Kimkim Trip Reviews

We were amazed at the support we received from our specialist Kateryna. She took really good care of us and adapted our trip to meet our needs right up until we were ready to leave. She was very friendly and responded quickly to all our requests. We had a great time on our trip as well. The tours she planned for us were a blast. SoHo food tour, Jacobite train and the Caledonia Sleeper train were among the highlights. Only complaint was at least one of our rooms did not have working air conditioning at every hotel we stayed at except one. Unfortunately we planned our trip during one of the worst heat waves in British history. The hotel Lemonde in Edinburgh was an amazing place to stay. If I were to take this trip again I would definitely request more days at that hotel.

Hotel Reviews

Leonardo Royal Hotel Oxford

Wolvercote, Oxford

Pretty decent hotel. Lobby and some rooms were nice and cool but ours was incredibly hot. One of our rooms was ice cold and the other was extremely hot and we could not get another room. Really amazing breakfast though

Authenticity & Character

Location

The hotel location was pretty good being halfway between Oxford and Blenheim Castle

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Our A/C was not working and it got incredibly hot in our room. Luckily my mother-in-law's room was incredibly cool so she was lucky.

The Garrison Hotel

Fort William

Rooms were too small for what we were looking for. Since we were on a longer trip my wife and I had some large suitcases and we didn't have room to open them in the room while we were inside. Wished we would have booked the larger suites instead.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Good location. Furthest from train station but it is a small town so not a far walk

Staff

Staff were wonderful and took good care of us

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel seemed clean but the bathroom was so small water kept leaking out of the shower into the bedroom carpet

Le Monde Hotel

This was a wonderful hotel. We all enjoyed our stay and wish we could have stayed longer

Authenticity & Character

Cool boutique hotel and rooms were huge

Location

Not terribly far from the train station and we found some good restaurants nearby

Staff

Staff took good care of us. No restaurant but they did give us good recommendations

Cleanliness & Comfort

A/C worked great and the rooms were large and very clean

Montcalm Brewery, London City

Hotel was nice but we had 3 rooms and 2 did not have functioning air conditioning. We were not asked if we would like to have a new room but were given fans that unfortunately only moved around the hot air. Would not have mattered but we were staying for 5 days and would have liked to have had the option of trying to move to a new room.

Authenticity & Character

Very unique hotel. Would have liked to try the brewery but the pub downstairs was a lot of fun

Location

Too far from Tube station

Staff

They were very friendly and helpful. Our reservations got messed up but they finally got it straightened out.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms were incredibly hot in our room. Our daughter's room was very cool and comfortable so we knew some had working A/C. Hotel was very clean though and the housekeeping staff was very attentative

Activity Reviews

Discover London in a Private Black Cab

London

This was a great experience. Our guide was willing to take us to see whatever we wanted to see and had some amazing insight into the city. I would highly recommend this tour

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Holyrood Distillery Tour

Edinburgh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Seal Spotting Loch Linnhe Cruise

England

We had a blast on this cruise and the scenery was unbelievable

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Evening SoHo London Food Tour

London

This could very well be the most fun and entertaining food tour me and my family has ever done. Our guide was amazing and she engaged with each one of us. The food choices were delicious and we got to experience a whole world of flavors.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was the best

Transport

Tower of London Beefeater Welcome & Crown Jewels

London

This was a nice adventure and was great to say that I have had this experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wish we would have done a private guided tour since we had trouble getting over to the Tower

Transfer to Oxford

London

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Islander Workshop Experience in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

This was a surprisingly wonderful experience. The employees were so helpful in helping all of us put the bags together and we were able to build some amazing bags for gifts

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jacobite Steam Train

Scotland

This was the highlight of the trip. Train was like stepping back in time and the scenery was beautiful. We had a wonderful time and would do this again in a heartbeat

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Train was fantastic

One Day Trip Canterbury & Dover Cliffs

England

Our guide was great and very informative. Canterbury was such a beautiful city and the Cliffs of Dover were something everyone needs to experience. While we were there Spitfires were flying over the cliffs which was another amazing experience.

Quality of Experience

Guide was funny and kept us entertained. Beautiful area to get out of the bigger city

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was funny and kept us entertained. Driver was great as well

Transport

This was great for a larger tour. I would also like to try the smaller group experience one day but this was very well organized for such a large group

Stonehenge and Windsor Castle from London

London

This was a highlight trip for us. Were really surprised at how much fun we had in Bath.

Quality of Experience

Bath was a hidden gem we weren't expecting

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Taking this bus tour was a great option for us. By this time we were worn out with walking tours in London and this was a great opportunity to get out of the city and into some more remote areas.

The Royal London Tour: Changing of the Guard and More

London

Our guide was wonderful and we had a great time with her. She got us into all of the best location for photos.

Quality of Experience

We had a great time on this tour

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was amazing

Transport

This did not apply. We had to take the tube to this experience

Lisa was so helpful in counseling us as to the best method to travel between cities and to stay in a central location and see other cities via train. That was very, very helpful. She was kind and responsive and arranging for the train tickets saved us a lot of time and struggle.

