Kimkim Trip Reviews

We really appreciated all the transfers during our trip, given road conditions and signage. All the drivers were friendly and on time, if not early. All the lodging arrangements were great. We had excellent nature guides in Monteverde. When there was a glitch in reserving a guide at Treetopia, having our confirmation # came in handy, and someone from KimKim called us in the moment. The only change I would make is to spend 2 nights vs 3 at Hacienda Guachipelin. It was a great place, but there wasn't enough hiking in the local area.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Hacienda Guachipelín

Liberia

Great location. There was a feel of a resort without all the fanciness. If you're not into ziplining, rapelling and tubing, there are fewer hiking options, though.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Hotel Guiones

Nosara

Great location- walking easy to beach and town, very helpful and friendly staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cala Lodge

Monteverde

great location, beautiful setting, nice breakfasts

Authenticity & Character

helpful staff

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

perfectly clean, room was a bit tight

Activity Reviews

Rincón de la Vieja Volcano Hike & La Oropendola Waterfall

Rincón de la Vieja

This park is VERY busy and there are limited trails but very interesting to see fumaroles, mud pots and water pots. Our group was fairly large and the guide was fair, but not superb. The Oropendola waterfall hike was great!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Birdwatch Hike in Nosara Biological Reserve

Nosara

Our guide, Rio, was born and bred in Nosara and his family goes back generations there. It was worth getting up for a 6 am birdwalk. Rio's spotting scope was broken, but he was able to spot birds easily since he's so experienced.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve Guided Hike

Monteverde

Our guide, again- it was Marcella- was wonderful. Santa Elena was a busy place but going with a guide allowed us to see way more birds and have a good understanding of the ecosystem.

Quality of Experience

the guide makes it worth the trip

Guides, Drivers and Staff

It's a pretty bumpy ride getting there, but worth it

Transport

Hanging Bridges Adventure

Monteverde

Nice and quiet and we had a great guide, Roberto, all to ourselves. He was into birds, trees, spiders- couldn't have asked for more.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Walk at Curi-Cancha Reserve

Monteverde

Our guide Marcella was great. The waiver process was cumbersome and didn't seem necessary

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We recently returned from a truly wonderful tour of Japan. Eleanor at KimKim was the primary reason it felt so effortless. From the very beginning, she was incredibly thorough, managing every small detail and keeping us perfectly posted with updates and reminders exactly when we needed them. She managed to hit that elusive sweet spot between guided and self-guided time, selecting fantastic guides while still leaving us enough room to breathe and explore on our own. Eleanor was easy to work with and made changes when we thought of them.

One of the best decisions we made was following her advice to spend three days staying on Miyajima instead of staying over on the Hiroshima side. It was a highlight of the trip, though we do have one funny "pro-tip" for anyone else heading there: once the day-tourists catch the ferry back, almost every restaurant on the island shuts down by 6:00 PM. It left only a few spots open outside of the hotels, which we turned into a bit of an adventure, though others might find it a bit of a shock if they aren't prepared!

If we were to tweak anything in the itinerary, there were really only two minor exceptions in Kyoto—the boat ride and the tourist train. Only one person in our group enjoyed them. But in the grand scheme of such a well-planned trip, those were very small notes. Eleanor’s planning was top-tier, and while KimKim provided a great backend for the whole process, it was her personal touch that made the experience what it was. We would highly recommend her to anyone planning to travel to Japan.

The highlight of the trip was the 1,000 photos I captured along the way. I resonate with the Japanese style and their conscious use of space, line, and form in almost everything they create.
The gardens were especially relevant to me. Each one had a similarity but also its own unique elements, which made looking through my lens truly exciting. In fact, they have inspired me to revisit my own gardens, not trying to mimic a Japanese garden, but to take the time to think about, look a little longer and deeper, and try to incorporate these elements into mine.
My favorite was Miyajima - I loved the Island, the cable cars, and the Tori Bridge. It is a beautiful island. I especially love the Miyajima Hotel Villa. They had free snacks (and ice cream!) and the room was very comfortable with a lovely water view. The deer roam freely and are so friendly to the tourists.
I will contact Eleanor when we decide to return to Japan. I will use KimKim to plan travel to other countries.

We had all wonderful guides who were prompt and took us to all the places that they were supposed to. They were all knowledgeable and helped us to understand what we were seeing. Due to the holiday after Ramadan the traffic was unusually heavy, and we spent a long time traveling. One guide seemed to be on a schedule and she took so much time getting us to our next place. She did not want our arrival to be before a set time. It was late and we had an early flight out. It was much too much for one day.

Marc, our travel agent, prepared the trip to our specifications. The hotels were all good.

Thanks for planning this trip so well. We enjoyed it.

Judith Lewin-Kossover

We went straight to KimKim to arrange this trip, having had a great experience with them before.

Rajat was our contact in India, which was fantastic because he is so knowledgeable about the India travel scene and was keen to make the tour work well for us. Through excellent online messaging via KimKim we let Rajat know what sort of things we wanted to do / see, and he made all the arrangements including booking train tickets, hotels, flights and most importantly our guides and drivers. I cannot speak highly enough of the guides and drivers we had and I have to especially name Hemant (guide) and Nerinder (driver) who were particularly brilliant. Hemant met us in Delhi to accompany us on our train journey to Agra and spent the next 10 days or so with us, leaving us at Udaipur for our flight to Mumbai / Goa. Hemant was incredibly knowledgeable and shared not only cultural and historic stories which bought India to life for us, but whenever he spotted something of interest - for example a pilgrimage, or a street of drum shops - he explained what it was all about. Hemant did not shy away from explaining the good and not so good, and remained neutral throughout. There wasn't a single question he didn't know the answer to! Other tourists we met had not had that level of interest or detail shared with them, so it was quite fun to tell them what we had learned from Hemant. We continue to tell stories to our friends now! Our driver Nerinder was with us almost the whole trip, meeting us at Delhi airport with Rajat at 3am! Nerinder never ever failed to be there for us - we never had to wait for him - and he made us feel so safe the whole time, despite some of the crazy driving in the cities or cows randomly crossing the motorway! His car was always immaculate and he kept stocks of sweets and plenty of bottled water for us. He was an absolute gentleman and a bit of a hero for all the driving and distance he did with no map or sat nav!

Every part of the trip was seemlessly arranged by Rajat. All the hotels were fabulous and just seemed to get more and more fabulous as we went! Important to add that even while we were in India we decided to change some plans. In particular (with the help of Hemant) we decided not to take a train from Jaipur to Udaipur due to timetable changes making arrival / hotel check-in very late in the evening which we wanted to avoid, and this was fed back to Rajat so he could keep on top of where we were etc.

People have their own preconceived ideas about India, but we went with an open mind and were certainly not disappointed. Thanks to Rajat, our guides and drivers, we experienced what felt like an awful lot of India - culture, history, religion, life - the good bits and the not so good bits - scenery, wildlife, poeple and I almost forgot to mention the food!

Our guides knew exactly the best places to stop for food en route and thanks to them we experienced some of the best food we've ever tasted! They also helped us to buy marble inlay creations from a traditional craft shop in Agra, rugs from a traditional carpet-making factory in Jaipur (which were delivered to us at home just 10 days later!) and ceramics from a famous potter in Jaipur! We had to restrain ourselves from buying a lot more handmade crafts etc which wasn't always easy with the hard-sell in some places, but our decisions were respected and we felt we contributed our bit as tourists.

Our notable highlights of the trip (sometimes not for obvious reasons):

walking tour of Old Delhi
first sight of the Taj Mahal from Agra Fort 1.5km away
observing and travelling alongside pilgrims for 50kms or so from Agra to Fatehpur Sikri
jeeping in and around Ranthambore tiger reserve (even though we didn't see a tiger, but we saw a rare sloth bear)
Nahargarh hotel Ranthambore
food on the road, particularly at Molecule on the outskirts of Jaipur - careful with those Indian chillies!
The Jantar Mantar (observatory) Jaipur
dancing and puppet show in Udaipur
the kindness of people

In short, we cannot recommend a touring trip to India highly enough and would definitely like to explore Mumbai and Kerala some time in the future - Rajat, we'll definitely be coming back to you for help with that! Thank you for everything you did to make our trip so enjoyable and memorable. Best wishes to you and all our guides and drivers.

Kathrin helped us plan a two week, action-packed, trip to New Zealand’s North and South islands. Her choices of hotels and adventures were outstanding, closely matching our requirements. Some of our most memorable experiences included e-biking on Waiheke island, an incredible kayak journey to see the glow-worm caves, a helicopter ride up to hike on the Tasmanian Glacier and a luxury train ride up to Arthur’s Seat. Hotels were good, especially M Social in Auckland and Kamana Lake House in Queenstown both with great views, and Koura Lodge with rooms a few steps from the lake.
Working with KimKim was also a pleasure. We constantly referenced the KimKim App which showed hotels and activities, including conformation numbers and pop-up detailed descriptions.

Hotel Reviews

Distinction Te Anau Hotel And Villas

Te Anau

Aging, large hotel, with little character

Authenticity & Character

Everything

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kamana Lakehouse

Queenstown

Rooms were superb, with great views across the lake. Rooms well-appointed with super-comfortable beds. Excellent ala carte buffett.

Authenticity & Character

Decor and style, giant windows facing lake

Location

Liked the location away from the busy harbor area.

Staff

Friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Peppers Bluewater Resort

Lake Tekapo

Hotel situated across busy highway from lake. Rooms and other areas show some aging

Authenticity & Character

Location

Not sure, since most hotels are across highway from lake

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Montreal

Christchurch

Very nice updated rooms, helpful staff, great location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to parks and tramway

Staff

Small matter which really impressed us: staff mailed a pair of socks left in the room to our next location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Koura Lodge

Rotorua

Room was mere steps away from the lake. Staff was very helpful, even opened the kitchen early for our breakfast

Authenticity & Character

Location

Driveway a bit tricky

Staff

Very welcoming

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms have a strange configuration with the access between bedroom and living room through bathroom

M Social

Auckland

Super-helpful staff, great rooms, great location, breakfast buffet excellent

Authenticity & Character

Location

Near waterfront and activities

Staff

Adam

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel in excellent condition

Activity Reviews

Doubtful Sound Wilderness Cruise (self -drive - departs from Manapouri - operated by Real NZ)

Manapouri

It was a long day: driving to the ferry terminal, ferrying across the lake, then busing across the mountain pass before boarding the ferry on Doubtful Sound. The Sound was beautiful, and we saw dolphins and porpoises, but after all the other beautiful lakes and scenery we had seen before it was a bit anticlimactic given the difficulty of access. We had originally booked the overnight cruise, but it was cancelled due to mechanical issues. Kathryn jumped through hoops to help us rebook an overnight in Te Anai followed by the day cruise. I suspect the overnight cruise would have been a better experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Good, but perfunctory service. Nothing special

Transport

Move the lake closer to Queenstown, or fly if only a single day trip.

Hobbiton Movie Set Tour

New Zealand

Great for Hobbit/Lord of the Rings fans, too long and crowded for the rest. Feels like Univeral Studios. I guess you need to go to check it off the list, because everyone asks if you've been.

Quality of Experience

Smaller groups (less than 40), streamlined tour of maybe 60-90 minutes instead of 150 minutes

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kawarau River white-water rafting

Queenstown (NZ)

Another of our top trips. We were bused to a different location because the water level was low, but our travel companion Harry as well as the other guides were very amusing and the journey went quickly. The rapids were quite exciting to traverse, and the other swimming/jumping added to the fun.

Quality of Experience

The guides, and the excitement of traversing rapids

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Low-key, very funny, very helpful

Transport

Nothing, buses are not my favorite mode of travel

Mt Cook half day Heli Hike with the Helicopter Line

Aoraki / Mount Cook Village

One of our top experiences. We did have some issues, with a booking mixup between different tour companies, but it was all sorted in the end

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The helicopter ride

Christchurch Tramway Restaurant

Christchurch

Tram ride through the center of Christchurch, with a delicious dinner being served on the tram out of a tiny kitchen. We did find that the booking was for a party of 2, not 4, so we had to squeeze in and miss two of the appetizers.

Quality of Experience

Unique experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Starlight Gourmet Kayak Tour - Glowworm Caves

Rotorua

The kayak trip to an island for dinner, then across the bay to the glow-work caves and back to the starting point in pitch darkness was one of our top experiences. The cascading heated mineral water baths were wonderful.

Quality of Experience

Food

The guide grilled salmon for us on the island

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was superb - low-key, knowledgeable, and funny

Transport

Wai-O-Tapu

New Zealand

A walking tour visiting varying ponds and steaming geysers. Fascinating geological/historical venue.

Quality of Experience

The ponds are amazing, the colors an artist's palette. The geyser triggered by soap was a bit kitschy

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our private guide was friendly and well-informed.

Transport

Nothing - we drove there

Te Pā Tū - Maori Cultural Experience

Rotorua

Authentic Maori experience

Quality of Experience

The enthusiasm and grace of the Maori performers

Food

Everything

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Allow visitors to avoid shuttles to collection point and buses from there to site

Self-guided E-bike tour Waiheke Island (includes cycle hire)

Waiheke Island

One of the top activities on the trip, island is idyllic, and the road passes several beaches where we swam, and some wineries. E-bikes were fun to ride.

Quality of Experience

e-bikes in top condition, lines to rent bikes short

Transport

Ferry route scenic, departure very close to hotel

We carefully planned our trip with Kathrine. She totally listened to and understood our needs. There were so many highlights. The hotels we stayed in were wonderful, all in great locations. I will definitely tell anyone who is planning a vacation to New Zealand to contact Kathrin!

Activity Reviews

Hobbiton Movie Set Tour

New Zealand

I enjoyed bit it was a bit long and crowded

Self-guided E-bike tour Waiheke Island (includes cycle hire)

Waiheke Island

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had a fantastic 17 day trip to Morocco organized by Kim Kim.

First and formost, the trip was made special by the great driver we had with us throughout the entire trip. Tayeb was a delight to be with and informed us along the many long drives of the history and culture of Morocco. He also let us know about his family and his Berber heritage. We also got to meet his wife and 18 month old child which was a special treat. he went above and beyond to create a seamless trip that was both structured and flexible as our needs dictated.

Casablanca

Casablanca was a good starting off point to familiarize ourselves with the country and get our travel legs under us. We love our hotel Le Doge and enjoy our visit to the Hassan II Mosque.

Rabat

We had a short visit Rabat and were taken by the contrast of old and new. We had a great tour of the Chella ruins and saw Mausoleum of Mohammed V.

Tangiers

Who are we spent a lovely night in Tanger at the Villa Mavrouka where the service was lovely and the location could not be beat. We had dinner at the hotel by the fire and were welcomed with a lovely welcome cocktail. The next day we had a tour of the city with our guide Mustafa who was quite the character. He took us on a great tour of the Medina with a special stop at the Jewish cemetery, where the caretaker was his friend. Tayeb then took us on a beautiful drive of where the Atlantic and the Mediterranean meat and took us to see the very cool Hercules caves.

Chefchaouen

Wow. What picturesque city. We enjoyed our time wandering the street with our guide Abdul See the sunset we visited the Spanish mask to see the sunset took lots of pictures of blue things.

Fes

After an amazing stop at Volubilis to see the ruins, we drove with Tayeb onto Fes.

Our hotel Riad Fez was amazing. The interior decoration and our room were very memorable. The next day we took a walking tour with our guide Mohammad. The tour was amazing and took us from the royal Palace into the Jewish Quarter and a tour of the labyrinth of the Mellah, which included stops at the mosaic workshop, the ancient tannery the carpet coooeeative the Weavers.

Merzouga

After our long drive from Fes, which included stops to visit with the monkeys in the cedar forest we arrived in the desert and had a once in a lifetime experience, writing the dromedaries ( not camels) for a sunset ride to the Tiziri luxury camp. The vibe was great and we met some very interesting people along the way which enhance our experience.

The next day, our guy took us on a tour of the Black Desert and the nomad camp, which were a fascinating inside into the culture of the nomad Barbers. We also got to hear the Gnaoua music. Finally the best for me we rode the dunes on quad ATVs, which was an exhilarating experience.

Ourrzazate

On our scenic drive the next day we got to visit a beautiful gorge and the land of 1000 Kasbahs. We arrived in Ouarzazate. Our hotel, the palace was huge and reminded us a little bit of a Las Vegas hotel.

The next morning, Tayeb had arranged for us to have a guided tour of the ancient Jewish area of the town, and we were given a private tour of a synagogue museum by a man of Berber Jewish Heritage.

Imlil

On our way to our next stop, we stopped at Ait Benhaddou. It was like stepping into a movie and that’s because so many movies have been filmed there. It was quite amazing to see the architecture.

On this day we had was was probably the dining highlight of our trip stopping in a very small village Butcher who carved lamb chops off of the lamb and then grill them over the coals. We were taught by Tayeb had to eat them with the cumin and the salt. Unforgettable.

With a drove to Toubkal national Park in the Atlas Mountains, where we got to follow mule who carried our luggage up the hill to our hotel.

Since the power went out, we had a beautiful candle at dinner at the hotel, Kasbah de Toubkal. The views were spectacular, including in the next day when we took a hike through the mountains with our guide in Mohammed, and also paid a visit to his brother‘s family, where a wonderful lunch served by the Berber locals.

Marrakech

As we were on our way to transfer Marrakesh, we were met by Tayeb and his family in their and their traditional djellebas marking Eid, the end of Ramadan

We arrived at the spectacular hotel La Mamounia. How very grand and gracious. Special mention must be made of the amazing breakfasts.

The next morning, we did a walking tour of the Medina with our great guide Said, who gave us much inside into the Bahia, Palace and Islamic culture as well as the Jewish heritage of Marrakesh.

We visited the spectacular Majorelle gardens and took many more pictures of blue things

Essouaria

On our way Essouaria we stopped to look at the Arg G.a tree forest but alas did not see any goats trees but we did buy a lot of argon oil products at the cooperative.

We checked into the beautiful hotel Heure Bleue Palais and we met by the owner of the bike rental store who walked us through town to his shop where we were able to rent bikes and ride along the coast past the Jimi Hendrix village, and into the dunes. We had a tour the next morning with our guide we heard much about the Portuguese history, the Barber Jewish legacy and other aspects of this really cool city. Tab took us to the fish market and then to a restaurant where they grilled our seven types of fish where we ate on the rooftop overlooking the Medina. Since Ramadan was over, Talia was able to join us for a wonderful lunch.

We traveled back to Marrakech for one last afternoon and ended our trip with a fascinating food tour by our guide Abdul where we were surprised by an unexpected thunderstorm. We were able to try some treats we had not had had on our whirlwind tour of Morocco, which was a perfect way to end the trip.

Hotel Reviews

Heure Bleue Palais - Relais & Châteaux

Essaouira

A charming and lovely hotel in a charming and lovely town. We loved our room overlooking the courtyard, which had all of the amenities and was beautifully appointed.

Authenticity & Character

It felt like a perfect blend of coastal, French, and Moroccan.

Location

Right at the beginning of the Medina and it made everything very walkable.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Mamounia

Marrakech

It was wonderful to stay at this historical and grand Hotel. The public areas were beautiful and our room was lovely overlooking at the garden. Everything felt gracious and generous from the way the water was poured for us to the complementary flip-flops to take home. Special man must be made of the spectacular breakfast buffet, which felt like we were dining at a breakfast in Paris.

Authenticity & Character

Location

The location was great and that we were able to have a nice walk from the hotel into the main area of Medina, which we did several times during our stay.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

We were treated like the royalties in the celebrities that have a state there in the past what a great stay

Kasbah du Toubkal

lmlil

Really cool hotel, so unique in its location and its authenticity. It was unfortunate that we had a power outage the afternoon and evening of our day, but we ended up having a lovely candle at dinner and talked to some lovely people from England.

Authenticity & Character

Location

On a top of the hill with a spectacular view of the valley below and the mountains above

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Le Berbere Palace

Ouarzazate

This hotel was a little bit too large for our particular taste. The reception when we arrived was a little bit Kurt because they seemed to have just taken care of a big group and didn’t seem interested in just the two of us. We tried to have a drink in the bar and were somewhat ignored so we finally left. Our dinner in the Italian restaurant was awkward at best. Not our best hotel experience in the trip.

Authenticity & Character

When we walked in, we felt a bit like we were in a Las Vegas hotel, pretending to be Moroccan. Not our vibe.

Location

Staff

Both perception and in the restaurant, the staff is not very helpful helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tiziri Luxury Camp

Merzouga

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Fes - Relais & Châteaux

Fes

This was an amazing hotel experience. The public areas were beautiful, the restaurant area overlooking the pool was magnificent and our room suite was large and spectacular.

Authenticity & Character

For our greeting to the time we left this was an authentic Moroccan experience and positively luxurious in all aspects.

Location

Great location right in the middle of the Medina. A bit of a challenge to find on your own, but luckily we didn’t have to do that.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lina Ryad & Spa

Chefchaouen

We found this hotel to be good, not great. Probably the best you’re going to do in the city, but not up to some of the other places we stayed.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Good

Staff

The staff at this hotel was just OK. We never got maid service

Cleanliness & Comfort

Villa Mabrouka

Tangier

We were greeted with a welcome cocktail while we relaxed overlooking the water and the beautiful ground. Our room was a lovely standalone cottage. We had a lovely dinner in the dining room where the service was probably the best service we had at a restaurant in the trip.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful location, beautiful grounds, beautiful staff.

Location

Beautiful location up on the hill overlooking the Mediterranean. Wow.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hôtel & Spa Le Doge

Casablanca

This was a lovely hotel where we completely enjoyed our Lempika suite. There was a lovely breakfast on the roof.

Authenticity & Character

Each room has his own individual character from Art Deco influence.

Location

Staff

We’ve thought the front desk staff were particularly good.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Marrakech Evening Food Tour

Marrakesh

We traveled back to Marrakech for one last afternoon and ended our trip with a fascinating food tour by our guide Abdul where we were surprised by an unexpected thunderstorm. We were able to try some treats we had not had had on our whirlwind tour of Morocco, which was a perfect way to end the trip.

Guided Tour of Essaouira

Essaouira

We had a tour with our guide we heard much about the Portuguese history, the Barber Jewish legacy and other aspects of this really cool city. Our guide Tayeb took us to the fish market and then to a restaurant where they grilled our seven types of fish where we ate on the rooftop overlooking the Medina. Since Ramadan was over, Tayeb was able to join us for a wonderful lunch.

Visit Majorelle Gardens

Morocco

What is spectacular experience the colors and the gardens were so unique and beautiful.

Half-Day Guided Tour of Marrakech

Marrakesh

We did a walking tour of the Medina with our great guide Said, who gave us much inside into the Bahia, Palace and Islamic culture as well as the Jewish heritage of Marrakesh.

Immerse Yourself in Authentic Berber Life

Morocco

we took a hike through the mountains with our guide in Mohammed, and also paid a visit to his brother‘s family, where a wonderful lunch served by the Berber locals.

A Private Transfer from Merzouga to Ouarzazate

Morocco

On our scenic drive the next day we got to visit a beautiful gorge and the land of 1000 Kasbahs. We had a guided tour of the ancient Jewish area of the town, and we were given a private tour of a synagogue museum by a man of Berber Jewish Heritage

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

ATV Ride in the Dunes of Merzouga

Merzouga

This was a very cool experience. We really enjoyed seeing the dunes from a different speed and a different perspective.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sand-Boarding in Erg Chebbi (Free of Charge)

Merzouga

We did not get to do the sand boarding as it was not really offered to us.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Morocco Last Nomads Experience: Tea, Tales & Desert Adventures

Merzouga

Fes to Merzouga Sunset Camel Ride via Midelt & Erfoud

Morocco

We had a long drive this day on our way from F.S.. We stopped along the way at the plates. He called little Switzerland and stop the play and feed and be harassed by the monkeys in the cedar forest. When we arrive in the debt, we got a once in a lifetime experience of writing the dromedaries on a sunset ride on the dunes, quite spectacular.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fez: Exploring the Ancient Medina and Jewish Mellah

Fes

We took a walking tour with our guide Mohammad. The tour was amazing and took us from the royal Palace into the Jewish Quarter and a tour of the labyrinth of the Mellah, which included stops at the mosaic workshop, the ancient tannery the carpet coooeeative the Weavers

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A Drive from Chefchaouen to Fes via Volubilis, Moulay Idriss & Meknes

Morocco

We really enjoyed our tour of the ruins with a local guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guided Tour of Chefchaoeun

Chefchaouen

We enjoyed our time wandering the street with our guide Abdul See the sunset we visited the Spanish mask to see the sunset took lots of pictures of blue things.

Guided Tour of Tangier

Morocco

we had a tour of the city with our guide Mustafa who was quite the character. He took us on a great tour of the Medina with a special stop at the Jewish cemetery, where the caretaker was his friend.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Quick Tour of Casablanca with your Driver-Guide

Morocco

It was not a ton to do in Casablanca. We went to a Jewish museum and to lunch.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

This is as good as any place to cover it but first and foremost the trip was made special by the great driver we had with us throughout the entire trip. Tayeb was a delight to be with and informed us along the many long drives of the history and culture of Morocco. He also let us know about his family and his Berber heritage. We also got to meet his wife and 18 month old child which was a special treat. he went above and beyond to create a seamless trip that was both structured and flexible as our needs dictated.

Transport

Visit the Hassan II Mosque & Museum of Moroccan Judaism

Casablanca

A very interesting experience to tour this mosque and hear about all of the modern technological innovations that enhance the experience. We were with a big group, so our guide did the best we could do to communicate with us.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our trip to the Philippines (Palawan/El Nido, Boracay, and Siargao) was overall very smooth from a logistics standpoint. All transfers were well organized, on time, and clearly communicated in advance. On that front, everything worked seamlessly and gave us peace of mind.

We initially had very limited time to plan, which is why we chose to use Kimkim and were connected with Sarah. While the coordination was efficient, we would have appreciated a more proactive and personalized approach early on—especially a video call to better understand our expectations and walk us through the differences between destinations. Instead, we were given a lot of written information and options to review, which was difficult to process given our time constraints.

In hindsight, we feel the itinerary could have been better tailored to our preferences. Several activities ended up being quite repetitive (multiple island-hopping tours), and many excursions were subcontracted to local operators of varying quality. Some tours felt more like mass-market group experiences than curated activities, and the level of crowding—particularly in places like Boracay—was not aligned with what we were looking for. We ended up cancelling a few tours because of this.

Additionally, a couple of experiences we had specifically requested—such as a scuba initiation and e-foil—were not included in the final itinerary, which was disappointing.

Overall, while the service delivered on logistics and saved us time upfront, we’re not convinced it added much value in terms of experience design. With more guidance, clearer recommendations, and better alignment with our preferences (especially around crowd levels and activity variety), the trip could have been significantly improved.

Hotel Reviews

Belmont Hotel Manila

Pasay City

Huge hotel with extensive breakfast. Cramped bathrooms. Pool facilities were minimal.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hue Hotels and Resorts Puerto Princesa

Puerto Princesa

It was very good, huge family room, very modern and good breakfast!

Authenticity & Character

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Seaclub Siargao

Siargao

Our private villa was one of the highlight of our visit to the Philippines. While not directly near the beach it is very walkable yet secluded. Once you put aside the extra cost for everything, you can have a really nice time there. The morning breakfast prepared in the villa by attendants and the on demand BBQ dinner + movie made for one of our best day.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Two Seasons Boracay Resort

Boracay Island

The location on the beach was good, our room next to the road not so much. Beds were not great, our room was outdated. Service was slow. The pool is pretty useless due to depth and location. Also the beach / ocean was full of algae when we visited, and Boracay was VERY crowded. I dont know how much we paid for it but I would stay elsewhere.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

El Nido Coco Resort

El Nido

I would stay at this hotel again. The staff was good, the location is very convenient and quite secluded from the frenzies of El nido centre.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Siargao Land Tour

Siargao

Nice tour with highlight about the lagoon.

El Nido Island Hopping Tour B: Caves & Islands

El Nido

This was one of our best tours but be careful to opt for a big boat and small boat (so you have some privacy and are not cramped in a local boat). Because the day is long and groups varied! Some will get drunk, some will be loud, some will take up all the space.

Food

Boracay Island and Beach-Hopping Boat Tour with Snorkelling

Boracay

This is a useless tour. They put you on several beaches for 30-45 min each with nothing to do. The snorkelling part was useless, with dead corals all around. It was underwhelming after El Nido.

Quality of Experience

Food

Premium food was a joke.

Puerto Princesa Underground River Tour and transfer to El nido

Philippines

I really appreciated the zipline adventure before, it is worth it even though not utterly safe. The underground tour was good because we didn't have many people at that time. Our tour was a bit big (~15-20pp)

Quality of Experience

Food

The buffet are of very poor quality.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The car driving us to El nido was not very comfy for this long drive

I had two terrific young women as guides in Korea. Joey in Seoul and Gina in Busan were both friendly and very knowledgeable about their cities. Each was willing to make on the spot modifications to my itinerary to meet requests I made (for example, I suddenly decided I wanted to ride the metro in Seoul). Each helped me find special items my friends asked me to bring them from my trip and located restaurants that had the type of food I was in the mood for at a given moment. Each was excellent company to spend the day with.

The entire trip was coordinated very well and yet had enough flexibility that I could ask the guides to modify it to see and do things I hadn’t anticipated I would want to do.

Hotel Reviews

Shilla Stay Busan Haeundae

Clean room, nice view of the ocean in Busan. Good breakfast.

Location

Great location for the beach, but not for much else.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

HOTEL THE BOTANIK SEWOON MYEONGDONG

Seoul

Clean room, comfortable bed, good breakfast, nice small balcony with the room. One drawback, no in-room, coffee.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Excursion to Korean DMZ Tour (Join-in)

Seoul

I got to see North Korea (on the other side of a barbed wire fence). Very interesting day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide knew how to get things done efficiently.

Transport

Full Day Haedong Yonggungsa, Blue Line Train, Busan X the Sky

Busan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Gamcheon Village, BIFF Square and Jagalchi Market

Busan

Quality of Experience

Y

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Gina was wonderful

Transport

Explore the Old and New Capital: Seoul

Seoul

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Joey the guide was terrific

Transport

What . . . is your quest?

To seek a memorable and joyous travel adventure? With your teenager in tow no less? Impossible you say. Pish posh! I just returned from a spring break trip to England with my teenage daughter, and we are still positively beaming. In fact, we spent two hours this past weekend warmly recounting our adventures from each day of the trip over a shared pot of tea, a new family tradition.

The crucial first step in our successful quest was reaching out to kimkim to help us plan the trip. The website paired me with one of their kind and knowledgable experts on England vacations (hat tip to Liam!). I messaged Liam a list of sites and priorities which my daughter and I put together, with interests ranging from King Arthur to Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and even Jack the Ripper. Within a handful of messages Liam had worked out a custom itinerary for us, ticking all the boxes for the sites we wanted to see, including free time for our own exploring, and easy-to-get-to hotels. The kimkim team booked the reservations for us, and compiled everything into a roadbook, also available on the kimkim app (thumbs up for the app!).

The second step for our successful quest was also the kimkim team. On the day we arrived, our flight was delayed and London traffic was snarled. We could not make it to our first high-priority reservation: Westminster Abbey. The kimkim team was there to help. A quick message on the app and a follow-up phone call allowed us to continue on with our schedule to the Tower of London, then a night-time ghost tour and boat ride on the Thames. The kimkim team were pleasant and responsive, gaining us admission to the Abbey the next morning at no additional cost in either money or, more importantly, stress.

We very much liked "seeing the sights" in the small group tours. The guides were all knowledgable and friendly, with good senses of humor. With small group tours we were also able to navigate around the big crowds and avoid the big busses on day-trips to Stonehenge and the Cotswolds, as well as to the White Cliffs of Dover and Canterbury.

We particularly enjoyed three individual tours. Robert Jones, an experienced photographer, led us on an afternoon photography tour of central London and the Thames. Robert helped us "see" the city through a local's eyes, but also to look for moments and views reflected in the glass of the many modern buildings. We have a stack of amazing photos from this tour. Ruth Sillers, a stage and voice actress, took us on a lovely afternoon walk through the many Jane Austen sites in Bath, including where Jane lived and the locations depicted in her two novels set in Bath. Daniel Hancock, a worldly traveler himself with many fascinating stories, led us on an afternoon trip through the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey and on a hike to the top of the Glastonbury Tor. We had a brilliant, clear day, and could see all the way to Bristol and the sea.

The third step for our successful quest was the blocks of free time to explore on our own. I especially enjoyed watching my daughter learn to "Mind the Gap" and navigate the Tube system, and riding together across London on the double-decker busses. We spent a half-day each at the British Museum and the National Gallery. In Bath, we savored walks through the town, dining on the bridge, and especially a morning tour of the house museum at No. 1 Royal Crescent, fully restored to the Georgian time period.

The final high point of our adventure was tea, especially High Tea the Savoy Hotel. I have never before seen my daughter hold a smile for two straight hours: three servings of tea, two servings of finger sandwiches, followed by scones, and dessert. We were later introduced to Cream Tea (tea with scones, clotted cream, and jam, and a regional disagreement on the order for applying clotted cream and jam to the scone, as we found out from one of our small group guides). Contentious opinions over tea? That's news to my American ears. Heh-heh-heh. Despite my weakness for bad jokes (very British!), whenever we've shared tea since our return, the same wondrous smile returns to my daughter as we fondly remember our adventures in England.

To the team at kimkim, thank you for helping us plan such an enjoyable quest. Till next time!

Writer and Aspen Clayton

Here is a brief and honest opinion of our Norway sojourn with Kimkim. Oslo and Bergen, although nice, were not special. However, we did get to hear the Oslo Philharmonic. My husband and I were especially impressed with the Lofoten area of Norway. Seeing those gorgeous snow-capped mountains and the surrounding landscape was indeed amazing. The apartment (Nordis Suite) in Svolvaer was spectacular! The view from those floor to ceiling windows of the harbor and the mountains was simply magical. Unfortunately, my biggest yearning was not fulfilled: the weather was not cooperative and we missed seeing the Aurora. We were booked for a photographer's hunt for the Aurora in Svolvaer which never happened. But our snowmobiling north of Tromso was really exciting. We enjoyed most of the local guides who helped make the towns and cities come alive with history. We stayed at the Oslo Grand Hotel, which was a nice 5-star hotel, but the rooms were certainly not "grand." The concierge service was wonderful, however. They went out of their way to try to respond to our needs. The Bergen Bors hotel, a so-called 4-star hotel, was not as good. Word of caution: Do not make a reservation for the Loft Suite. The low beams are hazardous. The bathroom is downstairs but the loft-like bedroom is up a long flight of stairs. Using the bathroom at night would have been challenging so we changed our room. In general, the hotel rooms were rather small compared to those in the US. The AERA Lodge near Tromso was quite "rustic" and is only for those who enjoy roughing it a bit. Kimkim was excellent in helping us plan our trip and was there every step of the way. Our local specialist at Kimkim, Taylor, went above and beyond. We couldn't have done it without her careful and expert guidance. I highly recommend Kimkim as a travel agency that really cares about its clients.

Shona was excellent and always there ! Most of the guides were great -Toya, Hal meho, Mai were also very good but Akira in Osaka was terrible-very little information , little English and poor planning -we had to wait to enter the hemeji palace and then were rushed at the end . I would say overall that the focus could have been more varied -we saw lots of temples and shrines . The bike ride was great and the food tour excellent -udo was our guide and he was the best on the tour. Toya helped us when we realized we had left our passports in Tokyo and arranged to have them delivered to Hakone and that went well -the private bath there was also excellent.Hal helped us retrieve a bag we left in Kyoto as well . Of course the language barrier took a while to adjust to . We had no museums which would have been nice -overall I would say very good tour . Thank you

Kim Kim's Lava Tour guide Guðmundur Óli (Gummi as he is known) was extremely attentive with planning, our trip, always available and prompt to reply to questions on chat at all hours. When the weather got rough while in Iceland, Gummi was quick to rearrange our itinerary so that none of our sightseeing stops were missed, even moving reservations for dinning and scheduled tours/spas. Gummi was there for spur of the moment phone calls as well, alerting us to the ever changing weather and road conditions. Although some of the stops along the way felt a little rushed, we managed to fit everything including the all important thermal bath and spa stops. Our only regret is that we never met him in person to thank him for all his hard work.
Highly recommended for those who like independence when tripping but also want the insight of a native planner to make sure they hit all the high spots and help with unexpected events.

Hotel Reviews

Fosshotel Baron

Reykjavík

Great location, clean and spacious room with breakfast included. no hotel parking....limited paid parking within the vicinity.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arnarstapi Hotel

Snæfellsbær

This Hotel was in a small remote village...beautiful scenery, hiking. 3 restaurants and a general store rounded out the stay. Room was clean and spacious.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Black Beach Suites

Vik I Myrdal

beautiful setting clean spacious room . lighting was very low within the room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

near enough to Vik

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hótel Grímsborgir by Keahotels

Ásborgir

clean attentive with a good breakfast, but turned a king size room into a triple leaving little floor space. **front desk did offer an aurora phone call to the room upon consent**

Authenticity & Character

Location

near Selfoss

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

room too small for a king and twin

Activity Reviews

Horse Riding on Black Sand Beach

Iceland

Great guides, short trail ride but the scenery and the horses were beautiful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

horses were well versed in the trail, cooperative, somewhat independent

Lava Tunnel Activity

Iceland

Wonderful look inside a lava tunnel. Our guide was fun and informative, safety first!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

a walk to the cave

Geothermal Bakery Experience

Golden Circle

A great Foodie experience...for the tourist.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Breiðamerkurjökull Ice Cave Small Group Adventure

Iceland

Our driver/guide Siggy was amazing...making sure ever part of this tour was informative fun and safe.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Retreat Spa at Blue Lagoon

Iceland

A must for those seeking a little R&R

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Húsafell Canyon Baths Experience

Iceland

a hike into a snow covered canyon with minimal bath time and limited rustic facilities.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All guides and drivers were excellent and on time. Of note, Hassan was so good and helpful for Debbie and a fountain of Information. Please past that along to him. Osama and Besette (wrong spelling, 25 year old lady) were also very good. We so enjoyed being with all of them. The Great Royal Pyramid Inn was a very nice place to stay, clean, great service and wonderful view of the Pyramids. As Debbie said, the Alma ship on the Nile was a disappointment in the food and room/bathroom conditions. I would not recommend using this ship again until issues (sewer gas and diesel fuel odors) are fixed. Over all, we had a great time!

Your service and communications were wonderful as well. I’m sure we will go on another KimKim tour.
Norma.

Hotel Reviews

M/S Nile Treasure

luxor

Did not stay on this ship. Stayed on The Alma which I do NOT recommend.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sewer and diesel smell on The Alma.

Royal Great Pyramid INN

Giza

Very nice rooms, bathrooms, restaurant and pyramid views. Would stay here again. Very close to the Giza pyramids and The New Egyptian Museum.

Authenticity & Character

Egyptian themed.

Location

So close to the Giza pyramids.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean, spacious and comfy beds.

Activity Reviews

Nile Crystal Dinner Cruise Cairo

Cairo

Fun, nice, would recommend.

Quality of Experience

All

Food

Ok

Guides, Drivers and Staff

All nice and on time.

Transport

Nice vans

Day Tour To Islamic Cairo

Cairo

Very interesting. Guide was knowledgeable. Trash everywhere. Do they not have trash service there?

Quality of Experience

Food

I am just not a fan of the food in Egypt.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

All were nice. Some tourist vendors were high pressure to buy. Learn to say NO.

Transport

Nice vans.

Giza Pyramids & the Grand Egyptian Museum

Cairo

Loved seeing the Giza pyramids and doing a camel ride. So awesome

Quality of Experience

Taking my granddaughter for a camel ride

Food

Not a fan of the food in Egypt.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

All nice and helpful

Transport

Nice vans

Our guides were mostly good with the exception of one young man in Osaka and Kobe whose English was horrible and he seemed generally disinterested in his job.

Activity Review

Osaka Local Foodie Tour in Dotonbori and Shinsekai

Japan

We absolutely loved our trip. Queenstown was amazing, as was the flight to Milford Sound and the cruise around the sound. Lake Tekapo and the flight over the glaciers. Every stop along the way, both south and north islands had something fun and memorable to do. Noemi and her team took great care of us. Thanks for everything.

Activity Reviews

SKYCITY Auckland Sky Tower

Auckland

Transfer from accommodation to car rental depot (Corporate Cabs)

New Zealand

Hobbiton Movie Set Tour

New Zealand

What a fun place.

Quality of Experience

M

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Starlight Gourmet Kayak Tour - Glowworm Caves

Rotorua

Fabulous trip across the lake with a chance to lounge in the hot pools while the guide cooks you dinner. Then back across the lake to the glow worm cave and a slow paddle back to enjoy the starry night sky. What could be better.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Alex was fantastic.

Te Pā Tū - Maori Cultural Experience

Rotorua

Wonderful experience.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Zealandia Twilight Tour

Wellington

A beautiful place and amazing preservation work being done. Our guides were fabulous.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Skyline Gondola Ride

Queenstown (NZ)

Fabulous view!

Milford Sound - scenic return flights and cruise

New Zealand

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Scenic Flight over Mt Cook and glaciers by plane from Tekapo - The Grand Traverse (Tekapo Air Safaris)

New Zealand

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Overall, the trip was good. But there were several issues with either the driver, the hotel or the tour that was booked at different points on the trip. We also had to correct our tour itinerary because there were several timing inconsistencies. One of our tours was canceled at the last minute in Rome and there were inconsistancies with the timing to begin with. The other Rome tours were great. Everything in Florence and Sorrento was great. We were not pleased with the hotel in Naples (it was not a real hotel), and our tour in Naples was very disorganized and not professional.

Hotel Reviews

Il Campo Marzio

Rome

Rooms were historic and clean. Breakfast was not huge but enough. The location was good. I missed having basics like kleenex and robes.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Unico Relais

Napoli

This was not a real hotel. There was a mix up with the address (apple maps and google maps have two different addresses) and apparently they recently moved. It has no signage and no lobby. The driver could not park near the door so we had to haul the luggage ourselves up the long street. There is a "sexy store" across from the entrance (porn store). A lady met us at the gate and let us in and showed us the rooms. The hallways and elevator into the building were very worn and run down looking. The breakfast was a voucher at a cafe down the street and the food was cold and awful tasting and service was very slow. There was no on-site staff during the night if we had an issue. If we wanted to store bags, our only option was an unlocked closet. It was close to city center but I would rather be at a nicer hotel with staff and walk a bit more. The inside looked new and was nice. Missing kleenex, lotion, robes and some of the nice features found at other hotels. No A/C.

Authenticity & Character

Not a hotel

Location

Next to "Sexy Store".

Staff

One lady was nice but no stars for not being staffed like a hotel.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Enterance, halls and elevators were dirty. Rooms were clean and new.

Hotel Tirrenia

Nice hotel. The room was a bit small but we made it work. It was nice and clean and the meals were great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rivoli Boutique Hotel

Florence

Very clean and close to the city center. We would go back again. The rooms were quite large. The bathrooms were large. It looked like it was recently updated (and some parts still under construction). Breakfast was great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Monte Cenci

Rome

Very nice, clean hotel and the staff was excellent.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It was not near city center but probably saved us money. We walked to and from.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

A Taste of Naples: Guided Walk & Street Food Tastings

Naples

The guide did not make any reservations or plan ahead for restaurants. We walked through very crowded areas, and no reservations were made to sit and try the local cuisine. These were very touristy places. We just went to restaurants and she asked what we wanted to try with little insight on why the food is famous there. I have taken many food tours, and the guides usually have reservations, food chosen in advance, an explanation of the food, and often go to less crowded, unknown places with better quality than the tour trap cafes. Overall, I was disappointed.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We walked but we only walked in super crowded areas.

A Day Along the Amalfi Coast with a Driver at Your Disposal

Italy

Driver didn't say much. I would have liked more history and knowledge of the region. And we just got dropped in city center where it is super touristy. All we had time to do was look around and shop. Maybe 60-120 minutes at each stop. Shopping was very touristy. We had no guidance on where to eat or where to go to avoid crowds.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Pearl of the Mediterranean: A Day on Capri Island & Anacapri

Italy

Guides were great and made the best of unpredictable weather. Bring your seasickness patch just in case. We had high seas and the boat was rocking!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discover the Vatican: From the Museums to the Sistine Chapel

Italy

Very funny guide but he knew his history and knew everyone in the building. He has connections!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We walked everywhere.

Rome Unearthed: Guided Walk of Colosseum & Ancient City

Rome

The guide was great. She was very knowledgeable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We walked there.

Rome on Foot: Spanish Steps, Pantheon & Trevi Fountain

Rome

Tour guide was amazing! She was very knowledgeable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We walked everywhere.

If you are prone to independent travel, but reluctant to be entirely on your own because of the language barrier and lack of familiarity with Japan's transportation, KimKim is the way to go. Shona did an amazing job communicating with us over 6 months prior to ask about our travel dates and style, where we wanted to go, what we wanted to see and experience. She created a trip that enabled us to be on our own and have guides and transport when we needed them.

Our guides were so helpful in explaining what we were seeing, the history, and were responsive to where we wanted to focus our attention. We visited Tokyo, Hakone area, Kyoto and Kanazawa. Each day we had a guide at least part of the day to get us to and explain various sites. In every area we visited spectacular temples, shrines, and gardens full of blossoms, ponds, bridges. The designs of these parks and gardens are what makes Japan so remarkable and memorial. Some of the other highlights included Tea Ceremony in Tokyo. Being dressed in Kimonos was not to be forgotten, and learning about true Matcha tea and mochi was enlightening.
Traveling by car to the Hakone area was an opportunity for country scenery and living. We had perfect weather to see Mt Fuji and experience our first soft ice cream. In Kyoto we made ramen at a ramen Factory, from the pasta to the chicken and broth. We had a blast. The day trip to Nara with our guide Orura Mei was unforgettable. The Todai-ji Temple and park are not to be missed, and our guide was not only helpful and knowledgeable but responsive to our needs for breaks, water, bathroom, hunger . We had Okonomiyaki (Japanese cabbage pancakes) which are our new favorite, and we walked through the older part of town through shops and residential areas away from the crowds.
In Kanazawa we had a private prepared traditional Japanese dinner and night tour with a fantastic guide whose name we forgot to write down. She went into depth about the differences between shrines and temples, and the history of geisha districts which we walked through. The dinner was superb. We also took a day trip to Shirakawago in private car. The drive through the mountains gave us another perspective of Japanese scenery and living. We walked through the town of thatched roof houses and learned the history and why it's now a UNESCO Heritage site.

All the hotels Shona booked were clean, comfortable and had easy access to transportation, sites, restaurants. Staff always tried to be helpful and were polite and professional and there was usually someone who spoke some English!

Hotel Reviews

SOKI KANAZAWA

Kanazawa

This was our favorite in terms of atmosphere and authenticity. An authentic Ryokan with futons on floor, onset on site, traditional Japanese breakfast. Breakfasts and beds on floor isn't for everyone but we appreciated the authenticity, the heavenly smells of the place, the traditional dress of staff, the fresh cherry branch decorations

Authenticity & Character

smaller hotel, bit of a walk to train station

Location

further from station but right across from huge fish market

Staff

helpful but not mush English

Cleanliness & Comfort

beds on floor a challenge for octogenarians

Mitsui garden Hotel Kyoto Station

Kyoyo

Nice breakfast choices

Authenticity & Character

Location

close to station, restaurants,.

Staff

friendly and helpful. More that spoke some English

Cleanliness & Comfort

lovely and a bit more spacious room for easier suitcase access

Tenseien Odawara Station Annex

Hakone

We thought the hotel would be in Hakone so were disappointed it was right at the train station. That said, we had access to bus to Hakone and the hotel was comfortable, clean and had a public bath.

Authenticity & Character

public bath was a plus. We had our first bath experience there with clear, writteninstructions in ENGLISH

Location

Not in Hakone but good access to transportation

Staff

friendly and try to be helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

window, comfortable bed, clean

Asakusa View Hotel

Tokyo

Authenticity & Character

larger more modern hotel

Location

Great view of shrine and Skytree. Convenient to train station and access to sites

Staff

confusion at check in but friendly and apologetic. Not much English

Cleanliness & Comfort

clean and comfortable bed. Small room. Hard to find space for two suitcases

Okura Act City Hotel Hamamatsu

Largest hotel in Hamamatsu. Very fancy for us. We were on 44th floor. Good location and near our grandson who we were visiting there. Good breakfast selections

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Kanazawa Half-Day Tour

Kanazawa

We went back to some of the sites we were impressed with and wanted to go, like the geisha districts and the Kenrokuen Garden. Was able to tour inside a geisha house. Our guide also took us to the Samari district that we wanted to explore, as well as several arts and craft shops in the area. We were able to go inside replicas of a samurai and a geisha house.

Quality of Experience

The gardens are the finest we saw on the whole trip and we could have spent hours there! Very interesting to go inside some of the buildings.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Kiya (I think spelled right) was totally responsive to what we wanted to do and navigated seamlessly many bus rides and walking to get us places.

Transport

buses and walking

Shirakawago Day Trip

Kanazawa

Drive from Kanazawa with alpine scenery, high snow capped mountains, tunnels, thatched roof houses

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

good driver in comfortable car but not very communicative. He was responsive to our questions and requests (for water, coffee, etc)

Transport

beautiful drive

Night Tour of Kanawaza With Dinner

Kanazawa

Walk through two geisha districts and along the river, culminating in a delicious multi course private meal with our wonderful guide whose name we neglected to write down.

Quality of Experience

Food

superb

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

walking

Kyoto: Ramen Cooking Class at the Ramen Factory & Souvenirs

Kyoto

This was so much fun though we barely made it there because of confusing directions. The woman leading the small class of 3 couples was an excellent teacher with patience, clarity and good English.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

staff at the factory were great. This experience was self guided - no guide or driver

Transport

Took taxi on our own but the address provided was wrong and we got quite lost trying to find the location.

Nara Day Tour from Kyoto

Kyoto

The temple itself, great guide, Japanese cabbage pancakes

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Sagano Bamboo Grove and Tenryuji Temple Tour

Kyoto

Beauty and long walks with wonderful guide

Quality of Experience

Such beautiful gardens with fruit tree blossoms

Guides, Drivers and Staff

so happy to be with Tomoko all day

Transport

Fushimi Inari Taisha and Kinkakuji Temple

Kyoto

The shrine and temple was lovely, our first ones with a guide, so learned a lot about traditions of each, the different aspects of shrines and temples. we especially liked the temple in the forest. The day included several modes of transportation and lots of walking which we could not have navigated on our own. Our guide, Tomoko was knowledgeable, responsive to our questions and needs. We had a lovely lunch with her.

Quality of Experience

Beautiful and great guide

Guides, Drivers and Staff

thoughtful, responsive, knowledgeable guide

Transport

She navigated it all with ease

Kimono Tea Ceremony at Kyoto Maikoya

Kyoto

We loved it but barely made it because scheduled to close to our arrival in Kyoto. Had to take a taxi in traffic. Once there the experience was a lot of fun, from them taking us to men's and women's dressing area where they did us up in full garb, then to the ceremony itself where we learned about the ancient tradition and drank true ground matcha tea and fresh made mochi. Many opportunities for pictures.

Quality of Experience

It was all lots of fun. Self guided though, no guide or driver

Guides, Drivers and Staff

staff at the location were wonderful and fun

Transport

we got our own taxi and barely got there in time.

Full Day Mt. Fuji with Lake Kawaguchi & Oishi Park

Japan

Amazing because we were SO lucky with the weather! The mountain was in all its splendor. The boat ride was very short and crowded but gave other perspectives of the mountain.

Quality of Experience

The mountain itself in good weather. Scenic drive once out of Tokyo. Soft ice cream for the first time!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very polite and considerate of our needs but not very informative

Transport

immaculate car and excellent driving, particularly in heavy traffic coming out of Tokyo.

Master Tokyo's Must-Sees: 5-hour Tsukiji, Akihabara & Asakusa Highlights Tour

Tokyo

Our plane was a day late so missed this. Fortunately our grandson met us in Tokyo and was able to show us the major sites we missed

Our family of four spent a week in South Africa, including time in Cape Town as well as a few days on Safari. Anna-Marie listened to all of what we hoped to do, see, and experience on our trip and made it ALL happen. I could have never done this type of planning on my own. Our guide Mark was fantastic and gave us a great overview of the Cape Town area and went the extra step to take photos of us while we were at Boulders Beach with the penguins. Blackheath Lodge and their staff are top notch, our whole family loved our time there. For the second half of our trip we were At Timbavati Nature Reserve staying at Shindzela. It was so peaceful and well staffed. The lodge was small and gave us an opportunity to relax in between game drives. Kobus our guide was excellent and made the entire experience so amazing. I highly recommend Kimkim, their work made our trip what it was

Hotel Reviews

Shindzela Lodge

Timbavati Game Reserve

The lodge is intimate which made it possible for the staff to get to know the guests during the stay. The game drives were exceptional!

Authenticity & Character

The staff was so knowledgeable and more than happy to answer our questions and share their experiences.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The area was pristine!

Blackheath Lodge

Cape Town

Our stay was delightful at Blackheath. Every staff member went the extra mile to make sure we had an amazing experience. The location was perfect for the things we wanted to do in Cape Town.

Authenticity & Character

Location

We were within walking distance to restaurants and quick Ubers from the waterfront and other sights we were interested in.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

A Day in the Kruger Bush with Two Game Drives

South Africa

Everyday here was great! They always were around to get is a drink, answer our questions, and in general check in.

Quality of Experience

Food

The staff worked so hard and asked for our requests and cooked so well. We really enjoyed every meal.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

They communicate so well with all of us and the other car to ensure we all get to see the best of what is around us.

Transport

Arrive at Your Lodge in Kruger & First Game Drive

South Africa

Transport was straightforward. We got to the lodge in time to un pack, enjoy lunch and then head our first evening drive.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Community Development Projects (highly recommended)

Cape Town

The reality of wealth disparity is real and we were very thankful to see some of the amazing community work that was going on. We were able to visit a school that was built using reclaimed materials, a community garden, and a senior center with a youth choir performing for us. It was amazing!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dinner at GOLD Restaurant

Cape Town

So much fun! We were in the drumming area and that was our very favorite part. There was always something going on and it was a little of fun.

Quality of Experience

Food

The food was served family style and was a great opportunity to try some traditional foods.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Robben Island

Cape Town

This is an important and interesting visit. We really liked that a portion of the tour is guided by former political prisoners. That was really impactful!

Quality of Experience

Transport

It takes a while to get to the island. Patience is key.

Kayak with Penguins

South Africa

It was fun to get in the water and get active on our trip. The kayaks were easy to maneuver and we were able to see starfish, seals, and penguins during our trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cape Peninsula & Penguins

South Africa

Mark was our guide and he was amazing. It was a fun filled day and really started our trip off with a bang! The views were incredible!

Quality of Experience

lol

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Mark is amazing! He helped us take pictures at the beach and really went the extra mile!

Transport

Alirio was incredible. Being with him was like traveling with a family member who is an expert guide. Jacquie did a great job at planning out our trip. Valentina greeted us and presented us with wonderful gifts. First part of our tour was mainland where we experienced diverse experiences such as rainforest , mountains, lagoon, animals, volcanoes, equator line, caves, and new foods. Second part was tropical paradise in Galapagos with incredible experiences with nature and animals, beaches etc! Our guides were kind, helpful and experienced.