Kimkim Trip Reviews

After randomly coming across Kim Kim, we decided to take a family trip to Cartagena Colombia with our children ages to six and 12. Margoth and her team did an incredible job of planning so many amazing wonderful immersive experiences with wonderful guides and just really knocked it out of the park. When we arrived at our hotel, we were greeted with delicious specialty nonalcoholic drinks, and when we got to our room, there were special toucan gifts for our kids (who are obsessed with Encanto), local chocolates that were gilded for my daughters, golden birthday, and a beautiful coffee table book of Columbia. Some of our favorite memories were a mangrove tour with a local fisherman, a cooking class with a local chef at an adorable French Colombian bistro, a bird, sanctuary tour, and spending time at our beautiful hotel. Each of my kids had an amazing time, and my husband and I even had a chance to do a literary tour with a guide who knew Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a author we studied in college. We loved seeing local artisans and bought some local oil paintings and watercolor paintings that now hang on our walls overall, it was a trip of a lifetime!

Hotel Review

Hotel Capellan de Getsemani

Cartagena de Indias

Or hotel was amazing! From the accommodations themselves to the staff and restaurant, it was a wonderful place relax after an adventurous day in the exploring the city. When we started to plan our trip, we were thinking about staying in the newer part of town, but I would absolutely recommend 100% staying in the old quarter of town. When we are able to return to Cartagena, we will absolutely stay at the same hotel!

Authenticity & Character

It was right in the middle of the old quarter, close to just about everything

Location

In the most beautiful part of town

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Welcome to Colombia!

Colombia

Martín our guide met us just outside the airport with a sign and was friendly and warm and welcoming and my kids were so excited to have our own guide!

Suggested Lunch at Crepes & Waffles

Cartagena

We ended up eating here about four times! It had something for everyone, and my kids loved it.

We had a wonderful time. Irish was fabulous planning everything and Shegao was just wonderful. I would recommend them to anyone visiting Japan!

Hotel Review

Peninsula Hotel Tokyo

Tokyo

luxury hotel with fabulous breakfast and service

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Tokyo Full Day Tour

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arrive in Tokyo, Free Day!

Tokyo

Sanrio Puroland

Tokyo

Free Day in Tokyo

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Explore Asakusa

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tokyo Departure

Japan

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

the trip was very easy to book and very flexible to custom requests. Driving distances were tough especially going to Honduras and back.
the guides provided in every location, but especially Honduras, Tikal and Alex in Antigua were exceptional.
Mayan civilization, which my trip was designed to highlight was a revelation and deeply moving.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Las Americas

Guatemala City

Very basic hotel, a 3 star at best by western standards. Good bar and food.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Yat B'alam

Copan Ruinas

Superb small hotel, very authentic. The staff were very good . Don't expect Hilton., expect boutique small hotel perfectly located around town.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Jungle Lodge Tikal

Peten

An interesting hotel, with pretensions of being 5 star. It's not. Things to keep in mind: Food was good but way overpriced. Strong recommendation, is to eat outside of the resort at local places for half the price if not cheaper. Electricity is only available around breakfast/lunch/dinner time. Wifi was only available at the lobby, zero internet in the rooms. staff at the restaurant were exceptional, staff as reception could have been better. Location inside the archeological site is the only reason to stay there. Keep in mind, that entrance to the site at all times requires different tickets, early morning(great to see the sunrise and starting at 10.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Explore the Copan Ruins

Copán

Copan a must for all travelers interested in Mayan culture. Better than Mexico and guatemala.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Quiriguá Ruins Guided Tour

Guatemala

The biggest Stellas in the Mayan world. An absolute must for any lover of Mayan culture. Mexican or Guatemalan sites are not even comparable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Village tour for Iximche Mayan Ruins

Antigua

Absolutely superb. One of the best Mayan sites around and not crowded at all.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boat Tour of Lake Atitlán Villages