She assigned us a driver, Robert, who was phenomenal. Very kind, efficient, professional, and helpful.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel FranQ

Antwerp

Gorgeous hotel, amazing service, excellent chefs prepare delicious food, huge rooms and bathrooms. We loved it!!

Authenticity & Character

gorgeous!

Location

close to old town, a bit far from the train station

Staff

so helpful, great attentiveness, great advice on where to eat, etc.

Cleanliness & Comfort

huge rooms and bathrooms. lovely decorations

Leonardo Hotel Amsterdam Museum Quarter

Amsterdam

not too charming a hotel, but excellent location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

right amongst the greatest museums in the city!!

Staff

helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

tiny European bathrooms, quiet, comfy beds

CitizenM Rotterdam

Rotterdam

cool hotel, great location in Rotterdam. Excellent service and amazing staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

close to all key sites and train and metro stations

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Brussels - Atomium

The Netherlands

Quality of Experience

Brussels - Museum for Fine Arts

The Netherlands

The collection is too heavily focused on religious art.

Quality of Experience

Ghent - Scenic Boat Tour

The Netherlands

LOved this! Lots to see and had a great guide.

Quality of Experience

Brussels - Magritte Museum

The Netherlands

Few of his most famous pieces are here. it was interesting to know his evolution though.

Quality of Experience

Ghent - Gravensteen - Castle of the Counts

The Netherlands

Far too many stairs and unhelpful staff.

Quality of Experience

Amsterdam - Anne Frank House

The Netherlands

chilling

Quality of Experience

Brussels - Explore Brussels' Museums

The Netherlands

The Royal Museum is dull and the Magritte is just okay.

Quality of Experience

The Hague - Mauritshuis Museum

The Netherlands

so nice to be able to see these important works.

Quality of Experience

Brussels card 24h

The Netherlands

Visit Antwerp's Sint Anna Beach & Explore Antwerp

The Netherlands

antwerp is a great town.

Antwerp - DIVA museum of art and jewellery

Antwerp

very cool museum. I would have liked to have been able to read all they had posted.

Quality of Experience

Bruges - Private guided walking tour

The Netherlands

Roland was a great guide. I just wish I had understood the route he was taking so that we could have allowed for more time to see inside the important buildings.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Amsterdam - Moco Museum

Amsterdam

This museum is so fun! How wonderful to have these artists all under one roof. Loved it.

Quality of Experience

Delft - Royal Delft Blue Pottery

The Netherlands

it was very interesting to learn the history of Delft pottery and to see it being made.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Public transport pass Netherlands (OV chip card)

The Netherlands

We appreciate being given this card because it was difficult to get another one.

Quality of Experience

Antwerp - KMSKA Museum of Fine Arts

The Netherlands

Antwerp is a wonderful, beautiful, interesting town. The KMSKA Museum is off the charts!! Such a great collection and a wonderful arrangement of work. We loved it!! and the cafe was good too.

Quality of Experience

I could not recommend the museum more enthusiastically. It was awesome.

Antwerp - Day trip to Brussels by public transport

The Netherlands

Antwerp - Day trip to Ghent and Bruges by public transport

Antwerp

it was a problem to do these two cities on the same day. The guide in Bruges instructed us on the interesting history of Bruges, but we did not have time to go into any of the buildings before we had to leave the city to make the ticketed activities of Ghent. more time needed to have been allowed between cities. we loved the canal cruise in Ghent and seeing the Ghent Altarpiece.

Amsterdam - Rijksmuseum

The Netherlands

such an excellent museum!! and cafe.

Our 25th anniversary trip to Greece was magical! Siena was amazing from start to finish. We worked together on building the best fit trip for my family of 4 and we were very happy with all the support we received even during our trip! This is our second trip with Kim Kim (last trip was Italy), can't wait to start planning the next one!

We are just coming back from an amazing family trip in Croatia. We could not be more thrilled with our experience. The guides, drivers and hosts were courteous, professional, knowledgeable and caring. From Zoran, Maria, Ivanna, Adrian, our experience was memorable. The balance between scheduled activities and free time was just right for our family.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Ivka

Dubrovnik

Loved the location, super close to the bus to get into old town. Very clean and great breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pharos Hvar Bayhill Hotel

Hvar

Bigger hotel than the other ones but still friendly staff

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

It’s frustrating to limit the coolness with the AC so the room did get warm but I understand the energy/ environment concerns in doing so.

Irini Luxury Rooms

Split

Super friendly hosts, great breakfast and local tips!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Just outside the very busy area but close access to everything

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Manda Heritage Hotel

Zagreb

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Zagreb Private Guided Walking Tour

Zagreb

Super knowledgeable and informative guide. Great history guide… We were thrilled when we walked into a tie shop from the Amazing race!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Zoran was outstanding

Transport

The planning part was fine. The actual activities, guide, was the in some parts, unenjoyable.

My biggest disappointment was the confusion with Lotte world as I'm sure I got charged for the most expensive tickets but they were sold out of that level by the time they were able to locate my tickets. The park itself was also confusing, but I'm aware that wasn't Kimkim's fault. Also, Jones, the tour guide/driver for quite a few of our excursions was not enjoyable and made us uncomfortable to the point of us cutting short our days with him.

Jeju was our best part of the trip, thanks in part to our guide, Clover. She was interesting, knowledgeable and a joy to be with. She suggested activities to do on our free time, which we also enjoyed.

Overall, we enjoyed being in Korea, but I'm not sure I will use this company again.

Activity Reviews

Seoul Euljiro Night Food Tour

Seoul

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Daegu Cultural Discovery: Dodong Seowon and Oriental Medicine Experience

Daegu

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Mt. Hallasan and Spirited Garden Tour

Jeju Island

This was such a beautiful garden. Must see! Even got to meet the gentleman who started it all!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visiting K-Drama Filming Locations in Daegu: Keimyung University, Seomun Market, and More

Daegu

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Full Day Gyeongbokgung Hanbok Dressing & Namsan Tower

Seoul

Our guide never offered or showed us where we could change into Hanboks, but the history of them was interesting. The your was good overall.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had the most memorable and unforgettable two weeks in Italy thanks to Luca! There is absolutely nothing we would change about the trip from beginning to end. When we needed to trouble shoot an issue while there (rare) KimKim ‘s representatives immediately took care of the problem. Luca was excellent to work and we thank him!

Hey Captain , was a tour of all the different areas of the canals. Philip did a great job , funny personable and sweaty of knowledge ..
Kris of Go like a local was also fantastic . She was one-of the best and informative tour guides I’ve ever taken part in .You were never rushed and answered all questions !

Hotel Reviews

Bryggen Guldsmeden

København

Older but great atmosphere

Authenticity & Character

Nice pool , liked the cold plunge and sauna .Have thing for kids to do

Location

Great for walking and touring

Staff

Very good and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Good

LEGOLAND

Billund

Great for kids , spacious

Authenticity & Character

Fun and Lego building unbelievable what people can build

Location

Nothing it’s a park with history

Staff

Friendly and nice

Cleanliness & Comfort

Good for the amount of kids around

Hotel Grand Odense

Odense

Older, quaint .Loved the atmosphere

Authenticity & Character

Part of Denmark history with authenticity

Location

We took the train it was a great location to get to

Staff

Great

Cleanliness & Comfort

Be prepared it not you mattress at home but fairly comfortable

Comfort Hotel Vesterbro

Copenhagen

Nice, quaint and close to everything to walk to . The breakfast was fantastic.

Authenticity & Character

Nothing that special but friendly employees

Authenticity & Character

Location

Can walk to things you want to see .

Location

Busy

Staff

Nice place , I’m not a hotel expert but I enjoyed it

Staff

Always we’re smiling

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nice big city and close to get to things .

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nice country to view history

Activity Reviews

HC Andersen's house and museum

Odense

Learned alot about HCAnderson

Quality of Experience

Informative

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Staff was great

LEGOLAND

Billund

A great experience to see how Legos are made and the different possibilities of building things

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Helpful and friendly and informative

Canoe Rental - Odense River

Odense

Fun and nice scenery

Quality of Experience

Something we’ve never done

Every place we stayed was absolutely wonderful. The experiences, like the sushi making class and the hot springs, were top notch. We were traveling with teenagers, so it was important that the activities and plans also met their needs, and our guides were excellent at that.

All our guides were very good and we had a great experience. My daughter joined the trip later after we had already made most of the reservations but Alvaro made all the last minute adjustments to the bookings and trips. We visited three islands (Santa Cruz, San Cristobal and Floreana) and had a great time in all of them. Since our Spanish was not good, we really appreciated that there were always a KimKim representative who made sure that we were on the correct trip/bus etc. We had a good time.

Hotel Reviews

SeaSide Hotel

Galapagos

The Rooms were large and spacious. There were TV in the room . The breakfast was good but basic.

Authenticity & Character

This was a modern style hotel - good for the stay.

Location

There was a good view from the rooms but it was not on the waterfront.

Staff

Very friendly and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Angermeyer Waterfront Inn

Santa Cruz

This hotel was on the waterfront and by location it had amazing views. The rooms were small but comfortable. Our rooms had a balcony which was also a pleasant place to sit and take in the wonderful scenery. The staff was very friendly and helpful. They were very helpful in giving us a good idea on what to expect from the trips that we had booked. Their restaurant and breakfast was also excellent.

Authenticity & Character

This was an older historical hotel and they have maintained the history very well. However, the rooms were still modern. Our rooms however did not have any TV.

Location

On the waterfront with great views

Staff

Always friendly and ready to help in any they could. Helped us with our heavy suitcases. We left our larger suitcases in storages when we went to San Cristobal. In addition to storing our suitcases, they also had our rooms ready with the suitcases in the rooms when we checked in. That was very thoughtful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

All the rooms were clean.

