Kimkim Trip Reviews

Our 11-day trip to Athens-Mykonos-Paros-Santorini would not have been as wonderful if not for our KimKim specialist, Christos, and the TravelTeam assigned to us and available at any time of day for any type of situation. Everything from tipping recommendations to "we can't find our driver?" to timely notices on schedule changes. Christos planned a perfect combination of tours, shopping and beach time for our group of 4 long-time friends for our first time in Greece. Weather and ferry delays caused cancellations of two tours which were promptly reimbursed by KimKim upon our return. Communication was the BEST. They were always available and very friendly and helpful with our questions and needs. In Paros, we wish we had been closer to (or in) Naoussa, as our hotel was a little remote and it was costly to get to the village to shop and dine. Word to Greek travelers... Pack less, you'll thank me. Besides, then you can bring more back! Our memories of this trip, like our friendship, will last a lifetime. Michelle, Lea, Linda, & Kelly

Hotel Reviews

Acquamarina Resort

Paros

Our group did not care for this hotel. No assistance with luggage was offered. Several flights of steps.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Too remote. Had to walk a mile to get to bus to go to Naoussa or $40 taxi (each way)

Staff

Very few staff, front desk was always on phone, answer to any question was "No"

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sweet Home Hotel

Athens

Wonderful breakfast, great staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Acrogiali Beach Hotel

Mykonos

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Eva at the front desk was wonderful and very funny!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kastro Suites Santorini

Santorini

I had a wonderful time at Kastro Suites in Santorini. The staff was great, the place was beautiful. The only downside was the many stairs we had to climb with our heavy luggage. The breakfast was fresh and delicious, a stark contrast to our previous accommodation.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Santorini Highlights with Wine

Greece

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Acropolis Guided Tour

Athens

Dorina was extremely knowledgeable and very interesting! She also worked with KimKim to solve our ticket issue.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Guided Mykonos Island Driving Tour

Mykonos

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Farm Tour with Lunch

Paros

My favorite part of the trip overall! Jeremy was a wonderful host. So personal, as was his son. Being from a farming state (Iowa) this was very interesting to us. Love the lunch on the veranda overlooking the Aegean Sea.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Local Transfer in Paros

Paros

Elias is #1!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Santorini Wine Tour

Santorini

This trip was cancelled due to ferry delay

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Caldera Cruise & Volcano Visit

Santorini

This was a great experience. Despite being a large group tour, we all had fun dancing on the boat.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Historically, my wife and I have always researched, planned and managed international trips, thinking this option gave us more flexibility and control over our vacation schedule and activities. Thus, we were skeptical contacting KimKim, but we are 100% glad we did. Absolutely everything about the trip was perfect: the accommodations, the excursions, the travel arrangements and the service. Everything! Afroditi was attentive and responsive to all our crazy questions in advance of traveling to Greece and was available to us, when needed, while we were there. She knows travel and she knows how to treat customers very well. I would recommend Afroditi to anyone seeking expert travel planning. She crafts very memorable trips based on customer input and feedback and her knowledge of an area. My wife and I are very grateful to Afroditi and KimKim for making our 40th-anniversary trip to Greece an incredible adventure.

Marina did a wonderful job in planning our trip. Things changed when our flight was canceled and she needed to rebook several of our tours. Had a little hiccup with understanding what we wanted but that was due on our end because we were traveling and couldn’t explain expectations to her well.

Working with KimKim was a wonderful experience. From the start, it felt very natural to describe what we were after, and then offer comments (thumbs up/thumbs down) on the suggestions offered us. In a short amount of time we had an itinerary that was just what we were after.

Our guide, Tricia, was excellent. She was very responsive, and completely understood our feedback. As our trip to Norway approached, she took some time off, and Tom filled in. There was no interruption of service, and Tom was as efficient and helpful as Tricia.

All of the places we visited were wonderful. Our focus was on small, fiord towns and hiking nearby. Everything exceeded expectations. During the trip, the encountered the usual array of small issues, but KimKim was right there when we needed them, responding to our questions and resolving issues very, very quickly. I don’t think we’ve ever had an a travel agent as efficient and helpful.

We will absolutely use KimKim again for other trips in the future.

