cars are not normally permitted in Zurich. We then had to get ourselves to the Zermatt train station and find a train to Tasch. This should have been avoided and in fact, I sent an inquiry that night prior asking for clarification on that issue.

But overall, a very enjoyable trip.

Hotel Reviews

Heart of Interlaken Apartments

INTERLAKEN

Hotel Alpenhof

Zermatt

Hotel Glärnischhof by Trinity

Zurich

Activity Reviews

Chocolate workshop in Interlaken!

Switzerland

E-Bike Adventure: Exploring Lauterbrunnen and the Enchanting Valley of 72 Waterfalls

Switzerland

Time at leisure in Interlaken!

Switzerland

Riffelsee and Riffelberg tour!

Zermatt

We spent a magical week of wild life safari in Kenya thanks to the extraordinary services provided by Joseph and his team at Nariku Travel Experiences. Andy, was our personal guide and jeep driver who ensured that we had no difficulties in checking in to the various lodges and kept us informed and entertained during the several game drives we went through. Andy went above and beyond to ensure that we got to see the Big 5 animals and much more!

Joseph addressed all of our questions and concerns before and during our trip very quickly to give us peace of mind. There were no surprises either in the itinerary or costs - everything was well designed and transparent.

We very highly recommend Nariku Travel and will most certainly be using their services in the future…

Hotel Reviews

Kibo Safari Camp

Amboseli

Lodging is good , food is excellent and people are the best! My spouse fell sick while we stayed here, and the Asst Manager Mr. Joseph helped us so much, I will always be grateful to him.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Very friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fair Acres Boutique Hotel

Karen, Nairobi. P. O Box 1121 – 00208 Nairobi.

Rooms are good and clean. Room service is non responsive. Breakfast menu is very limited, Restaurant service is very slow.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lake Naivasha Simba lodge

Naivasha

Good accommodations, and wonderful food! Hotel grounds are v exquisite. Hippos are shy didn’t come out of water

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lake Nakuru Lodge

Nakuru

Location and rooms are good. Food was below average, and not many vegetarian options. They let the bonfire die by 8pm, and didn’t kindle the fire even when requested

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pride Inn Mara Camp

Accommodation is excellent, and we loved the outdoor shower experience. Lots of modern amenities provided. Indian food here was the best we had on our trip, really fantastic. We celebrated my son’s birthday here, and they baked a cake for us, and had the Masai tribesmen wish him.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bathroom shower and sink is very luxurious

Activity Reviews

Amboseli National Park

Amboseli National Park

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Lake Naivasha Activities

Kenya

Lake Naivasha Hells Gate National Park

Kenya

Our guides Kevin and Dennis made Hells Gate very memorable for us! Their energy and enthusiasm kept the trip very interesting and fun.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Lake Nakuru National Park Game Drive

Nakuru

Maasai Mara National Reserve

Masai Mara

Maasai Mara Game Drives

Masai Mara

I do not typically review experiences to be posted online. However, I received an email asking me to review our experience with kimkim and our specialist in particular. I was just trying to figure out how to do that on my own and I am happy to oblige.

Our trip to Norway was a twice thwarted attempt to bring our family to Norway to see where our family had immigrated from years ago. With four busy kids, a busy family schedule and careers to manage, it didn’t look promising and I reached out to a number of companies, a few of which said that I should have started months before. That was decent advice, but not helpful.

I ran across kimkim randomly online and was curious about the ability to curate our own interests into an agenda with a date range focusing on Norway. Admittedly, not everyone would want the same experiences if given the option to give their opinion, but the tool which gave me an option to select certain things as options including experiences -like a survey-was very clever and helpful. Once that was done, Kadri was assigned as our local expert. I don’t know how much time Kadri spent with us, but she was extremely patient behind the scenes as we had to maneuver a few schedule changes when our airline would not allow us to use stored miles to apply towards the trip (even though previously they indicated we could). Kadri faithfully put together a number of options for an itinerary that fit our desired agenda and had some great additional options as part of our schedule was fluid. When one part of our trip could not come together, she gave some very specific insight about an alternative that ended up being one of the highlights of our trip (spending time in Balestrand and staying at the Kviknes Hotel). In addition, she gave us practical advice which was very helpful.

I did find a friendly competitor of kimkim online and out of curiosity I submitted a similar criteria and was told that we would need months more to plan. That was all I needed to know as Kadri was at work behind the scenes.