Guatemala

Great place to visit. Amazing views. the tour should have avoided the largest town on the lake, a complete tourist trap. All stops were designed to bring you to various local shops. largest city, 3rd stop on the tour is to be avoided. I wish more time was spent at the first 2 stops.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My guide was Tashi & my driver was Sonam from Windhorse travels. I couldn’t have ask for a more polite & understanding crew. Simply said: THEY WERE FANTASTIC!!
Overall, the trip was amazing & Mieke had done a marvellous job with the details and itinerary.
Highlights :
1) The Dzong (Fortress) at Punakha
2) The Kitchu temple in Paro
3) The trek to the Tiger nest monastery
4) Outstanding service at the hotels- especially Uma Punakah
6) Just the people in Bhutan.
Something that caught me by surprise:
- While the view from my room at Uma Punakha was beautiful, the size if the room (in relation to tye price of the room) was underwhelming!

Hotel Reviews

Uma Punakha

Punakha

Fantastic hotel. Great service across the board: Room service, service at the restaurant, SPA etc., Genuinely warm & friendly staff. I was a bit underwhelmed by the size of the room (I had a valley facing room). One would have expected a bit more generosity for the price tag :-)

Authenticity & Character

The property just has great character & charm

Location

Within 30-40 mins drive of most things to do in Phunakah. The location offers 100% tranquility

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Naksel Boutique Hotel & Spa

Paro

Nice spacious rooms. GREAT SERVICE all round: room service, restaurant, reception etc., The wifi service in the room was sub-optimal!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Like the tranquility the property has to offer. Easy driving distance to most attractions in Paro.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Resort Thim Dorji

Paro

This hotel is “being built” & I used this as i used this as a transit hotel. Met my need 100%. The resort part owner and GM - Dorji was a fantastic host. The room was functional for the most part. If you looking for the “lap of luxury” this is probably not it. Having said that I will need to caveat my review - since the property is under construction.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Punakha - Punakha Dzong

Bhutan

A must visit location. Amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Punakha - Chorten Nebu hike

Punakha

A short hike up the paddy fields. A intriguing monument.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Punakha - Chimi Lhakhang

Bhutan

Quirky is the way I would explain this. To me this place associates with some kind of an obsession for the male phallus!! As with all monuments in Bhutan there is a story of “good over evil prevailing” A small restaurant on the way to this temple dishes out outstanding local food that is safe to eat.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Punakha - Prayer ceremony at local nunnery

Bhutan

Skipped this experience. Ive have just plugged some ratings as the web page wouldn’t allow me to proceed without a rating. Perhaps something that Kimkim should take note of. Travelers shd be allowed to skip, especially when they have not visited some aspect of their planner itinerary

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dochu La Pass - Lungchutse Lhakhang hike

Bhutan

Skipped this part of my itinerary

Quality of Experience

Zaw

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Paro - Chele La pass (3988 m) & hike to Kila nunnery

Bhutan

Kila nunnery was nothing special. Ok to go if the objective is “have nothing else to do”

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Paro - Hike to Tigernest Monastery aka Taktshang Goemba

Paro

Highlight #1 of my trip. OUTSTANDING.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Paro - Kyichu Lhakhang

Paro

Highlight #2 of my trip. The tranquility & serenity that this 1400 year old temple presents is a must experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Oleksandra helped us to plan our 2 week honeymoon trip to Buenos Aires, Calafate, and Ushuaia. It made planning so much easier to have her available for questions & recommendations. Communication leading up to and during our trip was responsive. All of the airport transfers and excursions were smooth. We even made some very last minute changes to our itinerary (while on the trip!) which Oleksandra helped us to make happen. Thank you for everything, Oleksandra!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Patagonia Queen

El Calafate

This was our favorite hotel of the trip! Most comfortable bed, hot shower with great water pressure, perfect location on the edge of town so still easily walkable everywhere, delicious breakfast including freshly made eggs upon request, and the owner was so hospitable. We would definitely recommend and would stay here again ourselves should we have the opportunity to return.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hosteria Senderos

El Chalten

Great location on the edge of town and super friendly staff. Comfortable beds and great breakfast. Offer boxed lunches for a fee for the hikes. Very conveniently located near the bus station if you're taking the bus in/out of El Chalten.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Los Acebos Ushuaia Hotel

