Kimkim Trip Reviews

Our guides Volcan and Hattice were superb. History, culture, sightseeing, and cuisine were all very well explained and experienced.

We had a fantastic 10 day trip to Turkey seeing the highlights in Istanbul, Cappadocia and Ephesus/Sirince. We loved our guide in Istanbul, Volkan, and the sights were amazing; Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque, the Cistern, and the Bosphorous cruise. The hotel in Old Town was excellent! Cappadocia lived up to the hype with the amazing hot air balloon ride, cave frescoes, and exploring the valleys. Staying in a cave hotel was a unique experience! Our guide Hattice was excellent with our son! Ephesus was amazing and we enjoyed exploring the town of Sirince. The boutique hotel on the hillside over Sirince was so traditional and the restaurant was amazing. We enjoyed the cooking class we did with the chef!

Hotel Reviews

Kale Konak Hotel

Such a unique experience, staff did an excellent job mitigating some cleanliness concerns in one of the rooms, rooms are dark but that is to be expected, hotel facilities are very nice (Turkish bath, terrace). Some minor flaws, nail in the wood on the bed sticking out, dogs were somewhat agressive coming in late at night, dirt from the cave ceiling falling down).

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cleanliness issues caused by the cave environment

Nisanyan Houses

Selçuk

Very unique boutique hotel obviously built with love and run by excellent staff. The terrace house was beautiful, and the tower house 3 room was fine, a little small for 3 people. There was a lot of work being done around the property given that it was the off season. Restaurant was amazing and the cooking class was a lot of fun! The hotel is not meant for people who don't like cobblestones or stairs.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hagia Sofia Mansions Istanbul, Curio Collection by Hilton

Fatih Istanbul

Absolutely beautiful, great location, fantastic breakfast

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Visit to Ephesus Archaeological Museum + House of Virgin Mary

Turkey

Quality of Experience

O

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wine Pairing Dinner at Revithia Cappadocia

Cappadocia

Very nice, only snafu was over who was paying for it, but it was worked out.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visiting Göreme Open Air Museum (UNESCO World Heritage)

Cappadocia

Amazing - recommend including visiting the Dark Church in the price

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore the Ancient City of Ephesus

Turkey

Can't miss.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Food Tour in Istanbul

İstanbul

Would recommend doing this earlier in the trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discovering the Ihlara Valley and Light Hiking Along the Melendiz River

Cappadocia

Beautiful and great speed for my in-laws. The stop for pancakes along the river was fun.

Quality of Experience

O

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Boat Tour on the Bosphorus

İstanbul

Very interesting experience and the boat was great!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kaymaklı Underground City

Cappadocia

Amazing

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Sinasos: The Pearl of the East

Cappadocia

I didn't really find this worthwhile. We only visited the church and it didn't seem particularly special.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sightseeing Around Uçhisar and Discovering the Cappadocian Valleys

Cappadocia

Beautiful

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hot Air Balloon Tour at Sunrise

Cappadocia

Flawless - must do

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Istanbul Archaeological Museum Tour

İstanbul

Surprisingly good for kids.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discover Byzantine + Ottoman Istanbul

İstanbul

Excellent overview of Istanbul and you hit the high points of the Old Town!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Volkan was an excellent guide!

Transport

Ceramic Tradition in Avanos + Light Hiking in the Love Valley

Cappadocia

We enjoyed the Ceramics experience; amazing work and it was fun that Connor got to try it. We did not do the hiking in the Love Valley due to timing and physical constraints.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Whirling Dervish Ceremony at Saruhan Caravansarai

Turkey

Very authentic

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Hattice was wonderful to keep Connor during the experience.

Transport

Eminönü Heritage Tour: Explore the Historical Bazaars and Ottoman Architectural Sites of Istanbul

İstanbul

A must do in Istanbul.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My husband and I had a lovely trip in Morroco. We had a private car & driver take us from Marrakesh to Ouarzazate, Dades, Merzouga and Ait Ben Haddou. Everything was very comfortable and we always felt safe, which allowed us to relax and enjoy the sites. Our driver, Hamsa, mas very kind, attentive, timely and friendly, always sharing insights about the region when we asked and made sure we were enjoying our experience. All of our hotels were as pictured and we enjoyed all of our stays, we especially appreciated the Le Petit Riad in Ouarzazate - the room was very large and dinner and breakfast were delicious!
Booking everything with kimkim made this trip even better! Communication with our travel expert, Hakim, was always delightful, speedy and with all of the rich details we needed to make decisions and book our trip. He was flexible to adapt the trip itinerary to our moving schedule. Once the trip was booked, we did not have to worry about coordinating anything, everything was seamlessly taken care of, we just needed to show up at the airport and everything was easy.

Alex was extremely responsive and helpful in planning our trip, as well as during the trip to help make last minute changes to accommodate things we wanted to add. Our guide T for Vietnam was the best we had all trip - he was extremely knowledgeable about the history and culture, and always went above and beyond to ensure each day was a great experience. The trip overall was a good balance between sightseeing and relaxing, and was a great first experience for both of us in Vietnam and Thailand.

We had a wonderful trip! Thanks to Lareine for sorting things out so well and in particular to Ahmed on the Nile Cruise and Khaled in Cairo for a brilliant time. We could not recommend KimKim highly enough!

We, a family of 4, had an amazing experiences with Kimkim/Active India.
Ravi was our specialist. He amazingly organized a custom trip for us to see the highlights of Rajasthan.
I can't believe how well organized the trip was, not a qlitsch. We really had a VIP experience, that we never experienced before.
Ravi listened to what we wanted and was very quick in putting the trip together.
Airport rep met us at the airport in the middle of the night when we arrived. The driver, Josie was very nice and drove well, and had good recomandations. Guides were very punctual and knowledgeable and made the whole trip flow great. I would recommend to my friends and family to travel with Active India because it's just a much much better experience than trying to do it on your on, or with a company less experienced. The hotel selection and activities were great, too. Thank you Active India

We've traveled many places around the US and the world and have never been to a place, like Sardinia that was more welcoming. The people were kind, helpful, generous and fun!

The travel team set up everything from the car... to hotels... to private tours. And someone was always available 24/7 when we had needs or even just questions. It made life so much easier.

Hotel Reviews

Albergo Diffuso Corte Fiorita

Bosa

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Carlos V

Alghero

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Palazzo Doglio

Cagliari

The hotel itself was gorgeous! It was surround by a beautiful courtyard with 5 nice restaurants. Every member of the staff was kind and helpful. The snacks and drinks in the "American Bar" were super.

Authenticity & Character

Location

We arrived quickly from the hotel and were able to unload our bags right at the entrance and the park underneath the hotel. Easy!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The rooms are large with small balconies that have a great view. The bed and linens are superb and the oversized soaking bathtub was unexpected, but well-loved.

Activity Reviews

Guided Visits of Archaeological Sites and Wine Tasting

Oristano

We missed this tour.

Guided visit to the Sounding Stone Museum

Oristano

We missed this tour (messed up driving directions) - our fault.

Light and Surprise at the End of the Tunnel

Cagliari

We missed this tour (slept-in due to jet lag)

Nuragic Sanctuary of Santa Vittoria - Self-guided (with audioguide)

Italy

We missed this tour (head-colds)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Guided Tour of Cagliari

Cagliari

Once again, our guide Rafa has more knowledge than we had taken in from books or Google. She was excited and willing to do everything and answer any questions. We never felt rushed, but spent a lot of time with our mouths open in awe of the history and beauty.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Winery and Cellars Visit & Wine Tasting

Italy

We LOVED this tour. The scenery was beautiful. The drive to get their was gorgeous. Plus, add sheep being herded right before us... geese running a squawking along the way... Our host was a real delight, but the specialties of this particulare winery (including the clay pots) are exceptional. Don't skip this because you've done a wine tour before. We had as well - and this was special.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide was sweet, smart, well-spoken and actually very excited to share the history of this vineyard and winery, as well as the history of wine-making in general.

Private Food Tour in Cagliari

Cagliari

The guide (Rafa) was so kind and so much fun! Sheknew the area and all of the history of the buildings, etc. She communicated well with us (in English) and with the restaraunt staff at each location. She had already made plans for meals and accompanying drinks in advance. This was a super way to see parts of the city at night, while enjoying the people and food/drink.

Quality of Experience

Guided Tour of Nora

Cagliari

The guide was so knowledgable - very patient with all of our questions - and flexilble to adjust the tour to our desires. We learned so much!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We loved having our own vehicle, but had to get used to finding locations that are not always simple to get to.

The communication with Agnes was good from the beginning. The trip was organized well. The hotels they've booked for us were on the expected level, the safari was organized professionally, the driver spoke English well and was always trying to find the best compromise between our wishes and what was realistically possible in the given timeframe. All ground transfers were there on time and got us to where we needed to be on time. We felt very safe with all the guides and drivers we've been in contact with, we never had a feeling that they are doing anything that is not in the guest's best interest. The team was very responsive and eager to help all the time, so they really deserve compliments for this.

There were some minor details regarding the activities in Zanzibar that were not scheduled in a way that we requested when planning the trip. However, this was quickly solved after contacting the team, so we could see and do everything we've planned prior to the trip. And the plane transfer from mainland Tanzania to Zanzibar was organized a bit "the local way", but in the end we got to Zanzibar safely and on time.

Fei did a great job planning our trip to Japan! We wanted to cover the most popular locations but also experience some local favourites and we enjoyed all the activities that were planned. There was ample time also for us to explore by ourselves and the instructions for all travel legs were very clear and there were almost no hiccups. The local guides that were taking us around were also very kind and helpful!

Special shot out to Fei for arranging a private driver from Yuzawa to Tokyo when we were stuck after the earthquake. She promptly responded and found us a driver. I was skeptical initially as we didn’t have a direct contact to Fei but she continued to respond outside work hours to help us out!

Would highly recommend Fei to organise your trip!

Hotel Reviews

Sotetsu Fresa Inn Hiroshima

Hiroshima

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Shojoshin-in Temple

Great experience staying in a temple. The rooms were comfortable for us to rest!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hilton Garden Inn Kyoto Shijo Karasuma

Kyoto

Spacious rooms!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Helped us a lot with our luggage transfer!

Cleanliness & Comfort

HOTEL TORIFITO KANAZAWA

Hotel was clean but the rooms were too small where we couldn’t open our suitcases.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Green Plaza Hakone

Hakone

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Shibuya Tokyu REI Hotel

Tokyo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

karaksa hotel TOKYO STATION

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Drive to Hakone by Private Car

Japan

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sumo Morning Practice

Tokyo

Great learning experience watching the wrestlers up so close! Plus they allowed us to take photos in the end which was cool!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide patiently walked us back to the pickup location even though she didn’t have to!

Full Day Nara Tour From Kyoto with Naramachi District

Kyoto

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was very kind to bring us back to the city and take us to a shopping area to buy snacks!

Kimono Tea Ceremony at Kyoto Maikoya

Kyoto

Since we already enjoyed the Tea ceremony elsewhere that part felt unneeded. But the dressing up part was fun.

Quality of Experience

Shirakawago Day Trip

Kanazawa

Ended up being a perfect day weather wise to visit! A great day trip from Kanazawa

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was very experienced and shared a lot about the local tradition!

Transport

We got a upgraded super comfortable ride!

Full Day Mt. Fuji with Lake Kawaguchiko Cruise and Iyashi no Sato

Tokyo

It was a great experience to be up close with Fuji!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Tokyo City Tour with Senso-ji Temple (join-in)

Tokyo

The tour took us to nice places but felt the timing in each location is not enough

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I was very pleased with our trip in Spain, everything was very well organized and planned.
Thank you for taking care of us, we enjoyed Spain and will be back soon!

Julian and Clementina were very attentive on Whatsapp. Everything was on time.

The entire Serendipity Adventures team provided outstanding and highly responsive service from beginning to end of our trip. Guide Mariano Salazar knows all the backroads and added not only impressive knowledge but also fun to excursions. Hotel Belmar in Monteverde was a standout for its location/views, service and restaurant quality. The guides booked by Serendipity at Corcovado National Park were amazing at locating and tracking animals, flora and fauna.

Matthew at Mont Saint Michele, Roberto for Notre Dame and Saint Chapelle, David on the chocolate and pastry tour, Celine at the Louvre tour were all very pleasant and very knowledgeable! I would give a word on the fashion tour...it was more of the education on history of fashion and not quite what we expected. Overall the tours were very enjoyable and informative.

Activity Reviews

Private Notre-Dame & Sainte-Chapelle Visit with Priority Access

Paris

Unfortunately, Notre Dame was not ready to tour, still surrounded by scaffolding, but Saint Chapelle was beautiful. Roberto was very knowledgeable and informative.

Mont Saint-Michel Tour and Abbey visit with Cider Tasting

Paris

This tour was great and Matthew was a very informative guide. Long day but totally worth it!

Eiffel Tower Summit Tickets

Paris

The summit of the tower was amazing! We climbed some of the stairs but opted for the elevator to the top! Amazing views! Worth the tour for sure!

Palace of Versailles Day Trip with Audio Guide

Paris

Cool tour, but limited information on the self guided tour. I have been before and there is so much more information that was not disseminated on the app we were given. Still a very good tour and Versailles is always beautiful despite the rainy cold weather.

French Fashion, Fragrance and Fun in the Marais

Paris

This was not what we expected for this tour. We assumed we would see some fashion, maybe a small fashion show, however it was more of an overview of the fashion through history. Very interesting, but not as much fun as informative.

Cheesemaking workshop and cheeses and wine tasting (small group/2hours)

Paris

This was a very interesting and scientific experience making butter, cheese and then sampling! We enjoyed this a lot.

Private Saint-Germain-des-Prés Pastry and Chocolate Tour

Paris

David was very helpful and the tastings were over the top. However, it should be advised to eat before...it was a lot of sugar for an empty stomach.

Seine River Gourmet Dinner Cruise with Live Music

Paris

Such a fun way to see some of the city from the River Siene. Food was ok, but the Eiffel Tower was worth seeing from the boat.

Arc de Triomphe - Skip the line ticket

Paris

Wonderful view from the summit! Our first view the day we arrived...perfect!

Louvre Museum Treasure Hunt

Paris

We all enjoyed this activity very much and Celine was a delight, however, we did not do a treasure hunt.

We just returned from a two week trip to Thailand and Cambodia with our family. We were a group of ten people and our planner Kelly did a phenomenal job helping us plan and book this trip. Since we were two families arriving at different times and with slightly differing itineraries Kelly was able to get all these subtleties worked out. This was not a simple task and it all went off without a hitch. Kelly was in touch with us through out the trip and made changes at our request. Both of our families were really impressed with this. We had different guides that all spoke good English. The tours we went on were really fun and interesting. My kids loved this vacation and we will all remember it well. We got to spend time in northern Thailand in Chaing Mai and Chaing Rai. We flew from Bangkok to Siem Reap in Cambodia and had four days there which were unforgettable. Our tour guide Mr. T did a great job with our group. We had a food tour which was unforgettable and a really fun Vespa tour in the country side going to different villages to see different foods and crafts they produce. We got to see Angkor Wat at sunrise and Angkor Tom and other temples in the area.
Our tour guide Maya in northern Thailand was great as well. We had a really great cooking class that was done really well. I was surprised at how much fun and how good the food was.
I really just can’t say enough good things about this experience from the planning part to the execution it was just beyond my expectations. Thank you so much to Kelly and her team for making this such a great and memorable trip!

trip to Wales was wonderful! The itinerary was exactly as we had planned. Our lodging and quality of meals exceeded our expectations. Excursions, recommendations and planned activities were exceptionally interesting and scenery beautiful. Megan did a fantastic job working closely with us to build a memorable adventure! The Kim Kim Team did a tremendous job to ensure we had a pleasurable journey that enabled us to learn and appreciate the natural, historical and cultural wonders of Wales! Heartfelt thanks to Megan and the Team for enabling our trip full of lasting memories! Kim Kim provided real value for our travel dollars!

Very Respectfully

James Cunningham

Hotel Reviews

The Felin Fach Griffin

Comfortable, delicious food, cordial and helpful staff!

Authenticity & Character

A really historic inn that exudes local culture!

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spotless

The Bull Beaumaris

Anglesey

Staff the best! Food delicious! Very comfortable! Dining areas with roaring fires very charming!

Authenticity & Character

Quaint yet modern appointments!

Location

Staff

Cordial and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spotless

Llys Meddyg

Newport

Cordial staff! Comfortable! Delicious food!

Authenticity & Character

Quaint yet up to date

Location

Staff

Shout out to restaurant and hotel staff who went to such thoughtful measures to save us Sunday Roasts for our late return to the hotel! So much appreciated!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spotless

The Parkgate Hotel

Cardiff

Rxcellent! Amazing dinner and wonderful breakfast!

Authenticity & Character

Ambiance

Location

Central Cardiff

Staff

Gracious

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spotless

Activity Reviews

St. Fagans National Museum of History

Cardiff

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cardiff Castle

Cardiff

Quality of Experience

lol

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Head to Pembrokeshire

Wales

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Conwy Castle

Wales

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

A marquee trip. Our biggest concern now is that we will never have as good of a vacation ever again.
In regards to kimim; Esther made it very easy to plan a trip that we found overwhelming. All of our activities, and transportation handled and executed flawlessly. Our preferences address, and planned for to ensure the trip delivered everything we wanted from our travel budget. Kagiso and Lucy were our mom's in country, their advice, insight, and quick responses took all the stress out of travel. They were friendly and seamed genuinely interested in how things were going and what kind of experiences we were having
In regards to specific events/vendors.

We found the hop on hop off bus easy, informative, and comprehensive in Cape town (blue line)

The botanical garden was nice. Worth seeing, but would have been nice to know that it was part of our cape point tour.

Cape point was really very good; penguins really delivered, which was lucky because of the fires. Our driver found a back way to ensure we got to hit this spot, and stayed late to drop us at a pharmacy- very nice man

On Dec25th our transfer driver stayed an hour longer than expected when the restaurant took longer with our food than is usual. Nice guy

The hotel in cape town had an incredible view of table mountain, and was so close to restaurants and shopping, it was ideal

Our hotel in Franshoek also had an incredible view of mount Rochel. I stared at the sunset for what felt like an hour watching the clouds swirl. The service and food were excellent, the location ideal to experience the city. They did some some trouble with the pipes, and the smell of pipe cleaner. But we just covered the drains, and aired out the room before going to sleep

I have already written about the bikes n wines guide Eon, but to reiterate, he went over and above, even so far as to ride through injury (we did not tell him to do that)

In Hoedsrpuit. our canyon tour guide Jason, was very candid about his life and growing up in S. Africa, one of the more interesting conversations we had. And he pushed ot make sure we saw everything possible with the time provided

Our first hotel was in a private game reserve that we could walk through- unbelievably nice. We woke up to a waterbuck outside our window. The kind of thing we didn't even know was possible/existed. Had some incredible walks.

Kapama is the ultimate destination. The pinnacle of the trip. We cried. We loved the staff, we loved the animals, we had the most incredible time. We will be talking about it for the rest of our lives.

A very fun and active trip across Chile for the whole family. We started with Santiago after a few hours of rest and then the next 8 days just went by in a jiffy. Everything was arranged well and We were kept in the loop. Valparaiso is an amazing city and we really enjoyed the wine tour in the afternoon. Atacama is out of the world and we really enjoyed watching the stars and touring the desert with JP. Lagoons and Geysers were out of the world. Our most memorable experience was picnic in the moon valley followed by watching the sunset.
Patagonia was hiking adventure for me and I was glad that family joined me. It all culminated in going to Base Torres for the amazon views of the towers. While a bit hectic, it was a really awesome experience for the family. Thanks Kimkim and Lorena for the experience.

Activity Reviews

Base Torres Hike

Chile

My bucket list hike and it was a good way to end our trip (save the best for last). Last mile of the hike is rocky and quite steep. It can also get quite windy at the base. Good guides who took care of the group and kept us all together and motivated!

Quality of Experience

Food

Decent vegetarian option.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Driver was a bit rash at times especially when overtaking other vehicles.

Transport

Valley of the Moon Tour

San Pedro de Atacama

Amazing vistas. It was bit hot in the afternoon but a cool picnic followed by an awesome sunset helped.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Stargazing Experience

San Pedro de Atacama

Watchin Saturn Rings and Band of Jupiter along with the Nebula was the highlight of this trip for me. Getting a few tips/lessons in astronomy before stargazing was also fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This was our first time using a travel service  and there a no regrets. I knew that we wanted to go to Costa Rica, but was overwhelmed with all the options and choices, having never been. Bryan helped us narrow it down to a memorable trip allowing us to get a great first impression of this country for our group of four - (parents and two young adults). The day by day trip summaries were very helpful and if there was a snafu (air travel delay, or even arriving late to an activity) , Wilman (our contact during the trip) was just a text  away and ready to help. It's difficult to pick a favorite, but Alonso, our tour guide in Manuel Antonio,  and Andres (Andy) in Monteverde definitely made for great visits. Our zip lining outing in Fortuna was a very rainy experience but nevertheless exhilarating. I would definitely work with KimKim again.

Hotel Reviews

Buena Vista Chic Hotel

Alajuela

Stayed here for the last night - rooms were a good size and comfortable. Pool was on the cool side which is probably great on warm days, but it rained while we were there. Dinner food choices were definitely more targeted to international travelers, which while tasty, was a bit disappointing. Not much local fare (not even Patacones) Next time I would probably opt to head downtown and get dinner there. Breakfast was tasty. Great views of the volcano and downtown San Jose.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Heliconia

Monteverde

This was our least favorite hotel - it seemed a bit dated and the breakfast buffet was just OK. Bathrooms were large, but didn't have spaces to put anything. Bedrooms were very generous in size. Situated on a very steep hill which made for good views of the sunsets. Staff was very friendly and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

I don't think it really had much character.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lomas del Volcán

Fortuna

Great stay, conveniently located between Fortuna and Arenal. Each room was its own little garden house, with a covered terrace, A/C, and a large bathroom. Not a lot of daylight in the rooms and somewhat damp feeling (comes with the territory of the location), which made drying clothes a bit challenging. Pool was great, but a but chilly (kids and teens didn't mind). Breakfast buffet in the morning was great with many choices.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Costa Verde

Manuel Antonio

We arrived after midnight and checking in was made quick and easy. Rooms are very spacious and were equipped with a microwave, hot plate and and (very loud) refrigerator, that we ended up unplugging during the night. Woke up to a gorgeous ocean view and lots of monkeys - their slogan is "more monkeys than people :-) Breakfast with a view was great - service very friendly and attentive. Beach is in walking distance - maybe 7 minutes - but downhill - keep that in mind for the way back up. Pool was refreshing. Proximity to Manuel Antonio was great and Quepos was also not too far. Would stay there again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Monteverde Cloud Forest Guided Hike

Monteverde

Andy (Andres) met us at the hotel in the morning and we all went to the park together - him on a motorcycle, us in a taxi. Worked out great! It's a very popular park and they only let in a certain number of people which meant we had to wait for maybe 45 minutes before we could get in . We spent that time drinking delicious coffee and learning about the local hummingbirds. Once we were able to get in our guide heard from other guides that no one had had a successful sighting of the famous Quetzal so far. We tried our luck in the known spots, but it didn't look good. As we marched off Andy heard the tale tell sign and we immediately started running towards the landing spot (tree). He spotted the bird after a short while and helped us get some great pictures. He is super knowledgeable about all things Monteverde and a great photographer. We ended up spending more time with him than originally planned and enjoyed it a lot.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee & Chocolate Tour

Costa Rica

It felt a bit touristy in the beginning, as there were a lot of people. They do split up into smaller groups (~20) which then made it better. Our guide was fabulous. By the end of the tour he knew the majority of all our names and he was very engaging and knowledgeable. Following the "lifecycle" of a cocoa bean - including eating it at the end - was great. And learning more about coffee and sugar cane was also very interesting.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Lookout Tram, Ziplines, & Hanging Bridges Combination Adventure

Arenal/La Fortuna

It was very rainy that morning, but we still had a great time on the ziplines. It does take some patience before you get up the mountain as they can only transport a certain number of people at the same time. But it was worth the wait. We usually do not opt in for pics taken during these types of activities ,but this time it was definitely worth it as they captured all four of us a lot better than we could have with our phone cameras. Our walk through the rainforest was a bit impacted by very strong rains at times, which affected not only visibility but also the animals (or the lack thereof) . Our guide definitely tried to make up for it. He spotted quite a few different snakes in trees, that again we would have missed without him for sure. While a hike down to the waterfall was not part of the program he chose to include it to make up for the lack of animal sightings which we very much appreciated. He knew his stuff and still turned the walk into a memorable experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ecotermales Hotsprings

Costa Rica

It was nice to hang out in the warm waters. Drinks are delivered to you in the pool - until a certain time. It was not crowded (evening). Included buffet style dinner was OK. We didn't spend all of the allotted time there. I think 2-3 hours is sufficient

Quality of Experience

Food

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Nature Hike

Manuel Antonio

Our guide was great - we had a small group of 8 people and he made the slow walk/hike "through his office" very interesting. It was great to see that the guides from the different groups worked together as far as communicating where animals had been spotted. He helped with getting great pictures also - through that special telespcope most guides seem to be using today.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We didn't know that we were waiting for a taxi, so we started to get worried about transport as a "no show" when in reality our driver was already waiting for us. That probably could have been communicated a bit better ahead of time. But our local contact was readily available to let us know who to look for and it all sorted itself out.

Ocean Kayaking Adventure

Manuel Antonio

This activity was mostly booked for the young adults in the group and they had a blast, from the kayaking to the snorkeling. While I didn't do the snorkeling part (long story, but has to do with glasses...) I did go into the warm water and our guide gave me a small piece of pineapple. All of a sudden I was surrounded by small blue and yellow fish that were eating that piece. Our guide also made sure that we got to the snorkeling spot before all the larger catamarans would arrive so that we actually had that area mostly to ourselves for a while, which was great. Enjoyed a quick picnic of fresh pineapple and watermelon and water on a small beach and made our way back. Our guide did tell us a lot about the local birds that we could spot from the water - very informative

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The entire experience was wonderful. Nicholas could not have been more attentive and detailed in the pre-planning phase of our trip. He listened to our needs and wishes and created a perfect itinerary. All our guides, Dani, Ximena, Miguel, Willy were amazing. All showed great passion, were enthusiastic in explaining (some even brought books and brochures to explain i.e. Inka sites even in more detail), knowledgable and very proud of their country and history. Each of them created truly personalized experiences for us. Machu Picchu, Rainbow Mountain, The Andean Picnic, Lake Titicaca - we will never forget. All our drivers made us feel safe and were very pleasant; needless to say, the team was always on time!
Jesus checked in on our during our trip, to make sure we had a good time.
Thank you Kimkim team for making our vacation an unforgettable wonderful experience!

Hotel Review

GHL Hotel Lago Titicaca Puno

Lago Titicaca, Puno

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Ollantaytambo Village and Inca Site Exploration. Pinkulluna Hike

Peru

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sillustani tombs

Puno

Our last day with Willy. He explain the site I detail and made sure we got to the airport safe.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sailing to the Uros Floating Islands & Taquile

Puno

Wow, what an experience. Willy was our tour guide and while they were large tourist groups around those activities, Willy always found ways to escape and made us feel like individual travelers. We appreciated that

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Scenic Journey to from {{start_location}} to {{end_location}}

Peru

Willy was our tour guide and we enjoyed the drive from Cusco to Puno. The stops in-between were perfect and Willy was just wonderful.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vinicunca, The Rainbow Mountain

Cusco

Miguel was our tour guide and could not have been more kind and understanding. It was a tough hike and he made us feel comfortable and was very patient. The Andean Picnic he set up for us was absolutely amazing in a stunning site with mountain and valley views and lamas and alpacas watching us.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Maras & Moray

Peru

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Afternoon Exploration of Machu Picchu

Aguas Calientes/ Machu Picchu

Dani was our guide at Machu Picchu. He was super knowledgeable, friendly and fun. We had an amazing day!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The trip was very well managed.

Special thanks and appreciation for our driver/guide Samir. He went above and beyond expectations with his availability and friendly attitude.

The hotels selected. Were pretty good.
We did not specifically request hotels with elevator access, so that was a bit of a bother in one of the locations . So perhaps KimKim could add that to list of questions to ask before booking.

Overall an excellent trip. We would recommend this to others and likely choose KimKim for our future travels to other locations based on our first experience.