Kimkim Trip Reviews

Alvaro helped us plan the perfect trip for us. We loved the whole experience.

Food and Culture Tour guide, Dani was excellent.
Sinta Tour with Mannu was terrific!
Secret Porto Tour Guide, Pepito was excellent.

Hotel Reviews

Meliá Lisboa Aeroporto

Lisbon

Good location, helpful staff. Hotel is just okay, food marginal.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Boutique Hotel Vivenda Miranda

Lagos

Beautiful hotel with great views. Excellent restaurant. Very helpful staff and great location. Clean, comfortable and outstanding!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Octant Évora

Évora

Nice hotel and excellent restaurant. Very helpful staff, We would have preferred to be in the city of Evora.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Too far from the old city of Evora. We would have preferred to be in Evora

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

PortoBay Teatro

Porto

Excellent location and very helpful staff. Good breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Madalena by The Beautique Hotels

Lisbon

Great location and extremely helpful staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Douro Valley Highlights: Wine, Olive Oil & River Cruise

Porto

One of the highlights of our trip! The boat ride was great. The wineries and food were excellent! Very good guide. Lots of fun.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Porto’s Hidden Gems with a Local Guide

Porto

We special experience with Pepito as our guide. He was very informative and took us to interesting locales.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Day Excursion: Sintra, Cascais & Estoril

Portugal

Mannu did a great job. He was very knowledgeable about Portugal’s past and present. Very good local lunch.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lisbon Roots: A Food & Cultural Walk

Portugal

Outstanding experience. Dani was a great guide, who was passionate about her city and its culture. Food and drink samplings were very good. Highly recommend.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Get to Know Lisbon with a Local

Lisbon

Good tour, bad weather.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

AMAZING Costa Rica trip for 3 generations of my family! For my 40th birthday we took my 3 young children and my elderly parents to Costa Rica (La Fortuna, Monteverde and Playa Flamingo) for a 9 day trip. Olman at kimkim was extremely thoughtful and very knowledgeable about these places and recommended the perfect resorts/lodges and activities my family would enjoy all while considering my children's ages and my parents mobility issues.

The highlights of our trip were: seeing 3-toed sloths with Juan Carlos and Gonzalo of Amazilia Travel in La Fortuna; taking a boat cruise on Lake Arenal and learning about the volcano, seeing caiman and eating empanadas with Yeri of EcoTerra Costa Rica; we loved the night tour with Jesus at Refugio de Vida Silvestre in Monteverde (we saw a palm viper, kinkajou and 2-toed sloth!); the guys at Treetopia were amazing and we loved the hanging bridges and zip-lining; my husband LOVED fishing in Playa Flamingo with Blue Marlin Sportfishing - he caught a 90lb yellowfin tuna and we have been enjoying poke bowls ever since; my personal favorite was watching baby sea turtles hatch and crawl into the ocean at Playa Conchal with a local guide Luis and his cousin Netty.

TRULY AN UNFORGETTABLE TRIP. I cannot recommend Costa Rica as a destination or Olman at Kimkim enough.

Hotel Reviews

Koora Hotel

Monteverde

Great views and tasty food. Restaurant is small and wait staff are not accustomed to small kids.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arenal Springs Resort

La Fortuna

AMAZING! The best parts were the hot-springs tubs piped directly into your hotel room, the gorgeous breakfast, volcano views and many hot and cool pools. 10/10 would live here if I could!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Fishing on the North Pacific Coast

Costa Rica

The hubby caught a 90lb yellowfin tuna and a large dorado, my mom and son smaller tuna. My husband had such a great time he wanted to go fishing again the next day!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Aerial Tram, Zip Lining & Hanging Bridges

Monteverde

FUN! Great wildlife guide Alex on the hanging bridges, and the fellas that did the ziplines were all so great and fun and very hard-working!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Night Excursion at the Wildlife Refuge in Monteverde

