Kimkim Trip Reviews

Planning and Booking are ok. Our expectations and what we got are very close. After the trip we understood that something could be changed, but not much, that is very personal, hard to predict, especially for first-time visitors.
Communication with Sandy was excellent. The Tokyo guide - Yumi, and Kyoto guide - Noriko, are very knowledgeable and provided lots of detailed information. Additional thanks to Noriko for helping with booking tickets back to Tokyo.
The last trip to Kobe and Himeji left mixed fillings. The visit to the Sake musicum was interesting, and Kobe meat restaurant at lunch, reserved by Yasuko, was excellent. The afternoon trip to see White castle was difficult for us due to lots of steps climbing and 2 hours took to get back to Kyoto. Thanks for having a private van.

Hotel Reviews

Cross Hotel Kyoto

Kyoto

Newly renovated hotel with excellent location in the hart of the city. 4 stars only due to size of the room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hakone Sengokuhara Prince Hotel

Ashigarashimo District, Kanagawa

The rooms are very small and have steps inside.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Too far from city center. Taxi doesn't want to service

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba

Minato-ku, Tokyo

Very good hotel, convenient located near train station.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Half Day Samurai Ninja Museum and Kimono Tea Ceremony at Kyoto Maikoya

Kyoto

Samurai fighting equipment in the museum is very old but in excellent condition. We got additional historical facts. The Kimono Tea ceremony was so unusual for us. Besides the tea itself, we learned Japanese tea tradition and etiquette.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Sagano Bamboo Grove & Arashiyama Tour

Kyoto

Very nice temple surrounding by garden, pond and bamboo grove. Travel guide - Noriko is excellent. Lake water tour very nice with amazing views.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Mt. Fuji with Lake Kawaguchiko Cruise and Arakurayama Sengen Park Tour

Tokyo

Very nice trip and boat tour with a view on mount Fuji. Excellent ride on cable way up to the hill to view mount Fuji again

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Drive to Hakone from Tokyo

Japan

Must use the local bus due to lack of taxi service.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Tokyo city tour (Asakusa )

Tokyo

Very good, amazing view from the radio tower.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Tokyo City Tour

Tokyo

Very informative. Thanks to the guide for navigating via underground transportation

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Nara City Tour From Kyoto with Fushimi Inari Taisha

Kyoto

Very unusual experience with the deers in the Nara park surrounding the shrine. We feed them from hands and they bow in response. The shrine is absolutely amazing, especially gates.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Kobe Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum and Himeji Castle Tour

Osaka

The Sake museum is very informative, but may be not for every one, we think, mostly for men. The Himeji Castle is gorgeous outside. For going inside we have to climb over very steep stairs. That wasn't easy for us. Since we spend too much time for travel, it wasn't enough time to see the beautiful garden next to castle.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

KimKim Australia Tours October 2023

First of all, Kerrie and Gary were great to work with to make our dream vacation to Australia a reality. My first contact was with Kerrie. Gary took over when Kerrie was not available. Their quick response to our needs and questions was great. Kerrie designed our vacation to encompass all the aspects of Australia we were looking for in a 9-day whirlwind vacation, most of which ended up being totally different from what we had in mind. Kerrie took what we wanted to experience and used a more user-friendly trip itinerary than we had envisioned. We had two hiccups with our transportation but they both worked out ok. The tours were all great, over all the transportation was what we needed, the hotels were great, everyone we encountered was helpful and friendly.
We used Uber to get from the cruise port to our hotel – Rendezvous Hotel Sydney, The Rocks. This was a quaint hotel about 2 blocks from the cruise port. The only bad thing about our first night there was getting to the room. They had us on the first floor – which sounds great except we had to pull our suitcases up 10 steps to the first floor, go down 2 steps in the hallway, up two more steps and immediately down 2 steps to get to the room. Same thing going back to reception at check out the next morning. This would not have been bad except we had 2 big suitcases and 2 carry-ons to get to the room. The room was more of an apartment – with a steep flight of stairs to the bedroom/bath. Since we were just staying the one night, we left our suitcases downstairs in the ‘living room’. – This was something Kerrie/Gary would not have known when booking the hotel and it was a nice change from the ship stateroom and regular hotel rooms.
In the afternoon of our arrival, we had a half day Panoramic Sydney Sights tour with our tour guide, Tom, with AEA Luxury Tours. This was a good overview of the city and Tom was great with the history of the city and what we saw.
Transport to Sydney airport was uneventful and though delayed, the flight from Sydney to Cairns was also uneventful. Our transport to Port Douglas from Cairns airport was uneventful.
Our stay at Meridian Port Douglas was delightful. Mini apartments surrounded the pool with walkouts to the pool. The staff at the Meridian was great, giving us information on the city, and the locations of different shops, restaurants and post office. Amanda was the main person at the Meridian that we talked with during our stay. She even showed us to our room and explained how the a/c worked and where the washer/dryer was. We did not have cell phone service while in Australia. Amanda arranged transportation for one of our excursions as well as helped us with our first mix-up with our scheduled transportation from Port Douglas to Cairns. Amanda contacted Hughes Chauffeured Cars, our scheduled transfer company, to inquire where our driver was. When, after an hour, our driver still had not come, Amanda contacted a transfer company the Meridian advertises to inquire about transportation for us to Cairns. Everyone at the Meridian was gracious and very helpful. The Meridian was very well situated for walking everywhere in Port Douglas and transportation. We were about 2 blocks from town and the beach. Our first tour in Port Douglas was to the Great Barrier Reef. We were picked up in front of the Meridian and driven to the dock. Everything we wanted to do – semi-submersible, mainly – was included in the tour price. The only things we had to pay for were drinks while on the tour and souvenirs. This was one of the highlights of our trip.
Our second tour ‘Ngana Julaymba Dungay’ – We all Going Daintree’ ended up being a full day tour instead of half day (which turned out to be great). We were picked up and dropped off in front of the Meridian. Once again a highlight of our trip. Our tour guide, Juan, a local Aboriginal of the Kuku Yalanji people, was great. He took us to a coastal region near Mossman where members of our group found a sand crab, mud crab, scallops and mud snails in the Mangroves on the beach. Juan cooked what we had found on the beach to go with the wraps and fresh fruit for lunch. He also explained the vegetation in the Mossman Gorge, showing us a tree that had been bent into a directional arrow. We learned a lot about the Kuku Yalanji people from Juan.
Our private tour of the Tropical Animal Rehabilitation Center in Port Douglas was another highlight of our trip as we were able to hold a Koala (for a picture) and feed kangaroos and wallabies. We even had 2 parrots join us for lunch. The information on wildlife and how they rehabilitate them was invaluable.
The Pacific Hotel Cairns was in a good spot for walking around the port area and getting transportation to the Outback for our tour. The hotel staff was good about getting us a taxi to the bus terminal for our tour as well as holding one of our bags until we returned.
We took a coach from the transit station in Cairns to Undara Experience Resort near Mount Surprise. This was a great experience for us as it was a ‘semi-local’ coach from Cairns to Mount Surprise so we were able to see different towns along the way.
The coach driver, Dave, asked if we had transport from the bus stop to the resort as it was a 15 KM road to the resort. Dave was kind enough to contact the resort to verify if we had transportation and arrange it for us. He was also the coach driver on our return to Cairns the next day and inquired about our stay there.
We went on the Wildlife at Sunset tour seeing lots of kangaroos on the property and bats at one of the lava tubes. The next morning, we went on the Archway Explorer tour which took us further into two different lava tubes in the Undara Volcanic National Park. Our accommodation was half of a train sleeper car, and the dining/bar area was made up of antique train cars.
Back to Sydney from Cairns with time to explore the Harbor. Dinner on the pier and another 2 nights at the Rendezvous Hotel Sydney the Rocks.
Our last tour was a day excursion to the Blue Mountains National Park with our guide Paul, with AEA Luxury Tours. Our first stop was at Calmsley Hill, a working farm home to farm animals, Kangaroos, Emus, and Koalas. We were able to pet the Koalas. We had several stops at lookout points of the Blue Mountains, including a beautiful waterfall at Govetts Leap and the last stop at Eaglehawk Lookout for a view of the 3 Sisters. Our final stop of the tour was at the Blue Mountains Botanic Gardens.
I can’t thank Kerrie and Gary enough for making our dream vacation to Australia a reality.

Habiba made the whole planning and booking process extremely easy. She gave us a lot of great options and suggestions and took into consideration the things we did and did not want to do while in Egypt. Overall, the whole planning and booking experience was great. While we did still greatly enjoy the trip and our visit to Egypt, there were a few things that we weren't so happy with.

Our trip began in Cairo. After we landed at the airport, we were able to find our guide easily and he and our driver took us to our hotel. The guide (sorry I can't remember his name!) was very friendly and knowledgeable and told us a lot about Egypt and its history during the one-hour drive to the hotel. We were very impressed with our driver, as well. Cairo traffic is no joke, but he navigated it like a pro.

Our hotel was NOT what we were expecting, though. Great service, but the place simply was not done. Our itinerary said we were staying at the Great Pyramids Inn in Giza which, if you look it up on Tripadvisor, is a beautiful (completely built) hotel with a restaurant/bar on site. The hotel photos that were provided in our itinerary were extremely misleading. A completely different hotel. We were brought to the Royal Great Pyramids Inn (or something like that, Royal Pyramids Inn, I can't remember), which is still under construction. The first 4 floors are still being built and there was construction going on the whole time and there was a lot of dirt and dust from the construction. It looked nothing like the photos. Our room was very pretty and well decorated with a great view of the pyramids, but again, it wasn't finished. There were no towel racks or bars or hooks, nowhere to hang anything. Lots of hangers but no place to hang. We had to set our towels on a small table to dry them. 10 bottles each of shampoo and body wash, but no other toiletries (conditioner, lotion, etc.). The power went out for a little over an hour on our second day. That happens; not a big deal. It made us very hesitant to take the elevator in the building, but the staff insisted that we take the elevator anyway (I think because of all the construction mess on the stairs). The staff was incredibly kind and friendly, so that made it not quite as big of a deal that the hotel was totally different from what we were expecting. We were under the impression that there was a bar and restaurant on site. They did feed us the first night and breakfast was provided, but I would hardly call it a bar/restaurant. They were also surprised to hear that I am a vegetarian, even though I made that clear in our questionnaire before we started planning the trip.

A different guide took us to Cairo Tower the second night for dinner. We were expecting a nice romantic dinner, just the two of us, but our guide actually sat with us the whole time at dinner, and didn't eat anything. He was perfectly nice and pleasant, but it was a bit awkward. It also seemed like there were lots of issues with us getting into the tower and getting dinner because the guide kept having to get up to talk with the restaurant staff, and it took about 20 minutes for him to get our tickets into the tower. We weren't given a menu and were told that our options were chicken or beef. We were told that there were no vegetarian options, even though we noticed on our way out that the menu had plenty of vegetarian options. This was frustrating since I had included the fact that I'm a vegetarian in our questionnaire before we started planning the trip, so I would have hoped that some arrangements would have been made in advance. We also weren't offered any drinks or anything and had to ask for water after we'd been sitting there for a while. We saw after the fact that there were lots of drinks/wine/cocktails, etc. on the menu.

There were a few instances where our guides took us to places that weren't on our itinerary and which we would have expressly declined if we'd known in advance. Eg., we went to a papyrus store to "learn how papyrus is made" but it was really just a high-pressure sales pitch to get us to buy something. We were also taken to a jewelry store and a perfume store. Towards the end of the trip one of the guides pulled up to the front of an alabaster store. We said "we're good here, we don't need to go in" knowing that we'd just be pressured to buy something. I have no problems with these businesses or their sales tactics and I understand they're all just trying to make a living, but I would have appreciated a heads-up that we would be visiting these places. Because we would have said "no thank you." Our trip was jam-packed with sightseeing and we had very little downtime to begin with, so we would have preferred to skip those extra little outings that we didn't ask for.

It also seemed there wasn't clear communication with the timing of our itinerary at times. For example, we took a 3-night Nile Cruise and our itinerary said we would have lunch onboard on the last day before we departed on a 4-hour drive to the next destination. But we actually had to check out of the cruise at 8am that morning so we had to ask our guide to take us somewhere so we could buy lunch before we left.

None of that ruined the trip by any means. We still had a great time and got to see and do all the things we wanted to see and do. All of our guides and drivers were friendly and kind and helpful and, with the exception of the Cairo hotel, our accommodations exceeded our expectations.

From the start in planning our trip, Sharon from Morocco Immersion Tours & Adventures, helped plan our itinerary to include important places we wanted to experience and to make the most of our time while in Morocco. The guides we had were amazing! We did a bread making class in Fez, where we made five different breads. Then while in Marrakech we did a tagine cooking class. Both well worth it! Our riad accommodations throughout were comfortable and impressive. There was one glitch that was immediately dealt with by Sharon and Sallam, our guide.
At the outset, we were met at the Casablanca airport by Sallam, with whom we made an immediate connection. Jamal, our driver, quickly became part of our Moroccan van family as well. Over the two weeks and some long days driving, Sallam and Jamal shared their love and passion for Morocco. Sallam shared his Berber heritage which gave us an even deeper understanding of Moroccan life and culture. The hours sped by as we all laughed together sharing stories and joking. Because of Sallam and Jamal, our trip in Morocco has become one of the top three favourite places we’ve ever experienced.

As an overall comment I have to say that working with KimKim and its agents, Carmen and her colleagues, was outstanding. Not only were they able to suggest and arrange a fabulous trip in foreign lands for us, but they were extremely flexible and helpful during our planning process, which required many changes due to family circumstances, time constraints and specific criteria that we specified.

In addition, with the App that they supplied, along with a detailed daily trip plan they provided a very useful chat program that allowed us to request assistance and to change plans on the fly when encountering the inevitable issues that arise during any trip. We were able to get quick and successful resolution to several matters thanks to their friendly and effective attention.

We were so impressed that we recommended KimKim to several fellow tourists that we met along our way. We have no hesitation in recommending KimKim and will be sure to use them again if we make another tour. Thank you for everything, KimKim team!

Sincerely,
Paul and Lesley Sagar,
San Diego, California

Berat organised our trip at quite short notice and did an excellent job. Cappadocia was amazing and our visits to Ephesus and Pergamon were very interesting. Our guide Volkan was very well informed and driver Aly was good. And cats!

Hotel Reviews

Nisanyan Houses

Selçuk

Charming character-filled hotel. Absolutely brilliant breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kale Konak Hotel

Very interesting rooms. The breakfast is amazing. And cats!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hot Air Balloon Tour at Sunrise

Cappadocia

It’s balloons. It’s Cappadocia!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset Wine + Romance in Cappadocian Valleys

Cappadocia

Very pleasant time. A nice way to watch the sunset.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visiting Göreme Open Air Museum (UNESCO World Heritage)

Cappadocia

Goreme is an intriguing place. The natural formations are extraordinary.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Adam, who set up the trip plan, and Jessica, who made the bookings, were excellent. Although there is a bit of a menu that gets put forward, we were able to say yes or no to the parts we did or didn't want, and book some non-menu visits to things ourselves. Many of the agencies that were contracted with were also very attentive.

We were half expecting a couple of things would not go as planned but it all did. Our last ride to the airport was 15 minutes late as traffic was heavy, but everyone else was early for their booked times. Quite impressive given several hotels and transfers and activities were booked by them!

This is the first time we travelled with Kim Kim. We have travelled quite a bit in the past. Decades ago, we booked things when we got to our destination. Pre-COVID, we tended to book our hotels ahead of time, though were noting that big tourist sites increasingly needed skip the line or group tour tickets to avoid hours of lining up. We wondered if lines would be long in October in Spain for big sites like the Prado, or Mesquita - yes they were and great to have Kim Kim have arranged it already.

We were also new to private guided tours. In the past we would read a brochure or listen to an audio guide. Way better having a well informed expert and just you - the tours were flexible, you could ask all sorts of questions, and you were not trying to see things through a big group or trying to find what the audio guide is pointing out.

The cost was more than if we tried to book this ourselves, I think. However, we would have had to do a lot of work and would not likely have picked as excellent hotels and guides as Adam, Jessica and Kim Kim did.

Hotel Reviews

Las Casas de la Judería

Seville

Really cool maze of a hotel. Our room was either accessed through a 5 minute walk through tunnels, leading to various lovely courtyards, then crossing an alleyway into yet another old building. The other way was walking outside along a few alleys- we eventually got it down without getting lost. Unique place as all the old mansions have been connected. Our room was very spacious- largest of the trip. Not newly renovated but in good shape and clean which added to the historical character feeling. There was an elegant piano bar on the 2nd floor of the main entry building decorated with lots of very old, elegant furniture- the kind you see in museums that they tell you not to sit on - except you could it on them - old painting on the walls. If we weren't dressed like 21st century tourists, you could feel like you were having a drink in an 18th or 19th century salon of some sort. Breakfast was generous- lots of choice, coffee was a fancy Nespresso machine - prefer real coffee myself but not bad. Our roomed looked out on an alley- one rainy night someone's motorbike alarm kept loudly sounding though the hotel staff were able to remedy that for remaining nights.

Authenticity & Character

The most historical, atmospheric place we stayed in.

Location

In the historical area - Seville is bigger than some cities so still lots of walking to do

Staff

No complaints- very nice.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean but older everywhere

Sercotel Madrid Aeropuerto

Madrid

Room was clean and spacious. We arrived about 8 pm as flying out the next morning. Not much food on offer - so we had drink and some nuts from the bar as evening meal. Breakfast was mediocre- the worst on our trip as all the others were good. Maybe given breakfast ran from 5am to noon given an airport hotel was part of it - stuff looked like it had been sitting out for hours when we ate about 8 am. Staff were nice. This is about the only part of the trip we might plan differently on hindsight- maybe arriving back in Madrid a day earlier and staying downtown again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

airport area- it is what it is

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Boutique Puerta de las Granadas

Granada

We had a very quiet room - which is a treat staying in a city centre. Unfortunately, it was on the 4th floor and the elevator only went to 3 and the stairs were winding - hard on bad knees if you have them. The hotel was clean and modern inside an older building. Nice roof patio for drinks. The room was small - hard to hang up much so most of our luggage remained packed for the 4 nights we spent there. Breakfast was generous and good variety offered - coffee machine was adequate.

Authenticity & Character

modern

Location

at bottom of hill up to the Alhambra, 10 minutes walk to cathedral.

Staff

all pleasant and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

very clean just a little small

H10 Palacio Colomera

Córdoba

Newer hotel in older palatial type building off a main square. Close to all the main sites. Room was comfortable - not spacious but we were not cramped feeling. We were lucky to get a room overlooking the courtyard (which was the glass -roofed in breakfast area) so super quiet at night, which was better than expected for sleeping in crowded city core. I suspect most of the room were not a quiet.

Authenticity & Character

newer place in older building

Location

central

Staff

pleasant and attentive

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Villa Real

Madrid

Very comfortable, elegant hotel not far from the main train station (15 minute walk), the Prado (10 minutes), Reina Sofia (15 minutes), and on the edge of the old historical centre. Great location, comfortable rooms. A bit noisy at night between yelling drunk young folks and city service trucks, but you are in the middle of a big city so sort of expected. The breakfast was very generous, and their coffee was better than the machines at other hotels- seemed fresh made. The restaurant in the hotel was good though expensive compared to the many other places you could eat. Our room was very spacious. Good choice!

Authenticity & Character

modern hotel in an older building

Location

See description above

Staff

Decent English, friendly, attentive

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean but much of Spain seemed very clean

Activity Reviews

Private Ronda & White Villages Day Trip

Seville

This was a long day (0800-1800) that seemed like a short day! Carlos, our guide, met us close to out hotel. Lots of discussion on the drive of things we say and Spain in general. Drive was very scenic and Carlos pointed out cork plantations, wild goats, etc. en route. Zahara and Grazelema were beautiful towns with stunning views. We tried local specialties at each place. Ronda was crowded. We had short guided trip then a couple of hours for lunch and/or exploring more ourselves (we ate lunch looking at the famous bridge). Then long-ish drive back to Sevilla. We were new to private guides this holiday, but the flexibility, ability to ask lots of questions, and wider context given were better than trying to do this ourselves, or in a group. We had many good days on the trip and this was probably the best day!

Private City Walk & Royal Palace Experience

Madrid

Our guide, Enrique, whom we had for the earlier Reina Sofia tour as well, had studied art history and was very knowledgeable. The walk to the palace through the old city was informative, and we picked up a tip for lunch after the tour which worked out well. He was able to point out all kinds of details and link them through the palace and in historical context- stuff we would not have picked up on as well ourselves with an audio guide. Having a private guide was new to us this holiday- and better than a group - more flexible, easier to ask questions, and to see things without the group in the way.

Evening Tour of the Albaicín in Granada

Granada

Eduardo met us at the hotel. I went alone as at the end of the holiday, one of us had knees that were too sore to want to do the hilly Albaicin area plus it had rained and the cobblestoned streets were a bit slippery. The tour got moved a bit earlier given the clocks went back while we were there (appreciated as the views are better in daylight). This ended up being booked towards the end of a few days we spent in Granada, so we had seen some of the stuff routinely on the tour. The great thing with private guides is they are flexible so Eduardo walking me up and down to various other lookouts I had not seen, and through the medieval streets, and one large beautiful garden in a university owned building. Lots of conversation which put it all into various contexts, and, again, was geared towards my personal interests.

Private Tapas Tasting in Albaicín District

Granada

Our private guide, Theresa, met us at the main square at 8pm and we proceeded to wander. One set of knees were pretty sore from the day's activities, and the Albaicin is hilly, so she flexibly amended the tour to avoid a lot of hills. We went to 3 different places and with 4 drinks and generous tapas (and we ordered one extra dish at the first place that I think we probably did not need to portion wise). At the end, she pointed us towards other options, though, honestly I was stuffed and had had enough to drink. I can't see doing this in a group as many of these places are small and crowded. The big advantage having the guide for us was overcoming our reticence to go into authentic or cool looking places that looked too crowded. We would not have gone into some of the places she took us and they were excellent.

Self-Guided Granada Walk

Granada

We mostly just explored on our own, using a map app on my phone. The notes were helpful for pointing out things to see, but overlap with other booked activities on other days. If you had nothing else booked, it would be fine. Seeing the Alhambra, even in October, requires planning ahead. There were no same day tickets on the morning we did our pre booked tour. The cathedral, royal chapel, etc. are easier to get tickets for though we bought them on line the day before- they are not for a specific time just morning or afternoon windows.

Self-Guided Tapas Crawl

Seville

We read the notes, and I bookmarked some places on my map app, but we did not go to any of them. Checked one out but was swamped. Some were quite a distance from our hotel, and after walking around all day, and it being dark (October), we mostly just wandered around locally.

Private Visit to Seville’s Cathedral & Alcázar

Seville

Candela, our personal guide, was keen and knowledgeable. She pointed out all kinds of details we might have missed and provided a lot more context to it all than a larger group might have. The flexibility and being able to ask pretty much limitless questions was excellent. We were new to private tours this trip and came away learning more than we would have by ourselves or in a group.

Self-Guided Walking Tour of Seville

Seville

The notes were helpful, but there was some overlap with other booked activities, so we just used them as a guide and generally wandered around ourselves with a map app on our phone. I think we would have seen the Setas anyway without the notes. The Setas admission was steep comparatively but excellent views and a cool structure. The Roman ruins underneath in a separate but cheap admission were very good.

Private Mezquita, Alcázar & Jewish Quarter Discovery Walk

Córdoba

Our guide, Maria (?), was enthusiastic and knowledgeable. She pointed out all kinds of details we would have missed or struggled to find. First holiday where we tried private tours and the personal touch, flexibility, and ability to ask lots of questions was great. We learned a lot more than we would have on our own or in a group.

Self-Guided Walking Tour

Córdoba

Guide was helpful though we generally just explored ourselves with the a map app on our phone. Depending on what other activities you have booked, there is some overlap with the walking notes. If you had no pre- booked activities then there would be none

Short Prado Museum Visit and Retiro Park

Madrid

Our private guide, Stefania, was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic and we had an excellent overview of the Prado and Spanish painters in particular. Private tour was great for asking questions of an expert and not trying to see things through a group. It was somewhat flexible if you had particular interests. We had not tried private guides before this trip and it we learned more than we would have ourselves with an audio guide. The Retiro park walk was beautiful and informative.

Toledo Day Trip and Winery Experience

Madrid

Our minibus had about 20 people on it- so a small group. It took about an hour or so to get to Toledo from Madrid and our guide gave us a decent overview tour of the town before leaving us to explore ourselves for a while. On our own, we wandered around the Jewish quarter some more, bought some fresh marzipan (which is a thing there) and then spent most of the rest of our free time in the wonderful cathedral (small admission fee but not a bit line up). We then drove about an hour to a winery - had an informative tour and got to try some of the wines as they were going through the maturation process all the way to trying some delicious finished products quite a few tapas laid out. It was a good day.

Private Reina Sofía Museum Visit with a Historian

Madrid

Our guide, Enrique, was excellent- studied art history and pointed out all kinds of details and perspectives on modern art that we would have missed. We know a little about art but not a lot and came away having learned quite a bit. Very enjoyable. The tours ends at the gallery so you can keep on see things if you are not saturated. Private tour was great for asking questions and more flexible than a group if you had special interests.

Self-Guided Walk around the Historic Center

Madrid

We spent a few days in Madrid and pretty much had seen most of the stuff on the walking trip instructions ourselves. It did point out a few highlights we might have missed (e.g. chocolate and churros place that might have been good but very crowded so we skipped it).

Quality of Experience

It was spectacular! Due to an issue, our specialist was switched from Eleni to Mariliza. Both ladies were awesome. We did not have to worry about our transfers. We even received help with transfers to excursions we arranged ourselves without KimKim. When we asked for a last minute change for our last excursion, Mariliza was wonderful. Her suggested changed allowed us to do a wine tour in Crete and it was one of our best days! I have seen some people complain about lack of pricing transparency. Their website states that they do not do pricing breakdowns. Could we have gone to Greece for 12 days and paid much less? Absolutely! However to me, who normally plans our group trips, not having to do the heavy lifting was entirely worth it! I feel that we experienced a stress free trip of a lifetime me it was due to Eleni, Mariliza and their team. Totally satisfied!

I’m so happy and glad for the whole trip here and I would like to thanks and a great appreciate to my planner Miss Megan and my tour guide and driver my buddy Mohamed, especially Mohamed and local tour guides are so friendly and helpful and experienced. We really enjoy and having a great time together at Morocco, and we definitely gonna miss all the beautiful places and peoples around as like Rabat , current capital city of Morocco, the blue city Chefchaouen, the beautiful seaside of Tangier , the great and amazing Medina of Fes and Meknes and the busy city of Casablanca and all those wonderful places and peoples will always in my heart

Hotel Reviews

Riad Kalaa 2

Rabat

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Palais Sheherazade & Spa

Fes Medina

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Mosaic Chefchaouen

Chefchouen

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hilton Garden Inn Tanger City Centre

Tangier

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Tour Fes with a Private Guide

Fes

Quality of Experience

K

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer from Chefchaouen to Fes via Meknes

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hassan II Mosque

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a fantastic time in Kerala - it was my two daughters first trip to India and they loved it. Our guide Ganesh was super helpful and really looked after us the whole way round. We particularly enjoyed the afternoon at the elephant sanctuary as well as the evening ceremony at the temple in Madurai. Ganesh had heaps of information one everything that we saw and also managed to squeeze a couple of extra visits to local attractions on the way. He really was superb, and I would definitely recommend Ganesh to any future travellers.

The trip Sherif helped me plan was magical! Jordan was absolutely spectacular. Our driver, Omar, was so good. He wasn’t just a driver, but showed us some amazing areas of Amman and introduced us to his childhood sweet treat! He really made our time in Jordan special. Petra was an unbelievable experience. The guide, I apologize that I don’t remember his name, gave us informative information as we walked down the hill to the Treasury. We loved how he had us turn our back and then moved us into position so that when we turned around the treasury was between the rock formations. I actually had goosebumps! On our way to Petra, Omar took us to the smallest hotel in the world! I had actually read about it a year or two before! We spent time with the owner and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! Wadi Rum was another cool place. Our accommodations were so much fun! Sunset camel ride and a Jeep safari were highly enjoyable! Our last stop in Jordan was at the Dead Sea. Floating in it was an experience I won’t soon forget. Omar was fantastic!
We were able to meet Sherif at our hotel in Cairo the first morning there. Because we were meeting up with our cruise several days later, I had sent Sherif our itinerary of things were we’re going to see with the cruise guides. Sherif worked his magic and gave us a perfect compliment of places to visit! We had fantastic guides and visited places that we were not going to otherwise visit, Coptic Cairo, the hanging church, the NMEC as well as a day trip to Alexandria really rounded out our Egyptian experience. Sherif was attentive all through the process as well as when we we on our trip. I would highly recommend working with him if you want a quality experience in Jordan and Egypt!!!! I only wish we had more time to explore. Back home we are continuing to learn more about this amazing part of the world. Thank you Sherif!

Activity Reviews

Petra

Petra

Omg Petra is amazing! We stayed at the Petra House Hotel which is right at the entrance to Petra. It was perfect. Neither of us knew what to expect but having a guide with us to point out the sights and give us background on the place is the only way to go the first time there. The place is enormous! Seeing the iconic treasury carved into the mountain is unbelievable and the fact it is thousands of years old is amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Amman City Tour - Jerash - Amman

Egypt

I think may favorite part was actually walking through the open air market and and tasting Omar’s favorite childhood treat!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I did not do any of the planning, but everything went smoothly, and when there was a mix up with the transportation, the drivers and guides were easy to communicate with and responded promptly. Everything was taken care of without problems. The guides, Javiar in the jungle, and Edwin for the remainder of the trip were amazing. They were both informative, polite, and a pleasure to have around all day!

Hotel Reviews

Tierra Viva Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Abittare Hotels

Cusco

Within walking distance of all of the sites in Cusco. Clean with all the amenities needed including laundry services which was a great help.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Inkaterra Hacienda Concepcion

Puerto Maldonado

It was beautiful and extremely clean, especially considering you are in the jungle. Our bungalow had a leaky roof when it rained. Also, there is no air conditioning. It is OK during the day because of the ceiling fan, but the electricity is run off of generators which is turned off and 10pm-6am, leaving us with no way to stay cool. If you want an authentic experience in the jungle, this is the place! If you cannot tolerate the heat, you will have a hard time.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tierra Viva Miraflores Centro

Miraflores

Very modern, comfortable, and close to the airport. Food was great. There is also a shuttle to and from the airport, but the airport was not sure where to meet with the shuttle.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Lunch at Mountainview

Peru

The lunch was delicious, and the restaurant was fun due to opportunities to take pictures with the alpaca, lama, and other animals with a beautiful backdrop.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discovering the Treasures of Machu Picchu

Aguas Calientes/ Machu Picchu

Pictures do not due it justice. It was incredible!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sacred Valley Tour w/ lunch in Ollantaytambo + train to Aguascalientes

Peru

I loved the Sacred Valley just as much as Machu Picchu. The guide, Edwin, was extremely informative, polite, and a pleasure to be with during our trip.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The entire experience - from planning the trip with Beatriz to having every last detail loaded into the Trip Plans app to immediate availability for support via the messaging feature in the app, to the selection of hotels and guides was incredible. I would use kimkim again without hesitation and would highly recommend them to anyone. Thank you.

Hotel Reviews

Mövenpick Hotel Casablanca

Casablanca

A nice hotel with all the amenities of a large hotel serving both leisure and leisure travelers. The room was large and comfortable. The rooftop restaurant was lovely and the food delicious.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad La Clé De Fès

Fès

The common areas of the Riad are beautiful! The room we stayed in was very large, comfortable and nicely designed. The bathroom was quite dated. The floor of the room slanted quite a bit, the shower and sinks were chipped and cracked. The staff were lovely. We had dinner in the Riad one night and it was delicious and well presented.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Madu Desert Camps

Merzouga

Fantastic experience - great, roomy accommodations, fantastic staff who worked hard to please and entertain us. The food was really good!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Exe Almada Porto

Porto

A nice, clean, centrally-located hotel. It was overall a very comfortable stay although the room was quite small - we had to get creative in finding space for our suitcases. Where the hotel fell short is that there was no laundry service on weekends(why would a hotel provide a service Monday-to-Friday? That's not how traveling works) and the staff missed making a reservation at a restaurant for us even though we reminded them twice.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean and comfortable. The room was just a little small

Évora Olive Hotel

Évora

The hotel is in a good location and has a large underground parking garage. The staff were impersonal and distant. We arrived during a torrential downpour. No one helped us unload our luggage or told us that we can unload in the underground garage. They just watched us get soaked. We arrived at 2pm but were not given a room until the checkin time at 3pm even though we were soaked to the bone. The rooms were bare of necessities - no conditioner or body lotion, lumpy mattress and flat-as-pancakes pillows. Plastic cups for drinking. Two old fraying towels. The floors are polished concrete, so we asked for slippers and were told that we'd have to buy them. Not sure how this is a 4-star hotel....

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Portugal Boutique City Hotel

Lisbon

Charming, clean centrally located boutique hotel with amazing staff - friendly and very helpful. We really enjoyed staying there.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The rooms beside the elevators are noisy. The staff relocated us to an upgraded room the following morning, which was lovely.

Activity Reviews

Douro Valley Highlights: Wine, Olive Oil & River Cruise

Porto

A trip to Portugal would not be complete without a visit to Douro Valley - such a beautiful, tranquil place. Loved every minute of it.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Guided Visit of Porto

Porto

A nice tour of Porto with Perdro. A very knowledgeable young man, he made the tour fun and interesting. He also suggested and took us to an amazing restaurant after the hotel failed to secure a reservation for us.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tasting Évora: A Guided Food & Wine Experience

Portugal

We had to cut this activity short because of the heavy rain and only completed two tastings of the scheduled four. Also, the first stop was a pastry and sweets shop because it was literally a few steps from the hotel. The second stop was to try canned sardines and was sardine pate. Backwards - after the sweets, the sardines did not go down well.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sintra Heritage Hike: Hidden Secrets

Portugal

Nuno was out guide - born and raised in Sintra, he expertly showed us the best of it and knew how to cut the lines of tourists. He also added a few stops that were absolutely spectacular. Nuno was so much fun to be with - entertaining, knowledgeable, super friendly. It was one of the trip's highlights for us.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lisbon Roots: A Food & Cultural Walk

Portugal

Sofia was a delight. She was friendly, engaging, very knowledgeable and fun to be with.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

As I said, Sofia was absolutely delightful!

Transport

A Day in Chefchaouen: Exploring Morocco’s Blue City

Morocco

We ended up staying in Chefchaouen overnight. Could have stayed here a second night if I were to do it again. Very beautiful, quaint and charming town.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Thank you all so much! This has been a dream trip come true and we couldn’t have made it or enjoyed it half as much without your experienced guidance, planning, and support of our specific interests in this beautiful country! From the car rental, to first rate accommodations in Tuscany at a working vineyard/resort; a cooking class with a professional chef; tours in Florence at the Uffizi Gallery and Accademia (The David is an amazing must see!); a walking tour of the best sights, local food and wine restaurants (all of them a WOW!), the Kimkim company, through Maria, arranged the top tour guides—local, professional experts whose passion and insight made each tour personally engaging (each spoke to us not at us) which ultimately gave us both an added appreciation for their subject and them as people with whom we enjoyed spending quality time!
Each aspect of our trip was communicated and documented well in advance. This was our first trip to Florence and Tuscany so we had lots of questions. So Maria arranged (2) Zoom meetings with us and she completely and confidently answered all our questions. She also sent us restaurant suggestions and Google maps to assist us with our self guided side trips through Tuscany.
However, once a trip begins there are always factors and circumstances that need attention— sometimes immediately! Our trip was no exception! Several details needed some slight unexpected modification, and the Kimkim team and resources were able to communicate, and accommodate our needs in and on time. These people and this company are the real deal and both my wife and I give them our highest recommendation. We will use them again for sure! Don’t miss out on the very best this team has to offer (because they are the best)!

From the start of planning our trip to Italy through our return home, both Kimkim and our specialist, Guilia were amazingly helpful and friendly with great results. The trip planning was adjusted to meet our specific needs and budget.

Once we arrived in Italy, we were met by our guide. Throughout our trip, we had scheduled dates and times for guides and drivers. Everyone was where they were supposed to be, on time. They were all very friendly and extremely knowledgeable. In a few instances, due to weather conditions and in one case an unforeseen train delay, Kimkim was easily accessible and made changes as needed to support us.

The hotels were all well located and very nice. The staffs at all hotels were friendly.

We were very happy with the services provided by Kimkim and feel we got good value for what we paid. Next time we travel, we will use Kimkim and hopefully Guilia. We give them a 5 star review.

We had the most wonderful trip. Thanks to Jean Carlo and team for building an itinerary that perfectly fitted our brief and then making sure everything was perfect when we were there. When I wanted to change one travel plan while we were there, Within an hour of messaging, the change was made and updated. As somone who usually likes to plan and book everything myself, I am totally converted to using a local expert. Thank you, everything truly exceeded our expectations.

Our local guides on the trip ( Wayan , kutuk, adit, etc) were all incredible and shared their vast breath of knowledge about the country in their own unique ways. One of my favorite parts about the trio was visiting the Uluwatu temple. This temple had one of the most gorgeous views at sunset and flooded with naughty monkeys which made the trip fun. Ending it with a fire dance and dinner at rock bar was incredible.

Mohamed was a great guide and provided us a lot info during our visit to Fes, explaining with detail each location visited. We really enjoyed our visit to the Medina because we had a very professional guide, taking care of every detail (including a delicious bread from the artisan oven). Thanks for your fantastic service.

Hotel Reviews

Palais Sebban

Marrakech

Beautiful hotel, professional and friendly staff. Great food and common areas.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kasbah Titrit

Ait Ben Haddou

Nice place to spend a night during our transit.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tiziri Luxury Camp

Merzouga

Great experience and very friendly staff. We really enjoyed our time there.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Salam Fes

Fes

This is the best place to get a sense about Morocco, its culture, color and arts. The staff is very friendly and professional. We loved our stay there and we would like to come back.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lina Ryad & Spa

Chefchaouen

Wonderful location, friendly staff and unique atmosphere. We loved our stay there.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mövenpick Hotel Casablanca

Casablanca

It was a good option to spend just one night in Casablanca before the visit to the mosque. Clean and comfortable spaces.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Half-Day Guided Tour of Marrakech

Marrakesh

Very detailed info guide and super friendly.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ait Benhaddou to Marrakech via Tizi N'Tichka pass

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

From Merzouga Desert to Aït Benhaddou

Morocco

Wonderful visit and great time with the friendly staff of the carpet shop

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer from Fes to Merzouga via Erfoud & Camel Ride

Morocco

Wonderful experience and great visit

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Cooking Class in Fes

Fes

What a lovely family and experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half-Day Guided Sightseeing in Fes: Morocco's Spiritual Heart

Fes

Our guide was very good and we had a great visit to the Medina

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chefchaoeun to Fez via Volubilis, Moulay Idriss & Meknes

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Casablanca to Chefchaouen via Rabat

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Food

We had a lunch in a gas station

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Architectural Elegance: A Journey through the Hassan II Mosque

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Amandine did a great job booking our trains and accommodation

Hotel Review

Hotel de l'Amphithéâtre

Nîmes

A small but unique hotel. Very close to the amphitheatre and water gardens and train station

Authenticity & Character

Small with lots of character

Location

Perfect location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bathroom was quite dated but all fine with us as we appreciated the age of the building. Others may not be so understanding

Activity Review

Panoramic Dômes

Clermont Ferrand

Train trip from Nimes to Clermot Ferrand was unique 106 tunnels through beautiful landscapes. Well worth the trip back to the south of France. The Domes were better than expected and the history was amazing

Quality of Experience

Transport

Luis was very professional and planned a trip that suited our interests. All the chosen accommodation was exactly what we were after and the locations wee exceptional. All but one of our tour guides were very knowledgeable and prompt with pick up times. We felt relaxed and assured at all times that all travel and tour arrangements were booked and pre paid. We could just enjoy the trip and experiences. Friends missed out on experiences as they had not booked early enough and all tickets for their chosen day had been sold.
We especially enjoyed the walk and dine tours in Seville and Madrid. We especially enjoyed Granada and its accommodation. Our time in southern France with Kim Kim was also memorable. Amondine did a great job booking our scenic train trip to Clermont Ferrand from Nimes. We would certainly use Kim Kim again

Hotel Review

Hotel Palacio de Santa Inés

Granada

Ideal location yet very quiet. Staff were very friendly and helpful. Our room had a view of Alhambra and the night life. The whole hotel had a great atmosphere and flet welcoming and relaxing after the busy Granada streets.

Authenticity & Character

Wonderful

Location

Very central

Staff

very helpful and friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms were small but adequate with a fridge. Great views and very quiet at night

Activity Reviews

Alhambra Group Tour

Granada

A must see in Granada. Three hours was not enough! Great guide and experience as we went through on sun set.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tapas in Malasaña

Madrid

Theo was a great host for the night. He took us to a variety of venues all very different. Food and drinks were paired for a full experience. His knowledge was impressive and we felt like friends by the end of the evening. Certainly recommend Theo and the choices her made for us on the night

Quality of Experience

No worries about booking anything as it had all been done for us

Food

Tapas and drinks tours

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Majority of guides were great. Costa Brava driver and guide was not able to speak very much English at all. He was not able to guide -just drive. Very nice, friendly man who had just started to learn English

Transport

All good. All tours were well planned and on time.