Ushuaia

Stay here for the views. It's designed so that every room has a great view. While the shuttle to/from the city is a nice option, we only ever used it to go into the city in the morning (never a problem regarding it being too crowded), otherwise just easier to get a taxi. Not the most convenient location from a walkability perspective (to restaurants, etc.) but the views were great. The lobby felt new but the rooms felt a bit old/outdated. Front desk staff was available via Whatsapp which we found extremely helpful for random questions about the hotel and town.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Walk with Penguins on Martillo Island

Ushuaia

Totally worth it! While it is a long drive, it's scenic and the guide shared lots of history on the way out (in both Spanish & English). So cool to see wild penguins up close. Felt like the guides were very respectful of the penguins' and their environment, prioritizing the penguins over tourist enthusiasm. When we were there in early Nov, it was their nesting season.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Crissy and I had an amazing time in Patagonia. This trip was a long time coming, delayed several times for COVID, and ended turning into our Honeymoon.

Erin and the KimKim crew were fantastic during the changes and final prep. Very knowledgeable, offering up timely responses, and extremely flexible.

We really enjoyed the Penguin Island, Torres Base Hike, and the Serrano River Kayak. Weather was absolutely perfect. Hotels were decent, with the Hosteria Pehoe being the most memorable.

All the drivers and guides were superb. Daniel was always a bit early and drove us safely to where we needed to be. Devi was super fun to hang with during the Torres del Paine tour and took us to some cool hiking spots, waterfalls, and scenic overlooks. Charlie was a great kayak guide and campsite host. He worked hard to make sure we had an incredible experience.

Activity Reviews

Paddle from Pueblo Serrano to Puerto Toro [Kayak Expedition Day 1]

Chile

Charlie, from Tutravesia, worked hard to ensure a very enjoyable. experience. Views were breath taking.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Serrano Glacier & Estancia Perales [Kayak Expedition Day 2]

Chile

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit the Isla Magdalena Penguin Colony

Punta Arenas

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trip Briefing at Dittmar Adventures

Puerto Natales

Nara provided all the details for the trip and stayed in touch with weather updates for the kayak excursion.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Torres del Paine Full Day Private Tour

Chile

Devi was an amazing guide. She has a trail scale of 14/10 and our marriage is stronger having spent the day with her. She was solely responsible for the perfect weather and all the functioning planks on the waterfall boardwalk. If we were not laughing so hard maybe we would have seen a puma.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

They came through when it mattered most.
This is a small company who treated us like we were special on our family week in Morocco. Our Driver was Hicham and we worked with Sharon. We were able to make easy changes and they listened to us.
We did a private tour. It was my wife and our two children 10 and 12. We were having a very good time and Hicham took great pride in the country and was an excellent guide.
But the most important thing was at the end. It was about a year ago and I have not had a chance to write. My wife got very sick. She couldn't get out of bed on the last day of the trip in Marrakech. Hicham had other clients to deal with but he treated us like family. He got us to a private hospital, waited with us, made sure I found a pharmacy and made many extra trips. He was a friend in the country when we really needed one. I can never be more grateful. They are wonderful.

Margarita was creative and interactive when designing a trip for me and my family. I found her responsive to my question, prior to my trip, and especially during my trip when I had questions I felt needed fast answers. She was pleasant, friendly, and amenable. I appreciated how flexible and johnny-on-the-spot she was when I decided to change plans at the last minute. I would highly recommend KimKim and Margarita

My trip to Morocco was very good. I had no problems, and overall, I was happy with the plan. Here are some specific thoughts.

I felt the details of my trip were handled at the very last minute. This gave me some anxiety, especially since I had not used KimKim before and did not know if I could trust them.

My driver/guide/translator/friend, Ayoub, was excellent. Maybe most important but the least visible to me, he is a very safe and careful driver. It was nice not to even think about the driving. Ayoub also gave me excellent insight into Moroccan history and culture, and I enjoyed traveling with him. When I return to Morocco, I will request his service. (I might even want his plan for visiting the southern desert.)

