Kimkim Trip Reviews

I highly recommend Cathy and the team at Kimkim. We needed help crafting a family itinerary for Ireland in a tight turnaround and she was exceptional with communication and the activity planning. What a relief to have so many activities already booked when you arrive in the country and you can just relax and have fun family time. I will absolutely use Kimkim again!

Cathy was very responsive and sensitive to our travel needs. She took a great amount of care and fine tuning of our itinerary. Cathy heard our needs and made an itinerary that met them! All of our accommodations were lovely and in country travel was easy because of Cathy! Cathy is going to take a lot of the cognitive and emotional labor that goes into planning a trip and we're so glad we booked with her! You can trust her to plan a wonderful trip.

First trip to Greece and KimKim made it an incredible experience! The hotels, excursions, and private transfers were all exceptional. And the additional self-guided tour recommendations were very helpful. Can't wait for our next adventure and KimKim will be a big part of a planning again!

Our group of eight travelers,related mostly, had a wonderful trip to Morocco. We had fun while experiencing the culture and learning so much. Our guide was with us all the way, as was our excellent driver. Cities, mountains or deserts, I always felt completely safe. We stayed in absolutely dreamy inns.

I first want to say that prior to the trip the experience with KimKim was wonderful. I had no issues and with the exception of one day it was a great experience. Unfortunately, the experience afterward did not match the planning. On the 5th day of our 9 day Greece trip, we took a transport boat to meet our guide. There was no guide. Kimkim admitted the mistake was on their part and offered a lunch compensation. Upon arriving home I waited a few days and no one from kimkim reached out to me. I contacted Sienna, our agent, asking her to call me and she passed me on to someone else. They offered to compensate me for the lunch $250 and reimburse me for the guide that did not show up. That was $300 of a $1000 day. The boat cost the remaining $700. Had I know there would be no guide I would not have done that excursion but I was expected to pay for the transportation to the no show guide. Kimkim offered a total of a $550 reimbursement. I told them it did not satisfy me and I was disappointed. This would be reflected it in my review. Later I get an email saying they were reimbursing my card $800. Never explaining why they increased the amount. I had 3 cards on file and they asked which one I wanted reimbursed. I told them and they reimbursed the wrong card, the one that was inactive. Many apologies were offered early on but the mistakes kept coming. Overall, no guide, no contact to rectify the mistake, no contact from our agent and the wrong card credited. Now it’s on me to talk to my bank to get the $800. Customer service was poor and unprofessional.

All three guides were excellent — David in London, Alfred in York and Jamie in Edinburgh.

Hotel Reviews

Leonardo Royal Hotel London City - Tower of London

London

Excellent city location, great breakfast and service.

Hilton York

York

Great location, very good lunch breakfast and dinner, with fine service.

Aparthotel Adagio Edinburgh Royal Mile

Edinburgh

For what it is, a family hotel with minimum service, it worked very well for us. Room configurations, breakfast and location were just what we wanted.

Activity Reviews

Best of Royal London - including Tower of London and Changing of the Guard

London

Could have used another 30 mins in the Tower. We did not see the Changing of the Guard as had been advertised since this currently occurs only Mon, Wed, Fri.

The London Dungeon

London

Really for kids only, and they enjoyed it greatly.

Villages of the Cotswolds - private tour from London

London

Our Cotswolds trip was tailored specifically to our family needs since we have relatives the area.

Private transfer to your destination

England

For any vehicle to get the 80 yards from the side street on which our hotel was located to the adjacent main road took 15 minutes every morning due to the slow light. This made our train connection very tight, and the kids were unable to visit Harry Potter’s Platform 9 3/4.

Private Walking Tour of York

York

A really excellent tour in a fascinating city with our great guide Alfred.

Edinburgh Castle Tickets

Edinburgh

We would have liked a personal tour for our 10 people of the Edinburgh Castle rather than the audio tour. Separately we felt that a personal tour of the Old Town, Prince Gardens, Princes Street, and maybe the New Town, would have added to our enjoyment.

Private visit of Mary King's Close

Edinburgh

We felt that this time could have been better utilized in a personal tour of Edinburgh.

Private Day Trip from Edinburgh to Loch Lomond, and Stirling

Edinburgh

An excellent view of the Lowlands, Sterling Castle and Loch Lomond with a high energy and very agreeable guide, Jamie McGregor.

Chris was amazing as well as our Cambridge tour guide! Loved them!

Greg was our local specialist. He made the planning easy and fun and was also very helpful during our trip.

There were a few specific things that Greg helped with during our trip. We had a few questions about navigating the subways and trains that he was able to answer. One of our pocket WiFis stopped working after a day and Greg ordered us a replacement. One of our travelers forgot the QR code on the bullet train. This prevented us from getting out of the station. There was a moment of panic but Greg was able to resolve this issue quickly by sending us an image of the QR code.

We started in Tokyo, spent a few days in Kyoto, and one day in Osaka. The selected hotels were small but very nice. We stayed in rooms that had tatami mats which was cool. Everyone was very kind and helpful.

Travel got easier after a few days once we figured out the public transportation: subways, trains, and buses. Greg provided tickets with reserved seating and space for our luggage for our bullet trains between Tokyo and Kyoto.

It was our first time in Japan so we did a lot of the first time in Japan things: Shibuya Pedestrian Scramble, Skytree tower, Art Museum, Shrines, Temples, traditional tea ceremony, and a food tour. All of these experiences were amazing.

All the food from restaurants to street food was delicious. Themes for us were sushi and ramen.

Overall a 10 out of 10 experience. It would be fun to go back at some point. Thanks again Greg.

Our zip line experience was wonderful. We did the jungle hike and suspension bridges with Fabi, which also wonderful. White water rafting with Fluffy and George were great. Whole trip was excellent, well organized. Transportation to each location was great.

Only comment. For our last day, the drive to the airport got us to the airport over 3 1/2 hours before our flight and the Alaska desk did not open until 3 hrs before flight, so we were left hanging out with no place to sit or wait in the entry of the airport. Just something to be aware of.

thank you for everything.

Hotel Reviews

Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs

Fortuna

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Capitán Suizo Beachfront Boutique Hotel

Tamarindo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sky Tram, Ziplines & Sky Walk Adventure

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private: Whitewater Rafting on the Balsa River

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Self-Guided Beach Day from Tamarindo

Tamarindo

Quality of Experience

We had the most incredible time in Italy for our 1 year anniversary! My husband and I spent 10 days traveling to Florence, Venice, Sorrento and Rome. Francesco understood our vision for the trip and made all of our Italy dreams come to life! Everything was perfectly organized and each transition was so smooth. Francesco was attentive and quick to respond in each step of the planning and traveling process. He came up with ideas for the trip that I would never have thought of on my own. My husband and I made the most magical memories! I highly recommend Kim Kim in general (I also used them for a trip to Greece in 2022) and Francesco specifically if you are traveling to Italy!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Burchianti

Florence

We greatly enjoyed our stay at Hotel Burchianti! It is in an incredible location, the staff are kind and attentive, the breakfast was delicious, and the rooms were charming and comfortable. We highly recommend this hotel and hope to stay there again when we come back to Florence!

Authenticity & Character

The frescos on the ceiling are so special!

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Tonnarella

Sorrento

La Tonnarella was our favorite hotel of our entire trip! The sea views were stunning, the private beach was luxurious and charming and the food was delicious! We hope to be back soon!

