Kimkim Trip Reviews

Dat was amazing and was always quick to assist in our planning and final execution of our last minute trip to Vietnam. After seeing enough videos and reading about the typical pitfalls encountered by tourists in Vietnam, we decided to go with kimkim and coordinate with Realistic Asia in planning a two week trip through the cities and rural areas of Vietnam.

Our trip began in Hanoi and ended in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), with Hoi An, Ha Long Bay and Phu Quoc as stops along the way. Our guides were knowledgeable, friendly, and gave us individual attention throughout our tours. One tour guide, Hue, should be mentioned as being particularly kind and going above and beyond what we expected. He was funny, quick with information and connected with us in a way that made us feel comfortable. He shared his personal experiences and gave us a guided tour that felt authentic and gave us insight into a country that has always fascinated us.

During one part of our trip, we discovered that the bicycles were not the type that my wife was comfortable with and Dat was able to change our itinerary at the last minute and adjusted that day to accommodate. While this change could have incurred additional fees to our trip, Dat and his company made the changes without any further charges. We were grateful and surprised by their generosity.

All the hotels we stayed in were beautiful and luxurious in their accommodations. The one hotel, La Siesta Group, deserves special mention for their friendly and professional staff. Ms. Ngoc in the La Siesta Hotel was particularly helpful in getting a last minute birthday cake ready for my wife and with her help, capped off a great day, better with her coordination of the birthday cake.

Dat checked in with us during the entire trip and made sure that we were taken care of and answered all my questions before and during the trip. We were sure we would enjoy our trip, but with his planning, it was just a great experience with all the drivers and the tour guides taking us everywhere and making sure our experience was seamless and memorable.

We're grateful for Realistic Asia and Dat for making this last minute trip a reality and will definitely consider another trip with them, if we make plan another trip into this beautiful country.

Thank you Dat and Realistic Asia!

Our trip was fantastic. From the moment we arrived until we departed, we were covered. We had wonderful guides, hotels, and transportation. I would highly recommend our guides in both Istanbul and Cappadocia. They were full of information helping us to step back in history and experience the deepness of each location. All of our excursions were well planned and exceptional. We enjoyed the cooking class, the Turkish Bath, and the balloon ride. Our hotel on Istanbul was comfortable and centrally located. We loved the mansion hotel we stayed at in Cappadocia. The staff was incredible and the property was incredible. Overall, we were very pleased with our entire Turkey experience!

Hotel Reviews

Gül Konaklari Sinasos (Rose Mansions Sinasos)

Nevsehir

This was our favorite part of Cappadocia. We loved this beautiful mansion hotel. The property was unique and the staff was incredible. We also enjoyed the gourmet food and the service. I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Cappadocia.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful mansion

Location

In a quiet village

Staff

Very friendly and helpful. They were incredible!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean and comfy.

Arena Hotel Sultanahmet

Istanbul

This hotel is in a central location. It was quiet and comfortable. The breakfast was very good . The place had a nice feel to it.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Park Inn by Radisson Istanbul Airport (Odayeri)

Istanbul

We just stayed at this one the night before we left. It was clean and comfortable. I would not recommend going to the on site restaurant. It was not good and the service was terrible. Only about 15 minutes from the airport.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to the airport.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Discover Byzantine + Ottoman Istanbul

İstanbul

Nice place to learn about the history of Istanbul. Our guide was excellent!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cooking Class: Delve into Ottoman Cuisine at Old City Istanbul

İstanbul

The chef was amazing. We had so much fun and got to eat what we prepared. This was definitely one of our favorite activities.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Turkish Bath and Spa at Hürrem Sultan Hammam

İstanbul

This was the best experience of my life. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. The building was beautiful and the spa treatment was incredible. I felt like a true princess from the minute I got there until the moment I left. HIGHLY RECOMMEND this Turkish Bath.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Most Memorable places: Las Quilotoa in Ecuador, Scuba Diving at Kicker Rock, Charles Darwin Research Center, El Rancho in Santa Cruz, Bartolome Island (this boat crew and company offered fantastic service and the lunch on the boat was amazing!), Hike at Sierra Negra Volcano in Isabela Island, Snorkeling in Isabela Island, Kayaking in Tortuga Bay with Turtles and Sharks
Tour guides that were awesome and I would recommend for future trips: Daniel, Wilson, Enrique
Thank you to Alvaro and Daniela for all of your help during the trip and being quick and responsive to our inquiries.