Monteverde

We saw some awesome animals! Jesus showed is so many things - my son's favorite was the click beetles, but we also saw a 2-toed sloth, palm viper and kinkajou.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano National Park by Arenal Lake

Arenal/La Fortuna

Lots of great information! Yeri is clearly very highly educated!!! We all learned sooo much from her and the boat trip was very relaxing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hike to La Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

We loved Juan Carols and Gonzalo sooooo much, we wanted to take them everywhere with us! My daughter was holding Gonzalo's hand and he was showing her all the birds. What a heavenly day!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Peñas Blancas River Floating Safari Adventure by Raft

Arenal/La Fortuna

SOOOO much fun! I cant even being to count the number of animals we saw.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Gyaljan, our guide was super knowledgeable and also fun. He really was fantastic. It was also great to meet and spend time with Chhewang who helped us to plan out the trip we wanted. Our last night at the traditional Nepali dinner & dance was such a nice way to end our visit. Swayambunath and Changu Narayan temple were both really special spots thanks to Gyaljan sharing so much info and stories, both Buddhist and Hindu. The aarti ceremony at Pashupati was great to experience. And one of the biggest highlights was our hike on our 2nd day and having a delicious lunch outside at the farmhouse!

Alessia did an amazing job from the beginning. She had incredible insights into our planning of our trip to Italy, as well as executing everything she set up for us. All of our transportation, logistics, lodging, entertainment, and lining up all our museum/Duomo tickets was absolutely key in relieving our stress. Alessia was also available to us during our time in Italy when needed.
We have many highlights, but specifically our time in Venice was special because of our city tour with Monica who gave us incredible history of the city and of Antonio Vivaldi, which is what we asked for. The other highlight was the Vivaldi concert Alessia got us tickets to. Truly an amazing and memorable evening. Our hotel, Casa Verardo was wonderful and staff extremely caring.
Our time in the Chianti countryside was magical. Staying at Fonterutoli was perfect. The Osteria Fonterutoli was outstanding and the Mazzei Winery was so fun!
Ended in Florence and so thankful that Alessia had set up the Uffizi, Duomo, and Academy tickets in advance. We bypassed all the crowds and lines, so it made visiting these incredible places enjoyable. When we go back to Italy, we will use Alessia and KimKim again!

Hotel Reviews

Castello di Fonterutoli

Fonterutoli, Siena

This place is gorgeous. Idyllic spot in the Chianti region. This little village is a gem. Our room was clean, comfortable and just perfect.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Exactly what we had hoped for. Beautiful village with olive trees and rolling vineyards. Just gorgeous.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Casa Verardo Residenza d'Epoca

Venice

Casa Verado was lovely. Cute boutique hotel that sits on a quiet canal, with comfortable rooms. Staff is incredibly kind and treated us well. Breakfast provided was lovely and had many choices. Would stay again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Walking distance to the square, shopping, and food.

Staff

Very kind and they came to the boat taxi to guide us to the hotel and helped with luggage.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room very clean and confortable

Activity Reviews

Welcome to Tuscan Countryside!

Tuscany

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Four Seasons concert in a historic Venetian church

Venice

Amazing experience in Venice. The concert in the church was beautiful. Highly recommend.

Quality of Experience

Guided Walking Tour of Venice

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

we had an amazing family trip to the UK and the pre trip experience was great too! the itinerary was excellent with the hotel selections and the guided tours.

Hotel Reviews

The Yard in Bath

Bath

cute, well appointed, great location, friendly staff. we sat in the lounge after dinner the first night playing games, i also enjoyed sitting in the foyer with all the windows with my tea in the morning and a glass of wine at night.

Authenticity & Character

clean and nice simple design choices. lots of greenery in the foyer made for a beautiful entrance

Location

easy walk to the center of town

Staff

friendly, accommodating

Cleanliness & Comfort

rooms are small but the bathrooms are a good size - we had a huge shower with great water pressure and nice lotions/shampoo etc.

The Grand, York

North Yorkshire

2 minute walk from the train station and a short walk into the center of town so a perfect location for exploring and a beautiful hotel. we arrived at 7:30pm and had a delicious dinner in the restaurant which was so perfect after travelling all afternoon and i highly recommend the breakfast buffet. spa area was fine. our rooms were large, spotless and very comfortable. staff was very friendly and helpful. this might have been my favourite hotel of our week.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Walking Tour of Bath with a Blue Badge Tourist Guide

Bath

The walking tour of Bath with a Blue Badge Tourist Guide was a great way to get to know the city. The guide was informative and entertaining, and we got to see all the major sights. The group tour format allowed us to meet other travelers and share the experience. I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone visiting Bath.

Chocolate Bar Making at York Cocoa Works

York

chocolate bar making was a fun activity and the space was great. We preferred the authentic and smaller feel of the venue we visited. Overall, it was a great activity for the family.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

right in town - walked there

Visit to York Minster with Guidebook

York

self guided tour. was nice to have tickets pre booked and to get in early before the crowds

Quality of Experience

Bath: Guided Ghost Tour

Bath

our guide was fun and very knowledgeable. a fun activity to do after dinner.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The Best of York on Foot

York

our guide Sarah was amazing. we loved this walking tour. small group size is nice and sarah is so knowledgeable, well travelled and well spoken.

Quality of Experience

great to do on our first day to get our bearings and learn so much history - nice to start at 10:30 as the kids were happy to sleep in!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

sarah was amazing

Hi Tasos was very helpful and listened well to my needs.
He guided me where necessary and I certainly had a great experience. Travelling in March was fine and spring really 'sprung' while I was there. A lovely time of year.
Delpi, Santorini and Nafplio were my favourite places. I rearranged things in Nafplio so I wasn't heading the same direction on consecutive days. Had I known the ferries were running I would have loved to have gone to Hydra. As it was I got to Septses.
My walking guides esp the last two- thanks again Nikos- were exceptional, informative and just fun to be with as was my guide around the acropolis- very well done.
The drive up to the Monasteries and back to Athens was too long within the 2 days time table but the walk around the Monasteries and the monasties themselves were great!
Many thanks for a wonderful time Tasos

We absolutely loved the itinerary that Uma came up with based on our interview and our time available to explore both the North and South Islands. Uma’s recommendations for restaurants in all the locations we visited were spot on! Uma’s choices of hotels for us to stay at were just perfect! She really listened to my input and made excellent selections and all our hotel stays were very nice, comfortable and well-appointed. Uma was also super helpful and available to problem-solve when we ran into hiccups on the road and went above and beyond to support us on our journey. We will definitely be recommending Uma to our family and friends because she masterfully curated the trip of a lifetime for us and we are so grateful for her expertise and experience 🩵🩵🩵

Some of our favorite things from our trip were: our flight on Salt Air in Paihia to Cape Reinga and the Bay of Islands with our personable pilot, Mikhail. We had the best guide, Ben, at Hobbiton. Ben was so enthusiastic and knowledgeable about all the details of the making of The Lord of The Rings and Hobbit movies. Our driver, Greg Arnold, with Southern Discoveries, took us on an amazing drive to Milford Sound where we cruised and saw beautiful waterfalls, seals and gorgeous scenery before coming back to a helicopter ride over the mountain tops and lakes from Fiordland. National Park back to the lakes and mountains surrounding Queenstown. Greg and his team of drivers and pilots made sure everyone was taken care of and was having a good time and was super charming and fun! We loved every area we visited and are already planning our next trip🩵🩵

Hotel Reviews

Adina Heritage Christchurch

Christchurch

It didn't stand out to us and I would not recommend it. It is kinda hard to find, and didn't know where to park our car. We also found some difficulties to understand the receptionist. Beautiful but dated rooms, the bed was smaller compared to our other hotels we stayed at in New Zealand. Something we didn't understand is the bathroom of the lobby locked until 11 am, which makes it difficult for travelers that leave their room early to use it.

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Waterfront Suites Bay of Islands

Paihia

The Waterfront Suites Bay of Islands was humongous, we were lucky enough to have our room upgraded, we wish we stayed even longer - the only down note was one of the stuff members wasn't the friendliest and didn't seem very flexible when we asked for an early check-in.

M Social

Auckland

Loved it, the breakfast buffet was nice, very comfy room, fabulous beds, great location, easy access in and out. The only down was the fitness area, which could have been more equipped.

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Rees Hotel

Queenstown

This was my favorite hotel from our trip because of the excellent room, view, bathroom set up (bathtub!!!) and the most comfortable bed. The restaurant was top notch and had laundry service which was convenient. We will look forward to our next stay here🩵

Authenticity & Character

The room design and furnishings were luxurious and comfortable.

Location

The lake view was stunning and I miss it so much already!

Staff

Very pleasant and helpful. Genuinely seemed like they all took there jobs seriously and didn’t with professionalism and friendliness.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room design and bed and pillows were perfect for us.

Activity Reviews

Polynesian Spa - HIMALAYAN SALT POLISH & HERBAL OIL MASSAGE

Rotorua

The Polynesian Spa experience was fabulous. We had a salt scrub and massage, and I have to say that the service was professional and excellent. I would love to go back here!

Glow Worm Kayaking in Rotorua

Rotorua

We loved the Glow Worm Kayaking in Rotorua, the glow worm and the lake were simply amazing, and the stargazing was incredible.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

the bus driver could have been friendlier and more on time.

Te Pō Indigenous Experience

Rotorua

This activity was just amazing, we experience the best buffet ever, I literally tried everything and I wish I could eat more from there. The dances were just great and I felt the culture immersion.

Quality of Experience

Food

The buffet was top-notch.

Cape Reinga Half Day Tour by Aeroplane

New Zealand

We loved this Aeroplane tour! We had a very informative guide. It could have been shorter with less stops to make it less tiring, though.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I booked a safari with Animal Kingdom through Kim Kim and it was an absolutely amazing experience from start to finish. There are so many options of safaris to choose that it can be daunting. From the moment I messaged with Nicholas, I felt completely at ease. In the process leading up to the trip, he answered all of my copious questions. He was always quick and kind with his responses. He made sure we go our vaccinations and the proper visa. Once we arrived, he and our driver, John, picked my wife and I up from the airport. This was the biggest relief since we landed at 11:00pm local time. Nicholas rode with us to the first hotel we stayed at and he walked us through what most of the trip would look like beyond the itinerary he provided. For almost the rest of the trip, my wife and I were just with John, our driver. I cannot talk highly enough of John. We told him all of the animals we wanted to see and what pictures we wanted. He made sure we got and saw everything we wanted. He also did an amazing job of answering all of the questions we asked throughout the trip. On our last day, we had many hours between our last safari and our flight out of Nairobi and Nicholas and John helped my wife and I out by recommending a good area of Nairobi to stay in until the flight and then John took us to the airport.

For the trip, we went to Nairobi National Park, David Shedrick’s Elephant Preserve, Giraffe Center, Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, and Amboseli. All were fantastic but Lake Nakuru was our biggest surprise. Do not skip it!

Hotel Reviews

Kilima Safari Camp

Nairobi, Kenya

The first room we were put in smelled like an animal had died inside of it. There were also many bugs, living and dead, in the room that was “freshly cleaned.” We switched rooms without issue from the staff but the lack of cleanliness persisted in the second room. It was also incredibly hot when we were there. There was no portable fan in the room. There was one fan which was mounted on the wall in the room. This would be fine but they put a twin bed with a full wooden bed frame in front of the fan so you couldn’t use the queen bed without sweating all night. Then, at night, there were thousands of grasshoppers. This would not be a problem except for the fact that they kept getting in the room so I heard them all night trying to get past the mosquito netting. Worse yet, the hotel didn’t have any protection for the outdoor buffet. So while we were trying to eat, grasshoppers were jumping into our mouths and food.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lake Naivasha Simba lodge

Naivasha

The grounds of this hotel are amazing! Very cool area to walk around and be amongst zebras, giraffes, and other wildlife.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ashnil Mara Camp

Maasai Mara

The lobby area was very nice. The buffet was good for all meals. WiFi was only available in the main area which was a challenge. You also could not bring food to your room because monkeys would break in and steal it. Otherwise, great experience!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fair Acres Boutique Hotel

Karen, Nairobi. P. O Box 1121 – 00208 Nairobi.

Fantastic hotel! Staff was attentive. The room was nice and clean. The restaurant had delicious food.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

David sheldricks

Nairobi

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Nairobi National Park

Nairobi

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Giraffe center

Nairobi

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

From start to finish, both KimKim and their local tour guide partners and companies utilized, were fantastic. As for KimKim itself - with the exception of one time where I had to email a few times to get a reply while awaiting some answers - the professionalism and communication was excellent. I was very happy with the planning process. The ground transportation by Alex was perfect and then for the four subsequent days of touring, our private dedicated tour guide Willy was absolutely phenomenal in every way. Not only was Willy helpful and professional, but he was wonderful with our 10 and 6 year olds which in and of itself is enough for a glowing review. I have nothing but good things to say about everyone involved in this process and can’t wait to use KimKim again, and if we go to Costa Rica again, we will absolutely want driver Alex and tour guide and specialist Willy!

Amazing spring break in Iceland. First time to this island that truly does seem out of the pages of a fantasy novel or tele-series. Rita was our local specialist and arranged our trip specifically to our needs. She was prompt and answered all our questions and queries. She also provided a ton of helpful tips to make our trip more seamless.

Activity Reviews

Blue Lagoon

Iceland

The Blue Lagoon itself was wonderful including the pool and their facilities. But the weather played spoil sport, it was cold, windy and rainy and rather miserable. I am sure the experience would have been 5-star worthy had the weather cooperated.

Quality of Experience

Crystal Blue Ice Cave

Iceland

Was great. Tom (from Devon, UK) was an awesome guide. And based on his recommendations we had one of the best fish and chips ever from the food truck.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tom was fantastic

Transport

Reykjavik Food and Drink Adventure - Local Evening Experience

Reykjavík

Was the highlight of our time in Reykjavik. Stevie took us on a culinary tour and also filled us up with local knowledge. We even got to taste the fermented shark (rather gross). But rest of the food was amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Secret Lagoon

Iceland

Was just amazing and otherworldly. Very relaxing and wasn't too crowded.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Whale Watching Ólafsvík

Snæfellsnes Peninsula

Although all of us were tired from the long flight in from US, the boat trip from Olafsvik woke everyone up. We had close encounters with Orcas, Sperm whales and porpoises. It was a great start to our vacation.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our vacation has been phenomenal. Lorenza did an amazing and wonderful job with the planning, hotel and dinner reservations, tour guides and drivers! We loved our time in Sicily. Ending our vacation in Taormina and staying at the Grand Hotel Timeo was truly special. The vistas from the hotel of the sea and Mt Etna are spectacular!!
Thanks so much for all you’ve done for us. We will be telling all of our friends that they need to go to Sicily and use you to plan and book their vacations.

Salem was an informative & organized guide.We really enjoyed our time with him.He gave us lots of insight into Moroccan culture & various historic sites.Kimkim was very helpful in coming up with an itinerary & providing accomodation in the Medinas of each location.

Hotel Reviews

Riad Nesma Suites & SPA

Medina, Marrakech

Overall a good hotel but the rooms were quite small.

Authenticity & Character

I liked the rooftop eating area & pool.

Location

Easy to access everything in the old part of the city.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Kalaa

Rabat

Riad Farouzi Fes

Fes

This hotel was absolutely beautiful!! From the moment we arrived until the minute we left our experience was fantastic.The staff were amazing & the breakfasts were excellent with so much selection.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful hotel with so much detail in the decoration.

Location

Very central for walking around main center of Fes.

Staff

Super friendly….sadly I don’t remember any names.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms were very clean & super spacious.

Riad El Palacio

Chefchaouen

Beautiful spacious rooms in a great location.We could walk everywhere in the town.The staff were friendly & helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kasbah Rose

Tangier

Beautiful little place with a fantastic view of the city.Breakfast was delicious & Lorraine was a very welcoming host.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Guided Tour of Fes

Fes

Fes is an absolutely amazing place!! We were astounded by all the artisans & loved our visits to the tiling,pottery & leather workshops/stores.The markets were utterly mind boggling as well as the maze of streets!

Quality of Experience

Visit to the Jewish quarter & cemetery were interesting.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Salam was an excellent guide for the day.

{{start_location}} to {{end_location}} via Volubilis and Meknes

Morocco

Beautiful drive & we really enjoyed our tour of Volubilis.The site was amazing & the guide was very knowledgeable.Disappointing that Meknes was all under renovation so we really didn’t see much, but we enjoyed a nice lunch there.

Afternoon Exploration of Morocco's Blue Pearl

Chefchaouen

Salam gave us a good restaurant recommendation ……Triana that we ended up going to twice!!! Love this small town,it was really fun to explore on our own.

Guided Tour of Tangier (upon arrival)

Tangier

Tour never happened because our ferry arrived very late due to circumstances beyond our control.We were disappointed that we would have to pay $100 US to reschedule for the next day considering we paid $2600 US each. It wasn’t the greatest way to start the tour.

Quality of Experience

Rebook to the next morning

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We have enough notice that we would be delayed for the tour to be rescheduled.

Transport

Weren’t given all the info we needed to make a choice

My good friend Tim and I decided to take a trip to Morocco to see a land I had never explored. We decided to hire a guide to make the trip easier for us. Had we had the opportunity to design the perfect guide, we could not have done better than Jamal. If you are fortunate enough to be able to meet and travel with Jamal, then you will have a beautiful experience in a wonderful country. His knowledge and energy can not be over stressed in this review. His driving ability is second to none. We got to travel Morocco with the perfect guide. Every city we visited, and every stop we made were enhanced by his presence. Often I don’t ask enough questions, and Jamal could even fill in all the blanks to anticipate what I should be asking. The eight days spent with him will remain with me till my final breath. He knows the ins and outs of Morocco like nothing I could have expected. It brings tears to my eyes even now thinking of the care he took to make my trip perfect. Please seek this young man out for your adventure. I only hope we can meet again someday. I hope he has a great life. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Said and the other guides who also guided us around on the other city tours. Said lead us through Fez and his high energy made that part of the trip perfect. Thank you Said for your service in Morocco and also in the United States Army.

Thank you Mieke for planning my trip to Bhutan. There was a good mix of culture, nature. hiking and lots of wonderful photo opportunities. The highlight was the hike to the tiger’s nest and the hike and overnight stay at the Dodeydrak monastery. The guides and driver from WindHorse tours were excellent especially Namgyel & Taschi - punctual, professional & helpful. I fell in love with Bhutan and its people. I would definitely go back!

The trip was amazing. The guides were knowledgeable and interesting. Monica was excellent.
The places picked with the help of Randall were great.
Our hotel, Volcano hotel spa and thermal experience room had tiny ants in the bathroom. Not so good.
The hotels in general were good. Helpful and accommodating.

Activity Reviews

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve Hike

Monteverde

Quality of Experience

I

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee, Chocolate & Sugar Cane Experience

Monteverde

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano - Mistico Hanging Bridges and La Fortuna Waterfall with lunch

Arenal/La Fortuna

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano Hike & Baldi Hot Springs & Dinner

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Finland is incredible, kimkim made it easy.
I had an amazing time. During my time in Rovaniemi I went hiking to the Korouoma Canyon (Wild About Lapland was my guide) to see frozen waterfalls, floated in a survival suit in a frozen lake--YOU HAVE TO DO IT, YOU CANNOT FEEL THE COLD WATER AT ALL ( Pedro with Nordic Adventures was knowledgeable and hilarious), went dogsledding with Nordic Odyssey, snowmobiling with Safartica, and got my picture taken with Santa at Santa's Village.
In Sinettä, I stayed at the Arctic SnowHotel & Glass Igloos where my room was made of ice and snow, it was cold, but it was worth it to stay one night bundled up just to say I did it.
In Ivalo, Janne with Northern Lights Rider knew exactly where to go to find great views of the Northern lights and took great pictures.

Why book with kimkim? First, my local specialist Moonika was patient and easy to work with. I made a number of changes in planning my itinerary--different adventures, different dates, and Moonika always came up with a great plan to make everything work.
With kimkim, I didn't have to worry about booking rooms and adventures and drivers and a hundred other things. My accommodations were booked, tickets for the adventures were booked, when a driver was supposed to pick me up to move to a different city, he was there on time and ready to roll.
And I appreciated that Moonkia checked in every day to make sure things were going well. For someone traveling alone in a foreign nation, that was a comfort.
I will definitely book through kimkim again in the future.

Hotel Reviews

Arctic SnowHotel & Glass Igloos

Rovaniemi

I had one of the ice rooms, it was cold, but they do give you the necessary equipment for bundling up and staying warm in your icebed.

Location

wonderful frozen lake behind the hotel, an amazing view.

Staff

really friendly, very committed to your comfort.

Hotel Ivalo

Ivalo

Pretty good hotel, comfortable, clean. The only problem, just for me, is that were no English language channels. So take an iPad or a laptop if you want some evening entertainment.

Staff

I don't remember names, but the dining room staff was very kind.

Apukka Rovaniemi City Apartments

Rovaniemi

The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because the lift was out on the day I left and I had to carry all my bags down the stairs. Other than that, great location, lots of hot water, comfortable bed.

Location

it was right in the city center. You could walk to anything in less than 10 minutes

Cleanliness & Comfort

very clean, very comfortable, very warm.

Activity Reviews

Aurora Hunt by Car

Finland

Janne was my guide. Very knowledgeable about where to go to find good views of the lights.

Quality of Experience

The guide, Janne and his assistant clearly knew the best spots to go.

Dinner at Ice Restaurant

Sinettä

What made it special, it was a complete meal eaten in a restaurant built from ice.

Quality of Experience

The food and the decoration.

Northern Lights Safari by Electric Snowmobiles

Finland

Overall this was enjoyable, but we didn't see the northern lights.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide was very good at getting us set up, keeping us safe, grilling some snacks during the stop.

Husky Sledding Safari

Rovaniemi

DOGGIES! Steering the dogs as the driver or sitting in the sledge, both are fun. And afterwards, you get to hang out with the dogs.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

the staff so knowledgeable, so willing to answer questions and let you hang out with the dogs afterwards.

Aurora Ice Floating

Finland

This was so much fun. You cannot feel the cold water at all. You can either float on your back or tread water.

Quality of Experience

it was just so much fun. I would have gone back again if there wasn't so much more to do

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Pedro was knowledgeable and hilarious. I wish he had been my guide for all my adventures.

Korouoma Canyon & Frozen Waterfalls Adventure

Finland

Quality of Experience

Food

grilling sausages and marshamallows

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our 12-day trip to the North Island was fantastic and exceeded our expectations! Our trip was originally scheduled for Nov 2020 and because of Covid we had to defer. Franck helped re-plan the itinerary for March 2024. Highlights included a New Zealand food story tasting menu at Ahi in Auckland, the Wai Ariki Spa at Rotorua, Mt. Takawera crater walk, Waiotapu geothermal area, Tongariro National Park and Kapiti Island. The trip was perfectly customized to our preferences and everything worked very smoothly.

We absolutely loved our trip to Thailand! We can't say enough about our local specialist, Tina who helped set everything up. From start to finish, she had 5 star customer service and helped make our trip go smooth!

The best part of our trip was getting to know the local guides. Each one was so welcoming and gave us memories to last a lifetime. Our guide Betty in Bangkok was so fun and made us laugh, and "B" in Chiang Mai gave us the best stories and even played the guitar for us! In Phuket our day guides were wonderful as well including Wilson for our kayaking excursion!

We love that Kimkim allows you to choose your own adventures and plans the trip designed for your interests. The excursions, the people, and the culture made Thailand so special and a trip we won't forget!

Hotel Reviews

Bodhi Serene Chiang Mai Hotel (SHA Extra Plus)

Chiang Mai

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Charm Resort Phuket

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Quarter Hua Lamphong by UHG

Bangkok

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Phi Phi island, Khai island, Pi Leh lagoon & Maya bay by speed boat

Phuket

This was an awesome excursion, being able to swim in the lagoons was a highlight of the whole Thailand trip! The only thing I would note is the speedboat was definitely overbooked. We had over 40 people in one boat and were crammed in. There was no room for our bags so we had to leave them on our laps. Other than that, it was a great time!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

John Gray's Sea Canoe - Hong by Starlight

Phuket

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome and Temple Treasures of Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Exploring Bangkok by local transfers and walking tour

Bangkok

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half-Day Eco Elephant Care!

Chiang Mai

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chiang Mai Cooking Class Experience-Small Group

Chiang Mai

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

One Day Trek Doi Suthep & White Hmong Hill Tribe Village

Chiang Mai

This was the only part of the itinerary that was not what we expected. We drove up to the village and there wasn't much to see besides another market. We thought this was a full day hike to a remote village but that definitely was not the case. I would not recommend this or I would change the verbiage since it's quite misleading.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Enjoy Food Tasting in Chinatown!

Bangkok

Definitely don't eat before this! We had so much food it was hard to walk after! We loved that Betty knew the best spots to go and got everything for us. All we had to do was enjoy the food and experience!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A visit to Mae Klong Railway market and Damnoen Saduak Floating Market!

Bangkok

The Floating Market was amazing! We went early in the morning so it wasn't as busy and was quite peaceful! The Railway market was very crowded and we did have to wait quite a bit for the train to come but it was still a great experience!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Bangkok!

Bangkok

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wow, travelling thru 7 cities and 6 national parks of Chile in just 16 days, from Santiago to the Carretara Austral Lake District thru the end in Patagonia was a complex itinerary to plan, and amazing! Thanks go out to Erin and Nara for making this dream trip possible. Special thanks to our wonderful tour guides, hiking guides, drivers and hoteliers. All were very accommodating, knowledgable, punctual and kind. Jass company who provided hiking guides in Alerce Andino and for the Osorno Volcano and Paso Desolacion, and Aysen Tours in Cerro Castillo, and Litour driver in Torres del Paine deserve particular 3 cheers! Highlights of our trip have to start with the beauty of the Carretara Austral Lake District and the hike to Osorno Volcano and Paso Desolacion, beautiful Puerto Varas, stunning scenery of the Cerro Castillo valley, visiting San Rafael glacier from a boat with seals floating by on icebergs, kayaking to the marble caves in Rio Tranquilo, visiting Magdalena Island to see penguins up close in their natural habitat, and of course day hiking in Torres del Paine with highlights the French Valley and Macho canyon and seeing wildlife including a puma in the wild hunting a guanaco, a magellanic woodpecker, flamingos, deer and grey fox. The food in Chile was wonderful, people kind and welcoming, and scenery like a NatGeo documentary. One surprise was that although the average, historical temperature was 50-60 degrees at this time of year, our trip was not the average, with daily temperatures 20 degrees below normal, with driving, icy rain and even light snow falling in early March on some days. Additionally, while I knew the itinerary included long transfers, 3-5 hours straight on unpaved, rocky and pot-holed roads can get very punishing, so traveling thru the Lake District requires some hardiness, but the rewards are worth it!asks again for an amazing trip.