Kimkim Trip Reviews

Our holiday was memorable! Everything was perfect and we highly recommend travelling with kimkim.
Kripa was very patient in answering our many questions and was fantastic in organising the two weeks.
We did the 9-day trek to Ama Dablam base camp and visited Kathmandu and Bhaktapur.
The trek was fabulous. Our guide Suman was very helpful, punctual, friendly and always cheerful.
In addition, all the transport organised by kimkim was on time and the people we met were very friendly and helpful.

Thank you kimkim for this fabulous holiday and for letting us discover a part of Nepal!

Emi was fantastic all through the planning. She gave us great options and made changes based on our (not always clear) descriptions of what we’d like to do.

I fully recommend Emi (and Mateo) and Kim Kim

Hotel Reviews

Pullman Santiago El Bosque

Las Condes, Santiago

Hotel, staff, and location were great!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Bellavista

Puerto Varas

Wow! What a view couldn't ask for a better location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Tour: Full Day Valparaiso & Casablanca Valley

Santiago

Orlando, our driver and guide for the day was very personable and informative. The wine tour was really good. Though it was a bit weird to do the tasting in the morning, it did mean we had a more intimate tour. The streets of Valparaiso were lovely, and the Neruda museum was fun and quirky. The only weak spot was perhaps the castle restarting for lunch and the tour through Viña del Mar. Neither was bad, just lackluster.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full day Volcán Osorno + Trekking El Solitario + Petrohue

Puerto Varas

We are not a family who treks. So this ended up being some work and exercise for us. But so worth it!! The views, the environment… breathtaking. And Javier was an amazing guide. He could “read the room” and kept us laughing and learning. He helped us rest when we needed and motivated us when we needed it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Excursion to Puyehue National Park and Hotsprings

Puerto Varas

This day was fun. But it was a lot of driving to get to views that may be replicated closer to Puerto Varas. Though it was nice seeing some of the small towns along the way. Christian, our driver and guide, was amazing. And he adored well when we hit some bumps. When we arrived at the park and hot springs, the staff was on strike, so we couldn’t do the big pool hot springs where you really soak. But in the end, that was ok. They didn’t seem to have much a view and just looked like a public pool. Instead we soaked our feet in the natural (and free) hot springs riverside.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full day Kayak Reloncavi Fjord

Puerto Varas

This experience was amazing! Fantastic views of the fjord, the volcano, and the sea lions. All while getting a little exercise out on the water. The the view from the woman’s farm where we stopped for lunch was awe inspiring. And she was extremely sweet. Chloe our guide was fantastic too. She was funny and knowledgeable. Also, I have to plug the lunch. All the other excursions had boxed lunches from a company. They were fine. But these lunches, someone took real time making just for us: salads, homemade cookies, coffee riverside, etc. And they took into account some dietary restrictions I have. Really put an amazing experience over the top by going that extra mile.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Huyen was very responsive and was very adept at answering our questions regarding our trip, but I felt the trip activities were very repetitive, subpar, and had poor time management in which we had hours between activities or didn't have enough time.

Day 1- Hanoi
The first day we had a great time with the photographer in the morning time at the hotel taking glamour shots. However, the cooking class/market was incredibly disappointing. The "bustling" market had no people walking around due to the time. The market is busy during the early morning, but we got there around 10am. The cooking class itself was the main disappointment. We made 3 separate dishes. The first dish was making steamed rice crepes and then hand wrapping them with premade filling. Making one or 2 is fine, but I didn't see the value in us making 30+ when we didn't want to eat that many. The second dish was basically wrapping tacos also with premade fillings with fried egg and rice paper. It was very very oiley. Also made a lot of them for no reason. Then we had an intermission where we made vegetable garnishes. It was fun, but very time consuming and also something we can do anywhere. The third dish we didn't even cook, we just watched her make a noodle soup and then ate it. Due to the time needed for the cooking class, we had very limited time for the rest of the day which we were supposed to have the photographer. The temple of literature was fun, but we didn't get any time to walk the old quarter and were very rushed while visiting the sword lake which was very picturesque before we had to go to the water puppet show.

Day 2-3 Ha Long Bay
Ha Long Bay was beautiful. I had initially questioned whether it was worth it to drive 3.5 hours there and then 3.5 hours back for an overnight stay, but the beautiful sights changed my mind. We took the ship Victory Star. The ship was clean although a bit rusty on the outside. Food was very mediocre. English speaking guide was ok. It was a bit difficult to understand him. The squid fishing and karaoke that was on the itinerary did not happen. The Me Cung Cave and climbing up for panoramic views were incredible. On the second day we were picked up from the boat and headed to the airport. We had over an hour before we needed to check in at the airport and we had to ask and get approval to have them take us to a restaurant before then heading to the airport. We were not checked in advance so we sat very far back in the airplane

Day 4-5 - Hoian
Hoian had the best hotel. The hotel staff was wonderful, the food very good and the itinerary was largely very good. The bike ride through the old quarters in Hoian, the Japanese covered bridge, Ancient house, Chinese temple and old house was very scenic and I really enjoyed the architecture. We then took a very long motor boat "cruise" along the river which didn't contribute much value in my opinion. The coconut village was fun though. We cast a net although no fish was ever caught. My sister was able to do the swirling coconut ride where the fisherman would basically rock the boat, but we didn't get that option (don't know why). Then we took a very long bike ride to the herb garden for lunch. We put on farmers clothes and took pictures and that was interesting, but the food was not great. I would have picked a different place for lunch if taking pictures was the draw. Day 5 - we had our own free time.

