Kimkim Trip Reviews

We hadn't traveled with Kimkim or Original Travels before, but the reviews we read were assuring. And the support we had prior to the trip from Said was great: responsive and reassuring. And then we had our first in-person meeting when we met our guide and drive with whom we would spend many hours each day for two plus weeks, Lahcen, a wonderful driver and guide, and even better person. Whether navigating narrow and crowded streets in the medinas, the traffic-clogged city streets, or the winding mountain roads, Lahcen was more than up to the task. And he was always there for us, greeting us at the airport as well as the meeting spots in each of the locations, and checking on us to ensure that we arrived safely at our riads.

In addition to Lahcen, we had tremendous guides, Mona in Rabat, Sharif in Fes, Hanan in Marrakesh, Youssef in the Sahara, Redwan in Ourika, Said in Essaouira. Mona was our first guide and gave us a wonderful orientation to Morocco as well as a great tour of Rabat. Youssef gave us two wonderful rides over the Sahara dunes, one on camel and another in a jeep. Hanan took us around Marrakech, including a wonderfully delicious food tour (great donuts!).

We also enjoyed delicious meals with several local families, in particular the Benhrahims in Fes, and Berber families in Er-Rissani and Ourika.

Our accommodations were more than clean and comfortable. In the cities our riads were in the heart of the medinas. In the Sahara we were at the Tiziri Luxury Camp. In the mountains our kasbahs were wonderful oases. At each we found very welcoming, friendly and accommodating staff, tasty meals, and great services.

Our one small regret is that we didn't spend more time at the Kasbah Bab Ourika. That was a serene spot with lots of hiking possibilities, but we were only there about 19 hours, therefore unable to take advantage of these hikes. Our accommodations at this Kasbah were exquisite.

Finally, while we never met Said at Original Travels, he provided wonderful support before and during our trip, including adjusting our itinerary to accomodate a scheduling error we made and to connect us with local guides for some continued touring after the Kimkim tour.

In all, thank you all for a wonderful 2-plus weeks adventure.

Hotel Reviews

Tiziri Luxury Camp

Merzouga

The staff gave us a great Sahara experience, from the camel ride to the dune exploring in a 4x4, to the visits to local Berber villages and families. A shout out to Youssef and Mousafa.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Nyla And Spa Marrakech

Marrakech

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right in the middle of the medina

Staff

Always available to help us and make our stay comfortable

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Braya

Fes Medina

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Perle D'Eau

Essaouira

Authenticity & Character

Location

The location was wonderful but the road in front is being renovated making access a little awkward. But that will be fixed.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kasbah Bab Ourika

Ourika

Wish we had more time here!

Authenticity & Character

What a wonderful oasis

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kasbah Titrit

Ait Ben Haddou

While difficult to find it was a great overnight.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Wonderful views of the countryside

Staff

Can't say enough about the staff - friendly, accommodating and very responsive

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Kalaa 2

Rabat

Our first riad was a wonderful introduction to Morocco

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Guided Tour of Hassan II Mosque

Morocco

This was a nice tour. We were able to see the inside of a mosque and hear all about the cultural aspects of Muslim prayer.

Quick Tour of Casablanca with your Driver-Guide

Morocco

Lachen showed us around Casablanca, dropped us off at a great restaurant (Restaurant Le Fleur, I believe) where we had our first tagine. Delicious. He brought us to the great Mosque where he had to finagle a tour for us since we arrived after the last tour had started a short time before we arrived. He then took us on a drive through Casablanca and let us off at a Medina in the older part of the city. We headed off to Rabat late afternoon.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Lahcen was great in every way. He was always attentive to our needs.

Transport

Great driver. Always connected with our next guide or riad to ensure a positive experience.

FIVE STARS!

My travel companion, Suzanne Michael, and I cannot say enough good things about our experience working with Hien at Realistic Asia. First, Hien and her staff were always immediately responsive (even on weekends despite the 10-12 hours time difference) and helpful as we planned the 20-day trip from Seattle, WA to Vietnam and Laos.

Suzanne worked on most of the planning with Hien. Suzanne had received several suggestions from friends who had travelled in Vietnam and Laos. Hien and her team carefully created an itinerary that included Suzanne's suggested sites and areas to visit. Hien also provided very useful suggestions for visiting other areas, taking into account seasonal weather, the physical requirements (e.g., walking up trails in Sapa), and the logistics of visiting a myriad of places. The trip required knowledgeable trip planners who were familiar with the type of transportation required between sites, length of travel days, and realistically, given our ages (70's), how to visit as many of the sites as possible within our 20-days trip schedule.

Hien arranged all the hotel accommodations, guides, and drivers; and made complex, important logistical suggestions involving domestic/international airlines and long-distance drivers. During our travels – all the logistical arrangements she made worked seamlessly.