Hotel Reviews

Ikala Quito Hotel

Quito

Great Breakfast, friendly service

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa de Nelly

Puerto Baquerizo Moreno

Very nice outdoor area where we could spend time together, there was a picnic table and hammocks. This hotel was in walking distance to the restaurants and shops which was very convenient!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Isla Hotel

Puerto Ayora

View from this hotel is awesome. Only negative was that we frequently did not have hot water to shower in

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Casa de Marita

Puerto Villamil

Spacious rooms, good breakfast

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Wyndham Quito Airport

Quito

Great shuttle service, delicious buffet for dinner

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Colonial Quito City Tour & Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World) Monument

Quito

Daniel was an awesome tour guide. Great to see all of this in one day

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kayaking Adventure: Exploring Quilotoa Lagoon and Resting in Cotopaxi

Ecuador

View was awesome! Great trip. It is better for this hike to be at least two days after landing in Quito because of the elevation difference

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to San Cristóbal Island! Visit the Interpretation Center, Tijeretas Hill, or La Lobería

Galapagos Islands

Seeing the seals so up close was beautiful, the snorkeling was amazing and enjoyable, I loved learning about the history at the Interpretation center. Wilson was a fantastic tour guide!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Treasure of Galapagos: Scuba Diving at Kicker Rock

Isla San Cristóbal

Beautiful, great location and trip

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Scuba Diving guide was very knowledgeable, patient, and informative. He explained everything thoroughly and I recommend him for future trips

Transport

Visit Highlands Tortoise Reserve & Charles Darwin Research Station

Puerto Ayora

Loved learning about the turtles and history

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wildlife Tour on Isabela Island

Galapagos Islands

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Excursion to Los Túneles

Galapagos Islands

This snorkeling was amazing and is a must see! Seeing the sharks so close was incredible

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Spend the Day like a Local! Leisure Day in Isabela Island

Puerto Villamil

Much needed day off!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sierra Negra volcano - Speedboat to Santa Cruz

Galapagos Islands

This was an amazing but challenging hike.

Quality of Experience

Food

Lunch could have more protein for such a strenuous hike.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kayaking Adventure in Tortuga Bay & Afternoon Bay Tour of Santa Cruz Island

Puerto Ayora

Kayaking in Tortuga bay was an awesome experience. The hike is a nice walk through the forest and on the water, we were able to see turtles and sharks swimming so closely. Enrique was a very knowledgeable and fantastic tour guide! I recommend him for future trips! I do not know if I would recommend the bay tour of Santa Cruz, the tour showed us animals we have seen on other excursions and information we have learned from other guides or trips. Snorkeling was the best part and very enjoyable. The salt mine was also interesting to see. Maybe this tour would be better through a different company, the staff was a little unprofessional on the boat.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Experience the Pristine Beauty of Galápagos Islands: Discovering an Uninhabited Island

Puerto Ayora

We went to Bartolome Island and this trip was incredible. The views were beautiful, snorkeling was amazing and the lunch on the boat was absolutely delicious. Definitely a must see on this trip and one of my favorites. I recommend that everyone goes here!

Quality of Experience

Food

Chef on board was amazing, delicious lunch that I could eat every day!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Professional, kind, great speedboat company and staff, I recommend them for future tours

Transport

Boat was comfortable, had option to sit outside or inside

Farewell Dinner by the Sea

Puerto Ayora

Many items from the menu were not available for us to choose, the weather was very cold to be sitting outside. It might be better to give groups the option to eat on their own this evening or choose a less expensive restaurant that has all options available on the menu such as (1836 or The Rock and Roll restaurant).

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Service was extremely slow here and our waitress forgot many of the items we ordered, we had to ask for our drinks multiple times

Transport

Thank you for having someone walk us to the restaurant so that we know where to go!

Day at leisure until departure (Quito)

Quito

It was very nice to be able to relax and rest but if there are connecting flights available, it might be more convenient to fly home the same day. The hotel was not located near any attractions so there is not much else to visit this evening. Buffet dinner at this hotel was delicious and filling

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

3 cheers for Kimkim and especially for Irene! If we could give her 10 stars out of 5, we would. As 2 retired teachers who enjoy travel, had never been to Spain, and have enjoyed a number of organized small group tours, we wanted to plan an individualized trip to Andalusia. Enter KimKim, and specifically Irene, who is a local tour operator in the north of Spain. After sharing with her our preferences, she created an initial draft itinerary for us. We worked together on honing the plan for a number of weeks until we knew it was exactly what we wanted. Not only was Irene tireless in planning every detail of our guided tours, transfers, accommodations and special meals, while we were in Spain, she was available to us via WhatsApp and checked in every day to ensure that everything was going smoothly. We told her that she was like our mother hen and we were her little chicks. Thank you so much, Irene, for a perfect introduction to Spain! Next time will include Barcelona and Madrid!

Highlights of the tour included Malaga, Ronda, Arcos de la Frontera, Sevilla, Cordoba, and Grenada.

The Petit Palace Plaza Hotel in Malaga was right in the middle of the pedestrian centre of the old city. We wandered the meandering streets that were buzzing with people enjoying a coffee or beer and tapas in one of the many outdoor cafes and restaurants. We’ve never seen such a vibrant scene. After a short rest, we met our city guide, Pilar Domingo, who took us on a walking tour of the historical sites. Pilar was a superb guide, and she set the bar very high for all of the guides yet to come. We enjoyed seeing the Cathedral, Roman Amphitheatre and Alcazaba where we had our first taste of Andalusia’s colourful history. Not only was Pliar a wealth of historical and architectural knowledge, she pointed us to the restaurant with the best fried artichokes in town!

We took the train to Ronda where we were met by driver, Diego, who took us to the famous Parador Hotel. Our stay in Ronda gave us a couple of days to relax and explore on our own. The Parador sits majestically atop a huge gorge and beside the Puente Nuevo built in the 18th century across the 400 ft chasm. Points of interest in Ronda are the Bullring where we enjoyed our audio tour and the museum in the Palacio de Mondragon. We were so lucky to get a reservation at the highly rated tiny mother/daugther operated restaurant called Casa Maria. There is no set menu, just an array of fresh local produce from which they produce the most delicious 6-course meal, including wine pairings. Unbelievably delicious and great value.

Diego collected us again for our drive to Sevilla. En route, we met our guide, Cecille, who took us on a wonderful walking tour of Arcos de la Frontera, one of the many “white villages” in Andalusia. We wandered the narrow cobbled streets imagining all of the peoples who had conquered and controlled this area through history, Romans, Visigoths, Moors, Christians. What was harder to fathom was learning that they still practise the running of the bulls through those narrow steep streets! After a light lunch, Diego chauffeured us on to Sevilla.

Hotel Casa de Indias was another perfectly located hotel sitting adjacent to Las Setas, a huge sculptural structure resembling mushrooms. It was difficult to get lost with this landmark so prominent within the pedestrian streets of Seville. We had two very different tour experiences here. The first was a walking historical tour of the Cathedral and the Alcazar, led by the delightful Damiana. Her deep knowledge of art history was impressive and added to our appreciation of the Mudejar architecture that we were seeing in the palace. Later in the day, we met Manuel who took us to our first flamenco experience. The energy of show was riveting for us and Manuel was able to explain the importance of flamenco in the Spanish culture. He then took us to a local restaurant where we had our own tapas and wine tasting. Manuel was full of enthusiasm for his city and its culture.

We headed off to Cordoba on the super fast train. With only one day there, we had two more fantastic tours. First, we visited the Medina Azahara, the archeological restoration and remains of a palace/fortress and city built in the 10th century by Caliph ABD ar-Rahman III of the Umayyad dynasty. Unfortunately, this remarkable city was laid to waste during civil war that ended the caliphate in the early 11th century. The remains were discovered nearly 1000 years later. Our guide Enrique brought the remains of the city’s splendour back to life for us. His knowledge and enthusiasm were infectious and set the stage for our afternoon tour of the Mesquita. Known as the Mosque-Cathedral, beginning as an 8th century mosque on top of a visigothic church, later added to to become one of the largest mosques on the world, then having a cathedral built in the middle in the 16th century.! Luckily for us, our guide Jose, a practising archeologist, shared his vast knowledge and unsurpassed enthusiasm with us for over 2 hours. This was a fantastic experience. Our hotel, Las Casa de la Juderia, was delightful and perfectly situated in the old Jewish quarter.

Granada was another train trip away and was the icing on the cake! We looked up at the Alhambra from our room at Hotel Palacio Mariana Pineda. In our two final touring days we loved exploring the narrow streets leading up to the top of the Albacin where we watched the sun set over the Alhambra, the city, and the mountains. The Albacin is a neighbourhood of Grenada made up of meandering narrow streets built as early as the 13th century. While there, we were treated to some local musicians and dancer who performed flamenco for the gathered crowd. The following day, we had a wonderful tour of the Generalife (beautiful gardens, summer palace and country home from the 13th century built by the Nasrid rulers) and the Alhambra (11th century walled fortress/city and palaces built over time by the Muslims and reimagined by the Catholic Christians before being overtaken and damaged by Napoleon’s troops.) Even though we had rain while we walked through the gardens, we were spellbound. The whole complex of the Alhambra is stunning and a history lesson that would take more than one visit to fully appreciate. Once we finished the tour of the Alhambra, the sun came out for us when we climbed the watchtower where we had a spectacular view of the city and the Albacin. We could also see our hotel room! Our guide Maite was fantastic and delightful in her enthusiasm. On our last night in Grenada, we went to another flamenco show and dinner atop the Albacin.

While the organized portion of our trip was virtually over in Granada, Irene was still our faithful fairly godmother. We were driven from Granada to a private apartment on the coast owned by family friends where we stayed for another week. While we were there, we had another tour booked with Kimkim to visit wine and raisin country. Our guide Anna and driver Manu were very accommodating and we had a wonderful day driving through the mountains north of Malaga where we had a delicious wine tasting and got a flavour of the people who live and work so hard on the steep slopes of this beautiful part of the country.

We were fortunate enough to get tickets to watch Canada play Germany in the Davis Cup tennis held in Malaga. This entailed a bus trip there, but getting back to the apartment at night. Irene came to our rescue and arranged a driver to meet us outside the stadium in Malaga at 11 pm and drove us the hour’s drive back to the beach. She also arranged our return to Malaga the day before our 6 am flight, and she planned the most beautiful 6-course final dinner for us at the famous El Pimpi Restaurant.