My trip plan was good. I liked all the riads in which I stayed. Each was comfortable and sufficiently modern, yet each had the flavor of Morocco. Also, each was in a good location. The quality of my city guides was inconsistent.

I really liked visiting Chefchaouen and Fes. Marrakech was the best, and I wish I had more time there. Rabat was a waste of time. Everyone lives across the river so by late afternoon, the Rabat medina is empty. I think a couple of things were missing from my trip. I saw only the old towns (medinas) of large cities. I am curious how most modern Moroccan city dwellers live. I should have walked through a new town street and maybe had lunch there. Also, I did not stop in a small village or town in Morocco. I would have loved to visit a small town on market day. Now that I have read more about Morocco, I wish I had gone to see the desert. The desert is clearly an important part of Morocco. (I might have said "no desert" in the planning stage. If I did, then that was my mistake.)

I enjoyed the cooking class I did in Chefchaouen. It was not great for teaching cooking that I could do on my own, but it was a fantastic view of life in a real Moroccan home. It would have been better if I did not do this on Friday when the markets are closed.

I wanted to visit Merja Zerga National Park to see flamingos. Where we went for a boat into the park did not sound correct according to what I read. We hired what is basically a water taxi that people use to cross the river. I did see flamingos, but the boat driver was restricted from entering the park and getting close to the birds. Also, he did not know his birds. However, we did have the boat drop us at Moulay Bousselham (across the river from the car). We had lunch there, and there was not another tourist in sight. I felt like I was seeing the real Morocco off the tourist route.

A couple of additional resources would have been helpful. I wish someone at KimKim had suggested some reading to get me oriented to Morocco (other than my guidebook). After visiting Morocco, I read 'My 1001 Nights: Tales...'. It is not great literature, but it is a good introduction to a foreigner's visit to Morocco. I am sure there are other books that would be good. I also wish someone had suggested restaurants for dinner. I used my guidebook (Moon Morocco) and Trip Advisor. I felt every place in which I ate was for tourists. I am sure your local contacts could have suggested better. (I did manage to eat at Nur in Fes... one of the best restaurants in Morocco.)

I enjoyed my trip, and I want to thank everyone at KimKim and Morocco Immersion who helped.

Christmas in Vietnam! We had a WONDERFUL time as a family of 4 in Vietnam. Huyen put together an awesome 10 day itinerary that was very responsive to our interests and limitations traveling with 2 kids under 7. Each hotel was excellent, the activities were fun and interesting and the guides were very very very knowledgeable, flexible and kind. Thank you so much Huyen and the rest of the team!!

We had just completed a 15 days trip to northern Norway (Bodø, Reine, Svolvær and Tromsø) with kimkim. It was the first time we engaged kimkim's services. We wanted a seamless experience in planning a 2 weeks long vacation trip without too much effort. In the past, we did all the research, planning, and booking and it took a lot of effort and time. Our primary objective for this northern Norway trip was to catch the northern lights, as we did not manage to catch it the last time we went to Iceland! The other secondary objectives was to tour the beautiful scenic country along with other winter activities. This trip certainly did not disappoint!

We read about the reviews of other customers who engaged kimkim's services in planning and booking for their trip and decided to try it out too. Merée, our assigned specialist did not disappointed! She tailored the itinerary to our requirements, going back and forth countless times with the places, timeline, activities and accommodations. It is due to Merée's recommendation and patience with us that we decided to commit to booking the trip via kimkim.

A trip this long is bound to run into some hiccups. The crucial difference is that kimkim also provided emergency contact during the trip to help address any issues. And indeed we did needed that service! Merée went above and beyond in supporting us with last minute on the fly suggestions and recommendations (places to go, restaurants, sauna!), management of planned activities (postponement / cancellation due to weather) and other minor stuff (hotels check in/out, parking).

