Kimkim Trip Reviews

We had a fantastic time in Turkey. Our guides, Sebnem and Burcu, were absolutely wonderful! They were very kind and caring AND they were incredibly knowledgable. They gave amazing tours of ancient ruins and modern parts of Turkey that were interesting for my teenage daughters. They were patient with all of our questions and they were extremely engaging. Additionally, they were able to cater to our changing plans - they added a haram experience and food tastings on a whim.

We contacted Kimkim last year and were put us in touch with Claudia. She tailor made our tour for us including booking the internal flights, hotels and all the tours. The local agent Julieta was prompt and helpful at all times. The trip was absolutely amazing with wonderful guides throughout. The only tour that could have been better is the wine tour in Mendoza. The various types of tour should have been discussed with us as my husband is a bit of a wine connoisseur. Every other aspect was perfect. We had the most amazing time and are still reliving the wonderful time we had. I would definitely recommend kimkim and Claudia . In fact my brother is planning a trip to Argentina next year and will be contacting Claudia.

This is our second time booking through KimKim. Both trips we were lucky to be assigned to agency who take pride and care about what they have to offer.

This trip to Spain was an impromptu trip and I left it very vague for Alfonso and his team to show us what spain has to offer. We were very happy with all activities, local guides, accommodations and transportations that were arranged for us.

All the guides were very good at explaining and sharing with us their country cultures and history. This is a country with so much to offer. We would love to return and explore the other part of Spain we didn’t get to see. We enjoyed everything that was arranged for us.

Activity Reviews

Private Day Tour to Granada with visit to the Alhambra & Generalife Gardens

Málaga

I really enjoyed Granada. Staying in Albaicín in our hotel with a view of the Ahlamra was definitely a great choice. Wish we have more time in Granada

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Jenny was a great guide.

Transport

Private Visit to Seville’s Cathedral & Alcázar

Seville

Our hotel has a great view of the cathedral. A must if you are visiting Seville.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We walk

Tapas & Flamenco Experience in Seville

Seville

Nice tapas and a flamenco show is a must

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We walk

Private Evening Tapas Stroll with Locals

Madrid

A nice introduction to Madrid.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We walk

Day Trip to Toledo

Madrid

Definitely worth a day trip to Toledo. Visited the cathedral and several art museums. It is like walking through time. We had a great lunch too. Our guide Juan was great.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Quick and easy 30mins train ride

It was great working with Vicky planning our Australia/New Zealand trip. Vicky is very knowledgeable about the areas we visited and was available for us every step of the way both in planning and during our trip. Communication was very easy with the KimKim chat function and response time from Vicky was always very timely. Vicky helped arrange some of our tours (as we left some days open to allow flexibility to choose tours or things to do after we arrived), airport transportation, flights and accommodations. After a quick 24 hours in Fiji, we started our New Zealand adventure in Auckland. We landed in Auckland and were promptly greeted by our driver, who delivered us to our accommodations. The Adina Apt Hotel Britomart was conveniently located within walking distance to some great restaurants and coffee shops, grocery store, Britomart Shopping Centre, Takutai Square and the Harbour where the cruise ship port is. Most notably, our favorite dinner here was at Amano, which also has an amazing bakery attached and favorite coffee shop was 1920's Cafe. We were able to walk to Auckland Domain, a park which led us to some great gardens, the Auckland War Memorial Museum and then down into the city where we visited the Auckland Sky Tower. Day 3 in Auckland we had a Private Full Day Rotorua Tour booked. Our driver arrived on time that morning at the hotel with plans to take us to Te Puia Geothermal and Maori Cultural Experience and Kiwi House, a brief stop at the Redwood Forest for a 30 min walk and then a visit to the Skyline Gondola for some great views from above. We really enjoyed TePuia and learning about the Maori culture. My only regret in Auckland is not getting to book a trip to The Waitomo Gloworm Caves.
Day 4 took us from Auckland to Queenstown, South NZ. The flight into Queenstown was amazing. Flying in between the mountain's surrounding Lake Wakatipu was so scenic. We were again promptly met by our driver and delivered to Heritage Queenstown Hotel. Located up on the hill, it made for great exercise going to and from into town for shopping and dinners. Our first night there we promptly booked the steamship cruise to Walter Peak Farm, where we enjoyed a delicious BBQ dinner at sunset, and sheep shearing show. I highly recommend the TSS Earnslaw Cruise and BBQ Dinner tour. The ship itself is pretty neat too. The town of Queenstown is great! Lots of great restaurants and shopping. Fergburger is a must (the long line goes fast), as well as Patagonia Ice Cream and Chocolatier. Vicky arranged the best MIlford Sound Fly, Cruise, Fly tour with Air Milford. Tom, our pilot, was great! We can't say enough good things about this tour! It's a must when in Queenstown. The views were awesome!! Great experience! We also visited the Skyline Gondola here too for more amazing views.
Day 7 took us from Queenstown, NZ to Sydney, Australia. Our driver Osman sent us a text notifying us that he was waiting outside in the pick-up area. We arrived at the Pullman Hyde Park Hotel. This was another hotel that was in a good location, with great views of the city and Hyde Park (it's beautiful by the way) and walking distance to everything we wanted to do including the Botanical Gardens. Although I think if we were to go back, I might book a hotel near Sydney Harbour for water views and closer to more restaurant choices. We were told we should check out The Rocks weekend market and we had a great time shopping there. Highly recommend this to other travelers. Great vendors, lots of great local made gifts, jewelry and art. We also enjoyed high tea at The Tea Cosy and the Sydney Sky Tower. Vicky booked us a great Hunter Valley Tour for day 10. Another all-day private tour where our driver took us to a great little breakfast spot at the marina on the Hawkesbury River, then gave us 2 options for places to experience koalas and kangaroos. We ended picking The Australian Reptile Park. What a treat! Not only did he get a great price for entry, but also for a one-on-one koala experience. We finished off the day with a wine tasting at Pepper Tree Winery and great lunch at another local winery called Ben Ean Cellars. A few additional tours we booked on our own while in Sydney that we highly recommend are the Sidney Opera House, a private Sydney Harbour Night Cruise with Sydney Luxury Cruise, (Stephan our Skipper was an awesome guide) and lastly a sunrise hot air balloon ride with breakfast over Camden Valley with Balloon Aloft. All of the crew with Balloon Aloft were great!
Day 11 we headed to Ayers Rock by flight. We loved, loved, loved Uluru. What a great location to take a breather between big city adventures. Being in the desert away from the hustle and bustle was just what we needed. We were shuttled by air-conditioned large shuttle bus to Sails in the Desert. I should probably mention the FLIES, there are a lot of them, but it was a small price to pay for the amazing time we had. Buy the fly net at the hotel lobby desk. It's worth it. Loved some of the shops in the Town Square, we found some of our best souvenirs there. We were able to do our laundry at the resort. Vicky booked our Sunset Uluru Experience with BBQ dinner, and it was awesome. We stopped at the Anangu Cultural Center before heading over to watch the sunset on Uluru with drinks and appetizers, then off to the dinner set up. After dinner the lights went out for the most amazing stargazing experience. The next morning, we booked ourselves on the AATKings Sunrise Field of Lights tour which was also amazing. Our only regret was not having an extra night there and experiencing Kata Juta.
Day 13 We arrived in Melbourne via flight. Our driver was timely and delivered us to the Novotel Melbourne Central.
In Melbourne we enjoyed The Sky Deck for overhead views and all the cool alleyways where you will find some great cafes and gelato shops and even some cool street art. Our best meals were at Palermo's and Red Spice Road both done family style to get a good taste of it all. A visit to Haigh's Chocolates was a must too. We booked a couple tours on our own and loved them both. Loved the Great Ocean Road and 12 Apostles tour through Wildlife Tours. Steve, our guide was really great!! If offered, do the helicopter over 12 Apostles. It's worth it! Our grand finale tour was booked on our last night at the recommendation of another traveler. it sells out fast, so do the Penguin Parade with the bonus of a stop at Brighton Beach and Moonlit Sanctuary (which was ok, but good for a bite to eat and some really pretty birds). We did ours through Go West Tours and Bree was awesome!
Our trip truly was amazing. All of our tour guides and drivers were great. All transportation vans were of good quality and showed up on time. I highly recommend Vicky and the services that Kim Kim provides. Thank you so much Vicky! This was the best itinerary! Our family came back with so many great memories.

Hotel Reviews

Sails In The Desert

Yulara

Though you can tell the buildings are older they are well maintained for the nature of the environment, like the heat and the bugs outside. They are beautifully decorated inside and very clean. We enjoyed the pool and the ease of walking to the Town Square. It was nice having laundry facilities available to use.

Authenticity & Character

I love the decore using the Anangu dot paintings and I love the options in the gift shop.

Location

Closeness to town square and the tour operators pick up there and Uluru is not far. The views are great too!!

Staff

The service was fantastic at check in and in the gift shop. They cool towels offered and the cool drink at check in were a plus!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Loved the bathroom tile and shower. Beds were comfy!

Heritage Queenstown

Queenstown

Great location. Within walking distance to all things downtown (if you don't mind hills), though plenty of local transportation available. Breakfast buffet was ok. Hotel was clean and beautifully decorated.

Authenticity & Character

Nicely decorated and fit the environment

Location

We love the town of Queenstown and found the walk both down the street and through the trail enjoyable!

Staff

Friendly and helpful!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean rooms and lobby

Adina Apartment Hotel Auckland Britomart

Auckland

Great Location. Within walking distance to the Britomart, the cruise ship port and some really great shopping and coffee shops. The room was comfortable but just ok. Our shower had some mildew in it and the kitchen was lacking in utensils. We only had 1 fork, fortunately most of the eating we did was out. The hotel lobby was good and had a restaurant for breakfasts and late-night eating too.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

friendliness

Cleanliness & Comfort

shower had mildew, kitchen utensils were missing, only 1 fork

Activity Reviews

Uluru Experience with BBQ Dinner

Uluru

This tour far exceeded our expectations. We enjoyed the visit to the Anangu Cultural Center. It was so nice watching the sunset on Uluru. The dinner set up was fantastic as well as the food they prepared. When the candles went out after dinner, we were in awe of the stars that were out. The hosts knowledge of the constellations was impressive. What a wonderful evening! Well done!!

Quality of Experience

Tour bus was comfortable, guides were knowledgeable and friendly, quality of food and service was great!!

Food

well done! all of it!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

knowledgeable and friendly, chef and food service was great!!

Transport

clean, cool and comfortable rides

Milford Sound Cruise from Queenstown

Queenstown (NZ)

While my husband and I did the Fly Cruise Fly, it was my sister in law and her husband who were traveling with us that did this particular tour and they really loved it.

Explore the Hunter Valley

Sydney

We loved the visit to the Australian Reptile Park where we got to personally experience the koalas and kagaroos. It was a fun place. The winery was nice and the lunch at Ben Ean was delicious. The drive was very pretty.

Quality of Experience

The koalas.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was friendly and on time and made sure we got to experience the koalas and kangaroos. He also got us great rates for entry into the park.

Transport

Timeliness and comfortable ride for the long drive.

Milford Sounds - Fly / Nature Cruise / Fly - 9.30am includes morning tea

Queenstown (NZ)

Absolutely amazing trip from start to finish. From the coordination of the taxi (ride to Air Milford) that picked us up to Tom, our pilot who did an amazing job and the views were stunning. The tour operator was on top of communicating from the moment of booking.

Quality of Experience

Quality and cleanliness of the aircarft and the cruise

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Professionalism and efficiency

Transport

Fast, friendly and efficient

Private Full-Day Rotorua Tour

Auckland

The Visit to Te Puia and the Maori Cultural Experience were the highlight.

Quality of Experience

The Maori Cultural Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very kind and timely.

Transport

comfortable van

Paula at KimKim arranged a great 8 day tour from Sydney to Urulu to Cairns - great fun no problems

Hotel Reviews

PARKROYAL Darling Harbour

Sydney

Location on the Harbour is great - easy to get around - clean - good breakfast

Pacific Hotel Cairns

Cairns

Good location close to ward - near everything - breakfast is ok - staff helpfull

Emu Walk Apartments

Yulara

These accommodations were awesome - had a kitchen and washer / dryer - gave us a chance to wash everything 1/2 way thru the trip

Authenticity & Character

Nice

Location

Next to everything

Staff

Helfull

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Daintree Rainforest Full Day Adventure by 4WD

Australia

This is a full day tour, very interesting- saw so much

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver was great

Transport

Morning SEIT Uluru Highlights

Uluru

This is a great tour - very interesting- the tour of Ayers Rock is fascinating

Quality of Experience

The Emu apartments are great, next to hotels but get kitchen and washer / dryer

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A Night at Field of Light

Uluru

This is a good activity and great way to kick off Urulu. The sunset is amazing

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Blue Mountains Deluxe Day

Sydney

This tour is all day but worth it - the mountains and valleys are breathtaking. Listen to the driver , full of great facts.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver was awesome

Transport

Cordoba based trip planner, Dalia B. Was a terrific resource for my 20 day trip to Spain. The guides she procured were all excellent, the hotels chosen were extremely well located, well fitted out, friendly and within my budget. She was always available if I ran in to a problem right down to spur the moment rental of powered/wheelchair when my 80-year-old legs began to give out two weeks into the tour! It would’ve been impossible for me to arranged and organize this trip without her.

Ashley planned an amazing trip for us to Vietnam for our family group of 4. She was incredibly responsive to our many questions and requests, and tailored the trip to our timeline and preferences. We had a busy itinerary, but we felt so relaxed and enjoyed every day since the details were taken care of at each step of the journey! Our transportation was arranged, a driver met us at each airport with a guide, and Ashley even checked in with us almost every day to confirm that our hotel was good, our guides were good, etc.

Our hotels were beautiful, all were clean, modern, and the service was impeccable. The guides were great as well, Susan in Hoi An was especially memorable, she felt like a friend by the end of three days! We had a nice variety of cultural experiences, including cooking classes, cycling tours, museums, both rural and urban experiences. One of many highlights was our vespa night food tour in Saigon-- don't miss that!

Thank you Ashley and KimKim-- we loved our time in Vietnam!

I strongly recommend Kim Kim Travel for a Vietnam itinerary, we had an amazing trip!

Hotel Reviews

La Siesta Hoi An Resort & Spa

Hoi An

On site restaurant is amazing!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Erina Cruise

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Soleil Hanoi Boutique Hotel

Hanoi

Clean, modern, great staff - took off one star due to small size of the guest rooms. Otherwise it is a perfect place to stay!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hidden Charm Ninh Binh

Ninh Thang, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh

Large guest rooms, friendly staff, enjoyed the spa after a busy (and cold) day in Ninh Binh

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Siesta Premium Sai Gon

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Day Trip to Ba Vi Countryside & Cooking Class

Hanoi

Cycling through villages and along rice paddies-- amazing. The cooking class was great too!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Saigon By Night - Vintage Vespa Street Food Tour

Ho Chi Minh City

Amazing-- after a week in Vietnam dodging scooters in the street it was great to ride one ! The food stops were way above our expectations - delicious, fun, we loved it! Thank you to our guides, they were so much fun:)

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a fantastic trip overall, but there were some discrepancies between the itinerary and the trip description we originally agreed to, and that did cause some confusion. First, our Goudi architecture walk with Anna was absolutely wonderful. She was very knowledgeable and fun. Our itinerary said on our first day we would go to the market, but didn't explain HOW we were to go. There was no map with a "just walk there" or explanation that we were not being driven. (In my previous trips with KimKim, rides were provided to all the sites) Obviously, we found Barcelona is much more walkable, but a map would have been nice. Also, on the Picasso tour, our itinerary specifically said we had a guided tour, with a time. We were never given a guide name, and when we showed up, were told it wasn't guided. This was a let down after the great experience we had with Anna the day before. When we tried to contact Karenena a coworker responded that it was a mistake. We could have arrived at the museum any time, as there was no guide. We did get to do and see everything we wanted to. I will definitely use KimKim again, but double check the itinerary.

Hotel Review

Andante Hotel

Barcelona

Authenticity & Character

Location

You can walk to anywhere from there, and the staff were very friendly.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Barcelona & Gaudí: Walking Among Gaudi's Iconic Works

Barcelona

Again, Anna was extremely knowledgeable and fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Feel the Passion of Flamenco

Barcelona

Quality of Experience

Marta, our travel specialist was awesome. She gave great advice and responded quickly. Marta was an absolute pleasure. The excursions were wonderful and a lot of fun. The hotels were gorgeous and accommodating in Florence and Venice. The hotel in Rome, Boutique Hotel Campo de’Fiori, was ok. We did get the apartment as our room, which was nice, however we had to climb three flights of stairs and did not get any help from the hotel. It was supposed to be an apartment on the first floor. With that said the location was right in the heart of a lot of restaurants, daily open market and close to everything.
Our tour guide for the coliseum in Rome was AWESOME! I did not get his name, but he was very knowledgeable and knew all the right places to take us for breathtaking views. He was very passionate about his job.
Our tour guide for the walkie foodie tour was also AWESOME! Next time I will do a foodie tour first thing so I know how to spot authentic Italian food! I highly recommend Goumetaly for any foodie tour!
Tania, our tour guide for Cinque Terre, she was AWESOME as well! She took her time and was very knowledgeable about the villages we visited. We had lunch at il Baretto and the food was delicious and plentiful! There was a problem with the train running more than an hour late to take us back to the town where the car was parked. Tania and her team were on top of the situation and had a taxi pick us up and take us to the car to keep on schedule.
I greatly appreciated the local assistant in Venice. Navigating Venice for the first time would not have been easy on our own!

We were very pleased using Kimkim on our recent trip to Chile. Typically we do our own bookings but chose an online agency for Chile due to "all the moving parts" involved in this group trip of 3 couples. Kimkim's website was easy to use and informative, providing useful information such as seasonal weather for the regions visited.

Our travel guide, Angel Gutierrez, was exceptional throughout the entire process, not only before but during and after the trip! He responded quickly to emails during the planning process using excellent English. During the trip when we experienced a couple glitches with car rentals, his response was immediate, and I mean IMMEDIATE! In each region we visited, from Punta Arenas to Torres National Park, to Puerto Varas in the Lake District, and then to Santiago, Angel provided us with a reliable local English-speaking guide and private transportation. There was no waiting on drivers for hotel transfers or on day tours, with them typically arriving 10 minutes ahead of schedule.

The tour guides all spoke excellent English. I would like to give a shout-out to 2 of the regional guides: Jose (Pepe) in Santiago who bought a bottle of water for me on the scheduled wine tour when I forgot mine, and to Rafael in Punta Varas who quickly rescued us when a rental car did not function and got our entire group to the airport on time.

The only area of improvement I would suggest is in the timeliness of lodging bookings. This trip was almost a year in planning, with the down payment made 9 months before the date of departure. This may have been due to company policy, but to my knowledge the lodging was not booked until the final payment occurred 2 months before departure, resulting in us not getting some of the rooms of our choice. However, Angel and the hotel managers did provide us with excellent accommodations.

If you are planning a vacation to South America, and especially if to Chile and Ecuador, do yourself a favor and request Angel Gutierrez at Kimkim. He is the best!

Warm regards,
Christine Becker

I

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Cabaña Del Lago Puerto Varas

Puerto Varas

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Diego de Almagro Punta Arenas

Punta Arenas

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Diego de Velazquez

Santiago

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Rio Serrano

Torres del Paine

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Visit Undurraga Vineyard - Wine Tasting

Santiago

Highly recommend Undurraga tour!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Kayaking in Llanquihue Lake

Puerto Varas

Loved the Laguna El Encondido!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Climbing Cerro La Picada

Puerto Varas

Very knowledgeable and safe guides

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer to Grey Lake -Kayak through the Glaciers at Grey Lake - Transfer back to your hotel

Chile

very knowledgeable and safe guides

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Tierra del Fuego - King Penguin

Punta Arenas

Long day but knew this beforehand. Tierra del Fuego very interesting.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

lunch at small village was scrumptous!

Agua Fresca Bay Kayaking

Punta Arenas

They provided excellent gear.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

did a briefing the evening before

Transport

they arrived early

I couldn’t recommend booking with KimKim more. I felt like Michael was always available to us and very helpful. Colombia can be a bit overwhelming and knowing we had picks ups and plans was reassuring.
I couldn’t recommend our tour guides enough
Sara at the Market in Bogota, Jose and Juan helping us learn Tejos, Govinda made Medillin magical! Cartagena and the Rosario islands were made better with Gabe’s help too.
The time spent at Islabela was incredible what a treat to stay overnight and see the plankton!
And all the helpers and drivers working behind the scenes were amazing! How lucky were we to have such an enriching and positive experience!

Thank you for making sure our trip was fun and safe

Trip to this glorious country was incredible. The wildlife is a gift to see. What was challenging is the amount of people you share this with. Getting a photo was the most important thing for most people of course but it did pull from the experience.
Guides were good, though we had issues in Drake Bay for an evening birding where they didn't show up at the right time nor location. It worked out okay.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Jinetes de Osa

Drake Bay

We initially were put into a very small room - door had huge gaps, not really clean. My husband asked for another room and we were put into a much better, cleaner room with a door that closed.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ecotica

Manuel Antonio

Great location, super interesting wildlife at the hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

El Establo Mountain Hotel

Monteverde

VERY noisy. It was so big. The restaurant was one of the best however. The breakfast, one of the worst.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Noise

Hotel Arenal Lodge

Fortuna

Remarkable property! Our view was sublime.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Delta Hotels by Marriott San José Aurola

San José

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Activity Reviews

Private San José City Tour

San José

Not the drivers fault but we were really tired. Our guide was good, he tried. But the restaurant was not good at all. This was not the guides fault. We were rushed for time due to a late flight out of Drake Bay.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Mangrove Tour

Drake Bay

Very special locations. The Mangroves to the wildlife on the river.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Both guide and boat driver where enthusiast and kind.

Transport

Sunset Birdwatching Tour

Drake Bay

Guide did not show up at the location and time we had listed. He asked someone else to come and take us on the tour. At this point in the day after our early morning tour of Corcovado, we were exhausted in the heat. Nice guide but it was really lackluster.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Corcovado National Park Hike from San Pedrillo Ranger Station

Drake Bay

absolutely loved this part of our trip and frankly it was the highlight. beyond my expectations

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manuel Antonio National Park Nature Hike

Manuel Antonio

Hard because there are so many people.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Isla Damas Kayaking Adventure

Manuel Antonio

It was fun but do NOT do this mid afternoon as we were scheduled. It's hot and BUGGY. Not sure why it was scheduled for this time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

El Tigre Waterfalls Excursion

Monteverde

It was wonderful to actually be hiking in this landscapes and get the feeling of what it's like. there were not as many people. I appreciated our guide. It was nice to take a vehicle out. I cannot imagine that kimkim would suggest taking the horses up that long hill out of the trail. It's arduous even in a vehicle not to mention the hardship on these poor horses.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Self-Guided Visit to the Monteverde Butterfly Gardens

Monteverde

Interesting just not outstanding.

Quality of Experience

Private Arenal Hanging Bridges Walk & La Fortuna Waterfall Hike

Arenal/La Fortuna

We did see exceptional wildlife. though the experience is not as great given it's on a paved walkway with LOTS of other people trying to see the same animal.

Quality of Experience

Our guide was good

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Springs Hot Springs

Arenal/La Fortuna

This was not what we expected. Thought it would be more 'natural'. However, this was one of the most beautiful hotels we've seen. Just large and lots of people throughout. Glad we got to see the hotel but wanted a different Hot Springs experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We were traveling as a family of 4 with 2 kids and our trip was excellent. Special thanks to our guide Sameer who was so helpful and made us feel very comfortable. We had a clean, spacious, well maintained private van. He almost felt like family and we were sad to leave him at the end of our trip. Very happy with all the Riads we stayed in- Lina Ryad & Spa in Chefchaouen, Riad Salam- Fes, Tiziri Luxury Camp- Merzouga- it is place you will fall in love with and the staff is amazing- Ahmed, Yusuf and Moustafa, Riad Ksar Ighnda- Ait Ben Houddou, Riad Le Pèlerin- Marakkesh. The staff was very hospitable and genuinely happy to help and serve. Our diet needs of vegan and vegetarian were accommodated well. There is so much culture, art and history that will keep you in a constant awe. From the blue city of Chefcahouen to the Erb Cheggi Sand dunes and to the Medinas of Fes and Medina of Marakkesh you will experience a whole different world. Just as a learning- do not get lured into buying clearly significantly over priced stuff- when you visit the pottery co-operatives, carpet shops. Buy small souvenirs and spices- and bargain ( which many are just not used to doing). Overall a superb trip which has touched our hearts profoundly. Thank You to our trip planners Said and Abdellalif for doing a great job and working seamlessly on a minor glitch. Definitely recommend KimKim and Original Travels. Nilesh and Amishi Khandelwal

Hotel Reviews

Mövenpick Hotel Casablanca

Casablanca

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Du Ciel Marrakech

Marrakech

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Le Pèlerin

Marrakech

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Ksar Ighnda

Ait Benhaddou

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tiziri Luxury Camp

Merzouga

The best experience- wow! Ahmed and his staff have done a phenomenal job in keeping up the tents in middle of nowhere. Beautiful interiors and exteriors. clean, excellent housekeeping and very tasty food.

Authenticity & Character

Location

sleeping under the stars!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Even in remote desert location, we had comfortable beds, clean rooms- all solar powered, eco friendly soap, reclaimed water- impressed with the eco friendliness and awareness of environment protection.

Riad Salam Fes

Fes

Clean, beautiful place with good size rooms. We had soap, shampoo and hair dryer provided. Very helpful and smiling staff. They gave us Vegan and Vegetarian Food as requested. Well versed with English. Proficient in their work.

Authenticity & Character

almost like a palace- beautiful mosaic work on walls and very well decorated.

Location

6-7 minutes walk to eateries.

Staff

always helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

clean rooms, the floors were kind of sticky due to the nature of the tiles and they provided personal slippers which was nice and we got to keep them

Lina Ryad & Spa

Chefchaouen

Clean, beautiful place with good size rooms. We had soap, shampoo and hair dryer provided. Very helpful and smiling staff. They gave us Vegan and Vegetarian Food as requested. Well versed with English. Proficient in their work.

Authenticity & Character

nicely decorated with cultural art and decor.

Location

walking distance to food places and in the heart of the city.

Staff

happy to serve us.

Cleanliness & Comfort

clean fresh sheets and towels. clean floors

Activity Reviews

Ait Benhaddou to Marrakech via Tizi N'Tichka pass

Morocco

Again, fascinating history and wonder at how it all happened.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Family Desert Adventures in Erg Chebbi - Meeting with the last nomads of Morocco

Merzouga

The camel ride was great! Ofcourse you get sore because it is not that you ride camels daily, but made me feel so majestic. ATV was fun! kids loved it!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chefchaoeun to Fez via Volubilis, Moulay Idriss & Meknes

Morocco

Amazing history

Quality of Experience

Food

nice beautiful restaurant right across from the ruins

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Transfer from Fez to Merzouga Desert

Morocco

Unique experience. Beautiful sand dunes, topography. Heartwarming Berber history, history of slavery, music by the descendants of the former slaves.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Family pottery and mosaic workshop

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A Family's Guided tour of Fez

Fes

bustling, old time style market, lively and colorful

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Family Fun in Chefchaouen: Guided Exploration of the Blue City

Chefchaouen

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Punctual, clean, caring

I was so impressed with my first experience with KimKim that when I was looking at going to Italy, I contacted KimKim again and met Eleonora. And WOW, the entire process was so easy, the trip was absolutely fantastic from start to finish. I was initially nervous when we landed not knowing what to really expect, Eleonora messaged to check on us before we left and made sure that we had all the information we needed. We were greeted with a sign and taken to our hotel, which exceeded all expectations, the staff that greeted us were very helpful and friendly, the rooms were very spacious, clean and beautiful. This was just the very start and it just kept getting better. Eleonora, had listened to everything that we had wanted to do, even when we wanted to add something at the last moment, she was able to facilitate it. I also appreciated how easy it was to contact her and how quickly she responded. It was brilliant not having to worry about planning anything and having it all organised.

My trip to Vietnam was wonderful thanks to Trang! She created a perfect mix of days between Hanoi, Pu Luong and Ha Long Bay. My guide for Hanoi and Pu Luong was punctual and knowledgeable. The hotels were in great locations and transportation put my mind at ease as one less thing to worry about. I would recommend kimkim to anyone and am already booking my next trip with them!

Our trip to Vietnam was well planned and executed by Dat and his team mates. The guides in Hanoi, Sapa, and HMC (Saigon) were excellent and highly knowledgeable. The team made us feel at ease throughout. They were punctual and filled our days with sightseeing at a relaxed pace when needed and hectic when required. We couldn't have done this on our own and having English speaking local guides along with all local travel arrangements that were carefully designed to accommodate our wish list made it easy on us. Highly recommend KimKim for anyone planning a trip to Vietnam.

Hotels selected were appropriate comfort level, clean and well located for easy walking to most attractions. Breakfasts were uniformly excellent. Staff were friendly, helpful and conversant in English at all facilities.
Tours and guides were great. Sean in Madrid for the Palace and Prado tours was very informative, enthusiastic and fun to listen to. Juan Carlos for the Toledo tour was enjoyable guiding us in his hometown. Theresa and Jaime in Sevilla and Cordoba both were locals and entertaining and we really enjoyed both tour days. Stepan was great on our tour of Montserrat. He had a unique perspective as a non native of Spain. Ana gave us a nice overview of Gaudi architecture and Sagrada Familia visit. We have nothing but positives for all of the guides. The trains were great. No problems with any delays, etc. I believe the trip was planned really well and we were able to see many different areas of the country and both large and small communities without feeling too stressed or rushed. Alba did a great job planning and adjusting a few things on the itinerary. Her periodic check-ins and reminders were appreciated and was like having our Spanish Madre looking out for us!

Hotel Reviews

H10 Art Gallery

Barcelona

Clean, friendly, nice greeting with Cava or juice on arrival, nice rooftop and dipping pool

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sercotel Palacio De Los Gamboa

Granada

Clean, friendly, great location

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Las Casas de la Judería

Seville

Unique property with friendly staff. May be diffcult for some with poor mobility because of the outlay of the rooms but we really enjoyed the character of the building and proximity to attractions

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

H10 Puerta de Alcalá

Madrid

Authenticity & Character

Clean, friendly and nice rooftop area

Location

Close to Retiro Park

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Gaudí Architecture Walk with La Sagrada Família

Barcelona

Group Guided Tour To Caminito del Rey

Spain

Ultimate Córdoba Day Trip

Seville

Monumental Seville: Royal Alcazar Cathedral and Giralda

Seville

Toledo Day Trip

Madrid

Juan Carlos was fun and informative guide

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Madrid at a Glance, Culture, Royal Palace and El Prado

Madrid

Sean was great!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Day Trip to Montserrat & Scenic Hike

Barcelona

It was a wonderful trip overall! We started our trip at Arenal, and went on to visit Monteverde, Manual Antonio and San Jose. The first hike at the lava rock trail at Arenal Volcano was a difficult one for us, I wish Randall had warned us appropriately. This was genuinely not for our fitness level and I ended up injuring my knee in the process. But the other activities were fine and we enjoyed our trip to the cloud forest reserve at Monteverde. The guide at the cloud forest was young but very knowledgeable and took time to explain what we saw and also answered our questions patiently. Randall chose very good hotels for us and the transportation and pick ups arranged were always on time. This was our first time booking thru Kim Kim and we will certainly consider this again in the future.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel & Spa Poco a Poco

Monteverde

Beautiful landscapes, comfortable stay, room was very nicely prepared for the stay

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Delta Hotels by Marriott San José Aurola

San José

Location of this hotel is great, but everything else was just average.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs

Fortuna

Beautiful resort with lush greenery and epic view of the Arenal Volcano from the resort room. Staff was amazing and very friendly and always willing to help. I wish we had more english language channels for the TV and the hotel had shuttle services to the downtown area..

Authenticity & Character

Location

The resort is in a quiet setting for a peaceful getaway but a bit far from the downtown area

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve Hike

Monteverde

Quality of Experience

Best experience at Costa Rica

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Hike in Arenal Volcano

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

It was a difficult hike for us

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano - Mistico Hanging Bridges

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee & Chocolate Experience

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our local specialist put together an amazing experience for us. The local guides and drivers were punctual, knowledgeable, and caring. I would use Kimkim for travel again. Now that I have had the experience with Kim Kim, I think I would have the confidence to tailor the trip more to my interests. Everything Jesse planned for us was well executed with very few changes. Our pickup time was changed, in one case, to avoid traffic related to school schedules, and it was a wise decision. All the surprises were delightful ones

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Director Vitacura

Santiago, Vitacura, Región Metropolitana

This is a lovely and reasonable hotel with good amenities. It is surrounded by fancy restaurants but we decided to eat in the hotel restaurant 3 of 4 evenings, for the convenience and the varied menu. This hotel is in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods and hence very safe, but also lacking in character.

Authenticity & Character

Location

This hotel was chosen by our tour planner. I would have chosen a different location closer to museums, history and local culture. Others in our group of 6 may feel differently. This was in a wealthy and cosmopolitan area, hence very safe but also uninteresting.

Staff

The staff was great, especially in the restaurant. We encountered one unfriendly desk clerk but others were welcoming and helpful. I guess it would be asking to much for the door/security person to smile.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms were large and comfortable and cleaned quickly while we were out. Views on upper floors were great.

Hotel Boutique Acontraluz

Valparaíso

Wow, just wow. The hosts were so gracious and caring. The views from the room verandas were stunning. The staff gave us maps to beautiful walking tours and there was nothing more we could have needed. Our only regret was booking only a single night. If you are coming to Valparaiso, book an extra day just to absorb the color and poetry of this neighborhood.

Authenticity & Character

This is an historical building whose character and charm is preserved but carefully updated to modern standards.

Location

It's just a beautiful neighborhood. A maze of amazing treasures. Anything you could need is within walking a few blocks.

Staff

SO gracious and accommodating. We could not believe our good fortune.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Several cozy common areas and comfortable seating in rooms and verandas

Activity Reviews

Santiago City Tour - Private

Chile

Hernan is an older gentleman but very fit and capable. Chile has a very complex history and Hernan spoke genuinely from his own experience, making this a very rich and touching experience for us. He tailored the tour completely to our interests from start to finish.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

San José Volcano & Andes Mountains

Santiago

The drive was a bit grueling but our guide planned it to make it less so. We began our mountain trek on a small farm, surrounded by goats, chickens, sheep cows and horses. Our guide knew the locals and was very knowledgeable about everything. Sebastián is trained in eco-tourism and we traveled leaving only footprints on this beautiful mountain trail in the shadows of volcanoes and glaciers.

Transfer from San Antonio Dock to Valparaíso

Chile

Our young guide was very knowledgeable and outgoing. He keyed in on our interests and gave us some awesome tours. He left us with a strong understanding of local culture that really helped us appreciate what we experienced on our own.

Quality of Experience

Plan to 2wlk and explore

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Punctual, knowledgeable and caring

Transport

Punctual and safe

The travel itinerary for our trip to Peru was spectacular, full of so many extraordinary and special places, excursions, experiences, food, alpacas & people! Pretty much everything went off without a hitch. Our guides were all knowledgeable, organized, attentive, friendly, helpful and prompt. Very professional!
Peru is an absolutely beautiful country with amazing history and an incredible culture.
I did feel like we were a little unprepared for some things and perhaps that’s on us! Inkaterra Resort in the rainforest is magical (excursions, lodging, staff, food) but be prepared for no AC in extremely hot & humid temps, fans and electric off mid day for several hours and from 10pm-4am each evening. No wifi. Still worth it! Also, Definitely take plenty of bug spray :)
For the 8 mile Inca trail hike into Macchu Picchu it was quite a bit more difficult than expected and we had to carry all of our things on our backs for the overnight (thankfully we had backpacks), along with enough water for the full day. We had to borrow 2 hiking sticks each from our guide as there was a great deal of climbing and descending very uneven and sometimes wet and slippery terrain. Took us about 8 hours. Totally worth it however and a must do if you can!
There were lots and lots of street peddlers in many areas, predominantly Cusco, that were pretty aggressive with their selling techniques and stray dogs and puppies in various states of well being almost everywhere we went (except for Lima). A few were almost hit by our driver! That part of things was a bit stressful.
On our last day there we were scheduled to go to Rainbow Mountain but read it was a 3 hour drive there, a difficult 4 mile round trip hike to the mountain in very high elevation, followed by a 3 hour return drive. We also heard that at the present time it was covered in snow so not visible anyway. Luckily we researched that on our own and were able to cancel it and book an easier and more laid back excursion that was much closer to Cusco for our last day. If we’d gone through all of that and been unable to see the mountain we’d have been very disappointed. We are in our 50’s with a few health issues and were a little surprised with the strenuousness of some of the activities that it wasn’t fully explained or discussed (what the excursion entailed and if we were capable of it). Other than those few things to be aware of, so you do not make the same mistakes we did - we highly recommend this trip! Extremely special indeed. Thanks to all who worked so hard to make this a delightful and memorable trip for us.