Kimkim Trip Reviews

Hi Camélia and Team Kimkim,
We had an amazing Trip in Vietnam thanks to your wonderful Tour Guides ( Mr. Cuong/ Tay/ and John.
Everything was well set up Plus the Tour guide was very patient/ kind/ respectful and responded to all our needs on the GO.
Sincerely recommend KimKim and his Local Team.
Best Regards
,
Bea &Jean Marx

The trip that Guðmundur Óli put together for us in Iceland was absolutely epic. We had a variety of experiences based on our requests and boy did it pay off. We experienced waterfalls, black beaches, hot springs, gorges with amazing views; and saw the puffins on the cliff's edge! I'm a puffin fan now! Really enjoyed the snowmobiling, kayaking and hiking on the glacier to ice cave. What an incredible experience. Saw wildlife along the way which was an added bonus to the trip. We averaged approximately 18K-20K steps per day and climbed to the highest points to get better vantage points along the ring road and south coast. Gummi arranged the best hotels and even provided excellent restaurant recommendations as well as an organized google map daily so we could follow the instruction and get to our destination in plenty of time. Gummi was always available to answer questions and add on additional excursions when requested. The overall experience with kimkim was great. All we needed to do was pack our bag, show up and follow the app. Can't beat that for the best vacation ever! Thank you for a great experience.

Hotel Reviews

Sand Hotel by Keahotels

Reykjavík

Really enjoyed this property. It is very central to everything you need to walk to in Reykavik. Parking is off site but easy to find with the Parka app. Lots of shops and restaurants nearby to choose from. Breakfast was downstair and easily accessible. The bed was comfortable and a nice well equipped bathroom.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon

Hnappavellir

This hotel was a beautiful property. The rooms were very spacious with chairs and couch to enjoy the view. the black out curtain was nice to get a good night's sleep after a long day of hiking and excursions. The restaurant on site was nice with a common area in the lobby as well as bar. Enjoyed the sauna for some well needed respite from a long day!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hótel Grímsborgir by Keahotels

Ásborgir

Really enjoyed staying at this hotel. The rooms were very spacious and with a big common area outside your room to join up with friends or meet other people. The hot tub was as added bonus after a long day of hiking and excursions. Lots of options on the menu for anyone taste, but town nearby for some cool restaurants to choose from.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Búðir

Búðir

Loved this hotel and its location. Great Boutique hotel located near the black church and hiking trails. The beds were comfortable and views at night were beautiful. The food is top notch, and the hotel staff takes pride in the dining experience. Plenty of places to sit and enjoy the wonders of outside from a seat inside or outside.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon Kayaking Excursion

Iceland

The lagoon we kayaked on was beautiful with floating icebergs. There are a lot of activities going on at the same time, so a little bit of a traffic jam on the water. Suited up and got plenty of instruction. Would have like to hear more details about the icebergs themselves and the environment but a fun activity indeed.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Langjökull Glacier Snowmobiling Adventure

Golden Circle

The snowmobiling was a good experience. It is a bit cold snowmobiling on a glacier and due to the time of year, very wet. We geared up in a our "moon suit" and helmet so we were plenty prepared

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Faxaflói Bay Whale Watching Excursion

Reykjavík

This by far was one of the highlights of our trip. Saw humpback whales and minke whales and they appeared to be following our boat. Very entertaining with slapping the water and full breaches by the whales. What an incredible experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Glacier Ice Cave Experience

Iceland

Enjoyed our guide and the experience. He explained the history of the glacier and took us in the ice cave. Much smaller than I expected but nonetheless a great experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Amazing trip to Belize and Guatemala. Alex was very communicative and helpful during the entire planning process and while we were on the trip. We have been on many trips through kimkim with local companies in different companies. There seemed to be a disconnect with this trip. Typically we have one guide for each region that spends each day with our family (from airport pickup to the last day). This guide gives us local history and lots of information. They typically provide water for our family, local snacks and keep an eye on the schedule for stopping to eat (which is important for us as we have five children). This wasn’t the case in Belize or Guatemala. The guides we did have were great! The trip was wonderful but not as seamless as we are used to with kimkim trips.
There was more than one instance where we arrived at a location (ferry, airport, etc) and the driver was no where to be found. Alex took care of things very quickly but there seemed to be a lack of communication or understanding of pick up expectations between Alex and the drivers. I would highly recommend visiting Belize and Guatemala, they are both beautiful countries.