We could not have been happier with our trip, from the initial planning through to our departure from Spain. We realize that we have barely scratched the surface of Andalusia let alone the whole country. More to come, and Irene is our gal!

Hotel Reviews

Las Casas de la Juderia Hotel

Córdoba

A beautiful, quirky old building. We kept getting lost, trying to find our room, but it was worth it and the staff were so helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Tons of character.

Location

Perfect.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Intelier Casa de Indias Sevilla

Seville

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Palacio Mariana Pineda Hotel

Granada

Authenticity & Character

Location

So close to everything and the view of the Alhambra

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Petit Palace Plaza Malaga Hotel

Malaga

Authenticity & Character

We spent our first and last nights of the trip here. The building is beautiful and the rooms were modern and clean.

Location

So central and close to the action.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Parador de Ronda

Ronda

Location, location, location!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Literally, the best view in town.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private tour of Malaga

Málaga

Pilar was outstanding.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Arcos de la Frontera

Ronda

A great place to stop en route to Seville. There are so many white villages in Andalusia, we enjoyed seeing such a pretty one.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Diego didn't speak English but he understood us and was so accommodating. Cecille gave us an excellent tour, both from the car where we had a view of the town atop some very high cliffs and by foot which we enjoyed.

Transport

Guided tour in Seville

Seville

Damiana was excellent, an art history student initially from Italy. She knew her history and was so enthusiastic. We loved the walking tour with her.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Damiana was delightful.

Transport

Evening Flamenco & Tapas Private Tour

Seville

We weren't sure that we would enjoy the art of flamenco, but we were spellbound. It was thoroughly enjoyable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We enjoyed our time with Manuel at the flamenco show and then again over wine and tapas.

Transport

Exploring the archaeological site of Medina Azahara

Córdoba

The video about the archeological site before touring the real thing was very well done and worthwhile.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Enrique was extremely knowledgeable and very interesting.

Transport

We never heard our driver's name but she was excellent.

City tour in Córdoba

Córdoba

It is so important to see the Mesquita. Don't miss Cordoba.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Jose was so passionate and informative. We were hanging on his every word.

Transport

Visit la Alhambra

Granada

We felt so fortunate having Maite guiding us. There were a number of large group tours and we knew that we were having a much richer experience having our private guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Maite was outstanding.

Transport

Flamenco Show

Granada

Once again, we were surprised by how much we enjoyed the flamenco, and the dinner was very good as well.

Quality of Experience

Raisin and Wine Route of the Axarquia

Almuñecar, La Herradura

We felt we were at the winery off season and would likely have enjoyed the day even more had we seen more of the wine process. We did enjoy tasting the final product though!

Quality of Experience

Beautiful country and charming villages.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Anna and Manu were both great.

Transport

Dinner al Pimpi

Málaga

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

It took a few minutes for the staff to understand who we were and that Irene had made a reservation for our pre-paid meal. We enjoyed the people watching while they sorted that out. Once we were seated, the staff and service were excellent!

Everything about this trip was wonderful! Mathias helped us plan the agenda to suit our needs and was very responsive to all of our questions. Sebastian was a knowledgeable and fun guide who introduced us to his country. Every day was full of fun and interesting activities catered to us. They even helped us plan two different tracks of activities in a day - some for those of us who preferred a more active day and others for those of us who didn't. Highly recommend!

Activity Review

Cooking Class

Quito

A fun cooking class that met our dietary needs and gave us some fun ideas for things to cook at home!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

WOW is all I can say about this trip. I went to Guatemala for 12 days and booked my trip with Eduardo. We wanted a combination of thrill and sight seeing, and they did not disappoint. We rode mountain bikes, saw the volcano on horse back, and did a 30 foot jump into Lake Attilan. The ATV ride and ziplining we also great. Staying in Tikal jungle and after a day of looking at the rings, we went night hiking looking for jaguars. Our Guide Willy was fantastic. Everyone was so kind and helpful. The accommodations were beyond my expectations with gorgeous boutique type hotels. We worked closely with Eduardo to plan the perfect holiday. Thank you Kim Kim for the best trip ever.

Hotel Reviews

Casa Encantada

ANTIGUA

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Atitlán

Panajachel

O.m.g. the views

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

El Convento Boutique Hotel

Antigua Guatemala

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Jungle Lodge Tikal

Peten

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Barcelo

Guatemala City

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Antigua Walking Tour

Guatemala

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Zipline Tour at Santo Domingo del Cerro

Antigua

Quality of Experience

Lol

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Hike to Pacaya Volcano

Guatemala

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Trip to Earth Lodge & Nature Hike

Guatemala

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mountain Biking at Lake Atitlán

Guatemala

Quality of Experience

PLO

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit the Iximché Maya Ruins

Guatemala

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Tikal National Park

San Ignacio

Quality of Experience

Oki

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

What a team!
I first had multiple conversations with Daniel, and then Alvaro and Daniela came on board to help me!
I made their life pretty hard with my many changes of plans, but they kept their professionalism with me and continued helping me till the last minute.
Everything was super nicely organized, they chose the best lodge for me in Cuyabeno and had it all planned out from start to finish!
I would recommend Kimkim to everyone who comes to Ecuador and will definitely talk about my experience for many years to come, hoping to renew the experience soon!!
Warm warm thank you for Daniela who has done amazing job with me. Up to coming on Sunday to the office to take care of my luggage ❤️❤️❤️