Activity Reviews

Speedboat to Santa Cruz Island & Free time

Puerto Ayora

AM interpretation center, beach and lunch at local restaurant. This was the rescheduled trip to accomodate the change in boat ride the day before. PM - speed boat back to Santa Cruz Christian picked us up and took us to the interpretation center where the history of the island as well as the contribution of Darwin was shown. He explained everything to us as we walked from one exhibit to another. This is what I would have expected from Enrique on Day 1. He also explained the natural history of the island very well. The walk to the beach was very interesting and we spent some time there but did not swim or snorkel. After lunch at the local restaurant (which was excellent) we were dropped off at the pier and took the boat back to Santa Cruz

Quality of Experience

Christian gave us a very good overview of the history and geology of the place. His knowledge of Darwin's journey in the area was also very good.

Food

The lunch at the local restuarant was very good.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Local taxi's were used

Welcome to San Cristóbal Island! Visit the Interpretation Center, Tijeretas Hill, or La Lobería

Galapagos Islands

There was a mechanical problem with the morning boat so we went on the afternoon boat. Jose was very helpful and informed us about this problem the night before. He booked us seats on the afternoon ferry and also rearranged some of the trips that were scheduled on that day. We reached San Cristobal around 5. Angie met us on the dock and accompanied us to the store where Saveri got fitted on a wet suit and snorkeling gear. She then dropped us off at the hotel. She was very efficient. She explained what we were going to be doing on San Cristóbal for the next three days. This included when we would be picked up, who would pick us up and what we would be doing on the trip. That was very helpful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Jose informed us about the change in scheduling the night before and rearranged our trips so in the end we experienced everything we were supposed to.

Transport

Kicker Rock: A Snorkeling Adventure

Isla San Cristóbal

We were added with a group of divers in this tour. My husband and I don’t do water sports which we had already mentioned. My daughter however snorkels so we said we don’t mind doing this tour where my daughter will get to snorkel. I don’t understand why we were put in a group of 9 divers. The boat was small and the guides on the boat were diving guides. One guide was available for my daughter to snorkel and he was very good and helpful with her. He also took us on a small circle around the Kicker rock to show us some of the best features from the boat but that was all he could do. Lunch on the boat was provided after the diving activities were over. Lunch was ok.

Quality of Experience

Its a good thing that we like to watch birds - because this trip was very boring for us. This was for the divers. However my daughter enjoyed since she could snorkel.

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The snorkeling guide was very helpful and showed us some of the sights. It was evident that he as well as the other staff on board knew we were in the wrong place and felt bad for us. However, they were kind and helpful.

Transport

The boat was uncomfortable

History and Nature: Full Day to Floreana Island

Puerto Ayora

Trip to Floreana This was a very good trip. Diego picked us up and took us on the water taxi to the mainland where he showed where to get on the trip. In Floreana we first went on a hike to the highlands where our guide gave us an excellent explanation of the history and geography of the island. We followed the footsteps of the pioneers of the island and then the first Germans who made their way to what they claimed at that time and is still true day “the last peaceful earth” After a yummy lunch in a local restaurant my daughter went off on a snorkeling trip. Since my husband and I don’t snorkel our guide offered us to drop us off at the beach where we could relax and watch the sea lions and marine iguanas. That was very thoughtful of him.

Private Boat Trip to Discover an Uninhabited Island

Puerto Ayora

Quality of Experience

The lunch at a small local restuarant was tasteful. The guide did a very good job in narrating the history and geology of the island.

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

When we told our guide that we dont snorkel, He dropped us off at a beach closeby so we could relax and enjoy the sights. He even asked a local shopkeeper to keep an eye on us and give us water or snacks if needed.

Transport

Puerto Ayora Departure Transfer: Farewell to the Galapagos

Puerto Ayora

Diego picked us up from the hotel and helped us with our luggage. We took a water taxi to the mainland, then a taxi the pier to the other side of the island. He helped us transfer our luggage on the boat which took us to Baltra island. There we got on a bus which took us to the airport. At the airport he helped us check in our luggage and made sure that we had everything we need for our journey. He was very helpful.

Quality of Experience

Diego knew the process so we didnt have to get in line or ask questions. This was helpful since we don't speak Spanish.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Yet Another Day on an Uninhabited Island!

Galapagos Islands

Diego came and picked us up from the hotel at 6:30 for the water taxi ride to the mainland. Then we went on a bus to the other side of the island to catch Galápagos Shark - our boat for the tour. It was a 2 hour sometimes rough ride to the island. On board our guide for the day explained the day’s itinerary very clearly I appreciated. They started the trip with some snacks of bananas and crackers. On Bartolome island our guide took us on the hike to the topmost point of the volcanic island. On the way he provided us with a very good overview of the history and geology of the island. About 1 hour. We came back to the boat and then the boat took us to a sheltered cove where my daughter and others snorkeled. Since my husband and I didn’t snorkel- we stayed on the boat and had a pleasant time observing the views and chatting with a couple of others who didn’t snorkel either. This was a much better experience for us. We had lunch after the snorkeling was over and it was good with fish/ veggies/ salad and a dessert. After lunch we started our way back. Just before we reached home dock - the boat provided us with Champagne and another dessert to commemorate a successful day at sea.

Quality of Experience

The trip was a combination of hiking and snorkeling and we enjoyed the hiking while my daughter enjoyed both.

Food

There was snacks when we embarked. Lunch was simple but delicious. They even served us Champagne and/or juice before we disembarked to celebrate a successful trip.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Diego was very helpful and made sure we were on the correct trip. The guide and staff on the boat were also very helpful.

Transport

Welcome to Santa Cruz Island: Visit Highlands & Charles Darwin Research Station In Style

Puerto Ayora

Speedboat to Santa Cruz Island

Galapagos Islands

Fast and noisy

Quality of Experience

Fast and noisy

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very helpful to get us off and on the boat

Transport

El Junco Lagoon - Galapaguera Colorado Hill - Puerto Chino Beach

Galapagos Islands

Angie was our guide took us to the highlands to see the crater of the extinct volcano. She did a very good job in explaining the history and geology of the area. This was a nice short uphill walk which was very pleasant for all of us. Then we went to lunch to a local farm house and it was delicious.

Quality of Experience

The hike was comfortable and we had a chance to understand the geology of the area.

Food

Authentic farm house food c- - home cooked meal

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Angie did a great job

Transport

The taxi ride was comfortable

Speedboat to San Cristobal Island

Galapagos Islands

The boat was fast and the outboard motor was very noisy. But that's to be expected. Otherwise the trip was ok.

Quality of Experience

Fast and noisy

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Helped get us on and off the boat which can be tough with the waves.

Transport

Morning Hike to Tortuga Bay & Free Afternoon

Puerto Ayora

We set off early. The day was hot and not knowing the details of what to expect. There was a pretty breach at the end of the hike. Thinking this was a hike, we had hiking clothes and shoes. The beach at the end would have necessitated us to bring a whole change of clothes which seemed too much to carry. On hindsight - this was not a true hike but a short walk. People were dressed for swimming - slippers/sandals was all we needed.

Quality of Experience

It was hot and we did not get to swim since we didn't know exactly what to expect from the hike.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The dude explained the history of the place in English.

Transport

No transportation involved

Kris our walking tour guide in Copenhagen was terrific. She knew a lot and made the tour very enjoyable. We learned many new facts about the city, Boat ride in Nyhaven was also very good . Phillip made the boat ride fun and also knew a lot about the city and Denmark .
Rest of our trip including Odense Billund and Aarhus was great. Rudkobing was a pleasant surprise. Very quaint an d charming town,
Entire family very happy with this trip.
Thank you

Thank you guys for planning this trip. Memorable, with every detail covered. It took the stress out of travel and let us relax at every turn. Really made it special for our family. Thanks again. JB

Hotel Reviews

Grand Hotel De La Ville

Sorrento

Easy access to all parts of Sorrento. Amazing views of the bay from our balcony. Excellent staff.

Gallery Hotel Art - Lungarno Collection

Florence

Excellent location in the heart of Florence. Easy access to all parts of the city. Excellent rooms.

Hotel Santa Chiara

Venice

Excellent location. Close to train station. Easy access to the city. Exceptional staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Self-Guided Florence Exploration

Florence

Quality of Experience

Private Family Highlights Walk with Michelangelo's David

Florence

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Angela our tour guide was outstanding. The best of our trip.

Welcome to Italy

Italy

Quality of Experience

Private Photoshoot

Sorrento

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Depart Italy

Italy

Quality of Experience

Day Trip to Positano & Amalfi by Boat

Sorrento

See below

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Trip to Cinque Terre & Pisa

Florence

Cinque Terre was amazing

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Morning Culinary Discovery Walk

Florence

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Day Trip to Verona & Lake Garda

Venice

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discovery Walk with St. Mark's Basilica, Doge's Palace & Gondola Ride

Venice

Great history tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We could not have asked for a better person to work with to plan our honeymoon than Bella.
​Before the trip even started, she was incredibly patient as we described countless iterations of what we wanted to do, and she managed to accommodate all of our out-of-the-box requests for activities and hotels. She also provided invaluable insight into the scheduling of our proposed itineraries, ensuring we didn't plan ourselves into tight timelines that would leave little to no time for rest and relaxation.
​The outstanding level of service only continued once our trip began. When we arrived at our first hotel in Bangkok, there was a gift bag from Bella welcoming us to Thailand, which we found to be unbelievably thoughtful. Whenever we had questions about the itinerary or local customs, she would always reply via WhatsApp within minutes.
The tours and activities themselves were also top-notch. We ended our trip feeling that we came away with far more knowledge and context to all of the sights that we saw than we ever could have if we had planned things ourselves. Our tour guide in Bangkok, Leo, was especially knowledgeable and made us feel like we were truly receiving an immersive look into the Thai culture.
​We did experience a hiccup with one of our flights to Phuket, which was pushed back several hours without us or Kimkim being notified. Even though Bella had zero control over that, she still went out of her way to arrange accommodations for us during the newfound downtime and even helped reschedule the tour we ended up missing because of the delay. All of this required zero effort on our part. Truly great service.
​Throughout the entire trip, Bella was remarkably communicative. Between her and the Kimkim app, we felt so prepared that we could comfortably move from activity to activity without ever having to give a second thought to tickets or confirmations. All of the information we needed was conveniently located in a single place within the app.
​I would recommend Kimkim to anyone looking to plan a trip, and I would absolutely recommend Bella for anyone planning a trip to Thailand. My wife and I truly feel like we had the honeymoon of a lifetime.

We planned our Milan and Lake Como trip late in the season and kept hitting sold-out rooms, then we found Giulia. She listened, found two perfect boutique hotels in great locations, and built an itinerary we never could have put together ourselves. Her guides were excellent, and every excursion was a hit: a fantastic cooking class, and wonderful tours of the Duomo, The Last Supper, and the surrounding areas. Once we arrived, she stayed with us every step of the way. Highly recommend!

We loved every single moment in Greece and hope to return to visit more islands.
We loved all of our transfer drivers, especially Tony! He was hands down our favorite driver!!! Michael, who lead our biblical tour, In the Footsteps of St. Paul was fabulous as well.
Overall, the private boat trips were our favorite days, although the weather for our Mama Mia Tour kept us from seeing some of our destinations like the chapel.
Thank you Effie and all the people at Kimkim for a trip we will never forget!

Matyem planned the trip through and through it was very last minute and I made continuous last minute changes that she worked around. The driver hamza was great and very fast when we contacted him. We got a great experience of the Morocco culture and went many places in a short period of time. I highly recommend booking with maryem if you plan on traveling to Morocco

Eleanor did an outstanding job planning our family vacation trip to Japan. The itinerary was well‑organized, the tickets were handled smoothly, and the train directions were incredibly easy to follow. Every guide we met was knowledgeable, friendly, and made the experience even better. I truly recommend KimKim for anyone looking to book a stress‑free and well‑planned trip

We started looking on the internet at some tours to Ireland but they all didn’t seem right. We recently went to Costa Rica and used KimKim travel company to plan it. So, we contacted them and they put us in contact with Adrian who is their Ireland consultant. We told him basically who we were and what we wanted and the time frame for our journey. After several back and forths by email and a couple of video calls, he came up with version 3.5 which appeared to be our ideal setup for this vacation and as it turned out it was.
We made our own airplane reservations with Aer Lingus and the whole process was easy. They included one checked bag in the price which was better than a similar United flight and the flights in both directions were essentially on time. I say essentially because the flight back to Dulles Airport landed twenty minutes early. One of the perks of flying to and out of Dublin, a tip Adrian gave us, is that you go through US passport control and customs in Ireland so when you land after the long flight you can just go and get your bags and leave.
Upon arrival our driver was there awaiting us and texted on WhatsApp exactly where he would be. We had a nice ride to our Dublin home, the Ashling Hotel. While it wasn’t right in the center of town, it was in a nice area that wasn’t congested and was only a ten to fifteen-minute taxi or FreeNow ride in traffic to the center of the city. When we arrived, our room wasn’t ready, so we went to the breakfast buffet. Their breakfast buffet was very good. It had just about everything you could think of except for my favorite, lox. We ate long enough that when we were finished our room was ready.
We rested a little and then went on a walking tour of Dublin. The Dublin Highlights and Hidden Gems Walking Tour. Unbeknownst to us, this was the end of the Bumblebee 1000 Charity weekend which essentially closed many of the streets in downtown Dublin, so we were late. The tour was to start at 1:00. At about 1:03 I got a call from the tour guide wondering where we were. He talked with our FreeNow driver and together they figured out that we would have to walk the rest of the way (actually only two alleys away) and gave us directions to get there. The point here is that the guide cared enough to call and waited for us even though we got to the starting point more than 10 minutes late.
The tour itself was fantastic. Even though we were jet lagged, we enjoyed every part of the two hours. Not only did we see the main sights of the Dublin city center but the information about the city, the Irish culture, and the history of the country from the earliest Gaelic settlers through the Vikings, the plague, and the Normans, and the English and even the famine. He was not only informative but entertaining as well. Even our twelve-year-old grandson made it through the two hours and didn’t complain once or look for his phone, although that was on airplane mode.
When the tour was over, we finally hit the wall. We hardly slept on the overnight flight. Actually, they slept a little bit, but I didn’t sleep at all. We went and looked for a taxi, which wasn’t so easy because of all the blocked streets. We did find one and went back to our hotel. Unfortunately, we didn’t make our 5:00 PM visit to the St. Patrick’s cathedral although we did see the outside on our walking tour.
The next morning, we had a private driver who would take us to Galway after a stop at Clonmacnoise. This was basically fascinating ruins of a monastery that was founded some time in the sixth century on the banks of the River Shannon. There was a Cathedral there and two round Towers. There were also three high crosses, one of which was erected in 914. There were ruins of several Churches. What I found most interesting was that there were many early Christian graves dating back over a thousand years old and even some recent graves. There even were some of the graves of Irish kings and even the grave of the last high king of Ireland who was buried in the 10th century.
From there our driver took us to our hotel in Galway.
That was the Hotel Leonardo Galway. It was in an excellent location at least for us. After a brief rest we went to explore. Just outside the hotel was Quay Street, a pedestrian-only street. It is exactly what I imagined a truly Irish street would look like. There were several pubs all with big Guinness signs. Many of these had Irish music blasting out into the street. Since we were hungry, we had lunch in one of the pubs. There was an outside table at the appropriately named Quays Bar and Restaurant. We both had fish soup which was listed as a light bite. Not only was this remarkably delicious but very filling. Our grandson had chicken tenders and fries. He is a connoisseur of chicken tenders and gave them a 5 out of 5 and the fries were wonderful as well. Neither my wife nor I enjoy beer, but we were in an Irish pub. I had a Guinness and she had a beer that was lighter in color also made by Guinness. The beer was very tasty at least for beer, but we at least did this Irish rite of passage.
The other aspect of that Irish street of my imagination that came true is that the rest of the street was comprised of shops. Wool shops, jewelry shops, and Irish gift shops. We did our share of boosting the Irish economy and bought many of our gifts for family as well as gifts for ourselves in those shops. It was time to rest our feet and our bodies so back to the hotel we went.
Later we went back to Quay Street and went to dinner at the Kings Head which was a truly iconic Irish pub. The decor was just as I imagined. This building was erected in the 13th century, and the ambiance was loud and joyous. There was loud Irish music and lots of beer. We ate in a second room that was much less noisy and not only was the setting great, but the food was too.
The next day we had a full day tour and our tour guide, Frances, was great. He was very knowledgeable and told some funny stories. Our first stop was at a chocolate factory where there was a brief presentation and especially some good chocolate tasting as well.
Next, we drove through the Burren, which is an interesting geological area made of, if I remember correctly, is mostly limestone. Frances explained in good detail about this formation. In the Burren we went to one of the activities we were looking forward to, the sheep dog demonstration. He took us to Caherconnell. There we had one of the highlights of our trip. The sheep dog handler and the dogs were terrific. I won’t go into it further because I recommend everyone experience it on their own. What I will say is that the dogs herded the sheep and they were not sheepdogs but Border Collies.
Also, at Caherconnell was their Stone Fort. This was the remnants of a fort that was initially used over a thousand years ago and was in use up until the sixteenth century. The guide told us interesting facts about the history of the area and how the fort was used to protect the people of that area. Not too far from Caherconnell was the Poulnabrone Dolman, a structure that was erected over 5,000 years ago.
After that we went to lunch at McGanns Pub in Doolin, another traditional-looking Irish Pub although since it was midday the decibels were a lot lower. I took a picture of one of the signs on the wall. “Everyone who visits this place brings happiness. Some by coming in… Some by going out.” My wife and I both had the fish chowder and it was both sensational and filling and we were sufficiently sated to go on to our next stop, the Cliffs of Moher.
We arrived at the parking lot and at Frances’s urging we took the golf cart up to the entrance. From the entrance we took another golf cart up to the top of the cliffs. This was a good idea especially for us older people. It cut out a lot of the uphill walking. The views were truly like the proverbial statement “No words can describe the beauty of the sight.” It really was majestic and to imagine the years, the decades, the millenniums, that created them. We also went into the museum which was there and also the gift store.
We then took a different route back to our hotel in Galway. We rested up and then went to a seafood restaurant that Frances had recommended. Oscar’s Seafood Bistro was a short walk from our hotel in the opposite direction. We went over a bridge and turned right and after a short while we were there. The daily specials were written on a sign on the wall. The food was very good as advertised.
The next morning our private driver met us in the hotel lobby and drove us to our stop at Birr Castle. We did not do the castle tour, but we did explore the grounds. There was a waterfall, beautiful flowers and a field of green but the most interesting was “The Great Telescope”. It was built in the 1840s and was the largest telescope in the world at that time. It was standing in the middle of a field that was designated for it. It was huge and I could imagine the astronomers of the day being excited to explore the universe. In the science center, there was a display that explained how the telescope was made and some of the issues related to it.
We got back in the car and continued on to our hotel in Kilkenny. We made it to the Hibernia Hotel and after checking in had a good lunch. We then went to the Kilkenny Castle. The Castle, built in 1260, is just what you would think a castle should look like. We did tour this Castle, and it was just what you think the Castle Rooms should look like. Don’t misinterpret this was a marvelous place and I recommend it. We then went out to the beautiful grounds where there were many picnickers, a couple of frisbees flying through the air, and even a couple of young women doing some back flips. Kilkenny wasn’t much of a town to walk through so we had dinner back at the hotel.
The next day was our last full day in Ireland. We took a Freenow ride from the hotel to the train station. As I mentioned earlier, we actually used Freenow several times in Dublin as well. Freenow is an Uber type company that uses essentially the same process as Uber does and it worked well for us, each time we used it. The train from Kilkenny to Dublin was right on time. We had reserved seats and the ride was pleasant. The one thing I will point out is that each of the seats were two and two facing each other over a small table. We had three seats in a row, so one of us, me was across the aisle and there were other people across from me. If you are going to take the train and are more than two, I would suggest that you look at the train seating chart.
We returned to the Ashling Hotel for our last night of our vacation. That evening we went to the Celtic Show and Dinner. The dinner was as you would expect from a dinner theater. It was unremarkable. In my mind that was good because since my expectation of dinner theater meal is that it could be uneatable, but this meal was OK. On the other hand, the show was fantastic. It had the energy that was electric. The band leader, who was the emcee, was engaging and had a good rapport with the audience, including reading notes from the crowd for shout outs.
The band played, no surprise, Irish music and then called out the Irish dancers. Then there was double energy. They moved their feet so quickly, it was hard to imagine. They did many different dances. The one I remember is the broom dance. I don’t know how they managed to jump over the brooms and keep dancing. It was a memorable evening.
The next morning our driver came to take us to the airport. The Dublin airport was nice and clean and had a nice area of duty-free shops. Since we didn’t have to go through passport control or customs when we arrived back to Dulles airport, we did not have to wait on the lines going to have our passports checked and then through customs.
In conclusion, we had a wonderful trip to Ireland. The journey was exactly what we wanted and what was planned. Adrian was very helpful in arranging what we had in mind into specific activities that worked within our timeframe and our budget. This is the second time we used KimKim and both times we have been very, very satisfied.

Caherconnell.

Sheepdog Presentation

Poulnabrone Dolman,

Cliffs of Moher

Kilkenny Castle

Celtic Nights

My daughter and I recently used Kim Kim to help us plan our trip to Thailand. We spent two days in Bangkok and three days in Phuket. We also went to the Khao Sok National Park. At every step of the way, there was a representative that was there to let us know what to expect and help us get from one location to the next. We were allowed plenty of time to explore and do things on our own, but also booked several guided trips. We were helped at every step of the way to make the best of our trip. I could not be more satisfied.

A really magical trip that I am glad I got to take. The scenery and sights and food and people were all great. Gummi’s knowledge was also really great and I appreciate how hard he worked to make our trip memorable. He is very knowledgeable about the best places to see and set up some really great excursions. I very much enjoyed the whale watching despite getting sea sick ( but it was a rough day on the water) and it was a bonus to see a Humpback whale. The trip to the glacier lagoon and the kayaking were also my favorites. I even had the rare fortune to see an arctic fox up high on the rocks by the glacier.
I enjoyed the variety of accommodations from rural farmhouses to seaside village hotels. The food suggestions were helpful though we mostly chose to eat at our hotels since that was so much easier time wise.
Some of the less than ideal things for me was just the long hours of driving,which I realize is not the fault of our travel specialist but the nature of trying to see everything. Our schedule ended up being unrealistic for our travel abilities and we had to make decisions on not visiting many of the suggested sites due to inadequate time. Although technically the drive time and the sightseeing time = about 8 hours it does not factor in things like food breaks,getting lost,bathroom breaks, buying some trip essentials,food shopping and tourist shopping,as well as some time with the technology of using the MiFi/ WiFi and Google Maps ( but we are not from the technology generation so we had a bit of a learning curve.) We don’t know why our Google Maps route that we downloaded had us take the dirt road 937 that is south of Egilsstaoir. That dirt road parallels95 and although it eventually comes back to 95 it added to an already 5+ hour driving day.
We tried to keep our cost down, so some of the places we stayed at did not provide breakfast. In retrospect I think the extra cost would have been worth it given the extra work we took to put together our own morning meals.
Overall I would recommend Gummi and KimKim to future travelers. Iceland has a fascinating landscape and would appeal to all sorts of adventurers. Best of all we actually had reasonable weather for our visit,especially to the Highlands areas for hiking.

This was a bucket list trip for me and it turned out really well. The itinerary was in line with my budget and was incredibly fun. A big part of what I was looking for was a great food experience. Check! I wanted to see historically and architecturally significant places. Check! I wanted fun local shopping where I could purchase goods not available in New York. Check! Some tour guides were a better fit than others, but everyone was professional and knowledgeable. They brought me to places I never would have found on my own.

In sum, I would highly recommend this outfit for booking a trip to Japan. I had a great time and got a lot of value for my money.