Kimkim Trip Reviews

This review has been a long time coming, I feel terrible for taking so long to write it, but our experience with Mathia was AMAZING. He was very accommodating and patient with us, even though we asked him to update our itinerary multiple times. Also, while we were in Norway, we got a little lost and he was able to help us get back on track. He was planning on being on vacation for part of our trip and gave us plenty of notice and made sure we had another person that we could contact in case we needed assistance. He was super friendly, and really personalized our honeymoon. A great experience, and now we are planning to use Kimkim again for our trip to Switzerland.

We had a wonderful trip despite temperatures 15-20 degrees above normal. We loved all the cities we visited- Bellagio at Lake Como, Ortisie, Venice, Florence and Monterosso in the Cinque Terre. The tours were great- especially the 2 women (Paola and Lucia) in Florence. The hotels went above our expectations- magnificent!! All of our arranged drivers were so professional and went above their prescribed duties to help us navigate from city to city and from train to water taxi.

Hotel Review

Classic Hotel Am Stetteneck

Ortisei

This hotel could not have been a better location to enjoy the Dolomites and Ortisei. The staff were wonderful and professional and helped us find the gondolas for 2 days of hiking. The food at breakfast was so delicious and freshly made. We loved this hotel

Authenticity & Character

The hotel displays the unique German and Italian blended culture of this area of Italy.

Location

Staff

Very friendly and helpful with directions to hiking trails. Their English was very clear.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Accademia Gallery - skip the line entrance (with guided tour)

Florence

It was very crowded and so an arranged tour was invaluable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our personal guide through this museum helped us understand David and other sculptures in a way we could never have done on our own. Wonderful tour!!!!

Transport

Florence private guided walk including Accademia Gallery

Italy

The tour guide Paola was wonderful. We loved learning all about the history of Florence. We would never have understood this on our own. She gave us tips on other museums and churches to see on our own in Florence.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide Paola and the guide Lucia were our favorites for the whole trip.

Transport

Uffizi - skip the line entrance

Florence

We loved our tour of the Uffizi. Definitely worth taking a tour rather than doing it on our own. The tour guide Lucia was wonderful and shared so much information we would never have understood on our own.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide Lucia was wonderful.

Transport

The Jewels of Venice (St. Mark & Doge Palace)

Venice

Both St Mark’s and the Doge palace were interesting places to visit. It was great to skip the lines to get into them. I would definitely do the tour again.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Uffizi Gallery Guided Visit (private guide)

Florence

We didn’t have to wait in long lines and our guides were so knowledgeable about the art we were looking at. We would never have understood the art and architecture without their discussion.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The 2 guides we had - Paola and Lucia were our favorites of all the tours we did in Italy on this trip. They were very friendly and knowledgeable and patient with our numerous questions. Despite record heat , they had patience and seemed to enjoy talking with us

Transport

Wonderful and smooth connections - very professional .

Hidden Venice and cicchetti experience

Italy

This tour was interesting and explained parts of the city of Venice.

Quality of Experience

P

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The staff at our hotel were very attentive and helpful with dinner reservations.

Transport

These people couldn’t have been more helpful. Our kimkim representative Andrea had guided that helped us from the transport can to the ferry and off the ferry to the hotel. Then upon leaving the hotel we had guided that helped us on and off the ferry to the train station. There was even one at the train station to help us fine the right platform. This is what kimkim excels at - the details of traveling - helping tourists navigate from one place to another without stress.

Lake Como Guided visit (Bellagio, Varenna and Villa Carlotta)

Italy

Very interesting tour of the Lake District and villa Carlotta and the general area.

Quality of Experience

Loved learning about the history of the Lake District

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The drivers were always on time and very professional.

Transport

Traveling with KimKim couldn't be easier! I simply threw out some ideas of what my family and I wanted to do - and they took care of the rest. They were so kind with my initial back-and-forth in the planning (I changed dates, flipped direction of travel, etc), and it was no problem for the team. They were kind, gracious, and handled it all.

I really, really loved the Kimkim app as well - having everything in one place (including links to meetup points, tickets, and a chat function) was so smart and user-friendly. Taylor provided so many points of contact - and I appreciate the phone calls to answer any questions and provide some extra tips.

Fantastic trip. Slovenia is a must-see. I wish we spent more time there. Laurent helped us plan a trip that included thrills (Canyoning, Hiking, Paragliding), Scenery (waterfalls, islands, lakes), Cities (Ljubljana, Venice), and everything inbetween (including a day trip to beaches in Croatia). Fantastic farm-stay hotels and lodges.

KimKim app was pretty good, but wish I had a daily map, better visibility to the overall plan, and more hotlinks. But communication was quick, and clear. Cheaper than some other companies, but the experience was great.

If you go, get a car with good visibility --- so many sights to see. My kids only had a view of the inside of the car.

Hotel Reviews

Apartments Mulej

Bled

Beautiful, comfortable rural hotel, but only 15 minute walk to the beaches at Lake Bled! Great family and food!

Pension Na Meji

Pivka

Great Farmstay, plus a tasting cellar! Beautiful location and great access to both the city and the caves

Tourist Farm Kranjc

Kobarid

Amazing Farmstay, in a storybook town. Great food, comfortable rooms, unbeatable scenery and hiking right out your door

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle

Postojna

Sandy was great to work with, she was very knowledgeable about Japan and what to bring and do. We really liked the private tour guides and being able to make adjustments on the fly. It was so nice not having to worry about the logistics of booking trains, cars, tours, etc. We appreciated having days that were full day tours and then days that we had to relax and explore on our own.
We will definitely use this service again in the future.

Hotel Reviews

The Royal Park Hotel Iconic Osaka Midosuji

Osaka

Great hotel and location. It felt brand new with a great breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

GOOD NATURE HOTEL KYOTO

Kyoto

It's a very eco friendly hotel. We had a balcony room that faced the interior courtyard, it was kinda odd but also unique. Great breakfast buffet and a good location to the train station and shopping.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Hotel Sanraku Kanazawa

Kanazawa

The breakfast buffet is amazing! the largest spread of food we've seen. The location was really close to all the attractions and a short walk from the main train station.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fuji View Hotel

Minamitsuru District, Yamanashi

The onsen on location was awesome and we enjoyed staying in the traditional Japanese style room

Authenticity & Character

Location

It was a bit far from the downtown area but they did have a free shuttle which was nice. Unfortunately, it rained most of the time we were there but we were told there is a great view of Mt Fuji if it's not raining.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Groove Shinjuku

Tokyo

Great location and great view from our room!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Gokayama and Shirakawago Tour from Kanazawa

Japan

These were great and I really enjoyed Shirakawago. They were both Unesco sites and had a lot of history and beautiful views. I do feel like you just need to go to one and not both.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kanazawa Full Day Walking Tour

Kanazawa

This was my favorite walking tour. We got to see the castle, Geisha district, gold leaf, and Samurai quarters. We did 22k steps and it was worth it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ian was awesome and very knowledgeable about the area and history.

Transport

Full Day Mt. Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi Tour with Whisky Tasting

Tokyo

The lake tour was awesome and well worth it. The whisky tasting was more about the distillery and less about trying Japanese whisky. I wish there would've been an option to skip the tour and just try the whisky.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Yoshi and our driver were great!

Transport

The van we rode in was basically first class. We were in captain's chairs that reclined with foot rests. It was great!

Shinjuku Gyoen Garden, Meiji Jingu Shrine & Harajuku

Tokyo

Or guide was awesome and did a great job showing us the sights and explaining everything to us. The one thing I would change is that it would've been nice to have an IC card that we could've used for the day instead of having to buy one way tickets, but overall it was a great day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our guide was able to get through the stations and trains with ease.

Everything was fantastic! Our drivers, Mr. Rand and Mr. Kyo were on time and very polite and professional!

Our guides, Peter and Lili, were professional, personable, knowledgeable, and a great part of our trip. They accommodated changes that we wanted to make like pros! Thank you! Thank you!

I will be recommending everyone I know going to Japan to ask for these 4 individuals. True professionals in every sense of the word!

Thank you so much! And thanks to Bella for accommodating our changes and making things happen. I will be using KimKim again for another trip!

We had a fantastic trip! Gummi made sure we saw a good amount of site seeing and made sure to keep activities doable as I traveled 24 weeks pregnant and with our 3 yr old. Our accommodations were very comfortable. We enjoyed seeing the natural beauty Iceland had to offer. We loved our underground cave tour and the trip to the blue lagoon. We can't wait to travel again! Kimkim took the stress out of planning, especially since we weren't too familiar with the country.