Hotel Review

Nicky Amazon Lodge

Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve

Best guides. Best food I’ve had in all Ecuador! I even asked the Chef Fredi to make a book! I’d buy it in a heartbeat! Best shower I’ve had comparing to other hostels in Quito! You’d think hot water or water pressure would be an issue, oh no! It was perfect!! Activities are amazing, vibe is awesome, people are friends for life now! I can’t believe this place exist!

Authenticity & Character

The non modern word touch, you feel the experience

Location

Everything!!!!

Staff

Carlos, Fredi, Rom and Evi!!

Cleanliness & Comfort

It’s clean! Thanks to Carlos!

Activity Reviews

Welcome to the Jungle! Entering Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve

Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Indigenous Community, Laguna Grande, & Igapó

Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Adventure in the Amazon

Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had an amazing trip in Morocco. Many thanks to Abdel for his detailed itinerary plan and recommendations on many things such as transportation and restaurants. His reply was always prompt. The booking manager Said was very helpful as well. We suppose to have mountain hiking in Imlil Valley, however when he learnt that I had a knee problem, Said changed the trip to mule riding instead for us, which is also fun and memorable. And when our flight from Fes to Marrakech was rescheduled to a later time, he arranged a wonderful Hammam spa experience. Our driver Ilyas and Samir are great too, they made our journey so pleasant and safe. It is a nice experience to use kimkim and we are blessed to be reached by Abdel and his team, who are very professional. I highly recommend kimkim and Abdel to those who would like to explore Morocco in a holistic way.

Hotel Reviews

Le Casablanca Hotel

Casablanca

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lina Ryad & Spa

Chefchaouen

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Fès - Relais & Châteaux

Fès

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Selman Marrakech

Marrakech

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kasbah du Toubkal

lmlil

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Inara Desert Camp

Marrakech

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Catch a breath of fresh air near the ocean

Casablanca

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Casablanca to Tangier by train and Tangier to Chefchaouen

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chefchaoeun to Fez via Volubilis, Moulay Idriss & Meknes

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour of Fez Medina

Fes

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hammam & Spa Experience Marrakech

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half-Day Guided Tour of Marrakech

Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour of Majorelle Garden

Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Transfer from Marrakech to Imlil

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Imlil to Agafay Desert - Desert glamping & Camel ride experience

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My girlfriend and I had a fantastic time on our guided tour in Leh and Ladakh in November 2022. The scenery there was breathtaking (literally - it's very high!), and all the monasteries and temples we saw were very interesting to see and learn about. We had an extremely knowledgeable guide with us the whole time, and a driver who navigated the city of Leh and the surrounding area with impressive ease. The guide knew all about everywhere we went and was really helpful in sharing his own experiences growing up in the region and practicing Buddhism - it all made for what felt like a very personal welcome into the area and culture.

I unfortunately got sick from some sort of food poisoning, which forced us to miss the trip to Nubra Valley, but I was impressed with the agility of Ravi, my tour guide, and the whole Active India team to adjust the itinerary on the fly while making sure I had the help I needed while I was sick. I would recommend working with this team and our particular tour guide and driver for sure.

Our trip to Costa Rica was an incredible experience! This was the first time we had booked a trip with KimKim and Olman was exceptionally wonderful to work with in planning all of our excursions to create the best vacation. All of our tour guides ,including Franklin on our volcano hike and Bryan on our safari rafting trip, were friendly, courteous and very knowledgeable. Overall, I would highly recommend KimKim to anyone planning a vacation to Costa Rica.

We had a truly memorable experience in Chile thanks to Lorena Huidobro, from Turismo Milodon, our kimkim-appointed tour company. Lorena arranged for us a wonderful five-day, outdoor-oriented visit to La Araucanía region of the country, centered around the small town of Pucón, at the foot of the majestic Villarrica volcano and next to the lake of the same name. Led by expert tour guides from locally-based Rehue Expediciones (Ermin and Ricardo), we hiked Conguillío and Huerquehue National Parks and some of the Lagos Andinos, all areas of stunningly unique beauty. Lorena also arranged for us stays at two top-notch accomodations: Antumalal Hotel and Rakau Lodge --the latter we would especially highly recommend to any visitors to the area. Lorena's expert advice and attention to detail truly paid off. We also appreciated Turismo Milodon's follow-up while we were in-country. And last but not least, while we were in Santiago, Lorena was able to arrange for us on very short notice a great private day trip to Valparaíso and Viña del Mar, knowledgeably led by Hernán and driver Gabriel. Thank you, Lorena!

