Kimkim Trip Reviews

Josh and I thoroughly enjoyed our travels in Costa Rica from May 1 to May 6. We only wish we could have stayed a bit longer to enjoy everything this beautiful country had to offer. We were extremely grateful for the guidance and wisdom of every single person we met, all of whom were gracious and welcoming. From Sergio. who helped us plan our itinerary and found wonderful hotels to stay in, to Charlotte who helped manage our questions while we were there, we felt secure knowing that we were were in good hands if we needed it. Alex, our driver in Costa Rica, was a wealth of knowledge about flora and fauna all over the country and shared numerous stories with us while we drove from one destination to another. It made the longer drives so much more enjoyable and we learned about Costa Rica from a true native. Kenneth was our guide in Arenal and spotted flora and fauna in trees we would have never seen on our own, and he guided us over hanging bridges and to beautiful waterfalls. Roger was another awesome naturalist who led us around Manuel Antonio and helped us take some beautiful photos of hummingbirds, lizards and sloths!

Kimkim was outstanding! The planning process went wonderfully. We felt that the communication was wonderful and that our ideas and things of we wanted to see and do were taken into consideration. The flexibility was also wonderful and we appreciated the effort that went into planning our trip.

The quality of service from everyone we interacted with was outstanding. Our personal concierge was wonderful and very helpful. We had to make some changes and she was flexible and willing to help. She communicated frequently with updates and with anything that we needed. Our tour guides were amazing! They were knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful. We really enjoyed the passion that all our tour guides have for what they do. Our drivers were wonderful and very friendly. They were all very organized, professional, on time, and helpful.

Our highlights or stand out moments were: Lake Como and Bellagio, Parma ham and parmesan cheese tour, tour at Podere Il Casale and tour of De'Ricci, the Amalfi Coast and Capri, and our Colosseum tour in Rome. However, this does not take away from any of the other experiences we had. It was all amazing!

My only suggestion is that if you are planning to drive in Italy, I would do a lot of research of what the road signs mean and what to do at tolls. However, it is something that can be figured out any how.

All in all, it was an amazing and memorable trip. We are eternally grateful for the hard work and effort that was put in by everyone that was a part of our trip.

Activity Reviews

Private guided tour of Lake Como by public ferry from Como

Italy

Our tour guide was amazing! Her knowledge and passion can not be mentioned enough. She was also kind and flexible! The tour really adds to the experience of being on Lake Como. There is so much to learn and so much history that may be overlooked if you are not on a tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Farm Tour guided visit and dairy cheese tasting with lunch

Italy

I cannot begin to speak about how amazing this tour was! This is a must experience. Ulises did our tour, the owner of Podere Il Casale, did our tour and I can't speak highly enough about him. Not only is this place and views beautiful but what you learn about their farm is amazing. The cheese and wine was delicious. They are so passionate about what they do. You will instantly fall in love with farming!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Small Group tour of Colosseum underground, Palatine Hill, and Roman Forum ( max 6 people)

Rome

Our tour was amazing! Our tour guide was friendly and extremely knowledgeable. This small group tour with the Colosseum underground experience should definitely be on your bucket list.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sorrento Coast & Capri Boat Tour

Italy

What a beautiful and wonderful experience! Our boat tour was amazing. They showed us many things that we didn't even know were special to Capri. They were fun, knowledgeable and very welcoming. We had a wonderful time in Capri.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Planning our trip through KimKim was great! The local specialist we worked with was easily available to answer questions and help build our itinerary. Once we were in CR everything went very smoothly and our specialist was quick to respond with any questions that came up while we were in our trip. We have used travel agents before and the KimKim team provides an excellent level of customer service and expertise in planning. Our local guide Melany in La Fortuna was so knowledge on all of the local animals and ecology we learned so much on our tour that we would never have noticed on our own. Every single guide, driver , concierge etc was so helpful and kind and so happy to teach us about thier beautiful country! I would highly recommend staying at paradise springs hotel in La fortuna , the hot springs are a great way to relax after a long day of hiking and it is very easy to get a taxi to the “downtown” area for dinner and drinks. While in Monteverde we stayed at the hotel heliconia which had absolutely stunning views of the mountains and sunsets , this hotel does not have AC however it gets very cool at night and we did not find it to be uncomfortable. This hotel is also a very easy taxi drive away from the “downtown” area which was very fun to explore! Our final stop in Quepos , Manuel Antonio we stayed at the tulemar resort which was phenomenal! A perfect relaxing end to our vacation on an absolutely beautiful property where we saw, monkeys, sloths and macaws up close! Overall this trip was wonderful and made even more enjoyable having the peace of mind that everything was so well planned out and organized by the team at KimKim

Hotel Review

Hampton by Hilton San José Airport

Alajuela

Very convenient and close to the airport , easy to locate shuttle out of terminal. Clean and a nice selection at breakfast

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private: Río Celeste & Tenorio Volcano National Park Guided Rainforest Hike

Arenal/La Fortuna

An amazing hike with views you will not find anywhere else in the world! Our guide Melany was amazing and very knowledgable

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Río Balsa Whitewater Rafting Adventure

Arenal/La Fortuna

So much fun! The rafting guides were a great time while also ensuring that everyone was safe! The meal provided after our rafting was one of the best meals we had on the trip

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

TreeTram, Hanging Bridges & Zipline Adventure

Monteverde

The zip lining portion was a great time! All of the staff made sure we had a great time while also taking safety very seriously! If you want a nice extra adrenaline jump at the end definitely try the “death drop” at the end! On the hanging bridges tour our guide Andres was wonderful and took to much time to help us spot some amazing wildlife!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

2 Weeks in April

The best guides were Chris in Guanacaste and Marianos in La Fortuna (swimming in the waterfall was highlight for me) also the night hike in Monteverde, but I forget his name. Least interesting hike was the Arsenal volcano hike.

The hotels in Monteverde, La Fortuna and Tamarindo were the best. Food at La Fortuna was excellent (deserts were 1 Michelin star! Breakfast buffet was the best too).

Loved the cottage (hot water bottles!), food and local hike in Monteverde (roasted garlic soup and the local limoncello was brought by bartender without even asking for it). Staff was especially great there.

Loved the pool (!) and the food in Tamarindo - sunset happy hour on the beach was fantastic.

Guanacaste was OK and unpretentious, but food options were limited. Back porch listening to all the birds was exceptional.

The hotel in Papagayo was the worst — room door to the outside didn’t close well, even after we got it repaired. Hot tub wouldn’t hold water, AC just didn’t really work and made a loud noise. Food was mediocre. Pool was tiny. Water stopped working one morning. Snorkeling tour was great although the fish weren’t that interesting. The footprint of the hotel was great, but really needs work.

Don Juan coffee and chocolate tour was Jane’s highlight - she called it phenomenal.

All the drivers were great and prompt. Roads were terrible and many under construction — 4 hours from Monteverde to Tamarindo. Tourist dollars would be well spent to improve them going to the parks.

We tried tipping everyone who gave us excellent service, but kept running out of small bills. Would highly suggest you recommend getting them before you leave. Most hotels could break a $20, but not all. All the staff at all facilities were great.

Hope this is helpful — I’m trying to be honest. We would have paid more to stay at a better place in Papagayo — maybe the Andaz? Also the heat was just a bit much for us San Franciscans. Could have used some more fog! ;-) Next time the Caribbean side?

Hotel Reviews

Cala Luna Boutique Hotel & Villas

Guanacaste

We really liked the Cala Luna Boutique Hotel in Tamarindo. The pool was great, the food was awesome, and it had a nice, relaxed vibe. We enjoyed watching the sunset over the beach and walking into town along the beach. This might have been our favorite hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Senda Monteverde Hotel

Monteverde

Hotel Senda was amazing - the staff was awesome, and they even provided a heater and hot water bottles in the bed! The cloud forest guided hike and the night walk were both great, and our guide for the night walk was especially knowledgeable. There's a nice national park near the hotel with beautiful old strangler fig trees. We didn't go into town because it was quite steep, but we loved our stay at this hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Hacienda Guachipelín

Liberia

We had a really good guide in Rincon de la Vieja. Chris, a naturalist, took us on a nice long tour. He even had bird calls on his phone! Overall, we enjoyed our stay at this hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs

Fortuna

My wife especially loved the dessert at the restaurant in Arenal. The breakfast and meals were generally pretty good, and she thinks they were close to Michelin star quality. The guided hike in the Arenal Volcano Park was a bit steep and not as nice as some of the other hikes, but overall, we had a good time at this hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Bosque del Mar

Playa Hermosa

The Hotel Bosque del Mar in Gulf of Papagayo wasn't the best ending to our trip. The food was a little worse than mediocre, and we had some technical problems with our room. However, we were able to walk up and down the beach and find nice little restaurants, so we had some alternatives to the hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Monteverde Cloud Forest Guided Hike

Monteverde

The cloud forest guided hike was good, although it was a bit crowded. We enjoyed being in the cloud forest and exploring the area.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Children's Eternal Rainforest Night Walk

Monteverde

The night walk was a highlight of our trip. Our guide was very knowledgeable and showed us some cool stuff. We appreciated being on our own during the walk and exploring the nighttime forest.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Morning Snorkel & Sailing Tour

Gulf of Papagayo

The snorkeling experience was good but not great. We enjoyed being out on the water, and the crew was great, but we didn't see as many fish as we had hoped. The spiky sea creatures were a bit intimidating, and the snorkeling spot wasn't as crowded as we expected. However, overall, it was a fun experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee & Chocolate Tour

Costa Rica

This was a highlight of our trip. We had a great guide, and we got to make our own chocolate bars and drink roasted coffee. We would highly recommend this tour, as it was well-done and enjoyable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

First of all, Jessica was fantastic, not just in helping us design our trip, but even more so in helping us during the trip when the inevitable small problems happen (like trying to find our guide, coordinate our rides, etc.). She was available at all hours and responded to our texts within minutes...even on Sunday! She was extremely pleasant, knowledgeable and demonstrated that she genuinely cared that we were enjoying our time. Finally, every guide and driver we worked with wase extremely knowledgeable, friendly, fun and professional. They really made a huge impact on our trip!

I look forward to using the Kim Kim service in the future and if we go back to Italy, I would love to work with Jessica again.

Thank you for a wonderful trip!
Ron Rowan

We had an amazing time in Sri Lanka. Dhanushka has been an amazing help in planning the trip, and he was always reachable and responsive, he made sure to make regularly check-up on us, and accommodating to every request we had.
Our guide and chauffeur Priyantha was also great, he was very flexible in accommodating our asks, and he always suggested ways and activities we can enhance our trip, he was also very knowledgeable of Sri Lanka’s history and culture, and of the best rest-stops and restaurants while on road trips.

Sri Lanka is truly the wonder of Asia, it has amazing nature, culture, and food. We specifically enjoyed the Village Trip nearby Kandalama, which was like a trip in time, Horton Plains and Tea Production nearby Nuwara Eliya, and the Spices experience.

Sri Lanka people are very friendly, weather it is the hotel staff, or tour guides, or a random you are meeting at the street. The food is very delicious and has many varieties, and the fruit is as fresh as you can get.

Activity Review

Rural Village Trail in Habarana (Cycling, Boat Trip & Lunch)

Sri Lanka

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Perito Moreno glacier was the highlight of the trip and the guide for that day so stellar. We enjoyed the trip immensely including and everything was planned and executed well by Paul and the local guides. We definitely felt like all the details were handled.

Hotel Reviews

Palladio Hotel Buenos Aires—MGallery

Buenos Aires

The best hotel we stayed at by far. The rooms and service were excellent. Ask about joining the hotel rewards club as well to get early checkin which is so nice after a long haul flight

Authenticity & Character

Location

Walkable to key areas of interest.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Xelena Hotel & Suites

El Calafate, Santa Cruz

Rooms a little smaller and more dated than what you would find in Buenos Aires but still a great hotel. The Spa and Shuttle to town were great touches.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mercure Iguazu Hotel Iru

Puerto Iguazú

Nice hotel with convenient chauffeur to town. Pool was excellent. Balcony with jungle view was a unique and fitting touch when there to see the falls.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Perito Moreno Glacier - Los Glaciares National Park

El Calafate

The glacier was beautiful but what made it special was the incredibly knowledgeable and personable guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Safari Boat - Sailing Rico Branch

El Calafate

Quality of Experience

I

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Found the whole experience a bit of a mess to be honest. Had to keep chasing for pick up times which kept changing. Quito is dangerous in the evening and I wasn’t told this so basically stayed close to my hotel for safety. Room was small and dank. Staff were friendly though. Missed 7 hours of a scheduled day awaiting a transfer which turned out to be a small car not big enough for 3 passengers and luggage. Nearly 4 hours trapped in the front seat with my backpack between my legs. Hakuna matata lodge was a good experience and the trip I did was enjoyable. Private transfer back to Quito turned out to be a battered old taxi with a driver more interested in picking up fares on the the way than my safety. Road is dangerous and more so when the driver tries to overtake on blind bends. 3 1/2 hours of terror. Oh but I got offered a Wapping $40 compensation for my troubles. Communication is good from Kim Kim but customer service and attention to detail is missing.

Our trip to Costa Rica was amazing. The Kimkim team was awesome in helping us to plan and arrange our trip and activities. We cancelled one of our activites to relax at a spa instead. Jessica took care of the cancellation and issued a refund that day! The hotel Casa Luna in La Fortuna was beautiful with a natural creek running through it. The staff were very helpful and our rooms were great. The food was good but we also enjoyed venturing into town for more local cuisine. We would definitely return! After hiking to waterfalls, nature walks, hot springs and ziplining we headed to Manuel Antonio to experience the beauty of the National Park. The hotel Plaza Yara was beautiful and the staff were kind and accommodating. Always ready to help with taxies and directions. All of the guides were informative and their knowledge was very educational. Costa Rica is all about conservation and preserving their wildlife habitats. We loved this trip and the experience of a lifetime! Thank you Kimkim!

Hotel Reviews

Casa Luna Hotel & Spa

La Fortuna

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Plaza Yara

Puntarenas

Authenticity & Character

Location

On a dangerous road so you need to take a taxi everywhere

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Boating in Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge

Arenal/La Fortuna

The guide was great but the trip a little long and would like to have seen more wildlife.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Río Celeste & Tenorio Volcano National Park Guided Rainforest Hike

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Proyecto Asis Wildlife Rehabilitation Center Visit

Arenal/La Fortuna

This was a lot of information about rescued animals, mostly birds. The guide was great but we were hoping to see some sloths which were not there.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

EcoTermales Hot Springs Experience with Buffet Meal

Arenal/La Fortuna

This was amazing and should be required for Costa Rica. Beautiful!

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sky Tram, Ziplines & Sky Walk Adventure

Arenal/La Fortuna

Highlight of the trip! Beautiful, exciting and would definitely recommend this!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Nature Hike

Manuel Antonio

This is a beautiful national park as is everything in Costa Rica. The guide was great. However, the tour felt a little long (maybe because it was so hot and humid) and we found that we saw more monkeys and sloths outside of the parks.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Samir helped plan a fantastic trip to Jordan for us. He was very responsive and accommodative when the trip had to be rescheduled due to the passing of my mother. Our driver Hamza was great and private guide Ibrahim was very knowledgeable and friendly. Once in a lifetime trip that went off without a hitch.

We chose to book our trip with KimKim following a recommendation from a friend. Overall the trip was amazing and we had a great time following the "Route of Emotions" in northern Brazil. I would highly recommend the tour to anyone wanting to see a different side to Brazil, compared with the usual Rio/Iguazu routes.

Booking the trip Rachel provided quick feedback and was able to cater to our various requests. Communication at this point was very strong and everything we needed to do was clear. You have access to a whatsapp number for any questions once you land at your destination.

We travelled from Barreirinhas to Parnaiba, and then onto Jericoacoara, with two different guides for each part of the trip. Our guide from Barreirinhas around the dunes and local areas was Josiel who was lovely and helpful with any questions we had. I would say he acted more as "translator" than guide (reactive vs proactive) but if you are an English speaker on this type of tour, a service such as this is essential to get by in the region.

We were picked up by Jonas, who was our amazing driver all the way through to Jeri. In Parnaiba, Francisco joined us as we took a tour to see the Guara in the river delta. Francisco was amazing, explaining in great detail to us about the region, its wildlife, food and culture. One of the best guides we have ever had for a tour!

We then moved onto Jeri (with some great recommendations from Francisco) and concluded our trip. We loved the whole experience!

One feedback point for improvement - it would have been great to have a daily update message over the WhatsApp channel to avoid confusion. As English speakers some things were unclear e.g. We were surprised when our guide got into the car on the side of the road in Parnaiba, as the driver didn't speak English he hadn't let us know about it, which was a shock to meet a new person unannounced. Small things like this could have been covered by a WhatsApp in the morning.

My husband and I visited Rome, Florence and Venice on our most recent trip to Italy.....
Rome - we had an amazing guide, Laura, who was with us for three days and was incredibly knowledgeable re the sites as well as very personable. We so appreciated her pacing of the tour each day and her personal recommendations for coffee and lunch. Having been to Rome several times, I appreciated that we were learning new information re the city and history. She is outstanding and highly recommend. All the transportation from hotel to train worked seamlessly!

Florence - we joined a small group tour for 3 different tours while we were here. We weren't happy with the first two tours - historical walking tour of city, David tour due to them being not as substantive in terms of history and information sharing and not as well as organized as other small group tours we have been on. Waiting for tickets, request to be at tour starting point 30 minutes pre tour etc. The last tour we took while in Florence was to Siena, San Giamagno and a winery tour. Very nice tour guide here with our small group, very knowledgeable and shared wonderful information. The winery and dinner was disappointing. Having been on a wine and food tour of Tuscany where we visited several wineries and had lunch/dinner I was expecting something like that. We had no tasting led by winery staff, no tour led by winery staff and had a basic dinner. Our tour guide showed us the cellar and poured the wines. Not the typical 'winery' experience. We were given the choice to only order the 3 wines we sampled and didn't have the option to try or order the other offerings of the winery. I also wish that the Uffizi gallery had been suggested to us and a ticket for the Duomo tour.
Venice - We had an amazing time here and really enjoyed the visit. Transportation to and from/hotel by private water taxi was perfect. The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable as well. Unfortunately, we had tickets to visit St. Mark's but were unable to use due to the Church closing that day. Although unanticipated and not the tour company's fault, it would have been nice if kimkim had arranged a refund or an extra to make up for that inconvenience. We were able to attend Mass the next day but definitely missed out on the guided visit by an expert. Excellent transportation back to airport via private water taxi.
All in all, the trip was beautifully arranged with train tickets, transportation and tours. We did believe our guides in Rome and Venice were top notch and Florence was lacking. Great service though through Kimkim and would recommend to use!

Activity Reviews

Rome Walking Tour: Historic Center Highlights

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Colosseum Tour Including Roman Forum

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Vatican Tour & Sistine Chapel

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Best of Florence Walking Tour with David & the Duomo

Florence

Quality of Experience

tour guide wasn't as knowledgeable and it tour felt disjointed. Couldn't really go into any church etc. Bathroom break in middle of tour that took at least 15 minutes and it was only a 2 hr tour.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tuscany day trip: Siena & San Gimignano (Regular Tour)

Florence

Dinner/Winery tour was not as expected. Guide had to show us cellar, property and pour wine at dinner. We could only buy wine we tasted (3 varieties) and nothing else was offered. Dinner was basic.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Venice Walking Tour with St. Marks Basilica Access

Italy

Even though St. Mark's closes due to Church activities and not Kim Kim fault, the tour co should offer something to compensate the traveler for having paid for tickets that weren't able to be used.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We loved working with Mathilde! I would highly recommend her to all of my friends. She was so personable and put together the perfect itinerary for us. I loved ending our trip in Nice and really enjoyed the cooking class. I want to go back and visit more of the French Riviera and part of Italy next time. I loved the experience traveling first class on the high speed train! Better than flying! Thank you Mathilde for planning such a great experience!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Escaletto

Aix-en-Provence

Great location, easy to walk to the central areas in Aix. Room basic but perfectly fine. My only suggestion would be to have a few snack options available at the bar for us late night munchers! Staff was terrific!

Authenticity & Character

More readily available items like snacks and water in the evening.

Location

Staff

So nice! I enjoyed chatting with one of the staff in the evening while having a night cap.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room clean and comfortable

Hôtel de l’Horloge

Avignon

Nice clean room with good location. I loved our view of the center square.

Authenticity & Character

Felt very French!

Location

Right in the center of the square

Staff

Helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Daily service was nice

Suisse Hotel

Nice

Loved our view of the water and loved sitting on our balcony to soak up late afternoon sun. Walking distance to the market, restaurants. Great place!

Authenticity & Character

Elevator sort of small. Bar:lounging area not very good.

Location

Walking distance to water, restaurants, shops

Staff

Staff fine just not as warm as the staff at the other hotels we stayed, but fine.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean and comfortable

Activity Reviews

Private Half Day Trip to Luberon Hilltop Villages

Aix-en-Provence

Lucille was an excellent guide and gave us a terrific experience

Quality of Experience

We loved our tour guide’s presentation and communication style.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Local knowledge and personal passion for area.

Transport

We loved the comfortable vehicle and the microphone so we could hear guide

Provence Historic Sites & Roman Ruins Day Trip

Avignon

Very educational overview. Thought our guide Bastion was terrific!

Quality of Experience

Less time at coliseum, first stop, one hour too much

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Loved Bastions friendly style and he was very knowledgeable about the various sites and encouraged questions.

Transport

Loved the nice vehicle and use of the microphone

Market Visit & Cooking Class with Lunch

Nice

Rosa our chef was wonderful! I learned so much about Nice cooking and culture. Loved the market tour and the cooking class was so enjoyable! Was so nice to have our meal together with such a nice group. I highly recommend this!

Quality of Experience

Rosa gave us a great tour in the market and I loved her overview of nice style cooking as we prepared our meal.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Rosa great

Transport

Walked!

Monaco Day Trip via Èze & La Turbie

France

This was my least favorite experience. Too much time in the car which made me nauseous. Seemed a bit rushed and I don’t think our guide was very good.

Quality of Experience

Felt rushed

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Driver did not use microphone so we missed a lot of what she was saying

Transport

A bit crowded

Our trip to the AZores was everything that we had hoped for. What a truly beautiful part of the world. Beatriz was wonderful and responsive as we tweaked the itinerary together. She found us lovely hotels and had great suggestions for the things we should see.
Once again, Kimkim took very good care of us and made planning this trip easy and seamless!

Hotel Review

Terceira Mar Hotel

Angra do Heroismo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Wine and Food Evening Walking Tour in Ponta Delgada

São Miguel Island

What a wonderful way to experience some of the AZores delicious food and wine. We had a terrific guide who had some good stories to tell as we strolled through Punta Delgada.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Vickie did a great job of helping us the few times things didn't go according to plan, which was very reassuring. When we got Covid at the end of the trip, her colleague helped us figure out a change of plans to allow us time to recuperate before getting on a plane.

The hotels that we needed to work from had excellent wifi quality and breakfasts with good varieties of food. We especially liked Rydges in Queenstown for its beautiful view.

We loved our canyoning trip in Queenstown and our helicopter ride over Milford Sound. Our driver on the way home from the airport after the ride went above and beyond when I realized I'd left my bum bag at the airport only when we got back to the hotel, and he offered to drive us all the way back to the airport to allow us to fetch it that afternoon. I do wish we'd known that the helicopter ride was going to land on a beach with sand flies, as I would've applied bug spray ahead of time if I'd known.

Having a private tour of Te Papa just for the two of us on my birthday was quite a treat! In retrospect, though, I think we should have switched the order of the days around Easter since Te Papa was open on Easter but few wineries were. It made for a challenging day of wine tasting on Easter with so few available options and everyone wanting to get into Poppies - our lunch time reservation ended up being at 2pm, and there were limited other options for tasting before then because some places wouldn't let you taste without also requiring that you eat a cheese plate as well. We appreciated the efforts that our driver made to make the day special for us nonetheless, and it was an unexpected treat to have a private wine tour that day. Thank you for the birthday champagne!

As it turned out, admission to the Carter Observatory/Space Place in Wellington wasn't free. There was some confusion over our reservation there, as the staff wasn't familiar with reservation numbers in the format we gave them. We called your office to try to troubleshoot this on the day of, and were told that the museum entrance was free, we would just need to pay for any additional activities we wanted to do while there. We appreciated the prompt service we received, especially given that it was Good Friday. As it turned out, we had to pay to access the exhibits, as well as to attend the planetarium show.

We really enjoyed our hangi dinner, which was delicious, and found the experience much more authentic than, say, the Hawaiian luaus we've attended before. We also really enjoyed exploring Te Puia, including seeing the artists at work and seeing the kiwi enclosure. We were annoyed by our fellow guests at Zealandia who couldn't figure out how to turn off their cameras for the night tour. Given that photos probably wouldn't have turned out well at night without flash anyway, I wish that Zealandia would just have a no cameras policy and leave it at that instead of having to constantly stop and correct people for incorrectly using their cameras for making too much light/noise.

We loved the Waitomo glow worm caves and appreciated their no-photos rule. It was incredible to be in such a sacred, special space. Agrodome was a ton of fun! We enjoyed feeding the animals and learning all about the different breeds of sheep.

Hotel Reviews

Millennium Hotel Rotorua

Rotorua

Everyone at this hotel was very friendly and accommodating. The bed was very comfortable, the room was spacious with a desk, drawers to unpack in, a closet with room safe, and a shower/tub combo. The air conditioner kept the room itself fresh, even though the Rotorua sulfur smell did pervade the hotel. Breakfast lacked variety for a long stay (I got the impression people were surprised that we were staying for five nights) and the dinner we had at the hotel restaurant was disappointing quality for the price.

Location

Our room had a distant view of the lake and was an easy walk into town to get our SIM card, get dinners, etc. Would've been easy to go to Polynesian Spa if we'd chosen to do so, was a quick walk to the lake, and to the public park.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The bed was exceedingly comfortable.

Bolton Hotel

Wellington

Our stay at the Bolton was very comfortable! The bed was cozy and there was plenty of room to spread out and for both of us to work from the room. We appreciated that on our work day we could each separately reach the bathroom without interrupting the other's work. We found it a bit odd that there were no drawers to unpack in, nor a room safe, but there was a spacious closet with a small set of shelves. Breakfast offered more variety, with eggs cooked to order and fresh fruit. By this point in the trip I had realized that New Zealand milk wasn't sitting well with me, and I was able to request soy milk as an alternative from the staff each morning.

Location

It was convenient that the walk from the top of the botanic gardens ended up easily coming back to the hotel. If we'd had business at parliament, this location would've been perfect. It was less convenient to Te Papa/Cuba St sights.

Staff

Chatty, well humored, accommodating.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The spacious bathroom had a separate shower and very deep soaking tub. The separate living area was a comfortable place to work. Having in-unit laundry was very handy - it was great that soap was provided for the machine and that we could ask for more as needed. We weren't used to a single machine that did both wash and dry, so we appreciated that they also provided a spacious drying rack for the things we wanted to avoid machine drying by hand washing.

The Hermitage Hotel

Mount Cook Village

I wish we'd had more time here to properly enjoy this gorgeous room and space! We had a lounge area that faced the window with a fabulous view of Mt. Cook. We had the room at the end of the hallway, so we also had a view across to the mountains on the other side of the room through some smaller windows as well. The room was well thought out with a padded bench seat immediately inside the door for putting on/taking off shoes so that you could keep your room clean. The included buffet dinner had plenty of delicious choices. Unfortunately, we got an early start before breakfast the following morning so we didn't get to sample the breakfast buffet as well. We will be back on our next trip to try to stargaze without clouds again!

Location

The view out of our room was absolutely stunning!

Staff

When our stargazing tour was cancelled I truly got the sense that the guide was as genuinely disappointed as we were, and appreciated that they were trying to do everything they could to make it right for us.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sudima Christchurch Airport

We had only planned to stay here one night before our flight, and it would've been perfect for that. As it turned out, we ended up spending six nights here as we recovered from COVID, and while it wasn't glamorous, it worked pretty well for that too. Having separate beds worked well while we tried (in vain) not to get each other sick. We appreciated having the courtyard view outside our room, and were grateful that despite the proximity to the airport there was no noise of planes flying overhead. We partook of the included breakfast on our first morning only, and appreciated that they let me bring a full plate back to my sick husband in the room. I also made use of the guest coin-op laundry facilities (soap was free, they made change for us at the front desk.) There was a screen tracking all of the departures so you knew if your flight was delayed/cancelled. A shuttle bus was available to drive you to the airport, but it was only a 10-20 minute walk across the street. In addition to breakfast service there was also a restaurant on-site and room service available, but they seemed pricey for what they offered. On one of our work days I had to work from the lounge while my husband worked from the room. With headphones I was able to block out most of the ambient noise and lounge music, but it wasn't an ideal place to work. I didn't investigate whether there were outlets to plug in at in the outdoor courtyard spaces.

Location

As an airport hotel, you can't ask for a better location. Walking distance to the airport, without any air traffic noise. As a COVID recovery facility, it also had its perks. It is near a shopping center with several fast casual restaurants, so we got takeout from a different restaurant each night for the week. There's also a coffee shop where we got breakfast, a grocery store where we got some snacks, and a pharmacy where we got cough medicines and COVID tests. And when we were better, on the morning before our flight, we went to the next door Antarctica Center to visit the penguins and husky dogs and see the 4D movie experience of touring Antarctica - highly recommend!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Milford Sound 90min Scenic Flight w/2x Landing

Queenstown (NZ)

This was the highlight of the trip! I'm so glad that the weather worked out and allowed for our trip to fly. I'm glad we had the afternoon free to allow for the flexibility to go later in the day when our morning flight time didn't quite have the weather clearance yet. Flying in a helicopter provided such a close-up view of the incredible scenery, I'm definitely going to consider adding helicopter flights to future trip itineraries :)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The return driver went above and beyond, driving us back to the airport after I realized I left my bum bag behind when we got back to the hotel. It was also fun to hear his suggestions for where we should plan to ride helicopters on our next vacations!

Wellington Cable Car & Carter Observatory

Wellington

Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate, so we weren't able to take advantage of the telescope at the observatory. We did enjoy learning how to navigate with the Southern Cross, which we saw several times throughout our trip. One thing you should know is that the observatory was not free admission. To gain entry to the exhibits was one price, and then the planetarium shows were a bit extra. Unfortunately, the cable car didn't run very late on Good Friday, so we weren't able to use it to get back up the hill for our evening at the observatory. We did use it earlier in the day to explore the botanical gardens though.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

There was a bit of a mix-up with our confirmation number at the Cable Car, but the staff was incredibly friendly and helpful in getting it resolved.

Zealandia Wildlife Sanctuary Night Tour

Wellington

Quality of Experience

Zealandia is a really special place, and seeing it at night allowed us to see critters that might've hid from us during the day. Our guides were incredibly informative and passionate about the species that are being restored. It was unfortunate that others in our group didn't follow the directions about noise/light so we weren't able to fully enjoy the experience.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide and her spotter did an excellent job of pointing out as many special critters as they could. When we weren't able to spot a kiwi in the wild, they treated us to an opportunity to pet kiwi feathers after the fact, and we got to warm up with a cup of tea brewed with the leaves of a plant we'd learned about on the tour when we returned to our home base. I thought these were both very nice touches at the end of the evening.

Explore the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves

New Zealand

We loved that no photos were allowed so that we had to just be in the moment and enjoy this special place. Even though the recent rains/floods raised the water levels in the cave and cut back on the number of visible glow worms, we still found the experience of floating under their starry sky absolutely magical. We also enjoyed exploring the cave before we got to the worm section, including learning how the early explorers had ventured into the cave with ropes before the stairs were carved out.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dave did a great job driving! ;)

Agrodome Farm Show and Farm Tour Combo

Rotorua

So much fun! We enjoyed the sheep show, the farm tour, and the gift shop. The sheep dog trial was a bit brief.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Te Pā Tū Māori Feast & Performance

Rotorua

I particularly enjoyed the stations that we visited at the beginning of the evening, learning about different aspects of Maori culture. Though I am terrible at throwing poi, it was fun to learn. I appreciate how immersive the experience was, as this helped us truly feel like family by the end of the night. I also enjoyed learning about the games that children play, and watching the men learn the haka. The performance was beautiful - everyone was so talented! Dinner was delicious! It was interesting learning where all of the various tourists were from. My aunt mentioned that when she'd visited NZ in the past she'd attended a dinner like this and they'd had everyone sing their national anthems. I much preferred the version done at our dinner, where the hosts sang a song by a famous artist from each country. It made it easier for everyone to join in the fun.

Quality of Experience

It felt very authentic, much more so than any commercialized luau I've ever been to.

Food

I was nervous that I wasn't going to like the food, because I worried that it would taste strange if it was cooked in the sulfuric steam that pervades the area. I was pleasantly surprised that all of the food, especially the pavlova for dessert, was absolutely delicious! And there was a ton of food, so if you didn't care for one course you would still be very well fed.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I liked how friendly everyone was, how they came around at dinner to ask if we had any questions. It was lovely to feel so warmly welcomed and part of the family for the evening.

Transport

The bus that picked us up from the hotel was very comfortable.

Queenstown Adventurer Canyon Tour

Queenstown (NZ)

I loved every bit of this incredible experience! It was so much fun, and the guides took such good care of us. I'll need to do some wet suit yoga to prepare myself for my next canyoning outing, as the flexibility required for climbing in the wet suit was the most challenging part. My only suggestion is that, while it was a nice touch to give us a warm beverage at the end of the trip, they should've provided lids for the cups before we got in the van for the ride back!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The staff worked heard to learn our names within the 4-hour outing, and were keeping a close eye on our safety and physical limitations at all times. Plus, they looked like they were genuinely having a ton of fun at their job.

Transport

I appreciated the steps they took to keep the van clean and dry: they had us rinse our feet in a bucket before we got back in the van, and we sat on chair covers to keep the seats dry.

Own Arrangements exploring Wellington

Wellington

We explored the botanical gardens, which were a beautiful downhill walk from the top of the cable car all the way back to the Bolton Hotel. We also were chocolatiers for the day at the Wellington Chocolate Factory on Eva Street, where we got to make three of our own custom chocolate bars and enjoy a cup of their hot chocolate. I appreciated that they were thoughtful in accommodating non-dairy guests with oat milk hot chocolate. It was fun learning all about the chocolate making process from bean all the way to wrapping in fancy painted papers.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Explore Queenstown on Your Own

Queenstown (NZ)

We explored the botanical gardens and walked around Lake Wakatipu a bit, enjoying the beautiful scenery. We enjoyed a soak at the Onsen hot tub spa at night, which was a lovely, relaxing treat. They had a nice selection of tasty bites and drinks that were included with our tub time. We had very yummy burgers at Miss Lucy's at the top of the Jucy Snooze hostel. We had very overrated, disappointing burgers at Fergburger. Fortunately, we didn't have to wait in too long a line for them because we waited until 9pm instead of going when the crowds stretch halfway down the block.

Self-Guided Exploration of Rotorua

Rotorua

We enjoyed wandering around Kirau Park and the free thermal features there. The big geyser at Te Puia was certainly more impressive, but if you're on a budget, you can definitely get a sense for the steaming waters and bubbling mud for free at Kirau - and you can soak your feet in the hot water if you are so inclined. Te Puia was special because of the artisans at work who were happy to talk to you about their studies, and because of the kiwi bird enclosure on the property. I'm glad we did both! We went for a hike along the Okere Falls Track, driving to the Okere Falls Scenic Reserve Parking lot and following the Kaituna River upstream to the Tutea and Trout Pool Falls. We patiently waited for a rafting trip to come down Tutea falls, and while we weren't able to see a raft we did see several kayaks take the intense plunge down the falls. For the walk back, we took the ridge trail which had beautiful scenic views at the top, but was more exposed to the sun than the river trail we'd started on. Recommend sunscreen and bug spray if you also decide to take both trails.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Our rental car was clean and easy to operate. We appreciated that the Rotorua Airport parking lot gave us room to try a few laps on the left side of the road to get accustomed to the car before heading out on the main road. Our agent at Europcar was very friendly and helpful in relieving our anxiety about driving on the opposite side of the car/road. And we were glad to have the GPS for the car at least for the first day since we didn't get our SIM cards at the airport, but rather at the mall in Rotorua.

Visit the Te Papa Museum

Wellington

What a treat to have a private tour just for the two of us! We weren't expecting that, but it made our experience at this incredible museum extra special. I appreciated that our guide asked what aspects of the museum we were most interested in seeing, and then she personalized the tour accordingly. You could easily spend all day and then some exploring everything in this collection! I most enjoyed the natural sciences section as well as the unique, large fiber arts installations made from everyday materials like tarps, road signs, ropes, and truck tie-down lashings. I also enjoyed learning about the beautiful modern carved marae and that the Maori concept of genealogy includes the type of work you do. The carved figures that attempt to represent us all through all the various sorts of work portrayed were very interesting.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Depart New Zealand

New Zealand

Air New Zealand was a fantastic airline to fly with. On every flight they gave us hard candies at the end of the flight to help relieve the pressure on our ears. On our international flights we were well fed (they even poured NZ wine for free at dinner!) and reasonably comfortable, even in economy. The flight attendants were much friendlier than their US counterparts: when there wasn't overhead space above our bulkhead seats, at first we put our bags up a few rows behind us. As we neared landing, we worried about the delay this would cause, so we asked a flight attendant if there was any room in the overheads in front of us. Not only did they find room, but they took our bags from us and put them up, and then brought them back to us upon landing! Even the difference in baggage handling was striking - in NZ our bag was carefully machine loaded onto the ramp. Once we landed in LAX and had to recheck our bag for our final domestic flight it was unceremoniously tossed upside down onto the belt, making us worry whether our bottles of NZ wine and duty free Aussie rum were going to survive the final leg - fortunately they did! The only problem with departing with New Zealand is that we never wanted to leave and can't wait to return!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Martinborough Wine Tour

Wellington

This was a lovely day -- being on a private tour allowed our guide to tailor the day to what we expressed interest in, which he did very well. He was friendly and accommodating, making us glad to spend time with him. The one difficulty was the tour was booked on Easter, which meant that some wineries weren't open and some weren't serving wine unless you also ordered a meal. This meant that those that were open (particularly the location where we ate lunch) were more crowded than usual, since the demand for wine tasting didn't exactly go down just because it was a holiday. This would have been helpful to know when planning out our overall itinerary -- we could have easily done this a different day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly and helpful, he really made an effort (within the constraints of what was available on Easter) to give us experiences in which we expressed interest.

Transport

Nothing particularly fancy, but clean and comfortable. No complaints.

Appellation Boutique Wine Tour

Queenstown (NZ)

It felt a bit more scripted and didn't feel quite as special as our first wine tour, but that's also the difference between being on a private tour and a group tour. The wineries we visited were all quite nice. Lunch and some of the tasting/buying experiences felt a bit rushed, and even in that context we got back later than expected. The quality of lunch was good and we particularly appreciated the restaurant's flexibility re: accommodating the request for a dairy-free meal on the fly. The guides were both friendly and did their best to give points of interest to keep us entertained, but it's tough to find things that are interesting and/or novel to an entire group.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Skyline Queenstown - Gondola and Buffet Dinner

Queenstown (NZ)

The gondola ride obviously provided a beautiful view, and the view from the restaurant was equally spectacular. The food was pretty good (not great), and there was certainly plenty of it with plenty of choices. You won't leave hungry. Overall, though, it's hard to do food on a buffet of a quality that justifies the price they charged. Overall we felt that we were paying for the view rather than the meal.

Quality of Experience

Better quality food to justify the price, though that's very tough on a buffet and serving that many people.

Food

I would have preferred fewer dishes with more attention paid to each one. I also would have liked a greater variety of fresh vegetables -- most of the dishes on offer felt quite heavy.

Mieke was very responsive and helpful with both planning our trip and with respect to a situation that arose during our trip. Overall the itinerary was very good and we enjoyed our time in the Netherlands.

Johanna, Kristy and Sonia are absolutely awesome they were very helpful and super informative
Highly recommend all the drivers Jorge and Jose also that drove us around
The best team ever

My friend and I had an incredible time in Greece thanks to KimKim! Our local specialists Eleni and Mariliza curated an unforgettable experience that was well within our set budget. The Athen Highlights Mythology Tour by Alternative Tours was dazzling and informative, and the Sunset Wine & Dine experience by San Lux Travel in Santorini was AWEsome! Hands-down the best sunset I've ever seen with some of the tastiest wines I've ever had.

Each hotel our specialists chose was centrally located, and offered superb service. I especially enjoyed the breakfast spread and massage I received at Cresanto Luxury Suites.

I would highly recommend using KimKim to plan all your trips, and I know I will be using this service to do so from now on.

My now-wife and I gave Sabina a very short lead time of less than a month to plan a 2-week honeymoon in New Zealand in April 2023. Sabina exceeded our expectations, putting together a fantastic trip and working with us to make sure that we didn't go over our budget. She was very responsive to our communications both in the planning stage and also when we were on the trip. For example, when one of our domestic flights from the North Island to the South Island was slightly delayed, Sabina called us immediately and made sure that we had the updated reservation information. She also entertained numerous annoying queries from us like, "What is tipping culture like here?", "What is this marmite stuff and why does it taste so awful?", "Where can we find spicy food?" and similar questions that arose for us while we were on the trip. We enjoyed all of the activities that Sabina planned and recommended. We highly recommend Sabina to anyone traveling to New Zealand.

From the start I was impressed with Camila. She responded quickly and thoroughly resolved any concerns or questions I had. She put together a custom itinerary, matching exactly what I wanted to see and do. She went out of her way to make sure that this trip not only met my expectations, but exceeded them. Everything I wanted to do while I were there, no matter how big or small she made sure I got to do it. The only con that I have is to have a copy of the itinerary and invitation letter in Spanish and English as nobody in immigration spoke English and the walk from the hotel in Samay Wasi hotel to the bus terminal is not five minutes (actually about 20 minutes). We had to take a taxi. I would have no reservations recommending Camila and the Kim Kim team to others. I am beyond thankful to her and her team and would wholeheartedly recommend her to everyone. Special mention to Alvaro Oropeza in Uyuni. He and the driver were awesome!!! Book your trip of a lifetime with this wonderful team. I learnt a new word Un-Boliviable :)

Activity Reviews

Night bus La Paz - Uyuni

La Paz

The night bus was like flying first class....wonderful!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day use hotel in La Paz

La Paz

Everyone was nice and accommodating....could have more vegan options

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Urban trek Full-Day

La Paz

I had a great time on the Urban Trek full-day tour. The guide was knowledgeable and accommodating to our needs. The only downside was it got extremely hot during the day, but that's outside of anyone's control. Overall, it was a good experience.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore landscapes of Sud Lipez

Bolivia

I enjoyed exploring the landscapes of Sud Lipez. We saw some flamingos, although not many at the time of our visit. Overall, the experience was enjoyable, and the typography was stunning.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day-Trip to Palca Canyon

La Paz

The day-trip to Palca Canyon was a great experience. The guide was knowledgeable and spoke excellent English. The scenery was impressive, and I highly recommend this trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Begin the Uyuni Salt Flats Expedition

Bolivia

AMAZING!!!!!!!!! The Uyuni Salt Flats Expedition was amazing, with wonderful guides and drivers. The experience was unforgettable, and I got some fantastic photos during the trip.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Best guide and driver

Transport