Kimkim Trip Reviews

We had the most amazing experience on our trip to Scotland. Thank you to Jane and Celina for working with us to create such an incredible trip. We took a group of 49 Taekwondo students and family members from the Colorado Taekwondo Institute on a 10 day trip to Scotland where we visited Stirling for 2 days, Aviemore and Inverness for 3 days and Oban for 3 days. Our trip was seamless. Our excursions and activities had just the right balance and we were able to include many meals for our group. We even got to visit the highland games at Drumtochty Castle and do a demonstration for the crowd. Another highlight of our trip was having a special guide on the last full day of our trip. James Gray was amazing.

The Best!

Nadia was very infomative from the very beginning. She answered all of our questions in a timely fashion. She shared information with us to help our travels smoother. She really went above and beyond ot make sure our stay was amazing. I would recommend Nadia to all of my friends.

"Our recent vacation was an absolutely incredible experience—by far the best trip we have ever taken! What truly set this journey apart was KimKim’s meticulous attention to detail. From the moment we landed at our first destination to our final departure heading home, every single transition was flawless. Every need was anticipated and seamlessly met, allowing us to just relax and enjoy. That level of care and precision is what makes kimkim stand out from the rest. We couldn't be happier!"

Driving from Ålesund to Bergen
Hotel Alexander was a standout among the hotels…very nice. Loved driving in Norway! Driving up to Jostedalsbreen National Park, seeing Briksdal & Kjendalsbreen glaciers, riding the Flåm train: very special & scenic ❤️. Our electric car (Volkswagen ID4) knew when the speed limit changed and adjusted cruise control up & down to match. Driving the longest car tunnel in the world between Flåm to Bergen…very fun, & with the 3 visual breaks 👍

Activity Review

Flåm Railway Round-Trip Experience

Norway

Beautiful

We had just finished a cycling trip and we were taking a few more days to see the western part of Norway. We spent time in Alesund, Loen, Flam and Bergen and rented the car on our own. We really enjoyed the time on our own to explore Loen and the Jostedalbreen National Park. I highly recommend the Loen Skylift, it is a bit pricey, but the views are outstanding. We also visited the glacier museum on the drive to Flam. Renting an electric vehicle was easy and we easily found charging stations, be prepared for long tunnels if you are driving to Bergen.
We were lucky to arrive at places in between tour buses and cruise ships. Most of the towns had very large cruise ships docked in the fjords nearby and that created a crowded downtowns while people were off the ship or bus tours. Norway has a short tourist season and lovely cool weather, so plan ahead. I was very happy with the service provided by Kimkim and the app made finding tickets and confirmations very easy.

Activity Reviews

Flåm Railway Round-Trip Experience

Norway

Viking Day in Gudvangen

Gudvangen

Past & Present City Walk

Bergen

Yumi and Taku were outstanding! The trip was well planned and took a lot of the stress of a first time trip to Japan away. We all would love to go back.

Hotel Reviews

Kyoto Tokyu Hotel

Kyoto

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

the b asakusa

Tokyo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Tokyo City Tour

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Samurai Sword Experience for Adults in Kyoto

Kyoto

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Tour of Arashiyama Bamboo Grove & Sagano Scenic Railway

Kyoto

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kyoto's Cultural Treasures: Fushimi Inari-Taisha, Nijo Castle and Kinkaku-ji

Japan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Mt. Fuji with Lake Kawaguchi with Oishi Park

Japan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Working with Berat was so helpful! She planned an amazing trip that our family loved!
Our favorite part was the guides! They were knowledgeable and so helpful!

Long was exceptional, detailed engagement and adjustments to our trip that best suited our family, followed by consistent check-in’s throughout the trip made for a very personalized experience. Our family would highly recommend working with Long on a trip to Asia!

We had an amazing time in Norway with all the trip details planned out for us by kimkim team! Taylor and Maria were wonderful and always available for any questions or challenges and very prompt with their responses!