Authenticity & Character

Location

The most stunning views and an easy walk down the hill into town!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Firenze

Venice

The staff at Hotel Firenze was so kind, knowledgable and accommodating! Upon our arrival we were given a detailed explanation of amazing things to do around the city and a digital guide to help us explore on our own. Another highlight of the hotel is the charming breakfast terrace with views of Venice!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Capri and the Sorrentine Peninsula by boat

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

E-bike Classic Chianti & Tuscany

Florence

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Afternoon in Siena & Chianti Dinner: Half-Day Tour from Florence

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Colosseum, Roman Forums and Palatine Hill

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vatican & Sistine Chapel - Small Group Tour

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All the arrangements were perfect. Our guide, Chloe, in Marseilles was excellent. The pastry chef, Chef Marthe, was a very experienced and amazing teacher. Our captain, Bastian, in Cassis gave us a wonderful tour of the coastline. All in all a great trip.

Activity Reviews

Seine River Cruise with Audio Guide

Paris

Unlock the Secrets of Perfume-Making!

Paris

Baux de Provence Castle & Quarries of Lights (Combined ticket)

France

The Quarries was an unexpected delight.

La Galerie Dior - entrance ticket

Paris

French Dessert Cooking Class

Paris

Sorgue River Canoe Trip

France

Free day in Uzès

France

Pont du Gard (Entrance tickets)

France

Lavender Museum (entrance tickets)

France

Another unexpected delight.

Half-day Visit of the Calanques by boat with swimming stops from Cassis (private cruise)

France

Private Gourmet Food Walk in Marseille

France

Our trip to Iceland was amazing. The reason for such a great trip was our tour guide Guomundur Oli. He created a great itinerary to see as much as possible that was very detailed (maps for each day, descriptions, estimate of times, restaurant suggestions). The itinerary fit our activity level .

Thank you for an amazing trip! We really enjoyed everything you planned. All the people were friendly, funny and informative. The highlight for me was the white water rafting through Desafio Adventure, and our guide "Fluffy" (I can't remember his real name) was so fun to be around. He was funny, had great stories, personable and good communication. We happened to be in Tamarindo and was talking about Fluffy and another group overheard and was so excited saying they just did a trip with him. The hotel in Tamarindo knocked it out of the park. The rooms were spacious, and comfortable, the staff were friendly and accommodating. The hotel in Arenal was great as well, but the rooms were not quite as nice as in Tamarindo, but the grounds more than made up. Everybody we worked with from reception to adventure were friendly and easy to be with. We truly love the country and the people, it was a breath of fresh air to be in Costa Rica - Pura Vida!

We reserved a 5-day trip from Fes to Marrakech in March for June 2025. We were very happy with all communication from Hassan up to the day before the trip. The car was spacious. Our driver/guide Khalid was very professional in every way. He drove carefully, respected speed limits and reacted promptly to traffic conditions. He is very knowledgeable and we appreciated his explanation in details about geography, history, traditions, etc. of Morocco.
Our day in Merzouga desert was well organized. My wife recognized her problem with vertigo (5 minutes on the camel's back) and tested her endurance by walking for one hour in the sand before getting in a car for the rest of the "camel ride".
All in all, we are very satisfied with the trip. 10/10 for the team + 12/10 for our driver/guide Khalid.
Thank you to all.

What a great trip, Katie was beyond helpful from where to go, lunch spots, plus what is special in each of our locations. Overall, KimKim and Katie made our family trip to Norway one that we will remember forever.

Eleonora and Lorenzo were amazing and very good communicators. I’m still not sure the value of Kim Kim other than connecting us with these anmazing Italy based travel agents. We didn’t like that we went to Italy and had to pay in US dollars,, this I’m sure was not the fault of Eleonora or Lorenzo. They planned our trip just as we requested and the guides they connected us with were top notch. I wish I could say something about Kim Kim but my thoughts are they have a good platform and pick amazing local talent to use it.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Il Guelfo Bianco

Florence

I would have given them a five had the breakfast been better. The hotel had loads of character and was very well located to all the sites and great restaurants. I loved that you could get away from the crowds here. I would stay again or recommend to friends.

Authenticity & Character

Loved how they preserved the old charm Of Florence

Location

Very well located to all the attractions of Venice.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Salvadonica - Borgo del Chianti

San Casciano in Val di pesa

This hotel definitely had a wow factor! Our room was delightful, staff were top notch and I can’t say enough about the food. We loved it here and would definitely return or recommend to our friends.

Authenticity & Character

Words can’t describe this delightful resort, it must be experienced

Location

It was what we were looking for g for, a quiet stay in the Chianti region

Staff

Extremely professional

Cleanliness & Comfort

Attach to detail to make for a memorable stay

Sogno di Giulietta e Romeo

Venezia

Sorry this was definitely the only bad accommodations of this trip and perhaps one of the worst rooms I’ve had. We were in what was called “The Love” room, if you’re staying at this hotel be sure NOT to get it. Our window that had a lovely view of a canal taped to it looked out to plumbing pipes and an elevator shaft. While some of the staff were lovely some were on the other extreme and bordered rude. We may have given a better review if the breakfast was good and the bed comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

We peeked in some other rooms and they looked charming

Location

Very will located to see the sites

Staff

Some very good and some rude. Often hard to find staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sorry but we found the linens on the not good bed we’re even bad.

Hotel Navona Colors

Rome

We loved this hotel, our room was small but very clean, breakfast was outstanding, staff friendly and the location was fantastic!

Authenticity & Character

Location

We felt safe, loved the street it was located on and it was easy to find our way around to the attractions we wanted to see

Staff

They were kind, inviting, knowledgeable and made you feel they wanted you to enjoy your your visit to Rome

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bed was comfortable and our room was very quiet

Activity Reviews

Wine tasting and light lunch at a historical winery in Florence

Florence

After all the other great tours we went on it made this one look bad. The staff told us little about the wines or food and they didn’t seem to care if we were there or not. The establishment was very interesting but a little to commercial for our tastes

Quality of Experience

Wines was good and was the food, this was not an experience it was like going out for lunch

Food

It was good

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Definitely didn’t make you feel like they wanted you there

Galleria dell'Accademia private guided tour

Florence

Our guide was insanely knowledgeable about local history, art, shopping and food. Thank you for making this a wonderful experience

Quality of Experience

The guide and her knowledge

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Rialto Market and "Cicchetti" food tour

Venice

This was the truly best thing about Venice. Experiencing Venice through a locals eyes should not be missed.

Quality of Experience

Everything was very interesting

Food

Yum yum yum

Walking food tour of Rome with dinner included

Rome

This small group tour was outstanding. The guide made the tour. She was extremely knowledgeable and patient about not only the food but the local area. Highly recommend this tour. Sadly much of the food was friend but still enjoyable.

Quality of Experience

Food

We’re not fried food people, we did enjoy trying the local foods and not all was fried. Do t let this scare you off, this was one of our favourite tours on this visit

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Food and cultural tour of Siena

Italy

Yet another Wow moment, hands down my husband’s favourite tours in Italy. Our guide knew so much history of Sienna and was very passionate about it. She knew her way around the side streets. This tour is well worth the money

Quality of Experience

The guide!

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Their lovely personalities and ability to make you feel comfortable

Transport

Everything went perfectly! It was great planning with amazing tours. We learned so many interesting things on the history-type tours, and then ate great foods on the food-type tours. I think the group highlights were the beaches in Naxos, the food tours, and the Catamaran Tour. We got great food recommendations from the hotel staff and KimKim, and all communications were quick and easy! If we needed something updated, it was done quickly and communicated well. I will definitely use KimKim again! It was incredible to have private transfers (made life to much easier) and checking in for our flights for island hopping was so easy.

Hotel Reviews

Avra Hotel

Rafina, Attica

Authenticity & Character

Location

A little far from the airport, but I did not explore the area.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Philippos Hotel Athens

Athens

The staff were incredible with a great breakfast. Our AC was not working well but since we were only there for a couple days, it was okay. I think we realized that it was our error though.

Authenticity & Character

Location

So close to the Acropolis and loved the sister hotel having the rooftop too.

Staff

Gave GREAT food recommendations and booked reservations for us, no questions asked. They made it feel like a 5 star experience.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The rooms we had were very small. I would say for 1 person it would be perfect, but a little tight for 2 people. But I know that is European, so it's not that bad.

Sunshine Hotel

Santorini

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

The staff were soo nice! But maybe too nice? I was upset that they forgot our discount at the restaurant and they apologized to me multiple times for days later. But it was sweet I guess.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Our AC was acting a bit weird and the bathroom had a bad smell. We did have someone check on it, and then the AC was working again but the smell was not fixed.

Princess of Naxos

Naxos

Authenticity & Character

Location

I am torn between a 4 star or 5 star, because I loved the location to the beach, but I wish it was easier to cross the main road to get to the beach. It was a bit dangerous. However, with it being like that, we had a great pool and the other beach hotels did not have pools as nice.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mosaic Urban Rooms

Chania Town

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

I think because we went from Philippos and they were giving us food recommendations and booking us great places to eat, I just had higher expectations for this place to be able to help us do that as well. They did not want to lol but maybe that is more normal?

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Old Town Food Walk

Naxos

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Self-Guided Food Walk

Athens

Ancient Athens Acropolis & Mythology Walk

Athens

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Day Trip to Elafonisi Beach

Chania

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was great, the dive was scary.

Transport

Vineyard Visit with Wine, Olive Oil, Honey Tastings

Chania

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset Caldera Catamaran Cruise

Santorini

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Shona, our KimKim travel specialist, provided excellent assistance in planning our vacation to Japan. She was very responsive and worked tirelessly on our behalf. We were especially impressed with the quality of private guides that she connected us with during our trip. We appreciate that using KimKim allows us to balance planned tours and activities that we would have never found on our own with time for self touring. In this manner we were able to plan a personalized trip, selecting an itinerary that met our interests and at our price point. KimKim may be more expensive that full self planning, but the quality of planning, care and intrinsic knowledge provided by the local KimKim agent is more that worth the money. We had a small issue arise and the KimKim team was on it immediately.
In particular, we enjoyed a sushi class and private guides who wear willing to be flexible and tailor our tour days to better meet our needs. On one particular day we only hired a "driver" - that driver, Kendo, ended up being so much more - he spoke English very well and acted more of a guide than a driver. We visited Mt. Fuji, toured Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara and Osaka. Our itinerary included a whiskey distillery, day tours to natural and historic sites, a food tour, a tea ceremony and a sushi class. We also really shopped the vintage stores in Osaka and the fish market in Tokyo. Our guides took us to lunches at local restaurants we, again, would never have found on our own. This allowed us to try local food specialties at very low prices compared to restaurants in touristy areas. We did enjoy the whiskey tour and tasting however, the tour was in Japanese with only minor English translations available - we still enjoyed the tour but I would consider skipping it if you don't have a full English language tour.
Shona selected hotels that were in perfect locactions and that included breakfast in the rate. Our Osaka hotel had a wonderful sky spa. In all I would highly recommend Shona and the KimKim team if you are traveling to Japan.

The rooms and guided tours that our Kimkim advisor picked were very good. We wish our consultant had advised us of whether the resorts where we stayed had concierge services. It turned out, some of the resorts did not have concierge services. The organization of the travel documents into essentially one long pdf was difficult to manage on the road, often with no cellular service. This was a problem in another trip we took that was on the Kimkim platform. While staying on the west coast of Vancouver Island, the stock paragraph about Tofino was not helpful. A paragraph about Ucluelet would have been better. All of the above not withstanding, our advisor planned a wonderful trip and we had a great time.

Hotel Reviews

Black Rock Oceanfront Resort

Ucluelet, BC

This hotel has a great view of the Pacific. It is not in Tofino, it is in Ucluelet! The hours of the restaurants were not good. Too many fried foods.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Naturally Pacific Resort

Campbell River

Authenticity & Character

This is primarily a golf resort. We don’t play golf but the food was great.

Location

Staff

They could have suggested activities appropriate to us that were not golf that we could have done on site.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tigh-na-mara

Parksville

Nice location with a cool beach. The food was really good with more vegetarian and non-fried healthful options.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Crystal Lodge

Whistler

Reception staff was not at all forthcoming about activities advertised in the hotel. It turns out that the tourist information bureau had that but you had to drag that out of the hotel staff. They need a concierge.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Stanley Park Discovery on Bike

Vancouver

It was a wonderful experience with a great guide. We thought there would be the option for electric bikes and that was not so. It turned out ok, though,

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Bear Watching Boat Tour

Canada

Whale Watching Tour

Canada

Self-Guided Visit to Capilano Suspension Bridge Park

Vancouver

What a fantastic week in the Netherlands! We spent a few days in Amsterdam, then Otterlo/De Hoge Veluwe National Park, and then finished up in Rotterdam. Nadine was wonderful to deal with and her recommendations were spot on! Our driver, Maarten, was also spectacular. Some highlights includ: a canal ride through Amsterdamataying at The Pulitzer (Amsterdam) a bike trip from Leiden to the beach, the Sculpture Garden at the Kroller-Muller museum in the National Park, and staying in a house boat in Rotterdam. We can't wait to come back and explore more of the Netherlands, and will definitely reach out to Nadine and team to do so.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Pulitzer Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Delightful! This is a really a lovely place to stay, right on a canal in Amsterdam. The food was all very gfood as well.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

De Wever Lodge

Otterlo

Lovely lodge within walking distance to the park. Would definitely stay again!

Authenticity & Character

beautiful and relaxing. So comfortable.

Location

Staff

So pleasant and helpful!

Cleanliness & Comfort

really loved it here. Some other guests complained about the noise level in the rooms on the first floor, but it did not bother us.

Wikkelboats Rijnhaven

Rotterdam

This was a highlight of the trip! While we did have some guests that were there to party in the boat next to us, we still enjoyed the stay here immensely. The house boat was clean and comfortable. And althought tiny, it had everything we needed! We cooked breakfast each morning we were there, and cooked dinner there one night as well. Would definitely stay again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

in a fun part of the city.

Staff

not much staff actually, but they were responsiveness when we needed them.

Cleanliness & Comfort

super clean and surprisingly comfortable.

Activity Reviews

Amsterdam - A'DAM lookout

The Netherlands

This was the only part of the trip we didn't love. It was ok , and if you needed to be in that part of town then it could be interesting. But we could have passed.

Public Transport Pass Amsterdam

The Netherlands

This was super easy to navigate (but don't forget to check out!)

Amsterdam - Private guided historic city walk

The Netherlands

Rob was great - very pleasant and informative.

Amsterdam - Private canal cruise to Rijksmuseum

The Netherlands

Do this!!!

Amsterdam - Rijksmuseum

The Netherlands

Not to be missed.

Amsterdam - Day trip to Leiden

Amsterdam

A highlight of the trip! Leiden is beautiful. Adn the bike trip we did from there to the beach was spectacular.

Hoge Veluwe National Park by bicycle + Kröller Müller Museum

The Netherlands

Beautiful park, sculpture garden and museum.

Rotterdam - Excursion to Kinderdijk & Dordrecht by private boat

Rotterdam

fun and so interesting!

Rotterdam - Deltaworks & Neeltje Jans day trip

Rotterdam

We are so glad we did this. It is a bit out of the way, but if you are interested in learning more about how the Netherlands keeps from flooding (the country is below sea level) then it is a must see. It is an engineering wonder. We learned a lot.