Kimkim Trip Reviews

Rita was amazing to work with. She completely geared our trip to our interests and didn't overwhelm with hours of driving everyday. We were able to see some of the things which were a little bit off the beaten path, so were not overwhelmed with excessive tourists. The accommodations she arranged worked perfectly for our family of 4 (2 of whom are grown children so needed their own space). One day, weather didn't cooperate for our initial plan, and KimKim Team arranged for alternate suggestions and accommodations, taking the stress of our shoulders. We would use KimKim Team again.

In Porto, we were greeted at the airport by Ricardo. He drove for us all three days - which was nice. At each point he made sure to personally connect us with the next step. He even escorted us to the actual train platform when we left! Our first morning, Sara provided a historical walking food tour - ending at Taxca - where we were introduced to the bifana sandwich. We continued tasting bifanas throughout Portugal - Taxca was the best! Our hotel was riverfront and central for walking the city.
We toured the Quinta Da Pacheca vineyard, tasted wines and port, and had a beautiful lunch. Definitely a highlight and place I would like to visit again!
By the end of day 3, we had travelled by plane, train, automobile and boat!
When questions arose, Pedro and his team responded within minutes. I felt fully prepared and supported by the Kim Kim team.
Porto was definitely my favorite city! Loved hearing the live music throughout the city.
Other highlights from Portugal included Sintra, The Chapel of Bones, Lagos, boat ride through the grotto and Sangres for sunset.
Enjoyed the history and hotel in Lisbon. It definitely had more of a big city feel. Their practice of polishing the cobblestone sidewalks definitely made walking a bit harder and slippery. My favorite experience in Lisbon was Fado at Mesa de Frades Restaurant listening to Pedro de Castro play his Portuguese guitar! Amazing!
Wish I had more than our 10 days to spend in your beautiful country. Thank you Pedro for such a well planned visit!

Hotel Reviews

Pestana Vintage Porto

Porto

Great location - borders river and open plaza. Friendly English speaking staff. Wonderful breakfast with fresh fruits, juices, cured meats, local sheep cheese and breads.

Authenticity & Character

Original walls were visible in room

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

H10 Duque de Loule

Lisboa

Very warm and charming. Love the window seats overlooking the city streets.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Évora Olive Hotel

Évora

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Exploring Porto's Rich History on an Exclusive Gastronomic Tour Through Time

Porto

Thank you Sara for sharing your city and its history. You provided a great introduction to Porto!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sara was friendly and knowledgeable.

Transport

Roads in good condition - just steep! Be prepared for lots of stairs.

Seamless Discovery - The Ultimate Douro Valley Experience with Private Driver Service

Portugal

Thank you Ricardo for another wonderful day (and water!)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Car was clean and comfortable.

We had an amazing trip to south of Albania! As we got so used to from the Kimkim team (and we are getting spoiled after the years), from the first contact with Ed to the final goodbye at the Tirana airport from "Nik" (Kreshnik), our guide and driver, all went great. The trip was as we envisioned in our request: explore as much as possible the "real" Albania, stay away from tourist traps and crowds and get to see how "real" people live. Nik was a treasure trove of history, culture, politics and everything else. He knows his country like back of his hand and he seems to know everyone (and everyone seems to know him....) so he/we were treated like locals. The only downside: we ran out of time (but that was out problem).

Loved it all: Florence, Sorrento, Rome. The guides were excellent. The children's tour guides did a fantastic job engaging the boys (7 and 5). The drivers were incredibly patient, courteous, and flexible. Francesco saved the day by getting us to a wine tasting when the originally planned event fell through at the last second. Accommodations were top notch. An all around great experience.

Hotel Reviews

Plaza Hotel Lucchesi

Florence

Rooftop pool makes this hotel probably the best option in the center of florence.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Lorelei Londres

Sorrento

Loved this place. Restaurant has a Michelin Star! Wish the private balconies were a little more "private" but the oversized jacuzzi was awesome.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Martis Palace Hotel Rome

Rome

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Tour of the Vineyard and Lunch with Wine Tasting in Furore

Italy

The wine was some of the best we had in Italy. The vines are 200+ years old and producing absolutely stunning quality wine. paired with the local lunch, this was one of our favorite experiences, set above Positano with a view unparalleled.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Stephen prepared a great trip for us, taking all of our feedback and crazy ideas. Everything was laid out, easy to understand, follow and share. Got a few pro-tips for the cities we were visiting which helped a lot.

Activity Reviews

Afternoon Tea at the Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh

We loved this. A highlight. Helped us stay awake after arriving.

Private Excursion from Edinburgh - Highlands, Whisky & Castles - V2

Edinburgh

The tour was wonderful and the driver was a character with a big personality. There was a minor miscommunication where he thought we were golfers but it turned into a funny moment. The whiskey tour was particularly enjoyable, and the guides made it fun and informative for everyone, even the non-drinkers in our group.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Glasgow Beer Tour

Glasgow

The beer tour was a fun experience for our group. The guides were accommodating and understanding about the non-drinkers in our group, offering them alternatives and still making the tour informative for them as well. The whole experience was enjoyable and well put together.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day tour to the Giants Causeway

Belfast

The tour to the Giants Causeway was absolutely incredible. Our driver was wonderful and the scenery was breathtaking. It was a fantastic way to spend our day and we couldn't have been happier with the experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Irish Dancing - The Irish House Party (Dinner & Show)

Dublin

The Irish House Party - one of the highlights of our trip. Initially, we were hesitant to attend due to its location and our fatigue. However, it turned out to be a blast! Although the food before the show was average, the music and dancing were amazing. We left feeling very happy and glad that we went there.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Free time in Dublin

Dublin

We really appreciated the downtime in our schedule. Our group made the most of it and explored attractions that weren't initially on our itinerary. It provided us with the flexibility we desired and allowed us to experience the city at our own pace.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cliff of Moher tour from Dublin

Dublin

The tour to the Cliffs of Moher was a great experience. Our driver was fantastic and the views were stunning. Initially, we were unsure if it would take too much time away from exploring Dublin, but it was well worth it. The only drawback was the large tour group, which we weren't expecting, but everyone was fun and we enjoyed the company.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wonderful ten days in Morocco last December!

My husband and I typically plan and book our trips on our own, but this time we wanted to visit many places and needed a driver to takes us from place to place.

After reading many reviews, we contacted Kimkim and they didn't disappoint: they were very responsive and immediately put us in touch with a local agency, Original Travels.

Mohamed has been very helpful putting the itinerary together based on our interests and specific requests, understanding that we weren't looking for a fully organized trip and wanted to discover Morocco on our own.
He suggested charming riads and cultural/fun activities to do.
We kept making changes and Mohamed was very fast (and patient!) on sending us the updates.

Once in Morocco, Said made sure everything was going as planned and we were enjoying our trip. He went above and beyond our expectations and also arranged a wonderful New Year's Eve dinner!

Our driver, Soufyan, was excellent: very professional, safe, fun, and very attentive to all our needs!
It was reassuring to see him every morning, picking us up at our hotel, always on time!
Along the road he took us to traditional restaurants and recommended typical dishes to try.
He definitely made this trip stress free and so memorable, especially when he invited us to his house to meet his family and cooked for us... such a wonderful experience!!
We enjoyed the hours in the car with him. Learning about the Moroccan culture, music and his family.

One of the highlights of our trip was the desert: spectacular camel ride at sunset to the Tiziry Luxury Camp.
Ahmed and the Berber staff were so welcoming and fun!

We had such a good experience with KimKim that now we are organizing our trip to India.

Hotel Review

Tiziri Luxury Camp

Merzouga

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Transfer from Fes to Merzouga via Erfoud & Camel Ride

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I don’t have words for how phenomenal this trip was.
I was beyond impressed by the communication by our travel specialists. The hotel choices? The airport and travel transports? Could not have been better communicated, kind and more professional. The guides personable, funny and endearing. If you are wondering if Kim Kim is a good bet?
The answer is DO IT.
I am recommending to family and friends and will use them over and over again for trip planning. They took the stress out of the detailed planning of drivers and transportation and gave incredible local knowledge and recommendations that made our trip 1000% better than it could have been. Incredibly impressed and grateful for their help, planning and kindnesses such as having a bottle of wine sitting in the refrigerator in our villa on my birthday!
Thank you to Irene and her team.
I will come back to Kim Kim over and over again.

Hotel Review

Doupiani House Meteora

Kalampaka

Kind. Very Sweet front desk girl with great recommendations… and an incredible complimentary breakfast. Very unique and personal hotel with incredible views!!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Acropolis Guided Tour

Athens

Doria our guide was kind, sweet, so knowledgeable and we truly appreciated her time and extra efforts.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Local dinner in Meteora

Meteora

Monica the granddaughter of the Family run business was sweet and welcoming and an incredible hostess. We all loved her! The food was the BEST MEAL of our entire trip. Would 100% recommend!

Quality of Experience

Food

Local incredible cuisine

Santorini Highlights with Wine

Greece

Harry our guide was adorable and Takis our driver an incredible driver. We had a time confusion and they were very calm and flexible. Beautiful views and a fun experience!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Give Harry and Takis our love!

Transport

Both the kimkim expereince and dealing with Ireland Walk Hike and Bike were outstanding.

Not having any knowledge of Ireland, the team at Ireland Walk Hike and Bike were outstanding. They took the stress out of planning an itinerary, booking accomodations and the rental car, and providing restaurant and place of interest suggestions. Most importantly, they took note as to what was important to us (natural sights) and what was not (castles, churches and likely crowded places).

Our highlights in order of experiencing: Dingle Sea Safari, Cliffs of Moher hike, Kayaking Lough Corrib, climbing Tully Mountain, Killary Sheep Farm demonstration, and bodysurfing in Keel Bay.

Everything was great. Will be back.

Exceptional service here! My daughter and I were making a last minute trip to Turkey. Berat Ornek is a rockstar! Berat was able to accommodate our plans and made a very memorable trip a reality. She kept in constant touch thru the trip to ensure quality. We even got a chance to meet her in Cappadocia - she is lovely and the meal at her brother’s hotel was a highlight! Our tour guide Ozan Tokcan is one of a kind. He goes above and beyond at every step and became a friend and travel companion. We visited Istanbul, cappadocia and Izmir/Pamukkale - a special trip made special by Berat and Ozan!

Activity Reviews

Hot Air Balloon Tour at Sunrise

Cappadocia

A truly magical experience in a magical place

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visiting Göreme Open Air Museum (UNESCO World Heritage)

Cappadocia

A treasure well preserved! Highly recommend with a quality guide like Ozan Tokcan who brought history to life!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kaymaklı Underground City

Cappadocia

Such a unique spot! The history and ingenuity of the people past is amazing to see!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset Wine + Romance in Cappadocian Valleys

Cappadocia

We were graced by the top 3 subsets of my life. Surreal!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had an amazing trip through Portugal thanks to Pedro! Our expectations were exceeded in every way, from the drivers and tours to the hotel selections it was all top notch and professional. Pedro checked in each day and sent a reminder of what to expect the next day so we were always prepared. In Porto we had Ricardo as a driver all 3 days. He went out of his way to ensure we made it to correct train platform on last day. Sarah our walking tour guide was charming and fun with lots of history and stories. Porto was the favorite stop of our trip. In Lisbon we had Miguel as a driver and Rita our tour guide was so passionate about the city’s culture and history it made 3 hours of walking in the heat fly by! But by far our favorite event was the Fado dinner where we sat at the front table and had guitarist sitting with us. Amazing unforgettable performances! We finished in Lagos for a beach trip and enjoyed our more relaxed time. The tour of the grottoes was beautiful and we had great guides in Stefan and Bruno. The hotel here was our least favorite as it was packed with a lot of families and had an all inclusive plan making the breakfast a little more hectic. We were also a little removed from the city but very close to the beach which we did enjoy for half a day. Overall we cannot complain as everything from beginning to end went smoothly and created beautiful memories for us. we left Portugal wanting to return again as soon as possible! We will look to Pedro again when we return. We will also plan to use kimkim for other travel because it really made everything so easy. Thank you!!

Hotel Reviews

Pestana Vintage Porto

Porto

The Pestano in Porto was amazing and right on the river. The breakfast was our favorite of all the places we stayed. The room we had was wonderful with plenty of room for us to spread out. We loved being right on the river where all the action was.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

H10 Duque de Loule

Lisboa

H10 in Lisbon was also very nice. It was in a great location. Although it was a much smaller room it had everything we needed and we enjoyed the rooftop bar.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Exploring Porto's Rich History on an Exclusive Gastronomic Tour Through Time

Porto

Sarah our guide was wonderful. She had lots of great stories and history and the tastings were just the right amount.. She took us to our favorite restaurant and introduced us to Bifana which became my favorite sandwich ever!! We went back for our last dinner in Porto to have it again!

Quality of Experience

Indulge in Elegance on a Guided Winery Tour Infused with Tastings and a Delicious Lunch

Portugal

We loved our tour of the Pacheca winery with Pedro. The port was amazing and our lunch was delicious! We ended up ordering a case of wine to send home as he was a very good salesman! 😃

Private Historic Odyssey Walking Tour of Lisbon

Lisbon

Rita was a fabulous tour guide. We learned so much about Lisbon’s history while walking the city. She also knew nice shortcuts to help us minimize walking uphill all day!

Immerse Yourself in the Portuguese Culture by Experiencing a Fado Dinner

Lisbon

This was highlight of our trip!! We ended up with the main guitarist sitting at our table and talking to us. Very hospitable and the performances were unbelievable!! We had no idea what the words meant but we were mesmerized all night.

Quality of Experience

Food

Our time in Morocco was nothing short of unforgettable. Our driver Moha made sure we were comfortable at all times in the 45 degree weather.
We loved the fact that it was a mixture of culture and relaxation. One of the most unforgettable experience was the mini hike to the little village and lunch in the family home.
The energy and vibe of Jemaa El Fnaa square was truly incomparable. The snake charmers couple with the music and food along with the henna artists and the bustling of people around makes for the most exciting atmosphere.
Essaouira was the perfect way to wind down on the vacation and just enjoy the slow pace of this beautiful seaside town.
Morocco definitely left a place in our hearts.

Marta was an excellent travel agent. She helped us a lot with planning our family trip to the Azores. She was also helpful with information during our tripbas well.
Our Kayaking tour in Sao Miguel was excellent. The 2 guides were awesome.
In Terceira we did an ebiking tour. The guide was very patient with my teens.
In Flores our favorite tour was canyoning. The guide was so very helpful with my daughter who was quite scared at times.

Hotel Reviews

Senhora da Rosa Tradition & Nature Hotel

Ponta Delgada

Beautiful resort! Good restaurants. Be sure to make a reservation for the rooftop restaurant!

Authenticity & Character

Location

A bit far from Ponta Delgada

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Atlantida Mar Hotel

Praia da Vitoria

Nice views. Great pool and jacuzzi.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Marina Atlântico

Ponta Delgada, São Miguel

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right downtown.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

INATEL Flores

Santa Cruz das Flores

We stayed in a nice little house. Was great to have our own place with a kitchen and washing machine. Just would have loved some AC since it was so hot there.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sete Ciudades Jeep Adventure

São Miguel Island

Guide super nice. Weather unfortunately didn't cooperate so we couldn't see much.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Kayak Tour – Vila Franca Islet

São Miguel Island

Super fun. Guides were fantastic

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Gastronomy Experience in Terceira

São Miguel Island

Guide was very nice and knowledgeable. Enjoyed visiting the coffee plantation and talking to the farmer. I thought we would visit more places within the city to sample food, but it was mainly dinner and then a small walking tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Terceira Electric Bike Tour

Terceira Island

Lots of fun. Beautiful views. A bit scary coming down the mountain bit we did it!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discover Corvo Island – Full day

Flores Island

Boat ride over was quite choppy. Got a bit sea sick but did see dolphins. We thought we would be getting a tour of corvo Island but we were kind of just dropped off and left to fend for ourselves for the day. We were told not to bother bringing swim stuff but it was so hot and no shade, it would have been great to swim. Also didn't know we would be dropped off by taxi at a giant crater to hike for a couple of hours. Didn't come prepared with proper hiking shoes. Boat ride home was much easier and saw beautiful waterfalls and caves and lots of dolphins. Boat driver was amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Boat driver Marcus very nice

Transport

Taxi on corvo initially charged us 40 euros but we got it back from boat driver after he said it was already included

Buggy Adventure in Terceira

Terceira Island

I was hoping we would drive around and stop a few times to hear about the places we were seeing and also get a chance to take photos of the gorgeous views. We only stopped once to go to the washroom at the halfway point. No explanations of anything we saw. Guide didn't even learn our names.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Canyoning & Half Day Hiking

Flores Island

Super challenging day but really great overall. I think canyoning alone or the hiking alone would have been enough. Was a lot for us to do in just one day.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Super patient with my kids. Made the afternoon hike a bit shorter for us because we were so tired.

Transport

We really enjoyed the trip overall and all our guides and transportation were incredible and made everything special. The only disappointed lies with the lodging options. Our first Hotel was an Astotel (The Palm). We didn't like the location at all and the afternoon snacks were nothing worth having honestly (pre-packaged candies essentially). The only benefit was that it was very clean and close to Montmarte. However, the immediate vicinity was seriously lacking as a place to be in Paris. I'm surprised it was recommended to us. Also at both hotels people talked of views etc, (especially at the Palm with Eiffel tower views) both times our views of trash/back alleys. We did like the area of the 2nd hotel much better but as a 4 star hotel the service wasn't any different from the Palm (3 star) except, they had a spa which was nice but again the service wasn't that great from what I was expecting. Also our air conditioning broke the last night which was annoying, nothing could be done about it in the middle of the night and we left the next morning. I am wondering if we didn't get the nicer views since we didn't book direct with the hotel? Besides making the hotel reservations where we required family rooms (4 people), I don't see the benefit of booking hotels with KimKim. The transportation, car rental, train tickets and private experiences, absolutely. The hotel in Burgundy (which I found) was absolutely incredible, views, hospitality and food was truly unforgettable.
Every guide we interacted with for our private tours were incredible and lovely to be with. We loved David from the Louvre and Kim from the wine tour in Burgundy. However, the limited information we received for each experience was strange to me. For example, our wine tour, when you look on the tour operators website they detail so much yet the kimkim voucher had no details essentially, so we did not really know what we were getting. I feel like the are leaving details out so you can't find out the price but people would be much more reassured if you knew more details. The private bike tour was really great but the bike even for our little one was really hard for her to use with the extremely large hand breaks. The guide was amazing and tried to adjust best he could. My girls loved it (8 yo and 6yo). She made it through regardless with a little blister (the guide had a first aid kit) and she is so strong to overcome it but most younger kids would have a hard time with a bike like that. Our girls are great at biking so a tandem bike was not something we wanted to do at all. The details on how the bikes were presented would have helped to make sense of everything. Basically, the information we got was, meet your guide here and nothing else. We met him at a fountain, walked to a parking garage, where they had maybe 40 bikes +, boxes of helmets etc. If I had known that I wouldn't have been measuring our bikes at home to ensure we had the right sizes.

We had a great time! The guides and drivers we had in all of the places we went (Paracas/Ica, Cusco, Machu Picchu, Lima) were all great people, and we got to a few of them more personally. Everything went pretty much according to plan, and there was only one planned activity that we were unable to do (wine-tasting). Our guide in Cusco and Machu Picchu (Emilia) and driver in Lima (Jean Carlos) were especially friendly and helpful! We were also fortunate to have great weather the whole trip.
Thank you, Kim-Kim! We will remember this trip for a long time!

Hotel Reviews

Antigua Casona San Blas

Cusco

Wonderful hotel! The staff were friendly and helpful, and the atmosphere and decor of the hotel were fantastic! The restaurant breakfasts were great, and the hotel room was clean and comfortable. We would definitely stay there again and would happily recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Cusco!

Authenticity & Character

Charming decor, nice atmosphere.

Location

Very central, close to restaurants and Plaza De Armas.

Staff

Very friendly and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very comfortable

El Albergue Ollantaytambo Boutique Hotel

Cusco

Unfortunately, this hotel did not meet our expectations. We arrived late in the day and were tired. The room was sizable and clean, but the beds were too small and the mattresses too hard. They were uncomfortable to sleep in. Their hotel restaurant was okay, but felt a bit small and tight. It didn’t really have any charm. The one redeeming feature is that it is located in the Ollantaytambo train station, so it was very easy for us to catch out train the next morning to Machu Picchu and to arrange to have the hotel keep some of our things until we returned from there.

Authenticity & Character

Restaurant was rather boring

Location

Close to the train station

Staff

They were friendly and courteous

Cleanliness & Comfort

Uncomfortable beds - too small and too hard

Iberostar Selection Miraflores

Lima

Nice hotel! Centrally located in Miraflores within walking distance of the shopping district and waterfront. Nice view from the room. The swimming pool on the rooftop was very nice and relaxing to be in! The room was clean, spacious and comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Very nice, rooftop pool is great!

Location

Centrally located

Staff

Friendly and courteous

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean, spacious and comfortable

Activity Reviews

Arrival to Lima: Free Day to Explore

Lima

Arrived very late at night (early morning) due to a flight delay. Bug we were met by the driver and taken to our hotel quickly.

Quality of Experience

Late night arrival

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly, helpful

Transport

Comfortable

Bus transfer from Lima to Paracas & Classic Nazca Lines from Pisco Airport

Peru

It was great! The trip down on the bus was a bit long , but we were able to rest and sleep a bit. We were met by the guide/driver (Luis) and he was very helpful. We were hungry and he kindly took us to a nearby restaurant to eat something. He also arranged for us to look around Paracas, which was nice. The flight to Nazca and the lines was fine, but viewing the lines was sometimes challenging to see, and I got motion sick during part of the flight. We were happy to get the experience of going there and seeing the lines!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very friendly, helpful

Transport

Very comfortable

Tour and Tasting at the Tacama Winery

Peru

The estate is beautiful, and the meal we had there was great! The tour was interesting, the guide knowledgeable and spoke English well, but we had been hoping to visit a winery and because of poor planning, we weren’t able to visit the winery but instead a Pisco distillery. It was okay, but not the same as if we had visited the winery.

Quality of Experience

We wanted to visit a WINERY, not distillery

Food

Tasty

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly and courteous

Transport

comfortable

Fly to Cusco, and Sacred Valley Expedition: Exploring Chinchero and Ollantaytambo

Peru

Great experiences - visiting a community textile factory in Chinchero, great lunch and scenic trip to Ollantaytambo, visited Inca ruins in Ollantaytambo. The only problem was that the beds in the hotel room were not comfortable.

Quality of Experience

Food

Tasty (especially the buffet in Urubamba).

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly and courteous

Transport

Comfortable

Train from Urubamba, then Explore Machu Picchu

Peru

Excellent weather, a great guide, fascinating ruins. It was a great experience. Even the train trip there and back was a lot of fun!

Quality of Experience

Just a great trip to these amazing ruins!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very friendly and helpful

Transport

Comfortable

Cusco Tour

Peru

It was great! Emilia was a great guide and really helped us to understand what we were seeing.

Quality of Experience

Overall, a great experience!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly and helpful

Transport

Comfortable

Fly from Cusco to Lima

Peru

A good flight. No problems at all.

Quality of Experience

Comfortable

Transport

Comfortable

Historic Center & Larco Museum

Peru

It was interesting! We saw many things and the bus guide was helpful. The bus was a bit hot and we should have brought more water with us.

Quality of Experience

Interesting, informative

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly and helpful

Transport

A little hot on the bus

Anna did a great job planning a 17 day trip for our first time in Norway. She was responsive and easy to communicate with, and was on top of (most) everything. Overall we give her 4.5*’s and are very happy, but will list a few of the things we wish had been different just to help others with their trip planning. We loved the Flor and Fjaere gardens and dinner, and the fjord-side floating sauna, and the unique accommodations at Aurland and Fjaerland. Anna kindly called and changed our rental car pickup time for us when we determined we’d need to leave earlier due to ferry schedules, and helped us change hotel nights a couple of times when our plans changed and upgrade hotel rooms once requested. 90% of the stops, hotels and activities were spot on. We could have used a bit more guidance on the rental car situation in Stavanger with our early start needed on a Monday morning due to ferry times (should have rented from downtown instead of the airport at the least or asked if they could deliver the car, which our hotel concierge checked on once we arrived, due to needing to leave early and rental agency being closed on Sunday). Also, our train from Dombas to Trondheim had been replaced by a bus – not at the last minute it appears – and this journey then took 3 hours longer than expected, which it would have been good to know about in advance so we could adjust our dinner reservation. Scheduling a kayak excursion on the morning of a departure isn’t recommended… we were already checked out and would have been wet and salty with no way to take a shower before getting on the road. Given that we wanted to hike, it would have been nice to have Anna mention some of the more famous and/or better hikes (like Trolltunga and Aurlandsdalen) so that we could stay at a place more convenient and/or schedule those hikes (we had a 5am wakeup call for Trolltunga, AND the reserved parking was gone by the time we checked this, plus The Rosendal hotel is tired and the meal there was the worst of our trip, and our day in Aurland had a much milder hike/bike tour scheduled that was too easy for us, though meeting our guide Anders was great). We would have changed the stay in Alesund to Geiranger so that we could do a proper hike and get away from the hordes of cruise ship crowds both in Alesund and Geiranger. The train ride from Andalsnes to Dombas is one the prettiest we’ve ever been on; we would come back to explore this area and hike there. Norway gets a 5+ and KimKim/Anna a 4.5 – very happy with our trip. Thank you!

Hotel Reviews

The Thief

Oslo

Great location, great room service for the night we stayed in, surprised there was no luggage assistance for this level of hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Eilert Smith Hotel

Stavanger

Really really fantastic staff, so solicitous and helpful with recommendations and arrangements.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rosendal Fjordhotel

Rosendal

This is a tired hotel and the restaurant meal was really mediocre (actually the steak was inedible, but the sauteed veggies were yummy). They did make us a nice packed lunch and had it ready for our very early hiking start.

Authenticity & Character

needs an upgrade

Location

depends what you're looking for... it's a pretty spot at the end of a fjord, but there's not much other than a hike here, and it was not convenient for the Trolltunga hike.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

it was clean but very basic

Bergen Børs Hotel

Bergen

we had a nice room here and it's a very good central location, but there's no parking, even to unload your bags, and as i was sick, my husband left the car for 10 minutes to take the bags up before going to the parking garage, and got a ticket. Hotel staff should make more of an effort to facilitate this process for guests.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

29|2 Aurland

Aurland

Love this family-owned and run sustainable property. Just know you're getting a place with character which isn't always convenient or the most comfortable... low ceilings, small, leaning stairway, small room and bathroom. But.. everything else about the property makes it worth staying at.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fjærland Fjordstove Hotell & Restaurant

Fjærland

This is historic and charming hotel with a lovely 'story' behind keeping this small town alive, but you have to know that the comfort suffers a bit. The highlights here are the staff (especially Inna and the chef), the food and, of course, the spectacular location with a gorgeous sun room to relax looking out onto the fjord. Fjaerland Guiding, just two docks down on the fjord, has a spectacular floating sauna experience that we loved, and a darling local young woman who hiked with us one (rainy) day. The breakfast was fantastic. The rooms are small and cramped with leaky shower/tub, and the beds/mattresses need to be upgraded. Glad we came, but wouldn't need to come back.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Brosundet

Ålesund

Authenticity & Character

loved the fireplace - cozy!

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Britannia

Trondheim

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Flor & Fjære Garden Cruise

Stavanger

One of our favorite activities in Norway!!!! so gorgeous and extensive and exotic and well done, and the meal was really good; tour and service were outstanding. Best fish soup we had (and that's a high mark) on our entire trip. Highly recommend.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fjord Cruise & Pulpit Rock Hike

Stavanger

Sooooo crowded... but so worth it.. given that it was our first spectacular iconic Norwegian 'top of the mountain' view. Knowing what we know now, we'd find an alternate, harder to get to/harder to hike, hike, so there wouldn't be so many people. but glad we did it at the time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Floating Sauna

Norway

One of our favorite things - sauna/jump in freezing fjord... repeat several times. Love!

Quality of Experience

Full Day Geiranger Fjord Cruise

Ålesund

The only thing that could have made this better would have been to stay in Geiranger instead of Alesund so we could aovid the cruise crowds and go do a longer hike in this stunning area. Geiranger is a must-see in Norway

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Waterfall Hike

Norway

it was rainy the day we were scheduled for this, so we didn't do the bike ride and didn't do much hiking at all. BUT, our guide Anders was really really great and we learned a lot and would hike with him again in better circumstances.

Guided Hike to Neshaugen with a Glacier View

Fjærland

Our guide, (Sigrid?) was adorable and did a good job. We got some rain off/on and only a few minutes of seeing the view with the clouds moving in/out at the top, but it was still gorgeous. The down however was extremely treacherous, very steep and slippery, and wouldn't be recommended for most on a wet day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Pedro was incredible to work with. He planned the most fabulous trip for our family. Every driver and tour guide we had was also superb! I wouldn’t have changed a thing about this trip!
I highly recommend Pedro!

This is the second trip we are taking with Kumkum. We are extremely happy with their services and detail.
We would like to mention that out driver Hakim Hamzawi was extremely professional and took utmost care of our needs during these nine days. We specifically wanted a private car to tour around Morocco. Hakim Hamzawi was with us throughout this long trip from picking us up from Casablanca, driving to Rabat, to Fes, driving the long trip to Sahara, to Marrakech, and finally back to Casablanca. He patiently took us to all the top spots, even staying late, coming early. During the end, when my son fell ill, we relied on him to help pick up some medication. There was a lot of good friendship and I would definitely recommend him to our friends who are planning a trip to Morrocco. He is definitely an asset to Kimkim travels..

Hotel Reviews

Riad Kalaa 2

Rabat

Such a charming gem tucked away in Rabat. The hospitality is amazing here and the rooms are gorgeous.

Authenticity & Character

Location

So incredibly charming, old world meets new. Center of Medina.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Plan on bringing your own shampoo, although the Riad offers some basic amenities. The rooms are extremely clean and cozy.

Riad El Yacout

Fès

If you want to see the Morrocco architecture and beautiful mosaics then this Riad is for you. The customer service is out of this world and don’t miss the hamaam here. Having tried hamaams at different countries especially Rome, Greece, and even Egypt- I can vouch that this place packs quite a punch. They give a pretty good service and the area is very neat.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Madu Desert Camps

Merzouga

A once in a lifetime experience going to this luxury camp with running water and shower. The rooms were so comfortable. The food was customized for vegetarians. The soup was mouthwatering. Wear loose comfortable clothing for the almost 2 hour camel ride to the camp. Leave early enough so that you won’t miss the sunset and plan your trip to coincide with a full moon. The desert during full moon is stunning

Authenticity & Character

The desert is a harsh environment but this place was so comfortable and made the adventure magical

Location

Staff

All of them were incredibly sweet.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Ksar Ighnda

Ait Benhaddou

A beautiful breathtaking oasis in the middle of the desert. The ambiance is a showstopper. Every detail is perfect from the bathroom to the bed, to the towels, to the toiletries. I was sad that we stayed only a night here. The views, landscaping was impeccable. The food was so mouthwatering.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

The Morroccon people are so friendly and so charming.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Noir d'Ivoire

Marrakech

I believe this Riad looks beautiful. However it’s not very old. It’s quite overrated and maybe the services have gone downhill. It takes extremely long and the services are not as good as the other riads. For the money charged, you don’t get the satisfaction and comfort. The rooms need maintenance. Our tub was leaking, many lights did not have bulbs, my son’s room had a big unknown stain on the sheet. The hammam was overpriced and not upto the mark. We did complain to the owner and got the refund which was decent of him. If he fixes the maintenance and services issues, this place would be fantastic. The location is prime.

Authenticity & Character

It’s a new building and has been built keeping the old architecture in mind.

Location

Central and close to everything

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

See above

Kenzi Sidi Maarouf Hotel

Casablanca

It’s not a Riad. Just an average hotel. Pretty decent.

Authenticity & Character

Just a standard hotel

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean and comfortable. Stayed only for a night. Pretty decent. But very bland and impersonal

Activity Reviews

Afternoon Guided Tour in Casablanca

Morocco

Such a beautiful surprise! I never expected to see such a magnificent mosque built in my lifetime. To think this was built from 1986-1993! This is such a beautiful monument and has incredible detailed carvings in every nook and corner.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our driver Hakim Hamzawi was fantastic

Morning Guided Tour in Rabat

Morocco

Very clean city and half a day tour is sufficient to cover the city. Plan on adding the Blue City if you can fit into your itinerary.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Amazing driver - Hakim Hamzawi. Very skilled

Transport

Skilled driver, private car

Guided Tour in Fes

Fes

An experienced guide. Who took us through all the streets.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fes to Merzouga Sunset Camel Ride and Overnight in the Desert via Ifrane, Azrou, Midelt & Erfoud

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Food

They customized the vegetarian food for us

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ana connected us with Shanti Travel driver Nengah Suarma, and he was amazing. If not for Nengah, the trip would have been very different. Nengah was a safe driver, who was also knowledgable, smart, and possessing of amazing English language skills. Nengah was enthusiastic every day about seeing us and taking us to places we guessed he had been to 1,000 times before. He was also very flexible about any day's planned itinerary and was able to help us shape our travels in the moment to get the most out of our visit to Bali. I highly recommend Nengah Suarma as a driver and local guide.

The entire trip was fantastic. The attention to detail was on point for the entire trip. Considering we were in 4 different cities with multiple guides and side trips through Scotland and Ireland, all went smoothly.

Our guide, JP, in Belfast was fantastic. He took us through the Highlands on a private tour. All our guides were good and each one made the event/side trip worthwhile.

Activity Review

Irish Dancing - The Irish House Party (Dinner & Show)

Dublin

The dinner was good and the event was fantastic. This is a must to do!

Quality of Experience

Food