The professionalism of the agenda, the links, the access to tickets and the detail was elegant and user friendly. Being able to share it with the family was great. Also, I had priced this trip several times and I found the overall package price of the trip to be very competitive to some long-established travel companies that I had tried to put this trip together with in the past.

We had an amazing trip and I referenced the kimkim itinerary and website several times a day. We are very grateful for Kadri as she was simply excellent not only in her work product, but patience, understanding and additional insights that I did not expect. I highly recommend her and the kimkim team for travel and I hope to use them again.

KimKim saved us many hours in planning last minute trip to Scotland during the height of the season.

Hotel Reviews

One Devonshire Gardens - Hotel du Vin

Glasgow

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

No17 The Promenade Hotel

Oban

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cruachan Hotel

Fort William

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Breakfast was not good. Only instant coffee, no fresh fruit, I think there was not even yogurt.

River Ness Hotel, a member of Radisson Individuals

Inverness

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Northern Sands Hotel

Thurso

Authenticity & Character

The outside curb appeal does not match the pleasant interior of the common areas or the room.

Location

Staff

Newton Lodge

Sutherland

Authenticity & Character

The hotel architecture does not match the surrounding charm of Inverness.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ac Marriott Inverness

Inverness

Authenticity & Character

The architecture of the building does not match and fit in with the charm of Inverness.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour

Glasgow

Cruise of Mull, Iona and Staffa Islands

Scotland

It was cancelled by the operator due to weather but the ferries continued to run and we wish that we had been better informed of the option to take a ferry to one of the islands on our own. This was a big disappointment.

Evening cruise on Loch Linnhe

Fort William

Private guided tour with driver/guide in Skye from Fort William

Scotland

Private day with a driver/guide from Inverness

Scotland

Ian is a top notch, very informative guide and excellent driver who tailored our experience to our personal needs and interests. Anyone who gets him as a guide, is very lucky.

Boat Ride Around the Canal & Loch Ness including a Visit to Urquhart Castle

Scotland

Linda set up a wonderful trip for my family. We made changes- sorry- but she rolled with the changes and made it so easy. Thank you. The guides were great, accommodations were wonderful. LeeeAnn

Eirini was so knowledgeable and responsive with ideas to create the most perfect trip for our family of 5. The experience in pairing our travel needs with Eirini’s extensive network to create a custom vacation was a great match. She understood our goals, actively level, and budget, and inserted her knowledge of climate, crowds, and seamless logistics. It was a best in class, interactive experience for us, and would highly recommend Eirini and KimKim. Thank you for sharing the best of your country and people with us!

Our first city, Kathmandu, afforded us an instant and memorable view into their culture and city life! Our hotel was very nice! Staff was friendly and attentive. Our room was clean and well appointed. Their fitness room was nice! (I’m always happy when there’s a fitness room)

While in contrast to Kathmandu, the Chitwan Jungle Resort was beautiful, the room was spacious and we had gorgeous views from our balcony and on the resort grounds. The staff was very friendly and accommodating! Likewise we had an altogether different but equally beautiful atmosphere when we stayed overnight at Matan Chhen in Panauti.

Our guide in Kathmandu was great and we had fantastic tours. Our host in Panauti, Grishma, was very helpful and charming!

If we did the trip again, I would not go to Panauti on our last day before departing Nepal. After the morning flight back from Chitwan to Kathmandu, we didn’t feel like driving another 1.5 hours only to go to a small town, with little to do or see and then just hang out in the residence the rest of the day. (We walked around the town for a little bit as Grishma was kind enough to walk with us but there was not much to do or see) And then having to drive back to Kathmandu exceptionally earlier than needed the following morning only to sit at the airport for 3 hour and 45 min ahead of our flight (and then add on another 1.5 hours for a delay). Had I known all the travel time and the lack of really anything to do in Panauti, I would have opted to stay in Kathmandu or somewhere a lot closer. That’s my only constructive feedback for the tour company. With limited time in the country anyway, the less ‘travel time’ to get to places, the better. Or at least a better call out on the planning side about total trip times.

Overall, it was a very positive experience and I would recommend Himalayan Trails to anyone! We were well taken care of!

Overall, our first trip to India was a memorable one! We love to experience new cultures on our trips and India has a unique one! Because my daughter and I are on a two-month, 12-country trip, we were only able to spend five nights in India. However, we experienced some of the best places India has to offer by visiting Delhi, Agra and Jaipur.

Our local guides in each city were professional and knowledgeable. We learned quite a bit from them! Our driver the entire time, Mr. Puran, was awesome! He took care of us traveling from city to city and on all of our tours. Kudos to him for be able to navigate what we would consider ‘crazy’ traffic!