Anna has done a fabulous job organizing this trip for us.
She offered us great hotels and restaurants choices, scheduled our trip with manageable distance between travel points .
Anna also asked good questions to find out what kind of travelers we are, we felt we were planning this trip together with her all along.
Her response time is prompt, and always informative.
When we came to Norway, there were road closures due to floods water from heavy rains , and Anna immediately reached out to us with a warning and two alternate routes to reach our destination.
Furthermore, there were colleagues to cover when she was not available herself and we felt that 24 /7we would be able to reach KimKim if we had any difficulties.
We could not recommend Anna, and our experience with KimKim more enthusiastically.
PS: not to be missed: Bergenfor its and history and architecture, Flam, Undredal, the Glacier museum, Fjaerland, and Ålesund, and the long, slow but stunning detour we took from Bergen to Aurland via Myrdal.

Our trip to Peru was amazing and unforgettable! Firstly, a huge applause for Johanna Fabian, our Trip Planner. She was with me beginning to end. She helped plan our trip in detail and customised it in every way that I wanted. She responded promptly to all my mails and queries, and it is because of her attitude, experience and promptness, that I felt confident in proceeding with Kimkim! Even after we landed in Lima, she was following up with me about the trip! A very big thank you to Johanna!
The transfers were very good and there were Kimkim representatives on time, in every place where we needed to be received!
The handling was smooth as silk with every arrangement in place completely in sync with the trip plan!
The hotels were superb!Especially wonderful was the Antigua Sans Blas in Cusco!Ours was a 4 star trip but the AC Hotel by Marriott in Lima and GHL Hotel in Puno were 5 star!
Guides Carlos ( Lima Gourmet), Flor in Cusco, Sacred Valley, Manchu Picchu and Marcia in Titicaca were wonderful and well-informed,! Flor is an excellent photographer too! Kristy and Johanna , of course, we’re excellent planners!

Our once -in- a - lifetime holiday to Peru was as magical and unforgettable as it was, thanks to Kimkim! We will definitely recommend your services to friends and family and plan to travel to South America again with you!

Hotel Reviews

AC Hotel by Marriott Lima Miraflores

Lima

Excellent service! Amazing delectable breakfast spread! Location couldn’t get better - in Miraflores, right at the Larcomar and Malecon!

Authenticity & Character

Location

In Miraflores, right on the Larcomar and Malecon, overlooking the Pacific!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Breakfast was super

Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica

Puerto Maldonado

Absolutely fabulous arrangements in the middle of the Amazon forest! The food is unbelievably good, including the service by Antonio and team! However, there are power cuts from 10:30 pm till 5 am and from 3:30 pm till 5:30 pm. The afternoon cuts are unbearably hot , the nights are still tolerable because it gets cool, if you’re lucky! There could be extra fans just above the bed and some extra light points.

Authenticity & Character

Very stylish cabanas!

Location

Staff

Excellent service

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean and stylish but extremely hot during the power cuts. Must provide a ceiling fan above the bed or at least a stand fan. There should be a light in the shower and bathroom, too creepy just to use the lantern for light.

Antigua Casona San Blas

Cusco

Beautiful hotel, absolutely marvellous staff! Such prompt and polite service. The breakfast is amazing! The 24/7 coca tea and mint tea, served with a smile in the room and the hot water bags tucked into the bed at dusk were so so nice!

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful property

Location

Walking distance to the plaza / centre

Staff

So efficient, polite , prompt and helpful!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Full marks for comfort , cleanliness and care!

El Albergue Ollantaytambo Boutique Hotel

Cusco

Simple and sweet! Interesting location right on the railway platform!!

Authenticity & Character

Nice views, large organic garden

Location

Walking distance from car park, hence you can wheel your luggage on your own to the hotel. Since it’s on the rail platform, it’s very easy to hop on to the train!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

El Mapi by Inkaterra

Cusco

Authenticity & Character

Location

Located in a noisy street. Reception staff very efficient but dining room staff too busy, unwelcoming, unhelpful. Clearly overworked! This hotel is more like a 3 star , rather than a 4 star property

Staff

Dining room staff are poorly trained, clearly overworked, unwilling, unhelpful with orders ( language barrier)

Cleanliness & Comfort

GHL Hotel Lago Titicaca Puno

Lago Titicaca, Puno

Beautiful location right on Lake Titicaca! Couldn’t ask for more! Prompt service, efficient receptionist especially Lucienne. Vast breakfast selection, very good service by Johann! We were allowed a late checkout at 2 pm since our flight was in the early evening, much appreciated!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right on Lake Titicaca, rooms with lake views, a gorgeous lookout point !