Day 6-8 Ho Chi Minh/Saigon
The flight that was scheduled for us was in the afternoon so by the time we landed it was past 2pm and half the day was gone. Again, we were not checked in in advance so we sat at the end of the end of the plane.
We were supposed to go check in the hotel first, but due to the time constraints we immediately had to go from the airport to driving around the city despite not feeling very well. We were also short of VND and wanted to exchange money at the airport, but wasn't given the time. We could feel how the guide felt immensely rushed from the speed of his walking and we were left with 2 hours to travel to 6 different places, before everything closed and the driver was off. Unfortunately, due to the illness of one of the travelers, after the first stop, we wanted to drop off the one traveler at the hotel (5 minutes away) before resuming the tour. Unfortunately, the driver left after dropping us off at the hotel before his time was up.

Day 7 we were scheduled to go to the Mekong delta/Ben Tre and then the Cu Chi Tunnels. The problem is that it would have had 5.5 hours of travel. We chose to only do the Ben Tre and then do Cu Chi the next day. Ben Tre was ok. It was a 2 hour trip to get there. While we were there, we took another really long motor boat ride that again didn't really provide much value. We had a very short display of how they made coconut candy, watched someone make straw mats, and then took a motor cart to lunch. Lunch was at Green Coconut. Presentation was nice, but food again was very mediocre. I would definitely have chosen to eat someplace else. Then another boat ride before going to the hotel.

Day 8 - we chose to explore HCM that we had planned for the prior day instead of doing the Cu Chi tunnels. It was a lot of fun and I wish we had spent more time exploring HCM instead of spending 4 hours of driving the day prior.

Huyen was very responsive and very nice, but I wish we were given more options and we could have picked what sounded interesting versus just being given a plan and then objecting to parts of it. We unfortunately didn't know what else there was to pick from.

In regards to exchanging money, I did not know that the crispness of the bills were of importance and it would have been immensely useful to know that.

Overall KimKim was flexible, but we found the planning to be not great. One of the things that could have helped would be an itinerary broken down with times and flight numbers. That way we would be able to tell the guide what we want to spend more time on or whether we want to spend 6 hours of the day in a car. In many days I felt rushed and also my time wasted due to the inefficiencies of the trip. I would have much more enjoyed having more time taking pictures and having more time to explore the city vs spending so much time seeing pheasant activities. I really don't see a value in seeing multiple farmers markets in the afternoon when no one is there and it's not even open. I don't see a value in taking so many boat rides. I also see no value in watching someone cook. It would have also been nice if there were restaurant recommendations for our down time.

Hotel Reviews

The Oriental Jade Hotel

Hanoi

Nice hotel, but the views are a bit lacking. Food is pretty good

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Allegro Hoian

The best breakfast buffet of my whole stay in Vietnam. Very clean and the staff was nice. Close to the night market and walking distance to almost everything I wanted to do.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Eden Star Hotel & Spa

Ho Chi Minh City

Amazing location. Hotel felt a little dated. Food was mediocre.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Victory Star Cruise

Hanoi

The boat was clean if a bit rusty. Food was very mediocre and I had trouble finishing it. The tour was fun if a bit rushed. Tour guide was a bit hard to understand. Not all activities on the itinerary set by the boat was done.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hanoi Cooking Class & City Tour

Hanoi

The first day we had a great time with the photographer in the morning time at the hotel taking glamour shots. However, the cooking class/market was incredibly disappointing. The "bustling" market had no people walking around due to the time. The market is busy during the early morning, but we got there around 10am. The cooking class itself was the main disappointment. We made 3 separate dishes. The first dish was making steamed rice crepes and then hand wrapping them with premade filling. Making one or 2 is fine, but I didn't see the value in us making 30+ when we didn't want to eat that many. The second dish was basically wrapping tacos also with premade fillings with fried egg and rice paper. It was very very oiley. Also made a lot of them for no reason. Then we had an intermission where we made vegetable garnishes. It was fun, but very time consuming and also something we can do anywhere. The third dish we didn't even cook, we just watched her make a noodle soup and then ate it. Due to the time needed for the cooking class, we had very limited time for the rest of the day which we were supposed to have the photographer. The temple of literature was fun, but we didn't get any time to walk the old quarter and were very rushed while visiting the sword lake which was very picturesque before we had to go to the water puppet show.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hoi An - Tra Que Village & Hoi An Ancient Town

Hoi An

The bike ride through the old quarters in Hoian, the Japanese covered bridge, Ancient house, Chinese temple and old house was very scenic and I really enjoyed the architecture. We then took a very long motor boat "cruise" along the river which didn't contribute much value in my opinion. The coconut village was fun though. We cast a net although no fish was ever caught. My sister was able to do the swirling coconut ride where the fisherman would basically rock the boat, but we didn't get that option (don't know why). Then we took a very long bike ride to the herb garden for lunch. We put on farmers clothes and took pictures and that was interesting, but the food was not great. I would have picked a different place for lunch if taking pictures was the draw.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ho Chi Minh - Ben Tre - Ho Chi Minh (2,5 hours transfer)