The accommodations Hien and her team booked for us in Hanoi, Hue, and Luang Prabang were wonderful. The staff in each hotel were warm, welcoming, and very helpful. Hotels were very well-maintained and perfectly located for the site visits we planned. The guides were excellent - extremely knowledgeable of the historical and geographical sites we visited, and very proud of their culture and history. They shared so much with us, we loved their enthusiasm and learned much from them.

When Suzanne became ill with severe gastroenteritis, dehydration, and nausea, Hien immediately found us alternate accommodations (to supplement our reserved stays at original hotels in Luang Prabang, and Hanoi), and assisted with the flight from Laos to Vietnam. She also arranged a guide and driver to assist us in Hanoi upon arrival from Laos.

Hien was always in touch with us as we endured our difficult illness situation - she made sure that we were accommodated as comfortably as possible. She also ensured that we had a guide and driver to the Hanoi airport on our home journey. The guide was very efficient. Because Suzanne was very weak, the guide made sure that we got through the Hanoi airport check-in as efficiently as possible and arranged for a wheelchair to get her to the boarding gate and to have a wheelchair at subsequent airports in Hanoi, Taipei and Seattle airports.

Since returning to the USA, Hien has maintained contact to check on Suzanne's health, and to work closely with us to provide the myriad documentation required by our travel insurance companies to get reimbursement.

Suzanne and I are deeply grateful to Hien and her team for their knowledge and skill in creating our itinerary, and for their support and follow-up during this very difficult period of illness. We highly recommend her, Realistic Asia and Kim Kim to others interested in traveling to SE Asia, and give Hien, Realistic and Kim Kim five stars.

Best regards, Barb Crook

Suzanne · Nov 17
Barb says it all - Hien was just terrific in planning our trip and in helping us when I fell ill. She and her staff are outstanding travel agents, and extremely thoughtful in working with her clients. I enthusiastically recommend her services and her agency. Hien, many many thanks for all you have done for us. I will always be deeply grateful. Warm wishes, Suzanne

Cristobal was our main guide for our time on mainland Ecuador and he was exceptional; friendly, informative, and thorough. We had a series of help on the Galapagos including Paola, Liz, and the proprietor of our incredible Hotel, Jessica. All of them were wonderful as well.
We shot ourselves in the foot a bit by booking such a short trip and trying to mix evening celebrations with early morning excursions, but we left feeling we had made the most of our time in Ecuador.
Isabel was manning the control decks and absolutely nailed it. We had exceptional guides for every step of our journey and she made sure all of our shuttling throughout Ecuador was adequately chaperoned.
Would emphatically recommend Isabel, Cristobal, and the whole team--but would also encourage anyone using KimKim to book a longer trip than you think you'll need to allow for some R&R (we booked 8 days to hit Quito, Baños, and the Galapagos).

The trip was amazing!!
Thank you so much to the Kim Kim team and Megan for helping us put this trip together.
Megan was super responsive and answered all the questions we had. Our stays were great and everyone we interacted with was so kind and made us feel comfortable.

Mohamed our driver was amazing - so kind, knowledgeable and respectful! He was one of the main reasons our trip turned out the way it did! We spent hours in the car together getting from one city to another. He took care of us, and he made sure we were comfortable and safe!

By far one of the best trips we experienced!!

Highly recommend Kim Kim for all your travel needs.

It's so crazy to just get to book a trip and essentially forget about it until the day of. My guide, Fernanda, did her best to get as much as she could in the short time I had. I chose a weird time of year to go to Canada, but she still pulled some strings and I got to see some cool stuff. I see myself using KimKim for any vacation I plan. The cost was really fair, too.

Hotel Review

Le Nouvel Hotel

Montreal

The loft bedrooms are so pretty, and the hotel is positioned close to a lot of interesting places. The metro entrance isn't far either.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

City & Country Tour

Québec City

The bus tour guide is really awesome. If you're considering it, you NEED to do the city and country tour. There's so many interesting spots I never could have found on my own.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Megan was fantastic at helping us plan the perfect trip! She was very informative and replied in a timely manner, and put up with all of our back and forth!
Our trip to Morocco felt like a dream! We were picked up by our driver Mohamed at the airport and started our journey! Mohamed was amazing and such a gem! He was very knowledgeable and felt like family by the end of our trip! He was fantastic and put up with all of our craziness! We learned a great deal from Mohamed and would hands down recommend him as your driver/guide!
We started our trip in Casablanca and headed to Chefchaouen which was beautiful! Our accommodation wasn't our favourite but we made the most of it. The Blue City is beautiful and definitely worth the visit! We also had a day trip to
Akchour Falls which is beautiful and we were able to swim near the falls!
We then headed to Fes and stayed at Riad Farouzi Fes which was AMAZING! This place will always hold a special place in my heart based on the service we received! Badar was amazing and make our stay extra special! We were celebrating my birthday later in the trip but they surprised me with music and cake upon our arrival and it's a special memory I'll always cherish! The hospitality was amazing and the riad is beautiful and spacious! We felt like royalty! We did a walking tour with another guide named Mohammed who was very knowledgeable and we learned a lot!
We then headed to Merzouga which was magical! Our stay in the Sahara felt like a dream come true! The sunset camel ride was unbelievable and our guide Hassan made the camel ride memorable! Hotel Cafe du Sud was an amazing tent experience and we were welcomed by friendly faces and service!
We then headed to Ouarzazate and stayed at Les temple des Arts which was very luxurious and beautiful! We had a slight issue with our room that was handled right away with no hiccups and we were treated like royalty and it was a lovely place to wake up to on my birthday!
We finally then embarked to Marrakech which was better than I could have imagined! We stayed at Riad Karmela which was beautiful and was fortunate to get the best room in the Riad with a balcony overlooking the courtyard! The staff at this Riad were remarkable and was a great highlight from our trip!
Kim Kim/Megan were very kind to throw in a surprise motorbike sidecar tour of Marrakech which was another highlight of our trip! It was very neat to see the city this way and a memory I will always treasure!

This is probably the best trip I've ever been on, which says a lot coming from someone who enjoys travelling quite often! I want to thank Megan for her services, and I especially want to thank Mohamed our driver, without him, our trip would not have been as memorable as it was, and I'll always remember our conversations during our long drives! We're now his favourite crazy Canadian girls! :)

Hotel Reviews

Hilton Garden Inn Casablanca Sud

Casablanca

Hotel is new and very clean and spacious! Pool is very nice and the gym has everything you need! Breakfast was amazing and had a lot of options! Staff was very friendly.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Cafe Du Sud

Lac Yasmins

Our night in this tent experience was amazing! Staff was very friendly and helpful! Dinner was one of our best meals! Music and entertainment was great and I would definitely stay here again! The pool has an amazing few of the sand dunes from the hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Karmela

Marrakech

This Riad was beautiful and in a great location! Staff was very welcoming and attentive! Our room was the best in the entire Riad and we felt very special! Staff went out of their way to ensure we were taken care of, especially as we were 3 younger women travelling and wanting to experience nightlife as well in Marrakesh! I would highly recommend staying here! Breakfast has a variety of options!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Staff greeted us the day we arrived which happened to be on my birthday! They took care of us and always made sure we had everything we needed! They were extremely friendly and helped us arrange taxis/tuk tuks and made sure we got the best price! The staff went out of their way to make sure we were having a great time.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kasbah Mohayut

Merzouga

Room was spacious and service was great! Staff was very friendly!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Farouzi Fes

Fes

This is the one of our favourite Riad's! Everything was impeccable, from us being welcomed, to our entire stay! Staff was extremely helpful! Shout out to Badar who was amazing and made us feel like royalty! He had a smile that would light up a room! The Riad also surprised me with music and cake for my birthday week! I would highly recommend this Riad! It is a few months new and very spacious!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Badar was amazing!!!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Our room was amazing!

Riad Zaitouna Chaouen

Chefchaouen

Staff was friendly, but our room was very small/squished. Had issues with the bathroom light not working when we arrived, which was quickly arrived. The Riad had a strong smell that was hard to ignore (damp smell). Breakfast on the rooftop was amazing! Hot breakfast with an amazing few!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Odyssee Center

Casablanca

Good hotel to start our journey! Rooms were clean and breakfast was good!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Tour Marrakech with a private guide

Marrakesh

It was nice to see Marrakech by foot, but our guide Mustapha was not quite knowledgeable and seemed to be more into talking to other people he saw on the street and was on his phone. We felt like we were following him around and didn't feel like the best use of our time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chefchaouen to Fes via Volubilis

Morocco

Volubilis was amazing! I didn't know anything prior to visiting and we learned a lot from the history and our guide Mohamed was amazing! Very insightful!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Akchour Falls from Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen

This hike was amazing! A beautiful way to see a different side of Morocco! Our guide was extremely friendly and only spoke a bit of English but we were still able to communicate! The falls are amazing and we were also able to swim!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Camel Trek into a Luxury Sahara Camp

Morocco

Our guide, Hassan was amazing! He was extremely funny and made our camel ride very memorable! He was very smart and a great people person! He helped calmed my nerves and I felt safe getting on/off the camel. He took amazing pictures and videos to help us remember our trip! This was the highlight of our entire trip, which would not have been possible without Hassan!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour Fes with a Private Guide

Fes

Our guide Mohamed was very knowledgeable and we spent the entire day with him. We learned a lot about Fes, and visited several places. He was one of our favourite guides we encountered! He was extremely friendly and patient with our questions, and with our random stops to shop.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hassan II Mosque

Morocco

Beautiful mosque with a lot of history!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dat was very helpful and responsive, we had a great journey with really no issues.