We not only met our primary objective where we caught the spectacular northern lights a couple of times, but also met and interacted with wonderful people, from friendly locals to fellow travelers from around the world with the same objective (northern lights!). A worthy mention is Odd, the northern light chase activity guide in Svolvær who was supposed to bring us out but due to the unfortunate timing of the weather (snow storm!), first recommended we postpone if possible to the next night, and then further came down to explain and recommend that we cancel (and refunded us) the next night as the odds of catching the northern lights will be very low. He further advised us that the weather will be cleared up the next day and we should be able to catch the northern lights from where we will be going!

We are really glad that we went with kimkim and thoroughly enjoyed the full northern Norway winter experience! It was a very memorable trip from the northern light chases, the scenic and breath taking drive from Tromsø to the Lofoten islands, to the other activities: Icelandic horse riding in Lofoten, traveling via Hurtigruten cruise along the coast, reindeer sledding & overnight in a Lavvu tent, dog sledding with huskies and whale watching!

It's the people that make the biggest difference in everything we do and we are glad we worked with Merée, and met all the wonderful people along the trip!

Our trip to Bhutan would have been quite nice in itself owing to the scenic vistas, the serene people, the pristine architecture, and the rich culture. But the gap between "quite nice" and extraordinary was bridged by the team at Kimkim: Mr Thinley, our tour and trekking guide who was adept at history, art, and wordly insights alike; Mr Tashi, our very friendly chauffeur, who was as merry and bright as he was peaceful behind the wheel.
Mr Vishal was our trip planner and he had made the process so easy right from the time we got in touch with him after deciding to spend our honeymoon at Bhutan. He took us out for a wonderful dinner at Thimphu and it was great interacting with him in person.
The farmstay at Punakha, hotel at Thimphu and the luxury camping at Paro gave us really memorable and unique experiences in the valley. We did easy to moderate hikes for 4 separate days- very scenic and well planned to make us comfortable throughout. Mr Thinley made sure the activity and locations were all catered to our personal palates the evening prior to the activity planned. He gave us a very nice spiritual insight to Buddhist culture which we were seeking actively when we were planning the trip. Both Mr Thinley and Mr Tashi made sure we had the most relaxing yet adventurous trip. Mr Vishal made sure we are taken care of well and we hope to be back soon- Central Bhutan is on our list next. 🙏

Activity Review

Hike to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal monastery

Punakha

Sangita was fantastic in helping us organise our 2 week stay in Nepal and all the travel in between places. She was very responsive and ensured everything went smoothly, checking in on us daily once we arrived. Likewise Bipin who welcomed us in Katmandu was very knowledgable and made sure we settled in comfortably.
Highlights include our 5 day poon hill trek, the hilltop town of Bandipur as well as safari in Bardiya National park.

We had such a beautiful trip to Morocco! The riads were amazing and the activities planned were perfect for what we wanted out of our trip. Yassine and Louis truly understood how we prefer to travel and created such a nice itinerary. They built in just the right amount of structured activities and free time to explore the cities we visited. Our driver Mohammad was very friendly and made himself available to any request. He went above and beyond to make sure we saw and experienced as much of the Moroccan culture as we could during our short visit, up to and including adding an additional hour on our drive from Fes to Marrakech in order to show us some sites that were not on the itinerary. Additionally, and most importantly, he always ensured our safety. We would recommend him to everyone as a driver. He was fantastic.

The tour guides selected were very knowledgeable and taught us the history and culture of the cities we visited. Hassan, in particular, was a fantastic guide during our visit to Fes. He immersed us in the Medina of Fes by taking us to various shops, buying us some typical Moroccan foods to try and showing us the way of life in city. He was an excellent guide and we recommend him to anyone. Riad Annata was absolutely beautiful and we enjoyed drinking wine on the terrace at night. The bathroom in the riad also felt like we were in a spa, also providing us with the traditional Moroccan black soap. Because of Hassan and our riad, Fes was pur favorite city that we visited.

Overall, we couldn’t have been happier with our trip to Morocco. We didn’t know want to expect but it exceeded any expectation we had. We will recommend KimKim to our friends and family for future travel planning and will also use it for ourselves when traveling again.

We had an enjoyable and memorable trip to Chile thanks to the Lorena who had been very patient listening to our needs and expectations and she was able to come up with an itinerary to suit our requests. She was very professional and answered many of our doubts that came up along the way.
Everything went smoothly. The transfers were always early or punctual and they were very helpful especially Gabriel who is so cheerful and ever ready to help. The guides were knowledgeable and answered our questions to the best of their ability especially Sebastian who shared a lot of information and speaks fluent clear English at Piedras Rojas. We were amazed at the different landscapes of Atacama Desert. The hotels were well selected as they are situated in central and safe locations. We also thoroughly enjoyed our dinner hosted by Gloria and Leo who took great pains to prepare such a sumptuous meal and sharing their recipes.
Valentina and Anne Sophie were quick to respond to any issues that cropped up along the way. We were very impressed by their professionalism and they had made our trip a very pleasant one. Thank you.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Big Sur

Puerto Natales

There is no lift and you need someone to help you carry your luggage.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It is centrally located and it is within walking distance to the lake

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Konkashken Lodge

Torres del Paine

The cabin is compact and cosy. It comes with a small kitchen and a fireplace.

Authenticity & Character

Location

The environment is very clean and beautiful, good place to relax.

Staff

The staff is very helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Bellavista

Puerto Varas

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very good location facing the lake and it is near to eateries and supermarket.

Staff

Staff is helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Renaissance Santiago Hotel

Santiago

There was an improvement in the way things were carried out as compared to the first stay. The restaurant was opened to let us have an early breakfast as we had an early pick up for our day tour. We were able to have a late check out and use their other facilities to freshen ourselves before departing for the airport.

Authenticity & Character

Location

The location is safe and it is near to shopping malls and lots of eating places.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel La Casa de Don Tomás

San Pedro de Atacama

At the reception, you can help yourself to a free flow of hot and cold beverages 24 hours. You can refill your water bottle at the water dispenser just outside the reception too. We were pleasantly surprised that there was a free laundry service if we stayed 5 days and more.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It is a good location, away from the crowd and not too noisy but within walking distance to the main street.

Staff

The staff is friendly and ever ready to help.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dreams del Estrecho Hotel

Punta Arenas

Authenticity & Character

Location

It is well located.

Staff

They are helpful and friendly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Explore Punta Arenas

Punta Arenas

It was really a good rest for us, having flown more than 38 hours to reach Santiago and to continue on to Punta Arenas. We could spend our time leisurely exploring the place and to recuperate from the long distance travel.

Private Dinner

Santiago

We thoroughly enjoyed the dinner prepared by Gloria and Leo. Both Gloria and Leo are very cheerful. Gloria is an excellent chef. We love all the food - from the yummy appetisers, delicious tender beef and fresh salmon with potatoes. Her homemade ice cream was superb. Leo is very knowledgeable about the pairing of wine and we certainly learned a lot from him. We had a great time and am thankful for the warm hospitality of the couple.

Quality of Experience

Wonderful and memorable experience

Food

All the food that is being served.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Both the guide and the driver are very good. Gabriel is an excellent driver.

Transport

The car is big and spacious.

This trip was everything I hoped it would be. Lisbet was very responsive to our numerous questions and clarifications. Patient and very clear. She accommodated all our requests with ease. We hoped to meet her, but alas she was on vacation when we were on vacation. Good for her! But, I did have a small tremor about her not being available while we were in Iceland. No worries! I left a glove behind on a tour and contacted KimKim. Immediate response! I highly recommend KimKim!

Hotel Review

Hotel Ísland – Spa & Wellness Hotel

Reykjavík

We loved Hotel Island! Note - the pronunciation is “Iceland” or “eslanf”. Not I-land!

Authenticity & Character

Location

We loved NOT being in the “tourist” section of Reykjavík!

Staff

Our staff recognized us and engaged us in authentic conversation.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Apparently we needed a ton of pillows. No problem! The beds were very comfortable.

Activity Reviews

Faxaflói Bay Whale Watching Excursion

Reykjavík

We spotted 2 humpbacks about 10 minutes from leaving the dock! Holy cow!

Blue Lagoon

Iceland

No matter the hype - go to the Blue Lagoon - it lives up to the hype!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We did this upon arrival. We were feeling overwhelmed and tired. The staff were very patient and helpful.

Transport

Katla Ice Cave from Reykjavik

Reykjavík

I am so glad I did this. Mind you , it was hard and sometimes scary. But, ever so stunning!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The staff and fellow travelers were extremely helpful!

Transport

Golden Circle & Farm Visit

Golden Circle

The waterfalls you get to see are beyond stunning.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I think we learned the most about Iceland and Icelanders from oor guide.

Transport

The resorts were gorgeous and had great service. The restaurants in the resorts were excellent. Our guides were superb. Very knowledgeable and accommodating. We loved the whitewater rafting, sea kayaking and hikes. We even enjoyed a night hike. We will definitely use Kim Kim again. We loved the trip in Costa Rica so much we are planning on returning next year.

Hotel Reviews

Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs

Fortuna

The grounds are gorgeous and the restaurant is great. We loved the hot springs. Spa was great too.

Authenticity & Character

Location

The views were awesome.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Beds and pillows aren't the most comfortable and hated the shower/jacuzzi. Very unbalanced for taking showers.

Parador Nature Resort & Spa

Manuel Antonio

Magnificent views, great service and good restaurants with a very talented guitarist. Loved the monkey trail. Very clean. Beds and pillows very comfortable. Great air conditioning.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Ocean Kayaking & Snorkeling Adventure

Manuel Antonio

Gorgeous views and Werner was a great guide. Very knowledgeable and accommodating.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna Waterfall, and Arenal Volcano

Arenal/La Fortuna

Kenneth was a wonderful guide. Very knowledgeable and accommodating.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Whitewater Rafting on the Balsa River

Arenal/La Fortuna

Very organized. Great guides. Beautiful scenery.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Nature Hike

Manuel Antonio

Great guide. Very knowledgeable and accommodating. Beautiful views.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a fantastic trip, Lorena and her team set us up with great tours and helpful assistance all throughout our trip. Thank you for helping us navigate Chile and creating an amazing vacation.

Tiago was an outstanding local specialist. He was very active in his communications throughout the booking process and during the trip itself. The roadbook he created was very helpful in navigating all the sights to see in Portugal. His recommendations for local spots to eat, drink and explore were spot on. His coordination of local guides, transportation and events was perfect. I would highly recommend you book Tiago for your next trip.

Activity Reviews

Canyoning in the Azores

Portugal

This dynamic duo was fantastic. Extremely knowledgable and skilled in their trade as guides. Felt more than safe the whole time. I would love to do this again. This is the adventure to book!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cascais & Sintra Guided Visit

Portugal

Pedro our tour guide was truly amazing! Extremely knowledgeable, personable and dedicated to his craft as a guide and historian. If you get the chance to book him for your small or large tour event please jump on the opportunity.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

It's hard to put 2 weeks into a small text box, but overall this trip exceeded our expectations by far! Everything was smooth and well-coordinated. It was completely stress-free on our end, but i can only imagine the amount of work on the other side!

We particularly loved the private tours with Daniel in Mendoza, Jaime in Valparaiso, and our favorite was Vitor in Santiago; so much information!! We had never done the "private" tour style before this trip, and we will definitely choose that from now on!

One of our highlights was being in Argentina for the world cup semifinals. We loved Buenos Aires in general and can't wait to go back there. Chili was also amazing, with so much more to explore.

We hope to book another trip with KimKim next year!

