Kimkim Trip Reviews

We had an incredible trek organized by Himalayan Kingdom expedition. It was very well organized from the start to finish and all members of the trek (guides, cooks, horsemen etc) worked extremely hard to make the journey a wonderful and safe experience. Couldn't recommend this company enough.

Barbara and Massimo truly went above and beyond what we expected. They were constantly in contact with us and resolved any questions or issues we had. I would highly recommend them in planning your next trip.

Activity Review

Lake Como Food experience

Italy

Valentina and her family were so warm and kind. It was really a unique experience to go into their home to cook. My only advice might be to improve on the menu selection a bit.

All of my drivers were very courteous and very knowledgeable about the areas that we travel through. I enjoyed the hotel in la Fortuna the country inn. Jackie was the hotel manager. She was very kind and very helpful. I enjoyed the amazing beachfront hotel in Manuel Antonio, Everyone the staff was so kind. It was the best trip ever, I would tell anyone if they want to travel to use Kim Kim for their vacation everyone was always on time I didn’t have to wait on anyone they didn’t have to wait on me best trip ever

Hotel Reviews

Delta Hotels by Marriott San José Aurola

San José

My stay was very brief because of the drop off time and the pick up time and my Wi-Fi would not work in my hotel room. I had to come downstairs in the lobby and the food was not that good

Authenticity & Character

Location

It is in the heart of downtown San Jose. If I had I had more time I am I would have seen a lot better things.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Karahé Beach Hotel

Manuel Antonio

My room was very nice some of the most wonderful people work at this hotel. The view was great I could see the beach I was on the beach. Everyone at this hotel are very friendly people very friendly my stay there made me feel like I must come back again.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful hotel on a hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean I could not ask for more

Location

Location was excellent. I could not ask for a better

Staff

Tatiana restaurant manager, Aldemir, waiter, and many more I can’t remember all of their names

Cleanliness & Comfort

Both squeaky, clean and very comfy

Mar Inn Costa Rica

Monteverde Costa Rica

Hilltop hotel close to town. I had a room with a great view when you can see through the clouds coming through from time to time.

Authenticity & Character

This hotel was above average

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

After my first day in la Fortuna, the Beautiful Country in Hotel, it wasn’t very easy coming to this one. It’s second rate at bass.

Holiday Inn Express San Jose Airport

San Jose

Staff was very wonderful. Nice to be close to the airport and breakfast was very healthy and delicious again it was very convenient for me being close to the airport when I arrived.

Authenticity & Character

Breakfast was great and delicious

Location

Upon arrival being close to the airport

Staff

Not that I can think of at the moment

Cleanliness & Comfort

Squeaky clean

Arenal Country Inn

La Fortuna

I am sure this hotel is one of the most beautiful places on earth very tranquil staff. It was wonderful and my room was just perfect close to town good restaurants.

Authenticity & Character

The setting was in the jungle a lot of trees flowers everything was just beautiful

Location

The hotel was deep in the jungle with a beautiful pool, wonderful scenery, and close to town

Staff

They paid attention to every detail they asked how was everything going during my stay and if I needed anything just ask

Cleanliness & Comfort

Beautiful grounds staff that is very attentive, amazing surroundings

Activity Reviews

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Nature Hike

Manuel Antonio

Quality of Experience

My guide, Maria was very knowledgeable, happy, smiling, and very good with the group. We saw lots of things.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Self-Guided Manuel Antonio Beaches

Manuel Antonio

The beach was just amazing right below of my hotel room. I was able to walk the beach and look at the white face monkeys, jumping from the trees tree to tree a lot of fun. They were very comical. The water was great. Nice and warm beautiful sunset. Great memories.

Quality of Experience

Costa Rica is a very beautiful country. There’s nothing there that doesn’t make you feel like you were in a.

Marino Ballena National Park Visit with Whale Watching

Manuel Antonio

This experience, I had been looking forward to for a very long time to actually see whales in their natural habitat. I got a chance to see two pairs of mother and baby well together, jumping out of the water and swimming under the boat. It was such a great time that experience, I will never forget, never ever.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

EcoTermales Hot Springs Experience with Meal

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

La Fortuna Waterfall Hike with Lunch

Arenal/La Fortuna

Best time ever somewhat scary but I had a great time. Just be careful not to slip and fall on some of the slippery rocks.

Quality of Experience

Walking through narrow canyons with guides who took very good care of us, sometimes held her hand so we could make it through the narrow canyons with rushing water very beautiful

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee Experience and Nighttime Nature Walk

Monteverde

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Organic Spice Farm Experience

Manuel Antonio

And amazing experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lost Canyon Waterfalls & Rappelling Adventure

Arenal/La Fortuna

For a 65-year-old man that is not in the greatest shape did this wonderful excursion and enjoyed every bit of it. It was slightly rough, but I would recommend this excursion to anyone that can handle it.

Quality of Experience

Costa Rica is a wealth of flora and Fana and different types of animals birds species, reptiles, and insects and mammals. You couldn’t ask for a better place to visit with all of that wonderful creation.

Food

All of my drivers were on time

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Their knowledge of the areas that we travel through, and the ability to be bilingual and language, and very amazingly kind

Transport

Well, all of the equipment that was used in my travels were very new and very comfortable

Hanging Bridges Adventure

Monteverde

Quality of Experience

Crossing the hanging bridges was an experience in a lifetime way above the canopies of the tall trees, and finding the flora and Fana to be so comforting

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very experienced professional and knowledgeable

Transport

Río Balsa Whitewater Rafting Adventure (Class II-III)

Arenal/La Fortuna

Best time ever wild and crazy and fun

Quality of Experience

Food

Falling overboard, but was rescued very quickly. That was fun.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trip planning was handled 10/10. Laurel was pleasant and easy to work with. She got what we wanted and was able to push back on one or two things that we were not sure about and ended up loving.

During the first 3 days of the tour, 4 things went wrong- no communication on cancellation of whale watch, they didn’t have our reservation for the tower in Auckland, rental car was not scheduled properly, and we missed our tram dinner due to a scheduling mistake. We still loved nearly every second of NZ. And the next 12 days were basically perfect. But KimKim should evaluate why the planning and communication wasn’t better early on the trip.

Raquel was extremely helpful in working together with us to come up with an itinerary that more than met our expectations for our trip to Portugal. She is very knowledgable, friendly, and efficient - almost always we received replies from her the very next day. She has a good sense of her clients, flexible, and presented good ideas and arrangements that we were vey pleased to enjoy. We highly recommend Raquel as a tour planner.

Activity Review

Secrets Of The Mountain: Serra da Estrela & Villages

Portugal

Transport

Liz at Andean Travel constructed a perfect itinerary for us.
Particular high points were the Amazon rainforests (Corto Maltes) where our guide, Franklin, was outstanding.
Naturally the Sacred Valley & Machu Picchu was also a big highlight. Our guide for the day at Machu Picchu, Xavier, was excellent - he provided the right level of detail and gave us time to explore on our own when appropriate.
Huge credit also to Lisbeth at Andean Travel who was on hand to ensure that the packed itinerary went smoothly every step of the way.

Hotel Review

Corto Maltes Amazon Lodge

Puerto Maldonado

The perfect combination of solitude and comfort conveniently positioned on the Madre de Dios river in the Amazonian rainforest. We spent 3 days at Corto Maltes and enjoyed 2-3 expertly guided treks into the jungle each day.

Authenticity & Character

Great level of comfort without detracting from the authenticity of the jungle/rainforest location.

Location

Madre de Dios river. Arrival and departure by boat.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Corto Maltes Lodge 2/3 (Sandoval Lake Program)

Puerto Maldonado

The highlight (alongside Machu Picchu) of our Peru trip. Our guide, Franklin, was outstanding.

Quality of Experience

Food

Food was excellent in light of the rainforest location (and I’m a veggie which can raise a challenge where there are limitations on the options available).

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Camille was so helpful and patient with all our questions. She put together an amazing trip that met all our needs and requests, made changes as we asked and ensured we had the best trip possible. All the guides, venues and activities were perfect. Everyone was on time, help and well informed on local interests. We could not have asked for a better trip coordinator or group of people handling our vacation.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Intercity Manaus

Manaus

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Juma Amazon Lodge

Autazes

The lodge was a great place to visit the Amazon. Everyone was so helpful. Alex our guide and Adriel the manager made sure every day was as good as it could possibly be.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

City Tour of Manaus

Manaus

The city tour was informative and enjoyable, although the guide's English was limited. I was able to communicate fine as I speak Portuguese, but this might be a challenge for non-Portuguese speakers. Overall, the guide was punctual, helpful, and knowledgeable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our guide Wellington was simply the best! He was very knowledgeable and understood what was important for us. He made our trip feel personalised and took us to places we would have never visited on our own. Also special thanks to Lucia for the perfect planning ahead of the trip. She answered all our questions very quickly. Not to mention Gaby who checked up on us during the trip to make sure everything was going according to plan. A big thank you to the whole team for making our honeymoon unforgetable!
Best regards,
Jasmine and Augustine

Hotel Review

Casa de Piedra

Mindo

The best breakfast we had in our trip by far! The owners are very polite and helpfull. The rooms are clean and are surrounded by very well maintained garden. Would definetly recommand.

Authenticity & Character

You can hear the birds sing in the morning :)

Location

Walking distance to the center of mindo.

Staff

Very helpfull, suggest great activities, restaurants, etc

Cleanliness & Comfort

No hot water in the shower, otherwise perfect.

Activity Review

Laguna San Pablo -Cotacachi - Otavalo

Ecuador

Our stop by Pijal was our favorite activity ! Emmersing ourselves in the indegenous culture where we visited their village, crops, rose garden and were treated to a delicious lunch.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Great vehicule and great driving by our guide Wellington

I knew nothing about Peru before I went, but Lupe, Natty, Yuri, and everyone on the Aspiring Adventures team that kimkim connected us to were great. We learned a ton about Peru's culture, cuisine and wildlife and I'd absolutely recommend Peru, Aspiring Adventures, and kimkim for anyone who buys a cheap flight to Peru knowing nothing and wants to come out with an amazing experience and a new appreciation for every kind of potato and pisco.

Barbara planned an amazing vacation for us across Italy and on short notice. It ended up including a gondola tour in Venice, riding a Vespa through wine country, and cruising along the Amalfi Coast. Barbara got us to four cities without a rental car. All pickups, whether it was by boat, train or car went seamlessly. The hotels she picked were clean, comfortable, and in walkable areas. During the trip, Barbara and her collegues were extremely responsive and helpful. Any last minute changes we needed, they took care of it. A wonderful experience!

Activity Reviews

Cooking class. Pizza and gelato making!

Rome

Fun, informative, and generous with the wine. But more people than we were expecting in what was called a small group (about a dozen people)

Wine tour by Vespa

Italy

This was just the best. A patient tour guide taught us to ride the Vespa and then guided us out of Florence and into wine country. It was fun, beautiful and the wineries were gorgeous.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour and Accademia Visit (Michelangelo's David) - wine tasting

Florence

An extremely informative private tour

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Venice Gondola Ride

Venice

The gondola ride was pretty, but it felt like we were in a gondola traffic jam. Each boat just a few feet apart.

to make the trip plan better, I suggest the following:

1. Provide very detailed itineraries for each tour. The explanation for each tour was lacking information. I do not know if I saw everything I was supposed to see on each tour, and in some cases, we did things on a tour I was not expecting to do.
2. Make sure at least one person (either the driver or guide) can communicate in English, even broken English is fine.
3. Prior to our hike to Mt. Ijen, another vehicle from the same company broke down. We lost about 20 minutes of time going back to pick up other guests. Fortunately, we still got to the mountain in time to see the blue flame. We had about 10 minutes to spare and we were very rushed trying to get there on time. If we were not so lucky, I would have missed the experience along with the couple that we went back to pick up. But, thankfully, everything worked out fine.

I feel that my tour was comprehensive and a great introduction to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. I learned a lot about the culture and geography. Although I really enjoyed this adventure, I probably will not revisit these areas.

It was a delightful, well organized trip. Bruno sent a note the night before with the plans and names of assistants involved for the next days activities.
Ilija set us up with Mountain biking outside of Porec, it was an amazing, challenging trail and outstanding scenery. We also rode bikes down the Dalmatian coast with Garon setting us up and guiding our route. Stunning views 👏
Hotel Dubrovnik in Zagreb had the Best breakfast each morning we were there.
Plitvice Lakes is a must see when in Croatia, as well as Krka National Park
It was a delightful visit to Hum, very quaint, scenic and memorable.
In Dubrovnik our guide Antea was a wealth of knowledge about the history of the city and helpful with suggestions for the best sites to see. We followed our guided tour with a walk around the entire wall.

My son and I recently made a trip from our home in the US to Scotland. As someone without much experience traveling abroad I contacted kimkim and our specialist Kateryna did an absolutely outstanding job of helping us with the logistics and planning of our trip. We had a few unforeseen obstacles leading up to our departure and she did an excellent job guiding us through them to modify our plans accordingly. All of our hotel accommodations were comfortable and conveniently located, and there was a nice balance of planned activities and flexibility in our itinerary to allow us to explore the recommended sights. To top it off, Kateryna made dinner reservations on our last night for a wonderful meal with a spectacular view of Edinburgh Castle. It was a trip we will never forget!

Hotel Reviews

Leonardo Royal Hotel Edinburgh

Edinburgh,

Comfortable, conveniently located hotel. Newly remodeled, with an excellent breakfast!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Barony Castle Hotel

Peebles

Comfortable country hotel with plenty of charm - staff could not be more friendly and accommodating.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Edinburgh Cab City Tour

Edinburgh

Comfortable driving tour around Edinburgh with a friendly and knowledgeable local!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Vaults Tour

Edinburgh

Fascinating history of a part of Edinburgh you would never see unless you were on this tour!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

My husband and 18 year old daughter had a fabulous trip for 3 weeks. I have been trip planning for 25 years. I rarely feel comfortable handing things over, but Amalia, wow.... did such a wonderful job. At first the price point was too high, she did not hesitate to assist me in bringing it down so we could do more without sacrificing all the stops (Athens, road trip with rented car to Sparta and west, Paros, Naxos) without feeling awkward. Everything they saw, and everyone they encountered were wonderful, from the pick ups to the historian at Athens to the boat driver/crew. I could not have asked for better attention, thoughtfulness, and responsiveness. Thank you Amalia!

This trip was my second and my husband's first trip with Morocco Immersion (via kimkim). My first trip was with my sister-in-law on a 14-day trip that took us around Morocco - it was perfect for the two of us. This 10-day trip for my husband and I was just around northern Morocco and was much slower pace and was perfect for the two of us. Sharon did an amazing job tailoring both trips to fit our style of travel and needs. Our guides were absolutely fantastic on both trips.

On this trip, our tour guide was Amnay (with Omar being in-training), who I met on my first trip and knew my husband would love to meet him. I definitely enjoyed seeing the men share their love of music. My favorite memory is in Asilah on the second day of our trip - the four of us found a great spot overlooking the ocean and sang (for me, listened) and talked as we watched the sunset. That sunset is my favorite memory from our trip.

When it came to the hiccups that all trips have, Amnay and Sharon were understanding, flexible, and found solutions (laughing with us and listening patiently depending on what was needed). Knowing they were there to help us helped make the frustrating into funny stories. Being able to easily contact them really made a world of difference in those moments.

One of the best parts of getting to explore the northern part of Morocco with Amnay and Omar was being able to ask them random questions about topics from the best restaurants to building codes to where Moroccans like to vacation to the king's economic plans for Morocco, and so much more. The local guides were also great at answering questions, both on the history of the locations visited and present day topics. I also loved the flexibility of the local tours, for example getting to enjoy tea/coffee in Tangier's medina with our local guide and hearing about his experiences moving to and living in Tangier. The fish market in Tangier's medina is worth a visit, too!

For my husband, his top 3 memories are touring the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Chefchaouen, and all the cats. And he's really excited to see the southern parts of Morocco (including riding a camel in the Sahara). On that trip, we'll also be using Morocco Immersion.

While we haven't met everyone who's a part of Morocco Immersion Tours and Adventures, they feel like family and friends.

All our guides were personable and well informed. They were great
Meteora was simply awe inspiring.
And our driver Yannis made the whole trip a special experience

Let's start with the good stuff. The accommodations arranged by KimKim for our five nights were traditional Ryokans with hot springs and were excellent quality with friendly staff, clean facilities and the usual tatami mats, sandals, low tables and great kaiseki meals. Unfortunately most of them were a considerable distance from the train stations in their communities necessitating expensive taxi fares to and from the accommodation. The two guides and the driver arranged by KimKim were pleasant people with reasonable knowledge.

The reason for the poor rating is the quality and local knowledge of the travel specialist assigned to us. Some examples (besides the fact that she booked accommodation so far from the train station).
* The original range of cost we were given by the initial contact person was immediately exceeded at the top end of the range by her first estimate and we had to assert a more reasonable cost by insisting on three star accommodation.
* We made a specific request to stay in Narai and original trip plans included this but suddenly this was no longer included and we were told that accommodation was not available despite us making the request many months ahead.
* When we requested luggage transfer for the day we were hiking we were a) told it wasn't available, b) it was not included even though this was another item we had asked for early on. Eventually, and only after insisting, KimKim told us it could be obtained at our accommodation and they would reimburse the cost for us.
* When we arrived in Takayama from Kanazawa we discovered she had arranged for us to spend the entire day in the Gassho-syle villages (although it really only needed a half day) so we missed seeing the once-a-year spectacular, UNESCO-rated autumn festival in Takayama by less than hour.
* When we asked to receive all our itinerary, maps and tickets in hard copy ahead of time we were told that it might get lost so we should go to a convenience store and print it out ourselves with the help of our first guide. Again, only after we insisted did we get a hard copy but we did not receive it until after we had checked into our first hotel which meant that the information for that location was of no use as we had already consumed the time for visiting places in that city. Furthermore the map for our hiking was small, poor quality print so almost unreadable and, in any case, only in Japanese.
* For one portion of our itinerary it stated that we would go by train from one city to another after being with a driver and guide for most of the day. On this basis we purchased our 7-day JR Pass to coincide with this portion of our trip only to be told later that this was a mistake and that the driver and guide would be taking us to our final destination city.

These are some examples of the poor service, there were others. Unfortunately for KimKim we had a different travel service organizing a separate part of our month in Japan so we had a comparator organization to judge against. On every level KimKim came out looking inferior as well as being more expensive. I would not recommend them to other travellers.

ADDENDUM:
After providing this feedback we were impressed at how seriously KimKim took it and also how seriously they acted to address our concerns. Our dissatisfaction was significantly reduced by their response.

Irene planned my first trip to Greece. It's been my dream since I was a kid to visit Greece but when I finally was ready to make it happen the thought of planning this dream trip was too overwhelming to take on alone. That's where Irene came in. I gave her my expectations and my budget and she made my dream come true.

The tours were amazing. I had a mixture of self guided, small group, and private. There was a small hiccup with the meeting time on the first day but it was quickly resolved and we were able to arrive a little late with no problems. I was also impressed at the diversity of the companies we toured with. One in particular stood out to me because she started the company herself and I love that they are willing to use small companies like hers, not just big ones. Everyone was amazing and brought something different to each tour I was on.

The hotels were a wonderful surprise. I didn't give much guidance as far as what hotels/rooms I was looking for. I honestly wasn't looking for anything specific, just comfortable. But Irene more than exceeded my expectations. The hotels were conveniently located, comfortable, the staff were so helpful. The only complaint was the hotel in Avra Rafina Hotel. But that was partly my fault because I ended up booking an early morning flight and Irene had to put me somewhere close to the airport. The staff at Avra Rafina were very rude but having the free shuttle to the airport at 3am made staying there necessary and, again, this was at no fault of Irene's. She did everything right. Honorable mention to the Diapori Suites. AMAZING HOTEL! Seriously, so beautiful and super easy to walk to anything we might have needed in town.

Overall, this was truly the trip of a lifetime and the majority of my positive experience is entirely because of Irene and her amazing planning. I would not have thought to visit the Peloponnese, or the castles and that would have been heartbreaking because the area was truly beautiful getting to drive around those mountains. Thank you for introducing me to the majestic country that is Greece and I can't wait to return for more.

Hotel Reviews

Avra Hotel

Rafina, Attica

The free shuttle to the airport at 3am is the main reason I stayed here. In the future I will plan for a later flight so I don't have to stay again. Overall the experience was okay.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Diapori Suites Hotel Kardamyli

240 22 Kardamyli, Messinia, Greece

I loved staying here. The location is beautiful and it's within walking distance of anything I needed. The staff were very friendly and I'm very grateful for the amazing experience.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Electra Palace Athens

Athens

Beautiful views, wonderful staff, convenient location. Overall an excellent experience staying at this hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Mystras Guided Tour

Greece

Dimitris was our tour guide for Mystras Castle. I remember driving up to the town and seeing some ruins way high up on the mountain and thinking "I really hope it isn't that all the way up there." But it was lol. I was quickly relieved though when Dimitris told us that we would be going downhill, not uphill. We took our car to the top to park and made our way down, stopping at the sites a long the way. Alongside the history, which was fascinating, he also had a vast knowledge of the plants in the area and I loved hearing about all the different ones as we walked by them. It was a wonderful experience and I hope to go back when they finish renovating.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kalamata private Food Tour

Greece

I 100% recommend Mama's Flavours because we had the best time. She uses all local food and has painstakingly chosen each and every place she took us too. We don't drink so having the ability to adjust our schedule accordingly was appreciated. We ended up spending longer with her than the 4 hours planned but it felt like hardly any time went by. It was like having lunch with a friend. I hope to see her again.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Delphi Day-trip

Athens

We were picked up at our hotel for the drive to Delphi. The drive (I'm so sorry, I forgot our driver's name) was very comfortable both going there and coming back. The driver was friendly and helpful. We were happy to have him get us where we needed to go that day. Georgia was our guide at Delphi and she did an amazing job showing up the museum and explaining many things that I didn't know about the place. Afterwards we walked through the archeological site and the views were amazing. Having a guide was beneficial though. I don't feel like I would have gotten as much out of the visit. After walking a little more by ourselves we met the driver to go to Mer Des Oliviers for lunch. Every one was so kind and welcoming. The food was delicious and it had a great cozy feeling to it. Especially getting to sit outside in the lovely weather. Overall great experience for the whole day.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Acropolis Afternoon Tour

Athens

There was a small hiccup with the meeting time because of the travel company I used but it was quickly resolved and we were able to arrive a little late to meet our tour guide, Michael. It was a small group tour and I loved it. Michael did an amazing job showing us the Acropolis and we had a wonderful time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Where do I begin to tell you about our amazing 10 days in Turkey?! My husband and I didn’t want to go on a « one size fits all » vacation. After a great deal of reading, I had pretty much decided where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do. Can’t thank Berat enough for making it all happen for us. She listened carefully to what we wanted and then filled in the spaces with her expertise.
All three of our guides, Ibrahim, Hatice and Volkan were excellent . They were knowledgeable, had a good sense of humor and went above and beyond to help us with all of our needs and wants. Safety was never a concern and we enjoyed moments on our own to explore with confidence. Local people were always friendly and eager to help.
Our drivers spoiled us from the moment we were picked up. The spacious vehicles allowed us to stretch out our legs and enjoy the views along the way with fresh water and candies.
What was the best part of our trip?! It was ALL wonderful.
The ambiance and personnel at the Hürrem Sultan Hammam were exceptional. Have never been so wonderfully pampered. Was pleasantly surprised that my husband enjoyed the experience also.
Cappadocia was a fairyland. The predawn hot air balloon ride was magical and so serene. And what fun to stay in a cave hotel!
We were warmly welcomed into the private home
of Udo Hirsch, the owner of a small winery in Gelveri.
After narrating our tour of the cellars where we saw the grapes naturally fermenting in centuries old clay containers, we returned to his family table. We tasted several of his red and white wines accompanied by homemade goat cheese and olives and fresh bread. Unforgettable!
In Safranbolu we stayed two nights in a truly impressive centuries old mansion. Our breakfast was spread out for royalty as we sat beside the indoor pool listening to the water flow softly from the beautiful fountain.
The visit to the Bozdag Film Studio was a special treat after having watched several of the television series that were filmed there. Sets were impressive and it was exciting to meet Günkut, one of the alps that I remember from the Ertugrul series. My husband particularly enjoyed watching the live show that was performed at the end of the afternoon. Horsemanship, costuming and acting were all amazing.
We thoroughly enjoyed the food in Turkey everywhere we went. On our last day Berat joined us for a food tour. Was so nice to meet the lovely young woman who helped us plan our trip of a lifetime. Just when we thought we would explode from eating so much, she asked the waiter for a pumpkin dessert. Oh, my goodness! What a delicious way to end our trip!
My husband and I are retired educators. Worked for 40 yrs and raised 3 wonderful sons. I have traveled abroad and lived in different countries, but my husband has not. I wanted this to be a positive, adventurous and awesome experience for him.
And it was!
Thank you, Berat, all of your well chosen colleagues and KimKim for sharing your beautiful country, culture, history and people with us.
Could not have been a more amazing trip.

Hotel Review

Havuzlu Asmazlar Mansion

Safranbolu

So nice to be out of the big city and into a small town. The Havuzlu Asmazlar Mansion was beautiful and full of history.

Authenticity & Character

Can’t help but feel the history and want to learn more. The wood stairway, the bed, the design on the wood ceiling, the sofas on two sides of the room, the windows and cupboards - all so inspiring. The pool room was lovely. Perfect place to relax, read and have a royal breakfast.

Location

Short walking distance to a cute outdoor restaurant. Good food and a cute little cat to keep you company!

Staff

Staff staff was helpful and eager to please. Prepared a wonderful breakfast. Make sure you allow time to relax and enjoy it!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bathroom was on the small size but not a problem as the bedroom was very large and I simply stored my extras in the lovely cupboard just outside the bathroom. It’s impossible to keep old wood spotlessly clean, but beyond that, yes, the room was clean. Nice to open windows during the night.

Activity Reviews

Hot Air Balloon Tour at Sunrise

Cappadocia

Another can’t miss experience! Our pilot was amazing and there were only 16 of us in a basket that fit 20. Simply magical and serene to float above the spectacular scenery. Crew made us feel completely safe from take off to landing. Woke up early the following morning to watch more than one hundred balloons floating by our hotel. The Kelebek Special Cave Hotel was a magical place to stay. I won’t even try to describe it . Please see our photos.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Pilot was funny and crew very capable.

Transport

Discover Safranbolu, a unique Ottoman town on UNESCO World Heritage List

Safranbolu

I chose to go to Safranbolu to stay in one of the centuries old houses. The Havuzlu Asmazlar Mansion was a lovely place. Our corner room at the top of the beautiful wooden stairway was very spacious. Bathroom was small, but I simply stored extra items in the little cupboard just outside the bathroom door. The cushioned sofas that filled the room were the perfect place to relax in the evening. The bed was large and comfortable. A short walk around the corner took us to a cute little outdoor restaurant. Food was good and we loved the companionship of one of the local kittens. Breakfast in the morning was a feast. It was served in the room containing a dipping pool. Soothing to listen to the softly flowing water from the fountains.

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Ceramic Tradition in Avanos + Light Hiking in the Love Valley

Cappadocia

Was interesting to see the artisans at work, making and painting the ceramics . Their work was beautiful but well beyond our budget. Gave us an appreciation for the amazing quality of their work though.

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Discover the town of Gelveri: A walk among the Ottoman-Greek heritage of Cappadocia

Cappadocia

We felt quite special being invited into the private home of Udo Hirsch. His passion for making wine was evident from the moment we began our tour. Was incredible to visit the cellars where his wine fermented naturally in containers that were centuries old. Then we were warmly welcomed to his table to taste several of his red and white selections. Friends and family were present. We were made to feel like family as we sipped wine and enjoyed homemade goat cheese, olives and fruit and bread.

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Kaymaklı Underground City

Cappadocia

Was a fascinating experience to wander through the caves and to imagine that people actually lived here. If your husband played college football and has broad shoulders and bad knees, you might want to rethink this one though!

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Visit to Bozdag Film Studios

İstanbul

The Bozdag television series is the whole reason that I became interested in Turkey. Was fascinated by the history of the Ottoman Empire and wanted to visit all of the historical sites. I was elated to find out that the film studio had opened to the public. Was even happier to learn that some of the actors were there on the weekends. I was not disappointed. Got to take photos with Günkut Alp from Ertugrul! So magical ! The live show in the afternoon was great! Do NOT miss it! I’m back home now and watching the final season of OSMAN. So much fun to see some of the scenes that were filmed on the sets that I had just visited.

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Turkish Bath and Spa at Hürrem Sultan Hammam

İstanbul

This was amazingly wonderful! The ambiance was heavenly, high domed ceilings, warm marble slabs, beautiful aromas. The attendant made me feel comfortable immediately with the whole experience. Didn’t take long to get past all shapes and sizes of nakedness. I simply relaxed and enjoyed the pampering. It’s definitely worth splurging to get the whole experience including clay body mask, bubble cleanse, body massage. The fruit drink was a refreshing new taste. And the olives and fruit were perfect. Can’t imagine a better experience than this historical Hammam of Hürrem Sultan.

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We were delighted with the trip that Jessica and her team planned for us. They suggested places that we hadn't considered, which proved to be great ideas. Their recommendations for hotels were spot on. The guides and drivers they found were reliable, informative and easy to communicate with. It was easy to communicate with Jessica and her team during the trip, and we appreciated the ability to track our plans using the app they provided. I love working with KimKim because their specialists are embedded in each country, giving them unique insights and connections.