Kimkim Trip Reviews

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rocco was great!

This is not our thing

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

Very nice accommodations. Nice massages there, too!

Lovely cottage overlooking the ocean. Nice massages, too!

All of our accommodations were fine.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Great Location facing Nile river

Excellent location , in fact one should stay at least for 2 nights to enjoy this hotel

Excellent cruise experience

Overall enjoyed

Enjoyed our stayed at this hotel.

Very cute room and very cute terrace. Super fantastic location in walkable Palermo. I would definitely stay here again when in Buenos Aires.

The hotel had a beautiful view, but is quite noisy on the first floors of the buildings. The heated pool was nice. The breakfast was only ok for a 4 star hotel.

This hotel is amazing and peaceful. We loved the serene setting. The cooking class here was also amazing.

Our guide was fantastic. We went to smaller producer vineyards and they were amazing. Delicious wine.

Very nice location, not as nice as Davinci lodge. The room is very small, it does not fit two independent beds. We had to rent another room.

We loved that lodge. The staff was attentive and kind and the lodge is incredibly nice, spacious, the room was humongous surrounded by lush vegetation. The gardens around the building were very nice, and very well maintained. We stayed in this lodge for three nights. The first night were on our own, no other guests. Their loss, our gain. We were treated by the staff very well. They were attentive to our needs. they have dining area down stairs and upstairs, they have sitting area downstairs and upstairs. Wherever we chose to sit in the evening, they immediately brought a movable "stove" to warm the area. The second night, we were joined by others, the staff was as attentive as the previous night. The evening, the local singers/dancers came to the lodge to give a performance. Everyone had good time. They invited us to join in their dancing. Last day we stayed there, we had to wake up very early (before 4:30) they prepared early breakfast for us, and bagged lunch. We went on a long, tough hike. the trail was muddy, it rained the whole day, when we arrived back to the lodge, We did not want to enter because we were so dirty. They insisted and helped, brought a staff help clean our feed and clothes. We had to do our laundry as we were leaving very early next morning. By far the experience in this lodge was the best we had.

It is clear that this hotel is catering for high end customers and expats. Overall it was good. But the rooms were extremely small. We tried to stay in one room with two bed, for me and my daughter. It was too cramped. We switched to two rooms. The food is OK but not great. The facilities are not maintain well. They advertise they have a gym, When I went there, only one machine worked, they others were hazards, an accident waiting to happen. They do not provide towels in the gym or the pool, you have to request, they bring it on demand, with a bit of delay. I switched three rooms, each one of them had maintenance issues. Squeaky and wobbly bathroom doors. Leaking faucets. In the last room, the sink plug with sink in and could not be taken out. I had to request technician to come fixed twice. The view from the dining area are superb, the pool area is nice as well. The hotel had a gate and cares need to check in before they enter. It give the feeling of safety.

With patience, we were rewarded with a great experience. We watched several Chimpanzees from a close distance. The Park guide warned us before the trekking started that sometimes, it takes time for them to locate the chimps. and that we may need to move from place to place. She was in constant communication with the trackers (Apparently, there are 35 of them who work in the part and help locate the chimps, before the tourist come) nd qt time we had to just stay still auntil she get the signal. There was one/two false alarms. Finally, we reached a place where there three chimps, but they were at the treetop, we could see them but not clearly. As we started going back, she got a signal that some chimps are at a certain location, she dispatched one of the porter/trackers on a short cut. The rest went slower on the main path. The tracker, was very fast, almost sprinting up the hill, causing us to huff and puff and profusely sweat. but we were reward with chimps, climbing down an high tree, stopping to eat, Hanging around for a while as if posing for out cameras. Very nice.

The guide, Oscar, from the forest service was great and knowledgeable. Our own guide, Peter, joined us in this walk and birdwatching, he was helpful and knowledgeable as well. It was a great experience. He, as should be, was patient. At the beginning of the walk, we heard several birds, but not always saw them. then we turned the corner and were rewarded by money birds, several times. Also, the walk was at the edge of the forest on a small dirt road adjacent to the tea plantations. with farmers collecting the tea leaves. which was a bonus. I do bird watching on a weekly basis, this experience was exceptional.

We came to the forest on the designated day, but we decided not to take the walk that day and deferred it to the drive back home. It was raining and we wanted to enjoy the walk. We agreed with our guide, Peter, that we will need to pay the entrance fee again. When we came the next day, the weather was nice. The walk itself is VERY short, nothing special about the hanging bridges for anyone who visit a forest. The bridges are very short compared to the 2km long hike. The park guide, the one who works for the forest, was annoying, he started hinting that in order to answer any question he needs 20USD. not once but multiple times. The guides and porter should know that this is a bad way to get any tip.

It was just a long drive from the north to the south. Our driver and guide was great in answer our questions and entertaining us during the drive, but the drive itself was nothing special.

This hike was an experience for the ages. We are experienced hikers and have been on big mountains and in very difficult conditions. As we started the hike, rain started falling down. When we entered the forest, around 8:00Am, it ws pouring, the trails filled up with water. When we were asked at the beginning of the hike if we needed a porter, we, my daughter and I said, naively, we will take one, as we had only one backpack. Our guide asked as many porters to come with us as guests. This was a very wise decision. soon all of the guests discovered that, the porters' support is essential. They are young, strong and knowledgeable with the terrain and vegetation. The rain was relentless, the dirt turned into slicky mud, water was rushing down the trail. our porters and guides, were great at finding paths side stepping the most difficult parts. When we reached the top, we were grateful that we had the guides and the porters, but it was foggy and windy and because we were soaked in water from the rain and from the stepping in the rushing water, we took the mandatory picture and heading down. The fog prevented us from seeing the crater lake. Going down was even more difficult than going up. Again the porters were great at helping, supporting and steering us to the safest paths, All the guests said at the end that this experience will stay with us the rest of our lives.

This visit was very informative and nice. We do appreciate that us visiting such place may help give people some employment and income and prevent them from reverting to poaching in the forest. But I cannot prevent the feeling that the whole thing is staged.

Overall, this experience was great. We started as all the trip to the Rwandan National Parks by going to the Headquarter, after a short briefing, we were driven to the starting point, we met the guide and porters. From there a short hike through nice farming field. we arrived to the edge of the forest. The monkeys rushed out to greet us, or to steal potatoes. All we needed to do was to stand and watch the monkeys. After some time on the edge of the forest, our guides recommended that we cross the short bridge to the forest. Monkeys there were thriving, many of them going about their business, some played, some stood around as if posing for our cameras. We saw at lease two mothers with tiny babies, the guide mentioned one of them was one week old. This was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.

Was very nice, We loved the trip to the market, As we liked the stop at the question coffee shop and the gallery. We were supposed to visit the Genocide museum, but an unknown VIP occupied the museum and we could not enter that day. Peter P, our driver and guide was incredible throughout the trip. He was helpful, knowledgeable and patient with all our questions. We loved him dearly.

We were booked into one of the apartments at this site and not only was it a wonderful, well-equipped apartment but it had a garage for the car. The hosts were great fun to meet. it would be a wonderful place to stay for a longer time.

The Taj 51 is a unique property in a great location. The staff was very solicitous and the service was impeccable!

David was an amazing guide! His insider knowledge was very interesting and made for a fun tour!

The castle is amazing but be sure to leave time to explore the town!

This tour was a lot of fun! Jack was a great tour guide and shared a lot of very interesting facts about famous musical artists and the beer was good too!

Our tour guide Don was great!

Our tour guide Steve was great! He was super friendly and knowledgable and funny!

The cruise is AMAZING! It has super nice staff and super fun as all the activities are for all the people on the cruise. As it is a small cruise, it allows you to meet other travelers and we had the best guide ever! The food was also really good!

You will wake up to the most beautiful sunrise ever! Expect some insects around the area as it is in the middle of nature, however, the room was really big and they have a super nice common area.

It has a central location and has super nice staff! Also has a super nice rooftop for drinks.

The Cu Chi tunnels were really fun and interesting! It is a long drive from the city but totally worth it! We enjoyed an amazing lunch with our guide (not included in the tour), who took us to a great restaurant he knew. Our HCM City tour was also really good!

It was really special the cave visit we did as we ended up in a beach with amazing views! We also had a super fun cooking class back on the cruise.

One of the highlights of our trip was our Bai Tu Long Bay Cruise. The boat was super comfortable and cosy as we where not many people. The crew was super nice, and our guide was amazing! Kayaking to the beach and swimming in the bay was a memory we will always remember

The boat ride in Ninh Binh was beautiful, it lasted for two hours, and we went through four different natural caves, which was one of the highlights!

Mai Chau was a complete surprise for us! We stopped there for a short hike around the rice paddy fields and had lunch there. It is a super beautiful village and a great first contact with nature. It was good that we only went there for lunch as apparently it gets quite busy with tourists and locals, and we also went on a Monday, which really helped! The food and the views were amazing. Then we drove to Pu Luong, which was astonishing. The hike was beautiful, and it was great that our guide gave us the option on how long we wanted the hike to last, we decided on 2 hours, and it was the best option, as the route we took gave us the most amazing views.

This tour was really complete; we started with the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where you can not take any photos but it is pretty impressive. Our guide was super informative and told us everything about Vietnam's recent history and Ho Chi Minh's role. Then we visited the Temple of Literature, which was super pretty and interesting. We enjoyed local lunch and then we could choose between a museum or a prison. We chose the prison, which was also super interesting! We ended the day with a water puppet show and a cyclo ride around Hoan Kiem Lake and the Old Quarter. It was a really complete tour!

One of our favorite tours! The people in the Mekong were the nicest! The highlight was visiting a coconut candy workshop where we bought local products!

I loved that our guide took us to places we probably would not have found ourselves. Our favorites were the Green Papaya Salad and the cooked rice cakes