I worked primarily with Lucie, but also Audrey later. Everything was arranged so nicely and the trip exceeded all of my expectations! They were very professional, quick to respond, and kind and I will recommend kimkim to other people who may be travelling. Lucie found some interesting places to visit in Toulouse, and was always open to seeing if there was anything else I needed. Thank you so much for making my trip the wonderful and enchanting experience that it was!

Hotel Reviews

Villa du Taur

Toulouse

I really enjoyed staying at this hotel and it was so convenient to get to many restaurants and places to shop! Also close to places I wanted to visit the staff were very helpful and responsive to my needs. I would definitely stay at this hotel again!

Authenticity & Character

Proximity to sites of interest and restaurants and staff were very helpful and kind.

Location

Staff

They were so helpful and kind.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Les Capitouls Toulouse Centre - Handwritten Collection

Toulouse

Authenticity & Character

Location

It was close to many interesting things to see.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Explore Toulouse

Toulouse

Everything was well planned out and sued to meet my individual needs and request. Toulouse is a really wonderful city to visit in France. I found the people friendly and it was easy to strike up conversations with shop owners and others I met. The people were patient with my very basic French.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Thank you Dhanushka for planning our 12-day holiday in Sri Lanka, a beautiful country with a rich history. We greatly appreciated your thoughtful itinerary, responsiveness and accommodation of last minute changes with such diligence and professionalism.

A special thank you to our wonderful guide, AJ - truly an ambassador for his country. He is a joy to travel with, such a warm, funny and generous soul. His love of his country, its people and his role as guide enriched our experience of Sri Lanka immensely. We are looking forward to our next visit ❤️❤️❤️

I was a late add on to this trip so I did not participate in any planning. Adrian was always quick to respond to questions…and this group certainly had questions and often couldn’t find things which were on the app. 😉 Again, Adrian was always patient and quickly responded,

In our epic journey across Norway, the entire team did a great job in supporting all our questions with helpful suggestions and prompt replies. Special KUDOS to Taylor whose intimate knowledge of all our stops made the trip diverse, culturally immersive and, MOST OF ALL, self-directive with plenty of flexibility with the precise level of structure that we wanted to keep things balanced and well-rounded. The Fretheim Hotel in Flam is a gem as a heritage hotel, but the crown jewel find of our trip was fine dining atop the Funicular in Bergen at the Floirestauranten where bubbles & caviar with halibut main made for a VERY special celebration on our last night there. Once again I will say TAYLOR is the total OG of Norway deets and help!

We had an absolutely wonderful experience planning our trip through Kimkim, and a huge part of that was thanks to Samer's exceptional coordination and attention to detail.
From the beginning, Samer selected the perfect hotels in ideal locations, all within walking distance or a short distance from the main attractions, restaurants, and local sights. Every accommodation exceeded our expectations, and the convenience of the locations made our trip incredibly enjoyable.
The entire trip was seamless. Every reservation, transfer, and booking was handled flawlessly. Upon arrival at each hotel, all we had to do was walk up to the front desk and check in—everything had already been arranged for us. It made traveling stress-free and allowed us to fully enjoy our vacation.
We chose to do a self-guided tour of the destinations we visited, but the local recommendations provided by our drivers were some of the highlights of our trip. Their suggestions for places to visit, food to try, and local experiences turned out to be fantastic and added so much value to our journey.
A special thank you to our drivers Munever, Elvis, and Damir. They were professional, friendly, knowledgeable, and always punctual. More importantly, they shared with us the true spirit of Bosnia—friendship, hospitality, warmth, and genuine kindness. Their local insights and personal recommendations made our experience far richer than we could have planned on our own.
Communication throughout the trip was superb. Samer and the drivers were always quick to respond to messages and were readily available whenever we had questions or needed assistance. Knowing that support was only a message away gave us tremendous peace of mind.
This trip exceeded all of our expectations, and much of that is due to Samer and the incredible team that supported us. Their professionalism, organization, hospitality, and local expertise contributed tremendously to making this one of the most memorable and positive travel experiences we have ever had.
We highly recommend Samer and Kimkim to anyone planning a trip to Bosnia. You will be in excellent hands.

We have had an absolute amazing time in France and would use Kimkim again for travel planning. The entire process of planning our road trip with our daughter's wedding in the middle could not have been any smoother .Our local representative for Burgundy was Emma and she was always very responsive and provided clear information through out the planning and traveling experience. We loved the hotels she recommended as well as the private tours we took including a tour of D day in Normandy and a wine tasting bike tour in Burgundy. Super all the way!!! The Kimkim team back in the USA was also very responsive with extra questions before leaving.The platform is very easy to use and the app for using while traveling makes schedules and tickets/ vouchers very accessible.

Activity Review

Full-day Tour of D-Day Sites

Bayeux

Perfect day trip with a wonderful guide named Jeremy who was very knowledgable and flexible with good sense of humor. It was extremely hot but the van was still comfortable and the different stops were just long enough to tolerate the heat outside and feel we had enough time to explore.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had wanted to visit Turkey for a long time. Berat put together a wonderful two week trip for us, two people in our mid 70s. The sites were amazing, especially if you are interested in ancient Greek and Roman ruins. We also had some rest time in Kas and Bodrum, both beautiful seaside resort towns. We were a little hesitant about participating in the Hot Air Balloon ride in Cappadoccia, but we are glad we did. It was an amazing experience that everyone should enjoy. All of our guides were smart, engaging, and knowledgeable. We could not have enjoyed the trip more. This was our sixth Kim Kim trip, and we plan to continue to have them plan future trips for us.

All the trips and all the guides worked out too perfection. Tom did a fantastic job of arranging everything on this journey.

Amazing family trip!! Everything went smoothly and all the activities were great! Alex did a great job!

We took two granddaughters with us to Hungary and Austria (girls were 12 and 16). Our trip included four cities: Budapest, Graz (Austria), Salzburg, and Vienna. The planning was stellar, with tours and events that each of us loved. The guides in each city were excellent. Of special note: in Budapest: Zoltan Bosnyak went out of his way to show us where scenes from "Gloomy Sunday" were filmed. In Salzburg: Ben Aouicha took great care of us, and became like family. We even took a picture with him, and he texted to ask us how we liked Vienna (where we went after Salzburg). In Vienna: Roland Zucker was incredibly knowledgable, and took us on the "Third Man" tour. He was able to explain all about the Habsburg dynasty and who was who in the lineage. kimkim support was excellent. The few times that something was unclear, or a small problem arose, they responded immediately and made it right. We would recommend kimkim for anyone looking for a special vacation, with fine hotels, great sightseeing, and fun special events. Highlights included: dinner boat tour on the Danube in Budapest, dinner concert of Mozart's operas in Salzburg, Vivaldi concert in Vienna, and adequate time for the Prater Amusement Park in Vienna.

Activity Reviews

Discover Culinary Diversity @ Naschmark Food Tour

Vienna

Perfect for "Foodies". The tour gave us a chance to see and taste lots of international specialties, dried fruit, nuts, spices, falafel, cold cuts. We didn't need any lunch after this tour.

Evening Cruise and Dinner with Champagne

Budapest

This may have been our favorite event. The food on the cruise was excellent, and floating down the river was delightful. It was spectacularly beautiful as it got dark, and the lights on the buildings were turned on. Just magical. And we had great weather for this tour.

Private Guided Visit — Austrian National Library (State Hall)

Vienna

This is the most beautiful library. Our guide, Roland Zucker, knew everything, like who were depicted in each statute, and the ceiling frescoes, he pointed out the coats of arms. He also described how the library came into being, and the ages of the books. I would highly recommend this visit. It is really an amazing experience.

Half day Retro museum + Palatinus Baths Margaret Island

Budapest

The Retro museum was fun. I was not prepared for the baths, and we didn't really have enough time, since there was a long walk to get to and from the baths. Lunch options were poor, and took time away from the baths themselves. I didn't realize until too late that the different pools were different temperatures, so I didn't make full use of the experience. More preparatory information would have helped.

“The Third Man” Filming Locations Tour

Vienna

Our guide, Roland Zucker, had an annotated book of the Third Man, and he showed us filming locations all over central Vienna. We did a lot of walking. Very interesting.

🎬 The Sound of Music: Private Salzburg Experience 🎶

Salzburg

Our guide, Ben Aouicha, was very personable, and very knowledgable. He showed us the locations, and where the best camera angles were. His driving was careful and competent.

We spent 10 fantastic days in Costa Rica. We started in Arenal and stayed at the Arenal Springs Resort and Spa, great staff and a beautiful property. We had three tours, a volcano tour with Mariano, a bird tour with Mau, and a night tour with Pablo. Loved all three. The guides were really friendly and informative. We learned a lot.
Next we went to Monteverde, we drove route with the new bridge. The view was worth it but make sure you have a 4x4 and check water levels at the rivers. We stayed at the Koora. I would go back to Montverde just to stay here. The staff here is the best I've met in all of my travels.
We ended our trip in Tamarindo for a few days of sun and relaxation. It was our first time having a close up look at Howler monkeys. We will be going back to Costa Rica!

Hotel Reviews

Koora Hotel

Monteverde

This hotel has the best staff of any place that I've stayed. I wanted to hug them when we left. This will make me seek out more Seaglass properties.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

They are so friendly and so professional.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arenal Springs Resort

La Fortuna

Beautiful property, friendly staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Sloth Observation Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We really appreciated how experienced they were. Showed us how to locate them in the wild.

Transport

Private Night Excursion in Rainforest and Wild Frog Sanctuary

Arenal/La Fortuna

I love frogs and lizards, I do not love spiders and snakes. I left this tour feeling more comfortable and more educated. Pablo was an excellent guide, extremely knowledgeable and answered my five billion questions. He even spotted a juvenile Sloth for us to see, we were able to see it moving around.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private: Birdwatching in Arenal Mundo Aventura Park

Arenal/La Fortuna

Mau is a great guide! His passion for birding is contagious. My husband and I have now downloaded the Merlin bird app to use in every place we visit. Take this tour!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano Hike & La Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

We spent five hours with Mariano. We learned so much about the history of Costa Rica, the plants and the animals. We had lunch together at the Red Frog, great casual food. Loved the coffee!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My son and I had a great time traveling around the country and trying new foods. Our guide was helpful and reacted quickly when we needed to change our itinerary.

Activity Review

Osaka Local Foodie Tour in Dotonbori and Shinsekai

Japan

The food was good, but the real experience is the history we learned as we walked from restaurant to restaurant.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

My husband and I went on my honeymoon which was planned by Gustavo and everything went perfectly! Our transportation was always right on time and always in communication with us. They were all super helpful and friendly. Check in at each hotel went seamlessly and even had champagne and snacks when we arrived. Each excursion/activity that was planned also was easy to get to and the guides were wonderful. Would definitely recommend Kimkim to anyone looking to go away and we will definitely use again in the future!

Hotel Reviews

Blue Waves Suites

Paros

AMAZING place. This hotel was the best. When we arrived the staff was so helpful, showed us around and gave us info on the area. We had a decent sized kitchen with everything you would need. The bathroom had anything you could have possibly needed as well as a washing machine. The bedroom had more than enough space and the deck attached was looking right over the water. Breakfast served every morning was also so so good! The best part of the hotel is the staff. They went above and beyond with everything.

Authenticity & Character

Location

I liked the location because it was quiet and calm so if you are looking for more nightlife you would need to go elsewhere but the restaurant right next to it, Kima- we went to everyday- it was SO good. We were able to walk down to other beaches and the walk was easy and very pretty. We were able to take the bus easily across the island and also had a car but did not use it much!

Staff

The best staff we have ever experienced at a hotel. Helped us set up car rental, gave recommendations on every stop to make while we explored, from beaches, to restaurants, to shops- we did everything and every recommendation was worth it.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Super clean and bed very comfortable!

Kasimatis by La Perla

Santorini

This hotel was wonderful. Incredible views and loved the private hot tub. Breakfast was delivered to the patio each morning and was always delicious.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Hotel was in a great place to be able to walk one way to Oia and the other through so many shops and restaurants.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Niche Hotel

Athens

Hotel was in a very walkable area. Very clean room. Great views and breakfast was GREAT!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very walkable

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Evening Neighborhood Walk

Athens

Our guide was super friendly, knowledgeable and fun. We had a blast and learned a lot!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

7 Course Cycladic Dining & Wine Pairing Experience

Paros

The staff and food were both incredible!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport