Kimkim Trip Reviews

This place is amazing it’s good to go back to basics as there is no phone service no wi-Fi but it’s full of wildlife and things to see ie the river crossing, waterfalls watching other people tackle the white water rapids in rafts

Beautiful parts of Rio and at a great pace.

Great opportunities to see the cool areas of Jericoacoara. Knowledgeable guide.

Tour guide Miguel was awesome and flexible to our needs. We had some of the most amazing moments exploring Rio and the Favelas. We felt very safe and well guided the whole time

The service and staff were amazing. The most spectacular part of this hotel is how it makes you feel like you are well taken are of with meals being prepared by a great chef on site while still feeling like you are still in the jungle. I highly recommend this hotel!

We loved this little cabana style hotel. It is right on the beach, and we could always hear the surf. The staff was intent on making us feel at home while we were there. The breakfast was good. They always had coffee in the “lobby” while the reception was open. HUGE beach blankets in each room for use on the white sandy beaches. Other good food prepared to order as desired.

We loved Villa Luna! Loved the ambience, the service, and the location. The breakfast is amazing and beautifully displayed. Scrambled or fried eggs available. Lots of fruits and vegetables. Wonderful servers. Jessica (owner) welcomed us both days with cool aromatic wash cloths and refreshing water. She graciously offered to hold some bags while we went to another island for a couple of nights. And she offered to send our laundry out so it would be ready when we returned. This hotel is near a restaurant that has live music, but it did not bother us at night time. My 6’4” husband would have preferred to have a bed that was a little longer, but he survived. We loved this hotel and would definitely stay there again!

Again, it was hot. But this is a great hiking path, and not too difficult. The hardest part is hiking up to the entrance of the path. There are a couple of shady places to stop and rest. Not much wildlife to see…a few birds. The flora is more interesting here. The last kilometer is on a beautiful sandy beach, where there are plenty of marine iguanas. It is sandy, but not difficult to walk on barefooted. There are a couple of places for snorkeling and swimming, which are a wonderful way to end the activity.

This was a highlight of the trip!

Only six flamingos when we were there, but I guess we were lucky to see any at all. I didn’t realize that they were so transient.

It was so hot and humid, but we enjoyed seeing all of the tortoises and learning about Lonely George. We were flagging from the heat and having gotten up so early, but we got there before the crowds and enjoyed seeing and learning about everything.

Indira Torres met us at the airport and she endeared herself to us immediately. Could not have been happier with our escort. She knew exactly what she was doing, and handled everything. We loved the trip to the highlands to see the turtles! And the lunch was fantastic!

We had this tour the day after our tour of Lujan de Cuyo and it was so interesting to learn about the different region and what makes their wines so unique, and of course sample some! Our guide and driver were wonderful and played us some really great Argentinian music!

Suchhhhh good wines, and the lunch at the end was incredible. Really fun to learn about wine directly from the people making it.

This was a really nice and individualized experience in a beautiful setting. The wine and cheese pairings were unlike any I have had before. It was amazing to hear directly from the sommelier and cheese expert.

Such a fun and delicious tour. Our guide was wonderful and had great recommendations for bars and restaurants outside of our tour. Very accommodating to vegetarians too :) It was really nice to do a group tour for this and bond with people over good food and wine!

Such an incredible experience to get a sense of the REAL tango scene in Argentina.

One of the best places we stayed while we were in Morocco. It was a great way to spend our last two days in Marrakesh. Beautiful decor throughout the building, breakfast and all the options were amazing, and the staff was helpful. The location is fantastic and we walked everywhere but had the option to hail a cab when our feet were too tired. I was sad to learn on our last day that there was a roof deck which we somehow missed and would have loved to check-out.

Pros: Scenic location set away from the main touristy area of Ait Benhaddou. Nice staff. Our room had an open patio with a view. Cons: Found dinner to be a little more expensive than other places with the food only being OK compared to other places we stayed throughout Morocco. Note: this area was impacted by the recent earthquake (the hotel was fine!) so the town seemed especially quiet and you could see that some repairs were underway. Hope more people are able to come visit this beautiful area!

One of the highlights of our entire vacation in Morocco! The accommodations were extremely comfortable given we were in the desert and on the edge of the sand dunes. You are surrounded by beauty. We got to see the sunrise and sunset on the days we were there. We rode camels, sandboarded, and had the option to swim. The staff was courteous and helpful. We got to spend extra time with Ali who was a great guide around Erg Chebbi and Merzouga.

A beautiful oasis within the medina. We had a lovely room with an upstairs space that was perfect for our daughter. We only got to spend one night here and I only wish we could have stayed longer. The staff was top notch. We enjoyed drinks at the end of the day in the beautiful courtyard. My only complaint was with the amount of scent used in our room. It was not a bad smell but it was overwhelming.

Charming place in the heart of Chefchaouen. You will get dropped off in the main square and need to walk a few minutes to get to the hotel. There was someone there ready to meet us and help us with our bags. Great location near vendors and restaurants. My favorite part was the lovely rooftop with a view of the city.

This was our least favorite place we stayed during our entire trip. That being said, it was just for one night and we had quiet, restful sleep in the room we were in. The hotel is listed as a luxury hotel but it was pretty run-down and the food served in the main restaurant was very average. The roof deck upstairs was a nice place to hang out for drinks, though.

This was the longest part of our journey - partially because we tried to fit in some stops that were supposed to be scheduled on our route to Merzouga on top of stops that were already planned for the day. While the drive was long, the scenery did not disappoint as we started to make our way from the sand dunes into the Atlas Mountains. Some of my favorite stops with our wonderful guide Ayoub was walking at the base of the Todra Gorge and getting views/pictures of Aït Benhaddou at sunset. Along the way, we managed to fit in stops at the fossil mining town of Erfoud, an ancient water mining site, a legitimate Berber rug shop, and a rose oil co-op. My only recommendation might be to pare down on the number of touristy spots or to give the traveler a choice on which ones to really stop and see. It was A LOT for one day!

We spent the morning exploring Aït Benhaddou with our wonderful driver/guide Ayoub. We jumped the rocks to start at "The Game of Thrones" entrance instead of crossing over the bridge and then made our way up to the top of the ksar where you could see some damage from the earthquake in September. Afterwards we started the drive towards Marrakesh and made our way through the Atlas Mountains and through more towns that had been impacted by the earthquake. Thankfully the roads were all clear. We made a stop at an argan co-op and then had lunch at a great grilled meat spot with outdoor courtyard seating. As we approached Marrakesh, Ayoub gave us a driving tour as we headed into the medina and then we were dropped off at our hotel.

The drive to Merzouga is long but incredible. You see so much change in the landscape! We drove through a town called Ifrane which is referred to as "Little Switzerland". Not only is the architecture Swiss-inspired but we were surprised to see beautiful fall foliage in November. A little bit further and we stopped to see MONKEYS (Barbary macaques) on the side of the road! As the terrain became more rocky and dry, we came upon some refreshing oases in the region of Tafilalet. We were trying to get to our camp in the desert before sunset so that we would have time to do our camel ride but we got there just a little late. Instead we took a fun 4WD drive to our desert camp and did get to watch the sunset right outside of our room.

One of the highlights of our trip! We had time in the morning to sandboard on the dunes surrounding our camp until it was time to leave with our wonderful guide Ali. He showed us some fun driving through the desert sand where any road goes, then he took us to visit a nomadic community situated on the outskirts of Merzouga. We were served tea and snacks and got up close with their livestock (there was an especially friendly goat who photo-bombed us a few times!). From there we went to hear music and dance at the Gnawa House in Khamleya village. We stopped off at a smaller oasis and walked through the canals. After lunch, we had some time to rest back at camp before our surprisingly comfortable camel ride through the desert. We got to hike up some dunes to catch some epic views and watch the sunset. An amazing day!

A beautiful drive from Chefchaouen to Fes. We passed through many little towns and saw the scenery change quite a bit. One of my favorite stops was at a vista point where there was a pomegranate juice stand - freshly squeezed on the spot! When we got to Fes, we started in the new part of the city, got to take pictures outside of the palace, and then drove to see the views from the Marinid Tombs. We made an unplanned stop at a local pottery place that ended up being more interesting than I thought it would be. We got to watch the employees make and shape the clay, paint designs and lay down mosaic tile - not an easy task! My only complaint about this day is that we did not have enough time to explore the medina and enjoy more time at our beautiful hotel. I would suggest asking future travelers what time they want to get to their hotel and spending less time in the new part of the city, on lunch and on unplanned stops.

Such a treat to be invited into a Moroccan family's home! Said and his son came to pick us up at our hotel and then helped us navigate the labyrinth in the medina to make our way to their home. We arrived to a delicious home-cooked meal of numerous vegetable side dishes and a chicken pastilla! Said's son speaks excellent English so helped with communication and kept us entertained with his conversation and musical skills - along with his younger brother and sister. Shukran to Said and his family!

This overnight excursion was incredibly well organised. No time was lost on fitting in the maximum amount of activities in this short amount of time. The staff were incredibly enthusiastic and attentive and it felt like this was their maiden voyage! The boat has a wonderful authenticity and is tastefully decorated and there’s consistency between cabins from what I could tell. I loved this trip to Bai Tu Long Bay, but do have concerns for the environment there and was happy to hear the staff voice that this is starting to be addressed.

I loved everything about this hotel. It was simply stunning down to every last detail. The room was very spacious. There were many extras in the decor to add to a feeling of comfort. I loved the little teapot set on a coffee table for the ubiquitous tea ceremony. The pool was fresh and clean, the gardens much more developed than the website photos and so lovely to spend our rest day enjoying the environment. The staff were respectful and attentive. I would love to stay here again.

This hotel appears to have been one of the original grand hotels in Sapa but is quite tired now and in need of renovations. This has been attempted with murals on the walls up the stairs but although I’m fond of murals, it added to the feeling of shabbiness. The beds were comfortable though and this is my number one priority. The dining room was vast and the breakfast good and varied.

This homestay is a main hostel type arrangement with bar and balcony dining area and cabins situated around a pretty pond. We were lucky to stay in a cabin, other trekkers we were with stayed in the hostel accomodation. Our cabin was very rustic, it had comfortable beds, and an ensuite. The bathroom has open brick sized vents to outside. We enjoyed the night time cold fresh air and snuggled under the covers but the room would be pretty cold in any temperature below 6-7 degrees at night and there’s no heating. The hosts were good at getting the party spirit going during dinner with the ‘happy water’, the meals were good, the trusty cooking lesson before dinner, and the atmosphere was convivial on the deck. We really enjoyed our stay here. Our fellow walkers complained about mattresses as thin as strips of cardboard and too few bedclothes and no sleep as a result. This may have been because their tour company changed their itinerary but they insisted on keeping the same one and thought they were bing punished. We thanked our lucky stars for having Realistic Asia for our tour company!

The bed mattresses are fairly thin and narrow. We used silk sleeping bag inners for extra warmth. We slept well on the train. The toilet was grubby and we didn’t see the sink until we we’re getting off the train because it was at the other end of the corridor. The complimentary water bottles, clean wipes and snacks were appreciated.

The beds are so comfortable in this hotel. I consider this the most important thing in accommodations in order to get a good sleep. The hotel has sister locations that you may be accommodated in if you are travelling back and forth to Hanoi from trips outside Hanoi. The rooms are all different, we had family rooms and they were all spacious, one out of the three different rooms was tired in its bedroom decor but the bathroom was pleasant enough. One of the rooms was so lovely looking out towards St Joseph’s Cathedral and below is a karaoke bar; we thought the people performing were professionals, it sounded so good! This hotel- Splendid Starlight doesn’t have an elevator if that’s an issue for you though. The staff are fun, friendly and helpful. We did need to engage the support of our travel company to change one of the rooms though because it was around the corner, at a different hotel again, in what we considered, an inferior depressing room, but the staff did change us back to Splendid Star and we were happy with our room.

Bac Ha Market wasn’t what I was expecting. It was super busy, a sensory over. It felt authentic but I understand for our guide that since the Chinese boarder has closed with Vietnam, there is no longer large livestock traded. I expected it to be open air in a field and not based in the streets of a town. I quite enjoyed the haggling for the beautiful crafts but didn’t enjoy my attention grabbed at every corner as soon as I showed an interest in something! The guide was incredibly helpful throughout the day, so attentive and energetic but although enjoyable, it was an exhausting experience.

We loved this day with the hosts at Tho Ha. We didn’t realise what a special experience we were having until exploring Tam Coc that evening and seeing the mass tourism of the boats to be taken to the caves. Our experience was very individual. We had a bike ride and again our tour guide was able to arrange to take me on the back of a motorbike, a late change to arrangements; a cooking lesson, the wonderful trip to the Galaxy Grotto caves and a lesson on planting rice, and catching fish and crabs traditionally, all in the rice paddies on the farm. We did a lot but it didn’t feel too much or tiring. The host had a wonderful understated dry humour! I loved this activity day.

Our tour guide for this trip was as usual incredibly knowledgeable about The Temple of Literature and The Museum of Ethnology. We so enjoyed her company and felt like a friend to her. The tour guide graciously changed the itinerary at the last minute on my request due to health issues so that the walking wasn’t too much. As usual the tour was very well organised and we very much enjoyed our lesson on the vast culture of this country.

The hosts were well organised, so friendly and attentive. The cooking class was fun to experience with other travellers and the group well managed. The food was amazing! The bike ride was enjoyable in the local countryside and the host and a tour guide had a lovely playful rapport they shared with us. We loved the tea plantation experience and meeting the couple, Mr Duc I think his name is was an American War veteran. We won’t forget his beautiful sharing of his experiences translated by the tour guide. It was fascinating tasting the different types of tea and I have a new found appreciation of my morning cuppa now!

This tour was very well organised, challenging enough in the trek but not too much. Good footwear is a must. The tour guide was so informative about the local culture. There was plenty of time to kick back and enjoy the company of fellow travellers, the food was great and plentiful, there were numerous opportunities to haggle with the locals over some beautifully crafted goods. It was a most enjoyable trip.

This accommodation had plenty of character, but perhaps did not live up to its billing as a 3-4 star hotel. Our room was on the top floor of the old building, and had plenty of character, but was not a comfortable place to stay for our family. No lobby area, and check in was at the pub on the ground floor. Room itself gave a lovely first impression, but it seemed that upkeep was a challenge. The room looked to have been updated relatively recently, but still showed some wear, as did the furnishings. The floor was sagging and very creaky, as you might expect in this age of building, and there was a significant amount of road noise from the busy street, which was not great for light sleepers. The bunk bed creaked a lot as well. Bed linens had some stains and showed pilling and wear. That said, there was wifi and a lovely coffee/snack set up on our arrival, so it worked for a one night stay.

The hotel itself was lovely and in a quiet, yet convenient area. The Wizarding chamber rooms (Harry Potter themed) were in the basement and looked a little worse for wear. We really enjoyed the daily breakfast and welcome of all staff members. I would happily stay at the hotel again, but would opt for one of the traditional rooms, instead of the Wizarding rooms with our children.

Rocco was great!

This is not our thing

The Island is very nice and all in all we appreciated the day trip. However, it was with a very big group and especially in the way there, with high waves, we were all crunched against each other. I could barely move my legs for +1hour.

Very nice accommodations. Nice massages there, too!

Lovely cottage overlooking the ocean. Nice massages, too!

All of our accommodations were fine.

This was probably the most memorable historical part of the trip. I was in college during the Viet Nam war so seeing this site was moving for me.

We cut our bicycle trip short as the terrain was difficult to ride on. But we enjoyed the time we rode.

Our hike was long as we got just over half way and had to turn around due to deep mud on the path. We saw gibbons and tracks of several animals.

Beautiful views, it's right on the lake and the restaurant was a great place with amazing food each night. Be prepared for a climb, and know that the spiders are harmless.

Room 18 was a little iffy, but the staff moved us to a new room almost right away.

Wow!! This hotel was exceptional. The views of Lake Tekapo were stunning, and the hotel itself was beautifully designed. (Our room had a skylight that's designed for star-gazing at night!) Included breakfast could be taken in-room, which we opted for. Delicious and a great way to start the day.

Views and surroundings were stunning. The food provided was really good too, though it does require cooking on your own. The instructions for how to find the parking lot were a bit challenging to decipher, as road construction has since finished, and the directions were outdated. We did eventually find where to park, and then the 10-minute hike commenced... For the adventurous!

This charming B&B near Tongariro National Park (45-60 mins' drive) was a fabulous place to stay for 1 night on our trip. B&B owners Bernie and Marie were as warm as can be, and the property is clean, beautiful, and quiet. There are 4 rooms total, so even at "full capacity," it never felt like there were other guests looming over us.

The free guided tour at 10:30am was great, and I'd highly recommend everyone gets there in time to join it. The property is quite large, and having a guide to walk through it and explain everything was really helpful, from a scientific and cultural perspective. The mud baths were also really fun.

In one of the world's star-gazing capitals, it makes sense to take advantage! We were blessed with a clear night, and the telescope-viewing was a great way to see multiple constellations and planets before getting into the hot pools to do some more star-gazing while soaking away the day :)

Stuart & his team leading this walk through Tongariro National Park were great. We had nice convos with others in our group, and the guided walk was somewhere between a walk and a hike. The views for those 2 hours, as the sun set, were just spectacular.

This was a very special way to experience some Maori culture while in New Zealand. It was informative and entertaining, and the venue includes numerous geysers to view, too.

This was so much fun! The guides were really warm and understanding of everyone's physical abilities, the kayaking was not too challenging, and the glow worms were really cool to see up-close.

Such a great way to see Kiwi up close and also support conservation in NZ!

To start, this was a challenging kayak experience. Pros: Lake Taupo is a beautiful place to kayak. The water, on our morning, wasn't *too* rough, but it was definitely windy, which made for a challenging rowing experience, and it's not a short one. We spend more than an hour each way paddling. Cons: Firstly, our operator Liz was verbally and visibly annoyed with us that we didn't arrive 15 minutes early, which was never communicated on our itinerary nor the activity voucher. Additionally, she constantly belittled and corrected a new hire on her own team who was clearly in training when accompanying our group. Moreover, she continued to yell at other tourists from Taiwan, whom she thought were tiring out too quickly or not following her shouted instructions to keep up with the group. She actually had them turn back with another guide 1/3 into our trip, which made us think that if we didn't strain ourselves to "keep up," she'd turn us back too. Overall, she was a real detraction from the experience, and I think kimkim & Once Upon A Trip should be aware of all the above when continuing to send tourists to this operator.

This was the highlight of our whole trip. The fly-cruise-fly package was perfect for seeing Milford Sound and the surrounding fjords/mountains/lakes, and it was well worth the money and time. An absolute must-do if visiting the Queenstown area.

These five stars are a direct result of our tour guide, Lina. She was given a tricky assignment - to show us Tangier in three hours or less. She wisely kept us in the old quarter - not only did this mean we were able to see some historical sites and visit some local artisans without spending precious time covering long distances, but this is also where she grew up, and therefore where she was most familiar (and recognized!). Lina was warm, engaging, and knowledgeable about her home neighborhood and the history of Tangier. We had lovely conversations as we meandered the winding streets and somehow left as the proud new owners of two Moroccan rugs.

I have a bit of mixed feelings about this one - I both loved it and felt like it was a huge challenge :D First of all, no one told me there would be these hanging bridges at 20 m height that I'd need to cross to get to and out of the room! I'm afraid of heights so to me it was a huge deal to cross it without any security rope attached to me. But then I took it as a way to face and embrace my fears so I dealt with it and got better at it with time :) Secondly, all the wildlife was both fantastic and scary at the same time :D Waking up to the birds' songs at sunrise is the best medicine for us westerners to calm down our boiling stressed out minds, along with watching dozens of various colorful butterflies float around - to me it was like being in paradise. At the same time, being greeted by buzzing flying monsters and creeping lizards on the walls in the bathroom at night was not something for the sensitive souls :D But once again, i took it as a challenge and made myself proud at the end :D The staff was absolutely wonderful. I got very sick upon my arrival and couldn't eat regular food so they cooked me the most delicious chicken broth and mint tea which I think was what helped me recover so quickly. When i did get to finally enjoy the proper food - it was delicious and so nicely presented, like in the most luxurious resorts. To me, despite the sickness, it was a much needed escape to the heart of the nature which helped me relax and completely recover in just a couple of days from all the stress of everyday life.

Nice hotel with good location. Quite noisy as the room was right below the kitchen and all the rattling starting at 5am was pretty loud. Also, no windows going out to the street - but only to the inside of the hotel - was a minus.