Thank you Jason for planning such a wonderful trip for Jim and me. All your arrangements worked out perfectly, from pick up at the airport in Santiago to our departure on the last day from Puerto Natales. Felipe, our guide in Santiago, was amazing. He had such a thorough grasp of Santiago’s history, the people and the politics. We learned so much from him as we toured the city. Lunch at Boscanariz was a delicious surprise and gave us an education in Chilean wines. The Atacama Desert was another highlight of our trip. The salt dunes, geysers and lunar vistas were amazing. All of our guides were so knowledgeable and engaging. We liked staying close to town at Noi Casa Atacama and being able to walk into town whenever we wanted. The staff at the hotel was great and the pool and spa were perfect for relaxing after long touring days. And of course staying at Explora Patagonia in Torres del Plaines with its incredible views and vistas was thrilling. The hikes, guides, food, spa, and staff, all surpassed our expectations. We were so impressed with the passion, enthusiasm and love the staff have for Patagonia and Chile. By the end of our trip, we shared that love.

I can’t say enough wonderful things about our experience with KimKim and Pedro at Across Portugal. Thank you Kim Kim for connecting us with Pedro and his team. They understood immediately what kinds of experiences we wanted and were easy to communicate with and responsive- both in advance and while on the trip. My brother and I planned this trip with our mother to celebrate her birthday and It exceeded all our expectations. Each tour guide was better than the next, drivers were prompt and lovely, and Fado and all food was delicious. Thank you. I’m sure to use Kim Kim for our next experience.

Activity Reviews

Private Historic Odyssey Walking Tour of Lisbon

Lisbon

Immerse Yourself in the Portuguese Culture by Experiencing a Fado Dinner

Lisbon

Quality of Experience

Knowledgeable, prompt and easy

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Personable, knowledgeable

Transport

Clean, spacious, prompt

The Flavors of Port Wine - Sip & Discover

Porto

Unveil the Fairytale Villa of Sintra with a Private Driver Service

Portugal

It rained but that is not anyone’s fault but Mother Nature.

Porto's Historic Odyssey on a Private Walking Tour

Porto

Such a fabulous guide. Such a gorgeous city.

Quality of Experience

The

My hubby wanted to go to Marrakesh for his big birthday. So I was looking for a way to get started on planning our trip, and came by KimKim and read the reviews. I looked up Morocco and found Yasssine. I contacted him, and within 24 hours he responded. He asked me about our interests and what I wanted to accomplish, and between our wishlist and Yassines’s knowledge and expertise, we began to plan our trip. The feedback was easy and progress was måde quickly. Yassine offered up suggestions and within 10 days or 9 day trip to Morocco was planned. Hamsa, our driver, who was with us the whole trip, from when we arrived at the airport until he took us back for our departure, was absolutely great. He speaks English, is polite, attentive, available and ready to make suggestions. We enjoyed his company and he drove like a pro - confident and calm. We felt safe and in great hands. Hammadi, our guide for our first full day, gave us the lay of the land, spoke English very well and was very pleasant to work with. After two nights in Marakesh, we started our three night road trip, to the Atlas Mountains, the Sahara and the Gorges in the south. It was a magnificent road trip.
The whole trip went of without a single glitch, every detail was met as expected and Yassine was available through their site if I had any questions or concerns. The team even had a bottle of sparking wine waiting for us at the hotel on my hubby’s birthday and Hammadi brought sweets and flowers. Very thoughtful and kind. Morocco is a magnificent country, so much to see. Beautiful with kind people and delicious food. We are looking forward to visiting again.

Hotel Reviews

72 Riad Living

Marrakech

Beautifully decorated, quiet, delicious food and very kind and attentive staff. Great location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to everything.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean and very comfortable bed.

Kasbah Isfoula

Ait Ben Haddou

Basic hotel. Bathroom was not as clean, found a hair in the shower from previous guest. Room was quiet.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Felt like we were in the middle of nowhere.

Staff

Polite but not really interested.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bathroom not clean.

Luxury Camp Chebbi

Merzouga

Like a mirage - the camp appears out of nowhere and is absolutely beautiful. Glamping at its best.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Auberge Chez Pierre

Boumalne Dades

A 5 retreat in the middle of the gorges. Beautifully decorated, amazing views, friendly polite and attentive staff. A retreat we wished we could have spent a few days at. The setting, hotel and food were fantastic.

Authenticity & Character

Everything so well done, down to the smallest detail.

Location

Beautifully situated.

Staff

Polite, caring and professional.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Super comfortable and very clean.

Sofitel Marrakech Palais Imperial

Marrakech

Large chain hotel in great location and with great amenities. Good room, excellent breakfast and well decorated with a great pool and garden area.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very central to everything, but some noise.

Staff

Check in was slow and messy. Servers and bartenders were excellent.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very comfortable and clean. (Although it’s time to change the carpets in the rooms).

Activity Reviews

Exploring the Medina and Historical Sites Of Marrakesh

Marrakesh

It was good to get the lay of the city and the Medina - helped us feel more confident on our own. (

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Overnight in the Sahara Desert

Morocco

A fantastic experience, to ride into the Sahara for 90 minutes on a camel and arrive to camp after the sun has gone down. Not to be missed. We would spend at least two nights next time.

Quality of Experience

Food

It was good food.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip to ecuador and the galapagos islands was incredible. Our planner Juan allowed customization of the trip to be easy and well communicate.

Our flight to ecuador got canceled and rescheduled for the next day, after contacting Juan about this he ensured me that the driver will be there at the new time and our first day activities would be rescheduled throughout or 14 day trip so we wouldn't miss anything 👌

Highly recommend kimkim, was our first time and we will be using them again in the new year ! All activities and meals were excellent. Our tour guide Pablo in ecuador and Ricardo in galapagos were amazing and very knowledgeable. Five stars !

Ecuador and galapagos as a trip was truly unbelieve such a diverse vacation, seen and experienced alot !
Thanks again kimkim

Hotel Reviews

Ikala Quito Hotel

Quito

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Sangay

Baños de Agua Santa

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ikala Galapagos

Puerto Ayora

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Yacuma First Day

Tena

Quality of Experience

R

Food

Learned and seen so much, enjoyed it all People here are amazing and provide everything you would hope for in the Amazon

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

When we had decided to travel to Morocco in December, we started doing research and looking for a trip that worked with our schedule. After being unable to find a group tour that worked with our dates, we tried kimkim, which we had not used before.
From our first correspondence with them, we found the website easy to use, the responses prompt, and the willingness and ability to create an itinerary based on what we wanted to see and do incredible. They would offer suggestions ranging from budget ideas to luxury options, additional activities in the areas we wanted to stop, and plenty of additional info ranging from tipping practices to packing guides.
When we landed in Casablanca, we easily found our guide Soufian at the airport. During our eight days together he was our driver, our guide, and answered questions from cultural history to restaurant recommendations. He was fantastic and I would recommend him to anyone traveling to Morocco.
Our trip To Morocco was well organized. The itinerary was planned well, the communication with the office, and once in country with our guide, was excellent; and all of this was done at a fair price.

Hotel Reviews

Tiziri Luxury Camp

Merzouga

I have stayed in the desert twice before (once in Egypt and once in Jordan), but neither was like our experience at Tiziri. The facilities and service here truly make this a luxury experience. The time here was well organized and the staff were fantastic.

Authenticity & Character

We felt as if we were exposed to a true Berber experience.

Location

The desert. It is wonderful : )

Staff

They were friendly, polite, and accommodating.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tiziri is much more than a tent in the desert!

Riad Salam Fes

Fes

The riad is a wonderful escape from the business of the city.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Hard to say, there just didn't seem to be much within walking distance.

Staff

They were friendly and polite, but weren't able to answer many questions.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lina Ryad & Spa

Chefchaouen

Fantastic luxury stay in Chefchaouen. Once you enter this ryad, you'll forget that you just stepped in off of a small alley. Everything in here is luxurious and they offer every amenity you would want at a modern hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Positioned just off of the main walking path/street in the old town.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Xaluca Dades

Boumalne

In Dades, you are in a fairly isolated area, but this hotel offers everything you need. The restaurant offers grand buffets, there are multiple common rooms, there is a large pool area, and the rooms are modern and comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right on the edge of a cliff overlooking the city.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Elegancia Riad Boutique & SPA

Marrakech

Our favorite riad in Morocco! Not because the others were lacking, but because the Elegancia truly lives up to its name. Tucked away in a narrow alley, this luxury accommodation offers everything. The staff were friendly and helpful during our entire stay, the rooms were comfortable and clean, the lobby is welcoming and beautiful, and the rooftop is a fantastic place to relax. I couldn't recommend the Elegancia more to anyone visiting Marrakech.

Authenticity & Character

Gorgeous Moroccan decorations.

Location

Walking distance to the medina and numerous restaurants.

Staff

So friendly and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Offers every modern amenity you would want.

Activity Review

Architectural Elegance: A Journey through the Hassan II Mosque

Morocco

Unfortunately the mosque was closed, but it was a beautiful sight and I would recommend anyone visiting Casablanca to stop here.

Hakim planned a fantastic visit to Morocco! The trip was very well planned, and we covered a lot of ground very comfortably, visiting all of the major cities/sights. The driver was wonderful, and we had excellent guides in each of the locations we visited. `We especially enjoyed the Sahara experience, and were pleasantly surprised at how nice the tent was and how good the food was. All of the hotels were lovely. I recommend Hakim very highly, and am so glad that we found kimkim. I will definitely contact kimkim to help plan future vacations!

Hotel Reviews

Riad Fès - Relais & Châteaux

Fès

A beautiful hotel, with exceptional service. Our room was spacious, with a welcome fruit and pastry treat upon arrival. The restaurant had a great buffet breakfast including dishes prepared to order, and we enjoyed a room service dinner which was well prepared and arrived quickly.

Authenticity & Character

beautiful marble interior

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Madu Desert Camps

Merzouga

Exceptionally comfortable accommodations and delicious food. A terrific experience!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Mamounia

Marrakech

We had extremely high expectations, and the hotel did not disappoint. Excellent location, and beautiful throughout with a lovely garden and very nice spa. Wonderful breakfast buffet. Stunning bar with live entertainment.The only negative was the exceedingly expensive restaurants. We enjoyed dinner in the Asian restaurant one night and my daughter ordered a very costly sea bass dish, which did not include anything with it. She ordered a side of white rice which cost $14US.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Fes to Merzouga Sunset Camel Ride and Overnight in the Desert via Ifrane, Azrou, Midelt & Erfoud

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I personally had never used Kimkim, but my son Keith convinced me I need to and actually handled the majority of the online messaging for me.
Having said that, my personal interaction with the Kimkim travel professionals blew me away in a good way: SO accommodating, SO communicative, So knowledgeable! Wow.

My memory is legitimately poor after brain surgery in terms of remembering names, but I’m going to at least tell you what services I’m referencing. Our main guide there who met me in Naples, handled detains there, and throughout the 10 days in Italy checked in with me at least once a day was AWESOME. The assistant/guide who worked with me multiple days in Florence and was kind enough to accommodate some extra excursions I wanted to go on including the purchase of an Italian pocketbook was AWESOME. And our guide/ driver for much of the end of the trip was beyond helpful and incredibly knowledgeable of so much about Italy/ every time I had a special need or asked for an accommodation, she made it happen for me. LOVE that girl!!
I wish I could remember names; every driver and guide were so amazingly knowledgeable of their area and so helpful in accommodating us. I’ll never hesitate to use Kimkim again…

Ibrahim and Amr were great when planning the trip. Responsive (considering the time change) and very active while we were in Egypt if we had any questions. We had a 10 day experience between Cairo, Aswan, Edfu, Luxor, and Hurghada. All of our transportation was timely, the transition between each city was flawless, and the package was well planned. We were greeted at each destination with a contact, and hand delivered to a new guide in each city. Egypt itself was beautiful and I would suggest everyone go visit and see the remarkable sites.

With this being said, here are a few things to know before going. The tipping was extremely aggressive. We were being told by our guide exactly how much and who we should be tipping….which was everyone and an extreme amount. From the agency, we were never warned or given any type of breakdown as to what the suggested tipping is in Egypt. Other couples we met along our trip were sent typed out paperwork on how much to tip and what was expected. We were given nothing which left us blind to it and made us feel very forced and uncomfortable. For future travelers: when switching your funds to Egyptian pounds I highly suggest getting smaller bills to accommodate for the amount of tipping you will be expected to do.

Itinerary with no times.
Although we were given an itinerary, we were never given exact times (which we have in the past when traveling through KimKim). We were never informed that so many days we would be waking up at 3am. The itinerary mentioned ‘morning, afternoon, or evening’ but should have specified how early these mornings would be so we could have been more prepared for it.

Experiences
We were under the impression that all of our experiences or excursions were paid for before our trip began. On our itinerary where we were given free time and looked forward to relaxing and having time to ourselves. However, we were very forcefully told that we needed to pay for additional experiences. Specifically the Nubian village. After being told numerous times by our guide, we finally agreed to go and visit, but told our guide that we had no interest in buying more things. He told us we would visit a traditional village with no markets, stress or aggression. We should have known better at this point, but after our tour we were pushed into having tea and bread with a local family, plus being tricked into giving everyone money. A relaxing stress free trip to a village we didn’t even want to visit ended up costing us nearly 1,000 Egyptian pounds AND my husband got food poisoning which forced us to cancel the next 2 days of tours due to him being very ill.

At the end of our trip, we told our guide that we didn’t want to go to the Alabaster stone ‘experience’ and his attitude changed. He became unfriendly, and he even had us finish one of our temple tours without him. I don’t know if the guides are getting a cut of the profits during these ‘experiences’, but it certainty felt that way. It’s fair to say that it wasn’t just us, it was other tourists we met along the way mentioned the exact same concerns with their guide and time here.

At the end of the day, we loved visiting Egypt. The sites were beautiful, historical and something we will never forget. As mentioned, Amr and Ibrahim were great to work with, and our guide was nice….until he wasn’t. We have used KimKim in the past, and plan on using again in the future. However, we have definitely learned our lesson on asking very specific questions, making sure everything in our package is actually included, and suggest future travelers to Egypt to do the same so you don’t have the same issues as us.

Hotel Reviews

Movenpick Aswan

Aswan

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kempinski Nile Hotel

Cairo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Jaz Aquamarine

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Day tour to visit Pyramids& Sphinx and Old Egyptian Museum

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Philae temple & High Dam - Felluca ride

Aswan

Visit Abu Simbel temple & overnight at the hotel

Egypt

Kom Ombo & Edfou

Egypt

West & East Bank Luxor

Luxor

Hurghada

Hurghada

Desert Safari at Hurghada

Hurghada

Cancelled excursion due to husband getting food poisoning

All of our guides were excellent. Very informative, personable and helpful. Their English was good.

Would definitely use again and would recommend to others