Kimkim Trip Reviews

We were a group of two adults and two teens going to Japan (2 weeks) for the first time. I started working with Angel about 6 months prior to taking the trip. She was very helpful in suggesting cities to visit and activities to participate in. After she made suggestions I would research them and then we would make tweaks to the itinerary. She was also very responsive to my messages (before and during the trip) and was willing to do some research when she didn't know the answers. I really like the website and app we used to communicate and document the itinerary.

Hotels: I didn't want to spend a lot of money on hotels and communicated this to Angel. The ones she selected were excellent. They were all clean, had good customer service at the front desk, close to public transportation and had fantastic breakfasts (with the exception of Park Hotel Kyoto, which was just fair).

Tour guides: We had three different tour guides. Both Yumi (Tokyo) and Tetsuya (Kanazawa) were good/average, although we did struggle to understand them sometimes with the language barrier (especially when it was very noisy due to crowds, subway station, etc.). However, Sanae (Kyoto) was excellent! I do appreciate that all the guides would check in on What's App the day before to confirm meeting time and location.

Drivers: We had three drivers; airport pickup, airport dropoff, and a day of driving from Tokyo to the Mt. Fuji area. They all showed up on time and drove safely. However, I feel our driver (Garry) in Mt. Fuji could have been better at communicating how much time we had at each stop. Apparently we spent too long at one of the shrines, and then were very rushed when we went to the Hakone Ropeway. This was disappointing.

Group activities: The ones Angel selected typically met or exceeded our expectations. This included Tokyo Skytree, Tokyo night foodie tour in Shinjuku, and the kimono tea ceremony at Kyoto Maikoya. However, I would not recommend the boat ride on Lake Kawaguchi, as it was kind of boring with views that were just ok.

- The ones I selected included:
- (Tokyo) Disneysea - NOT recommended
- (Tokyo) Teamlab Planets - very good
- (Tokyo) Asakusa Sumo Club - good
- (Mt. Fuji) Hakone Ropeway - very good
- (Kyoto) Arashiyama Monkey Park - very good
- (Osaka) Haruka 300 - very good

What could have been better:
- Prior to the trip starting, I asked Angel about options for laundry service (having the clothes cleaned and returned to us, as I didn't want to lose vacation time in order to do self-service laundry) in Kanazawa. She told me our hotel could do this, but that it wasn't offered on the weekend. However, she knew we were only there on the weekend. Ideally, she would contacted the hotel to find out what vendors they partner with for these circumstances. I never heard otherwise, so I don't know if she made any other attempts to work on this.
- There were several days in our itinerary where we were "on our own," but still had a planned agenda created by Angel (with feedback from me). Unfortunately, on some of those days there were too many areas/activities packed in, and it would have been impossible to see them all (despite getting an early start/late return each day, being good at navigating public transportation, and being able to walk 20k+ steps/day). For example, one day in Tokyo we were supposed to explore the Yakanaka District, then go to Joypolis, Ginza and Omotesando, and then Harajuku and Shibuya before a scheduled food tour at 6 pm. We had to skip the first four places which was super disappointing. I wish Angel had been more clear with me about what could be accomplished in a day.
- I would have liked more price transparency. Specifically, a breakdown of what each item on the itinerary cost.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Forza Osaka Kitahama

Osaka

Great breakfast, close to public transportation

Location

Staff

Park Hotel Kyoto

Kyoto

Breakfast was ok, close to public transportation

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Forza Kanazawa

Kanazawa

Great breakfast, close to public transportation

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ryokan Aura Tachibana

Hakone

A little bit run down, but still very nice and recommended. Food was excellent! The onsen area was big and had an indoor and outdoor area.

Authenticity & Character

Staff

the b asakusa

Tokyo

Great breakfast, close to public transportation

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Tokyo Night Foodie Tour in Shinjuku

Tokyo

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Kimono Tea Ceremony at Kyoto Maikoya

Kyoto

Asakusa Sumo Club: Sumo Show Admission with Chankonabe in Tokyo

Tokyo

Full Day Mt. Fuji with Lake Kawaguchi & Hakone Ropeway

Japan

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Full Day in Arashiyama with Temples and Monkey park

Kyoto

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Kyoto's Cultural Treasures: Fushimi Inari-Taisha, Nijo Castle and Kinkaku-ji

Japan

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Kanazawa Full Day Walking Tour

Kanazawa

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tokyo City Highlight Tour with Skytree View

Tokyo

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I can’t even begin to express what an incredible experience it wad working with Kim Kim and all of the associated vendors who facilitated our trip to the Azores. During the trip planning process, Marina was incredibly knowledgeable, supportive, and flexible with all customizations to the itinerary that we required, including cost adjustments based on our financial priorities. She had great communication with us throughout the planning process. The travel app utilized by Kim Kim is also extremely convenient and easy to use both prior to during your trip. For too busy full-time workers with two little children at home, it was so great not having to worry about planning the nitty-gritty of everything required for international travel.

Our tour guide, Vasco, knew everything about everything related to the Azores and did an amazing job touring us around. He was able to pivot beautifully when weather prohibited us from following one of our original day itineraries and created an amazing new plan.

Also, the Azores is literally the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. Please go!

Hotel Review

Hotel Do Colégio

Ponta Delgada

We arrived early and they were unable to accommodate our room until the standard afternoon time. Otherwise, they were wonderful! Location, hard to beat, views from the terrace gorgeous.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Furnas Valley Excursion: Crater Lake, Hot Springs & Tea Plantation

São Miguel Island

The weather unfortunately prohibited us from hiking Furnas safely, however our guide Vasco pivoted to starting the day at Che Gorreana to hike the tea fields and going to furnas later in the day. This worked out beautifully, the tea fields are stunning and a quite vigorous height to the peak. Gorreana was much more interesting than I anticipated- definitely a must see. Furnas is such an amazingly unique experience- definitely can’t be missed!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Whale & Dolphin Watching in the Azore with Marine Biologists

the Azores

Tour itself was great, but sadly we didn’t see any whales.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sete Cidades Full Day Experience: Ferraria Springs & Volcano Rims

São Miguel Island

This day was incredible. Sete Cidades is the most beautiful place I have ever seen- takes your breath away! And the hot springs under the ocean are so unique, an amazing way to start your morning!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Vasco is amazing- best tour guide I’ve ever had. So knowledgeable and makes you feel so comfortable immediately.

Transport

So simple and tailored to your budget!

Hotel Reviews

Northern Light Inn

Grindavik

Hotel itself was cozy and stagg very friendly. You definitely get a continual smell of sulfur from the geothermal plant next door. Location was great for exploring the area and getting to the airport the next morning.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Miðhraun - Lava Resort

Bakkatunga

Accommodations were very spacious and location was beautiful. Staff were all very friendly. Would have preferrred to at least have coffee provided in the room. Coffee was only in dining area with breakfast which came with a purchased breakfast. Sauna and mineral pool was a nice perk. I know algae is a natural part of thermal springs but it doesnt look very inviting when there are many clumps of algae floating all over the surface of the hot tub. Felt like a little scooping would be to everyone's benefit, lol.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hótel Lækur

Hella

Beautiful place!! Breakfast was a wonderful selection of pastries, eggs, sausage, cereal, juice as well as yogurt, over night oats and a delicious barley based porridge. Dinner was excellent but definitely on the pricey side but we found that to be true of all the hotel provided dinners.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Stracta Apartments Orustustaðir

Kirkjubæjarklaustur

Out in the middle of nowhere with great views of a glacier. Great if you want that but bring groceries because there is nothing close. Not much sound proofing between rooms and trouble with getting hot water but they did try and adjust the water temp to accommodate but think system was not adequate for too many guests using at once.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Reykjavik Residence Apartment Hotel

Reykjavík

Wonderful accomodation that was walking distance or scooter distance to all attractions

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The provided breakfast was excellent and included local fresh bread delivered every morning!

Activity Reviews

Skogafoss Waterfall

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Stórhöfði Puffin Lookout – The Best Place to See Puffins in Iceland

Westman Islands

One of my favorite parts of the trip! Puffins everywhere as well as many other birds.

Quality of Experience

Seljalandsfoss & Gljúfrabúi Waterfalls

Iceland

You can never see enough waterfalls!!

Quality of Experience

Gunnuhver Hotspring

Iceland

This place was really neat and easy to explore.

Quality of Experience

Kirkjufellsfoss

Iceland

Quick stop to admire the mountain and waterfall but totally worth it.

Quality of Experience

Þingvellir National Park

Iceland

How can you not be blown away but seeing the movement of continental plates and geothermal activity. We did not do the snorkeling into Silfra fissure but wish we had! Everyone we met who did it said it was amazing and not that cold with dry suit.

Quality of Experience

Explore Reykjavík

Reykjavík

Lovely city and people!!

Quality of Experience

Relaxed Írafoss Horseback Ride

Iceland

Horses were beautiful and our guide was so sweet. Was hoping for more of a ride away from the road but was a good set up for inexperienced riders.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Heimaey - Vestmannaeyjar's Biggest and Only Habited Island

Westman Islands

One of my favorite parts of the trip. So many puffins!

Quality of Experience

Skaftafell Glacier Hike

Iceland

Really cool experience. Our guide was very knowledgeable and personable. The most challenging part the very bumpy bus ride to the location, lol.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Nátthagi Lava Field (Fagradalsfjall Volcano)

Iceland

The lava flows were really neat to see and how it affected Grindavik

Quality of Experience

Whale Watching Ólafsvík

Snæfellsnes Peninsula

Unfortunately it ended up just being a cold boat ride. We saw one whale from a far distance and a few dolphins.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Geothermal Bakery Experience

Golden Circle

Our guide was great. Bread was absolutely delicious.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sky Lagoon Experience - Saman

Reykjavík

Lovely way to start our vacation!

Quality of Experience

Icelandic Food Walk

Reykjavík

So glad we did this!! Our guide was awesome and the food was fantastic!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach

Iceland

Really unique experience, absolutely beautiful!!

Quality of Experience

Seltún Geothermal Area

Iceland

Just wow!!

Quality of Experience

Geysir Geothermal Area

Golden Circle

Very crowded but amazing geothermal activity to observe.

Quality of Experience

Hvammsvík Hot Springs Experience

Iceland

Nice place with beautiful views. Very crowded and not as much space to spread oit compared to Sky Lagoon but worth the stop.

Quality of Experience

Dverghamrar Basalt Cliffs

Iceland

Short stop along the route but very worth it.

Quality of Experience

Lava Tunnel Activity

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Cliff Walk from Arnarstapi to Hellnar

Snæfellsnes Peninsula

Lovely walk and bird watching!

Quality of Experience

Gullfoss Waterfall

Golden Circle

Quality of Experience

Lava Show Experience

Reykjavík

Very cool experience!

Quality of Experience

This is the kind of review that would be incredibly valuable to future travelers. I’ve tightened it up while keeping your enthusiasm and adding a polished flow.

Our family recently returned from an incredible trip to Spain, and I can’t recommend kimkim enough! From the very beginning, the experience was professional, personalized, and completely stress-free.

Anna took the time to truly understand what kind of vacation our family wanted. Through emails and phone calls, she listened to what was important to us and helped curate the perfect itinerary. We stayed busy every day without ever feeling rushed or overbooked—a balance that is much harder to achieve than I realized.

Our trip included walking and driving city tours, kayaking and snorkeling, a cooking class, family bike rides, a catamaran cruise, and more. Every activity was booked and paid for in advance, so all we had to do was show up and enjoy ourselves.

The kimkim app was one of the MVPs of our trip. I honestly think I had it open almost as much as my camera! Every activity included a Google Maps link to exactly where we needed to be, detailed descriptions of what was included (food, transportation, etc.), what we needed to bring, and a great synopsis of what to expect that day. It even worked offline, which was incredibly helpful while traveling internationally.

The tour guides were outstanding. Each one reached out beforehand to introduce themselves, confirm meeting locations, and provide a point of contact. The experiences felt intimate rather than touristy, and every guide was knowledgeable and engaging. Extra love for Girona Experience, Carol and Pau were amazing tour guides! These tours were absolute highlights of our trip! Chef Matthias and his paella 🥘 was the best in Spain.

Anna also included restaurant recommendations for each area we visited, complete with estimated price ranges. Those suggestions ended up being some of our favorite meals.

The hotels were another pleasant surprise. They were places I never would have found on my own—small boutique properties that perfectly matched the character of each stop. We started in a beautiful spa hotel tucked away in rural northern Spain, perfect for relaxing, before transitioning to a modern, eclectic hotel right on the beach. During the planning process I asked to change one of the hotels because I couldn’t quite articulate why it didn’t feel like the right fit. Anna listened, made the change without hesitation, and the final choice ended up being absolutely perfect.

We also had extended family traveling on a separate itinerary with some overlapping activities, which caused a little confusion one day. I contacted kimkim, and they responded almost immediately, clarified everything, and got us back on track. They checked in with us several times throughout the trip and even accommodated itinerary adjustments while we were already traveling without any issues.

Planning an international family vacation can feel overwhelming, but Anna and kimkim made it feel effortless. Their attention to detail, communication, thoughtful planning, and genuine care for our experience were exceptional.

I would recommend kimkim—and especially Anna—to anyone looking for a customized, seamless travel experience. We made memories that will last a lifetime, and we’ll absolutely be using kimkim again for future adventures.

Hotel Reviews

Cosmopolita Hotel Boutique & Spa

Platja d'Aro, Girona

Sallés Hotel Mas Tapiolas

Santa Cristina de Aro

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay! The hotel was quiet, quaint, and the perfect place to relax. Breakfast was outstanding every morning, with a great selection and delicious food. Dinner reservations were required, but we had no trouble making them the morning of. The evening meal was excellent, and the live music created a wonderful atmosphere. We’d happily stay here again!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Wonders of Girona Guided Walk

Girona

The Wonders of Girona walking tour was one of the highlights of our trip! Carol was incredibly knowledgeable, professional, and friendly, bringing the city’s history and culture to life in an engaging way. She did a fantastic job keeping everyone interested—even our kids (ages 10 and 11) genuinely enjoyed the tour. We learned so much and would highly recommend this experience to anyone visiting Girona!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Carol!

A friend and I had a very enjoyable time during our visit to Turkey. We were both surprised by the modernity of the country as a whole, but in particular Istanbul. The people we met on the street were always very friendly. we felt safe. Kimkim and Unison did not let us down. Our local specialist, Burcu, could not have been nicer or more helpful. She promptly answered many questions from us, made reservations and was just very responsive and helpful no matter what the issue was. We had three guides that were all very knowledgeable of their areas and were with us the whole time each day. Our favorite place that we spent time in was Cappadocia. It was fascinating to see how people created by hand their cave homes and lived successfully for millennia in the area. My overall impression of the trip was that it was enjoyable well executed and memorable. Highly recommend Kimkim and Unison for travel to Turkey.

We had such a wonderful time on our trip to Greece! From the beautiful hotels selected for us in Athens, Mykonos and Santorini, to the personalized tours we did in each location, everything was top notch! Athens was our first stop and we were well taken care of by the staff at the Niche Hotel. The location was perfect for exploring the neighborhoods of Plaka, Monastiraki, and Psyri, where the shopping and the food were plentiful. We really enjoyed our food tour, and our guide, Fotis, was knowledgable and fun! We got lucky and had excellent weather for our tour of the Akropolis and the Agora, and Athena did a wonderful job of covering centuries of history to help us better understand how ancient history shaped the city and the citizens of Athens. Our next stop was Mykonos, which we traveled to via ferry. While we were a bit nervous to take the ferry ride, everything went well and was relatively easy, and we were there in about three hours. Mykonos was everything we hoped for and more, including our home for the next three days, The George Hotel. We loved our hotel - the breakfast was amazing, the staff was helpful, the rooms and pools and sundecks were beautiful, and we were surprised to find out we had access to sunbeds directly on the beach through a sister hotel a five minute walk away. It was a relaxing three days of beautiful scenery, sunning, and some fun at SantAnna Beach Club! From there we took another ferry to Santorini, whose beauty was just unmatched. Anteliz Suites was the PERFECT location to make our base from, and ALL of the staff there really outdid themselves in taking care of us. We really enjoyed exploring the area and checking out the restaurants and shopping. We did a private tour with Sabine and she took us to some really off the beaten path places in Santorini, while giving us an excellent overview of both the history of the islands as well as the current industries, and our favorite stop was Emporio where we explored the mazes of the Castelli, which was purely magical. Overall, this was such a once in a lifetime trip and Sydney and the folks at KimKim really came through in planning exerything perfectly!

My family of five (kids ages: 10, 7, 4) spent a wonderful 8 days in Colombia exploring three different regions.

All of our guides were helpful, flexible, warm, and highly informed. In Bogota, our guide Jose Luis picked us up from the airport to accompany us to our hotel the first night which was maybe not necessary but helped us feel truly cared for as we set foot in the country for the first time. Our day in Bogota was well paced and fun and Jose Luis made sure we had information to plan appropriately for the day with the kids.

In the Amazon region, we are indebted to the leadership of our guide Sergio who picked us up at the Leticia airport and stayed with us for four days in the Amazon region at three different lodges. We saw lots of animals, met with the local community, and had plenty of time to rest and refuel built into the itinerary. We never had to worry about what was happening next.

We appreciated the enthusiasm of our guide Edy in Cartagena. The drumming workshop with the Kilele Son community music school was a highlight of the trip for sure.

Being there during the World Cup was a happy accident but we enjoyed joining in on the excitement as Colombia advanced over Uzbekistan and DRC.

Athens: We had a lovely group tour of the Acropolis in the evening of our first night to beat our jet lag. Our tour guide Christina was knowledgeable, patient and great at weaving us through crowds to find spots to talk with us all. The next morning was one of our favorite tours- the walking mythology tour with Katarina- she was engaging, knowledgeable and fun. We had fun having Greek coffee and ‘reading the coffee grounds’ with her as well. We had a guide (more like a driver) in the evening to the Cape of Sounion and sunset at the Temple of Poisedon. We stopped at an amazing tavern from delicious food and the experience was great; the driver, George, was very nice, also smart, though he was not much of a guide. One negative was that he stopped on the way home to have a vape/smoke break.
Our last full day was a day trip to ancient Corinth. Our guide and driver was amazing again. We were interested in seeing Napflio and she was very flexible, able to check with her manager and make this edit for our itinerary.
Our hotel was wonderful for our family of 5. The only negative is that they could not provide our breakfast one morning as they can only service one room during a time slot and if it is taken, you are out of luck. Even with providing our time preference the night before, it was not feasible for them, and given our pre scheduled tours we did not have flexibility. They did give us some packed food to take with us.
Crete: We used our free time to wander the streets in Chania; stayed at Domes Zeen. Beautiful Hotel, only negative is distance to town and for a family of 5 it is difficult to find transportation. We either had to take 2 taxis or wait a long time for a van; food was incredible, service was wonderful and lodgings stunning! Our sailing day to Balos and Gramvousa was a huge family hit! This family company upgraded our vessel for the day and the mother (Ari) and son (Nico) were so wonderful about timing so to avoid the crowds in each location. We stopped for a swim in a small cove, and home made lunch (in the top favorite of meals eaten during the trip). At Balos we arrived as 2 bigger party boats were leaving and experienced stunning views, swam in the lagoon; Gramvousa was also gorgeous- the hike up was fine for us, but may be difficult in hot weather and depending of fitness levels.
My husband and I visited Monastriaki Winery on our own- loved the winery, but we were part of a cruise ship crowd and it defn affected the charm of the experience. We also booked a walking food tour of Chania on our own, this was also fantastic. Our last day was a visit to Elafonissi beach and a mountain village with another engaging driver/guide. He was wonderful with stories, knowledge, keeping us engaged during the driving hours and we all had another of our most favorite meals at Mila in the Eco Retreat. Our guide was Nicholas.
Naxos: Our guided village tour with Elizabeth was again amazing- we had fun and learned a lot with the walks through the streets, seeing all the fruiting trees and flowers. Mezze at the olive oil mill after tasting was delicious. The Kitron distillery was perfect as it was not too long, but interesting for the adults. Our lunch was delicious again! On our own we had dinner in the mountains at Rotunda-highly recommend for the views and food, esp if celebrating.
We also on our own explored the Chora and temple of Apollo; had dinner at Avalon one night.
Our sailing day did not materialize as planned due to winds and weather. We did enjoy what we were able to see immensely. The company graciously gave us some refund back as we did not get to Santorini. Our skipper was fun and gave us great tips as we swam around visited Koufonisi (picture perfect small island!!!).

We had an amazing vacation and booking through kimkim really did help take so much stress of coordination/transfers out of the picture so we could enjoy.
Some feedback- we had to adjust our last day to fly back to Athens the night before due to a short layover, which now with the EES would have been impossible to catch our flight home. given the change we could not recoup money for the Naxos hotel and we had to book another hotel in Athens. I would expect that the trip coordinators would be aware of these issues and when planning we would have discussed getting to Athens the night before. Unfortunately this was not the experience. Part of the reason to use a company with resources like this is awareness of these sorts of things in the itinerary—I was the one to bring it up weeks before travel when I heard from travel blogs that the EES was instituted in April and causing delays, and then request the changes. The EES was a planned event for many months and I wish we knew at the time of booking or even as it was initiated so we did not have to lose money.
We did have a slightly different, more positive experience with our trip to Spain in this very regard of planning transfers/travel, when issues arose.
All in all- we have really enjoyed booking with KimKim and will continue to in the future! The support, customer service, best guides and tours we have ever had, are great! We are thankful to have had an epic family vacation and thankful to the team helping coordinate this trip!
Purbi

Activity Reviews

Acropolis Beat-the-Crowds Discovery Walk

Athens

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Sunset Tour to Cape Sounion

Greece

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Boat Adventure: From Naxos to Santorini

Naxos

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Self-Guided Chania Old Town Walk

Chania

Private Sailing Trip to Balos Beach & Gramvousa Island

Chania

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Elafonisi Beach & Mountain Retreat Lunch 4WD Adventure

Chania

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Countryside Walk: Naxian Villages & Local Food

Naxos

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Day Trip to Ancient Corinth and Loutraki

Athens

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Mythology Trail Storytelling Walk

Athens

Guilia did a fabulous job planning the trip. Our family had an incredible time. It's our third time using KimKim for our family vacation and I won't use anything else!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Casolare Terre Rosse

San Gimignano

Lovely property. Room was standard - nothing special - but clean and sufficient.

Authenticity & Character

The room was fine - the look on the outside didn't necessarily translate to the inside.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean and comfortable, despite the more barren finishings.

Piazza Farnese Luxury Suites

Roma

Location was great. Service wonderful and the breakfast in the morning was lovely. The room was fine. We had the duplex and the upstairs was a little tight (ceilings were low), and felt a bit cramped.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The duplex had very low ceilings on the top floor which made it feel cramped.

Ca' Foscolo Residence

Venice

Great location. Rooms was spacious and clean.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

B&B Corte Vallio

Desenzano del Garda

Absolutely stunning. The location was out of a story book. The room was incredible. And breakfast on the balcony was the best way to start the morning - the fresh eggs and pancakes were awesome.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Bye Bye, Italy!

Italy

Not really anything to review here, but giving 5 stars for a wonderful trip! :)

Private Transfer by watertaxi

Italy

The only way to travel!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Gladiator’s Gate, Special Access Colosseum with Arena Floor & Roman Forum (3 hours)

Rome

Tour guide was lovely and the experience was good. I was a bit disappointed in the lack of access to the Colosseum. We paid for the gladiator entry, so got to go down on the floor, which was really cool, but thought we'd be able to explore the whole arena. Turns out that special ticket only gets you access to the floor, so was a bit disappointed about that. But overall, it was a wonderful tour.

Quality of Experience

Private Family Vatican & Sistine Chapel - Scavenger hunt

Rome

Our tour guide was incredible. Fun, energetic, and just the right level of info for the kids.

Quality of Experience

Tina did a great job putting together a detailed and varied trip for us. Our company/family has a broad range of wants and getting everything into one journey was not easy. She managed to have a nice flow of busy and slow time and as usual we wished we had more time in virtually every place she recommended. I am a travel photographer so it's important to me to have a ton of variety while doing a trip, she nailed it on the head in this department. The quality of the rental cars and driver/transfers was high end and on point. No one was late and the directions for getting to and from locations was very detailed.

Hotel Reviews

Best Western Airport Hotel Stella

Zagreb

Simple, quiet and clean airport hotel, only downside is not onsite restaurant.

Authenticity & Character

Just an airport hotel.

Location

Close to the airport.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Port 9 Camping

Korčula

Perfect location for Korchula with easy access via water taxi or scheduled electric carts. With their own infinity pool and multiple beaches to choose from it's a great location to explore the area. Great family resort.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close but far enough to be quiet. Huge grocery store within walking distance if you get a unit with a kitchen.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Marul

Split

Very good hotel with included breakfast and awesome location to the old town area of Split. Quiet, Quiet, Quiet, enough said!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tesla's Gastro House

Prijeboj

We only spent one night and reason I booked this particular hotel was for the hot tub and serene location. Unfortunately the hot tub had been serviced it was not hot, they did have a nice sauna to use as a back up. There is a very good local restaurant nearby(the owners will cook you dinner or breakfast if you let them know in advance) and the owners are very nice and attentive. If we go back to this area I would like to spend several days here just to relax.

Authenticity & Character

Quaint hotel in the country.

Location

Very close to entrance 2 to Plitvice lakes national park.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arena Stoja Camping Homes

Pula

Beautiful location right on the beach and quite!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Out of town but close enough for easy Ubers.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hilton Canopy

Zagreb

Killer breakfast and super attentive staff.

Authenticity & Character

Moderen and hip.(not my usual vibe but they pull it off nicely)

Location

close enough to be walking to the downtown area.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Dubrovnik Panorama and Walking tour

Dubrovnik

This was probably our only 4 star experience with a guide. She wasn't bad but she just wasn't very engaging and it was had to keep paying attention. This is not an easy job to do in the most touristy city in Croatia but a bit more energy would have helped.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arrival in Pula

Pula

Didn't see much here but the city was cool for what little we saw.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Taste of Korcula Tour (Local Produce Tasting)

Korčula

Be prepared to mostly drink on this tour, drink is considered food in Croatia which is true but you will definitely not be able to drive responsibly after doing this tour. Wine tasting at 2 locations and gin tasting at another. Local producers make the tour nice and John was really good at dumbing down(for the simpletons like my wife and I) the wine enthusiast owners explanation of his various offerings. Passionate farmers, wine, honey and gin producers make this a great "local vibe" excursion.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Zrmanja River Rafting

Croatia

My family owns our own kayaks, rafts and canoes at home so we are fairly critical when we do any river water activity. If you are wanting adrenalin inducing river experience this won't do it but if you want a mellow and beautiful float through dense forest you will be happy with this trip. The location is a bit of a hump to get to (double check the google address as it sent us to a spot on the side of the road 25 km away). We called the kayak company and they said not to worry they would wait(turns out we weren't the last to arrive). The days was gorgeous and the river pure and clean.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Zagreb - Arrival

Zagreb

The driver was there waiting which is always a comfort after 20+ hours of traveling. Highend Mercedes van with a great driver.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Drive to Plitvice with a stop in Motovun for a truffle tasting tour

Croatia

This was one of our favorite activities on our entire trip. I didn't have much hope that we would find truffles and I was ok with that but wow was I wrong. Our dogs within 10 minutes discovered several truffles and over the course of our time in the woods we found roughly 16oz of black truffles. The owner was such cool and authentic old Croatian guy whose entire identity was truffles and his dogs. The staff prepared an insane gluttonous truffle feast from the truffles we(dogs found let's be honest) in the woods. Oil, vinegar, salt, salads, spreads, salami, cheeses, scrambled eggs and as much wine as you wanted, best day of the trip!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discover Pula

Croatia

Although we didn't spend much time here the coliseum was pretty cool.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sea Kayaking around Lokrum Island

Dubrovnik

We actually did not kayak around Lokrum island but instead went around the old city walls to a sea cave beach where we swam and jumped off cliffs, it was great trip with enthusiastic guides and easy paddling.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full-Day Private Sailing Adventure – Zadar Archipelago

Zadar

What an awesome way to see a bit of the surrounding islands. Our captain took us to a small island for lunch at a friends old family restaurant and it did not disappoint. We had a killer all seafood lunch with fish caught that morning by the owner of the restaurant. We were lucky enough to actually be able to sail with quite a bit of wind, nothing better than being on the sea with a cold beverage in your hand and wind in the sails. Epic day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private guided walking tour of Zagreb

Zagreb

Nice and easy pace with just enough info to not be overwhelming.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Great planning and pacing for the trip. Noga hit a great balance for us of having a few scheduled things and lots of space for us to find what we were interested in. She found things we would not have found on our own. Logistics were really well managed - so nice to show up at a hotel, say your name and have everything ready to go.

Hotel Reviews

Hótel Jökulsárlón - Glacier Lagoon Hotel

Hofn

Fantastic hotel. Outdoor hottubs, sauna and cold plunge pond were amazing and really integrated into the life of the hotel. Visually pleasing, the style and turf roof blend into the landscape beautifully. Very very lovely place to stay - and close to the glacier lagoon.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Katla by Keahotels

Vík

Very convenient to the ring road. Not a fancy hotel, the room was basic but clean. Breakfast buffet had lots of options and really good quality.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Great location on the Ring Road

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hótel Búðir

Búðir

Such a beautiful and charming hotel. Fabulous views from the warm and inviting common spaces. Felt like you were in nature all the time. Had adorable mama sheep and babies sitting under our winder, saw a seal in the water from our hotel room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Staff was super helpful and personal. One staff member took extra time to and effort figure out how we could watch the World Cup game on the TV in our room.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Landhotel

Hella

Not my favorite hotel. Felt like a Holiday Inn plunked into Iceland. Charged to use hot tub. It was clean and OK, but not worth going out of your way for

Authenticity & Character

Like a Holiday Inn - felt impersonal compared to other places we stayed.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Eyja

Reykjavik

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hvammsvík Hot Springs Experience

Iceland

We never would have found this place without Noga pointing it out. So understated. This was the most beautiful hot spring location. Highly recommend the smaller pools closer to the beach - don’t just stay at the big pool near the bar - it’s OK, but the real joy is in the other pools and then cold plunge in the fjord.

Quality of Experience

Explore Heimaey - Vestmannaeyjar's Biggest and Only Habited Island

Westman Islands

We had perfect sunny weather - so that was lucky! Learning the story of the 1971 volcanic eruption at Eldheimer was a real high point of the trip. We particularly enjoyed the learning more the social and human history of the island - to go along with all the geologic wonder. I think a trip to the island is not complete without a visit to this museum. Also ferry runs on electricty - it was superinterested to see how the ferry charges and to appreciate the lack of deisel fumes and the quiet of the ferry. So that was really cool for us. We did see puffins at the puffin look out and that was great too.

Quality of Experience

Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach

Iceland

Natural wonder! Amazing to see. We booked a 1.5 hour kayak experience on our own. That was a fabulous way to be quiet on the water, see the glacial ice and be quiet. I really appreciated being in a silent mode of transportation. It was easy to book Kayak trip the day before we arrived and could easily be booked day of.

Quality of Experience

Inside the Volcano (Meet On Location)

Iceland

Incredible! I loved the walk out to the volcano, so we had time to reallly be present in the landscape and take in the wonder of it all. The pace of the trip was perfect. Going down into the volcano was amazing - again great pacing. Time to really be in the place and not feel rushed. Staff were kind, informative and relaxed. Soup was delicious!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sturlureykir Horses Riding Tour

Iceland

It was just my sister and me with a lovely guide. Very personal approach to us and to the ponies. You can see how much the people there love their ponies. Superinteresting to see the hot spring that heats the houses, the stable and bakes the bread. We really enjoyed our time there!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Christina arranged a wonderful trip for us in Norway. Right from the beginning, she listened to our needs and designed a unique trip. We had various ages in our group form 9 months to 72 years ! Some in our group wanted to hike, play golf and each at Michelen restaurants. Christina managed to keep us all happy
Kimkim also helped us in Visa applications and were extremely helpful and supportive all around

Our recent trip to Italy was absolutely amazing! Began in Rome- started with Pantheon, Colloseum, and Forum, Trevi fountain. Our day at the Vatican was so interesting. Our guide studied archeology and art history so loads of information! One very interesting addition was the Villa Borghese with its beautiful gardens and land in addition to hundreds of sculptures- numerous Bernini, masterpiece paintings- Rafael , Rubens, etc. Definitely include it in your itinerary.
Next Florence. Amazing artwork, food, and 2 Da Vinci museums with interactive models of inventions. Our guide for the Uffizi gallery , the Acadamia and Duomo had a masters in art history. We learned so much more with her than if we had done a self guided tour. Do not miss ordering Florentine steak!
Venice was next- greeted at the train and taken to our water taxi to the Hotel Moresco which was classic and charming. The staff was so attentive and quickly taught us how to to get around using water buses which made the trip so easy. Spent a lot of time in San Marco area with the highlight of attending a concert with a string orchestra performing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at the Chiesa della Pietà. Took the water bus to the island of Burano (known for silk) and Murano ( known for Venetian glass).
Another fast train to Milan. They are so comfortable and easy to use. First class tickets are very reasonable. It was designed week in Milan so it was very, very crowded. Very walkable city. Wanted my husband to see The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci-a 15th-century mural painted on the dining hall wall of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Sforza Castle and the Duomo were also full of art work and amazing architecture.
Our final stop was the most breathtaking landscape of Lake Cómo. A boat tour is a must to see all the amazing villas and small,charming towns. We stayed in Varenna which was so nice. 2 beautiful Villas with amazing gardens you can tour. Our most fun was taking a cooking class in a home in Varenna. A charming couple taught us to make fresh pasta- tagliatelle and tortellini filled with spinach and ricotta, an appetizer and Tiramisu! Such a wonderful evening seeing how they raise so much of their food even when they have full time work outside of the home. They practiced their English and we got to practice our Italian!
A train ride back to Rome and an amazing afternoon and evening at the QC Grand Hotel Roma. A full Roman Bath with saunas, steam rooms, and thermal baths. Unfortunately close to the airport which made it easy to leave even though we did not want to go.
In all we had 18 amazing days with the best guides and hotels. Kimkim makes it all work so smoothly! My husband walks with a cane and we can still travel easily thanks to all of their planning.

Sonia, it was a fantastic trip. I was ill after we got home, so I'm just getting around to do the 5 -star review. Veronica in Sardinia did a great job. Valeria in Sicily was an excellent communicator, always checking in on us. I was sad to have the miscommunication on the Cerafu boat trip. I followed the app with the 5-8 time and did not realize the time change Valeria sent with the address, missing the boat trip .
Other than this confusion, all went on schedule and she was invested checking up on us daily.
Grazie,
Christina

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Plaza Opéra

Palermo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel baglio della Luna

Valle dei Templi, Agrigento

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Relais Chateaux Locanda Don Serafino

Ragusa

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Eurostars Monte Tauro

Taormina

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Regina Margherita

Cagliari

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel dei Pini

Alghero SS

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Resort Cala di Falco

Cannigione

Authenticity & Character

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Guided tour of Valley of the Temples

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private walking guided tour of Alghero historical city center

Alghero

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private sunset e-bike tour

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Self-excursion to Cefalù with group boat tour along the coast

Italy

Did not get to do

Palermo highlights and street food tour

Palermo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Etna Wine tasting

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset boat trip along the Taormina Coast

Taormina

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private walking guided tour of Cagliari highlights

Cagliari

Everything went very smooth. The accommodations were fantastic and the tours were great. The breakfast buffets at both locations offered something to eat for everyone with all the fresh fruits, pastries and cheeses. I would absolutely recommend KimKim for traveling to Spain. Anna and Yasmine delivered on every front.

Hotel Reviews

Cosmopolita Hotel Boutique & Spa

Platja d'Aro, Girona

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sallés Hotel Mas Tapiolas

Santa Cristina de Aro

Great breakfast buffet. Staff very friendly and accommodating.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Wonders of Girona Guided Walk

Girona

Carol was fantastic and very easy to tour with. Her knowledge made the tour very interesting and educational.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sydney planned the most beautiful trip to Greece to celebrate my daughters graduation from college. Everything was perfect. Pir accomodations were incredible. The tours were amazing and our guides were fun and professional. Crete specifically Chania turned oit to possibly be our favorite destination but the place we stayed in Paros was the most incredible. We loved the beaches, thr small town villages and the food. Thank you for an incredible and memorable trip we will never forget! This is our 3rd trip using Kimkim and we are aboit to book our 4th to Japan! Thank yoi for helping us plan unforgettable vacation experiences!

Katherine and Delaney

Everything was very good, our tour guids were nice and transportation to the hotels and to the airport. One thing was a problem we might nedeed more assistance is rental car. It was advised to contact car company that did not work . The car was a little mess . No cameras or GPS were working. Anyway, i is not fault of Sara. She was amazing. Hotels choices and recommendations were excellent.

Very pleased with the trip. The tours were all interesting & informative. . The guides were very knowledgeable & communicated with ease. There was only 1 hiccup when a tour was changed & we were not given the place to be at.
KimKim handled everything very professionally,
and was available throughout our trip. We felt the tapas tour in Granada should have been covered in the beginning instead of the end of our stay so we could have a better understanding. Mallorca was beautiful & we wished we could have spent at least another day. Our last day included a Catamaran Sail that was supposed to have been a small group. We ended up with 11 people on a 40 ft boat which was very tight and we actually motored the entire time instead of sailing. Not the best experience.
We truly enjoyed our free time & ability to see Spain the way we wished to. All in all, a great trip.
Helene & Ned Cohen

Leslie and the Kimkim team made our trip to Italy a family vacation of a lifetime. We will def use Kimkim again and highly recommend their service. We had immediate attention when we needed to change the driver on the rental car contract in Florence. We got a phone call when the meeting spot changed for our tour, and were greeted with a person to make sure we found the new location. Every detail was taken care of. We had someone meet us at the airport and train stations to travel us to our location. Everything was well planned. The hotels were all wonderful and comfortable as well as centrally located.

We had a great time with all of our guides. They were each very knowledgable and friendly and fun. The day trip to Udo Island, though, was quite strenuous with many cardiovascular activities and a warning of that would have been helpful. The DMZ tour was a disappointing, since the JSA is no longer open to the public. Knowing this would have also been helpful because that was probably what I looked forward to most. The other stops on the tour were less than thrilling and had I known what the tour would entail I would have opted instead for a free day. Maire, the tour guide for DMZ was also very difficult to understand because of her unique accent.