Hotel Review

Porta Hotel Antigua

Antigua Guatemala

I stayed at the Porta Hotel Antigua during my trip, and it was especially good. It brought back nostalgic memories since I had stayed there before many years ago. The experience was as satisfying as I remembered.

Activity Reviews

Day Hike to Pacaya Volcano

Guatemala

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Tikal National Park

Guatemala

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hol Chan/Shark Ray Alley - from Ramon's Village

Guatemala

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Great trip and wonderful schedule prepared by Kim Kim.Everyone was punctual. I would let people know about weight limits on domestic airlines .We were able to leave a suitcase behind in one of the hotels and pick up on way back.All reservations and guides amazing! Felt safe and well taken care of.
Florencia our guide in Buenos Aires , Driver Alberto , Guides in El Beroliche, Teno and Jenny Somweber ,our ski and snowboard instructor were excellent!

Mathilde was amazing. She helped us plan everything on the trip and made recommendations when needed. We highly recommend Kim Kim and especially Mathilde!!

I booked a family vacation to Portugal in August 2025 using KimKim and our excellent specialist Tiago. From start to finish KimKim offered great service. After filling out an initial questionnaire, Tiago sent me a draft itinerary to give me a better idea of how the trip could be structured. We then hopped on a call to go through the itinerary in detail and discuss potential changes. Once all this was done I received a final itinerary with all the details and booked the trip. Honestly this was the HARDEST part, and it was as easy as could be.

Tiago was able to tailor the trip to my specifications and offered great advice in terms of the amount of activities and traveling within the country we were planning to do. The trip was AMAZING and delivered on every aspect. The guide book that Tiago put together was also extremely helpful. It consolidated all of the necessary information, including booking confirmations, into one place and provided lots of helpful tips about each location. Additionally, we did not want to book all our dinners ahead of time and Tiago was awesome to help us secure last minute reservations throughout the trip.

I highly recommend KimKim and especially Tiago!!

Activity Reviews

Surf Lesson

Portugal

The surf lesson in Sagre was perfect for the family.Our instructor Joel was great, and made sure everyone understood how to be safe in the water before we started catching waves. All the boys were able to get up (at least for a bit) by the end thanks to Joel’s help.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Joel

Coasteering

Portugal

One of the Highlights of our trip!!!! This is not something you get to do everyday and offers fun and challenge to all ages. Our guide Francisco was AMAZING and really looked after my boys ensuring they were safe and having fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Fransisco was AWESOME!!!

Sunset Cruise of Lisbon

Lisbon

Beautiful way to see Lisbon without the crowds!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Culinary Tour of Porto

Porto

Amazing way to introduce yourself to Portuguese and Porto cuisine. We took our three sons 10, 13, and 15 along and they really enjoyed learning about the food and tasting new things.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Gummi built us an awesome trip that included lots of things any firs time visitor to Iceland should do, while mostly keeping us out of tourist hell. Gummi was available for questions and to give tips/advice during our 9 day stay in Iceland as well. We particularly enjoyed driving through the Highlands on the F Roads and the snorkeling in the Silfra Fissure. We're usually big self planners for trips, but being that we only decided to go away for our anniversary about 2.5 months before the trip there was no time to plan it ourselves, and Gummi took all that stress away. A trip anywhere is all about balance, and I definitely think Gummi built out a quality itinerary that balanced seeing as much as possible without overbooking the days to the point that we were just running from place to place and could take our time if we found something we really wanted to see.

Hotel Reviews

Stracta Hotel Hella

Hella

Stracta Hotel Hella was more than decent. The staff were friendly and the room was comfortable, however, it was quite busy during breakfast times as it was a hub for tour buses. Despite the hectic mornings, we didn't face any major issues during our stay.

Magma Hotel

Kirkjubæjarklaustur

Our favorite hotel that we stayed at during our trip to Iceland. Very cute, small (so no tour groups stay here, which is amazing), and the views were absolutely stunning from the back door of our cabin.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Amazing views from the cottages

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sky Lagoon Experience - Saman

Reykjavík

I think we actually preferred the Sky Lagoon over the Blue Lagoon. It wasn't as busy and felt much more calming and serene. Sky Lagoon provided a much more intimate and relaxing experience compared to the more touristy Blue Lagoon.

