Kimkim Trip Reviews

A beautiful hotel with a great view. The breakfast buffet was wonderful, but I was surprised at how small the dining room was, so that people had to wait. One morning we were directed to a dining room on another floor, which was fine. I was disappointed that the walking trail to the central city was closed and we had to walk the highway sidewalk. We used the shuttle service to and from central city a number of times and luckily, we learned to make reservations. It was very timely and worked well. We had been told it would go to different locations in the city if needed, but that was not correct. But we made it work without any issues.

Upon arriving at this Hotel, it felt more like a Motel 6! It had no character, seemed old and outdated; there was not a patio or any place we could sit to enjoy company with our travel mates. There seemed to be a bar, but it appeared closed and very small. Our room was particularly dreary with a dark brown carpet that invited the belief that it was dirty. I did not feel comfortable stepping with my bare feet on the carpet. The whole building seemed old and outdated. The only plus for the hotel was the breakfast buffet which was very good. The front desk staff were not helpful, and even somewhat rude. I asked about the availability of coffee and maybe some fruit for our very early travels, and they told me to make coffee in my room (which was terrible) and to go to the grocery store before it closed! Maybe it was the tone in which they said it, but it bordered on being rude. Not helpful.

Unfortunately, because of a mistake with our hotel booking, we only had one night here. We noticed immediately that the property was for Sale. Which is rather concerning. The grounds were not well kept. Our room was pretty small and felt crowded. I liked having the patio where we could sit. The dining area was very nice, and we noted that all of the guests were scheduled around each other to allow for private dining at the one table. It was also awkward to get coffee, since it had to be prepared by the staff - not easily available. The breakfast itself was wonderful - we all liked it. The staff was very courteous - we enjoyed many aspects of the property. I don't see the second night where we had to relocate to the Edgewater Hotel! We liked this hotel very much!

This hotel was fantastic, with all of its amenities and the views! It was crowded at times, and we were not able to take advantage of the coffee shop and its patio. It took a little time for us to get familiar with the restaurants and need to make reservations. The breakfast buffet was great, and we did have dinner at the hotel one night - which was likely the most extensive buffet I have seen for options. Our room had a fantastic view of Mt. Cook - we loved it. It would have been nice to have a balcony to be able to sit outside and enjoy the view with a glass of wine.

The Lodge has a lot of character and different room styles. The dining room and outdoor patio are lovely, with a nice fireplace in the dining room. We had thought the Lodge would be closer to the lake than it was, but it was just a short walk. It was very peaceful.

This hotel has a great location, and the room was very clean and modern. We enjoyed the breakfast and our brief stay.

The view from our private Hot Tub was excellent! The staff were courteous. The facility had a great spa feel to it and felt luxurious.

This activity turned out well, and we are grateful for the help of the travel agent the night before to be sure the wine tour did not prevent us from getting to our Hot Tub experience. The Wine tour driver was so courteous and was aware of our time crunch to get from the wine tour to the Hot Tub. He volunteered to drop us off directly at the Hot Tubs and make our schedule work. We are grateful for everyone working to make everything work together. The wine tour itself was interesting and a great way to see the communities near Queenstown and learn about the local wine industry. Our tour guide was excellent and told us a lot of facts about the community and the wine industry. The wineries were interesting and it was a nice way to spend the day.

A beautiful golf course! The course was in great shape and the views were excellent. The staff was courteous, and the club house and dining patio were inviting. We enjoyed the day!

We were not expecting an hour bus drive from Queenstown, but it was a comfortable bus. We liked jet boat experience; it was something we had not done before. The boat driver was obviously an expert! We also enjoyed the funyaks - it was an exciting challenge to steer the boats clear of rocks and other boats. The directions of our funyak guide were at times confusing, but we made it without getting wet! It was an active experience, and I loved the views of the river and the mountains, along with the stories about the filming of the Lord of Rings.

The gondola ride was great! It was not crowded, and we enjoyed the views from the dining room/bar with a couple of drinks.

A nice drive.

The Guided Walk was longer than I anticipated, but it was a lovely walk! The group was larger than I expected also! There were 13 guests and the hiking guide. The waterfall at the end of the hike was great, and the hiking guide was also very good. The walk did seem a little rushed, but I know we were on a schedule to be able to make the Cruise. The Cruise was the favorite part of the activity. It was beautiful to see all of the waterfalls and the steep sides of the sound. The Cruise went further out into the open ocean than I expected. We saw dolphins as we came back into the sound - a real treat!

We don't know what this is.

This trip was a dud! There were no icebergs floating and the glacier was not very recognizable because of all of the dirt. There was no calving of the glacier. Our guide did the best he could and was very knowledgeable. But after the boring 20 minute walk with 40 other people, and then some time in a boat with little to see - it seemed like a waste of time.

We loved the helicopter experience. It was a first for all of us. We had an excellent pilot, and he was great at telling us interesting facts. Our scheduled flight was pushed back a half hour, and we were told to check in an hour before the trip. We waited around for 1 1/2 hours - which was not a great start to the experience.

Beautiful grounds and wonderful staff. Breakfast was great. However, room was the smallest and most basic. In addition, while it did overlook the garden, it also overlooked the restaurant which plays music and is fairly loud until 11pm. Might have been better in a room facing the back. Also, room was on the second floor so might be tough for some climbing stairs and carrying luggage

Very unique place, short walk to town. Staff amazingly helpful. Wine and cheese in the afternoon with Fado one day. We had a suite with external access. Quite. Beautiful

Highlight of our trip. Amazing location, quiet. Staff were super.

Hotel in need of updating. Long walk to room and from room to dining. The grounds and gardens are pretty special. Not an easy place to walk from or to the town

Fantastic hotel with the best restaurant attached. Breakfast was the best of the entire trip.

Certified guide, another Luís, who was fantastic, great driver, even took us to an local beach

The palaces were wonderful. This trip wears the only one without a certified (by Portugal) guide. The guide was very nice but seemed to be filling in for his son in law In addition, entrance fees were apparently not included for two locations despite assurances we had already paid. Kimkim was great in refunding rapidly. Thank you.

Can we give more than 5 stars? Best overall day in Portugal. Ended up joining a wine club and could have spent a few days there. Wine liver paradise. So scenic!

Walked down to the Nova Gaia and toured the Calem Lodge. Best view of Porto from across the river.

Got a lay of the town. Great certified guide

Guide was excellent. Experience was mixed at best. Aveiro is a very nice town. Highlight were the salt ponds and seeing the workers up close, Costa Nova (although empty this time of year). The town and canals not really worth it. The “gondolas” don’t go anywhere and the canals don’t even connect.

Certified guide. Really interesting regarding the university. The guide was a graduate.

Needed downtime and exploration. Added the convent de Carmo Which was amazing

Pretty fun and good to be sitting. Saw a ton of the city we might not have otherwise.

Certified guide, Rui, was excellent. Lot of walking and stapes but really helped to orient to place and history

Staying in this resort is an incredible experience on its own merit. It is located next to the national park. You cannot reach it unless by boat. We took a private road trip to the port near Sierpe and from there a met the hotel team. Then a beautiful river ride (2h stopping along to observe animals) and final ocean ride to hotel beach (30m). On the way back we took a 30m boat ride to Drake bay and 30m to the Drake airport back to San Jose to our international flight same day. All of it organized by the hotel, impeccable planning and execution. The hotel borders the national park and has beautiful beaches of its own. There are many nature and eco activities to be done here. There are 2 restaurants all great, one with stunning view of the pacific. We had a regular bungalow and was excellent. Thank you LUIZ at the restaurant for tables with beautiful views and MARISA and SOL at front desk and coordination of everything including our perfect return trip. In this resort everyone of their staff is focused on a delightful and awesome experience for all their guests.

The views from the top of the hill down to the ocean are stunning. Very good restaurant and pool with same great views. Front desk staff not as friendly (not even a smile upon arrival) as we learned to expect in Costa Rica, including a discussion due to a disappointing lack of room cleaning on the first day (had to call at 3:30pm to clean room, though we had been out of it since 7:00am on our activity). The restaurant staff was great, thank you to JOHN and MAGALY for getting us an awesome view table twice. The hotel is relatively far from the beautiful beach below, hotel offers rides 4x/daily (walking is 25min down and 40min up if you are fit - which is what we did - also taxi is $10).

A beautiful bungalow hotel located within its own park, with jacuzzi overlooking the forest/mountain. Plenty of animals around the wonderfully manicured gardens. Very good food and drink options. Quiet, and isolated from the town. Great pool. GIORGIOLINA at the front desk was wonderful, providing us with the mountain view bungalow we thought we were getting (but some miscommunication between the travel agent and the hotel prevented us to have that on first night). Spending time here was a blessing immersion into the Arenal park forest setting.

Great resort, across the street from the beautiful beach. Pool opened 24h with a good happy hour. They have a restaurant right on the beach, we had dinner there everyday given the beautiful view and atmosphere. Water filters conveniently placed around the property. Competent staff and friendly front desk. Beautiful forest/garden setting embedded around the rooms.

The location of the Valverde is excellent, with beautiful river views, including from the open dining room. Our bedroom was better than a glamping experience, as we had a hotel style room with a very large bathroom and AC. What made the greatest difference was the awesome staff attention to details and extreme friendliness. We felt truly welcome. Thank you to manager RONNY and restaurant team and captain JASON. This hotel offer guided trips to the park multiple times of day, with their own boat, super convenient. This was a simple hotel but had an interesting character being directly on the river and a great attentive staff.

This tour was programmed by our Corcovado Wilderness Lodge and it was better than expected. RALPH was our lead along with STEPHEN captain. On the way to the island, the captain spotted a number of boats circling and he promptly headed a bit out of our way to check it out. What a great decision, because we came to a female humpback whale and her calf playing around. SUPER! The snorkel was great, we saw 3 species of turtles, a giant manta-ray (another further out excursion from the snorkel site, AWESOME!) and innumerous fishes. The water is not the most clear, but good enough. There were many boats around, including divers below, so we followed our leader around to avoid them. Still a great experience and included short stop at the island.

This tour was programmed by our hotel Corcovado Wildness Lodge, and it was great. TIDI was a great guide. We hiked through the jungle and along beaches and along the beach. Many animals and birds around and a very beautiful forest and coast. Unfortunately we did not get to the waterfall because some members of the group became tired.

This was hosted by Tucane Tours. The guide was just average, based on our previous guides, but we did get to see some birds and monkeys and sloth. This park is very beautiful, lush forest and breathtaking ocean side, with an isthmus connecting two wonderful beaches. At the end of the regular tour we decided to stay behind at the park (optional) and hiked the trail at the end of the beaches

This trip was hosted by North Adventures again and it was excellent. Our guide BYRON was very knowledgeable and attentive. We were luckily the only ones on this activity, so it was perfect logistics. This visit is an amazing display of nature, when 2 rivers meet and due to the drastic Ph change causes Alumina Silicate particles to expand and thus reflect blue light. We did also hike through the Tenorio volcano park and saw many birds and animals. This was an incredible tour, and though far from La Fortuna, it is definitely worth it.

NOTE: This rating is based on all the transports we had by Exploradores Outdoors, not just this one. On this trip there were 2 parts, the first bringing us from S. Jose to their bus hub, not very eventful, as leader Roberto could not even muster a "good morning" at pick-up, and spent most of the time on his phone, with some occasional comment where we are and making jokes at the expense of clients. After a basic lunch, taking us from the hub to the port where we joined a boat to our final destination, we were led by CARLA. She was very entertaining and provided a lot of useful and insightful information about banana growing and harvest. The boat trip was good, passing through the beautiful jungle. It was not guided, just transport. This poor rating is based on further issues we experienced with Exploradores Outdoors: they overcrowded the buses (not a small group as advertised, but packed us like sardines with 20+ people), so needless to say it took forever for each guest to be delivered to their hotel. In one case we arrived 3.5 hours later than the estimated time.

This was a double tour from North Adventures. First we hiked in the Arenal volcano park, great tour with the very experienced Marlon guide. Identified sloths and many birds. The park setting is very beautiful with forests and mountains. Second we went to the Mistico park site with the exciting hanging bridges. Here again our very experience guide Marlon identified many birds and animals, as we hiked through the forest. We were lucky that the volcano was clear of clouds so we had a picture perfect experience with the mountain.

We wanted to experience the hot springs and booked this event in the evening. The food buffet was very extensive. We were lucky to have a driver to ourselves, as we chose to leave earlier than scheduled. Maybe a daily event would have been better for us, so we could see more. But it was great to relax in the hot pools after a long journey.

This is a very beautiful park. The tour was excellent, we saw many birds (too many to list) and animals (sloth, snake, monkeys). Our guide was great and even ventured on beautiful locations before entering the park that where remarkable. We hiked all the way to the tip and spend there another 30min swimming.

This tour (or better, multiple tours) are arranged by our Valverde Lodge, with their own boat and hired guide. Ronny was great at managing everything and captain Jason and guide Jairo. This made the Valverde location a great choice, as it was very convenient to join to join early tours. The hotel also offered regular trips (5min) to the Tortuguero town, as we were down the river. We felt great being in a quiet place with river views, but also able to join the lively town as we wanted. In the tour we saw a lot of birds (too many to list) and other animals, including 2 types of monkeys, sloths and cayman.

Incredible setting, every detail in the hotel was perfectly thought out. We were amazed by the views and the luxury.

Our time at the hotel was spent in a beautiful setting. We were amazed by the “jungle” atmosphere. The breakfast was wonderful, with a plentiful and fresh selection.

A beautiful hotel, modern and clean. Everyone was very kind to us, and we were completely satisfied. The breakfasts had a wonderful atmosphere.

We had a wonderful day, visiting beautiful places. The island tour was very well organized, and I loved swimming together with small fish.

It was an amazing experience to be up close with the tigers. We felt a bit sorry for the animals because they were kept in strict enclosures (of course, we understand why). It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

We probably spent our favorite day here. We were happy with how the caretakers treated the elephants. It was exciting and unforgettable. Maki has a really great style; we loved the way he talked about the elephants and the staff's work.

The White Temple amazed us—it was one of our most fulfilling days. We really enjoyed the temple tour and got to experience new cultures in the village of the long-necked women.

Chiang Mai offered us different experiences. We enjoyed delicious food and were glad to try dishes from the local vendors.

I loved the atmosphere of the place; it was wonderful. Completely different from Bangkok—calmer, quieter, and a more nature-connected experience.

We had a full and exciting day, visiting incredible places. Monks, a long boat tour—it felt like we had stepped into another world. It was truly a wonderful start to our trip.

Very cute and comfortable place.

It was a hotel. Nothing special and that’s okay.

The people running this B&B were so kind and welcoming! I’m incredibly grateful for their patience dealing with our disoriented, jet lagged selves.

I really don’t know how to describe the level of this place. Their sustainability efforts are remarkable, the staff are a joy to be around and the food was delectable. Absolute favorite of all the places we stayed.

The glowworm caves were magical. Using red lights instead of the bright white for cave features in the way in could have helped our eyes adjust to the dark better and would have improved the experience. I loved the lack of cell phones and the request for silence. It made the experience a lot more memorable. I would have appreciated more time to read all of the info signs that are up everywhere and enjoy the put part of the cave. I felt very rushed and a bit like cattle being herded.

Cruising the Milford Sound wasn’t really our cup of tea. It’s a beautiful fjord, but the boats were overcrowded and moved too quickly to really allow us to soak it in. It felt more like a cell phone photography tour than anything special. Everywhere we tried to just exist and enjoy the ride for a while, someone else's phone ended up in our faces as they tried to get their perfect photo. It did have a small magical moment where the boat got close enough to the falls to get everyone very very wet. It was chilly so everyone (except my husband and I) ran for shelter. We loved the feel of the water and the seclusion it allowed. It was well worth being cold. Just for that moment, I’d recommend doing it once especially if you have limited mobility. The little walk was lovely though and I really enjoyed learning so much about the local plant life. Our guide for that was a joy to be around and really seemed to have a wealth of knowledge to share. She tried her best to make it a memorable experience for us. Also, the lunches were delicious and well balanced!

Our stargazing tour in Mt Cook was surprisingly spectacular. We actually dropped it from our trip and re-added it after more consideration. It turned out to be one of our favorite activities. The guides were knowledgeable and fun to interact with. It was truly a surreal experience I’d recommend to anyone and everyone.

The Banks Track was a delight! It felt like walking through several different worlds. We did the quicker paced option which was a perfect taste of the area. I’d love to return for a full meal…or 2…or 3.

Beautiful old hotel.

This was a beautiful boat with great food.

Great way to see the elephants in their natural environment. No exploitation here.

Excellent show. Good evening activity.

Great site and great guide.

Very interesting and well done.

Beautiful boat with a great staff.

Too much traffic getting there and back.site was crowded.

Minh was a great guide.

Wonderful, friendly and caring staff. Delicious breakfast.

Wonderful staff, beautiful property

Personable, engaging and knowledgeable guide. Frankie provided a charming journey through the streets of Buenos Aries tasting some of the local treats along the way.

Well organized. Quality equipment. Competent and engaging guides. We were up close and personal with icebergs. Perfect day on the river in an amazing place.

Great view of glaciers but a little too much boat time. Hard to hear commentary over the sound system. Crowded on deck

Comfortable, relaxing, charming and welcoming atmosphere. Authentic home cooked meals.

Staff was awesome and made extra recommendations and accomodations for us. Great location. Would stay here again.

Such a beautiful space. Our family loved this one the best. Breakfast plentiful. A little bit of a walk to the sites, but we did not mind. We still talk about this place and would definitely stay again!

Location is great. It is walking distance to many of the sites.

So amazing. We got to hands-on participate in the forging process. The owner of the shop was great as well as our English translator. My favorite part of the trip.

It’s a tour of the different neighborhoods in Madrid while on a tuk tuk.

So much to see! Carlos was a great guide. Our kids enjoyed it too!

Yohanna was great! She chose some delicious tapas for us. The flamenco show was amazing.

Great history walk from Damian.

Our guide Jose Luis was great! The kids loved it. Beautiful area. We came here because our son really likes aviation, and this is where you can walk across airplane runway for a cool experience.

Beaches are stunning well worth the trip north. It’s a family hotel so there will be kids running around, but it’s a large area not really in walking distance of anything but a great escape.

This is a quiet place in Phuket. The beach sand is good, but it’s rocky when you go out into the ocean. It’s a great area for a family and to get away from the party scene.

This is very touristy they pack you on a large speedboats and move all around the islands. It feels rushed. Recommend a small tour when possible.

The elephants sanctuary makes it all worth it

This was an amazing wedding and coordinated gracefully. Flowers were stunning photographer was amazing.

So much fun. Nis was an amazing guide