The hotels hand-picked for us in Agra and Jaipur (The Grand Imperial and the Dera Rawatsar respectively) were excellent! Highly recommend! Alternatively, in Delhi, I would likely want to stay somewhere else on a return visit. While it was clean and the staff was accommodating, the rooms were a bit tired, and some common things not provided in the rooms such as tissues and bath mats. And while the breakfast each morning was good, it was a little ‘unorganized’ if you needed/ordered something. Again, not a show-stopper, just providing some additional feedback that might be considered for clients coming from the US.

If I had to book the trip over again, I would likely not be so aggressive in trying to visit three cities that are each about 5-6 hours driving distance apart in 5 days. It was a lot of driving in such a short amount of time. It would have been helpful to know in planning the trip if this were called out so I could make a more informed decision. I may or may not have opted for something different, or even extended our stay, but at least I would have a little better idea about drive times.

Thanks to Active India for taking such good care of us while in the country and for selecting tours and sites that interested us. I would certainly recommend them to anyone traveling there!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Udman Ferns N Petals

New Delhi, Delhi

Clean rooms, accommodating staff. Rooms were not tired looking. Common hotel room items like tissue and bath mats were not provided. A little unorganized for breakfast in ordering or asking for items. But nice selection of breakfast items.

Authenticity & Character

Location

In a location were you really couldn’t walk out anywhere.

Staff

Professional and accommodating

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Grand Imperial

Agra

Embodies Indian culture, very nice open spaces and very roomy accommodations. Staff professional and accommodating!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dera Rawatsar

Beautiful rooms reflective of Indian culture! Very spacious and clean! All amenities needed! Very accommodating staff!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Taj Mahal Sunrise Visit

Agra

A MUST SEE!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bathe, Paint and Feed - (Un-forgettable - experience with elephants!)

Jaipur

Once in a lifetime opportunity to interact with these gentle giants!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had the best time!! Thanks for everything and everything so perfectly planned. Kids are exhausted but that's to be expected. We really enjoyed Rovinj and wish we had more time for the beaches. Zagreb was so charming and easy to explore. The cannon at noon scared us even though we were waiting for it. In Plitvice we had the best tour guide. She even showed us the news report of her and her friends knitting winnie warmers hahaha. Thanks for all your work on this trip!!

Dalia did a great job putting together an itinerary that everyone in my family (especially my teenager) enjoyed. The boutique hotels were perfect, with great service and locations. Dalia and team were always accessible, especially when we had some travel issues. We would definitely use KimKim again.

Activity Reviews

Costa Brava: Kayaking & Snorkelling experience

Barcelona

Really fun experience. My one complaint is that the group was a bit large.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Marbella Boat trip

Spain

Tom our boat captain was great. He provided a really fun experience for the whole family. One of the highlights of our trip. Amazing!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Modernist Barcelona: Gaudi's Highlights

Barcelona

Your guide was really knowledgeable and provided tons of insight into the architecture and sites. Private tour was super nice.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Excellent communication, Eric followed our outline and provided great suggestions for optional activities. All reservations came through perfectly without a hitch.

Great Trip with no complaints. Really appreciated the hotel selection as well as the smaller more intimate tours. Especially enjoyed the Blue Mountains tour with the hike. The Go West tours out of Melbourne were also well led and fun. Would recommend the foodie tour of Melbourne too.

Everything was very well organized and took the hassles logistics out of your lap.

Would do again

Hotel Review

Crystalbrook Bailey

Cairns

Activity Reviews

Blue Mountains Wildlife Full-Day Sights and Hiking from Sydney

Sydney

Foodie Discovery Walking Tour

Melbourne

Great Ocean Road Scenic Tour

Melbourne

Kata Tjuta Sunrise and Valley of the Winds Half-Day Trip

Uluru

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Francesca did a great job of being available via phone or text during our vacation if we had any questions or wanted to make itinerary changes on the fly.

I think main problem was selection of hotels. Their locations were right in the busy place with no access by car. On Saturday Drivr left us to block away from Moon sun hotel Loan. We had to log our luggage. We had the similar problem when we came back in Lisbon to Behotelisboa hotel.where hotel was more than half kilometer away from parking spot. Cars were not permitted in front of the hotel.
For Tuk ride, we could not find the driver. We called number on the seat and was told this is a porto branch number and they could not find our reservation. We arrived at the location at 4.05. We even talk to other Tuk driver. They tried to help and call the local number as was mentioned on the voucher with no success. It was really disappointing.