Where do I even start?! All 4 of us - myself, my husband, and my 2 girls, ages 6 and 8 had an amazing time! I provided some guidance to Gummi, and he planned us an amazing trip. First of all, the accommodations were amazing:

Berjaya Reykjavik Marina - This was our favorite hotel of the trip. It was such a cozy, hygge vibe. Exceptionally clean. So many different rooms to hang out in! An awesome restaurant and bar with a happy hour. You could tell that this was not only a great place for tourists but for locals as well. There were always locals hanging out at the bar and in the lobby. Our kids loved the bunk bed in our room and the libraries and different rooms in the hotel. My daughter and I got sick one of the days, and it was nice that we had such a cozy room to hang out in. It was truly a place we loved to hang out in. The included breakfast buffet was the cherry on top!

Skálatjörn Guesthouse / Goat Farm - My girls were in love with the goats. The woman who runs the place was so friendly, and everything was exceptionally clean. It was a great place to rest after a long day of exploring.

Hotel Vík í Mýrdal - Amazing breakfast. Very spacious room with a loft area for our kids to sleep (they loved it). Their room darkening shades could use some work, but all in all it was a great place to stay. Close walking proximity to everything we had planned in Vík. Exceptionally clean.

Some activities we did that really stood out:

Blue Lagoon Comfort Admission (If I went back to Reykjavik, I would definitely do the Blue Lagoon a few more times! It was very relaxing)
Lava Tunnel Activity (This lava tunnel was seriously cool. My kids enjoyed all the troll lore. )
Glacier Ice Cave Experience (This was my favorite activity of the entire trip - it was so amazing! Once in a lifetime experience for sure!)
Explore Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon by Amphibian Boat ( we enjoyed seeing all the wildlife and my kids really enjoyed skipping rocks on the glacier bay beach)
Reykjavík Puffin Watching (I've never seen a puffin, let alone so many puffins all at once! This was truly a sight to see! Don't expect to get close enough to get any true close-ups of puffins though - I was a bit disappointed by how my photos turned out from so far away). However, I understand why it is important to give them space while they are nesting. Bring a really powerful telephoto lens if you plan to do this! I had one but needed more zoom! I actually enjoyed this more than the whale watching excursion - mainly because it was only an hour whereas the whale watching was 4 hours on a boat; my kids grew tired of being on the boat for that long.
Family-Friendly Horse Riding on Black Sand Beach. - Big hit with the whole family! The horses were all so sweet and well-behaved. I was a bit worried considering this was my first time on a horse ever, but I felt very safe!
The Secret Lagoon - Very cool hidden gem. The rocks at the bottom of this hot spring feel soooo good on the feet!

Gummi was very responsive on WhatsApp whenever we had issues. I would highly recommend using him as a guide or planner for any trip to Iceland. We even got to meet him in person because he was driving a couple and happened to stop at the same restaurant as us at the same time. I saw him and thought, that has to be him, and it was!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Vík í Mýrdal

Vík

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Skálatjörn

Selfoss

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Reykjavík Marina - Berjaya Iceland Hotels

Reykjavík

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Family-Friendly Horse Riding on Black Sand Beach

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Whales of Iceland Museum

Reykjavík

Quality of Experience

Faxaflói Bay Whale Watching Excursion

Reykjavík

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon by Amphibian Boat

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Reykjavík Puffin Watching

Reykjavík

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Glacier Ice Cave Experience

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lava Tunnel Activity

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wonderful trip planned by KimKim! Response time was very fast in the planning stages. We loved all of the options we ended up going with.

Few things, one of our tours mentioned that we needed to buy tickets to a park although we did not. 2 of our excursions were rescheduled and the updated information was provided by me (not them) — resulting in almost missing a boat day due to this miscommunication. We were on our own for these.

We picked hotels with only AC and 2 of the hotels did not have good AC. Need to triple check reviews before booking if AC is your priority.

Overall, great trip! Thank you for the assistance!

Hotel Reviews

Belle Marivent Mediterranean Petit Hotel

Palma de Mallorca

Hotel is advertised to have AC, however the rooms were very very warm & slightly uncomfortable our whole stay. The rooms are TINY- had to play Tetris to get all of our belongings situated. The bathroom, shower, and sink all in the hallway was a little odd. However, we managed! Breakfast next door was the best breakfast we had. Very kind staff at hotel and the restaurant. Great hotel, just small and hot.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very small rooms. AC did not cool the rooms.

Hotel Torre Del Mar

Ibiza Town

Our favorite hotel we stayed at! Large, resort feel. Had all of the amenities we like. Rooms were big and AC was COLD (this is a priority for us) Loved the location, the people, the food as well. Our favorite hotel of our stay!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

GOOD AC!!!

Andante Hotel

Barcelona

4 girls in early thirties from Texas visiting Spain for girls trip. Pros: - good breakfast - great location, walking distance to a lot - we wanted early check in but our room wasn’t available so we were offered an upgrade and we took it. However, the room was extremely hot. Cons: - AC is NOT GOOD. This hotel is advertised to have AC however, the room stayed very warm and stuffy no matter how low we turned it down. The summer is hot so if AC is your priority, highly recommend looking elsewhere. - location in the city is loud, bring air plugs - rooms kinda small, but manageable!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Walking g distance to a lot. Kind of loud. Homeless people in area.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

advertised to have AC however, was not cool in the rooms whatsoever.

Activity Reviews

Hike Tramuntana & its Mountains Villages

Spain

Tour was great! Nina was excellent.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mallorca by Sea: A Boutique Sailing, Tapas & Snorkeling Experience

Spain

Really enjoyed this boat day. Preferred the small group. Would’ve been nice upfront to know that the drinks were not included in the package.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Could’ve probably used a third staff to be a bit more accommodating.

Transport

Discover Ibiza Town by Bike

Ibiza

Great tour!! We had to reschedule last minute and staff was incredibly accommodating. Really loved riding the electric bikes around the island.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Your Mediterranean Party Boat in Ibiza

Ibiza

This boat party was rescheduled a day prior. Luckily we were still in town for our rescheduled day. Kimkim did not notify us of the change as I was notified via WhatsApp. I then notified Kimkim of the change. The departure port was not updated by KimKim in our app, resulting in us almost missing the boat due to this lack of communication.

Quality of Experience

Communication from KimKim on the changes

Food

Our lunch was forgotten about, even that we upgraded our package.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Boat staff was somewhat rude. We upgraded so we could have a place to lay and put our belongings and staff seemed somewhat annoyed. They also forgot to get us the pallela lunch served.

Transport

The updated port departure was not updated by KimKim which almost resulted us in missing our boat.

Park Güell with an Expert: Discover Gaudí’s Living Masterpiece

Barcelona

Loved this tour, Ruth was so kind and a great story teller!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Montserrat & Penedès: Nature, Devotion & Cava

Barcelona

Great tour!! Marcel was great. The description said we needed to buy tickets to Montserrat, however, our tour guide had them so I’m glad we didn’t waste our money buying them in advance.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Marianna planned a great trip! Everything was very easy and convenient. The transportation was so easy and the excursions and guides were fantastic. Highly recommend!

Our trip to Germany was wonderful and memorable.

Lucie did a phenomenal job listening to what was important to my wife and me. We wanted to visit several concerts, and Lucie was willing to go the extra mile for us. Each hotel was wonderful and provided a different glimpse of Germany.

However, the truly special part of our trip was the private tours we took at each stop. Each guide was wonderful. Our guide, Evan, in Hamburg was truly outstanding. He was very communicative with us and accommodated our delayed arrival due to troubles on DB.

Lucie was also accommodating, as I had a strong interest in practicing German with her before the trip and during the tour. She was very patient with me. I asked her to plan something special for our 32nd wedding anniversary, and she did not disappoint.

Hotel Reviews

The Posthouse Berlin Potsdamer Platz – Leonardo Limited Edition 4*

Berlin

A lovely hotel. We arrived early and had a bite to eat in the bar. Wonderful menu for what we were looking for and amazing service.

Authenticity & Character

Not a lot of character here. However, a strong international hotel.

Location

A bit off the path. Felt outside of the action.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

AMERON Hamburg Hotel Speicherstadt

Hamburg

Breakfast here was the best on our trip. The room was clean and Bauhaus-style. It was nice to stay in a wonderful "city" hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Loved being able to walk to the subway, Elbphilharmonie, and Rathaus. All equidistant.

Staff

Super professional

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Domizil Erfurt

Erfurt

A charming hotel with a unique character. We spent our anniversary in this hotel. The staff placed rose petals and nesting "towel swans" on our bed. They provided beautiful strawberries and pastries in our room for the celebration. The morning breakfast was fantastic. Don't miss eating at Glashütte. What a view.

Authenticity & Character

So charming. The slanting floor only added to the character.

Location

Right in the middle of things. On a busy street, but you would never know.

Staff

They were so appreciative of my speaking German with them. So kind and always happy.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Townhouse Leipzig

Leipzig

We were attending the Bach Festival. You could not get closer to St. Thomaskirche.

Authenticity & Character

From the Bach headboard to a beautifully appointed room, this was a special stop.

Location

Steps from the famous Bach statue in Leipzig.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Classik Hotel Alexander Plaza - Berlin Mitte

Berlin

We loved being in the heart of former East Germany. So many unique and interesting things to see within a few minutes walk.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to the public transport and many museums and restaurants.

Staff

The staff was very accommodating, providing directions and restaurant recommendations in the area.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Wonderful on all accounts.

Activity Reviews

Hamburg Highlights Tour

Hamburg

Best guide of the trip. He was very knowledgeable, accommodating of our travel delays, and a super friendly guy. Get Evan, if you can.

Erfurt Private Walking tour

Erfurt

The guide helped us understand the importance of Erfurt. I initially thought we were stopping in this town solely because of the high-speed rail transfer. We came to realize the importance of Erfurt with Martin Luther and other luminaries. Hats off to our guide, who was professional and stellar.

Walking City Tour Leipzig!

Leipzig

Our guide knew a lot about the musical heritage of Leipzig. He did a great job of meeting our needs. Highly recommend!

Welcome to Erfurt !

Germany

Very strong tour from a professional guide. Highly recommend.

Berliner Philharmonie - Guided tour

Berlin

This was a good tour. Guide was very professaionl and warmed up as the tour went along.

Private Essential Berlin Tour: Landmarks Highlights & History

Berlin

Guide seemed a bit scattered. However, overall good.

24/7 assistance in case of emergency

Germany

We had some difficulties with the ICE trains in Germany. During our short stay, we had two trains canceled and two delayed. We both had to stand (despite our first-class reserved tickets) on the train from Hamburg to Berlin. Additionally, I had to stand from Erfurt to Göttingen. We tried to use the help line, but the answer was to connect with the DB help desk. This was the only disappointing part of our trip. I really feel DB should give a discount.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private transport was great. Hints in the travel document on how to use public transport to get to the hotels were helpful.

Transport

Please see my comment about the ICE trains. I doubt there is anything you can do about this.

I could not --and, likely, would not--have made this trip without Rachel and KimKim.

I started out with a vague idea of three things/places I would like to experience. Rachel did a magnificent job of helping me figure out what else I might enjoy. And she was right on all counts. I ended up with memorable experiences in all three areas plus a couple more: seeing beautiful landscape by train, art, horses/animals, theatre, history. And Harry Potter.

The KimKim app was indispensable, especially for an almost 3-week trip. It kept everything in one place, was well-organized, and had a clean, easy-to-read design (I have design experience--I know it's not a given). In addition to a day-by-day list of where I was going and what I was doing, it also listed how I would get there and included invaluable links to tickets, maps, and everything else useful and interesting.

They purchased tickets for me for everything from a front-row, center ticket to Phantom of the Opera, to museum tickets, to multiple train tickets. The train tickets were not insignificant, especially because my hope was to experience the landscape of England and Scotland by train. I started out in London and made stops at York, Barnsley, Edinburgh, Inverness, Portree, Oban, and Glasgow. Rachel arranged for me to join several small group tours and for several drivers for longer distances (I didn't trust myself to drive on the left-hand side!).

Each tour was an exceptional experience. The guides were a huge part of that--they made these tours interesting, informative, and fun. I'd like especially to mention:

--Private Walking Tour of York: My guide was Rob, from Walking Tours in the UK. Rob has a doctoral degree in history. To say he was knowledgable is an understatement. He was also passionate about the history of York, his native town. I very much appreciated his consideration for my slight limitations in walking--neither of us made a fuss about it; he simply and quietly stopped at places where I could sit down for a bit while we talked. My York history walk with Rob was a clear highlight of my trip. He has my deep appreciation.

--Whitby and the North York Moors, complete with a ride on a steam train (Mountain Goat Tours). I never understood the mystique of the moors in literature and film until this drive. I do now. Our guide's passion for the moors was contagious. He also had some recommendations for our time in Whitby, which were right on the mark. Another knowledgable, remarkable guide. (And I feel bad I don't remember his name!)

--Harry Potter Guided Walking Tour (Edinburgh) with Caroline, from the PotterTrail. This could easily have been a cutesy, "here's this" and "here's that" tour, but what Caroline did was give thoughtful insight into parts of Edinburgh that inspired JK Rowling. It became as much about where inspiration comes from as about landmarks and Harry Potter--not an easy thing to do, in my opinion. There were several children on the experience and she treated them with respect and fun. It really was quietly inspirational in itself.

--Skye in a Day. This was a dream come true. (I'd been singing the Skye Boat Song for decades before Outlander!) Once again, the guides were a key part of the day. (We had one guide, Donny, in the morning. When he started having van trouble, he called in a colleague, Kevin. There was no disruption; the switch was seamless.) They were both excellent guides. The camaraderie, with a touch of humor, they created with our group made this particularly memorable day. They made it a point to learn everyone's name and where we were from. And the island itself? Stunningly beautiful.

The arrangements that had to be made to make this trip possible were mind-boggling. In addition to the items mentioned above, KimKim arranged drivers for me from Heathrow to my hotel, from Skye to Oban, and from Glasgow to the Edinburgh airport. The drivers were, to a person, professional, knowledgable, and good conversationalists.

One of my tours was cancelled due to a mechanical issue with a ferry we were to take to several of the islands. I received a timely notification from KimKim the day prior.

The hotel selection, especially given the number of cities I was visiting, was also a not-insignificant part of KimKim's services. We talked about what I was thinking of and she chose the right hotels for me. Also, they were conveniently located to the places I would be visiting.

Rachel and I were in touch almost every day. She even reminded me to make restaurant reservations in Portree, where there is a limited number of restaurants.

Those arrangements, from hotels, to theatre, tour, and train tickets, absolutely (pardon the expression) blow my mind. And that everything went smoothly is a testament to their skills and expertise. I can't thank Rachel and the KimKim Team enough for the experience of a lifetime.

Hotel Reviews

Perle Oban Hotel & Spa

Oban

One of my two favorite hotels, the other being the York Grand.

Authenticity & Character

Rather elegant, with a lovely staircase and hallways. (My room required several turns down very short hallways and had a gigantic and elegant mirror.) The first thing I saw was huge ferry right outside my large window. pulling up into the harbor (this was before I knew this was a big ferry terminal.

Location

Perfect. Right in the middle of everything.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Marmalade Hotel

Portree

Location

Short and pleasant walk to the city.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Redcliffe Hotel

Inverness

My room was in a building separate, but just across the street from the main hotel. This was a very recently remodeled space and was lovely. The best thing was a patio running the length of the building with a phenomenal view of Inverness.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Leonardo City Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Authenticity & Character

Location

Only a short walk to the Royal Mile.

Staff

Was just a little too relaxed.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Maldron Hotel Glasgow City

Glasgow

It's a little difficult to compare because, like the Tower Hotel, it is a typical modern hotel. But it was nice and having a little less character the last night of my stay (when I was pretty tired) was kind of nice.

Location

It was a short cab ride from the train station. I was only there one night (on my way home), but I spent a little time exploring and found a nice food/shopping street to explore.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Grand, York

North Yorkshire

It felt both impressive and comfortable. The breakfast buffet was outstanding. The bar was impressive in a formal, yet comfortable and relaxed way and had good food--it was a very good place to eat at the end of a big day of walking. Best of all, it was a very short walk to the city center.

Authenticity & Character

I've never stayed in a hotel with a doorman dressed in a red livery uniform before. And, along with the rest of the staff, was very helpful.

Location

It was only a block or so from one of the city gate entrances into York, so very easy to walk to wherever I needed to go.

Staff

The staff was very helpful. They went above and beyond when I forgot about one of my prescription medicines and left it in the refrigerator. They overnighted it to my next hotel.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Tower Hotel

London

Authenticity & Character

the location

Location

it's right on the Thames and right across the road from the Tower of London

Staff

professional and responsive

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

An Evening at the West-End! Tickets to a Show of Your Choice

London

I will never forget seeing Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre. The theatre, the sound quality, the sets, and, especially, the talented cast were absolutely memorable. The opening notes of the male chorus are still sounding in my head.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip was perfectly planned. We had the perfect amount of time at each location and my family and I enjoyed all the activities planned. We were informed of weather-related changes in a timely manner and the alternatives for other activities were just as good. I would highly recommend Angeliki and would love to come back to Greece again to visit different islands!

Hotel Reviews

Iris Boutique Hotel Paros

Naousa

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

the only downside is that we had to sleep with the bedroom door open for the AC to reach the other room where the kids slept

Castle Mansions

Naxos

Very clean apartment in the middle of town.

Authenticity & Character

fresh fruit provided, which was a nice touch

Location

we could walk everywhere

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

the apartment was spotless and cleaned daily

Sweet Home Hotel

Athens

Great location, friendly staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sunset Private Cruise to Southwest Coast of Naxos (Rina’s Cave & Mikri Vigla)

Naxos

Beautiful evening! George was wonderful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bike tour: Arches – Acropolis – Kolymbithres

Paros

A nice afternoon seeing the island from a different view. I just wish it was longer!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Rib Boat Cruise: The “ULTIMATE” Trilogy Sifnos-Kimolos-Polyaigos

Greece

We had to switch our trip to a slightly different one due to winds, but the replacement was just amazing. A great day of swimming, cliff jumping, and enjoying the beautiful area. Our two captains were just wonderful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Naxos Villages Food Tour

Naxos

A wonderful afternoon visiting the villages.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Delicious Athens Food Tour afternoon

Greece

We had SO much food. We walked around the main areas of Athens and learned history as well as tasting food. A great way to start the trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Adrian was amazing. Easy to work with and ready to help resolve any last minute glitches and responsive to any questions that we had throughout the trip. For example, in Oban, Scotland we were scheduled to be picked up at 11:00 a.m. by a taxi (and driven to Edinburgh). A day or two before, we learned via the bus and ferry schedule that we would not arrive in Oban until noon. Peggy contacted Adrian and he quickly contacted the taxi company (we did not have the contact info for the company) and made the adjustment so that everything proceeded smoothly. We are pleased that we used kimkim services (and Adrian in particular) and would use kimkim again on a future trip.

Feedback on one excusion: The day trip from Edinburgh to St. Andrews and back. We were transported in a 16 passenger van. However the seats were so close together that there was not much leg room (especially for me at 6'3") and the seat back were so high that you could not really see the scenery as we were riding from point A to B. Personally, I would not want to do any future excursions in 16 passenger vans.

Activity Review

Fishing Villages of Fife & St Andrews from Edinburgh

Edinburgh

See my early comments in the general section re: the 16 passenger van

Transport

Michael was amazing

Hotel Reviews

Shilla Stay Busan Haeundae

Location

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

NINE TREE BY PARNAS SEOUL MYEONDONG 2

Seoul

Central AC is no good

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Half-Day Busan Highlights with K-drama Spot

Busan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Excursion to Korean DMZ + Suspension Bridge Tour

Seoul

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Busan Sightseeing with Hot Springs Spa Experience

Busan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discover K-drama Locations in European Villages & Nami Island

Seoul

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Gyeongbokgung Hanbok Dressing & Namsan Tower

Seoul

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The land tour through Istria was tailored to our small group’s travel priorities. The itinerary balanced natural sojourns through national parks with cultural and arts interests in the historical old towns. Our personal driver was a pleasant and knowledgeable docent through town and country.

Kim-Kim team,
I rarely write reviews unless my experiences are exceptionally good or absolutely disastrous.
We have travelled the world extensively and utilized several travel agencies including great trips with KimKim several times. Historically, the trips have gone as planned with the activities and logistics going nearly flawlessly after extensive planning and attention to detail. Unfortunately, after numerous virtual meetings with our KimKim Travel expert, followed by numerous e-interaction interactions with the scheduler prior to the trip, the logistics of this trip to Sweden were absolutely a disaster!!! The activities, guides and accommodations were very good, however, the overall transport to and from activities (starting with not being picked up at the airport) along with several mis-bookings (one activity didn't actually exist), poor activity coordination and many miscommunications led to the most stressful trip I have ever experienced. We hired Kim Kim to ensure that we could be care-free. Ultimately, we had to literally planned much of our own trip on the fly with tremendous stress. This was also quite embarrassing for us because we planned the trip for 3 additional couples. If the management were to look at the numerous written and whats-app records of both the emergency hot line (that was worthless), and e-communications (to the trip planner and scheduler), they would see that there were numerous interactions from our landing in Stockholm until our departure. Unfortunately, the hot line and e-communications did virtually nothing other than to be verbally apologetic....virtually no actions that were helpful or taken when we needed them the most. I spent 40 years working for a large corporation as an executive and our mantra was "the customer is always right!". When your business is 100% customer service oriented it was unfathomable that was there was a nearly complete system failure once we landed in Sweden. After returning from our trip and we had several additional discussions with various KimKim employees, they refunded a small portion of the total trip as a token recognition of our unfortunate experience this time with KimKim. Personally, I would have expected more along with letters of apologies from all that were involved (along with management) for this debacle. Hoping that KimKim will closely review our situation carefully to ensure this never happens again! Nothing else needs to be said.

Our Kim Kim agent took the time to really understand what kind of vacation we were looking for. The hotels that were booked for us were absolutely amazing! The staff at each one of them were just as amazing and so welcoming. We never had to worry about a language barrier. Everyone spoke English so we were able to communicate beautifully. Our tour guide in Athens was so knowledgeable, we had such an amazing tour to the Parthenon. It is probably the most memorable part of my vacation.

Hotel Reviews

Plaka Hotel

Athens

This hotel is very quaint and charming. The rooms are cleanly and well kept. But the best part of the hotel is the rooftop bar and restaurant! There's no better view in all of Athens of the Parthenon.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Agali Houses

Firostefani 00

Beautiful hotel in a beautiful setting on the cliffs in Santorini. The rooms are modern very comfortable beds and a beautiful bathroom and shower. The outside was traditional picturesque Greek. They have a lovely pool and lounging chairs. We took advantage of the pool and patio everyday. They also have a bar and snack food which we used daily. The sunsets from our patio were truly amazing.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Iris Boutique Hotel Paros

Naousa

This hotel is beautifully kept and centrally located near shops and dining areas, with just a 10-minute walk. The staff had many suggestions for us that were spot on. They were all so friendly and accommodating we hated to leave! The hotel was very clean and the morning breakfast had so many choices of delicious foods.

Authenticity & Character

So charming and picturesque inside and out. Just what you imagined it would look like.

Location

Staff

The staff gave suggestions on shopping and dining, they were so helpful. They always had smiles on their faces and were very welcoming.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The beds were very comfortable and the room was spotless.

Activity Reviews

Self-Guided Chasing the Santorini Sunset

Santorini

The most beautiful sunsets you'll ever see!

Quality of Experience

Self-Guided Neighborhoods Walk

Athens

Quality of Experience

Self-Guided Parikia & Naousa Markets Visit

Paros

Quality of Experience

Acropolis Beat-the-Crowds Discovery Walk

Athens

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Self-Guided Day Trip to Antiparos

Greece

I had not been able to have any beach time so we decided to go to the beach resort area. It was amazing! The cost of a beach chair right at the edge of the sea is minimal and the staff was very friendly with great service. The Agean Sea was absolutely beautiful.

Quality of Experience

Self-Guided Museum Visits in Athens

Athens

We were unsure of what museum we wanted to go to. A cab driver suggested the archaeological museum, and it is a doozy. We really enjoyed our visit here. It was truly a Greek experience.

Quality of Experience