Hotel Reviews

Huinid Obelisco Hotel

Buenos Aires

Great location, very comfortable!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Amérian Executive Mendoza Hotel

Mendoza

We might be negatively biased because there was a big storm and a power outage while we were there. There was kind of a weird smell, and the air con struggled a bit. Everything just felt a bit dated. But the staff was friendly and the rooftop pool was nice!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Steps from Arístides

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Just some updating... several minor things slightly off

Pullman Santiago El Bosque

Las Condes, Santiago

This hotel was extremely modern and fancy and comfortable. Everything was shiny and new and the breakfast was fantastic. Steps from the Subway

Authenticity & Character

Everything was sparkling new and refreshing, but not really local character i think. However after the Mendoza hotel which was lots of character but not as fancy, this was a nice way to have the other experience!

Location

We made it work by getting the Bip subway cards, but travelers not used to public transportation might find the location too far from the tourist places. (The subway was amazing wow! So it worked out great!) Also, due to the timing of the Xmas holiday the mall was so crowded, it felt like black Friday:)

Staff

They all spoke 100% perfect English wow

Cleanliness & Comfort

Insanely clean, comfortable, beautiful

Fauna Hotel

Valparaíso

Super cute hotel, it was like staying in an art gallery! And on a quiet pedestrian-only street right next to the ascensor.

Authenticity & Character

Bursting with character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

No TV or Aircon, which wasn't a problem for us, but some might miss it

Activity Reviews

Neighborhoods Tour

Buenos Aires

Our guide was great! Very knowledgeable and friendly and easy to understand. This was just the right length of tour and size of group.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tango Show and Dinner at Café De Los Angelitos

Buenos Aires

We weren't really sure about this whole thing (tourist trap?) but turns out we loved it! The dancing was incredible and we wouldn't have found that experience elsewhere.

Quality of Experience

Food

I usually don't like mass group food but this was very reasonable!!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Since our hotel was less than a km from the venue, it felt a bit silly to have a private driver to/from; maybe suggest to walk there instead as an option?

High Mountain Experience (Aconcagua Mountain) 🏔️

Mendoza

Our guide Daniel was great! We got lucky and had a great view of the mountain that day! The Inca bridge was really cool, and Daniel pointed out lots of other geographic features.

Quality of Experience

Food

The packed lunch worked out great!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Really appreciated Daniel's knowledge and experience

Transport

Between Vineyards and Olive 🍷🍇 (Luján de Cuyo & Maipú)

Mendoza

The Olive experience was interesting and delicious. We really liked the first vineyard because it was small and packed with information. Then the lunch afterwards at the larger venue was delicious with spectacular views!!

Quality of Experience

Food

This was by far our favorite winery lunch!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Panoramic City Tour

Santiago

The tour was full of about 14 people, all of who spoke Spanish except us. So the guide gave 80% of the info in Spanish and only 20% in English. I told him I could understand Spanish if he spoke slowly, so he did slow down a bit for me, but my husband got not much out of it. Also...the tour ends by them dumping you in a tourist trap gift shop for blue stones. (None of our other tours were like this!!) We walked out and found our own way back.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Maipo Valley - Concha y Toro & Santa Rita Wineries

Santiago

We really loved Santa Rita! We learned a lot on the tour, enjoyed the beautiful garden, and really enjoyed the tasting! Concho y Toro, while super popular and known as a must-see, wasn't our favorite...it felt too corporate. Our guide Vitor was amazing and gave us a ton of additional information!

Quality of Experience

Really enjoyed everything except the lunch at Concho y Toro/the whole experience there wasn't for us. But Santa Rita and Vitor's guidance made this a really great time!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

PRIVATE: Full Day Valparaiso and Viña del Mar

Argentina

This had so much great information!! Vitor was the best! We felt like we got to know the whole countryside. We even stopped to feed carrots to llamas! Viña del Mar was beautiful and the lunch worked out great; we loved being able to order what we wanted. The walking tour of Valparaiso provided by Vitor really helped orient us to the city!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Great team with Enrique and Vitor!

Transport

Visit to 2 Wineries in Casablanca Valley

Valparaíso

We absolutely loved the Bodega RE. The wines were great, the winery guide was great, the place was beautiful. The Bosque winery was pretty but again felt pretty corporate, but the lunch and tour were well done. Our guide/driver Jaime was very informative and friendly and we learned a lot from him!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport