Kimkim Trip Reviews

★★★★★ An Absolute Masterclass in Travel Planning — 10/10 Across the Board

This was our second time booking an international trip through kimkim, and once again, they delivered an experience that was nothing short of extraordinary.

After our first phenomenal journey with them, our expectations were sky-high, but the kimkim team completely exceeded them at every single stage of our trip to Croatia.

From the initial planning stages to the day we returned home, the attention to detail, responsiveness, and sheer expertise of the team made the entire process completely seamless:

* Accommodations & Logistics: Every hotel reservation, private transfer, and travel connection was orchestrated with military precision. The properties selected for us were charming, spotless, centrally located, and felt handpicked specifically for our taste.
* Tours & Local Guides: Every single guided tour was top-tier. Our local guides in Croatia were not just knowledgeable and professional—they were warm, engaging, and brought the history and culture of the region to life in ways a standard tour group never could.
* Flawless Communication: Having the dedicated kimkim team and local specialists backing us provided complete peace of mind. Any time we had a question or needed a minor adjustment, they responded instantly with proactive, thoughtful solutions.

The kimkim team went well beyond simply booking reservations—they curated a flawless, stress-free adventure where we never had to worry about a single detail. They have earned our trust completely. We will undoubtedly be using kimkim for our next trip and for every major journey thereafter.

If you are on the fence about using kimkim, do not hesitate for a second. They set the gold standard for personalized travel planning!

Respectfully,
Louise-Colin-Patty & Max

Hotel Reviews

Amadria Park Hotel Capital

Zagreb

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tivoli Boutique Inn

Ljubljana

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spirito Santo Palazzo Storico

Rovinj

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lyra Hotel Plitvice

Licko Petrovo Selo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Heritage Hotel Santa Lucia

Split

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Adriana Hvar Spa Hotel

Hvar

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Zagreb - walking food tour!

Zagreb

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ljubljana - Privately guided walking tour

Ljubljana

Truffle Hunting + Exploring Motovun

Croatia

Privately guided tour of Pula

Croatia

Guided Walking Tour of Split

Split

Private Day Trip to Cavtat & Family Farm Day for Traditional Lunch or Dinner

Croatia

Day Trip to Montenegro

Dubrovnik

Tour Dubrovnik's Old Town

Croatia

A superb holiday and much thanks must go to the guides. Yolanda gave us a lovely welcome with her infectious smile and enthusiasm. Always willing to go the extra mile for us, I wish I'd booked another day in her company. Mary, our guide in Jiuzhaigou was the ultimate professional. You could totally depend on her and always made sure that things ran smoothly. David in Chongqing was great to chat to and was great at making everything sound interesting with his fun with of imparting info. Finally, Anna in Zhangjiajie was delightful. Deeply intelligent and thoughtful, she had a deep knowledge of Chinese history and the places we visited. She too went to great lengths to ensure we had a stress free stay.

All the places we visited were great though it was rather too misty in Zhangjiajie, but that was the only blip. The hotels were fine but the breakfasts were not to our taste. Louise is a vegetarian and that limited choice to very few items. Overall though, it was a wonderful holiday.

Activity Reviews

Day tour in Chengdu: Panda Breeding and Research Center, Shufengyayun Opera House（First Class, Local Tea House in People's Park

Chengdu

As we went early the crowds were low and we were able to see at least 50 pandas including baby pandas and red pandas.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Both driver and Guide were lovely warm people

Transport

Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve (Sight-seeing shuttle bus included) (8 hours)

Jiuzhaigou

The most amazing scenery we have ever seen.

Quality of Experience

Food

Loved the buffet

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The buses in the park were in abundance meaning waiting times were kept low despite the crowds

We would rate the itinerary arranged by KimKim for our trip to France five stars!!! Having everything loaded on their app allowed us to easily and quickly locate times, addresses and vouchers. The three primary hotels selected were all very nice and centrally situated. The staff were accommodating and welcoming, especially in Bayeux and Ambroise. Having breakfast included made keeping our early morning schedules easier. The variety of fresh foods and coffee provided every morning was wonderful and highly enjoyed. Kimkim seamlessly arranged for drivers and tour guides. All of our tours guide were outstanding and contributed positively to the experience- especially Wally, Alex and Helene( ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️). The drivers were always on time and very accommodating.

Could’ve used a bit of help to locate our train car and seat. Maybe a video link or something!

The only negative in our interactions with KimKim would be the lack of timely communication. After Gersende left we felt more like a number and not a person. Slow response even after multiple repeated requests. Our contact with the agency was slow to handle a request for a dinner reservation. Joel said that we wouldn’t have issue without reservations but the restaurant only had 5 tables and were turning lots of dinners away while we were eating. We were not notified of a cancellation in one of our tours due to a protest. Fortunately, our guide was notified of the closure and informed us. She had been informed by the agency she works for. Had we not known we could’ve been sent into a difficult situation. Our contact apologized for not responding to us as he was off that day, but we felt like given the high unrest in the country at that point there should’ve always been someone on call. Also our request to reschedule the Louvre tour was handled lethargically.
With all the unrest in France you all should have been in closer contact with us!!!

Hotel Review

Churchill Hotel Bayeux Centre

Bayeux

Great location. Caring attentive staff

Authenticity & Character

Location

Location

Right in the middle of town. Grest

Staff

Attentive and nice

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

D-Day U.S beaches tour

France

Taps at the US cemetery was chilling. Had a fabulous guide, Wally who really pulled the day together for an experience we won’t forget!

Nighttime Seine River Cruise with Dining Experience

Paris

I added this in to trip and we really enjoyed it. Great service, food and views!!

Montmartre Walking Tour with Chocolate Tasting

Paris

Don’t eat beforehand. Great adventure in chocolate etc

Mont-Saint-Michel day Tour

France

Lots of tourist and stairs but worth it.

We had a great trip overall, but a couple of disappointments could have been handled better with clearer communication before we traveled.

Our planner knew we would have a rental car. We booked it independently because it was $550 cheaper than booking through them. Despite knowing this, they placed us at a very busy hotel in Bath with only four parking spaces, and our reservation did not include parking. (Which could have been included when booking.) We ended up parking in a parking garage and walking to the hotel in cold, rainy weather on arrival. That was disappointing, and we would have appreciated either a hotel with suitable parking or advance notice so we could plan accordingly.

We were also disappointed by the weather-related cancellations of our scheduled activities. We understand the company can't control the weather, but we wish the possibility of cancellation had been explained when we booked so we could have had more realistic expectations and considered backup plans.

Everything else was great. Better communication about parking and weather-dependent activities would have made the experience even better.

Hotel Reviews

The Slaughters Country Inn

Gloucestershire

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

No. 15 by Guesthouse

Bath

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Artisan Food Walk

Bath

Ed was fantastic! Highly recommend.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Self-Guided Pulteney Bridge & River Avon Walk

Bath

Quality of Experience

We had a wonderful time in Thailand. Our advisor Bella, brilliantly organised some quite tricky travel arrangements for our family so that the whole trip involving flights, train journeys and car transfers went without any problems at all. All of our guides were charming , informative and passionate about the places we went to, especially Marty and Pednoi. We especially enjoyed our hotel in Chiang Mai- peaceful with lovely staff.

This was one of the most stress free holidays we have ever had. Thank you Bella for your care and attention.

Hotel Reviews

Nysa Hotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 11

Bangkok

Just one night here but it was fine.

Bangkok To Chiang Mai Overnight Sleeper Train

Great fun!

Buri Sriping Riverside Resort & Spa

Chiang Mai

Lovely setting and lovely people.

Aonang Villa Resort l Lifestyle Beachfront Resort

Krabi

Good position.

Novotel Phuket Kamala Beach Resort

Phuket

Our Ocean suite was amazing.

Activity Reviews

Bangkok Highlights Exploration

Thailand

Great guide.

Elephant Nature Park Morning Half day Visit

Chiang Mai

Beautiful setting and experience.

A visit to Bua Tong waterfall or Sticky waterfall

Thailand

Loved it!

4 Islands Sunset Cocktail Cruise + Bioluminescent Night Snorkel

Krabi

Cancelled because of weather

John Gray's - Hong by Starlight

Phuket

Great day out.

Private Hong Island Tour by Traditional Longtail Boat

Thailand

Good swimming and sailing.

Baan Hongnual Cooking Class in Chiang Mai - Small Group - Morning session

Chiang Mai

Great fun and very well presented and planned.

Half-Day Doi Suthep Temple Visit - Private Morning Tour

Chiang Mai

Great views

Welcome to Chiang Mai and Early Check in at the hotel

Chiang Mai

Went seamlessly from pick up at the station to getting in at the hotel.

Tea Plantation Visit in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai

Very pleasant.

True Taste of Chiang Mai with Evening Foodie Tour

Chiang Mai

Fabulous experience of local places and food.

Temple Treasures of Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Yaowarat Street (Chinatown) Food Tour

Thailand

A bit rushed on a very busy evening.

All of the guides were excellent and everything was well planned and coordinated. Great hotels.

Hotel Reviews

Shiba Park Hotel

Tokyo

Good location. Great buffet. But rooms are rather small.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu

Hakone

A great experience! Nice amenities and balcony view with hot spring water was amazing. Loved the free ice cream and beverages!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Kanra Kyoto

Kyoto

Very cool rooms with ab excellent buffet.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

One Day Miyajima Island and Hiroshima Tour

Japan

Very moving museum experience. Wish we could spend more time on island.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tokyo Highlights: A Day of Tradional & Modern Culture with Local Life

Tokyo

Nice tour of Tokyo.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Mt. Fuji and Lake Ashi Tour with Hakone Tozan Railway

Japan

Very scenic. Couldn't see Mt Fuji but I hear that is fairly typical. Interesting ride up the mountain and nice boat tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Osaka Castle, Shitennoji Temple, Umeda Sky Building and Shinsaibashi Tour

Osaka

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Tour of Arashiyama Bamboo Grove & Sagano Scenic Railway

Kyoto

Great tour. Wish we could have spent more time in certain places but we packed a lot in.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kimono Tea Ceremony at Kyoto Maikoya

Kyoto

Very nice but didn't find it all that compelling.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Official Street Go-Kart Tour - Osaka Shop

Osaka

A lot of fun!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Full Day Nara Kofuku-ji, Todai-ji, and Isuien Garden Tour

Kyoto

Interesting tour but a bit repetitive from what we've done elsewhere.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Benjamin from KimKim was amazing to work with. He paid attention to what I asked for and put it together for me. We worked together on the planning until I was happy with the plan. He picked great accommodations for me both on Phi Phi and Chiang Mai. He was able to score a great elephant sanctuary experience for us. He also was extremely responsive when I requested assistance during our trip. I highly recommend Benjamin and the entire KimKim team.

Overall, our 24 day trip with our two adult children (4 people all together) to Japan was outstanding. Ada with Kimkim was exceptionally responsive in our trip preparation and spared us numerous booking details, transportation logistics, ticket purchasing and itinerary planning, while still allowing lots of flexibility for us to modify most of our days. The private tours we signed up for were all worthwhile— only 6 in 24 days, and most guides managed with fair English but were very thoughtful, attentive and responsive. JJ, Jo, Kei, Kay, Ayumi and especially David in Kanazawa were excellent. There were only a couple minor glitches; once with using the odd double ticket needed for the Shinkansen, and once when a museum on our itinerary was closed the day we were supposed to go. But we shuffled the itinerary to make it work. Kimkim took note and even reimbursed one transfer for our unused tickets.
Kimkim is a great service. Professional, exacting, customizable, responsible. Paying a bit more if any in booking fees is totally worth having an organized trip, especially in a country like Japan, spread out over a large area, with mobs of people, many travel connections, almost no English speakers, and trekking off the beaten path. We highly recommend Kimkim for any travel, long or short, comfort driven or off the beaten path.

M

Hotel Reviews

Sotetsu Fresa Inn Kyoto-Kiyomizu Gojo

kyoto

Great breakfast, service, location and accommodations

Authenticity & Character

Location

Convenient to train and walking to sites

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The beds were excellent and attention to detail was superb all around

Taoya Kisoji

Tsumago

Luxurious! Very generous free snacks room and especially good complementary massage chairs. Memorable stay

Authenticity & Character

Location

Off the beaten path in small town but outstanding service and everything you could want coming off the Nakasendo trail.

Staff

Activity Reviews

Full Day Gokayama and Shirakawago Tour from Kanazawa

Japan

Great slice of a very different side of Japan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

“K” Katsuhiko was so friendly, kind and helpful

Tokyo Highlights: A Day of Tradional & Modern Culture with Local Life

Tokyo

Ayumi was wonderful. The pace, sites, explanations of culture, shrines and temples were very good and thorough. She also had inside knowledge of a food place to buy Japanese knives away from some overpriced options.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Got to where we wanted to go efficiently

Full Day Mt. Fuji with Lake Kawaguchi with Oishi Park

Japan

Gorgeous setting but quite a long drive to see Mt Fugi from a distance. Fugiyoshida is a lovely setting with a beautiful park. But it was the most touristy of our excursions. Especially the boat ride.

Quality of Experience

JJ was great. Would probably select a different king of excursion

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Kyoto City Tour (Kinkaku-ji Temple, Kyoto Imperial Palace, Nijo Castle and Fushimi-Inari Taisha)

Kyoto

The heart and soul of Japanese castles and shrines to immerse you in the Shinto / Buddhist cultural icons

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Helped explain so many symbols and rituals

Full Day Miyajima Island and Memorial Park Tour

Hiroshima

Must see if you have any interest in Hiroshima history and environs, past and present.

1-Day Tour: Snow Monkeys, Zenkoji Temple & Sake in Nagano (Join-in)

Japan

On the surface it can feel touristy, but this is not a zoo. More like a National Geographic excursion to the truly phenomenal evolution of a troop of unique Macaque monkeys.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Night Tour of Kanawaza With Dinner

Kanazawa

One of the most detailed and entertaining tours we did. David was outstanding. Focused on stories more than just interesting history. Interacted with the group exceptionally and added his own fun trivia game at the end to help reinforce what we learned.

Quality of Experience

Food

Out of the way restaurant that felt like the home of a local

Guides, Drivers and Staff

See above.

Transport

The Bari / Puglia area were highly recommended to us (and we had to remove one whole area to abide by our desire to keep the pace slower)—so based on the recommendation we chose Bari /Puglia over another region, and it turned out great.

Hotel Review

Masseria Longa Boutique Hotel

Otranto

Great team and food. Nice pool.

Authenticity & Character

Simple clean converted buildings just a bit out of town but walkable.

Location

Well positioned to explore or relax.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very attentive

Activity Review

Mount Etna Hike & Winery Experience

Italy

Great guide and amazing

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Local knowledge of geology and history

Transport

Ryan air challenges were fixed by gaining access to their automated baggage check system.

Our driver was fantastic. He made sure that we were connected to all of our local tour guides. We did a 12 day trip through Morocco. The planning was good, as we wanted to change some hotels and they accommodated.

The suggestions were all spot on. The local guides were all good. Out Fez guide was excellent.

Highly recommend two nights in the desert, as this allows time to relax and enjoy the scenery.

Our trip with Kimkim to Peru was a dream come true. From Jorge who planned the trip specifically addressing our individual likes and personalities to Luis our incredible guide and our wonderful and careful drivers Jorge and Donato. We learned so much from Luis and had a fabulous time with many laughs with our new friend!! The logistics were smooth.

Our most fun and fondest memories were glamping above the Sacred Valley in Misminay - fun and beautiful and personal. If you consider this, do keep in mind its altitude, it’s very high.

Activity Reviews

Llama Walk in The Sacred Valley

Sacred Valley

Quality of Experience

Great local guide, beautiful, and off the beaten track.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

very informative, kind, and personable

Moray circular terraces and soft hike to Maras salt mines

Peru

Fascinating and beautiful at a good pace.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Glamping at Misminay Community

Sacred Valley

Fabulous at a high altitude. A highlight of our trip

Quality of Experience

Food

Home cooking!!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

What a wonderful experience in Japan. Thank you, Kimkim for making all the arrangements and being there so quickly to respond when we had a question. We visited Osaka, Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Tokyo. All of our guides were very informative, and helpful with all the transportation. I absolutely love the culture in Japan. I do recommend visiting there. I love how respectful, clean, and spiritual the Japanese are. Thank you for a wonderful vacation!😎🥰😊

Activity Reviews

Day Trip to Miyajima Island: Floating Torii Gate & Kayaking &Hiking

Hiroshima

Osaka Exploration: Castle, Cuisine, and Sky-high Views (full day tour by public transport)

Osaka

Yummy

Guided tour with public transfer from Osaka: World Heritage Himeji Castle Visiting & Kobe Beef Sampling

Osaka

Beautiful

Hozugawa River Boat Ride and Arashiyama Exploration and Japanese tea ceremony (Private Guide &Public Transportation)

Kyoto

Loved this

Mt. Fuji Scenic Tour with Whisky Tasting by private transfer

Tokyo

Breathtaking 😍

Guided Tokyo City Highlights & Transfer to Disney Area (Private Guide & Private Vehicle)

Tokyo

Wow!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tokyo Highlights: Imperial Palace, Tsukiji & Trendy Neighborhoods（Private Guide & Public Transportation）

Tokyo

Day tour by public transport in Kyoto: Fushimi Inari Shrine, Nikishi Market , Samurai and Ninja Museum and Traditional Art Performance

Kyoto

Enjoy walking around the local market

Hiroshima's Legacy: Peace Memorial & Okonomiyaki（public transport）

Hiroshima

Definitely educational and surreal

Alexia did an incredible job planning our 4 week and Spain vacation! Our accommodations, tours, transfers, recommendations completely met our needs. Alexia was very responsive addressing our questions or any issues we may have had to ensure a smooth and seamless trip. Thank you KimKim and Alexia!

We had the best trip with KimKim to Japan! I loved working with Eleanor, she communicated quickly and throughout the entire process of planning, updating things along the way that we asked for, as well as updated us throughout the trip! Having the help planning and scheduling our Japan trip was so nice and easy! And it was easy to tailor the trip to what we wanted to do etc. I highly recommend this company and Eleanor! Thank you so much! Worth every penny!

Activity Reviews

Enjoy a Guided Tour of Tokyo with teamLab Planets

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Miyajima Half-day Trip Historical Walking Tour

Japan

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kyoto Historical Highlights Bike Tour with UNESCO Zen Temples

Kyoto

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Onsen, Ryokan, and Mt. Fuji Experience in Hakone

Hakone

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kimono Tea Ceremony at Kyoto Maikoya

Kyoto

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I was not apart of the planning process. so I really can’t speak to that. Our schedule and guides were absolutely wonderful! Out Kim Kim contact, was very quick to answer any questions I had. There were a few days that the heat indices was so high that we had to cut activities short. This was all handled with ease. Fantastic company to work with!

Gustavo helped my family plan an amazing trip to Greece. It was our first time there, and we only had a week, but we all felt like we got to understand a lot of Greek culture and see the beauty of Greece. We loved the island of Milos with it’s many beaches and various activities. All of the previous pictures we had seen of Santorini did not begin to do it justice- even my young adult sons were mesmerized by its beauty. Unfortunately while we were there we were surprised with some bad weather. But Kim Kim to the rescue. Before we even had time to worry about some of our activities being cancelled, they rearranged our schedule so we were still able to do everything, albeit at different times. Even with last minute changes, our transfers went off without a hitch. We never had to worry about anything. The communication between the team was effortless and almost immediate. Thank you Gustavo and Kim Kim for helping us plan such a wonderful vacation full of everlasting memories.

Hotel Review

Katikies Chromata Santorini - The Leading Hotels of the World

Santorini

This hotel was absolutely amazing. Beautiful doesn’t do it justice. The people were so helpful and went a step above to make sure every need was met and more. My whole family wished we had had more time to spend there.

Authenticity & Character

We felt like we were enmeshed in Greece itself, Though taken care of like no-one else existed!

Location

The view was incredibly amazing. But it was also an easy walk from the hotel to shopping, restaurants, gelato!

Staff

So personable and quick to respond.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Felt like we were the only people staying there, despite the hotel being sold out!

Activity Reviews

Street Art & Food Walk

Athens

This was a great way to understand modern day Athens. It was fun, different and interesting. And the food was delicious. It was at our own pace which was great- plenty of time to ask questions and take pictures.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Milos Rib Boat Adventure

Milos

The beaches of Milos are beautiful! Though the weather wasn’t ideal, we had a great time and still got to see and do a lot. To get up so close to the caves was exciting for all of us.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hiking Adventure in Milos's Lunar-like Landscape

Milos

Despite the weather not being very good, we had a great time. Our guide was wonderful. He gave us options to keep going, or he could have arranged for transportation to take us where we would have ultimately hike to, but we all chose to continue to hike. We all had a wonderful experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Santorini Cooking Class

Santorini

Everyone who was involved with this experience or so wonderful. Our Driver, who took us there, gave us so much history on the way there. She was extremely personable and make sure we are on time there and for our next experience, and make sure we knew exactly where we were going. During our experience at the farm and making the lunch, the women were so delightful. You could tell they loved what they did and where they lived, and their enthusiasm was catching. Unfortunately, for us, we had just had a large breakfast and our experience within the morning, so we were not as hungry as we might have been when it was time for us to eat. But it was fun learning how to make some of the typical Greek food, and even more fun getting to taste it all.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Acropolis Discovery Walk

Athens

It was such an interesting tour, as we had always heard of the acropolis, but had really no idea of what it was or why it came to be. It was fun to learn the history. Though it was obviously a lot of walking and up a very steep hill, it was done in such a way that it was very tolerable. We were glad that we were not doing it in the heat of the summer!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

E-Bike Sunset Adventure with Mezes

Milos

My kids had an absolute blast on this tour. They felt like the E bikes were more like motorcycles, and they enjoyed the ride. Our Guide was wonderful about explaining that there had been a bad storm the day before, so the ride was going to be a little bit different. He had offered to change days for the E bike tour, but due to our schedule, we were unable to change. However, he adapted the dinner reservation, so we were all able to attend, even though we did not choose to ride the bike bikes secondary to the weather. He was also flexible when my husband chose to not complete the ride after dinner! He provided great communication with myself, when I chose not to ride at the last minute, so I was able to meet up with the rest of the family. It was a great experience for all of us.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Food & Wine Discovery Drive

Milos

It was a beautiful drive and fun to try all the different restaurants. We were a little disappointed in the winery at the end. We felt like we were a little bit rushed, and the explanations of the wine was very brief. But it had also been a long day and we were tired. And we have been catered to so much on the rest of the trip, that maybe our expectations were a little too high for the winery.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our Aur Island stay was not in the nice rooms but in a very basic old, shower in front of the toilet, run down room. Others of our group had very nice rooms and nice bathrooms. We paid the same as they did. That's not fair and we had no choice. We also spent two days of travel for one day of snorkeling there. Not sure i would do that again. The staff was very accommodating and fun.

One of our busses had no shocks and made for a very uncomfortable ride if you rode in the back. Otherwise, the transportation was good.

Most of our hotels were nice. We were unprepared for the heat and humidity. Our local guides were very good but they needed headphones so we could all hear.

Cannon and our drivers did an amazing job helping us navigate through Japan! We couldn't have done it with without them! It put us at ease knowing we had accommodations, transportation and itinerary planned out.

Hotel Reviews

the b asakusa

Tokyo

Clean, comfy, great location and good breakfast!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Next to subway stations and tourists attractions

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Park Hotel Kyoto

Kyoto

Clean, comfy, safe and great location!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Near train station!

Staff

Kind, friendly and accommodating!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fresh bedding and towels daily

Activity Review

Osaka & Nara Day Trip with Osaka Castle and Minoh Park

Japan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A huge thank you to Shona for keeping up with the last minute changes and odd requests. Our last day of travel wasn't clear and a bit confusing, which almost made us miss our train. Thankfully, I Googled how to get to our final destination and saw that we had to travel to a different train station with barely enough time to get on the Shinkansen.

I think we had the best guides ever! Moto, Yasuko, and Fuji. We had so much packed in on the first day, Moto didn't miss a beat and we were able to do everything on our list and then some. We were especially thankful to Fuji for allowing extra time wherever there was water to allow my son to hang out with the fish for a bit.

All-in-all, it was a great trip and so much less stressful than if I had tried to plan it myself. We had no issues, great communication with everyone, fantastic hotels, lovely breakfasts, and a trip we will never forget.

Hotel Reviews

KOKO HOTEL Tsukiji Ginza

Tokyo

We were so busy that we didn't have time to use the amenities that the hotel offers except breakfast and the laundry. The breakfast wasn't as luxurious as some of our other hotels we stayed at, but again, this hotel isn't as big and for the size, the breakfast was perfect. There was enough "western" type foods that we could eat and the Japanese type foods were really good. The laundry was cheap and unlike bigger hotels, not as crowded, so we had no issues using 1 of the 2 machines. I would definitely stay here again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

A quick walk to the subway and the river.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Vischio Kyoto by GRANVIA

Kyoto

This was a great place to stay. The rooms were modern and nice. The breakfast was amazing. So many yummy options. They get extra points for having massage chairs (paid) especially after a long day of walking around. Located so close to the train station, you don't have to go far to find anything you need.

Authenticity & Character

I thought this hotel was extremely modern and besides the toilet, you wouldn't know you were in Japan. I didn't have any issues with that though because it was extremely comfortable and nice, which is what you want on a long trip.

Location

Right across from the train station!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Monterey Le Frere Osaka

Osaka

I enjoyed the location of this hotel. It is a bit of a walk to the train station, but if you get on the street side, you can look over the city a bit which was a lot of fun for us. It was a tad loud when sirens or loud cars went down the road, but honestly, I thought that was all part of the experience. Ear plugs helped too. The breakfast buffet was absolutely amazing. We weren't here long enough to use any of the amenities, but what we did use, we enjoyed.

Authenticity & Character

It was your typical modern hotel. I didn't have any issues with it because it was comfortable.

Location

A bit of a walk from the train station and noisy, depending on what side you're on.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Nara City Tour: Nara Park, Todai-Ji Temple and More

Kyoto

Feeding the deer is one thing, but just being able to be next to them and pet them like it's no big deal is another. Such an amazing experience to get so close to those magical creatures.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Yasuko knew exactly what to do when we get to Nara to make sure our experience was a good one.

Transport

Japan has their public transportation figured out!

Half Day Bamboo Grove and Monkey Park Tour

Kyoto

The bamboo is gorgeous, the hike up the mountain was pretty, and the monkeys were amazing. Getting to feed the younger monkeys was my favorite.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Fuji was great!

Transport

Public transportation for the win!

Full Day Tokyo City Tour with Akihabara district 1.

Tokyo

This was a looong day. We basically had to speed walk everywhere to fit everything in. I would recommend if this is on your itinerary, to do it the first day you are there because you won't have the steam to this much stuff later on in your trip. We even had our guide take us on a side quest to the Shibuya Scramble Crossing, which he graciously did.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Moto was fantastic!

Transport

Public transportation for the win!

Samurai and Ninja Museum with Experience

Kyoto

I like this museum because it was just enough. I didn't realize we got a tour guide once we were in there, so that was a bonus.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide in the museum was funny and spoke decent English.

Transport

We walked there, which was such a great walk. We found some great stuff on the way that we would've missed had we drove.

Half day: Gion Kagai Art Museum and Nijo Castle

Japan

The only reason I'm not giving this 5 stars is because I think the Art Museum wasn't all that great. The museum itself is really small, but being able to see the geiko perform was worth going! What an amazing experience. Nijo Castle was really cool. Some stuff on TV was shot there, so it was neat to see it in person, but also, just being in there thinking how they used to live and operate, was cool.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Fuji was amazing!

Transport

Public transportation for the win!

We actually worked with Sara, as Antonia was on maternity leave.

Overall, we had a truly wonderful experience! The pointers and GPS links were excellent, and we were very happy with the activities, guides, sites visited, and lodging/hotels. Sara was also fantastic to work with. Her quick responses to our messages were much appreciated!

A few suggestions and observations that might be helpful for future itineraries:

Zadar: It was a long drive to Zadar for just one night, and then having to backtrack to Plitvice seemed like a bit of a waste of time on the road. In hindsight, staying closer to Plitvice would have allowed us to get an earlier start and make better use of our time in Zadar. We also felt we could have used another night in Split and more time in Hvar.

We arrived in Zadar after 7:00 p.m., and unfortunately, our hotel experience wasn't the best. The gentleman at the front desk seemed quite annoyed that we arrived late. He basically showed us to our rooms, told us about breakfast, and left. The hotel also wasn't in a very convenient location, as there were no restaurants within walking distance, so we had to rely on Uber.

Timing Between Destinations: One other suggestion would be to provide a little more guidance on how much time to allow for driving between destinations and how much time to plan for each stop. For example, we missed some activities in Bovec because it took us longer than expected to get there. We also had a difficult time finding a place for dinner, as many restaurants were already full due to reservations. Having a better idea of how much time to allocate along the way would have helped us plan our days more effectively.

That said, these are just a few things we learned along the way. It was truly a wonderful vacation, and we appreciate all the work that went into putting together such a memorable trip. We would absolutely recommend your services!

Thank you again!