Kimkim Trip Reviews

The guide in Ecuador was great, we had busy days and visited a lot of different sites!

Everything was well organized and we had no issues at all we were able to enjoy our trip to the maximum

Our Trip to Vietnam and Cambodia through kim kim was very smooth, Ashley was on top of the every day planning and she was being sure we were satisfied throughout our trip. She was very fast putting together this trip for us that was decided at the last minute.
The guides were very friendly, flexible and knowledgeable.
Our private transportation was very comfortable and convenient.
Thank you Kim Kim, Ashley and your team for making this memorable trip for us.

Hotel Review

Chen Sea Resort & Spa

Phu quoc

Amazing location on the beach, very friendly staff, delicious food.

Authenticity & Character

The rooms are beautiful, the architecture of the hotel very unique

Location

Great location on a beautiful beach

Staff

Very friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms and public areas in very well condition

Activity Review

Halong - Lan Ha Bay - Frog Lagoon Area (Capella)

Ha Long Bay

Great sigh seen place, nice family time, food in the boat was amazing, very friendly staff, rooms very comfortable.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We love the approach KimKim takes of surveying interests and travel styles and creating a custom trip that fits. The local guides were top-notch, and the activities aligned well with our interests. Especially the cooking class we took and the dinner we had in someone’s home. It was a nice change from a restaurant to be able to have a relaxing meal in a
“homey” environment and get to know some new people.

The other positive of Helena (our trip lanner) was the regular communication about trip details both before and while we were away, as well as that from the tour guides. There was very little to fret over while we were on vacation – and we got updates throughout our tour.

The only bit of advice I have is that you should take time to research your destination fully. This was the 1st time I did not plan every aspect of our trip (book hotels, Viator tours, etc.), and I should have better researched Lisbon (and Porto) to fully appreciate what we did and what we missed. I felt a little disconnected following a plan that was built for me rather than one I built. This is nothing against KimKim – I 100% recommend them; just advice as you begin to plan your next destination.

We will definitely use KimKim when we plan our next trip!

From the moment we were contacted by Tamer the customer service was exceptional. The communication was swift and helpful and the tour was arranged using some of our ideas and the undoubted expertise of Tamer and his team. The trip could not have been better. Our guide Sebastian went above and beyond any reasonable expectations to make it a special tour and was such great company for every moment of the 11 days. We saw and experienced everything from the Amazon to zip lining, cable cars, sand boarding and seeing a mix of spectacular city centre buildings to rural mountain life. The mix of food and our cooking lessons were perfect. We will definitely recommend Tamer and Sebastian to our friends and family

What an amazing experience we had in Morocco. Original Travels made the process easy and enjoyable. Said organized the trip according to our needs and was available even after hours. Oussama our driver complemented very well our wonderful visit to Morocco. Beautiful country, beautiful people. Hope to be back

Well organised and everyone very helpful and friendly, but over-priced

Hotel Review

Casa Tayrona Los Naranjos

Thoroughly recommend. Great location, wonderful food, fantastic staff. Perfect place to relax

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Hike Tayrona National Park

Colombia

Very touristy. No need for a guide - clear paths to follow

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Excellent careful driver with good quality comfortable vehicle

We had wonderful time in Japan. This was our first trip to Japan, so we wanted to see main attractions with some focus on 'hidden' Japanese treasures. Fei really did great job in organizing everything to tinny detail. Fei was also supportive during our trip, responding to some of the questions or small additional requests quickly. Communication via KimKim platform and response from local agency was good.
We had few days organized with local guide &driver while for few days we joined smaller group. We had also enough time to do some things by ourselves.
Highlights:
- Katana Sword Making in Kyoto
- Half Day Sagano Bamboo Grove & Arashiyama Walking Tour (Join-in)
- Osaka Highlights Bike Tour
- Full Day Mt.Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi Tour - it is a bit longer drive from Tokyo. We were unlucky that road to 5th station on Mt. Fuji was closed and traffic to the place was challenging so we spend a lot of time in car that day.

Few things that could be improved:
- few of our guides were actually more help to go around the place, rather than being really guide explaining things around the place we were visiting. We felt they didn't have much of the local knowledge, which was something we were expecting. They were mostly students living in Japan for several years. The guide that we had in Tokyo was really knowledgeable and was able to share more details.

Altogether, if you want trip without too much of worry, highly recommended. Make sure you stress out importance of having local guides.

What went well: 1) Shona did a great job planning our trip and making sure we were enjoying our itineraries every day! Our biggest highlight was being able to do all tourist special attractions in one trip across cities. 2) She added things to the itinerary, per our request (Team Labs Borderless), which we are so glad we did and a big thanks to her for organizing it! 3) Louisa (Tokyo guide) gave us some great restaurant recommendations. 4) And the location of hotel in Tokyo was AMAZING.

What could be better - 1) The tour guides we got were not very knowledgeable nor experienced. They were nice people, but it was hard to get much touristy/historical information from them about our destinations. Shu (Kyoto/Osaka guide) didn't even enter most of the places with us; he would just wait outside. We felt like we always had to ask him to explain history / significance of places we went to, as he offered very little details/stories. 2) For the amount of money we paid, we should have received much better and experienced guides. e.g., we met some other guides (via Viator) who have been doing this for more than 10 years and really knew about the history and cultural significance of places - we feel like we didn't get that at all! 3) We also felt like we walked needlessly to fill time in Kyoto / Nara - the distances were very spread out and we had to walk miles (within a single day at times) that we believe should have been a private car experience for the amount of money we paid. We were exhausted by the end of the trip given how much we had walked every single day. Plus, it was very hot in both Kyoto/Nara and Osaka. That wasn't value worth our money spent!

Overall, I think the trip was fine and Shona did a great job checking in and following up on our whereabouts and making sure we were comfortable. But, the guides (especially Shu) really made us think that we didn't get the experience we deserved!

Hotel Reviews

Osaka Excel Hotel Tokyu

Osaka

The Osaka Excel Hotel Tokyu was conveniently located near the train station, but it felt slightly distant from key attractions like the fish market, and always needed to take a cab to move around. Overall, it was a satisfactory stay

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Vischio Kyoto by GRANVIA

Kyoto

Location is good but there were no in-house restaurants or bars!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Shibuya Excel Hotel Tokyu

Tokyo

Location, location, location!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Amazing location, right in the heart of the city, next to a Metro

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Tour to Arashiyama Bamboo Grove & Sagano Scenic Railway

Kyoto

Sagano Scenic Railway was a fine day tour, but the train ride was not as spectacular as it seemed, the main attraction was supposed to be a boat ride which was canceled due to the weather conditions. Overall, it was a pleasant day.

Spot Early-Blooming Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Her knowledge and storytelling

Transport

Toured Casablanca, Rabat, Chefchaouen, Volubulis, Fes and Meknes. There was a lot of driving on this itinerary; typically 4 hours per day. I would avoid that in the future. Our driver, Younes, was accommodating. The van was comfortable, but note that two people must ride backwards as there are two bench seats that face each other behind the front seats. This arrangement can result in some people getting motion sickness from facing backwards. The people in Morocco were very friendly. The hotel in Casablanca was very good and the staff was very friendly and accommodating: Barcelo Anfa. The breakfast at the hotel was amazing. The riads were just okay. Very nice looking, but not very well insulated from outside noises on the street and we were awoken each early morning (about 2:30 am and 5 am) by the call to prayer as it was Ramadan. Breakfasts at the riads were just okay; mostly a lot of different breads with yogurt and some fruit. Tour of Fes medina was very interesting. Other medinas were nice but very repetitive. The cooking class was very long; approximately 4 hours. The instructor was very nice, but it was too long. Would have preferred a food tour, but that was not available due to Ramadan. Tour of Volubulis was very interesting. Would have liked to spend more than 1 hour. We would not do the hammam again. We were sent in without a change of under garments or swimsuits, no one spoke English inside the hammam and it was bit awkward trying to figure out what to do and when it was finally complete.

Hotel Reviews

Riad Sayeda Alhora

Fes

The nicest riad of the trip in terms of ambiance and room size, but no closets. Street noise very noticeable at night.

Dar Meziana

Chefchaouene

Nicely appointed. Outside street noise was noticeable when trying to sleep. One of the better riad breakfasts. Easy access to the medina.

Riad Kalaa 2

Rabat

Nicely appointed. Outside street noise was noticeable when trying to sleep. Location was good relative to local attractions.

Barceló Anfa Casablanca

Casablanca

Very modern, with one of the best breakfast buffets we have ever seen. Staff was very friendly and went out of their way to make us happy.

Activity Reviews

Exploring the Imperial City and Medieval Medina of Fes

Fes

Tour guide was good. Seeing how products were made was interesting. Dealing with vendors was sometimes annoying.

Exploring the Imperial City and Medieval Medina of Fez + Food Tour

Fes

We had to do the cooking class instead of the food tour because it was Ramadan. The instructor was very nice but the class was simply too long; over 4 hours.

Hammam Visit: Traditional Body Scrub

Morocco

Better description provided ahead of the hammam as no one spoke English. Also it would have been better to have a change of clothes or a swim suit.

This was our first experience with Kikmim, following directly on their Exploring 6-days Australia tour. My husband and I are delighted to give Vicky at Kimkim an "excellent" rating on this tour. From initial contact, to booking, to superb coordination by the tour organizers, the excellent knowledge and wonderful humor of our guides, and the selection of tour sites, the trip was organized and run smoothly and with the interests and comfort of the participants always kept in mind. They are by far the best tour operator we have traveled with.

Hotel Reviews

Holiday Inn Cairns Harbourside, an IHG Hotel

Cairns North

Little bit far from the pier and downtown areas.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vibe Hotel Sydney

Sydney

Good location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vibe Hotel

Melbourne

Location is very good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private City Kickstart Tour: Melbourne

Melbourne

Our tour was cancelled without a notice.

Great Ocean Road Scenic Tour

Melbourne

Amazing tour and fabulous experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Eleni and her team were incredible! Our family of 4 had a pretty last minute trip request to Italy and they delivered. We visited Bologna, Florence and Venice and would do it all again. Every detail was well planned out. The hotels were in perfect locations. The local tour guides and activities were wonderful and unique - we gained so much knowledge during these tours while having fun at the same time. We never could have planned something like this ourselves. We are so thankful for Eleni and her team for creating wonderful memories for our family.

Lorena helped us plan an amazing trip to Argentina to see penguins, a lifelong dream. Our guides Mery and Fabian were incredibly knowledgeable about the area and shared their love of the culture and natural history. We had a beautiful trip thanks to Kim Kim, thanks!

Hotel Review

Dazzler by Wyndham Puerto Madryn

Puerto Madryn

Really beautiful hotel, friendly bilingual staff and a nice rooftop rest area that was perfect for resting after our day trips. Easy walk to downtown Puerto Madryn.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Central location, great water views

Staff

Very friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms were clean and service was really good.

Activity Review

Visit to a Penguin Colony by land - Punta Tombo

Puerto Madryn

Quality of Experience

We were able to spend a good part of the day at Punta Tombo and were not rushed

Food

We really appreciated the packed lunches for the long journey.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Mery and Fabian were so well versed in the history, culture and wildlife of Patagonia. Their clear love of their home was evident and made us appreciate the experience even more.

Transport

We had a slight communication error at the airport, but everyone jumped in and got us to our hotel with a small seat, but every day we were picked up on time and had a great relaxed experience, which is what we wanted. We had some great conversations en route to our destinations, and time seems to go quickly.

Responsive and thoughtful planning process by Florin - we were in constant communication and the details were ironed out very quickly. The local guide Mircea Maftei was one of the best we've had in all our experience with kimkim - very knowledgeable, great english, and above and beyond service.

We had a seamless trip put together in a short timeframe. Besides the amazing sites and people in India, we especially were grateful for transfer agents, guides, and drivers. They were all well versed in what we were doing, easy to commicate with, and made our trip to India very enjoyable.

Paris: The tour guide of the Gourmet trip, Sarbine Leung was affable, resourceful and professional. The fact that she was from Hong Kong was a pleasant surprise to us. We enjoyed Paris, it is full of heritage and we will go there again in the future. Next time, we would love to explore the local little shops. For the river cruise dinner, we think the atmosphere was good, the food was fair but the service (the waiters) are not polite enough.

Amboise: The tour guide Sophie was very pleasant and took good care of everyone. We love the tranquility and the peaceful ambience of Amboise. We particularly love the cottage style hotel in Amboise. The breakfast lady of the hotel made very good fried eggs which us felt at home. The restaurant recommendation was also very good.

Bordeaux: We love Bordeaux a lot, its vibrancy and sunshine (though a little drizzle) made us very joyful. The city tour guide Jessica was very friendly, resourceful and professional. She taught us a lot of Bordeaux history which was very interesting. Another tour guide, Radouane who took us to the oyster farm was also very good. We enjoyed the spectacular view and experience of La Dune du Pilat a lot, we will definitely come with other family members and friends in the future. The trip was followed by a nice seafood lunch in La Co(o)rniche which made our day.

In general, we are 90% satisfied with the arrangement of Mathilde, if we are to name some areas for improvements, it would be better if you can work with the service providers to assign the tour guide/ contact to us a night before so that we can connect with him/her via Whatsapp earlier.

Thanks again, Mathilde (KimKim). We plan to go to Italy in 2025 (probably Easter). Hope that you can help us with the planning and arrangement. This time, we hope that we can pull in one to two pairs of couples to join us so as to make the trip more joyful.

Cheers,
First-of-May

Hotel Reviews

La Maison Bord'eaux

Bordeaux

A good hotel for the stay in general

Authenticity & Character

Location

Convenient to get to the pedastrian areas

Staff

very helpful and efficient

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Le Clos d'Amboise

Amboise

We love the cottage-style of the hotel, it looks so antique and warm. The room is spacious and well equipped.

Authenticity & Character

I like the color of the decoration and the furniture too, very French to us

Location

Staff

The lady which prepared the breakfast was so nice and proactive in offering more to us

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean and comfy

Hôtel Bastille Spéria

Paris

The location is very convenient and the breakfast was simple but good

Authenticity & Character

The choice of the yogurt was super good

Location

very central, convenient to get to most destinations

Staff

The reception provided helpful instructions

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Arcachon Bay: Sands, Sea & Oysters

Bordeaux

We loved everything about the day trip to Arcachon Bay and Dune Du Pyla. They are all must-go. Spectacular views of Dune du Pyla Interesting to learn how to farm oysters...

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Professional guide

Transport

Comfy ride

Historic City Walk

Bordeaux

We learned a lot about the history of Bordeaux from the guide Jessica.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Jessica was awesome

Loire Valley Châteaux & Vouvray Wine Tasting Day Trip

France

Villandry Castle is super beautiful and eye-opening. It is a must-go! Azay-le-Rideau is so elegant and magnificent, it is also a must-go! Vouvray Vineyards is also a must-go to learn about French grapes and its wine-making.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sophie + the other colleagues of the service providers were so warm and helpful

Transport

Comfy ride

Latin Quarter Gourmet Food Walk

Paris

Love to learn and feel the everyday lives of the Parisiens. We learned a lot from the guide Sarbine and enjoyed the pastries, cheese, ham and wine of the tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Entrance Tickets: Sainte-Chapelle & Conciergerie

Paris

A must-go in Paris if you love history and architecture

Quality of Experience

Half-Day Tour to La Vallée Village from Paris

Paris

Most of the shops didn't offer good discounts and the items were still very expensive, however we managed to find a brand which offered nice and reasonable priced suits. We enjoyed a good meal in one of the steak houses in La Vallee Village

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Seine River Gourmet Dinner Cruise with Live Music

Paris

It was a nice experience of having dinner in a river cruise, especially you can take some pictures with Eiffel Tower (like a jewel) in the evening

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Eiffel Tower Summit Tickets

Paris

A must-go in Paris. The view is spectacular.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Hugo was confident and professional in telling us the history

Transport

The team did an amazing job helping us with a fantastic experience. We spent three nights in Monteverde and seven nights in Nosara. Monteverde and the Cloud Forest was unlike anything I have ever seen before. We spent a few days hiking, ziplining and learning how chocolate and coffee is made. I personally loved the cloud forest. My wife loved the chocolate and coffee experience. The kids favorite was the night hike and zip lining. The hotel recommendation was very unique. With nine buildings stretching from the bottom of the mountain to the top, the resort felt like it was in the rain forest. Our room was at the very top of the mountain providing us with wonderful views of the golf of Nicoya.

We initially hesitated on planning a trip to Costa Rica. With four young kids, I was concerned that we would have challenges traveling between the airport and differing locations. For those that haven't been to CR, the roads can be a challenge. Gustavo connected us with Ride CR. This took all of the stress out of our trip. I would highly recommend using Ride CR if you are planning to move around the country with smaller kids.

Jessica was wonderful. She helped us schedule all the tours and activities. I really appreciated her responsiveness and ability to accommodate late changes that were needed. I was super surprised at how easy KimKim made this. I would 100% use this group again.

Our trip to Cusco, Sacred valley , short Inca trail and Machu Picchu was amazing. The program was very well planned. The hotels included were very nice and perfectly located. We were picked up at the airport and hotels every morning always on time. Our guide for 4 days, Emilia, was perfect; full of knowledge, passion and interesting with a big smile. :-) We can recommend using kimkim for a trip to this region. Thanks!

Hotel Reviews

El Mapi by Inkaterra

Cusco

Modern luxury hotel in Macchu Picchu. Very good!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

El Albergue Ollantaytambo Boutique Hotel

Cusco

Unique hotel on the train station to Machu Picchu. Very nice garden around the buildings. Big rooms. Good breakfast!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa San Blas Boutique

Cusco

Very nice hotel and perfect location! Very good staff and breakfast!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean and comfortable, but you can hear noise from other rooms easily

Activity Reviews

Short Inca Trail Day 2: Machu Picchu Guided Tour and Return to Cusco

Peru

Machu Picchu is amazing. Our guide, Emilia was just perfect!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Good car and driver back to Cusco, but we had to wait 1/2 hour before he found us.

Short Inca Trail Day 1: Hiking to Machu Picchu via Chachabamba and Wiñay Wayna

Peru

6 hours walk with breaks in a medium demanding trail. Perfect alternative if you don't have time for or want to walk the 4 day trail. 2 impressive Inca sites on the way to Machu Picchu.

Quality of Experience

Food

The lunch box was ok, but it is good to bring some snacks in your backpack.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lunch at Mountainview

Peru

Highly recommended. Excellent view, food, service and meet with lamas

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sacred Valley Tour: Pisac and Maras - Lunch at MountainView Experience Lodge

Peru

Very nice and interesting! We even got a bonus trip to the salt production plant

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The KimKim team, especially Pedro, made our trip to Portugal smooth, exciting, and fulfilling. We especially loved our walking tour guide in Porto (Bernardo - amazing) and our drivers (Miguel from Lisbon to Sintra + Porto & Pedro to the Douro Valley). Every location we saw was wonderful for its own reasons. Thank you for organizing a great trip with our group and making adjustments when we asked!

Hotels were good. Transport between different places with the van was good.
Tours guides took us from the hotel to the van and to the planned destinations. We had too many tourist guides, some of them were very unexperienced and they lacked any deep knowledge of the places that they took us to. It seems that the language was a barrier, too.
This trip was overpriced for the quality that we had.

I don't know what we would have done without Vicky! When we started, we only knew we wanted to go to Australia, and nothing much else. Right from deciding which cities to visit all the way to rebooking our flights and hotels during our trip when we had an unexpected interruption, Vicky was along with us every step of the way, patiently helping us refine our plan and promptly making all the arrangements. She gave us valuable advice on the logistics of traveling with a child - where to rent strollers, what type of cookies she might like etc. The hotels were all in great locations with access to groceries as well as tourist attractions. Each hotel has a refrigerator stocked with milk, which was such a thoughtful touch.

This is the first time we've used a travel booking company and the experience was well worth it! The process of using kimkim was really natural. There was no pressure to commit so we had time to explore whether the process would work for us. The chat-based interface is its best feature, because it made the trip planning really lightweight.

Hotel Reviews

Sails In The Desert

Yulara

There's not many accommodation options in Yulara - but Sails is the best. The morning breakfast buffet was huge and satisfying. The restaurants on site have limited vegetarian dishes, so after a few meals, it gets repetitive. However, its a 2 minute walk to the town square where there's an IGA and other conveniences.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mantra on Kent

Sydney

The location is great - with access to a convenience store and larger grocery store within reasonable walking distance. There are many attractions nearby - Hyde Park, Queen Victoria Building, Town Hall, Darling Harbor and the main shopping districts. There are tons of swanky coffee shops nearby as well. The breakfast is basic but good. Not much variety, but there are lots of eateries within walking distance.

Authenticity & Character

Location

We stayed in two rooms - one faced darling harbor and the other faced the city with a view of the atrium of the Queen Victoria Building. So, everything is very close by.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vision Cairns Holiday Apartments

Cairns

We had a large balcony with a view of the bay. Very close to Muddy's Playground and Muddy's Cafe, which are both very child friendly. The boardwalk is just off the building, which leads to many restaurants and other attractions. The bedding was very comfortable and the apartment was very clean.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sunlover Reef Cruises Cairns Great Barrier Reef Experience (departs Cairns)

Australia

This was definitely the highlight of our trip because for the first time we saw corals that were thriving! Once the catamaran docks at the pontoon, you have 4 hours to do anything - take a semi-submersible boat tour, snorkel, guided snorkeling, first time diving etc. It can get crowded at times.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sydney Sights 4 hours - Private Tour

Sydney

We say the harbor and the opera house from multiple vantage points. Bondi beach was way better than I had imagined. The guide/driver was very knowledgeable and gave us ample time of flexibility.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kuranda Scenic Railway and Skyrail Rainforest Cableway

Cairns

The cableway is great going in and the train is great coming back out (you can take a nap). The butterfly park was good but not really that spectacular. We skipped Reforestation.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

1 Day Uluru with Sunset BBQ - Start/End in Ayers Rock

Uluru

Food

The trip advertised "fruit and snacks". The only thing that was given was an apple. The bbq has lot of vegetarian options, but they were constantly attacked by flies which make it less appetizing.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide was not a good narrator/storyteller, so I really didn't follow most of the aboriginal stories or significance of Uluru, which is a shame.

Transport