We had a superb trip. Lacey was excellent and whenever there was an issue she addressed it quickly and calmly. The guides provided were excellent and knowledgeable. The whole trip ran smoothly. I cannot recommend highly enough Lacey and her team

Hotel Reviews

Aliana Boutique Sapa Hotel & Spa (Ex: Aira Boutique Sapa Hotel)

Sapa

Authenticity & Character

Location

Amazing views from the hotel

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Green Bay Resort Phu Quoc

Amazing hotel, our room, a beach front villa was spectacular. Be aware this is a quiet hotel, the nearest village/town is a good 20 minute walk, but for us it was brilliant. The staff were helpful, but sadly their English wasn’t that good, which lead to a few mistakes, that were quickly corrected once pointed out.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hanoi Allure Hotel

Wonderful hotel in the middle of the old quarter of Hanoi, but wonderfully quiet

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mai House Saigon

HCMC

Lovely hotel wish we could have stayed longer

Authenticity & Character

Location

Ve

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Indochine Lan Ha Cruise

Hai Phong

Very comfortable boat. I am fraud my expectations were for a cruse round Ha Long bay, that wasn’t to be the case we spent more time on the tender boat going to the boat, visiting caves and returning from the boat. Not what I was expectinh

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Y Linh Ho – Lao Chai – Ta Van – Sapa - night train to Hanoi (private 2 berth cabin)

Vietnam

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arrival in Hanoi - Transfer to Halong Bay by private car

Vietnam

Very smooth driver waiting at the right time for us.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanoi Full Day City Exploration

Hanoi

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kelly was an amazing trip specialist, she was very easy to work with and easy to communicate with. She was patient with us and helped us choose the right itinerary for us prior to booking. Once we booked the trip, she even made sure that our accomodations, meal preferences and transportation were all set up. We did a 8 night stay in Thailand. We visited Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket. Once we were on the trip, she was easy to communicate with and she was flexible and helped change our itinerary as needed. Our local guide in Bangkok was Amy. She was phenomenal. Amy is by far the best tour guide we have ever had. She was so friendly, knowledgeable and very flexible. We traveled with our two children. Amy was immensely considerate of our children and built the day around the kids schedules and made sure the kids were doing well while on the day tours. She was so kind that she even volunteered to come into our apartment and help put our daughter to sleep for a nap. Nanzy was our tour guide in Chiang Mai, she was also incredibly helpful and fun. She took us to all the right places in Chiang Mai and also found some amazingly tasty local eateries that she picked out just for us. Fai Fhai was our guide in Phuket. She was really helpful and punctual and she really helped us make sure we made it onto our flights back home. She stayed at the airport until we crossed through security and passport control to make sure everything was ok and that we would be boarding our flight back home just fine. Overall we were satisfied with KimKim and will definitely book our next international vacation through them.

Wow - what a perfect vacation experience! Vickie listened carefully to my desires for types of excursions and activities, and then made recommendations on other things that I definitely liked. It was important to me to be very active on this trip. So we went hiking, biking, wine tasting, white water rafting, kangaroo petting, food touring, snorkeling, ziplining, jet boat riding and more. Plus we climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge AND went Bungee Jumping. Wow!

With so many activities, it was important to understand where we had to be and when to meet up with our tours. The app was so helpful in this regard.

Thank you Kim-Kim and thank you Vickie!

Marc was excellent to work with. He followed my specific requests. I had a last minute change because Ubud was very touristy. Instead, I wanted to spend more time at the beach and it worked well. Nusa Dua is definitely the clean beach area and nice hotels. I am vegan so it was easy to get the best fried rice and stir fry including the best tofu/tempe. Jerry, the local driver was amazing. Jerry was very knowledgeable, humble, flexible, friendly, and very kind. If I were to do it all over again, I would have stayed in Nusa Dua. The mountain bike ride was awesome, excellent local guide and safe ride with a tasty lunch. The cooking class was the best with the locals and delicious (he also shared the recipe with me). The ridge walk hike was a workout as it was at least 31 degrees Celsius; highly recommend it in Ubud. Also, hostels are really nice so this is cheaper and a nicer way to meet people. It was tough to meet people as I was the only person on the tour and not many solo travelers. It would be great for the hotels to have a social hour at the pool to meet people from all over. Highly recommend Marc and Jerry. Overall, a great and fun trip.

Hotel Reviews

Jimbaran Bay Beach Resort & Spa - CHSE Certified

Kedonganan

The staff was so sweet and accommodating. Delicious food at the restaurant and fifth floor (lounge). The beach had a lot of garbage and stray dogs but the sunrise/sunset were beautiful. This hotel also needs to have a social hour so people can meet from all over!!! Prices were cheap.

Authenticity & Character

Location

not centrally located.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Green field Ubud

Ubud

Central hotel in the town center. No social hour at the pool. Friendly and very kind staff. Great food at their restaurant. Close to bars, shops, and restaurants.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Mountain bike from Batur to Ubud

Indonesia

The infinity guide was lots of fun. A bummer it was only 2 people and still it was awesome. Made good stops for nice photos! Lunch was delicious too.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cultural Immersion and traditions at Rumah Desa

Indonesia

Learning about the culture, history, and religion was fascinating. The local guide was awesome and the cooking class made my day.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I worked with Kelly for about a month as we collaboratively designed our trip to Thailand. I found her very respectful, flexible, responsive, and helpful. Kelly was always happy to make changes as we honed our trip. She also caught a few oversights/mistakes in our planning. Prior to departure, I felt as though Kelly prepared us well for our trip.

Once we started our trip all aspects were of high quality and very satisfactory. For example, all our hotel accommodations were up to our standards, 4-star +. Each activity was run well. We especially liked all the private events that we planned. Every guide and event occurred as planned and on time -- so smooth, no real hiccups on a complex trip -- very impressive.

Tammy was the first guide we interacted with. She met us in Bangkok right on time and was a wealth of knowledge. She brought us all around Bangkok, viewing many palaces and temples. She also brought us around food tasting. Every step of the way she was extremely responsive and helpful. She helped us get to the airport and send us on our way to Kaoh Sok.

Once we landed in Surat Thani our next guide, Mr. Por was waiting for us. We boarded the van and headed to Kaoh Sok National Park. We boarded our private longtail with James at the helm. We all headed for hotel over the water. Por was a great guide for the 2 day one night trip on the lake. He was very motivated to help us have the best experience. In particular he worked hard to expose us to monkeys of the forest, a family of elephants along the lake's edge and numerous birds, spiders, lizards, etc. His enthusiasm was infectious. He and James were just so much appreciated.

We departed and headed to Phuket where we checked into our Sunwing Bangtao hotel which was stunning. Our excursions to Phi Phi for snorkeling was amazing. The 1/2 day at the elephant sanctuary was just so enjoyable and fun.

Then, sadly we were met at our hotel by ?Niki? and she ensured that we were all set to travel back to Bangkok.

I cannot say enough about how well this trip was run. All aspects were delivered at or above expectations. All drivers and guides showed up on time and were excellent.

I would not hesitate to go with KimKim again; knocked it out of the park!!!

Hotel Reviews

Panvaree Resort

Khao Sok

Stunning place, you will not be disappointed -- just book this!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

nestled among cliffs with incredible views

Staff

Very sweet, helpful, etc.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Maitria Hotel Sukhumvit 18

Bankok

Solid hotel for city. We didn't spend much time in Bangkok

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sunwing Bangtao Beach

Phuket

It is a "family hotel" and there is a slant towards young ones and teens, but that was not really a negative for us. Hotel rooms, very very nice. Location exceptional. Pools amazing. Breakfast was really great, but lunch and dinner, not that great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The grounds were kept perfect

Activity Reviews

Full Day Phi Phi Island & Khai Island by Speed Boat Tour(Join-in)

Phuket

Had a great time, but just too crowded and chaotic.

Quality of Experience

less crowded in all respects

Food

buffet lunch was quite good

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Kwa was great.

Transport

boat over crowded

Tour in Khao Sok National Park（Day 2）

Khao Sok

Second day as good as the first.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half day tour with Elephant Jungle Sanctuary(join-in)

Phuket

This was done so well and a blast. Definitely book this one!!!!

Quality of Experience

Nice program with meaningful activities

Guides, Drivers and Staff

genuine people

Transport

nice van and not too crowded.

3-Day Khao Sok Cheow Lan Lake tour (private-day1)

Khao Sok

Mr. Por was an excellent guide. This place is stunning A must do if you are into nature and beauty.

Quality of Experience

Guide was good at getting us close to nature, i.e. elephants, several types of monkeys, birds, etc.

Food

Food was provided, no decisions. Plenty of food and nice variety.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Mr. Por was the best.

Transport

nice quality van. Good longtail

Private Night Food tour with TukTuk with car and guide pick-up at hotel

Bangkok

Lots of fun. Tammy provided lots of history. Toured palaces and temples. Great overall night.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our guide Tendu was exceptional, also the two porters were very nice and helpful

My traveling companion, Suzanne Michael, and I cannot say enough good things about our experience working with Hien at Realistic Asia. First, Hien and her staff were always immediately responsive and helpful as we planned the 20 day trip from Seattle, WA to Vietnam and Laos. Suzanne worked on most of the planning with Hien; she had gotten several suggestions from friends who had travelled in Vietnam and Laos. Hien and her team carefully created an itinerary that included Suzanne's suggested sites and areas to visit, arranged all the hotel accommodations, guides, and drivers, and made complex, important logistical suggestions involving domestic/international airlines and long- distance drivers.

Hien provided very useful suggestions for visiting the areas, carefully considering seasonal weather issues, the physical requirements (eg: walking up trails in Sapa), and the logistics of visiting a myriad of places. The trip required knowledgeable trip planners who were familiar with the type of transportation required between sites, length of travel days, and realistically, given our ages (70's) how to visit as many of the sites as possible within our 20 day trip schedule.

The accommodations Hien and her team arranged in Hanoi, Hue, and Luang Prabang were wonderful. The staff in each hotel were warm, welcoming and very helpful. Hotels were very well-maintained and perfectly located for the site visits we planned. The guides were excellent - extremely knowledgeable of the historical and geographical sites we visited, very proud of their culture and history. They shared so much with us; we loved their enthusiasm and learned from them.

When my travel companion became ill with severe gastroenteritis, dehydration, and nausea, Hien immediately found us alternate accommodations (to supplement our reserved stays at original hotels in Luang Prabang and Hanoi), and assisted with the flight from Laos to Vietnam (arranged guide and driver to assist us in Hanoi upon arrival). Hien was always in touch with us as we endured our difficult illness situation - she made sure that we were accommodated as comfortably as possible. She also ensured that we had a guide and driver to the Hanoi airport on our home journey. The guide was very efficient. Because Suzanne was very weak, the guide made sure that we got through the airport check-in as efficiently as possible and arranged for a wheelchair to get her to the boarding gate (my companion used a wheelchair in Hanoi, Taipei and Seattle airports).

Since returning to the USA, Hien has maintained contact and worked closely with us to provide the myriad documentation required by our travel insurance companies to get reimbursement. Finally, Suzanne Michael and I are deeply grateful to Hien and her team for their knowledge and skill in creating our itinerary, and for their support and follow-up during this very difficult period of illness. We will highly recommend her, Realistic Asia and Kim Kim to others interested in traveling to SE Asia. Best regards, Barb Crook

Silvía was amazing. All to often an itenerary is presented agreed upon and the you never hear from the planner again. With Silvía it was the complete opposite. She listened to all of our needs. She addressed our concerns and created a travel plan that exceeded our expectations. From delicious cuisine in Narfeyrarstofa to hiking through the glaciers in Katla, Silvía’s attention to detail created a unforgettable experience my wife and I will speak about for years to come. We look forward to planning another vacation with her with more hiking and more adventure. Thank you again for helping us cross off another item on our bucket list.

Hotel Reviews

Konvin Hotel by Reykjavik Keflavik Airport

Keflavík

Hotel Laki

Kirkjubæjarklaustur

Remote location which made it perfect for viewing the northern lights

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Stracta Hotel

Hella

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hótel Hafnarfjall

Hvalfjarðarsveit

Cozy with beautiful scenery

Authenticity & Character

Location

Beautiful location

Staff

Very accommodating

Cleanliness & Comfort

Puffin Hotel Vík

Vík

Cute hotel

Authenticity & Character

Location

Centrally located

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fosshotel Baron

Reykjavík

Activity Reviews

Lunar Landscapes & Healing Waters – Blue Lagoon Immersion

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Katla Ice Cave

Iceland

Absolutely amazing experience guides were extremely knowledgeable

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Would do it again tomorrow

Transport

Icelandic Culinary Adventure - Lava Restaurant

Iceland

Beautiful venue

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Secret Lagoon

Iceland

Reykjanes Peninsula to Keflavik

Iceland

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Giulia and her KimKim Team for arranging such an amazing trip to Italy. From the moment we stepped off the plane in Venice till the time we (regretfully) departed from Naples, we were met as promised by Giulia's tour guides & drivers. They were on time, knowlegeable, and displayed the utmost professionalism. They really made this trip special! It was all I expected and more. With familial roots in this beautiful coutry, I hope to return one day, and my first call will be to Giulia. Keep up the good work!!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Continental

Sorrento

Authenticity & Character

Location

Beautiful views from rooftop

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel L'Orologio Roma

Roma

Authenticity & Character

Location

Centrally located and easy access to all

Staff

Super friendly staff!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Super comfortable room, great bathroom!

Hotel Berchielli

Florence

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

HOTEL AL PONTE MOCENIGO

Beautiful room, and I loved the bath!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Transfer by watertaxi

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

One Day on the Amalfi Coast with driver (Amalfi, Positano, Ravello)

Italy

Absolutely my favorite part of the trip. Our driver was kind, patient, and an excellent driver!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Venice Walking Tour with guide

Italy

Very friendly and informative guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vatican & Sistine Chapel Group Tour

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cicchetti and Wine tour

Venice

Very warm and friendly guide

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Gondola ride

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Meet & greet by our English-speaking assistant

Venice Airport (VCE)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tuscany: San Gimignano & Volterra Day Trip with Food & Wine

Italy

Luciana was very vivacious, extremely knowlegable guide, great driver! This tour was one of my favorite of the trip

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mieke was fantastic! She was amazingly responsive and worked with me over a long period of time (trip was delayed due to Covid) to design the trip to Bhutan I'd always hoped for.

Hi kimkim and Italian specialists,

I would like to thank kimkim and the Italian staff.
Especially my contact Deborah, for making this four-week trip to Italy an unforgettable experience for my wife and I.
It was worth the three-year delay due to COVID19.

There were two important elements of this trip for us.
The first was to visit and enjoy the wonderful Italian art, culture and history.
Secondly, to celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary through our trip to Italy.

Both of these came true and our long-held dream came true.
Above all, Deborah's communication skills and understanding of our needs were outstanding.
I would like to thank her first of all. Of course, it was good that Fabio first asked us what we wanted and then made a travel plan accordingly.
In the cities where we stayed, we were able to spend one or two days visiting the main sites and museums efficiently with a small group of people and a specialised guide arranged by local specialist.
We also had a free day to go around with our guidebook. The combination of guided and free days was also good.

The certified guides Local specialist arranged for us were excellent in their explanations and expertise.
In particular, the Japanese-speaking guide was very good and we learnt a lot.
Especially Luigia in Rome, Hiromi in Florence, Vania in Venice and Haruko in Verona and Haruko in Verona was very enthusiastic and professional.

The drivers and pick-up service were also excellent, punctual and friendly.
Beatrice, our concierge in Rome, was quick to respond and fix when we called her when we were delayed at Lake Como. Beatrice in Venice was very helpful with local information, including local restaurants.
We had been warned by friends to be careful at Italian train stations because of pickpockets, but these ladies made us feel safe and secure on the train. We had nothing to worry about. Everyday was excited and fun.

We received champagne at the hotels in Rome, Milan and Venice and drink vouchers at the hotel in Florence to celebrate our wedding. Thanks to local specialist for organising this.

All hotels had their own characteristics and good points. The hotels in Rome Milan and Venezia were well located and we were able to walk to most of the main sights.　The hotel in Asisi gave us outstanding quality, and fresh food in the restaurant. The Perugia hotel has history. The hotel in Florence was very comfortable with spacious and nice room. The staff at this hotel were the friendliest. We were also very happy with the hotels in Milan, Venezia and Ravenna with their excellent rooms.

We are very happy we chose kimkim ,local specialist as our travel agent.
Now we're hoping to visit Southern Italy and Sicily one day, and when we do, we'll use Kim Kim again.　
Thank to kimkim and all the Italian staff for our great trip to Italy.
Grazie
Takaaki and Ryoko

Our local specialist, Jessica was incredible. She gave great suggestions, booked all the right spots, and took into account our feedback too. Our trip to Indonesia was one for the books and would highly recommend booking through KimKim and Jessica for trips to Indonesia!

We loved our vacation in Morocco! Went on the Morocco Grand Tour: Cities, Desert and Mountains and had a fabulous adventure every day! Our trip was arranged perfectly with all the activities and places we wanted to include from the start. The people, food, rooms and adventures were all amazing. Our driver, Faissal, who we had with us for the full 15 days was the best driver in Morocco! He helped with everything along the way, hand picked our other city and hiking guides for various daily activities we had along the way. He was available 24/7 for anything we needed and was immediately responsive to any questions or needs we had. He also was able to recommend where to get various arts and crafts items for the best price and that were of the highest quality. Not only was he the best driver in Morocco, but he has become a friend for life now.

Hotel Reviews

Riad Chbanate

Essaouira

This was an amazing Riad. The rooms are large and clean and comfortable. The breakfasts are incredible. The staff are amazing!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tiziri Luxury Camp

Merzouga

Absolutely incredible and highly recommended! So nice and quiet and dark where you can see all the stars on a clear night. Many interesting, original and fun activities available to do upon your choosing. Great live music by the staff every night. Food was amazing! Some of the best on our trip.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Ghita

Fes

Great rooms, food, location and staff. Beautiful Riad

Authenticity & Character

Location

close to Medina

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Dar Mounir

Chefchaouen

great location, room, breakfast buffet and staff. Very quaint and comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Oum Palace Hotel & SPA

Casablanca

We were only there for a night on arrival. It was clean, had a great breakfast buffet and the staff were nice and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

it was just an older hotel

Activity Reviews

Horseback Riding on the Beach of Essaouira

Essaouira

Great experience riding/ galloping horses on the beach. The horse guides did a great job making sure everyone was safe and the horses were well trained

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Faissal

Marrakech to Essaouira

Morocco

Short drive to Essaouira with stop at beautiful and interesting Argan Oil factory.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Faissal

Guided Tour of Essaouira

Essaouira

Interesting and informative tour through Medina with Mohammed, who was a good guide. He took us to some amazing places we likely would not have discovered on our own such as the Jewish Synagogue, an amazing art gallery and the wood working factory as well as the silver smith store. Very knowledgeable. Good tour.

Quality of Experience

Food

didn't actually eat any food on tour but went to amazing restaurant for lunch afterwords with great views called Salut Maroc

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A Day of Natural Splendors: High Atlas Mountains Adventure & Lunch with a Berber Family

Marrakesh

Took a nice hike in the mountains to a waterfall then to a Berber family house for a delicious lunch. Again, not exactly what we expected. Our mountain hiking guide, Mohammed, was awesome. The hike was great! Beautiful and quiet. Lunch with a Berber family should really be called lunch at a Berber family's house where they serve you then you have lunch with the guide.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Faissal

Marrakech Evening Food Tour

Marrakesh

Met up with Hanan again, who was our guide earlier in the day. Food tour was interesting and delicious. My wife has some food intolerances and Hanan was able to easily accommodate for that. Had some amazing tangia and roasted lamb among various other tasty treats.

Quality of Experience

Food

Berber pizza, amazing tangia and roasted lamb. It was all delicious

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half-Day Guided Tour of Marrakech

Marrakesh

Amazing day with tour of Bahia Palace, the Medina and souks with a great guide, Hanan. Next Faissal, our driver took us to the Majorelle Gardens which was an unexpected and beautiful place in the big city of Marrakech.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ait Benhaddou to Marrakech via Tizi N'Tichka pass

Morocco

Ait Benhaddou was cool and interesting. Then drove through the High Atlas Mountains with beautiful views and a stop for lunch with panoramic view.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Faissal

From Merzouga Desert to Aït Benhaddou

Morocco

Another long driving day but with great stops at a Berber market, in Toudra to look at Berber carpets, some stops for panoramic views to take pictures and finally at Atlas Studios where many movies have been filmed including parts of Alladin, Gladiator 2 and Game of Thrones.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Faissal, our driver, is always on time, if not early and goes out of his way to make sure everything is going well. He also knows where the best places to stop for decent meals and clean bathrooms are.

Transport

see above

ATV Ride in the Dunes of Merzouga

Merzouga

Great experience. The staff on our ATV ride made sure to be safe and accommodating with our limited experience on ATVs prior.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Morocco Last Nomads Experience: Tea, Tales & Desert Adventures

Merzouga

Yousef (?sp) took us on a drive in the desert to visit and have some tea with some nomadic Berbers, then to an abandoned mining town, then to a great lunch with listening to Gnawa music after. Great day despite to sandstorm that started the night before. Yousef was very knowledgeable and helpful. Unfortunately, due to the cultural norms, we were not able to visit much with the Berber nomads because the father wasn't there at the time of our visit, but still interesting and worthwhile.

Quality of Experience

Food

Berber pizza was delicious

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Live Like a Real Nomad: A Caravan Trek in the Sahara

Merzouga

Hassan took us on a fun and scenic camel ride to an oasis near a large dune where he prepared a delicious lunch over the fire. Great experience!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer from Fes to Merzouga via Erfoud & Camel Ride

Morocco

Long day with long drive, but totally worth it. Driver, Faissal, pointed out all the relevant and interesting things along the way, including stopping in a Swiss style village for a break and coffee, a stop in the Middle Altas Mountains near Ifrane, where there is a ski resort (didn't expect to see one of those in Morocco) where we saw and were able to feed monkeys and ride some horses for pictures briefly. When we finally arrived in Merzouga, we took a 2-3 hour camel ride to watch the sunset then finally arrive at the amazing Tiziri Luxury Camp

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dine with a Local Family

Morocco

Good experience, although not quite what we expected. It's more like being served dinner by a Moroccan family in their home than having dinner with a family in their home. The food was great and authentic and plentiful but the sharing stories part was somewhat lacking.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour of Fez Medina

Fes

Great experience. Our guide, Mohammed, for the Medina tour was great. Very knowledgeable, took us to some amazing places and didn't get us lost in the 9500 streets in the Medina. He seemed to know everybody. Interesting and fun day!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Quick Tour of Casablanca with your Driver-Guide

Morocco

We arrived late afternoon on first day when this was initially planned so just went to hotel, had dinner, then did this part the next morning on the way to our next location. We are not big city fans in general and Casablanca seems crowded and hectic with not much to see other than the Hassan II Mosque and Mohammed V Mausoleum

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

our driver, Faissal, was incredible the whole trip!

Transport

Chefchaoeun to Fez via Volubilis, Moulay Idriss & Meknes

Morocco

It was raining that day and a lot of the important sites in Meknes were under renovation so difficult to see it all, but Volubiis very interesting and worthwhile. Our driver, Faissal, took us to an incredible Moroccan restaurant for lunch.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Nature Seekers: Guided Hike to Akchour Waterfall

Chefchaouen

Abdul Couscous was our guide for the hike and did a great job. He knew the trail well and checked on us frequently to make sure we were ok and safe and helped us through some of the more challenging sections when needed. Beautiful hike with great views. Went to a restaurant at the bottom after hike and had the best chicken tangine of the whole trip! Stopped on the drive back for fresh baked bread from clay fire ovens that was delicious!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Casablanca to Chefchaouen via Rabat

Morocco

Faissal, our driver, was amazing! Pointed out all relevant historical places and stopped at all significant places including many areas for great photos.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Architectural Elegance: A Journey through the Hassan II Mosque

Morocco

Guide was knowledgable, entertaining and able to speak numerous languages. The Mosque is incredible in size and scope. The architecture is incredible.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport