Kimkim Trip Reviews

I had an amazing trip in Patagonia. I did all the 5 hikes that I wanted to do. The guide that I had for the Mirador Base Las Torres was really nice and interesting; I think his name was Miguel (?). For the other 4 trails, I did it myself; Thanks Erin for sharing the alltrails route; without it I would have gotten lost a couple of times on the way back when there wasn't a lot of people around. Also thank you Erin for telling me what to do when there is gust of wind; it was really helpful on my hike to Laguna Los Tres when I encountered rain, hail and strong wind.

The kayaking trip was great as well. I was lucky to be the only person on the trip. The guide Juan was great. It's cool that he also took pictures and videos of me kayaking.

Perito Moreno Glacier was amazing. I am really glad I got to see it.

Thank you Nara for being immediately available when the person at Bonanza could not find my reservation. The horse riding with Bonanza is the only part of the trip I was meh about. I think the group was too big; there were maybe 15-20 of us. I was mainly at the back, so I could not hear the guide at the front at all.

Overall, I am really happy with detailed itinerary that kimkim has planned out for me. It makes the trip completely stress and hassle free.

Lautaro gave us an interesting tour of Valparaiso. He even knew the best places to get something to eat and gave us recommendations of where to go on our own. Sabastian led us a on a memorable hike in the Andes. He was most patient and considerate of me and my limited abilities. Hernan gave us an insightful tour of Santiago since he was personally involved in some of its recent dark history. Ivan did a wonderful job piloting the bus, even getting us to the airport on time,

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Boutique Acontraluz

Valparaíso

This is a beautiful hotel with very warm, welcoming staff and spectacular views of the port of Valparaiso. I am sorry that we only stayed there one night.

Authenticity & Character

The beautiful interior

Location

The view of the harbor

Staff

They were so friendly and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Just a delightful place to stay

Hotel Director Vitacura

Santiago, Vitacura, Región Metropolitana

A modern hotel in an up-scale neighborhood within walking distance to a variety of shops. The breakfast that they provide is amazing in its diversity.

Authenticity & Character

This is a modern hotel with an excellent restaurant.

Location

Its proximity to a super market and an ice cream parlor

Staff

The staff was not overly friendly but they were quick to attend to any problems.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spacious rooms

Activity Reviews

Transfer from San Antonio Dock to Valparaíso

Chile

Lautaro gave us the highlights along with suggestions for further exploration.

Quality of Experience

Lautaro's knowledge

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Lautaro's personality and Ivan expert driving

Transport

Comfortable van

San José Volcano & Andes Mountains

Santiago

Sabastian made this a wonderful experience with his knowledge and experience. He was very patient and accommodating.

Quality of Experience

Not everyone can say they went hiking in the Andes

Food

Sabastian made us a delicious lunch and had a lovely picnic for us at the end of the hike.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sabastian was amazing, knowledgeable, and understanding of our abilities,

Transport

Comfortable van

Santiago City Tour - Private

Santiago

Hernan was able to tell us from personal experience about the history of the capitol city.

Quality of Experience

A personal, intimate tour

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Hernan and Ivan were great

Transport

Comfortable van

My experience with KimKim and my personal advisor for my trip planning, Maltilde, was outstanding and pleasant. The personalized attention and details of the trip were well organized and thought out for my trip to Europe. Our family had a wonderful and exciting time on the different tours. We had a personal tour of the Latin Quarter and the Churches in Paris. The walking tour of Strasbourg, France with Vincent was informative and beautiful. Using the Best of Switzerland tour group was a great idea for our tours in Switzerland. Switzerland was our favorite because of the breathtaking beauty of the Alps, lakes, and countryside. Jungfraujoch and the City of Luzern is a must see in Switzerland. Matilde helped with planning travel by train which was appreciated and a great experience for us. Booking the castle tour for our stay in Munich and Bavaria was a great idea. We had a great time. I would highly recommend KimKim and Matilde for any trip to this region of Europe.

Activity Reviews

Louvre Museum in Paris: entrance tickets & audioguides

Paris

I did not realize how big the Louvre was in reality. You could spend several days and not see everything. I didn’t realize how enormous size of some of the painting. The ceilings were eloquently painted as well. It was a pleasant surprise, seeing such history, and art in one place. I was pleasantly surprised at all the statues, as well as ancient artifacts, that were in the museum. One tip, the large pyramid is the main entrance, but there’s another side entrance that is not utilized and allows quicker access into the museum.

Quality of Experience

Latin Quarter Gourmet Food Walk

Paris

This personalized tour was wonderful, diving into the architecture and history of this part of Paris. We enjoyed walking through the market and trying samples of food.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and relational.

Jungfraujoch, Top of Europe (Group tour/12h)

France

Wow! Absolutely gorgeous, beautiful and stunning views of creation. The bus ride to Jungfraujoch through the countryside was beautiful. The gondola ride to the train was breathtaking. it is hard to explain how beautiful it was to look upon the enormous glacier surrounded by the snow kept mountains of the Alps.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lucerne - Most Charming Swiss Town (group tour/9 hours)

Zürich

Lucerne was our favorite place to visit during our trip through France, Switzerland, and southern Germany. The historic architecture of buildings and churches was beautiful. The landscape of the town with the backdrop of the Alps and the lake are absolutely stunning and beautiful. Everything is within walking distance. You have so much to do in this town with the transportation museum along with other activities yet it is a small town feel with amazing restaurants and history. My son asked if we would just leave him here instead of going back to the United States.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Notre-Dame & Sainte-Chapelle Visit

Paris

The churches were beautiful and wonderful to view. Our tour guide was relational and informative.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Strasbourg Private Guided Walking Tour

Strasbourg

Strasbourg is such a beautiful and relaxing place. Vincent, our tour guide was relational and informative. This is a European town with lots of charm, bicycles, and amazing architecture and history. This was definitely a highlight for us during our trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Neuschwanstein and Linderhof Premium Tour

Munich

The Palace and the Castle were beautiful and picturesque. Our tour guide, Daisy, was kind, relational, informative and very good at communicating history and where to be and what to do during the tour. The tour inside the castle was interesting and incredible. The architecture and detail were amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Daisy, was an excellent God, who was very relational, good at answering questions, informative, and communicated well throughout the tour. The driver was safe. The bus was new with a restroom and snack bar with big wide seats, and plenty of legroom.

Transport

Day Tour to Salzburg from Munich

Munich

The tour was canceled due to transportation issues.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hien was our trip organizer and she is very patient and accommodating. During the planning stages of the trip she amended our itinerary many times until we were completely satisfied. She also checked in with us several times during our trip to make sure everything was going well.
The selected accommodations were better than expected, the drivers were polite, professional and reliable and our guides were friendly, informative and very passionate about Vietnam.
All in all a great experience! We will definitely use Realistic Asia for our future travel plans.
Brian

I can't explain how happy we were with our trip to Iceland! We got connected with Lisbet, after trying and failing to plan the trip on our own, and had an itinerary including excursions and accommodations within 1-2 days. She was very responsive to our messages and accommodating to move around our week's activities to best fit our expectations. She has a ton of knowledge about the country and knew what to recommend based on the length of our trip, our budget, and how we completed KimKim's brief survey.
We were so impressed with Lisbet that we had her connect use to another KimKim agent to help us plan our next trip. I recommend KimKim 10/10 -- thank you!

Fei was fantastic! She is a great planner and went over our itinerary in detail. Plus, she was readily available throughout the trip to help with additional arrangements and questions.

Our local guides (Aruyi, Yuki, Remi and Mizu) were knowledgeable and attentive to our interests and capabilities.

Seeing Japan from Tokyo to Hiroshima was a trip of a lifetime thanks to the help of kimkim!

We had a fantastic time in Turkey. Our guides, Sebnem and Burcu, were absolutely wonderful! They were very kind and caring AND they were incredibly knowledgable. They gave amazing tours of ancient ruins and modern parts of Turkey that were interesting for my teenage daughters. They were patient with all of our questions and they were extremely engaging. Additionally, they were able to cater to our changing plans - they added a haram experience and food tastings on a whim.

We contacted Kimkim last year and were put us in touch with Claudia. She tailor made our tour for us including booking the internal flights, hotels and all the tours. The local agent Julieta was prompt and helpful at all times. The trip was absolutely amazing with wonderful guides throughout. The only tour that could have been better is the wine tour in Mendoza. The various types of tour should have been discussed with us as my husband is a bit of a wine connoisseur. Every other aspect was perfect. We had the most amazing time and are still reliving the wonderful time we had. I would definitely recommend kimkim and Claudia . In fact my brother is planning a trip to Argentina next year and will be contacting Claudia.

This is our second time booking through KimKim. Both trips we were lucky to be assigned to agency who take pride and care about what they have to offer.

This trip to Spain was an impromptu trip and I left it very vague for Alfonso and his team to show us what spain has to offer. We were very happy with all activities, local guides, accommodations and transportations that were arranged for us.

All the guides were very good at explaining and sharing with us their country cultures and history. This is a country with so much to offer. We would love to return and explore the other part of Spain we didn’t get to see. We enjoyed everything that was arranged for us.

Activity Reviews

Day Trip to Toledo

Madrid

Definitely worth a day trip to Toledo. Visited the cathedral and several art museums. It is like walking through time. We had a great lunch too. Our guide Juan was great.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Quick and easy 30mins train ride

Private Evening Tapas Stroll with Locals

Madrid

A nice introduction to Madrid.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We walk

Tapas & Flamenco Experience in Seville

Seville

Nice tapas and a flamenco show is a must

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We walk

Private Visit to Seville’s Cathedral & Alcázar

Seville

Our hotel has a great view of the cathedral. A must if you are visiting Seville.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We walk

Private Day Tour to Granada with visit to the Alhambra & Generalife Gardens

Málaga

I really enjoyed Granada. Staying in Albaicín in our hotel with a view of the Ahlamra was definitely a great choice. Wish we have more time in Granada

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Jenny was a great guide.

Transport

It was great working with Vicky planning our Australia/New Zealand trip. Vicky is very knowledgeable about the areas we visited and was available for us every step of the way both in planning and during our trip. Communication was very easy with the KimKim chat function and response time from Vicky was always very timely. Vicky helped arrange some of our tours (as we left some days open to allow flexibility to choose tours or things to do after we arrived), airport transportation, flights and accommodations. After a quick 24 hours in Fiji, we started our New Zealand adventure in Auckland. We landed in Auckland and were promptly greeted by our driver, who delivered us to our accommodations. The Adina Apt Hotel Britomart was conveniently located within walking distance to some great restaurants and coffee shops, grocery store, Britomart Shopping Centre, Takutai Square and the Harbour where the cruise ship port is. Most notably, our favorite dinner here was at Amano, which also has an amazing bakery attached and favorite coffee shop was 1920's Cafe. We were able to walk to Auckland Domain, a park which led us to some great gardens, the Auckland War Memorial Museum and then down into the city where we visited the Auckland Sky Tower. Day 3 in Auckland we had a Private Full Day Rotorua Tour booked. Our driver arrived on time that morning at the hotel with plans to take us to Te Puia Geothermal and Maori Cultural Experience and Kiwi House, a brief stop at the Redwood Forest for a 30 min walk and then a visit to the Skyline Gondola for some great views from above. We really enjoyed TePuia and learning about the Maori culture. My only regret in Auckland is not getting to book a trip to The Waitomo Gloworm Caves.
Day 4 took us from Auckland to Queenstown, South NZ. The flight into Queenstown was amazing. Flying in between the mountain's surrounding Lake Wakatipu was so scenic. We were again promptly met by our driver and delivered to Heritage Queenstown Hotel. Located up on the hill, it made for great exercise going to and from into town for shopping and dinners. Our first night there we promptly booked the steamship cruise to Walter Peak Farm, where we enjoyed a delicious BBQ dinner at sunset, and sheep shearing show. I highly recommend the TSS Earnslaw Cruise and BBQ Dinner tour. The ship itself is pretty neat too. The town of Queenstown is great! Lots of great restaurants and shopping. Fergburger is a must (the long line goes fast), as well as Patagonia Ice Cream and Chocolatier. Vicky arranged the best MIlford Sound Fly, Cruise, Fly tour with Air Milford. Tom, our pilot, was great! We can't say enough good things about this tour! It's a must when in Queenstown. The views were awesome!! Great experience! We also visited the Skyline Gondola here too for more amazing views.
Day 7 took us from Queenstown, NZ to Sydney, Australia. Our driver Osman sent us a text notifying us that he was waiting outside in the pick-up area. We arrived at the Pullman Hyde Park Hotel. This was another hotel that was in a good location, with great views of the city and Hyde Park (it's beautiful by the way) and walking distance to everything we wanted to do including the Botanical Gardens. Although I think if we were to go back, I might book a hotel near Sydney Harbour for water views and closer to more restaurant choices. We were told we should check out The Rocks weekend market and we had a great time shopping there. Highly recommend this to other travelers. Great vendors, lots of great local made gifts, jewelry and art. We also enjoyed high tea at The Tea Cosy and the Sydney Sky Tower. Vicky booked us a great Hunter Valley Tour for day 10. Another all-day private tour where our driver took us to a great little breakfast spot at the marina on the Hawkesbury River, then gave us 2 options for places to experience koalas and kangaroos. We ended picking The Australian Reptile Park. What a treat! Not only did he get a great price for entry, but also for a one-on-one koala experience. We finished off the day with a wine tasting at Pepper Tree Winery and great lunch at another local winery called Ben Ean Cellars. A few additional tours we booked on our own while in Sydney that we highly recommend are the Sidney Opera House, a private Sydney Harbour Night Cruise with Sydney Luxury Cruise, (Stephan our Skipper was an awesome guide) and lastly a sunrise hot air balloon ride with breakfast over Camden Valley with Balloon Aloft. All of the crew with Balloon Aloft were great!
Day 11 we headed to Ayers Rock by flight. We loved, loved, loved Uluru. What a great location to take a breather between big city adventures. Being in the desert away from the hustle and bustle was just what we needed. We were shuttled by air-conditioned large shuttle bus to Sails in the Desert. I should probably mention the FLIES, there are a lot of them, but it was a small price to pay for the amazing time we had. Buy the fly net at the hotel lobby desk. It's worth it. Loved some of the shops in the Town Square, we found some of our best souvenirs there. We were able to do our laundry at the resort. Vicky booked our Sunset Uluru Experience with BBQ dinner, and it was awesome. We stopped at the Anangu Cultural Center before heading over to watch the sunset on Uluru with drinks and appetizers, then off to the dinner set up. After dinner the lights went out for the most amazing stargazing experience. The next morning, we booked ourselves on the AATKings Sunrise Field of Lights tour which was also amazing. Our only regret was not having an extra night there and experiencing Kata Juta.
Day 13 We arrived in Melbourne via flight. Our driver was timely and delivered us to the Novotel Melbourne Central.
In Melbourne we enjoyed The Sky Deck for overhead views and all the cool alleyways where you will find some great cafes and gelato shops and even some cool street art. Our best meals were at Palermo's and Red Spice Road both done family style to get a good taste of it all. A visit to Haigh's Chocolates was a must too. We booked a couple tours on our own and loved them both. Loved the Great Ocean Road and 12 Apostles tour through Wildlife Tours. Steve, our guide was really great!! If offered, do the helicopter over 12 Apostles. It's worth it! Our grand finale tour was booked on our last night at the recommendation of another traveler. it sells out fast, so do the Penguin Parade with the bonus of a stop at Brighton Beach and Moonlit Sanctuary (which was ok, but good for a bite to eat and some really pretty birds). We did ours through Go West Tours and Bree was awesome!
Our trip truly was amazing. All of our tour guides and drivers were great. All transportation vans were of good quality and showed up on time. I highly recommend Vicky and the services that Kim Kim provides. Thank you so much Vicky! This was the best itinerary! Our family came back with so many great memories.

Hotel Reviews

Sails In The Desert

Yulara

Though you can tell the buildings are older they are well maintained for the nature of the environment, like the heat and the bugs outside. They are beautifully decorated inside and very clean. We enjoyed the pool and the ease of walking to the Town Square. It was nice having laundry facilities available to use.

Authenticity & Character

I love the decore using the Anangu dot paintings and I love the options in the gift shop.

Location

Closeness to town square and the tour operators pick up there and Uluru is not far. The views are great too!!

Staff

The service was fantastic at check in and in the gift shop. They cool towels offered and the cool drink at check in were a plus!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Loved the bathroom tile and shower. Beds were comfy!

Adina Apartment Hotel Auckland Britomart

Auckland

Great Location. Within walking distance to the Britomart, the cruise ship port and some really great shopping and coffee shops. The room was comfortable but just ok. Our shower had some mildew in it and the kitchen was lacking in utensils. We only had 1 fork, fortunately most of the eating we did was out. The hotel lobby was good and had a restaurant for breakfasts and late-night eating too.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

friendliness

Cleanliness & Comfort

shower had mildew, kitchen utensils were missing, only 1 fork

Heritage Queenstown

Queenstown

Great location. Within walking distance to all things downtown (if you don't mind hills), though plenty of local transportation available. Breakfast buffet was ok. Hotel was clean and beautifully decorated.

Authenticity & Character

Nicely decorated and fit the environment

Location

We love the town of Queenstown and found the walk both down the street and through the trail enjoyable!

Staff

Friendly and helpful!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean rooms and lobby

Activity Reviews

Private Full-Day Rotorua Tour

Auckland

The Visit to Te Puia and the Maori Cultural Experience were the highlight.

Quality of Experience

The Maori Cultural Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very kind and timely.

Transport

comfortable van

Milford Sounds - Fly / Nature Cruise / Fly - 9.30am includes morning tea

Queenstown (NZ)

Absolutely amazing trip from start to finish. From the coordination of the taxi (ride to Air Milford) that picked us up to Tom, our pilot who did an amazing job and the views were stunning. The tour operator was on top of communicating from the moment of booking.

Quality of Experience

Quality and cleanliness of the aircarft and the cruise

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Professionalism and efficiency

Transport

Fast, friendly and efficient

Explore the Hunter Valley

Sydney

We loved the visit to the Australian Reptile Park where we got to personally experience the koalas and kagaroos. It was a fun place. The winery was nice and the lunch at Ben Ean was delicious. The drive was very pretty.

Quality of Experience

The koalas.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was friendly and on time and made sure we got to experience the koalas and kangaroos. He also got us great rates for entry into the park.

Transport

Timeliness and comfortable ride for the long drive.

Milford Sound Cruise from Queenstown

Queenstown (NZ)

While my husband and I did the Fly Cruise Fly, it was my sister in law and her husband who were traveling with us that did this particular tour and they really loved it.

Uluru Experience with BBQ Dinner

Uluru

This tour far exceeded our expectations. We enjoyed the visit to the Anangu Cultural Center. It was so nice watching the sunset on Uluru. The dinner set up was fantastic as well as the food they prepared. When the candles went out after dinner, we were in awe of the stars that were out. The hosts knowledge of the constellations was impressive. What a wonderful evening! Well done!!

Quality of Experience

Tour bus was comfortable, guides were knowledgeable and friendly, quality of food and service was great!!

Food

well done! all of it!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

knowledgeable and friendly, chef and food service was great!!

Transport

clean, cool and comfortable rides

Paula at KimKim arranged a great 8 day tour from Sydney to Urulu to Cairns - great fun no problems

Hotel Reviews

PARKROYAL Darling Harbour

Sydney

Location on the Harbour is great - easy to get around - clean - good breakfast

Emu Walk Apartments

Yulara

These accommodations were awesome - had a kitchen and washer / dryer - gave us a chance to wash everything 1/2 way thru the trip

Authenticity & Character

Nice

Location

Next to everything

Staff

Helfull

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pacific Hotel Cairns

Cairns

Good location close to ward - near everything - breakfast is ok - staff helpfull

Activity Reviews

Full Day Blue Mountains Deluxe Day

Sydney

This tour is all day but worth it - the mountains and valleys are breathtaking. Listen to the driver , full of great facts.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver was awesome

Transport

A Night at Field of Light

Uluru

This is a good activity and great way to kick off Urulu. The sunset is amazing

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Morning SEIT Uluru Highlights

Uluru

This is a great tour - very interesting- the tour of Ayers Rock is fascinating

Quality of Experience

The Emu apartments are great, next to hotels but get kitchen and washer / dryer

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Daintree Rainforest Full Day Adventure by 4WD

Australia

This is a full day tour, very interesting- saw so much

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver was great

Transport

Cordoba based trip planner, Dalia B. Was a terrific resource for my 20 day trip to Spain. The guides she procured were all excellent, the hotels chosen were extremely well located, well fitted out, friendly and within my budget. She was always available if I ran in to a problem right down to spur the moment rental of powered/wheelchair when my 80-year-old legs began to give out two weeks into the tour! It would’ve been impossible for me to arranged and organize this trip without her.

Ashley planned an amazing trip for us to Vietnam for our family group of 4. She was incredibly responsive to our many questions and requests, and tailored the trip to our timeline and preferences. We had a busy itinerary, but we felt so relaxed and enjoyed every day since the details were taken care of at each step of the journey! Our transportation was arranged, a driver met us at each airport with a guide, and Ashley even checked in with us almost every day to confirm that our hotel was good, our guides were good, etc.

Our hotels were beautiful, all were clean, modern, and the service was impeccable. The guides were great as well, Susan in Hoi An was especially memorable, she felt like a friend by the end of three days! We had a nice variety of cultural experiences, including cooking classes, cycling tours, museums, both rural and urban experiences. One of many highlights was our vespa night food tour in Saigon-- don't miss that!

Thank you Ashley and KimKim-- we loved our time in Vietnam!

I strongly recommend Kim Kim Travel for a Vietnam itinerary, we had an amazing trip!

Hotel Reviews

La Siesta Premium Sai Gon

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hidden Charm Ninh Binh

Ninh Thang, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh

Large guest rooms, friendly staff, enjoyed the spa after a busy (and cold) day in Ninh Binh

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Soleil Hanoi Boutique Hotel

Hanoi

Clean, modern, great staff - took off one star due to small size of the guest rooms. Otherwise it is a perfect place to stay!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Erina Cruise

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Siesta Hoi An Resort & Spa

Quảng Nam

On site restaurant is amazing!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Saigon By Night - Vintage Vespa Street Food Tour

Ho Chi Minh City

Amazing-- after a week in Vietnam dodging scooters in the street it was great to ride one ! The food stops were way above our expectations - delicious, fun, we loved it! Thank you to our guides, they were so much fun:)

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Trip to Ba Vi Countryside & Cooking Class

Hanoi

Cycling through villages and along rice paddies-- amazing. The cooking class was great too!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a fantastic trip overall, but there were some discrepancies between the itinerary and the trip description we originally agreed to, and that did cause some confusion. First, our Goudi architecture walk with Anna was absolutely wonderful. She was very knowledgeable and fun. Our itinerary said on our first day we would go to the market, but didn't explain HOW we were to go. There was no map with a "just walk there" or explanation that we were not being driven. (In my previous trips with KimKim, rides were provided to all the sites) Obviously, we found Barcelona is much more walkable, but a map would have been nice. Also, on the Picasso tour, our itinerary specifically said we had a guided tour, with a time. We were never given a guide name, and when we showed up, were told it wasn't guided. This was a let down after the great experience we had with Anna the day before. When we tried to contact Karenena a coworker responded that it was a mistake. We could have arrived at the museum any time, as there was no guide. We did get to do and see everything we wanted to. I will definitely use KimKim again, but double check the itinerary.

Hotel Review

Andante Hotel

Barcelona

Authenticity & Character

Location

You can walk to anywhere from there, and the staff were very friendly.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Flamenco Night

Barcelona

Quality of Experience

Barcelona & Gaudí: An Architecture Walk

Barcelona

Again, Anna was extremely knowledgeable and fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Marta, our travel specialist was awesome. She gave great advice and responded quickly. Marta was an absolute pleasure. The excursions were wonderful and a lot of fun. The hotels were gorgeous and accommodating in Florence and Venice. The hotel in Rome, Boutique Hotel Campo de’Fiori, was ok. We did get the apartment as our room, which was nice, however we had to climb three flights of stairs and did not get any help from the hotel. It was supposed to be an apartment on the first floor. With that said the location was right in the heart of a lot of restaurants, daily open market and close to everything.
Our tour guide for the coliseum in Rome was AWESOME! I did not get his name, but he was very knowledgeable and knew all the right places to take us for breathtaking views. He was very passionate about his job.
Our tour guide for the walkie foodie tour was also AWESOME! Next time I will do a foodie tour first thing so I know how to spot authentic Italian food! I highly recommend Goumetaly for any foodie tour!
Tania, our tour guide for Cinque Terre, she was AWESOME as well! She took her time and was very knowledgeable about the villages we visited. We had lunch at il Baretto and the food was delicious and plentiful! There was a problem with the train running more than an hour late to take us back to the town where the car was parked. Tania and her team were on top of the situation and had a taxi pick us up and take us to the car to keep on schedule.
I greatly appreciated the local assistant in Venice. Navigating Venice for the first time would not have been easy on our own!

We were very pleased using Kimkim on our recent trip to Chile. Typically we do our own bookings but chose an online agency for Chile due to "all the moving parts" involved in this group trip of 3 couples. Kimkim's website was easy to use and informative, providing useful information such as seasonal weather for the regions visited.

Our travel guide, Angel Gutierrez, was exceptional throughout the entire process, not only before but during and after the trip! He responded quickly to emails during the planning process using excellent English. During the trip when we experienced a couple glitches with car rentals, his response was immediate, and I mean IMMEDIATE! In each region we visited, from Punta Arenas to Torres National Park, to Puerto Varas in the Lake District, and then to Santiago, Angel provided us with a reliable local English-speaking guide and private transportation. There was no waiting on drivers for hotel transfers or on day tours, with them typically arriving 10 minutes ahead of schedule.

The tour guides all spoke excellent English. I would like to give a shout-out to 2 of the regional guides: Jose (Pepe) in Santiago who bought a bottle of water for me on the scheduled wine tour when I forgot mine, and to Rafael in Punta Varas who quickly rescued us when a rental car did not function and got our entire group to the airport on time.

The only area of improvement I would suggest is in the timeliness of lodging bookings. This trip was almost a year in planning, with the down payment made 9 months before the date of departure. This may have been due to company policy, but to my knowledge the lodging was not booked until the final payment occurred 2 months before departure, resulting in us not getting some of the rooms of our choice. However, Angel and the hotel managers did provide us with excellent accommodations.

If you are planning a vacation to South America, and especially if to Chile and Ecuador, do yourself a favor and request Angel Gutierrez at Kimkim. He is the best!

Warm regards,
Christine Becker

I

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Rio Serrano

Torres del Paine

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Diego de Velazquez

Santiago

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Diego de Almagro Punta Arenas

Punta Arenas

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Cabaña Del Lago Puerto Varas

Puerto Varas

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Agua Fresca Bay Kayaking

Punta Arenas

They provided excellent gear.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

did a briefing the evening before

Transport

they arrived early

Full Day Tierra del Fuego - King Penguin

Punta Arenas

Long day but knew this beforehand. Tierra del Fuego very interesting.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

lunch at small village was scrumptous!

Transfer to Grey Lake -Kayak through the Glaciers at Grey Lake - Transfer back to your hotel

Chile

very knowledgeable and safe guides

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Climbing Cerro La Picada

Puerto Varas

Very knowledgeable and safe guides

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Kayaking in Llanquihue Lake

Puerto Varas

Loved the Laguna El Encondido!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Undurraga Vineyard - Wine Tasting group tour

Santiago

Highly recommend Undurraga tour!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I couldn’t recommend booking with KimKim more. I felt like Michael was always available to us and very helpful. Colombia can be a bit overwhelming and knowing we had picks ups and plans was reassuring.
I couldn’t recommend our tour guides enough
Sara at the Market in Bogota, Jose and Juan helping us learn Tejos, Govinda made Medillin magical! Cartagena and the Rosario islands were made better with Gabe’s help too.
The time spent at Islabela was incredible what a treat to stay overnight and see the plankton!
And all the helpers and drivers working behind the scenes were amazing! How lucky were we to have such an enriching and positive experience!

Thank you for making sure our trip was fun and safe

Trip to this glorious country was incredible. The wildlife is a gift to see. What was challenging is the amount of people you share this with. Getting a photo was the most important thing for most people of course but it did pull from the experience.
Guides were good, though we had issues in Drake Bay for an evening birding where they didn't show up at the right time nor location. It worked out okay.

Hotel Reviews

Delta Hotels by Marriott San José Aurola

San José

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Hotel Arenal Lodge

Fortuna

Remarkable property! Our view was sublime.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

El Establo Mountain Hotel

Monteverde

VERY noisy. It was so big. The restaurant was one of the best however. The breakfast, one of the worst.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Noise

Ecotica

Manuel Antonio

Great location, super interesting wildlife at the hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Jinetes de Osa

Drake Bay

We initially were put into a very small room - door had huge gaps, not really clean. My husband asked for another room and we were put into a much better, cleaner room with a door that closed.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

The Springs Hot Springs

Arenal/La Fortuna

This was not what we expected. Thought it would be more 'natural'. However, this was one of the most beautiful hotels we've seen. Just large and lots of people throughout. Glad we got to see the hotel but wanted a different Hot Springs experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private: Arenal Hanging Bridges & La Fortuna Waterfall Guided Hikes

Arenal/La Fortuna

We did see exceptional wildlife. though the experience is not as great given it's on a paved walkway with LOTS of other people trying to see the same animal.

Quality of Experience

Our guide was good

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Self-Guided Visit to the Monteverde Butterfly Gardens

Monteverde

Interesting just not outstanding.

Quality of Experience

El Tigre Waterfalls Exploration

Monteverde

It was wonderful to actually be hiking in this landscapes and get the feeling of what it's like. there were not as many people. I appreciated our guide. It was nice to take a vehicle out. I cannot imagine that kimkim would suggest taking the horses up that long hill out of the trail. It's arduous even in a vehicle not to mention the hardship on these poor horses.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Isla Damas Kayaking Adventure

Manuel Antonio

It was fun but do NOT do this mid afternoon as we were scheduled. It's hot and BUGGY. Not sure why it was scheduled for this time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manuel Antonio National Park Nature Hike

Manuel Antonio

Hard because there are so many people.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Corcovado National Park Hike from San Pedrillo Ranger Station

Drake Bay

absolutely loved this part of our trip and frankly it was the highlight. beyond my expectations

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset Birdwatching Tour

Drake Bay

Guide did not show up at the location and time we had listed. He asked someone else to come and take us on the tour. At this point in the day after our early morning tour of Corcovado, we were exhausted in the heat. Nice guide but it was really lackluster.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Mangrove Tour

Drake Bay

Very special locations. The Mangroves to the wildlife on the river.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Both guide and boat driver where enthusiast and kind.

Transport

Private San José City Tour

San José

Not the drivers fault but we were really tired. Our guide was good, he tried. But the restaurant was not good at all. This was not the guides fault. We were rushed for time due to a late flight out of Drake Bay.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We were traveling as a family of 4 with 2 kids and our trip was excellent. Special thanks to our guide Sameer who was so helpful and made us feel very comfortable. We had a clean, spacious, well maintained private van. He almost felt like family and we were sad to leave him at the end of our trip. Very happy with all the Riads we stayed in- Lina Ryad & Spa in Chefchaouen, Riad Salam- Fes, Tiziri Luxury Camp- Merzouga- it is place you will fall in love with and the staff is amazing- Ahmed, Yusuf and Moustafa, Riad Ksar Ighnda- Ait Ben Houddou, Riad Le Pèlerin- Marakkesh. The staff was very hospitable and genuinely happy to help and serve. Our diet needs of vegan and vegetarian were accommodated well. There is so much culture, art and history that will keep you in a constant awe. From the blue city of Chefcahouen to the Erb Cheggi Sand dunes and to the Medinas of Fes and Medina of Marakkesh you will experience a whole different world. Just as a learning- do not get lured into buying clearly significantly over priced stuff- when you visit the pottery co-operatives, carpet shops. Buy small souvenirs and spices- and bargain ( which many are just not used to doing). Overall a superb trip which has touched our hearts profoundly. Thank You to our trip planners Said and Abdellalif for doing a great job and working seamlessly on a minor glitch. Definitely recommend KimKim and Original Travels. Nilesh and Amishi Khandelwal

Hotel Reviews

Mövenpick Hotel Casablanca

Casablanca

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lina Ryad & Spa

Chefchaouen

Clean, beautiful place with good size rooms. We had soap, shampoo and hair dryer provided. Very helpful and smiling staff. They gave us Vegan and Vegetarian Food as requested. Well versed with English. Proficient in their work.

Authenticity & Character

nicely decorated with cultural art and decor.

Location

walking distance to food places and in the heart of the city.

Staff

happy to serve us.

Cleanliness & Comfort

clean fresh sheets and towels. clean floors

Riad Salam Fes

Fes

Clean, beautiful place with good size rooms. We had soap, shampoo and hair dryer provided. Very helpful and smiling staff. They gave us Vegan and Vegetarian Food as requested. Well versed with English. Proficient in their work.

Authenticity & Character

almost like a palace- beautiful mosaic work on walls and very well decorated.

Location

6-7 minutes walk to eateries.

Staff

always helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

clean rooms, the floors were kind of sticky due to the nature of the tiles and they provided personal slippers which was nice and we got to keep them

Tiziri Luxury Camp

Merzouga

The best experience- wow! Ahmed and his staff have done a phenomenal job in keeping up the tents in middle of nowhere. Beautiful interiors and exteriors. clean, excellent housekeeping and very tasty food.

Authenticity & Character

Location

sleeping under the stars!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Even in remote desert location, we had comfortable beds, clean rooms- all solar powered, eco friendly soap, reclaimed water- impressed with the eco friendliness and awareness of environment protection.

Riad Ksar Ighnda

Ait Benhaddou

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Le Pèlerin

Marrakech

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Du Ciel Marrakech

Marrakech

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Family Fun in Chefchaouen: Guided Exploration of the Blue City

Chefchaouen

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Punctual, clean, caring

A Family's Guided tour of Fez

Fes

bustling, old time style market, lively and colorful

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Family pottery and mosaic workshop

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Transfer from Fez to Merzouga Desert

Morocco

Unique experience. Beautiful sand dunes, topography. Heartwarming Berber history, history of slavery, music by the descendants of the former slaves.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chefchaoeun to Fez via Volubilis, Moulay Idriss & Meknes

Morocco

Amazing history

Quality of Experience

Food

nice beautiful restaurant right across from the ruins

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Family Desert Adventures in Erg Chebbi

Merzouga

The camel ride was great! Ofcourse you get sore because it is not that you ride camels daily, but made me feel so majestic. ATV was fun! kids loved it!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ait Benhaddou to Marrakech via Tizi N'Tichka pass

Morocco

Again, fascinating history and wonder at how it all happened.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I was so impressed with my first experience with KimKim that when I was looking at going to Italy, I contacted KimKim again and met Eleonora. And WOW, the entire process was so easy, the trip was absolutely fantastic from start to finish. I was initially nervous when we landed not knowing what to really expect, Eleonora messaged to check on us before we left and made sure that we had all the information we needed. We were greeted with a sign and taken to our hotel, which exceeded all expectations, the staff that greeted us were very helpful and friendly, the rooms were very spacious, clean and beautiful. This was just the very start and it just kept getting better. Eleonora, had listened to everything that we had wanted to do, even when we wanted to add something at the last moment, she was able to facilitate it. I also appreciated how easy it was to contact her and how quickly she responded. It was brilliant not having to worry about planning anything and having it all organised.