Ho Chi Minh City

It was not worth the 5 hour round trip drive. We drove all the way there, watched them make some coconut candy, straw mats, took a motor car ride, and then had a mediocre lunch. Redundant boat rides

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ha Long Bay Overnight Cruise

Ha Long Bay

Food not great, but the scenes were very nice. Tour of the cave was fun as well as the hike up the mountain for views.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We recently used Kimkim to put together a 10 day trip to Peru. I usually love to put together travel itineraries, but in this case, I just didn’t have enough time to do it justice. I haven’t used a travel agency before and was a little nervous, partly because I hadn’t used this type of service before, but also because I am a very picky traveler and like to avoid typical tourist experiences. This led to quite a few requests and questions on my part that Jessica very promptly answered. She walked us through each step of the planning to make sure that we were able to accomplish everything that we wanted to do on this trip. I felt like she really listened to our requests and was able to create a trip that was perfect for us. She set us up with amazing tours and experiences that had not even been on my radar. Our particular favorite was Edwin from Cusi Travel who took us through the Sacred Valley and through Machu Picchu. He was a wealth of information and was able to make the history come alive. Jessica’s support did not end once the itinerary was put together, but continued throughout the trip. She helped us set up additional transportation and negotiate travel delays that arose with a shut down airport in Lima and ensured that we were not delayed any longer than necessary. I was incredibly happy with the support that Jessica and Kimkim provided and the caliber of experiences that they set up for us. I will definitely be using them again.

Hotel Reviews

Pullman Lima Miraflores

Miraflores, Lima

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Novotel Cusco

Cusco

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

El Mapi by Inkaterra

Cusco

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Lima Food Tour - (PM Tour)

Peru

Outstanding. One of the highlights of our trip. Our tour hit some great locations, and our guide was full of information about Lima and its cuisine, including some great historical information.

Quality of Experience

Great variety. Delicious!!

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very informative. Lots of fun.

Transport

Sacred Valley Tour: Cusco - Pisac - Ollantaytambo

Peru

Excellent experience that really augmented our understanding and experience of Peru. Our tour guide, Edwin was the highlight of our trip. He provided a great mix of current information and historical facts. He made the history and region come alive.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pachamanca Lunch at El Albergue Farm in Ollantaytambo

Peru

So fun! Great experience both learning about Pachamanca, but also more about the El Albergue farm.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discovering the Treasures of Machu Picchu

Aguas Calientes/ Machu Picchu

A once in a lifetime experience that did not disappoint!! Absolutely magnificient! While I expected this from the location and site, it was made even better by our outstanding tour guide Edwin from Cusi Travel. His descriptions and fact about Machu Picchu made the trip far more meaningful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Meree was great at listening to what I wanted to see and do and updating the itinerary accordingly. Julia was helpful while traveling as well.

Hotel Reviews

Hotell Bondeheimen

Oslo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fretheim Hotel

Flåm

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Heimen Hotel

Bergen

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Ullensvang

Lofthus Hardanger

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Fjordcruise in the Nærøyfjord

Flåm

It's extra cold with the wind, so need to factor that in. It was a great experience. It's helpful to follow audio guide to know what's coming up because it goes pretty fast. I missed a waterfall.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The trip was incredible; I totally recommend it! Yousef (our driver and companion) was amazing, always available, very kind, and resourceful. Samir was very responsive and answered fast.

Hotel Review

Sun City Camp

Wadi Rum

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Wadi Rum (2-3 Hrs Jeep ride)

Jordan

a must!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Petra Basic Visit

Petra

amazing!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our kimkim experience was fantastic! Lucas worked with us to plan an unexpected trip. He offered insight and guidance to ensure that we received the most well-rounded Argentina experience in the time we had available. From quality lodging to excellent guided service, we thoroughly were able to enjoy the culture, people, food, wine, and excursions. We pleased with all of our service but specifically that of Fabian and Fleur. Their personalized attention, friendliness, knowledge, professionalism, and flexibility were superb!

Our trip provided us with comfortable stays at the Posada Verde Oliva and the Charming Luxury Lodge. We have very found memories of a cooking class and amazing meal at Casa del Visitante and of course Saint Julia wines. (FYI, best empanadas ever!) Our tour guide Fleur gave us the most educational, enjoyable day for a tour of Uco Valley Wine Country. We were then off to breathtaking Bariloche where we relaxed, hiked Cero Llao Llao, and kayaked the lakes of Patagonis (Lago Gutierrez). Lastly we enjoyed a historic tour of downtown Buenos Aires. It was absolutely a trip of a lifetime. Thanks to kimkim, Lucas, and our amazing guides for making this trip hassle free and fantastic!

It's hard to know where to start. My first trip to Spain was filled to the brim with sites, tastes, and experiences. We must have walked 3 - 7 miles/day. Regarding the guides:
Tslila's Tapas and Wine/Vermouth Crawl in Barcelona was a superb intro on our first night. So much fun and delicious food and drinks. I must have tasted four different vermouths. Tslila couldn't have been better.
Miguel's tour of La Sagrada Familia and the Gothic Quarter was superb, a highlight of our trip.
Our guide in Girona was amusing but he seemed more interested in taking photos of members of the group than anything else. The misunderstanding regarding the contents of the tour (Costa Brava instead of Figueres) was solved quickly and generously by Helena and the kimkim team. We were able to fit in the Jewish Museum and lunch on our own and then take a taxi to see the Dali Museum.
Our small group trip to Monserrat with Alex was memorable. The views are spectacular. He is an enthusiastic and well-informed guide. We were surprised and impressed by the art museum there, too.
Eduardo's tour of Granada via Senses was a nice way to weave in the history of the places we passed but the synthetic fragrances did not always hit the mark and we had little room to carry home the fragrance kits.
Our Alhambra guide was excellent but we don't have his name.
Flamenco dance experience was enjoyable but it was an hour instead of two hours and did not include "a fascinating overview of this culturally distinct musical genre, from its origins to its current global renown."
Eva was the perfect person to introduce us to the Jewish history of Ubeda since her family's home, which she opened for us, contained Jewish history.
Marta was an informative and entertaining guide to Baeza.
The driver who took us to Cordoba from Granada was accommodating and flexible when his instructions didn't match our expected tour. We were able to fit in most of what was listed (confusingly) for the day, although in a different order. We were not able to visit the olive oil factory.
Antonio Jose's tour of the Medina Azahara was well done. Impressive.
The guide for Cordoba (Saray?) was superb. She had a dramatic and informative way of showing us the steps in the transformation of the Mezquita.
Sevilla - our tour was supposed to include the Cathedral and bell tower as well as the Alcazar and the Santa Cruz neighborhood but ended up being split into two different tours, the latter led by Pablo who was excellent, the former afterwards led by Teresa whose stories about the two sisters was memorable.
Jorge's evening introduction to the Hapsburg district was interesting. He shared many insights and left us off at a wonderful restaurant friends had recommended which happened to be across the street from his hairdresser.
We enjoyed Esther's generous wine, vermouth, and tapas tour near our hotel in Madrid. She shared a wealth of information.
Our guide for Toledo (Antonio?) was excellent - so enthusiastic and informative. We appreciated his detailed discussion of the former Synagogue.
Elena's tour of Segovia included details and stories that were very interesting. Our only tour in the rain/drizzle went very well and the restaurant she reserved for our lunch was excellent. Love those artichokes.

The plane and train tickets Helena prepared were a big help.

The hotels:
All the hotels and breakfasts were great:
The Radisson Blu in Barcelona was the least charming but the breakfast was the most extensive - amazing spread. After being offered a room with no view - just the air shaft - they gave us what seemed to be the honeymoon room which had light coming in.
The Aurea in Granada was well situated and historical with lovely Garcia Lorca quotations on the wall.
We appreciated the whimsical creativity and light of our room at the Madinat and enjoyed the Hammam experience that was included. The staff was very nice as was the breakfast.
The hotel in Sevilla was very well situated and elegant with a slightly less extensive breakfast.
We enjoyed the art and craft nature of 7 Islas in Madrid but never did get to sample their craft cocktails - too busy. The staff was helpful and the breakfast was excellent.

Highlights for me:
Museums in Barcelona, Monserrat, and Madrid we went to on our own: Miro, Picasso, Dali, El Prado, Thyssen, Reina Sofia, Sorolla
La Sagrada Familia and Casa Mila
Wine/Vermouth/Tapas tours
Cordoba's Mezquita
Driving through the olive orchards
Olive oil tasting - guide was very good
Several superb restaurants

The experience working with kimkim was enjoyable. I appreciate the initial approach where we discussed the pros and cons of various scenarios - six iterations before we paid anything. There were a few mix-ups while we were in Spain but they were settled right away. We packed a lot in and, at 71 years old, were amazed at our stamina. Perhaps we should have left more free time.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Madinat

Córdoba

Creative and comfortable with excellent staff and breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

originality

Location

Staff

helpful and English-speaking

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Casa 1800 Sevilla

Sevilla

Elegant and fun location.

Authenticity & Character

Restored building Lovely breakfast area. Our room had a sitting area and bedroom.

Location

It wasn't noisy but was off a pedestrian street with restaurants and very near the Cathedral.

Staff

A few little problems with the wi-fi. Staff was helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

No complaints.

7 Islas Hotel

Madrid

Creative design and very helpful staff. Outside room with light but noisy at night since the Spaniards eat fro 10pm - 1am it seems and then hang out in the street.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Radisson Blu 1882 Hotel, Barcelona Sagrada Familia

Barcelona

Superb breakfast. Not charming. Many rooms have air shaft views.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Áurea Catedral Hotel

Granada

Comfortable, historic, good location, very good breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Highlights of Old Madrid Walk

Madrid

Very nice evening tour with history and interesting neighborhoods. Madrid is so large it's hard to get a feeling for it and this was just one special corner.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tapas Walk in Barcelona

Barcelona

Guide was great. Excellent tour.

Quality of Experience

Food

Variety of tapas and wines and vermouths.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Half-Day Excursion to Montserrat

Barcelona

Go to the museum in addition to the church. May need more time to go up to the top of the mountain.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day trip to Medieval Girona & Dali Museum in Figueras

Barcelona

Mishap related to misunderstanding of the tour group was remedied very well by kimkim. Fit in the Jewish Museum in Girona.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guided Visit of Granada Through Its Scents

Granada

Guide was very good. Senses part - nice idea but not that necessary.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guided Visit: Alhambra & Generalife Gardens

Granada

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Flamenco Show

Granada

Would have liked an explanation of the history of Flamenco. Dancing was great.

Quality of Experience

Full Day Excursion to Úbeda & Baeza

Granada

Very nice addition but don't know if it is necessary given the amount of trips and activities that were put into our 18 days.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Helpful if the drivers speak English although our Spanish skills helped.

Medina Azahara Guided Tour at Night

Córdoba

Wasn't at night but was very good.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Guided Visit of Córdoba

Spain

See my evaluation of guides.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Visit an Andalusian Olive Oil Estate

Seville

Very interesting and worthwhile.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Staff was great. The driver got a little lost - first time ever - but got us there.

Train Madrid to Toledo, Guided Visit of Toledo, Train Toledo to Madrid

Madrid

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was very knowledgeable.

Transport

Train was fine. Good to have the tickets purchased in advance.

Train Madrid to Segovia, Guided Visit of Segovia, Train Segovia to Madrid

Madrid

Loved the designs on the buildings. Tour included the Jewish quarter and other interesting sites and beautiful views.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Spanish Cooking Class & Market Visit

Madrid

We enjoyed the food tour in the market and the small class. We helped make salmorejo, spinach and chick peas, and paella. We learned how to make a real sangria and how to debone a chicken. Each person was involved and there were accommodations for vegetarians and pescatarians.

Quality of Experience

Private Wine Tasting, Tapas & Vermouth

Madrid

The guide was excellent and brought to us to especially selected bars where we were served generous portions of wine, vermouth, and tapas.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was excellent.

Private Guided Visit of Seville

Seville

An excellent introduction to Sevilla.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Tour of Barcelona & La Sagrada Familia

Barcelona

Guide was excellent. Everyone should experience La Sagrada Familia.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

This was the best trip of our lives! The travel agent, Terry, was amazing and planned our trip to the fullest extent possible! We will use her again in the future!

Activity Reviews

Explore Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon by Kayak

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Everything!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was amazing!

Transport

Perfect!

East Glacial River Whitewater Rafting

Iceland

This was the best thing we've ever done!

Quality of Experience

Absolutely breathtaking!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Viking rafting was phenomenal!

Transport

Perfect!

Our trip to Mexico was amazing!

Rutopia basically set us up with a personalized guide in both Mexico City and Oaxaca for our family of four. We felt totally taken care of -- private car, private transfers, and private tour guides showing us around everywhere -- flexible to our needs. It was totally a luxury, and not how we usually travel. I think we could have done this trip for about 30% cheaper if we did it on our own. But, we were traveling with two small kids, without knowing much Spanish, so I was glad we paid extra for the luxury. It was worth it. We would have never found all these tours and private guides without the help if Rutopia (via KimKim).

Also, Rutopia found us two gem hotels to stay at -- little boutique hotels in quiet neighborhoods with easy access to everything -- Casa Decu in CDMX and Hotel Tabaa in Oaxaca. We LOVED where we stayed.

Highlights:
* Food Tour of CDMX with Adrian from Eat Mexico. Learned about all the foods of Mexico and their history. Fruits, pastries, cheeses, mole, and tacos.
* Seeing the CDMX Anthropology Museum with our guide Jose.
* Dinner at Rosetta in CDMX. One of the best restaurants we've ever eaten! (We did this on our own)
* Seeing the Pyramids of Teotichuacan with our guide Jose. Good explanation of the site and plenty of time to explore on our own. I just wish we could still climb the pyramids.
* Private transfer from CDMX to Oaxaca stopping in Puebla and Zapotitlan Salinas. The cactus reserve near Zapotitlan Salinas was particularly awesome to visit. Way off the beaten path -- but spectacular to be among the cactus like that.
* Street Food Tour of Oaxaca with Pepe from Ethnoturstica. We ate ALL the things and learned so much about the history of Oaxaca, Mexico, and all the different types of food -- from memelas, to agua fresca, to mezcal.
* Guided tour of Monte Alban with Alejandro. Learning all about this ancient Zapotec site that I'd never heard of before the tour.
* Visiting the alebrije workshop and the black pottery workshop near Oaxaca.
* Private cooking class in the Oaxacan country side -- starting with a visit to the market to buy everything, cooking everything from scratch, and eventually eating it all.

Things I would do different:
* Xochimilco in CDMX was meh. It was a Mexican party boat. It wasn't what we were looking for with two small kids. Most people can safely miss.
* Don't book a tour everyday. If I had to do it again, I would have one "dead" day in CDMX where we can do things on our own, e.g. visit the Centro Historico and another "dead" day in Oaxaca where we can just wander the city.
* Tell your guides early on that you want to have lunch and to work it into the plan. The working assumption was usually "no lunch". Which didn't work for the kiddos.
* Don't book fancy dinner reservations on the days that you are doing food tours. After the food tour I basically didn't want to eat for another 18-24 hours I was so stuffed.
* Note that Guides are important for context at various sites -- but you don't need them all all the places. For example -- Centro Historico, Coyoacan, the more "tourist markets", and many other places in CDMX are easily visitable on your own. I would strongly recommend getting the private guide for Teotihuacan, the Anthropology Museum, Monte Alban, food tours, and the cooking class.

All in all though, an amazing experience -- we really felt like we got to see large swaths of Mexico, learn a lot about the culture and food, and be taken good care of the whole time.

Hotel Reviews

Casa Decu

Mexico City

Fantastic boutique hotel right in the heart of Condesa. It's on a quiet street just steps from the greenbelt that circles the neighborhood (Amsterdam Ave). The room we were in (a suite) was well appointed for our needs. We had one room with a queen bed and a crib. Our older daughter slept on the couch in the living room that could be converted into a comfy twin size bed. There was a kitchen as well with a fridge, microwave, and sink -- perfect to store water, milk, make bottles, etc. One of the best parts of Casa Decu is the rooftop. We had breakfast on that roof every morning . There is a nice spread of juice, coffee, bread, cereal, yogurt -- with the option to purchase hot food if you wanted. It was really relaxing to go up there every morning overlooking Condesa and have a lazy breakfast and chat with the other tourists at the hotel. The staff was really helpful as well -- pointing our restaurants, letting us store our baby stroller and car seat on the ground floor, and keeping the room sparkling clean.

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Tabáa Oaxaca

Oaxaca

We loved our stay at Hotel Tabaa. It's located just three blocks away from the Historic Center of Oaxaca in the neighborhood of Jalatlaco -- just a short walk from all the action, but on a quiet corner away from it. The inside of the hotel is a beautiful courtyard that feels like a little oasis in the middle of Mexico. We loved spending time in the courtyard having breakfast, tea, and hanging out on the hammock with the kiddos. Our initial room was a single room with a double bed -- that wasn't big enough for our family of four (which includes a baby). But after talking to the owner, he was able to switch us for the last three days to their master suite that had two separate rooms -- a master and a "family room". That was a perfect fit for us on the ground floor. I wish it had a kitchen, but we made do. The little breakfast kitchen in the courtyard was just ten steps out our front door, so we ended up using that to store our milk and make bottles for the baby. It really just felt like our courtyard. The staff was *super* nice and helpful as well. They went out of their way to make us feel welcome and helped us order food when we arrived there late at night on the first day, store our baby stuff under the stairs, help us switch rooms, and just talk and get to know us (and us them). It felt like staying at a family house rather than a boutique hotel (in the best way). Super authentic.

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Activity Reviews

Rural cooking workshop in Oaxaca

Oaxaca

This was one of the highlights of our trip. It was such an authentic experience. Pepe, our guide, took us to meet Dalia, our cook, at the market in Tlacolula. There we picked out all our vegetables and meats and took them back to Dalia's house in the village of Santa Ana del Valle. There she has a big kitchen where we got to work. Dalia only speaks Spanish, but Pepe was there to translate for us. We made: * a mole from scratch with dried chiles, corn, and other herbs. We ground it down on an old school moler stone. This was much of the fun. * A pumpkin flower soup with zucchini in there. So good. * mashed down corn to make empanadas and the mole base * sweet empanadas from our corn mash and corn husks We ate: * our mole over chicken * said soup * chile relleno * agua fresca * said sweet empanadas We would do this again in a heartbeat. My 8 year old loved it and participated in everything. The baby was happy there crawling around on the floor and interacting with all the other people.

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Be amazed by the pre-hispanic beauty of the chinampas in Xochimilco

Mexico City

This was meh. It's a Mexican party boat. Wasn't the right fit for us as a family of four with a baby. We just sat on the boat for 2 hours and in traffic for another 3 hours to get there and back. Would not do it again. It felt very "manufactured", e.g. a tourist trap like experience where it's just a bunch of other tourists on boats and people trying to sell stuff to us.

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Max was a great guide and we had a wonderful experience! There is so much history, culture, and delicious food to be had! Our stay on Mount Koya was an indescribable experience and it was something I’m super happy we had the opportunity to do.

Hotel Reviews

Koyasan Saizenin

Wakayama

Something I never imagined having the experience to do but it was unforgettable. The communal bathrooms and specified shower times were interesting. Was happy to have the experience.

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Station

Kyoto

Beautiful, clean, great staff, great breakfast, and great location. The laundry self service was perfect!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Shinjuku Washington Hotel - Main Building

Tokyo, Shinjuku

Exactly what we needed in Tokyo. Great location, great staff, delicious breakfast!

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Visiting Osaka: The Gourmet Metropolis of Japan

Japan

So much fun exploring this city and eating all the food! The local fashion and culture was really cool to experience and different than the other cities on our trip.

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Food

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7-day Ordinary JR Pass

Tokyo

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Hakone Full-Day Private Tour By Public Transportation

Japan

Make sure to take the cable car to the top of the mountain for a view of Mt Fuji and black volcanic ice cream!

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Traditional Kyoto

Kyoto

Max, our tour guide, was super knowledgeable! Beautiful city and we got to so and see so much in our short time there.

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Japanese Buddhism, Mount Koyasan

Mount Koya

Definitely was unaware of what I was walking into, but we got the full immersion experience by staying in a temple. You have to just fully go with it and enjoy the experience!

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Food

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We had a great time on our family trip to Colombia. KimKim made everything so easy, from the minute we started looking til the time we boarded our flight back home. Andrea was so helpful and communicative, and very quick to respond both before and during the trip. Highly recommend their services!

Hotel Reviews

Nacar Hotel Cartagena, Curio Collection by Hilton

Cartagena

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Park 10

Medellin

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Staff

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Activity Reviews

Cartagena’s Street Food: The Soul of a City in Every Bite

Cartagena

Our guide Liz was simply awesome.She took us to many places that we would never have thought to try for ourselves. The selection of food was great. She accounted for the vegetarian in our group. It was delightful and a great way to kick off our time in Cartagena!

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

Drum Safari - Sounds of Cartagena

Cartagena

Visiting the drum school was amazing. The whole group, including teen boys (hard to please) had a great time.

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Wander Cartagena’s Storied Streets & Discover the Art of Getsemaní

Cartagena

We loved our guide Javier! Had a perfect day, and he balanced the right amount of scenery and history, adjusted for a pace that we enjoyed.

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Enjoy the Beaches and Coral Reefs of the Rosario Islands by Private Boat

Colombia

Such a great day! The boat ride was very enjoyable. Having a private boat made it feel luxurious. The crew kept the boat completely immaculate and had cold drinks for us. The beach club we visited was super relaxing, had a gorgeous beach. Snorkeling was super fun. Overall a great day.

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Food

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Colorful Colombia: Hike to Guatapé Rock, Guatapé & Peñol-Guatape Reservoir

Colombia

Two must-visit towns on your trip to Medellin. This trip really gets you out into the countryside, so you can see the beautiful country. We enjoyed our day!

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The sincerest thank you to Sherif, who created an amazing trip for our family. We traveled to Egypt for 16 days in November 2022 and were amazed at everything we were able to experience, all because of his flawless planning. He listened to our hopes for the trip and made them a reality, while also showing us some options that we didn't even know were possible...Desert
Safari anyone?? We were so fortunate to always have an amazing driver, tour coordinator and Egyptologist, but were also given the freedom to explore independently and enjoy family/relaxation time at our hotels. Sherif's accommodation recommendations were superb; there is literally not one thing we would change. Traveling to Egypt is exciting but intense and there is no way our trip would have been successful without him - his customer service is truly impeccable! Additional appreciation to Lina Salah, Ahmed Shazly and Tamer and Mostafa who shared their vast knowledge with us, we truly feel like we made new friends! Also, to Ahmed Abd Rabu and Shehab Saniusy for getting us where we needed to be, always quickly and safely! There are so many more to thank, we truly appreciate everyone who helped make our trip the best it could be! Last but not least, our Nile Cruise on the Merit Dahabiya was an experience like no other, another great find by Sherif!
Bottom line, if you are looking for safe, fun and unforgettable adventure in Egypt, look no further, you will not be disappointed!

This experience was amazing. We have traveled to many places before, but it was the first time we used KimKim. Murat did great putting our schedule together and helping us to make reservations to great restaurants. Our local guide Andy (Onder) was wonderful. Always on time, and ready to make recommendations on trustable shops. His historical knowledge of all the places we went was just great. It is so difficult to pick just one favorite place from our visit to Turkiye. I choose all of them. We would definitely want to return. I would definitely recommend this itinerary, and ask for Andy to be your local guide.

Hotel Reviews

Kayakapi Premium Caves

Urgup / Cappadocia

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pera Palace

Istanbul

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Activity Reviews

Discover Byzantine + Ottoman Istanbul

İstanbul

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Transport

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

İstanbul

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Visiting Göreme Open Air Museum (UNESCO World Heritage)

Cappadocia

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Avanos: Discover the Centuries-Old Ceramic Tradition

Cappadocia

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Kaymaklı Underground City

Cappadocia

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Anna Maria is the best! She handled all the arrangements perfectly and made adjustments when the weather was inclement. She was always reachable and responsive. I am extremely impressed with the service she provided and can’t recommend her highly enough.

Now that we've completed our whirlwind trip around Egypt, I am glad to provide a review for an excellent company - Egypt Promotions, that helped us design the tour, provided local services and were our week-long companions in this interesting country.

Once submitting an interest via KimKim, the system put me together with Ibrahim. And from the first minute of speaking to him, I knew he'd be a perfect person to help me with a tour.

I presented Ibrahim with arduous task - fit 6-7 major regions into a 6-night tour. Ibrahim took on the challenge and came up with ambitions plan that, once realized, allowed me to fulfill my dream to fully explore Egypt.

Ibrahim's company provided excellent and skilled drivers, clean cars with working a/c (dust doesn't count - this is Egypt); and supplied guides. Regardless of time of arrival, we were always met at the airport and promptly driven to hotels, which were all EXCELLENT and also either booked or recommended by Ibrahim.

Because of seemingly unrealistic schedule, tight deadlines, multiple inter-country flights, etc., I am really thankful to Ibrahim and his team for making sure our trip ran like a clock.

Separately, we wanted to note an amazing guide that accompanied us on our first day in Cairo - Khaled. He was superbly knowledgeable, passionate for his country, had deep appreciation for history and magically made Ancient Egypt come alive to us. Really a wonderful introduction to a country.

However, the guide that accompanied us for the remainder of the trip (to Luxor, Aswan, Edfu, and Kom Ombo), Mr. Ez, was complete opposite. Unfortunately, his English was very limited and we often had trouble understanding him, which forced him to frustratingly (for us and for him) repeat same things multiple times. He mainly provided limited bare facts - years, names - and pointed out few things. We had to lean on nearby tour groups to listen to their guides' explanations. He also never even tried to keep the hustlers away from us so we constantly found ourselves being surrounded by aggressive sales people trying to push their stuff or asking for photos. On conclusion of our first day with him, we specifically asked him: "Will we see you again?" He replied, "No." Relieved, we happily paid him his tip and said Good-Bye. To our astonishment, we discovered the next morning that he was joining us for the remainder of the tour. Otherwise, we would have begged Ibrahim to replace the guide before it was too late. Instead, we ended up looking up facts online trying to understand things we were exploring, which I found unacceptable, given the reputation of the company, and my overall satisfaction with them.

Aside from the above, everything else provided by Egypt Promotion was wonderful. I would never forget our magic time cruising on a felucca down the Nile and watching sunset - the idea recommended by Ibrahim, in lieu of a show that was pre-booked but cancelled at the last minute. Overall, I can't think of a better company that could show us Egypt, only wish that I could timely avert having to deal with Mr. Ez for extended period of time.

Without hesitation, I would recommend Egypt promotion to anyone planning a trip to Egypt.

Thank you, Ibrahim and KimKim for this great adventure!

Activity Review

Pyramids, Sphinx , Salah El Deen Citadel and Old Cairo

Cairo

Wonderful guide that made ancient Egypt come alive to us.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Skillful driver able to confidently navigate chaotic Cairo traffic.

Morocco did not disappoint! We experienced a beautiful country with amazing hospitality and a rich, vibrant culture. From the moment we stepped off the plane our itinerary was in motion with every step well coordinated and perfectly timed. A special kudos to our driver, Ahmad, who was extremely accommodating, friendly, and professional. Having a driver made travel easy, fun, and the Mercedes van was super comfortable. No worrying about pick-up, drop off, parking, etc. Local guides were knowledgeable, prompt, and flexible. When we let them know our particular interests they were able to tailor our tours to meet our requests. Hafed in Fes and the food tour with Soufi in Marrakesh were definite high points. Each destination held a special fascination but highlights for me were the Desert Camp near Merzouga, the medina in Fes, and Ait Benhaddou. The Moroccan people were so generous to us and expressed genuine excitement to have tourists back after the pandemic.

Thanks to Erin and her team we managed to pull off the best 3 weeks itinerary in Patagonia on a very short notice. Experienced what both Chile and Argentina had to offer without worrying and planning any of the details. All was perfectly taken care off; from local transportations, hotels, meals, treks, tours, and guided tours..
Would highly recommend !

Jad

we are a family of four, and I have never booked with a travel agency before. My kids are now 12 and 13, and for our trip to Costa Rica, I thought I'd give it a try.

Yuliana was lovely. We went back and forth many times making little adjustments to the itinerary, and talking about possible activities. Typically, our family just lands somewhere, and then tries to figure out what to do, and we never do as much because we are sitting in a hotel room trying to figure it out as we go along.

This trip was so different. Everything was taken care of for us, and there was so little stress. Yuliana knows the country, and each of the hotels and "adventure" companies that are available, so I didn't have to worry, and research every single thing.

We will use these guys again. Why didn't we do this before??????? Give Kimkim a try!

We had a wonderful time in Chile. Lorena planned an adventurous itinerary - city tours, San Pedro hikes, Easter Island wonders, and spectacular hiking in Torres del Paine. During the few times that a flight was rescheduled or the weather interfered with a tour, Lorena and Ignacio stepped up to save the day! We are very grateful to them for making this such a special family vacation.

Hotel Reviews

Renaissance Santiago Hotel

Santiago

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

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Hotel La Casa de Don Tomás

San Pedro de Atacama

Authenticity & Character

best hotel in the area

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Taura'a

Hanga Roa

Sweetest owner - like staying with your aunt.

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Holiday Inn Santiago - Airport Terminal

Santiago

great location for an early flight

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Staff

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Hotel Carpa Manzano

Punta Arenas

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

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Altiplanico Puerto Natales

Natales

Authenticity & Character

beautiful views

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

relaxing and beautiful environment

Activity Reviews

Santiago City Tour

Santiago

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Valley of the Moon Tour

San Pedro de Atacama

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Stargazing Experience

San Pedro de Atacama

This was such a unique experience - the stars are amazing. Guides were incredibly knowledgeable and the use of telescopes was so much fun.

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Hidden Baltinache Lagoons - Currently unavailable

San Pedro de Atacama

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had the most amazing guide!

Transport

Waterfalls Trek - Private tour

San Pedro de Atacama

Very cool to see the geysers. Great guide.

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Tour of Tatio Geysers

San Pedro de Atacama

Great experience and guide.

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Food

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Day Trip to Viña del Mar & Valparaíso

Chile

Really enjoyed touring these towns. Fantastic guide!!!

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Afternoon Tour to Ahu Akivi

Easter Island

Just an amazing experience to see these statues.

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Full-Day Tour of Torres del Paine National Park & Surroundings

Chile

Great overall view of park. Excellent guide.

Base Torres Hike

Chile

Be prepared for a rigorous hike with lots of changes in weather.

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Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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