Glacier Ice Cave Experience

Iceland

Great experience. The ride to the cave is its own adventure, especially the roller coaster. It's fun to walk on the glacier, view the cave, eat ice from the glacier. Our driver was friendly and knowledgeable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Silfra Snorkeling Adventure

Iceland

An absolute must do! Great experience all around. It's not nearly as cold as some people make it out to be. Our guide, Shenae, was awesome and super helpful.

Quality of Experience

10/10 - Must Do

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Víðgelmir Lava Cave Experience

Iceland

A fun experience into the a lava tube. The guide was fun and informative with plenty of little jokes, but also a wealth of historical information about the tube. The complete darkness experience at the end was surreal.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I was trying to plan a trip to Greece for myself and my 2 (grown) children to celebrate their graduation from college. I really had little idea how to go about doing so. I happened upon the Kimkim site, and Angelica worked with me for well over a year planning the perfect vacation for us all. She listened to what I wanted and edited the trip as requested or needed. Every bit of the trip was perfect! We were greeted at the airport, taken to our hotel and we enjoyed the tours, the cruises and the fantastic hotels she found for us. There wasn't a single thing that didn't work out!

We did a walking tour of the Acropolis in Athens, a catamaran cruise in Santorini, and a panoramic tour of Santorini that included a wine tour and tasting. We loved it all. The restaurants that were recommended were fantastic! One of my favorite things was our suite in Santorini, which had our own private plunge pool and breakfast served to us each morning with stunning views.

Not only Angelica absolutely amazing, but everyone we met along the way was kind, helpful, informative and just helped make this a trip of a lifetime! I highly recommend this company and Angelica if you are planning a trip or any travel abroad. I know there was no way I could have planned a trip like this on my own. I also found it ti be a very reasonable cost for all that we experienced. It truly was the trip of a lifetime.

Σας ευχαριστώ πολύ, Aggeliki, for all you did for us! We loved our trip.

April, Calli and Kolby Vocke

Hotel Review

Anthemis Suites

Santorini

Perfect location for amazing views and close to restaurants and shopping. The family run Anthemis is just fantastic. I would go back in a hot minute if I could. It is quiet, relaxing, clean and well run. We loved the cats that came to visit outside and I just loved sitting quitely reading a book and cooling off in the pool as needed. The kids (ages 24 and 21) loved going off to hike, shop or eat nearby. I can't say enough great things about this spot. I 100% highly recommend it if you are traveling to Santorini. There wer3 3 of us and we each had our own bed to sleep in (me in the bedroom, the kids on the 2 songle size couches converted to beds. Breakfast each morning was delicious, we loved the fresh orange juice, coffee and croissants the best, but also enjoyed the fresh fruit, and the yogurt, granola and honey. Artemis helped us with any questions we had and offered places to eat and shop when we asked. I loved it here.

Authenticity & Character

It is quiet, small and relaxing! Family run and small, not a huge resort.

Location

Not Caldera views, but amazing views!!

Staff

Every single person was kind and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

spotless and super comfortable and relaxing.

Activity Reviews

Panoramic Tour 2025

Santorini

One of my favorite parts - we had a personal tour of Santorini with stops for all the best pictures and so much history! We also did a wine museum tour and wine sampling. It was awesome. Our guide, Marina, was top notch! She was so kind and informative, she shared so many neat facts and details about Greece. We loved it.

Quality of Experience

Marina was very knowledgable

Guides, Drivers and Staff

So fun and funny! We hope labubu is still the mascot.

Transport

Fantastic, on time and great

Catamaran Sunset Cruise 2025

Santorini

This was so much fun. We met some fantstic people from Italy, England, Spain, Canada ans Minnesota. The crew were fun and helpful. The locations were great and we enjoyed swiming, boating and sightseeing. The sunset views are stunning.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Athens Highlights Mythology Tour

Greece

Great tour, so informative! It was hot but ok.

Great trip and exceptional plan laid out for us. When we had a cancelation we knew and received help promptly.
Many thanks to our ageb Hanna!

Kateryna was very responsive and helpful in planning our 3 day trip to London continuing into Southhampton for a cruise. We had a driver that could pick us up for transfer to port and they quickly took care of alternate transportation. A bit stressful but very quick to respond and find alternate transportation. I would use the service again in the future.

Activity Reviews

Thames Cruise with Dinner

London

Cruise sights were amazing at night. Dinner and on board entertainment were a bit cheesy! But it’s ok as sights made up for the cheese lol

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tower of London Beefeater Welcome & Crown Jewels

London

Very interesting and educational experience! A private tour guide option might have added to overall experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I

Discover London in a Private Black Cab

London

Great interactive tour even though we were exhausted from just arriving!

Quality of Experience

I’m

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip to Paris was absolutely incredible, and all of the arrangements that kimkim made for us were seamless. That said, we definitely felt the schedule was overly jam-packed toward the end, and if we could do it over we would *not* have tried to do The Louvre and the Jardin de Plantes (which included the Managerie *and* the Grande Galerie de l'Evolution) in the same day. It was an incredible amount of walking, crowding, and stimulation for the kids all in one day. As a result, we decided to skip all of the scheduled activities on the last day so that we could instead enjoy the day at our own pace. All in all, however, it was the trip of a lifetime, and all of the activities we did do were spectacular. The only additional note I'll make is that we tried for nearly an hour to find access to the RER C (which would have taken us from Paris to Versailles) only to find out some or all of it is currently closed for maintenance. Had we known, we would have just taken an Uber straight from the hotel, which is what we ended up doing in the end. As it was my first time taking my girls overseas, a lot of travel lessons were learned, but overall it was a genuinely wonderful vacation and an experience they will never forget.

Hotel Review

Hotel Jeanne D'Arc Le Marais

Paris

The Hotel Jeanne D'Arc Le Marais was really nice, with its best feature being its location. The Marais district is absolutely to die for and was centrally located for access to most of our activities. All of the staff were amazing and accommodating. I acknowledge it's a three-star hotel because of my tight budget, but the breakfast, "bar," and lack of central air took some getting used to. But otherwise, we really enjoyed it. We even found the beds to be unbelievably comfortable. If you do stay here, I recommend staying on the 2nd floor or above (which in France is the 1st floor or above) so that you can open the windows; the rooms on the bottom floor (Floor 0) have a large protective barrier over the window, so opening it doesn't help much.

Authenticity & Character

Because of its location, you can enjoy all of the rich, authentic charm and culture of Paris.

Location

Le Marais is where to be in Paris! It was my favorite part!

Staff

Amine!

Cleanliness & Comfort

The beds really were unbelievably comfortable (at least in room 15).

Activity Reviews

Visit of the Menagerie, the zoo of the Jardin des Plantes & and the Great Gallery of Evolution

Paris

Quality of Experience

Unveiling Masterpieces at the Louvre Museum

Paris

Quality of Experience

French macaron bakery class for families

Paris

If I'm honest, the best part of this experience was its location inside the Galeries Lafayette, which we spent *hours* shopping in after the baking class was over. The chef was about twenty minutes late getting started, after we had arrived about 15 minutes early, so we ended up sitting on the 3rd floor near the Concierge for more than 30 minutes. That said, the kids really enjoyed the class, and the parents were all relieved it was straightforward and not terribly involved.

Quality of Experience

Visit the Royal castle of Versailles

France

Quality of Experience

Visit of the Eiffel Tower with access to the summit

Paris

We loved it! We also appreciated going in the evening so we could see the light show.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We took an Uber to and from.

Discovery tour of Paris by vintage 2CV car

Paris

This was one of my personal favorite activities and was a great orientation/introduction to Paris on our first day, but others in my group had varying experiences.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Best experience with Marisa and the other Kim Kim colleagues!

The trip organised with Yuqqa turned out to be very well aligned with our family’s interests along with some key highlights from Bali and the Komodo islands. A few key highlights for us were the silvermaking class, the cooking class in a traditional Balinese home and our three days in the Komodo islands.
I really liked our interactions with Yuqqa prior to the trip, answering all the questions I had (high-level, but also fine details). The few calls we’ve had prior to the trip were also very helpful in preparing. I’m very grateful for this support!
We had the chance to be accompanied by Suparta, our driver for our time in Bali, who was very safe, always kind and a very authentic source of knowledge on the local culture. We had a great time with him!
Our guide Ray for the Komodo islands boat tour was also fantastic! Such great energy, open mind and great with our daughter to introduce her to snorkeling and to get her comfortable in these adventures.
Overall, I certainly highly recommend working with this team for a future trip to Bali and the Komodo islands.
FIVE STARS!

Hotel Reviews

Private cruise trip in Komodo National Park

Labuan Bajo, Indonesia

The crew on the Giona boat was awesome. Having this boat in private format for our family was really great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bayview Gardens Hotel

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The AC was insufficient, making the sleep difficult.

Puri Santrian

Denpasar

Authenticity & Character

Big resort but that is precisely what we wanted for that part of the trip.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arkamara Dijiwa Ubud

Bali

Authenticity & Character

Location

Loved the nature in this hotel!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Experience Sunset Local Boat Tour and BBQ

Indonesia

Silver class in Ubud

Ubud, Bali

This was our daughter’s trip highlight!

Experience Balinese Cooking Class

Indonesia

Experience Balinese day in Sidemen

Indonesia

My daughter joined my wife and I on our Costa Rica trip. Our trip planners, Holden and Serendipity Adventures tailored our visit to accommodate our special needs and schedule. We landed in San Jose and stayed at a hotel within a mile of the airport. Next day, Alex picked us up at the hotel for our trip to the Arenal Volcano area. Alex was much more than a van driver. He is an encyclopedia for Costa Rica! He gave us interesting facts about each small town we traveled through, pointed out interesting flora and fauna, and took us to his favorite Soda for an excellent Cost Rican lunch.
Our hotel, the Arenal Springs Resort, is a full service resort with multiple restaurants, swimming pools and excellent service. Our favorite restaurant was the swim-up in the hot springs swimming pool! The only negative for the hotel was its size. Our rooms were far from the central area and, since we had trouble walking, we needed to call for a ride every time we needed to do something. The rides arrived quickly, but were a little inconvenient.
From our hotel, Serendipity took us to a jungle walk, a river rafting trip (no rapids), and a coffee/chocolate tour. Lots of great photos and we are now experts on coffee and chocolate!
After 4 nights in Arenal, we journeyed to Monteverde, and the Cloud Forest Lodge, Our trip began with a short trip through the jungle to Lake Arenal, where we and our luggage boarded a boat for a sail across the lake to a landing about 45 minutes away. Our van was then loaded up and we learned about some of Costa Rica's very poor roads! 3 1/2 hours of pot holes, with a few newly paved sections to give us some hope! Next time we visit we hope that paving will be completed!
We only had 2 nights scheduled for the Cloud Forest Lodge, which was unfortunate. We could have stayed there much longer! The hotel is an eco-friendly facility with no TV, no pools, and no noise! Yes, you can hear birds singing and some animal calls from the jungle, and occasional thunder, but nothing else. We had never experience such an atmosphere and I thought I might get bored, but it was a wonderful experience. Thanks to Holden and Serendipity for finding this unique destination. Next time, we will spend a week at that lodge.
More kudos: My wife is gluten intolerant and when we had lunch that afternoon on the balcony overlooking the jungle, we informed the waiter of that. Her lunch was excellent and gluten free. When we went to dinners, lunches, and breakfasts thereafter, all the wait staff knew of her gluten intolerance and were careful to serve her only gluten-free dishes. Even the amuse bouche was separately prepared for her at the dinners. We have eaten at many Michelin-stared restaurants without that level of attention.
Our best tour of the week began the next day, a bird watching adventure in the cloud forest. Our guide, Andres (Andy), was an internationally recognized naturalist who is an incredible source of knowledge of birds, animals, trees, etc!

From start to finish planning my trip to Amsterdam was seamless with the support of Mieke. She crafted a custom itinerary that balanced the interests and needs of my 14yo son and 82yo mom. Most helpful was her availability and responsiveness while we were abroad. It’s such a comfort having someone in country to reach out to with questions or, for example, to modify an activity mid-trip when we realized my mom needed less walking. This is my third time using Kim Kim and I highly recommend!

Hotel Review

Dikker & Thijs Hotel

Amsterdam

Excellent location, friendly and accommodating staff, delicious breakfast, charming and clean rooms.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Amsterdam - Van Gogh Museum

The Netherlands

A must see.

Amsterdam - Anne Frank House

The Netherlands

A must see.

Amsterdam - Muiderslot Castle by public transport

Amsterdam

We loved taking a walk back through time to the medieval history of Amsterdam. Beautiful grounds and restored castle. The town itself is beyond charming. A trip favorite for sure!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Daytrip to Cheese Farm, Edam and Zaanse Schans

The Netherlands

The cheese farm was interesting, Edam was charming, and the driver Herman was lovely, but Zaanse Schans was insanely mobbed with tourists and felt more like a disney experience than an authentic glimpse into the architectural and engineering feats of the windmills (which were magnificent but better to know in advance that it is a bit of a tourist spectacle)

Amsterdam - Private canal cruise to Van Gogh Museum

The Netherlands

A trip favorite! Our guide was informative and funny and there is nothing like seeing the city from the water.

Amsterdam Dungeon

Amsterdam

My son and I really enjoyed this spooky theater that introduced us to the ghosts of Amsterdam's past. Beware, though, it is spooky and not for the faint of heart! Also requires a fair amount of walking and crouching so my 82yo mom was not able to participate.

Amsterdam - Private guided historic city walk

The Netherlands

Jan was friendly and knowledgeable

Public Transport Pass Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Easy to navigate, very clean, and enjoyed traveling like a local!

Gummi provided us with a very detailed and appropriate itinerary for a family of four adults that wanted to drive the ring road on their first ever trip to iceland. We got to see the highlights of the golden circle and see the beauty of the East Fjords and the Northern Coast. If you are looking to go off of the beaten path, I would recommend going along the Northern Coast and to the East Fjords. We went to Blue Lagoon, Forest Lagoon and Sky Lagoon. All places are lovely and packed full of tourists. The Ring Road was a wonderful, one land drive around the entire country and through some very unique mountain passes and tunnels. Seeing the different views of the Oceans and Mountains of Iceland was incredible. Iceland has unique geology and geographic features. We most enjoyed the puffins, the ice cave and Diamond Beach.

Most valuable was Gummi’s detailed daily itinerary. It made logistics a breeze by setting out each activity, giving step by step travel instructions, and telling us how much time to allocate for each activity. He kept us on time when we needed it. Gummi was always accessible to answer questions and make changes on the fly.

And now for something completely different: He’s a Monty Python fan. Perfect for us!

With fond memories,

The Rones Family

Hotel Reviews

Fosshótel Rauðará

Reykjavík

Small rooms that don’t seem to be set up correctly

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

not set up right

Fosshótel Reykholt

Reykholt

Busy chain hotel, with small rooms

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sigló Hótel by Keahotels

Siglufjörður

Luxury hotel

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Guesthouse Stöng and Cottages

Myvatn

A beautiful farm and guest house set up! They have handmade Icelandic Sweaters

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel 1001 Nott

Egilsstadir

Smaller hotel with large glass walls.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fosshotel Núpar

Kálfafell

Super busy hotel full of other travelers. Provides the basics and is very nice, but very impersonal.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Vos

Hella

It is run by a local family. They are lovely and warm people.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It’s a few minutes off the Ring Road and right by a grazing field for horses

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Center Hotels Skjaldbreið

Reykjavík

Great location, tiny rooms.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It’s in the heart of the walking center.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Whale Watching Experience by Traditional Boat

Iceland

Feels like a waste of resources. There are whales and we spotted some whales, but why are we crowding onto a motorized boat to see whales?

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Glacier Ice Cave Experience

Iceland

Awesome experience going into ice cave and hiking up a glacier. Our guide was fun and knowledgeable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had an absolutely incredible trip to Costa Rica and it would not have been possible without the amazing team at Serendipity Adventures. From the very start, everything was thoughtfully planned, well-organized, and tailored to our family’s needs.

Holden, Wilman and the team were a joy to work with. Always responsive, friendly and professional. Every transfer, tour and accommodation was seamless and we felt supported at every step of our journey. The attention to detail made all the difference, allowing us to relax and enjoy Costa Rica’s beauty without any stress.

The experiences they arranged, from exploring rainforests at night to white water rafting, were unforgettable. It was clear how much care and passion went into crafting our itinerary.

Thank you, Serendipity Adventures, for the trip of a lifetime. We couldn’t recommend your team more highly to anyone considering a trip to Costa Rica.

Pura vida!

Our family had an amazing trip to Costa Rica! The trip planned by Kim Kim and the local tour group Serendipity Adventures was planned from beginning to end to perfection supporting our family’s interests and needs. Elena was wonderful in helping us plan the trip and Wilman supported us throughout our week on the ground. While we did our own self driving tour, it was nice to know that he and his team was just a text away to answer any questions we had. We visited Arenal with an exciting rafting trip and then a private hiking tour with Mariano that was so educational. Then it was on to Monte Verde for a night exploration of the Children’s Forest, fun ziplining and another educational coffee and chocolate tour. Finally, we ended in Manuel Antonio. We had the most amazing tour with Socio, who i think taught most of the other guides at the park. His knowledge and excitement about every single organism there was truly unmatched. We ended our journey to paradise with a boat tour where the kids got to unwind and swim in the ocean while we enjoyed some delicious seafood relaxing on our last day here. It was a full week that we will remember fondly

Hotel Reviews

Cloud Forest Lodge

Monteverde

Authenticity & Character

Location

incredible views and very secluded in nature

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arenal Springs Resort

La Fortuna

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel La Mariposa

Manuel Antonio

Authenticity & Character

Location

overlooking the water and the park with beautiful views

Staff

everyone is incredibly friendly. Alan and reception and Fabian at breakfast were both lovely

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

All Day Adventure at Selvatura, including Zipline, Hanging Bridges, and Fauna Exhibitions

Costa Rica

We went for the ziplining and stayed the entire day checking out all of the other exhibits and activities. Our favorite was the 2 toed sloths , particularly Oprah who was very photogenic! The reptile and butterfly presentations were also really well done and the hanging bridges walk was a lot of fun. The ziplining is really well done and you get the adrenaline rush you are looking for, knowing that the equipment is all well maintained.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Night Walk at Children's Eternal Forest

Monteverde

Such an incredible night hike with Alan who found so many creatures and taught us about each of them as we spent this special time exploring the Children’s Eternal Forest. There was something truly magical about exploring the forest after dark and we all really enjoyed this experience so much. Of course, the highlight was the tarantula!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver was awesome. He spotted two night animals as well!

Transport

Arenal Volcano Hike & La Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

Mariano was so well informed and so much fun to learn from. We ended up in the middle of a deluge on our hike but it still was a lot of fun and we learned a lot about the history of the area and the environment

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Whitewater Rafting Sarapiqui River (Class III-IV)

Costa Rica

Lots of fun for family with older kids

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip to Indonesia was truly memorable and allowed to experience a broad range of activities (cultural sites, a Balinese cooking class, and outdoor hiking activities to Mt Bromo and various trekking activities in both Bali and Java) that catered to our variety of interest. These activities allowed us to experience the culture of Java and Bali through a variety of activities that allowed us to interact with the local people with the help of our drivers ( Hendri in Yogyakarta and Bargus in Bali) and guides and experience the natural beauty of both Bali and Java.

We really appreciated the help of Yuqqa in helping to suggest some wonderful additions to our original itinerary ( e.g the Gilli Islands, and the Catarmaran Cruise) both of which were nice additions that allowed us to enjoy the beaches and unique snorkel opportunities present in Indonesia. The Gilli Islands also provide a nice change of pace and gave us some down time to relax and have some free days to explore on our own without any structured activities.

Hotel Reviews

Puri Santrian

Denpasar

Hotel had many amenities including spa and multiple swimming pools for guest and a direct access to the beach. Also, the breakfast buffet offered a nice selection of items including Dim Sum, traditional American breakfast items, plus cooked to order eggs and local Indonesian food items. Also, the hotels location offered easy access to many outside dining options that one could walk to in under 15 minutes.

Authenticity & Character

Hotel architecture and beach vibe.

Location

Access to the beach and short distance to evening dining options.

Staff

Staff was attentive and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms are pretty spacious with balconies.

Tugu Malang

Malang

Really nice hotel with great amenities and spa. The decor of the hotel is unique with antique furniture pieces in both common areas and rooms. The breakfast buffet was great as there was a wide range of food available to suit all taste

Authenticity & Character

The furnishing and decor that fuse modern and early 20th century Java

Location

Centrally located to restaurants and night life in Malang

Staff

Staff was attentive to our needs.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The spa at this hotel is one of nice perks after a couple of days of rigorous hiking/ trekking activities

Activity Reviews

Experience Balinese Cooking Class

Indonesia

This was one of the best acclivities we did on Bali. Our instructor was very personable and we learned a lot about Balinese culture and cuisine talking to her and getting hands on instruction. The food which we prepared turn out to taste really good too.

Quality of Experience

Food

The opportunity to learn about and taste different seasonings and how to work with them in the kitchen

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Instructor was very personable

Transport

Gili Islands Snorkeling

Indonesia

The water a beautiful turquoise and clear which makes it possible to see many fish and some sea turtles. Depending on your preferences, it is possible to charter a private snorkeling adventure.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Madakaripura Waterfalls (En Route from Surabaya to Mount Bromo)

Mount Bromo, East Java

The trek to the falls is awesome. There are not many people on the trail so this makes the whole experience more serene and enjoyable

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Borobudur Temple, Pawon Temple, Mendut Temple, and Yogyakarta Market

Yogyakarta

Even though it was crowded, the system in place for tourist to visit the site has greatly made the experience more enjoyable

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was entertaining and made the explanation of the site history enjoyable.

Transport

Transport was extremely well organized to get to the site.

We enjoyed our itinerary a lot and each of the tours was very well thought out with *excellent* drivers (a BIG deal) and good tour guides for the most part. The Peru portion was noticeably better with much better coordination by the local agency Andes Tours.

The Argentina portion of our trip had a couple of mishaps with booking Montevideo (instead of Colonia) which was fixed last minute ($200 extra cost), and the San Telmo grill tour was just a lunch in Palermo (but the agency made it up to us with an excellent dinner in Cuzco!).

Every single driver on our entire trip was excellent. Every time the driver was early to pick us up, had a very comfortable van, and drove well. This is huge when you are in a foreign country and the roads/traffic are insane.

We had a very unfortunate case of food poisoning and our local guide Lisbeth did an amazing job of helping us when we needed her most. Thank you Lisbeth! Thank you Io!

Hotel Reviews

El Mapi by Inkaterra

Cusco

I was pleasantly surprised by our stay at Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo. We were originally supposed to stay at El Mapi by Inkaterra, but we got an upgrade, and the hotel was just spectacular. The setting was beautiful and the service was exceptional. My wife unfortunately got food poisoned, but it wasn't from the hotel. Despite that hiccup, the stay was one of the highlights of our trip.

Hilton Garden Inn Lima Miraflores

Great hotel! Fantastic way to finish a long and exhausting trip.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to boardwalk, beach and the Cat Park!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spotless, great showers!

Costa del Sol Wyndham Cusco

Cusco

Great location, staff and rooms.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Esplendor by Wyndham Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Excellent location and nice staff. But Very loud night club next to our room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day excursion to Uruguay - Montevideo

Buenos Aires

Our day trip to Colonial del Sacramento was an unexpected highlight. Although there was initially confusion with the booking and we ended up paying extra due to a mix-up, the day turned out exactly as we had hoped. The rustic charm of Colonial and the overall experience made it memorable.

Shared Lima Fountains Tour

Lima

This tour is worth doing, but with very low expectations. The park is an odd cross between some water fountains and a children’s amusement park. The main event is an impressive fountain, visual show, but not worth driving across the city for.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Urban Bike tour in Lima

Lima

This was a really cool way to see Lima. It was much better than riding around in a van. Italo is a great guide!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Machu Picchu: Pachamanca Farm Experience & Transfer to Cusco SV

Peru

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private tour to Chinchero, Moray, Maras & Ollantaytambo & Train to Aguas Calientes

Peru

This was truly an unbelievable day full of surprises and amazing Incan ruins. Probably our favorite activity of the entire vacation, which is really saying something.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Small Group Grill Tour in San Telmo

Buenos Aires

The local tour operator did not take us on a grill tour. This was very disappointing! He took us to a fancy lunch in a different neighborhood. So we just made the best of it.

Quality of Experience

Quality of Experience

Food

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transport

Buenos Aires city tour & Tango Show

Buenos Aires

Did not have a city tour. The tango spot was quite good.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport