Kimkim Trip Reviews

Overall it was a great trip. We were able to visit so many cities within Portugal and have a nice combination of activities as well as relaxation time by the beach. We enjoyed Lisbon, Porto, Évora, Lagos, Algarve, and Cascais were all incredible.

João Branco and his team from AP Portugal did a fantastic job planning an amazing trip. We had an incredible time that we will always cherish. They were readily available for any questions or concerns we had. They followed up every evening to see how the day was and provided a breakdown of what the next day was going to look like. They also gave recommendations on food, desserts, and places to visit during our free time. The planning done prior to the trip was clear and helpful. We had a lot of conversations, which helped us get the exact trip that we were looking for.

To Fei - and all who helped make this such an enjoyable trip with so many memories to keep. (Sorry if I am slow in sending in this review, and if there may be too much here to read.)

Day 1: This was a long day, taking the train early in the morning from Tokyo to Nagoya and then on to Nakatsugawa, followed by bus to Magome. But the walk from Magome to Tsumago was as marvelous as I had heard it would be. Shade on the trail was welcome, and part of the way through I met and joined up with a couple from Japan. I took a leisurely near four hours for the walk, the trail was very well marked, and I arrived at my destination in good time for dinner at 6:00pm. Dinner and the ryokan accommodation were excellent, as indeed they were at the end of each day’s hike. As a result of this exposure I gained a much better appreciation for Japanese cuisine, and how much variation it has - ‘very welcome indeed.

Day 2: The links to maps and timetables in Fei’s detailed itinerary were very good, and gave me the confidence I needed traveling on my own, but I had not been good at downloading them onto my phone in a format that I could use offline, which I anticipated needing when out of cell phone contact on the trail. So, I walked in to Tsumago and enjoyed looking around, then took a slow walk into Nagiso away from the roads along part of the Nakasendo way - I had cell phone contact to do this.
I had picked up a map at the tourist information office in Tsumago beforehand (“Let’s walk the south-Kiso road”) which had detailed maps of the trail sections from Magome to Tsumago and from Nagiso to Nojiri. I could have used this map, but a little tired from the first day and not sure that I could cover the distance to Nojiri in time, I spent a little longer in Nagiso then enjoyed the train ride into Kiso-Fukushima instead. I hope I might take the trail route to Nojiri another time. At Kiso-Fukushima I looked around, then visited the old Fukushima Nakasendo higway station and the Yamamura Daikan Yashiki Museum among other places
At the Kiso Mikawaya accommodation I really appreciated the onsen baths but, even better, I was lucky to have a room where I could hear the Kiso river as I went to sleep and woke up in the morning.

Day 3: I took the train early from Kiso-Fukushima to Yabuhara. At Kiso-Fukushima station I met two sisters, Janis and Joann, from Singapore, whom I had first met earlier while walking in Tsumago. Also at the station I met a couple, Kim and Wah Fong, from Australia who were originally from Singapore and who had stayed at the same ryokan in Tsumago. The sisters took the train on to Narai, and I joined the couple from Australia for the three of us to walk the trail from Yabuhara to Narai. This was probably the best hike of the trip - definitely one to remember, with many things to stop and see along the way. Kim had the trail directions on his phone, which was reassuring, but the trail was very well marked.
The accommodation at Narai was really quite up-market, and the evening’s dinner was perhaps the best of the trip, although that is a difficult choice to make because it was all so good.

Day 4: After looking at the train times, I decided to take the train from Narai through to Matsumato, instead of walking to Kiso-Hirasawa first. I met the two sisters again at Narai station and we travelled, found coffee in Matsumoto, and then went on a guided tour of Matsumoto Castle together. The castle and grounds are well worth the visit, especially with a guided tour which was provide free by the local tourist’s office. The sisters had to leave the castle early to get back to Tokyo for that evening, but I stayed there enjoying the gardens for a while before going back to Matsumoto station - where I happened to meet Kim and Wah Fong again. We caught the same train on to Karuizawa, before going our separate ways to our accommodation. I was looking forward to the next day’s hike, and was lucky to be at a ryokan for the night that was away from the town and close to the beginning of the path. For each night’s stay the hotel staff were outstanding, helpful and welcoming, but perhaps especially so here. The onsen baths and dinner rounded out another great day.

Day 5: I felt that the planned hike from Karuizawa to Yokokawa was on the long side for me to be certain of being back in Tokyo in time for the evening, where I had to cross the city to retrieve my carry-on luggage. Also, it was the first part of the hike, up to the Usui Pass and Kumano Kotai Jinja that looked the most interesting, and it was indeed beautiful. The trail was paved road all the way but was quiet and winded past waterfalls before giving way to magnificent views from the top of the pass. This choice also meant that I could leave both my small backpack and carryall at the ryokan, instead of taking them on the trail. I took the hike at a leisurely pace before returning to Karuizawa station to take the Shinkansen to Tokyo. I had not been in the Shibuya neighborhood before, and it was a very lively place to spend the night.

Day 6: After walking around Shibuya for a while and enjoying some air conditioning at Miyashita Park, I went to Haneda airport on the subway. Although there had been opportunities to see Mount Fuji earlier at times on the three week trip, it had eluded me each time, being obscured by clouds. However my wish to see it came true from the comfort of the window seat I had, just after the flight took off, with the top of Mount Fuji clearly visible some seventy miles away above the clouds as the sun was beginning to set.

Two things I would do differently on the trail next time around, that are definitely on me and not you. I would go in the spring or autumn, instead of August, when I knew the weather was likely to be hot and humid. But I did not have much choice in the timing because this was a side trip arranged around a trip to Japan for my job. Also, I would either take less with me on the trail or take a slightly larger backpack. I took the 10 liter backpack that I usually carry on trips, but I took more clothing than I needed, and that had to go in a separate carryall bag, which was about another 10 liters. If I had known or planned better, the 10 liter backpack would just about be big enough, although a 15 liter pack would be better. I had left my main carry-on bag in the Tsukiji district of Tokyo before going on the trail, and used the local luggage-forwarding services on the trail when I could, but it was not practicable to do this every day, especially on the first and last days of the trail.

Thank you, sincerely.

I had a wonderful driver, Soukeina. I hope she was not affected by the earthquake. My heart and those of my Moroccan family go out to her.
As for my trip, I spent 6 weeks traveling around the Mediterranean and my time in Morocco was by miles the best.

Our second trip to Iceland booked through Kim Kim was just as amazing as our first. Francesca did a wonderful job of putting my vacation ideas into a wonderful real life experience. We got to see everything on our Iceland bucket list including seeing the amazing puffins on Westman Island and the Northern Lights in the West Fiords. Could not have been better.

My husband did a lot of research online to find a travel agent for our trip to Greece. He found a local agent named Dimitrios with Kimkim. I was nervous at first to use someone abroad, but Dimitrios did an amazing job communicating with us through the website as well as via phone with very helpful ideas to help us plan our dream trip. Once we figured out exactly what we wanted to do, he took care of every last little detail to make all of the arrangements. When it got close to our trip date, he introduced us to his team (Antonis & Effie) that would help us with the day to day of our trip. Not only did they communicate with us each day with the details of our following day plans, they were quick to respond to our questions no matter the time day or night. I would highly recommend this team as they were extremely professional and practiced endless patience to our many questions.

Mar and her team were awesome! She really listened to our specific needs and adjusted our itinerary to make sure we were to do all the things while working within our specifications (traveling with a baby, specific days in certain cities, etc.). She made the entire process so easy and all of her picks and recommendations were wonderful. It was a delight to work with her and her team! We had a spectacular trip in Norway thanks to her!

Hotel Reviews

Scandic Torget

Bergen

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vøringfoss Hotel

Eidfjord

Location was incredible! Woke up to a wonderful view. Had a magical stay

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clarion Hotel The Hub

Oslo

Hotel had great location! Staff was super friendly and accommodating. Rooms were spacious and comfortable. Would definitely recommend

Authenticity & Character

Hi

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Gudvangen Fjordtell

Gudvangen

Incredible view of the fjords and mountains. Beautiful location! Rooms were lovely!

Authenticity & Character

I

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Gudvangen to Flåm fjord cruise

Gudvangen

Tina was not our specialist.
Anna-Marie and Vesna were amazing.

We really enjoyed our time and sad that it had to end. We were taken great care of especially in Cusco where we spent most of our time. We had safe drivers mostly by Sr. Carlos and our superhuman tour guide Sr. Valerio who was very knowledgeable and patient with our slow pacing trying to get acclimated while hiking and trekking. They were accommodating of our time because we wanted to start early and they were punctual. Not a second was wasted. We are very appreciative of the entire team!

Our first South American trip was amazing and another win with KimKim. Liz Karen provided great service in working through any questions/issues that arose with local vendors. The Short Inca Trail was amazing and our guide Claudio was great - can't recommend enough. We likely spent one too many days in Cusco for our liking and wish we had optimized our travel time to Ollantaytambo for a day tour and just went to Machu Picchu instead of returning to Cusco and making another trip to the train station later in the week. The cooking class in Cusco was fun and we enjoyed the walking tour as well.

Hotel Reviews

Susanna Inn

Aguas Calientes, Machu Picchu

It's at the very end of a street once you get off the busy. Many restaurants/stores along the way. Was clean and the beds were comfy by amenities were sparse. A little bar of soap and package of shampoo were provided (we had just brought backpacks so were expecting shampoo/conditioner and a hair dryer.) Breakfast was also pretty sparse as well. Staff was friendly but could have used a little more comfort after our hiking.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa Biru Hotel Boutique

Cusco

Loved the location and the little courtyard. Pillows were a little hard for liking but was clean and staff was very friendly.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tierra Viva Miraflores Centro

Miraflores

Great location, comfy beds and good breakfast.

Activity Reviews

Private Lima City Tour and Larco Museum

Lima

Guide was knowledgeable. Would have loved to have lunch at the restaurant next to the museum, it was beautiful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Shared Short Inca Trail trek 2/2: Machu Picchu

Peru

Shared tour to Pisac, Ollantaytambo & Chinchero tour

Cusco

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Shared Short Inca Trail Trek 1/2

Peru

Private Mystic Experience & Culture Immersion at San Pedro Local Market

Cusco

Tour guide was nice but very different. He had a lot to share on the spiritual side but once we were ready to move on and not focus on that he did not pick up the hint. Great way to see the city but the beginning of the tour could have been sped up. Seeing the city from high up and then walking parts of the Inca Trail were very cool. The market was also worth visiting.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Shared Cooking Classes Ivanna Lescano (18:00 - 19:30) w/assistance

Cusco

we had an outstanding tour guide, Margaurite. Her knowledge was impressive, as well as her love for Ireland. She meshed so well with our family. Our group consisted of my husband and I, our daughter and son-in-law, our daughter and fiancé. We also had our 11 month old grandson. Dean made sure that everything we did, was doable with an infant. Every hotel was prepared for an infant. I would NOT hesitate to have kimkim plan future vacations. We made some changes to our itinerary, and it was handled well.

Hotel Reviews

Maldron Hotel Kevin Street Dublin

Dublin

This hotel was very good and well-located. We were able to walk to many places in Dublin from here.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lahinch Coast Hotel

Dough, Lahinch, Co. Clare

This hotel was a bit of a letdown. There was no air conditioning, and the noise from the parking lot and the banging of a fire door all night was bothersome. Also, the location didn't have much to offer in terms of shops or dining.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Killarney International Hotel

Killarney, Co. Kerry

A pleasant stay. The hotel was very good and had air conditioning.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Maldron Hotel South Mall Cork City

Cork Co. Cork

A perfectly good hotel with all the amenities we needed.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Tower Hotel & Leisure Center

Waterford

Our first stop was quite impressive, from the location to the restaurant on-site, this hotel was fabulous.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Harbour Hotel

Galway

This hotel was excellent. The room was very comfortable and the staff was very friendly and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Belfast Free Day

Belfast

The black cab tour in Belfast was fabulous, one of the highlights of the trip.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dingle and Slea Head Guided Drive

Ireland

A memorable drive indeed, filled with beautiful scenery.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ring of Kerry and Valentia Island tour

Ireland

The tour was perfect and well-organized. The landscapes were absolutely stunning.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mizen Head and West Cork

Ireland

Truly a picturesque location, it was a delight to explore.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cork via Rock of Cashel & Blarney Castle & Stone

Cork

I had a wonderful time experiencing the history and charm of these places.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Kilkenny and Waterford

Ireland

This exploration was quite fantastic. It was a great way to kick-start the trip.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Maitre De at both sites were friendly and knowledgeable. Great conversations. Guides were timely and friendly and knew their stuff. All were patient with our questions and concerns

We had an amazing trip in Peru, planned by Martina with Kimkim. All our local guides were great, and we enjoyed all the places we visited. We booked a private tour and our guides were very flexible with timing and such. We started the tours each morning, and were back to the hotel late afternoon everyday and it felt like a nice mix between guided tour and free time for ourselves each day. Some thing that could have done better -
1. We arrived in Lima late in the evening and were supposed to have a free half day to tour Lima ourselves the next day, before we flight to Cusco in the afternoon(we asked for an afternoon flight so we could have the free half day in Lima). That's why we chose to stay in a hotel in Miraflores(45mins from the airport) instead of right by the airport. However, the pick up time to the airport was 9am for our 1pm flight. We ended up staying in a hotel far from the airport for no reason, wasting our whole morning, just waiting at the airport for the flight.
2. Our return flight from Lima was around midnight so we had a full long day. The tour planned originally was to go to Caral archaeological site, which is 4.5 hours each way. That's 9 hours of car time plus we had to fly home that night. So instead, we decided to do a Lima city tour instead(since again we couldn't do it ourselves earlier). The tour was good, but it did feel like it was dragged long because we had so much time to fill. The local guides were very flexible though, changing our plans from Caral to Lima city tour with short notice.
Overall, we still had a great experience with Kimkim and would go with them again.

Eva couldn’t have been better. Her attention to detail for every single day proved amazing. She made changes as we asked and was spot on with choices she made for us. We were pretty late in planning but Eva made it all work out.

The hiking guide, Izak, was fabulous. I’d go anywhere with him. Super knowledgeable and competent.

The guide we had on the glacier hike was Kasia from Local Guide and she was also exceptional!!! She was great with everyone in the group and explained so much about the glacier and geology. She was super knowledgeable and shared it well.

Joanne really enjoyed her horseback riding and a highlight was the glacier lagoon zooming around to see the glorious icebergs.

We are in love with Iceland and Eva really made it perfect.

Oh, and our favorite place to stay was the Herring House. Exceptional hosts and lovely conversation and breakfast.

Hotel Reviews

Fosshotel Stykkishólmur

Stykkishólmur

We didn't have the best experience with the Fosshotel. It felt very impersonal. Not really our style of traveling. The people were perfectly nice there, but overall, it was not our favorite.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vogafjós Farm Resort

Myvatn

We had a bit of a problem at Vogafjós Farm Resort, as we had no shower water. Despite this, the place was lovely and the lodge was high-end. The rooms were nice, simple, and sweet.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Frost & Fire Boutique Hotel

Hveragerdi

The Frost and Fire Boutique Hotel was super sweet. I appreciate the small boutique-style hotels.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Herring House

Siglufjörður

Our favorite place to stay. Lovely owners and great conversation and breakfast!!

Authenticity & Character

Cold setting. Too many people

Location

We didn’t like the Fosshotels. Too impersonal for our taste.

Staff

Very good staff.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean but had an incident with the shower. Haha

Activity Reviews

Hvitserkur

Iceland

We visited Hvitserkur, which was a unique location. However, the long gravel road to reach the spot was a bit challenging. Despite this, we still had a great time!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Möðrudalur Farm

Iceland

We visited Möðrudalur Farm and it was a lovely place. The area had a lot of bugs, which was a bit of a nuisance, but overall the experience was positive!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Glacier Hike- Glacier Encounter

Vatnajökull National Park

I absolutely loved the Glacier Hike- Glacier Encounter. It was one of our favorite activities and was a truly unique experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Reykjavík Culture and Food Walk Tour

Reykjavík

I enjoyed the Reykjavík Culture and Food Walk Tour because it was quite a unique way to explore the city after landing in Iceland. We visited five restaurants, which was a bit too much food in one sitting. However, the tour was a nice way to interact with the local cuisine and culture. I might consider doing it in another country with more interesting ethnic foods.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Into the Valley of Thor- Thorsmork

Iceland

Our guide Izak was fabulous!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Valentine helped us to plan an amazing first time trip to France for us! We really enjoyed all of our tours by A la FRANÇAISE in each city!

Hotel Reviews

Novotel Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport

Tremblay-en-France

This hotel was probably one of the worst we have stayed in. The location was convenient as it was in the airport terminal. We had to change rooms as our air conditioning was broken. The room we changed to had water leaking from the ceiling and the response from the front desk was that they knew. The room wasn’t very clean also. The hotel restaurant was also concerning as we witnessed several people complaining about their food so we ate elsewhere.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Maisons du Monde Hôtel Marseille Vieux Port

Marseille

The hotel was within walking distance to pretty much everything!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room had a little bit of a smell to it like food and the floor wasn’t super clean but overall, we enjoyed our stay!

Hôtel de l’Horloge

Avignon

The hotel was right in the center of town so it was easy to walk everywhere we needed to go!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Maison Armance

Paris

This hotel was one of our favorites of the trip! The hotel staff & amenities were top notch!

Authenticity & Character

The decor and all of the staff

Location

Close to restaurants, sites and the metro

Staff

They were friendly and thoughtful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Louvre Murders & Mysteries Experience

Paris

This tour was fun & we learned quite a bit but I think we were under the impression the “murders & mysteries” part was something different. We had a great time regardless!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Gourmet Market Walk & Cooking Class with Lunch

Marseille

We would have liked to see the menu options before as one of us doesn’t care for seafood but the entire experience was worth it! We loved the chef!

Quality of Experience

Our group & chef

Food

The appetizers & wine were our favorite. One of us doesn’t like seafood but the meal was good!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Calanques National Park Boat Trip

Marseille

This boat tour was one of our favorite parts of the trip to Marseilles! We loved the entire experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide Jean-Luc was amazing!

Transport

Full-day e-bike tour in the Alpilles region (small group from Aix-en-Provence or Avignon)

France

We loved the e-bike tour for the most part! The only thing we think may be done better is returning the bikes and then walking through the village/town. We loved the olive oil tasting and wish it was a bit longer!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Afternoon Luberon Villages Experience

Avignon

We really loved the Luberon! The tour guide and group was great as well!

Quality of Experience

All of the amazing sites!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide, bastian, was great!

Transport

Avignon Private Guided Walking Tour with a Licensed Guide

Avignon

We really enjoyed the 1:1 tour through Avignon! We got to ask so many questions and learn so much!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our tour guide was amazing! She gave us so many great tips, recommendations

Transport

Saint-Germain-des-Prés Pastry & Chocolate Walk

Paris

The guide we had was awesome! We loved it!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable & super nice

Transport

Palace of Versailles Day Trip with Audio Guide

Paris

We wish this tour was a few hours longer! We had to get an audio guide but felt rushed in each room as there was so much to see! We loved the inside of the palace and loved the gardens even more!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Skip the line Eiffel Tower Summit Tickets

Paris

We added these tickets last minute and they did not disappoint!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Seine River Cruise with Audio Guide

Paris

We loved this boat tour! Got to see Paris from a different angle

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Maryann was our Guide for Food and Wine tour.
Pedro Dias for our Porto City Tour who was both knowledgeable and accommodating.
Pedro for our Douro Valley and Wineries tour and Port Wine Tasting, very funny and nice guy.
Joao who went out of his way to pick us up from Coimbra upon learning we have left Porto the day before via Fatima to take us to Lisbon. Guillermo or Guill was our Amazing Tuk Tuk Lisbon City Tour Guide. Paulo Pires our Guide for the Day Excursion of Sintra, Cascais and Estoril, Very informative Historically of Lisbon and Portugal as a whole.

Africa was phenomenal! Out specialist Lucy made sure that we had the most incredible experience. She helped us with the planning and was in touch with us while we were there making sure we had no issues. This was my second time using Kimkim and I would definitely use them again.

Hotel Reviews

Sable Alley

Khwai

We loved this place. It was more rustic and wilderness-like than what we were used to but we liked that. The food was great and the people were nice

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Intercontinental Johannesburg O.R Tambo Airport

Johannesburg

The accommodations were great and the people were nice, but we didn't like the restaurant. The food was too fancy for our liking.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kapama Buffalo Camp

Hoedspruit

This place was fabulous. The people were very friendly, our guide was great and the accommodations were amazing.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Abalone Guest Lodge

Hermanus

We loved this hotel. The location was beautiful, the space was great and we enjoyed walking along the path by the ocean.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Victoria & Alfred Hotel

Cape Town

This hotel was beautiful and in a great location. However, we had a bit of a situation where my friends had money stolen. The hotel said they did an investigation but we felt they could have done more.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Tour of Jo'burg & Soweto

South Africa

The tour was interesting and informative, but our guide was quite intense and pushy.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Activities at Sable Alley

Okavango Delta

We loved Botswana, it was my favorite place. The safari was even better and the Okavango Delta was incredible.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Through the eye of an elephant

Victoria Falls

We enjoyed all these activities, especially the elephant sanctuary and Victoria Falls. However, we had issues with the tour company as they were often late

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset Cruise - Signature Deck

Victoria Falls

This was a lot of fun. We really enjoyed the experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Trip to Kapama Game Reserve

South Africa

We loved the game reserve. Our guide was good and we enjoyed the accommodations and spa.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Marine Big 5 Boat Tour

South Africa

This tour was okay. We saw some whales, but we thought we were going to see more and there were a lot of people on the boat. It was fine but not great.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cape Town Wine, Cheese & Chocolate Tour

South Africa

We visited a few different wineries and had cheese at different places. It was not really a wine and chocolate tour, but more of a tasting experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cape Peninsula Tour

Cape Town

This was a nice tour, and our guide was excellent. We enjoyed exploring the area.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day City Tour, Robben Island & Table Mountain

South Africa

I adored Cape Town and our guide was fabulous. He was with us the whole time we were there, taking us to the wine country, Cape Point, and the city. He was very personable and it was great having the same guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

*Wonderful cruise in the Calanques - our skipper Kristoph was great, very friendly, skilled and informative
*Our cooking class with Gille in Marseille was fun and we learned a lot from him, getting fresh fish/produce to make Boullibaise, etc., working as a team with 4 other couples
*Our 2 days Provence excursions with Robin Soulier were wonderful..... the wineries we visited and the wines tasted were all unique. Robin took us to several Roman ruins and Medieval castles, towns and theater/coliseums. He is very friendly and we learned so much from him about Provence and France as a country. We would definitely recommend him for others in the future. He went out of his way to have us follow him to Avignon to find our hotel, which was in the inner, older part of town. We would have had difficulty finding it our own.
*The Luminaries of Vincent Van Gogh and other artists on the famous cave walls was a tru highlight of the trip for us.
*We enjoyed each of our hotels. They were all distinctively unique and the staffs in each were very welcoming and helpful!
** Our one suggested would have been to include directions in our Roadbook regarding finding the underground parking lot closest to our hotel in Avignon as we had no idea where it was located, that there would be no parking nearby and ended up parking in underground parking far way from the hotel, making in difficult with our luggage to navigate the busy
inner pedestrian walkway of old town.

Thank you Josee for making this a beautiful, unique and memorable trip that really exceeded our expectations!
We are very, very grateful!!!!!!!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel de Cambis

Avignon

Pay parking is a ways away. Be prepared to walk with your luggage from the pay for parking lot. Hotel is on the busy main, old town pedestrian walk way. Lots of people watching from your balcony if it faces to the front. Front desk employees friendly and helpful. Breakfast was comparable to other Hotels in Provence.

Authenticity & Character

Older, reburbished building in the old town inside the original Avignon stone walls.

Location

Staff

Friendly and helpful with showing us the parking garage that would have been closer to the hotel.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Le Mas des Tourterelles

Loved the feel of the old farmhouse turned hotel........ had some issues with the toilet and very small space, but wonderful breakfast in the a.m.!

Hotel des Augustins

Aix en Provence

Other than walking 350 meters to parking, it was amazing to be in a 1500 yr. old monastery turned elegant hotel with the BEST French breakfast!

Hôtel Carré Vieux Port

Marseille

Parking nearby was difficult! Everything else was wonderful!!! GREAT Location!!!!

Activity Reviews

Culture and Wine in Chateauneuf du Pape

France

It was a wonderful area to visit with a lot of Roman and Medieval history and 2 different UNESCO world heritage sites to visit and walk through. Robin shared a lot of the history he was familiar with and we took a tour of the large amphitheater which has been re - done yet keeping the original structure intact so that concerts/performances are still held there today. Our only downside of the day, and which couldn't have been helped, was the high temperature the day we visited this area. Due to the sites all being outside, we weren't able to truly appreciate all that we saw that day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Robin, again, was on time, always thoughtful and shared a lot of extra information and answered questions while on our drive.

Tour in the Alpilles, Les Baux de Provence and Saint Remy de Provence

France

One of our top 2 excursions in Marseille/Provence. Our driver, Robin, took us to a wonderful winery and then to Chateau des Baux-de-Provence where we saw the Luminaire exhibit in the caves of the Alpilles. Then lunch in the medieval town nearby, with a tour of the old castle after, with an amazing view of the beautiful vineyards and olive groves in the Baux Valley below....... a truly memorable day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Robin was very knowledgeable, always on time to pick up and drop us off and stopped at the lookouts so we could take pictures.

Transport

Robin is a very safe and thoughtful driver.

Cooking class, Provencal lunch and local market tour in Aix-en-Provence

Aix-en-Provence

Gille is a very talented chef who is able to share his knowledge of cooking with our group of 10 in a way that ALL of us learned SO much, from the experienced to the very inexperienced, like my husband. He came away so excited to try some of the techniques he learned from Gille. It was a great experience walking with Gille to look for the fresh fish at the Vieux Port and the fresh produce in a small square, a few blocks away and then walk to his mother's beautiful home to prepare our French meal. Wonderful experience~~~

Quality of Experience

Cruise in the Calanques - Max 12 people on board

France

This was in the top 2 experiences in our trip throughout Marseille and Provence. These islands are uniquely beautiful. Going in a pontoon boat can be a little bumpy but you have the opportunity to get much closer to the unique land, beaches and especially, being able to go into the caves along the coastlines. Bleu Evasion was a great cruise company. The employees are efficient, safety oriented and our boat captain, Christoph (spelling?) was very experienced, knowledgeable, friendly and engaging.......... all the attributes you want for an beautiful excursion like this!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Felt very safe at all times.

Welcome to Marseille

France

An exciting, vibrant city. Hundreds of choices for wonderful places to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, all within a 5 to 10 minute walk. Walking at night is an amazing experience, especially along Vieux Port. Great people-watching, people from all over the world living and touring in this city.

Quality of Experience

We had an amazing time in Malaysia, it's a beautiful country, with friendly people and delicious food! Nick was great at organising the trip for us; he was friendly and responsive, and made adjustments to the itinerary as requested, as well as providing helpful suggestions. Upon arriving in Malaysia, everything ran to plan and was very smooth. No issues with any of the transfers and everyone was always on time; all very well organised. We were generally happy with the hotels, and breakfast at each was fab. We really enjoyed all the activities that had been planned and absolutely loved Borneo and having the oppprtunity to see lots of wildlife. Seeing the orangutans was definitely a highlight of the trip! In hindsight, we should've spent longer here and less time travelling around, but we still enjoyed our time in the other places too. Our guides for Kuala Lumpur- Lawrence, and Kuching- Duke, were super friendly, patient and knowledgeable, and really enhanced our trip. Thank you all- would recommend to others planning a Malyasia trip too!

Hotel Reviews

The Waterfront Hotel

Kuching

Perfect!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Fantastic location by Kuching waterfront- we had a lovely view of the Parliament building from our room. The hotel sits on top of a shopping mall too, which was handy

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Holiday Villa Beach Resort & Spa Langkawi

Authenticity & Character

Location

Lovely to be able to just stroll out to the beach at the back of the hotel

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mosquitoes and ants in our room! But housekeeping were helpful to sort this out. Overall hotel was stunning, but maybe not reflected as much in our room

Royale Chulan KL

Kuala Lumpur

Authenticity & Character

Breakfast was great and nice to have been provided some history about Penang in the rooms and within the hotel

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

A few things in our room were rusty/ worn down due to wear and tear- could maybe do with a bit of a face-lift

Verdant Hill Hotel

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Mangrove & Fireflies Cruise

Kuching

Really lovely boat cruise and great opportunity to see more wildlife- we saw the irawaddy dolphins, a crocodile, proboscis monkeys, macques and the fireflies. Stunning sunset from the boat too. We were also provided snacks which was an unexpected but pleasant surprise

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bako National Park Daytrip

Kuching

Great place to see the native proboscis monkeys, we were lucky to see some in two different places by the entrance to the park. Also saw lots of other wildlife with the help of our guide and enjoyed the hikes around the park. Boat trip there and back was also fun

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Semenggoh Orangutan Centre Visit

Kuching

Highlight of the trip seeing these beautiful animals- amazing experience!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Langkawi Island (Free at Leisure)

Langkawi Island

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Penang (Tropical Spice Garden Cooking Class)

Penang

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kuala Lumpur City Tour & Batu Caves

Kuala Lumpur

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We loved our local guides! Gina in Athens, L in Santorini and V in Paris were all excellent. We really enjoyed learning about the local culture. The tour in Paros went a little long- 8 hours.

Schedule wise, wish we had an extra day in Santorini to enjoy our pool at the hotel. I think an extra day there with splitting up the e-bike and catamaran tours so we could relax one more day there would have been nice. We were disappointed that once we were finally able to relax and wind down in Paros that our hotel didn’t have a pool. We did find the beach-Monisteri based on our guides recomendation and that was very nice. We also really enjoyed the wine tour in Santorini and worked in another wine tour in Paros at Moraitis that was excellent!

I would say that in 7 days of planning we had an excellent introduction to culture and life in Greece. We loved it and will come again!

Hotel Reviews

Paros Cape Suites

Paros

The staff was very nice and helpful. Could not get over the fact that there was no pool or a beach that we could use without spending extra

Authenticity & Character

New hotel. Clean. Eco friendly.

Location

Pool or their own beach would have been better.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very comfortable rooms.

Agali Houses

Firostefani 00

The views and accommodations are exactly what I expected while there. Wish we would have had another night there to really enjoy the views and pool

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Georgie who strapped 3 of our luggage pieces to his back to haul up and down the stairs for us came in early to get our luggage to our transport! Amazing!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Loved this place!

Elia Ermou Athens Hotel

Athens

Great location and spacious rooms with king beds! Liked the number of usb plugs. The Hotel seemed to get hot at night which didn’t lend itself to comfortable sleeping. Wish we could have made the room cooler.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

AC units

Activity Review

Welcome to Athens

Greece

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Gina or tour guide and Nickolous our Acropolis guide were excellent!

Transport

Antonia and Nikola were incredible and extremely responsive before and during the trip. All the hotels we stayed at were top notch. The excursions were incredible as well. I will definitely be using KimKin for my next vacation