Kimkim Trip Reviews

Our trip to Uganda was right out of a National Geographic documentary thanks to Agnes! Agnes is one of the friendliest, nicest, and most capable agents I have come across, having traveled to 28 countries. She is very aware and always answers all your questions and queries and helps put any concerns you have at ease.
Even during peak season, Agnes was able to get us the lodges and hotels we wanted to book and get the timely gorilla permits - the local guides Khalif and Mr Muha were very hands on and answered all our queries on the local Ugandan culture, customs, food, etc.
we had a very enriching experience and I will definitely book with Umoja again in the future for any other countries they plan tours to!

Cheers to Umoja team for a wonderful experience 😊

First and foremost, we are a returning kimkim customers, done about 3-5 trips with them. The local specialist delivered a terrible experience after paying a large amount of 1000's of dollars for this trip. This agency cant seem to retain employees as they seem to leave quick. The local specialist who built our tour itinerary left the company leaving it a rookie, who consistently kept on debating that it is all our fault (customer). We also felt, none of this local tour specialists themselves ever toured/traveled within Sri Lanka, thereby creating a paper itinerary with no actual experience of visiting the locations they are proposing nor seem to understand how long it takes to go from one location to another. This led us to change in itinerary in the last minute as the proposed paper itinerary led to situation where we would not have had the opportunity to see and experience the location they proposed we would spend 2 hours. Also they committed to delivering a 4 star hotels for the payment made, to a surprise we ended booking us at 3 star experience at a tented camp. This tented camp calls itself resort and spa, actually there is no spa. Kimkim operator suggested I schedule it with neighboring hotel for the spa experience. They absolutely have no clue what they are proposing, so beware what ever itinerary they propose to examine it multiple times, read the fine print. They also ended up booking a train journey on a 3rd class compartment after paying large sums of dollars. We strongly feel like bait and switch scheme here. All we received was a sympathy call from a kimkim customer service as our 2 voicemail left to our kimkim contact went not answered to return the call. We cannot believe kimkim has this kind of poor performing local tour operators. Another learning experience is just because we pay what they ask expecting them to deliver a stellar experience is not true. In summary both kimkim & the local operator delivered a 1 star experience. Only saving grace and shining star is the driver - Pathum, who went way beyond to make us happy. Rest of the staff, no care attitude and cannot be trusted.

Hotel Reviews

98 Acres Resort & Spa

Ella

Very commercial and business attitude to customers.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Santani Wellness Resort & Spa

Kandy

Best place to stay, excellent experience, staff went beyond to make customer happy.

Authenticity & Character

experience,

Location

Serene, quiet, zen

Staff

Went beyond

Cleanliness & Comfort

Flameback Eco Lodge

Weerawila

Authenticity & Character

Flexibility, accomodative

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Scenic train ride from Nanu-oya to Ella

Sri Lanka

Terrible experience, beware of the tour operator, they will book you into a 3rd class compartment after taking large sum of money.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This was my first time visiting Thailand. Spend one week in Phuket and another in Bangkok. While in Phuket, it is tempting to stay around the beach, it is a beautiful one. But I went to visited an Elephant Sanctuary. I also arrange to visit Canoying in the caves. The Mauy Fight was my least favorite activity. The Elephant Sanctuary visit and the Canoing were the two highlights of the Phuket.

Also in Bangkok, Visiting the streets in the evening, soaking all the street life of Bangkok was very nice. Visiting the temple and palaces was nice as well but after while, I was overwhelmed by the numbers. Visiting Mae Klong Railway market and Damnoen Saduak Floating Market! was another highlight. Visiting Ayutthaya⁩ required a long drive starting from the early morning, but it was worth it. This trip should include ‎Wat Phra Si Sanphet⁩ in Ayutthaya⁩. It is not included in the default package.

Exploring Bangkok on a bicycle, repeated some of the earlier activities, but was definitely worth while.

I had several days of leisure days, which I liked a lot. It allowed me to explore the city on my own. I visited a park and went to the MOca museum, both worth the visit. It forced me to use the public transportation which I liked.

Activity Reviews

A visit to Elephant Jungle Sanctuary in Phuket

Phuket

One of the highlights of my trip

Quality of Experience

Love of the elephants

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Bangkok!

Bangkok

Exceptions! Just I arrived to the hotel, I realized I needed to leave again, I was not thrilled. But this activity was incredible. In few hours, I got to see/hear/understand the way the streets of Bangkok.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

My guide was great

Transport

Like the fact that we used the canals and the boats to move from place to place.

Exploring Bangkok with a Bicycle and Boat!

Bangkok

It was great, but do not expect to exercise a lot, it is a light bicycle/boat ride, guided and supported. It took us to some of the places that we visited earlier, but it took to places that we cannot go without such a tour. Definitely worth it

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A visit to Mae Klong Railway market and Damnoen Saduak Floating Market!

Bangkok

Unless you see, you won't understand. Though it is a tourist attraction, it is very nice.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Exploring the Ancient Ayutthaya

Thailand

Very impressive

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

It is a long drive

Fantastic trip. Thanks to Franc and Once Upon a Trip, everything was taken care of— all we had to do was enjoy the trip. All the accommodations were wonderful, activity operators safe and professional, and we had everything we needed in advance of the trip.

We recently returned from an incredible trip to the Galapagos islands coordinated by Andrea and Lucia. They helped us coordinate transportation, hotel accommodations, and plan our activities, including snorkeling, hiking and sightseeing. Our favorite experiences were the 360 tour of San Cristobal, exploring Tintorerras, and visiting the uninhabited island of North Seymour. All of the group tours were small in size and well-organized. Recommend using KimKim if one is looking to have a personalized experience without the hassle of planning a memorable trip.

Hotel Review

Hotel Solymar

Galápagos

Comfortable rooms with beautiful sea view. We saw lots of pelicans, blue footed boobies from our balcony.

Authenticity & Character

Location

In the heart of town with sea facing rooms and restaurant on the water.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Discover the Wonders of Tintoreras Islet: A Journey into Breathtaking Biodiversity

Puerto Villamil

Hiking the Sierra Negra Volcano

Galapagos Islands

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Highlands Tortoise Reserve & Charles Darwin Research Station

Puerto Ayora

Our guide Vivianta was by far the most knowledgeable guide we had on the entire trip. She was enthusiastic about showing us the highlands and sharing her personal experiences too.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Experience the Pristine Beauty of Galápagos Islands: Discovering an Uninhabited Island

Puerto Ayora

We got really lucky and visited North Seymour. It was a fascinating land with several blue footed boobies, frigate birds and land iguanas.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Everyone involved in the planning and execution of this trip was topnotch! A special thanks to Mathias for pulling it all together though and having excellent communication and flexibility! This was our 3rd trip through KimKim and I highly recommend their platform/service. Fantastic trip in terms of meeting what we were looking to do/see. Would highly recommend!

Our best guide was Miguel in Medellin. He was completely attentive and engaged at all times. His knowledge was incredible.

Michael from Chaska was amazing to work with. The trip was planned and executed perfectly.

The only issue we had was with the bike tour. It is not safe to put tourists on bicycles in busy traffic. It was chaos on the streets. The bikes were old and we felt unsteady on them. Halfway through the tour, I fell and cut my leg in a few places. Despite having 2 representatives from the bike companyand our guide, no one had a first aid kit in their backpacks. I had to get back on the bike and ride to a pharmacy so that I could clean and dress my wounds. I would never send my clients on that bike tour. I think someone should let the bike company know that they should have a first aid kit with them at all times.

Amazing trip. No hiccups at all! Can’t wait to use this service again

Hotel Reviews

Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs

Fortuna

Authenticity & Character

Amazing view of volcano

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Costa Verde

Manuel Antonio

Amazing hotel with a lot of character. Only complaint is that the bed was so hard.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Lo

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The bed was very hard. Mattresses could use replacing or toppers.

Activity Reviews

Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna Waterfall, and Arenal Volcano

Arenal/La Fortuna

Really cool experience. It rained most of the hike at the hanging bridges but that was a cool part of the experience in the rain forest! A lot more animals came out with the rain. The waterfall had lots of stairs but it was worth it!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Canopy Zip Lining Adventure

Arenal/La Fortuna

I have been zip lining before but this place was much bigger and had better views. Very fun experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Catamaran Adventure from Manuel Antonio

Costa Rica

We could tell at the dock this the boat was going to be the best and most fun. Drinks and food were a bonus! Very comfortable ride with good music and vibes.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Hike

Manuel Antonio

Gorgeous beaches with lots of wildlife! It rained on us towards the end which was a little disappointing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ha was very attentive and helpful. She responded to my messages quickly. I enjoyed working with her.

Hotel Reviews

Bespoke Trendy Hotel Hanoi

The service was outstanding! Everyone was very kind. The breakfast was excellent. Loved the location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It’s in a little area that is quiet.

Staff

Super kind, helpful, prompt

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean hotel

Au Lac Charner Hotel

They put us in a room with only one bed. We were supposed to have 2. They brought a roll out bed with an extremely uncomfortable mattress. The service was inconsistent.

Authenticity & Character

A French colonial character

Location

Staff

We couldn’t find one of our our plastic room cards when we checked out and they charged us $10. This seemed ridiculous.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Roll out bed very uncomfortable

Saem Siem Reap Hotel

Siem Reap

Very beautiful space, excellent customer service, amazing spa, fabulous food

Authenticity & Character

Location

It’s a bit out of town and you need to get transportation to get into town. But it’s quiet and worth it!

Staff

Top of the line customer service. Everyone was completely service focused and so friendly and kind!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Super clean!

Activity Reviews

Day Trip to the Mekong Delta (Ben Tre)

Ho Chi Minh City

Excellent experience

Quality of Experience

Food

At the restaurant we went to, we had specifically asked for no fish or seafood but were given it anyway

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dinner at Spoon Cafe & Restaurant

Siem Reap

Loved the restaurant and the food. Would love to have heard from someone at the restaurant about more about the restaurant’s special mission.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Prompt and on time

Transport

Hanoi Evening Walking Street Food Tour

Hanoi

Quality of Experience

Food

It’s “street food” and it was all exceptional

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was excellent!

Transport

It’s a walking tour

Day Trip to Ba Vi Countryside & Cooking Class

Hanoi

Loved the bike ride ! Really enjoyed the cooking class! Loved talking to the War veteran and seeing his green tea farm!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Excellent guide!

Transport

Tam Coc - Hoa Lu - Rural Village - Thai Vi Temple (N)

Vietnam

Beautiful area. I wish we could have rowed our own boat. I wish we would have learned more about the area

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cu Chi Tunnels by Speedboat

Ho Chi Minh City

Excellent. However, I don’t understand why the Cu Chi tunnels would have a shooting range there with people shooting at targets. It’s such an emotional experience to learn and go through the tunnels, so to have people practicing shooting seemed really strange and kind of took away from the experience.

Quality of Experience

Excellent except for the shooting range. Loved going to the tunnels by speed boat!

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide for the day was a nice guy but really didn’t have a lot to offer regarding our questions. He was very young and just beginning as a tour guide. It was clear how inexperienced he was.

Transport

Loved the speed boat!

Siem Reap – Angkor Wat

Siem Reap

Fabulous!!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Hero Rats at APOPO Visitor Center

Siem Reap

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ho Chi Minh Sightseeing By U.S Jeep

Ho Chi Minh City

Excellent! Especially liked the war remnants museum

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All credit goes to Sandy. She provided just the right amount of assistance - very responsive when asked but not overbearing. I have referred a friend who is using KimKim to visit Italy and Sandy should get the credit. I’m also trying to reach her - so far unsuccessfully - for a friend planning to visit Japan.

As to the trip, we were pleased with the planning and Sandy always provided us with the information we would need the next day. Our guides and drivers were generally good and our train tickets and train instructions were always helpful. We especially liked our guides in Hiroshima, to Nara and to Nikko. Our driver to Koyasan drove too fast. We loved the leader on our bike tour out of Takayama but were disappointed at how little time we actually spent biking. Our tour to Mt Fuji was perhaps our biggest disappointing especially the stop by a lake where we waiting for an hour to go up a cable car with an unimpressive view. Our second stop where we could visit a pagoda with a great view of Fuji was terrific. Wish we had not had that first stop as it was a waste of time we would have preferred to spend in Hakone. And our best view of Fuji was actually from the train between Hakone and Takayama. Kanazawa was also disappointing. Fortunately one of our guides told us about the light show at the castle which we went to and loved. We really needed a guide in Kyoto and wish Sandy had pushed that a bit. We ended up hiring someone from Viator - the pickings were slim - and regretted it because the guide was so bad.
All in all we were pleased. We tend to like our independence even though things often turn out badly - we are the masters of Plan B and even Plans C and D. We avoid travel agents and mostly do our own planning. But I would definitely use Kim Kim again if we were guided by someone as helpful as Sandy.

Activity Reviews

Miyajima Island tour( Itsukushima Shrine)

Miyajima

Wonderful place. We wished we had stayed two nights rather than one, or perhaps it would have worked if we had arrived early in the day or stayed later the second day. But we arrived late in the day and left early the next - not good planning.

Japan Alps Kamikochi Day Hike

Kamikochi

Nice trip but likely not worth a whole day. I would not recommend.

Izakaya Food Tour in Tokyo

Tokyo

One of the most fun things we did.

Excursion to Mt. Fuji -Japan's Iconic Landmark

Tokyo

Too much time on cable car with hour wait and mediocre view.

Takayama-Shirakawa-Kanazawa

Kanazawa

This was a fun little town but certainly not a highlight.

Hiroshima Tour

Japan

This was made special due to our excellent guide.

Full Day Rural Bike Tour

Takayama

Loved our guide! She made this a great experience. However we were disappointed at how little time we spent on the bikes.

Day trip to Nara

Kyoto

We loved Nara and we had an excellent driver.

Mt. Koya and Temple Stay Experience

Mount Koya

We loved the little town and the Buddhist temple stay. It was definitely worth the long drive (tho as mentioned previously, we thought our driver drive carelessly)

December 23 All-day island trip
It rained most of the day and it was windy and basically unpleasant.
The trip should have been canceled but the guide did not explain that
we could have postponed the trip until there was a sunny day
The boat trip was about 90 minutes each way and the sea was quite wavy.
There was little sun so the snorkeling was not good.
We did not dress very well for the weather and so we were cold a good part of the day.
The guide did provide us with some interesting facts about the Maya civilization and
he and his wife cooked a chicken lunch on an open fire which provided some heat to warm
us a little,
One reason we decided to vacation in Belize was because we had read that the snorkeling was excellent. However, rainy days are not good for snorkeling,

December 26 we were scheduled to visit the Mayan ruins.
Our guide was 90 minutes late to pick us up and then turned us over to a friend of his who guided us for the day. We first visited a family that harvested and made chocolate.
They talked for an hour about chocolate which was some what interesting and then they
prepared a lunch for us .
We then went to the Mayan ruins which were interesting and we enjoyed walking through the area. However, as our original guide was not with us and our substitute guide had no money we had to pay for all of us to tour the Mayan ruins.
We made a quick stop at the spice farm for cold drinks.

We cancelled the trip to the Zip Line a couple days in advance and I would appreciate a full
refund of $3,500 charged for that day. Also we cancelled in advance the driver who was scheduled to drive us back to Belize City. I trust you will reimburse me for the charge for
that trip. The drive to Placencia with 10 people and the driver and luggage was not very interesting so we all decided to fly back to Belize City

The accommodations at Los Porticos were comfortable.

Hotel Review

Los Porticos Villas

Placencia

Our group consisted of ten people - 7 adults and 3 children We rented two condos. Each had two bedrooms plus pull out couches in the living rooms. We were located on the ocean and there was a swimming pool. We rented a golf cart for the week as it was about a 10 minute ride into the town of Placencia. One condo also provided 2 bikes. We were also able to hire 2 chefs who cooked breakfast for us every morning which was very nice.

Authenticity & Character

It was on the beach and near other hotels where kayaks could be rented

Location

Near the town of Placencia which has several restaurants

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Local Area Boat Tour with Optional Activities

Placencia

Take this trip on a sunny day and the experience should be worth while It rained and was windy with out sun the day we took the trip

Quality of Experience

The guide should have cancelled the trip due yo bad weather

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Free day in Placencia

Placencia

Nim Li Punit Mayan Ruins & Spice Farm Tour

Placencia

Our guide provided good information about the Mayan ruins at Nim Li Punit. Walking through the area with the guide made the experience more interesting. We stopped at the Spice Farm only briefly.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Angel Falls Zipline Day Trip

Belize

Not for people over 50 years old

All the staff at KimKim were excellent from the very beginning. I knew the types of rain forest animals I wanted to see, but I did not know where in Ecuador I could see them. I also had a similar situation for Ecuador's Galapagos Islands. I provided a price point, and Lucia was able to provide an amazing trip that was truly EPIC beyond words. Lucia answered my endless questions with significant details to make my trip easy to enjoy at EVERY step. Not a single thing went wrong along my trip, from the Galapagos Islands, 2 different types of forests and time for cultural interests as well. I have thousands of images to sort through, and I definitely have some worthy of framing. The memories I have are EPIC! I did and saw things I only dreamed of, and did things I never thought were possible in the natural word with animals- like hand feeding wild hummingbirds!! Ecuador has so much to offer, and is incredibly bio-diverse. I was fortunate that Lucia had been to some of the places and was able to guide me to the right locations like no other. She was excellent!

Hotel Reviews

Miconia San Cristobal

Puerto Baquerizo Moreno

It has A/C, and it is close to the water.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Fiesta

Puerto Ayora

This property is beautiful, small and the staff were excellent. It is about a 8 minute walk to the main street that leads to the beautiful lagoon area where you can see sea lions and juvenile sharks each evening.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Volcano

Puerto Villamil

This property was right opposite the beach! It's a gorgeous beach, where I observed hundreds of pelicans in the morning and other species of sea birds. In addition, it was near the Pink Iguana bar/hostel that had hundreds of marine iguana that were easy to observe!! It's a gorgeous location. It is close to the downtown area as well, about 5 min walk right down the street.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Able to observe marine animals!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Santa Cruz Island: Highlands Tortoises & Charles Darwin Station

Puerto Ayora

This was EPIC, a dream come true. There was nothing more exciting than observing the largest tortoises in the world, especially during lunch, what a view!!! My guide was excellent. She was very knowledgeable about the area, and brought me to the best location to view the Galapagos Tortoises. The tour of the Charles Darwin Station was EXCELLENT. I happened to arrive right at the time of feeding the baby tortoises, and adults too, so they were very active! Just one of many lucky situations for me during my Ecuador trip.

Quality of Experience

My guide, she was incredible. She made the entire portion of this trip magical.

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

My guide, she was incredible. She made the entire portion of this trip magical.

Transport

My guide, she was incredible. She made the entire portion of this trip magical.

Our car driver Faisal is great. He is very accessible and knowledgeable. He knows the places and people and very friendly which made the trip enjoyable

Hotel Reviews

Elegancia Riad Boutique & SPA

Marrakech

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dar Rihana Dades

Douar Aït Ouffi

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dar Jasmine

Chefchaouen

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Desert Luxury Camp Erg Chebbi

Merzouga

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Salam Fes

Fes

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sofitel Casablanca Tour Blanche

Casablanca

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Half-Day Guided Tour of Marrakech

Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Marrakesh Evening Food Tour

Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunrise hot air balloon ride in Marrakech

Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bastien did a great job with the planning and communication throughout our trip. We loved all of our guides and the personalization they provided. I'm glad we used this service for our international trip which made everything go smoothly.

It was our first trip to Vietnam, the planning with Long was unexpectedly easy and flexible. I told him some criteria of places / things we would like to see / do and he would tie everything together with a tour guide and transfers. He came up with a few revisions and Rev 3 was what we have chosen. Long was responsive and made great recommendations. Two and a half weeks prior to our trip my mother-in-law suddenly passed away due to a heart attack, we were not sure if we were able to go because of the funeral etc.. We informed Long of our situation and he was patiently checking in with me to ensure we could recover some of our trip payment if we needed to cancel our trip. Luckily we were able to go and our trip was amazing. Long checked in with us every day to make sure the tour was on track and on schedule. The local tour guide Mr Huy and the driver were wonderful people and we were well taken care of. The Old Quarter in Hanoi was a crazy place full of motorbikes and people. The street food tour was perfect, tried out six different things in one evening and the chicken Binh mi was our favorite. Honestly we were not able to cross the street without our guide in Hanoi. After a couple of days we were fine, we enjoyed the various architectures in Hanoi and we were able to learn more about the history and people of Vietnam from the various museums. The scenery in Ninh Binh at the Trang An complex was breathtaking and the HaLong Bay Indochina Junk cruise was unforgettable. The food was fantastic and the cruise guide CoCo was just so efficient and impressive speaking three different languages. Mr Huy was also very knowledgeable and he told great stories and we enjoyed his company. Our driver was nice too, he was quiet but drove so carefully. We felt safe all the way. Though we were not in the best mood when we started our trip we felt that we were able to regain our energy. As Long said, traveling was one of the best ways to heal and we certainly agreed with him. I must say that we were skeptical about planning our trip via a website and we didn’t know what to expect. But now we would like to thank you for this wonderful experience!

Our family of 5 (kids ages 23,20,16) enjoyed the most incredible trip to the Highlands and Galapagos. Tamer patiently listened and tweaked our itinerary, which was a wonderful mix of culture, history, adventure, nature, and recharging. It was perfect!
We spent 4 nights in Quito at the lovely Ikala Hotel. We absolutely loved our guide Danny! He took us to the city center on a bustling Christmas Eve day, joined us for an incredible cooking class where we prepared and ate a delicious Ecuadorian meal, and led us through an exhilarating trek to the magnificent Quilotoa Lake where we kayaked and journeyed back up to the top. We loved experimenting with gravity at the equator and will never forget the many impromptu stops- thanks to Danny!- where we interacted with locals to see a slice of life we’d never before experienced- from farmers to artists to weavers. Our visit to the highlands was perfectly planned and Danny was the ideal guide to lead us.
Next we flew to Santa Cruz for 4 nights at the incredible Hotel
Solymar where iguanas, sea lions, grey pelicans, blue footed boobies, frigate birds, and crabs were mainstays at the beautiful oceanfront restaurant and pool area. Vivian was our fabulous enthusiastic guide to the Darwin Center, giant tortoise preserve, and kayaking in Tortugo Bay. Day trips to Seymour Island on a beautiful sail boat and snorkeling at Le Fe and Pinzon Islands were memorable highlights from this special vacation.
Every step of the way, Alejandra checked in and prepped us for the next morning’s pick up times and itinerary. We never had to worry about timing or where to be. The whole trip we felt like we were in excellent hands.
Thank you Tamer for delivering on your promise of a vacation to remember!!

Hotel Reviews

Ikala Quito Hotel

Quito

We loved the Ikala. The complimentary breakfast buffet was the delicious, as was our dinner at the hotel’s restaurant on Christmas (one of very few restaurants in the area that was open!). Our rooms were beautiful and spacious. The front desk staff was very responsive when we had problems with our safe and the toilet. We highly recommend!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Solymar

Galápagos

The oceanfront location was incredible! Wildlife was abundant and part of the culture of the hotel. The rooms were small but comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Oceanfront views and incredible wildlife

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Alpaca Encounter & Kayaking at Quilotoa Lagoon

Ecuador

It was an exhilarating climb to the base where we kayaked and then trekked slowly back to the top.

Quality of Experience

Food

We ate lunch after we reached the top at a local restaurant.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Colonial City Tour, Cooking Class & the Middle of the World Monument

Quito

Visiting the city center on Christmas Eve Day was a real treat. The cooking class was incredible- we loved the chef and plan to try out the dishes we prepped when we return home!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discover Otavalo and Cuicocha Lake: A Day Trip from Quito

Quito

We especially loved the visit to the local weaver.

Quality of Experience

Food

We enjoyed a delicious lunch in Cotacachi which is a town known for its leather.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Santa Cruz Island: Highlands (Plant a Tree) & Charles Darwin Research Station

Puerto Ayora

We loved planting a tree! Our terrific guide Vivian planned for us to wear rubber boots since the ground was wet from recent rainfall. She also tweaked our itinerary and moved our visit to the Darwin Center to the following day once she realized we may feel rushed.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discover Pinzon Island & La Fé

Puerto Ayora

Our whole trip built up to this most incredible snorkeling experience!! We saw tons of gorgeous fish and swam right up to giant sea turtles, sea lions, sharks, and more!

Quality of Experience

Food

Tuna lunch on board hit the spot!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Jaime was a fun leader!

Transport

Kayaking Tortuga Bay - Afternoon at leisure

Galapagos Islands

What a beautiful place!! The perfect entry to seeing wildlife up close.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Experience the Pristine Beauty of Galápagos Islands: Discovering an Uninhabited Island

Puerto Ayora

The boat was absolutely beautful, and the visit to Seymour Island was so cool. We saw different frigate birds and blue footed boobies and iguanas and learned about- and saw firsthand- their mating patterns.

Quality of Experience

Food

Delicious tuna lunch and snacks on board.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Elizabeth our guide was outstanding. It was my first time deep water snorkeling and she helped me get acclimated to the breathing tube and helped me enjoy the experience.

Transport

Beautiful sailboat

Our guide Jose in Panama City was wonderful. He was very informed and took great care of our group on both canal tour and metropolitan park. Same with Sophie in Bastimentos. Both excellent.
Travel transfers to and from airports were seamless.
American Trade Hotel was a great choice. Wonderful location, rooms, amenities and staff.
Red Frog was a great experience. The Villa at the resort was terrific, but very far from anything. A golf cart to get around was essential and our Villa didn’t have one. We had to rely on calls for pick ups, which weren’t that reliable and created unnecessary delays and stress. This is really the main issue with the resort and really should be addressed. Also, we were repeatedly told towels were coming at the Beach Club but they never arrived after 4 hours. Things like Villa transportation and towels depreciate from the first class price point.
Finally, really appreciated Lucia’s periodic check-ins throughout our trip.
Overall, very pleased and will use KimKim again.
Thank you.

We had a wonderful family trip to Cape Town and safari. Petru arranged the hotel, safari lodge, drivers and guides, and in-country air flights. She really listened to our priorities and was very flexible and responsive with arrangements. The hotel in Cape Town was excellent, wonderful location, nice rooms, good food, great for our 3-generation family of 7 adults and teens. The Senalala safari lodge was everything we could have wanted, with a great guide (Gina), fantastic animal viewing (we got all the Big 5 in 3 days with some extra special viewings of family groups, leopard/hyena food contest, etc.), terrific meal (including special consideration for several allergies and our youngest, a choosy eater), well organized daily schedule, rooms that were better than almost any hotel, and a view of a watering hole that treated us to several visitors. Would recommend to anyone.

Our self-drive trip to Namibia was amazing! We didn't have much time but still managed to visit Sossusvlei, Swakopmund, Etosha South and East, as well as Windhoek. Every stop along the route was worth it. Great vistas all over, very few people around, quality accommodations and the best roads we have seen in Africa so far. It was a great opportunity to get away from it all as a family. Of course, seeing all the animals in the national parks was the most memorable part of the trip: plenty of lions, elephants, girafes, zebras, etc. We didn't know much about Namibia before but we are definitely recommending it to everybody now!

Our trip to Morocco was an AMAZING, MEMORABLE experience! Mohammed did an excellent job working with us to put together an itinerary that hit on areas that we hoped to see in addition to many suggestions that we were unaware of, however enjoyed. He was quick and thoughtful with his email responses and also worked with us to set up a call to discuss details. Shortly before the trip, we were given an emergency contact for Said, who was our trip coordinator once we arrived to Morocco. He ensured that all was going well and worked closely with our guide/driver, Karim. We think the world of Karim. Karim is an excellent driver-he is friendly and kind and made the trip so much fun for us. We learned so much about the Berber and Moroccan culture from him. There was a lot of driving on our 10 days trip because we wanted to see a lot of the country, but Karim broke the driving up nicely with interesting stops along the way. Our teens adored him. We highly recommend Karim as a guide if you want an unforgettable experience in Morocco. Another note, with all the driving, it was a nice touch for Karim to be driving a large and comfortable vehicle that fit our entire family of 4 and all the luggage. Some of our trip highlights included a quick stop in the capital, Rabat beautiful blue city of Chefchaoen, the bustling city of Fes, luxury camping in Merzouga (desert), the magical city of Marrakech, then breathtaking Hassan Mosque in Casablanca. MUST have experiences: Food and City tour in Marrakech *with Hannan* (she is AMAZING), the Camel ride in the desert, eating a meal at the home of a Berber family. This trip opened our eyes and hearts the the beauty of Morocco and Moroccan people and we will be forever grateful to everyone who make our trip to special!

Activity Review

Marrakech Family Food Tour

Marrakesh

This was one of our favorite parts of the trip! Our guide, Hannan was excellent-we learned so much from her and she made our time in Merrakech incredibly memorable.