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Morning visit to Ollantaytambo and train to AC

Peru

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Perurail Viatadome from Ollyantaytambo to Aquas Calentes is an unforgettable experience, do not miss it!

Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica Jungle Excursions

Puerto Maldonado

Quality of Experience

Food

Unbelievable food - choices, preparation and service , in the middle of the Amazon! A big thanks to Antonio and team!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Rico was good

Transport

Nice boat

Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica Jungle Excursions

Puerto Maldonado

We couldn’t do the Gamitana Creek tour because the boat was not available. Should ideally have better planning of schedules so that all trips are possible

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cusco Tour

Peru

Flor, our guide, was exceptional! Very well informed, articulate and patient!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Into the Amazon: Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica

Puerto Maldonado

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ideally keep at least 1.5 hours to get from your Lima hotel to Lima airport. The traffic is heavy. The airport is busy and chaotic! And most of the staff do not speak English. So have a lot of time in hand to avoid all these stresses!

Transport

Depart Puerto Maldonado to Cusco

Peru

The transport from the reserve by water and then to the airport, along with our “stored” luggage was extremely smooth and efficient. A big thanks to Jordan, who handled the transport and checkin / check out!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fly from Puno to Lima, Depart Peru

Puno

The hotel was very kind to allow a late check out. So our departure was very relaxed!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Please keep 1.5 hours from Puno to Juliaca airport, it is far. 1 hour isn’t really enough! Thankfully the airport is small and not too busy.

Transport

Sacred Valley Tour: Cusco - Pisac - Maras - Moray

Peru

Detailed visit to all these places. Flor was very good!

Quality of Experience

Food

Amazing food, beautifully plated at Mountain View, with views of mountains , glaciers and llamas! Fantastic experience!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Excellent big car to ourselves! Very food driver Alex!

Machu Picchu Excursion (Circuit 1, 2, 3, or 4)

Peru

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Puno: Free day

Puno

Unforgettable journey on the Perurail Titicaca! Do not miss this! Speak to your planner accordingly since it’s not available daily! Truly premium!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lake Titicaca Tour: Uros Floating Islands & Taquile Island

Puno

Beautiful experience! Our guide Marcia was good and friendly!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lima Food Tour

Peru

Brilliant tour! So much to learn, eat, drink! Highly recommended! Carlos, our guide, was excellent!

Quality of Experience

The food places chosen were top notch! Hadn’t expected such a premium experience!

Food

Excellent food choices! Great Pisco Sour at Limana Bar!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Carlos was well informed, very nice and articulate!

Transport

Ina helped us craft a perfect honeymoon. We had amazing excursion and experiences and as a result made beautiful memories. This trip was so convenient as a result of KimKims efforts. I've used this company in the past and as a result of this experience will continue to use them.

We just got back from our 19 day adventure in Australia! We went from Sydney, Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, Ayers Rock and Port Douglas! Liz did an excellent job at planning everything for us! She planned all our hotels, flights and excursions! It was fantastic! We appreciate Liz and all her work towards our trip! We came out of the gate full speed ahead to see as much as we did so to end our trip in Port Douglas was awesome too as it was a beach town and more time to relax! Simply beautiful amazing trip! Thank you for all!

Hotel Reviews

Port Douglas Peninsula Boutique Hotel

Port Douglas

This hotel was the best! Perfect location to walk everywhere and the beach was 100ft away! Loved it

Authenticity & Character

Location

Perfect location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Perfect location to everything!!

PARKROYAL Darling Harbour

Sydney

Parkroyal was a nice hotel. Good breakfast that was included and better than we expected. The hotel staff was extremely nice and offered help when needed. We felt very safe walking around here and getting to places, even in the evening with restaurants near by. We would recommend staying there again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Grand Chancellor Adelaide

Adelaide

Hotel Grand in Adelaide was a nice hotel too. The bartender in the their bar was so friendly. We enjoyed a couple of drinks there with appetizers. Food was good. I have to say, the location across from the bar wasn’t the best. The bar across the street seems to go all hours until morning. Even at 630am bus pickup from our hotel for tour, the bus driver had issues with drunk folks trying to block the bus etc. I think I would pick a different hotel just due to the location. Otherwise, had really no issues with hotel itself.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Climb the Harbor Bridge

Sydney

This was a great and fun experience!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset Camel Ride

Uluru

So much fun to do in the Outback! I highly suggest it!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mackay Coral Cay Great Barrier Reef Day Trip

Port Douglas

Great Barrier Reef was amazing! Tour was great!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

River Drift Experience

Port Douglas

This was a fun tour to do!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

2 day 1 night Kangaroo Island - Cruise / Cruise Day 2 (SL)

Australia

We loved Kangaroo Island. The tour was a 2 day and very busy tour. We were on a couch bus and the driver/guide did a great job for the 2 days. We felt in some places we wished we had long time but understood that to see “everything” they had to keep us moving. Definitely have to see the beauty of this Island!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Patji Outback Adventure - Afternoon

Uluru

Our tour guide was awesome. The Anangu host that rode along to “share” information was as informative that we all hoped for.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The Guide was fantastic, she loves her job. The Anangu host was fair. We hoped for more info from Tina to talk more than she did.

Transport

Dot Painting Workshop

Uluru

This was a nice tour to do to understand more of the set means and their story.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The host was good at her job

Transport

Rebecca and the Grecianlux team did a phenomenal job with planning our honeymoon trip to Greece (Athens, Paros, Milos, and Santorini)! She made the process easy from start to finish, with excellent communication throughout. Our most memorable experiences were the private tours with local guides and our sailing adventure near Milos… and on top of that, our hotels were absolutely beautiful. We fell in love with Greece, and I would definitely recommend Rebecca to anyone looking for a travel specialist there!

Our trip to Croatia exceeded our expectations! Nikola helped us create the perfect itinerary which mixed islands with ancient cities, and provided great guides who helped us understand the complicated history of the country. The culinary experience on a local farm was a highlight, as were the tours of Split, Krka, Sibenik, Hvar, and Dubrovnik. The app was extremely useful and since we moved around a lot (we wanted to see as much as we could in 8 days!), it was particularly helpful keeping us on track. Having a daily check-in from Nikola was reassuring just in case we needed anything. All of the transfers and ferries went flawlessly, and the hotels were elegant. Thank you for a wonderful introduction to your beautiful country!

Nikola is first rate, totally extraordinary ‼️‼️‼️

Every detail of our trip was covered in advance plus daily check ins. Nikola even placed our trip plan in a special app that we could refer to without WiFi or cell connection. There wasn’t anything he did not think of or plan for.

We fell in love with Croatia and its people beyond words. We love KimKim but Nikola has been the best planner ever to date ‼️🙏🥰❤️ We are so grateful for his attention to detail, thoughtfulness and incredible spirit.

Thank you Nikola for everything you did to make our trip the awesome experience for our 31 anniversary‼️🙏🥰❤️

Hotel Reviews

Bota Palace

Dubrovnik

Loved this hotel, breakfast and manager!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Perfect

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Korsal

Korčula

Loved the hotel but twin beds were very narrow - hard to sleep. The hotel restaurant was fully booked all the time which made it hard to simply relax and have a meal here.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Heritage Hotel Dea

Hvar

Super small room on top floor. Not the room pictured above. No a favorite but bed was comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Heritage Hotel Santa Lucia

Split

This was our favorite hotel! Nice room with sitting area. Great breakfast, great location and super staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Walking Tour of Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik

Lovely your, felt it could have been a little more personalized.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Walking your, NA

Elafiti Islands - Private Half Day Speedboat Tour

Dubrovnik

Lovely your, nice for it to be private

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Konavle Region Culinary Experience (small group)

Croatia

Loved, loved this experience‼️🙏🥰❤️ Everything about this experience was to notch‼️ Loved meeting the grandmother which was 3 years younger than myself.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Korčula Half Day Tour

Korčula

Loved hearing the story’s before the big fire, the piling of the rocks and planting lavender rosemary and olive trees between the rock. The beach was beautiful. Nice to be away from the city. The meal was outstanding.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Boat Tour to Blue Cave & Pakleni Islands

Croatia

Amazing fun day! Loved meeting everyone and sharing so many great experiences with them. Still communicating with one of the captains. Learn so much from him, special forces in the Croatia military, about Croatia’s liberation.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hvar Half-Day Private Island Tour (Afternoon)

Hvar

Loved this experience totally from seeing the island through a local’s eyes to the best meal ever in the middle of nowhere‼️🥰❤️

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Walking Tour of Split

Croatia

Ivana was very knowledgeable. Although we were tired she gave us a great tour of the palace.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

NA

Private Day Trip to Krka National Park & Šibenik

Croatia

Again, Ivana was great with our tour of the national park‼️🥰❤️ Long day with a lot of walking but great to be in NATURE‼️🥰❤️ The lunch and wine tasting was great‼️🥰❤️ Loved this lovely family restaurant ❤️❤️❤️

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

From start to finish, our trip to Croatia in August 2023 was amazing! The planning was very easy, there were lots of sites to see as well as activities (rafting, biking, tours, boating, snorkeling etc.). What especially stood out were the excellent choices of hotels (and even rooms within those hotels) that Nikola selected for us. All of the transfers went smoothly, there was never any incertainty in terms of someone showing up on time). Antoinetta was incredible on the logistics, always available and very flexible and responsive in terms of modifying the schedule as per our request. This was truly one of the best vacations we've ever taken, would use Kimkim again, and will look forward to returning to Croatia.

I am not going to write much here as I have kept you updated via daily emails.

Hotel Reviews

Thon Hotel Rosenkrantz

Bergen

Room much too small for two people. Lack of storage space; one chair. Other than that, it was centrally located. Breakfasts outstanding. Helpful staff.

Authenticity & Character

It is what it is -

Location

Staff

Always helpful and attentive.

Cleanliness & Comfort

See comments

Kviknes Hotel

Balestrand

One of the best hotels we stayed in -

Authenticity & Character

Location

Short walk to everywhere -

Staff

Helpful, attentive, friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Only problem, since we were in the "old" section was the lack of electric outlets. Staff loaned us an extension cord -

Hotel Aurlandsfjord

Aurland

Central location. Most helpful and responsive staff we encountered which is saying a great deal and all staff at all hotels would qualify.

Authenticity & Character

Don't know what to add, here. Sorry

Location

As older clients we appreciated being in a central location and near transportation. This qualifies

Staff

Hotel Bristol

Oslo

We would give this hotel mixed reviews only because it was so luxurious and we are not that kind of people. I, Maury, was uncomfortable in the dining room as I did not have a sport coat with me and certainly not a suit! The rooms were as one would expect in such an hotel though we had to navigate stairs which was impossible for me to carry with heavy luggage. As the hotel was booked full, the receptionist took it upon herself to carry our two large cases down the stairs. She also arranged to have them carried up when we departed. We returned a couple of days later and had been given a room minus the stairs. Hotel staff seemed a bit aloof but when personally engaged, were full of smiles, stories and helpful directions. Stairs into hotel and a ramp would have been appreciated. We left before breakfast one morning and were told a box breakfast would be waiting; it was not and we had to leave before it could be put together as the taxi was waiting. Central location was great.

Authenticity & Character

Regal.

Location

What can I add? Easy to get to all sights and transportation as well as additional trips we took -

Staff

Once they "unbent" a bit, all were blessedly human

Cleanliness & Comfort

Plenty of towels, WARM bathroom floor! Large desk for our daily blogs to write and send. Comfortable chairs. Lots of storage space. Coffee and tea in the room. Great breakfasts with a regal setting - almost discomforting to us "simple" folk.

Thon Hotel Høyers

Skien

By the time we arrived at our final hotel, we were acclimated to a great breakfast, lift for luggage, helpful staff, central location. Once again, though, we were faced with stairs into the hotel and this continued to be a problem for those, like us, who are 80+ and burdened with luggage and legs no longer spry.

Authenticity & Character

OK - did not explore much. I only rated them as 3 stars because of the lack of interaction with staff and time in Skien. We had no complaints or suggestions and would probably rate them higher if we had more time there.

Location

Can't write much here as we did not take in any sights the short time we were there. We asked this trip to be included in our itinerary because I wanted to meet with paternal cousins whom I'd never met in the past.

Staff

Receptionists; staff in dining room

Cleanliness & Comfort

No. I think previous reviewers were turned off by roadside noise and maybe that could be a problem. We were absent most of the time and there was also some raining which no doubt decreased loud noise outdoors!

Activity Reviews

Bergen Walking Tour With a Local Guide

Bergen

Personable. Adjusted the program for our age , walking speed and distance. It was raining and he did the very best he could and, in fact, based on his suggestions, we went back over the same area when the sun did come out.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Far too many to write about here. Once again, I refer you to our daily updates and give you permission to use the non-personal parts of them for your future clients -

Transport

They were there as arranged which lessened our anxiety as the trip went on.

Mostraumen Fjord Cruise from Bergen

Bergen

At the time, it was amazing but, thanks to your planning, we had even better parts of the fjord tours later!

Quality of Experience

Please refer to our daily write-up

Guides, Drivers and Staff

On time. Helpful. Not pushing and not intrusive, either.

Transport

No

Lifestyle: Balestrand Fjord Angling & Trolling Excursion

Balestrand

The guide made it everything! And we both caught fish! Small but still Norwegian fishes!

Quality of Experience

His knowledge, humor. On the negative side, part of the trip over water was in heavy fog which he sped over at high speed. However, he made sure we understood he grew up there and knew the area very well. Still, we came upon an electric ferry in the mist which he easily avoided but was still a surprise to him! I was a bit anxious because of his speed and the worry about there might be another equally knowledgeable boatman out there also traveling fast.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide provided ware gear, arranged for great photo opportunities, encouraged my wife to pose and fish, told us stories, etc.

Transport

Well, we just walked from hotel to his business -

Explore Oslo's Hidden Gems with a Local Expert

Oslo

Stieg made it all so very good. Like the other guide in Bergen, he adapted his idea of a walking tour to our age and walking abilities.

Quality of Experience

Read and look at our daily texts and pictures

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledge. Humor. Insights. Adaptable.

Transport

Just walking -

Nærøyfjord Cruise & Viking Valley Tour

Norway

In the all day rain, darn it. What we could see and enjoy, it was amazing!

Quality of Experience

Again, probably nothing and the people did the very best they could considering they were also in the rain and doing everything they could with a wet group of tourists!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

They did not allow the rain to "dampen" our spirits -

Transport

Again, we just walked from hotel to ferry.

Oslo Dinner Cruise

Oslo

Really did not find this of interest and, given the opportuntity, would not have gone on it.

Quality of Experience

Nothing. It is what it was.

Food

Well, at our ages, not all that tasty. We have traveled a bit and are open to new food experiences but, still . . .

Guides, Drivers and Staff

They were very good at what they did.

Transport

As I wrote, a slow cruise around a harbor was not something we enjoyed. The 5-course meal was unique but not terribly tasty to us - maybe to others. This experience seemed to be more of a romantic and relaxing excursion than anything at all related to sight-seeing.

I am incredibly pleased regarding our trip to Morocco and specifically want to strongly recommend working with Hakim. Because of our jobs, we were only able to plan our vacation three weeks in advance. Hakim worked with us on our itinerary, and make everything we wanted happen despite the short time frame. I really loved how he balanced incorporating all our special requests with recommending things we weren't sure about that ended up being some of our favorite parts of the trip. For context, we arrived in Marrakech about 5 hours before the earthquake and our itinerary had to be adjusted pretty significantly the first few days. Hakim was BEYOND supportive and accommodating (even at one point working to change a food tour to a cooking class despite the company never having hosted one before). The same praise needs to be extended to all our guides in Marrakech and our driver Hammadi, all of whom where incredibly flexible, kind, and explanatory despite being impacted by the earthquake. Hammadi definitely needs his own call out for being more than accommodating and hospitable, and we truly enjoyed getting to know him throughout the week. Further, I highly recommend Dar Baraka in Marrakech as they went out of their way to find us alternative, safe accommodation the first night. Finally, Abraham, our tour guide in Rabat, despite being brand new, was absolutely awesome, knowledgeable and professional.

My only cons related to the trip are minor given our overall satisfaction with the trip.
-Our first night, we were out on the streets with the rest of the city due to the earthquake until 5am, we had called the emergency line just for confirmation that there was nowhere safe we could stay and for confirmation that we could reschedule our 5:30am event the next day given the circumstances. They told us to plan to still attend and left us on read regarding the accommodations, which I think added unnecessary stress (that Hakim quickly alleviated the next day). Someone from KimKim US also reached out regarding the situation the next day, but didn't follow up to my call back.
-Just generally, I wish there was more price transparency.
-In Fes, the guide used our tour to run his own errands, told us to wait while he finished a conversation and pushed us into a clearly touristy restaurant with pretty high fixed prices. Overall, he was a knowledgeable guide but I would go with someone else if I could do it over again.

Hotel Reviews

Dar Baraka & Karam

Marrakech

This riad was absolutely amazing. Despite the earthquake, they worked to find us safe accommodation. They were incredibly patient, kind and caring. We absolutely loved the little yellow kitten and he was the highlight of our hotel stays!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Tamdakhte

Ait Ben Haddou

Absolutely stunning location and accommodations. The food was the best we had in our trip and the host was very welcoming and friendly. Highlight of our trip!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dar Al Madina Al Kadima

Fès

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Puerta Azul

Chefchaouen

The host was incredibly kind and helpful. The food was great! The location was nice (and the elevator was much appreciated), but it just lacked some of the charm compared to the other places we stayed.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Odyssee Center

Casablanca

We didn't stay in this location for a full night given our flight, however, it was incredibly modern and clean. There was a little hiccup upon check in because they couldn't find our reservation, but ultimately it was a great (albeit short) stay

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Madu Desert Camps

Merzouga

Once in a lifetime experience that we absolutely loved. Everyone was super accommodating. We did have to wait for awhile to be picked up in the morning, but we enjoyed the extra time in the sand.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Morning Hot Air Balloon Experience

Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

One of the guests that were supposed to be picked up at the same time as us didn't show, which made us a little late, but ultimately it worked out and the driver was nice.

Guided Tour in Marrakech

Marrakesh

Kudos to our guide for being accommodating with the time (and frankly even agreeing to give the tour) the day after the earthquake. We greatly appreciated his perspective and wisdom regarding the city

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Traditional Hammam & Massage

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Merzouga to Fes via Rissani, Midelt, & the Atlas Mountains

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Hammadi made the trip fun and was patient and educational along the way

Transport

Food Tour & Local Gastronomy

Morocco

We loved this transformation into a cooking class and the hosts were so fun. We are thankful they were flexible with us and our poor cooking skills!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Morning Guided Tour in Rabat

Morocco

Abraham was great, educational and his English was probably the best of the trip! Highly recommend.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fes to Chefchaouen via Meknes & Volubilis

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour in Fes

Fes

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We didn't love our guide (he used the guide to run his own errands, told us to wait while he had conversations which locals , and sent us to a touristy restaurant and ordered for us) although he was educational. Loved the city and the experience, just would have gone with a different guide if given the chance.

Transport

Our trip guide Alberto was great. He was interactive in both putting the trip together and identifying lodging and side trips which matched our interests and life style . Not only accommodations but side trips to wineries, points of interest
such as Pompey ,Vesuvius, and Mount Etna, Organic winery's.
Our driver would be waiting in a black ,clean late model car each morning to wisk us to our destination for the day.
he insured that the local guides understood our likes and dislikes!This was our second with KimKim and both times they exceeded our expectations!

Great suggestions, full & satisfying itinerary
Easy to work with & prompt response
All transfers were seamless.

Mar created a fabulous trip for us. We were interested in the Fjords and the Lofotons. Mar reserved excellent hotels and excursions. We had a fabulous time. There were several glitches that we created and team member Fenne answered middle of the night calls to fix everything. What could go wrong you ask? Well, I got to the airport with the passport that outdated 6 weeks later, not the new one. We were refused admittance on the international flight from the US. So I frantically worked with the airlines to get tickets for the next day and Fenne managed the hotel and excursions that were missed. What about checking out of a hotel whose computer was down and we couldn't verify whether I had charged dinner to the room or to my credit card. Called Fenne and she managed the problem so I could go on without worry about that detail. What about cancelled flight to Oslo and delayed arrival? Called Fenne while riding in taxi to another airport and she notified the hotel. Life happens while traveling especially at night and on weekends and having a responsive understanding agent was a huge contributor to my wonderful trip. Thank you Mar, thank you Fenne!!!!

Scotland - behind the scenes.

Using kimkim and @Luigi Pasiani is the only way to travel to any country and get to see things that you would NEVER pick out on your own. Our trip was spectacular. Luigi planned all of the hotels which were all awesome in their own right. The trip plan had more than we could do at our pace so we ended up cancelling some of the events he had scheduled for us and had to catch some at the end of our trip rather than the beginning as planned. Some of the most unique people and places were scheduled by Luigi, including a short meeting with a Tartan expert which turned out to be most interesting. Sheep dog trainers in the most remote locations. I will say again, you will not see the real Scotland without the help of people like @Luigi Pasiani and the kimkim team.

Hotel Reviews

The Balmoral Hotel

Edinburgh

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fonab Castle

Pitlochry

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Victoria Square

Stirling

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rusacks St Andrews

St Andrews

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel, an IHG Hotel

Edinburgh

Authenticity & Character

Location

If you are arriving by car, park on Rose Street and walk to the hotel entrance. They will get your luggage and park your car from there. There is no parking in front of the hotel.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Discover traditional herding

Scotland

Wonderful demonstration on how the sheep, the dogs, and humans interact with each other.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Drove a rental car to the address, no problem finding the place.

Contemplate the Highland nature

Pitlochry

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Highland chocolate tasting experience.

Scotland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

David seaplane experience

Scotland

If you can make this happen, it is a must for the Scotland experience. The plane uses Lock Lomond to take off and land, but the tour is about 140 miles of the Scotish coastal towns and inlets from the Atlantic ocean. The plane is a Cessna Caravan turbo prop, average altitude 1400'. Trust me, you can see a lot from 1400'.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Uncover hidden gems of Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Great last day to wind down and get ready for the trip home. Shop all the stores on Rose Street and restaraunts are too many to count.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Antonis did a great job planning our trip to Greece. He listened to our feedback and catered the trip specifically to our needs. The hotels were clean and well located and the activities were perfect for our adventurous and active lifestyles! A few of the activities that we appreciated most were the “Magnificent Athens” tour (Zakia K. our guide was knowledgeable and full of passion as we toured the Parthenon, acropolis and other sites), the Naxos bike ride (Nikos was a great guide and we loved that the bike shop was family owned and we got tons of exercise), the Fira to Oira hike on Santorini (Agatha was our guide and her passion and energy was inspiring, and the hike kept us challenged), and finally the Samaria Gorge hike. We loved the hike and were so glad to have someone pick us up and ensure we were in the right places at the right time. We probably didn’t need a guide throughout the hike, but Georgios was great nonetheless. Lots of challenge and beautiful views with this last hike and that’s exactly what we wanted. We enjoyed the winery visit in Heraklion so much! The driver wasn’t really sure what to do with us with an early pick up and the winery wasn’t quite sure what package we received, but with some chatting everything was figured out and it was a great day!

Finally, we most appreciated how prompt and easy the transfers were between airports, ferries and hotels. Wonderfully arranged and took the thinking out of it for us.

We can’t thank KimmKimm enough and especially Antonis for their help!

Activity Reviews

Discover Naxos by bike

Naxos

Nikos was an excellent guide! Appreciated the level of exercise and the amazing sites!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Nikos and meeting his dad that owns the shop

Magnificent Athens

Athens

Zakia was an amazing, knowledgeable driver who was open to answering all of our questions. Spent just the right amount of time at each site and guided us to shade when we needed it! The driver was also great.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Zakia and driver were perfect!

Transport

Hiking From Caldera Fira to Oia

Santorini

Agatha! Passion and excitement. Loved this hike and the challenge and Agatha’s love for life made it even better. Good sized group with similar fitness level helped.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Agatha was our favorite!

Transport

Catamaran Sunset Cruise

Santorini

Great service, amazing food and good size group for boat size. Once in a lifetime opportunity to swim on the sea and view the island from the sea.

Quality of Experience

Food

Really impressed with the quality of food!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Countryside of Heraklion & the Roads of Cretan Wine

Heraklion

Beautiful winery with friendly service and great food! Appreciated the “private” table.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The driver seemed to have too much time between pick up and drop off at the winery and he did not really know how to use the time. Maybe a direct ride to the winery would have been best. All worked out just fine.

Private tour of Eleftherna and Rethymno Villages

Rethymno

Great way to see sites we would not have seen otherwise! The monastery was great.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Unique Private Tour Of Samaria Gorge

Chania

Amazing hike! We love a challenge and this hit the mark. Rocky with a steep, steep decline but the views made it all worthwhile. It was also awesome to end in the village and enjoy lunch and the beach. It was a very long day though and we weren’t aware ahead of time that we would have a long ferry and drive home. Plan for a full day. So glad we did it! We also were prepared with serious hiking shoes which was helpful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Georgios was a good guide. However, we realized that we really didn’t need a guide. We really appreciated the drivers though!

Transport

Very helpful to have experienced drivers to get you to the top/start and to get you home on the winding roads.

Dhanuka was an amazing tour guide! So friendly, helpful, and informative. He showed up early for every pick up and was able to accommodate and last minute requests and changes we asked of him. He never stopped smiling and was friendly from the moment he picked us up at the airport until he dropped us off 9 days later. Would recommend him to anyone that is looking to have a relaxing, yet busy Sri Lankan experience.