Kimkim Trip Reviews

Wonderful adventures! Our guide, Karin was so knowledgeable and personable! Thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the experience! I loved riding through the desert on a camel and the sunrise there!

Linda did an amazing job of planning our trip to Ecuador and the Galapagus Islands.
We had 10 days in Ecuador and everything was perfectly coordinated. Pickup, drop offs, detail of the tours and admissions were all taken care of and detailed out in our itinerary. We had Christian as a guide and Guillermo as a driver and they were exceptional. Christian was extremely knowledgeable of all aspect of Ecuador and was great at giving us details of how long a drive we would have, where to buy snacks and punctual for all pickups and drop offs.
When we went to the Galapagos for our last 4 days we did not get the same level of detail that we had come to expect after being with Christian. The Galapagos part was still good but we did have to ask for information and weren't always given enough details. ex. Halfway through a 5 km hike we were told there were no bathroom and the length of the hike. We would still highly recommend Linda and Kim KIm for travel to Ecuador. Linda went above and beyond to adjust our itinerary before we left to be exactly what we wanted. She is exceptionally good at her job! If Linda is available to plan your trip she will do an excellent job for your Ecuador travel.

Hotel Reviews

Posada del Mar

Santa Cruz

Carlos will go out of his way to make sure your stay is perfect. Great little hotel close to everything.

Authenticity & Character

Nice balcony with a sea view

Location

Close to restaurants

Staff

Carlos is exceptional

Cleanliness & Comfort

Luxva Hotel Boutique

Guayaquil

Very secure location in a beautiful ex residential building

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

San Jose de Puembo Quito Airport, an Ascend Hotel Collection

Puembo, Quito

Great location, close to airport for early morning flights!

Authenticity & Character

Location

close to airport

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Floresta

Baños

Beautiful hotel in the centre of Banos. Close to lots of restaurants with a nice restuarant.

Authenticity & Character

Location

close to lots of restaurants

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cuello de Luna Mountain Lodge

El Chasqui - Pastocalle

Nice enough grounds but the hotel could use a little updating. It seems to be run by the owner and his son. Food was pretty good but with a limited menu.

Authenticity & Character

interesting grounds with lots of animals

Location

far from anything else

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

it seems to be in need of some updating and care

Casa Joaquín

Quito

Excellent hotel with great staff. Fransisco was very helpful and friendly.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Franscisco was exceptional

Cleanliness & Comfort

Indio Inn

Otavalo

Nice enough hotel right on the main street. Rooms were very small with no outside window and faced the centre of the hotel. Food was only available for breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hosteria La Andaluza

Riobamba

Beautiful historical hosteria

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Termas de Papallacta

Papallacta

Amazing hotel with hot springs right on your doorstep.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Visit to another uninhabited island

Ecuador

Didn't see anything really different and not a great snorkelling experience. Just snorkelled on the beach and didn't see much.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Hike to Tortuga Bay & Free Afternoon

Ecuador

The actual beach was beautiful but the details of the hike were not provided. We were told halfway through the 5km walk to the beach that there are no bathroom facilities or restaurants or places to stop along the way. It would have been nice to be made aware of this to ensure that we brought sufficient water and snacks for the 4 hour hike. We ended up taking a boat back for additional costs as some of our group could not make the hike back in the heat without food or water.

Quality of Experience

Provide information before the start

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Excursion to an uninhabited island

Ecuador

Great snorkelling. Saw lots of sealife and great guide while snorkelling. Alejandro swam with us and pointed out a lot of fish and other sealife that we may have missed. Food was good and the boat was comfortable.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chimborazo Volcano & Transfer to Papallacta

Ecuador

Definitely not for the faint of heart. So glad we actually made it to the second refuge stop. 5000 + meters above sea level with snow on the ground.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit the Pailón del Diablo Waterfall, Explore Baños

Baños

One of the must see sights of Ecuador. Great little hike and amazing views!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Activities in Baños & Transfer to Riobamba

Ecuador

Interesting drive and the swing was incredible!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Quito Cooking Class

Ecuador

Awesome cooking class. Great food and it was a fun thing to do on our first day in Ecuador!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hot Springs of Papallacta

Ecuador

Perfect end to our day! Great hotel with hotsprings right outside your bedroom door.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This trip was truly one of the most memorable trips I've ever been on. I normally research and book tours on my own but booking through kimkim was the best decision we could've made for our visit to Morocco. It was the most relaxed I've ever felt on a vacation knowing that our itinerary was already planned out for us.

From beginning to end, our driver Ismael made sure that we were safe on the roads as we visited multiple cities. He was also very accommodating in our outing and a few schedule changes that came up. When we wanted to dine somewhere he knew just the places that we would like which put us all at ease at not having to research ourselves. Highly recommend Ismael to be your driver.

In terms of the tours, all of them were really great as well. The guides are very knowledgeable, especially our guide in Fes (can't remember his name) and Yousef in Marrakech. They brought both great conversation and humor into our tours. Yousef even extended our tour for an hour after my friends and I got a late start to our day which was extremely kind of him and shows how much he cares to share his culture with tourists.
Favorite city to visit was Fes.
Favorite riad was Dar al Medina Al Kadima in Fes. The decor inside was stunning.
Favorite restaurants were Nouba and Buddha Bar in Marrakech.
Favorite club was 555 in Marrakech.

Our trip from Aswan to Luxor was a great one, including Abu Simbel. The Nile Cruise from Aswan to Luxor is one of the best trips, beyond the expectations. Amway Nile cruise was a very good choice. Visiting all arkeologic sites on the way was exciting. Our guide Moode (his nickname) explaind the history full of passion.
Quite a different, but still great experience was the trip to White & Black desert! The scenic views that accompanied us, with the assistance of Mustafa throughout our stay there, made this trip unforgettable. Mustafa was a great driver, guide, cook, very dedicated to his job. Tirelessly, after driving us through the desert, preparing lunch and a 5-star dinner, he and his family singed and played very beautiful music that made our trip even more complete.

Activity Reviews

Philae temple - High Dam - Kom Ombo temple

Aswan

Philae and Kom Ombo temples were great

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Edfu temple & Luxor temple and Karnak temple

Egypt

Karnak temple - breathless!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cairo - White Desert

Bahariya

As nature lovers we enjoyed that trip very much!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

over day Alexandria

Egypt

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pyramids, Sphinx, Sakkara, Memphis and camel ride

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Egyptian Museum, Salah El Din Citadel & Old Cairo

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Aswan - Kom Ombo temple

Aswan

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

White Desert - Cairo

Egypt

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit The west bank then fly to Cairo

Egypt

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I would suggest flight back instead of sleeping train

My friend and I had the best time in Ecuador thanks to kimkim! When my friend had to delay her arrival by a day last minute, Alvaro and Daniela helped us change our itinerary the day before we were scheduled to arrive in country after presenting multiple options for us to chose from. Daniela went above and beyond by spending the day with me before my friend arrived late by taking me to Teleferico and a market. Our guide Danny was great and enjoyable to spend the week with. Our favorite parts of the trip were hiking Quilotoa, a cooking class in Otavalo, and the Papallacta hot springs. The trip was seamless and very convenient for us as we both had limited time to spend planning a trip. Kimkim handled everything! Would definitely recommend to friends and family. Can’t wait to book our next adventure with kimkim!

Overall an amazing trip and memorable experience for our family. Thanks to KimKim team and Amalia for the thorough planning. We hadn't travelled in a while since Covid and this was our first big international vacation in three years, and also the first one for my six year old.

Amalia was super responsive. Communication throughout the planning phase was spot on. She made sure to ask for our personal preferences, put together a custom itinerary, and made sure to plan a luxurious vacation to perfection. Amalia was responsive during the trip and she helped make some last minute reservations at a few places.

1) Athens
- Driver Thanasis picked us up promptly at the Athens airport. Thanasis is an absolute gentleman - very polite, respectful, courteous and was willing to go the extra mile, stops along the way to ensure we had the best experience. The Mercedes van was well maintained and super clean.
- The Foundry Suites at Athens - an amazing place, very central location (10-12 minute walk to the Acropolis), and great hosts, excellent breakfasts. We had a very comfortable stay there.
- Popi, our tour guide for the Acropolis Museum and at Acropolis was again amazing. Her story telling ability and the knowledge of Greek ancient history / civilization was fascinating. My daughter loved the guided tour and she made it very memorable with beautiful story telling. We were pleasantly surprised when Popi told us that she had a PhD candidate. Such was the quality of the tour guides.
- Very comfortable drive in the afternoon to Sounio - Temple of Poseidon. We saw the gorgeous Sunset

2 ) Nafplio
Our next part of the trip was in Nafplio, a place that is two hours from Greece by car. It is a quaint little town. Just walking around the town was quite an experience.
- We stayed at the amazing Anthemion Villas / Suites - luxurious and comfortable. It was away from all the noise but literally just 3 minutes away from the city center
- Next day we had a private guided tour of Mycenae and Epidaurus. Our guide Theodoros Lendoudis talked us through the history all the way from the Bronze civilization, cycladic, minoan, mycenean, and the classical era. The huge theater in Epidaurus with amazing acoustics was the highlight of the day

3) Crete island: Chania
We visited Crete island. Rented a luxurious Volvo which was super comfortable and stayed in the old town in Chania. It was a central location. Our tour guide at Knossos in Heraklion, Maria Ververaki was again top notch. We stopped on the way at the very beautiful Rethymno, Lasitha plateau, and the quaint little town Archanes, Our kids also enjoyed the pink sand beach Elafonisi.

4) Santorini
The last part of our trip was spent in Santorini at stayed put at the Heliotopos Hotel. Again a super comfortable stay and very memorable. We truly enjoyed visiting all the scenic villages Oia, Fira, Imerovigli. At the last minute Amalia helped plan an amazing half-a-day luxury cruise that ended with a gorgeous view of the sunset, which our kids enjoyed a lot.

Finally we came to Athens and did a a very interesting Food tour with the super nice Adania. We were able to taste authentic Greek food while hearing about the history behind each of the delicacies. Amalia was super sweet and met us on the last day of our trip, and presented to us some hand-knits hats that her mom had made for us. It was such a pleasure meeting her in person.

Overall a very memorable trip and amazingly well planned luxury vacation, thanks to Amalia. She was very attentive to all the details and planned a very customized trip considering our needs, and especially our second daughter's allergy needs. Highly recommend her.

Few opportunities / feedback to take the vacation to the next level:
1) Accommodation: Please do not recommend Porto Antico apartments for travelers or families. We understand the recommendation was made because of the hotel's reputation. But the apartment was dinghy. Thankfully we were able to find a good accommodation via Airbnb and the apartment refunded the amount on the same day.
2) Both Avis and Hertz are amazing rental car brands in the US. We had a very pleasant experience renting through Avis at Crete. But had a bad experience with Avis at Santorini. The main issue was that Avis was not open 24 hours! Because of which I had to rent a car from Hertz at the last minute. I think it is best especially for international travelers that need some flexibility - that you suggest the car company that is open 24 hours, so that there is flexibility for the travelers to decide on when to rent and when to return. I have to say that Amalia and the KimKim team promptly refunded us the Avis rental car costs for Santorini, which is very much appreciated.

The above two pieces of feedback are meant to be constructive. Amalia planned everything to perfection. The above two glitches is something that is hard to predict. Amalia was super responsive when we raised these during our trip. Overall very happy with the services provided. I would highly recommend both KimKim and Amalia for your travel needs to Greece.

Activity Reviews

Knossos, Heraklion Day Trip

Chania

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The treasures of Athens

Athens

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Exploring Nafplio City

Nafplio

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Visit to Epidaurus & Mycenae

Nafplio

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The picturesque, old town of Chania

Chania

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Exploring the island of Santorini

Santorini

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Athens Food Walking Tour

Athens

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fantastic time! Our guide's name was Karim from Original Travels, and he was excellent. Completely fluent in English and very well versed on the areas we visited, we felt like we were in the very capable hands of an expert. Plus, he was super-friendly with us, versatile and spontaneous. Whenever we asked him to stop at a place along the way, he'd do it and explain what was special about it. Memorable activities ranged from climbing to the fortified granary atop Ait-Ben-Haddou to the excellent camel trek to outfitting ourselves in traditional Berber gear to stopping on the side of the road to wonder about the Giant Milkweed plant. We would definitely recommend anybody to work with Karim and Original Travels in the future. It was easy, friendly, informative, and fun!

Hotel Reviews

Tiziri Luxury Camp

Merzouga

The best part of this place was of course trekking with the camels to it. However once we were there, the people there made probably the best food we've eaten here in Morocco. It was outstanding fare. Also, standing in the dunes the next morning to watch the sun come up over the sand was incredible. Highly recommended!

Authenticity & Character

These guys didn't pretend to be something they were not, they were authentic through and through.

Location

We had our own special desert camp to ourselves, and the people there made sure we felt special too.

Staff

The staff was my favorite part of this place. They were so friendly, efficient with service, and they clearly had great cooking skills.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The tents and beds were super cozy with hot water bottles even that we could put in our soft, warm beds.

Palais Sebban

Marrakech

I really enjoyed the staff this hotel. Yes, the rooms were great, and so was the food. But every single person on the staff that I met, bar none, was incredibly friendly and seemed genuinely excited to serve us and help us, especially the front desk crew but also the bar/restaurant team.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Great central location to all touristic activities, and a super fun hotel in general with lots of nooks and crannies to explore.

Staff

Already mentioned above - the staff at this location was unparalleled.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Ouarzazate to Merzouga via Todra Gorge, Erfoud & Rissani

Morocco

The longest day overall, but this was my favorite part of the trip - great roadtrip sights and ended with a camel trek through the desert. You can't beat that.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

There wasn't a time we felt Karim would not do the right thing, he was on-time, helpful, and a great driver. It was clear he could handle any kind of mountain, desert, rain, sun driving with lots of traffic or little.

Transport

The car was clean and comfortable - a great roadtrip vehicle.

Bryan put together a wonderful trip! Everything went seamlessly and the tours and accommodations were amazing. Rental vehicles were picked up our hotel and shuttle service to the airport ordered. There were so many details that were taken care of and it was nice to know that if we needed their help or support while we were travelling that they were there for us. Thankfully the people of Costa Rica were very hospitable and welcoming everywhere we went and the trip was very memorable. Thank you Bryan for creating great memories for us!!

Iceland has been our favourite travel destination so far with its extraordinary experiences. We worked with Jenny for the last 5-6 months to plan the itinerary. She was supportive and patient while listening to our interests and suggested a trip plan accordingly. I was very keen on seeing the Northern lights and thankfully she booked the ‘superjeep tour’ for us instead of the regular bus tour as it was faster and we could do off-roading. The tour was booked on the second last day of our trip, however after my request it was rescheduled to the first day in order to maximise our chances of viewing them. We were so lucky that we saw the lights on the first day itself, that too within 30 minutes of meeting the tour operator. The experience made all the difference to our Iceland trip. The other tours – Golden Circle, South Coast 2-day tour and dog sledding – were all amazing. The suggestion of booking a two-day South Coast trip was a great one by Jenny. It included glacier hiking which was wonderful. We had told her early on to avoid a strenuous hike and so she had booked accordingly.

One of our feedbacks would be to have a whatsapp group in order to enable quicker communication during our stay in Iceland. We had one when we went to Greece with kimkim last year and that was super helpful. Also, it took a long time to receive a final itinerary because of weather-related concerns, which made us nervous. But ultimately it all worked out and we are thankful to Jenny and the team for their hard work and for organising an amazing trip for us. Iceland is truly one of a kind.

Thank you,
Nilanjana and Cody

Activity Reviews

Northern Lights Hunt Super Jeep Tour

Iceland

This tour was definitely the cherry on top of the cake. The guide (Hjortur with Arctic Adventures) was funny and knowledgeable. He took us straight to a breathtaking view of Northern Lights within 30 minutes of picking us up from our hotel. The hot chocolate was spot on. We are glad Jenny booked the superjeep tour as it was faster, more efficient and we could do off-roading and go to places where a regular bus wouldn't. The aurora forecast was just moderate but the lights turned out more than spectacular and we consider ourselves very lucky. We are glad we booked this tour on the first night of our trip because it kept raining continuously the last three days of our stay.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Skaftafell Ice Cave Tour & Glacier Walk

Iceland

The name of our mountain guide from Troll expeditions was Sighvatur. He is 68 years old but very fit and active. He guided us very well through the glacier. The weather forecast showed rain on the second day of the two-day South Coast tour so he wisely scheduled the glacier hike on the first day of the tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dog Sledding

Iceland

The dog sledding was exhilarating and every bit as good as we imagined. We were concerned about the lack of snow but it proved to be just as wonderful. Jenny was quick to rebook us on dry land when the tour company said there would not be any snow.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Blue Lagoon

Iceland

This is definitely a must-do in Iceland.

Chile is not an easy country to navigate especially if you don't speak Spanish. It was wonderful to have Kimkim plan our adventures and take the stress of travel away. We were very impressed with the drivers and guides. We were able to see a lot of the country in 3 weeks. Next time I would plan longer in Patagonia as the wind caused our boat tours there to be cancelled. They were helpful in getting us refunds which would have been hard to deal with ourselves not knowing Spanish. I would definitely recommend Kimkim.

We spent the week of Thanksgiving in Spain (family of four, including two teenage boys). James planned a very exciting and comprehensive trip for us, and Angela took care of any of our needs while we were there, including a last-minute switch I made to our itinerary which likely required some pretty impressive effort on her part to accomplish, but she did so quickly and graciously. We had extremely well informed guides to lead us through sites and cities, who shared with us a great deal of history and knowledge. We particularly loved Maribel in Barcelona and Teresa in Madrid. James offered a few means of seeing cities we hadn’t tried before, including a Segway and horse and carriage. I questioned both, but we ended up loving them. James booked our hotels, booked our trains, secured our drivers, and set up all of our guided tours, and everything went off without a hitch. Literally no planning on my part, and that was just wet we needed in deciding on this last-minute trip during a busy time. I would absolutely recommend this travel agency and can’t wait to use them again. Thank you!

Our Amazonas guide, Claudio Gutierrez, was the absolute best guide. He showed us amazing wildlife, introduced us to fascinating people and was funny, knowledgeable, and a true pleasure to hang out with. He totally understood our travel vibe and added extra walks and activities beyond the itinerary. His passion for the Amazonas was so infectious we simply wanted to stay and explore more with him. We would go back just to visit Claudio as we count him now as a friend.

I came to Guatemala for my birthday trip and couldn't believe how amazing the experience was. From the moment I arrived in Guatemala City, the entire staff made me feel so welcomed and taken care of. The drivers were top notch too - making every minute detail perfect. Pedro – my tour guide – made sure I had time to explore everything there was to see - even going out of his way to take outstanding photos of me when I wanted some souvenirs. He excelled at every possible opportunity so I could have a fantastic birthday trip and deserves 5 stars without hesitation. From trekking up volcanoes, to sailing around Lake Atitlán, I explored everything from Antigua to Guatemala City - meeting so many amazing people along the way. I can't wait until I'm able to come back again soon.

Hotel Reviews

Casa Antigua

Antigua

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa del Mundo

Lake Atitlán

This place was magical!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sip n' Cycle - Bike/Coffee Combo Tour

Antigua

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Hike to Pacaya Volcano

Guatemala

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

TucTuc tour experience around the Lake

Guatemala

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Traditional Guatemalan Cooking Class

Antigua

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We took a trip to Peru (primarily Sacred Valley) over Thanksgiving with our 3 kids and our friends with 2 kids and had an absolutely lovely time. Our guide, Justino, and the driver, Ruben, were A+. Knowledgeable, flexible, fun, kind--all of the things that help make a trip comfortable and safe and delightful, they provided us with. This is our second trip to have taken with a "kimkim" vetted team and we have had special, memorable experiences. Very grateful. Highly recommend.

Hotel Reviews

Aranwa Cusco Boutique Hotel

Cusco

Beautiful colonial style. Well appointed rooms and lovely breakfast and food amenities. Can't beat the location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Aranwa Sacred Valley

Urubamba

Well appointed and a stunningly beautiful property.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel

Machu Picchu

A special retreat, well appointed, clean, beautiful, staffed with kind and hospitable people. The food is delicious, the grounds are stunning.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Belmond Miraflores Park

Lima

This hotel was perfection. It is beautiful, service oriented and has a lovely location. We couldn't have been happier with our stay. We felt extremely well taken care of.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Moray and Salineras with optional ATVing

Peru

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Machu Picchu!

Aguas Calientes/ Machu Picchu

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Paddle on Lake Piuray

Peru

Very special and unique experience. We loved everything about it.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Experience Peruvian village life

Peru

It was very special.hospitable and accommodating. We loved getting a glimpse into highlander life--the kids got to dress up in traditional clothes and get a sense of what life is like for people. Beautiful day.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Guide Flor was very informative and very helpful. So were the drivers, the hotel staff. Very memorable trip and for overall safety.
Thanks a lot

Bryan and Charlotte were very helpful in providing the best combination of activities for our family. We liked all the hotel selections and tour operators were excellent. During our stay, our GPS took us down the wrong path one day and we were going to miss our planned boat cruise. They helped us adjust our tour timings on the same day notifying the tour company at short notice. Appreciated the local support when we needed it. We loved the curation of activities and places and it saved a lot of time trying to figure out everything on our own. Having someone with local knowledge was great so we got the best hotels and reputable service providers - important when traveling internationally. We will definitely recommend KimKim and would like to use their services again and help customize our trip even more ! Great idea and service

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Hacienda Guachipelín

Liberia

Authenticity & Character

Location

Only an hour from the airport

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tamarindo Diria Beach Resort

Tamarindo

Great hotel in the center of activities - nice access to all restaurants and beach

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Bosque del Mar

Playa Hermosa

Helpful staff, natural surrounding with beach access to Playa Hermosa. Not too crowded.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Palo Verde National Park Boat Tour

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very helpful guides and staff. They helped us change a flat tire while on the boat cruise and helped us find our way back to the main road.

Transport

Access roads to this place are not good - this is in the middle of fields and wetlands. Need better directions and assistance getting there.

Hike to Las Pailas, Rincon de la Vieja National Park and La Oropendola Waterfall

Costa Rica

Excellent experience seeing the volcano and rainforest

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tube Down the Rio Negro

Rincón de la Vieja

Great adventure and unique experience - very scenic down the river

Quality of Experience

Was a unique experience - bit rougher than expected with a bumpy ride although guides were excellent

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Excellent guides - very hard working team that takes you through the rapids

Transport

Our trip to Morocco was fantastic. Our guide and driver Yassine was engaging, fun and very reliable…we would definately recommend. Our Guide in Fes, Said, was absolutely first rate. Also, Bob in Dades valley was also totally great. His suggestion of a local hike in Boumalde Dades was far superior to the planned hike in Rose valley and should be offered to future travelers.. the hotels selected by Sharon had just the right balance of comfort and authenticity and the balance of free time was perfect. Our time in Marrakesh was enjoyable but we would suggest three improvements: the guides choice of lunch locations ( which we passed on) was a clear tourist trap and should be avoided. We got very little advice on where to find finer shops vs more touristy locations and we decided on our own to visit Le Jardin Majorelle and surrounding area ( it should definately be suggested on the itinerary.

Our joys were many and our complaints few…thank you Sharon for setting up a great trip.

Activity Reviews

Guided Tour of Fes

Fes

Said was the perfect guide…super knowledgeable and open. He is a great ambassador for Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fes to Merzouga via Ifraine and Azrou - Camel Trek to Desert Camp

Morocco

Definately a must do…one night was the perfect stay in the desert

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Merzouga to Dades Valley Via Todgha Gorge

Morocco

Make sure you use bob as a local guide…his hike suggestion was phenomenal as was his welcoming us into his home( soon to be restaurant) for lunch with his family

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hiking the Road of 1000 Kasbahs

Morocco

Use bob: best guide in the region

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour of Marrakech

Marrakesh

Marrakesh was fabulous. We would suggest a different guide who c

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Different guide

Transport

This was my wife and I honeymoon. I have to say that Lucas, our kimkim planner , was absolutely fantastic! Lucas was always available for us and even when on the vacation we questions and Lucas was there to help. He worked with me on every detail of the trip and we really packed on a lot of stuff into our trip. The glaciers were our favorite part in calafate. So beautiful! What was great is that everything was taken care of. Flights, transportation, reservations, activities, tours everything ran like clock work. We wanted to enjoy our honeymoon and not have to worry about details like how we would get from here to there: Lucas and KimKim provided that and we can thank you you guys enough. Thank you so much for the fantastic memories!

Hotel Reviews

CasaSur Recoleta

Buenos Aires

Very nice hotel. Staff was friendly and accommodating. Would highly recommend

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Xelena Hotel & Suites

El Calafate, Santa Cruz

Loved this hotel. Nice accommodations and really good food. Staff was awesome. Very helpful. Location was great and they provide a shuttle into town and back to hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Loi Suites Iguazú Hotel

Puerto Iguazú

Amazing hotel. So beautiful. Right in the jungle. Felt very authentic . Food was great. The suite we had was so cool. Spacious and fancy. They put the hot tub on for us . Loved everything about it

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Grace Cafayate

Cafayate

They had champagne for us when we arrived. They also upgraded us to a master suite for our honeymoon. So nice! Watched the sunrise on the back porch . Was so amazing and romantic. Resturant was great. Staff took care of us and this was my favorite hotel of the whole trip

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Asado Dinner at El Fogón

Buenos Aires

The best meal we had all trip

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My time in El Nido was amazing, and it was all thanks to Leo and the staff at Uncharted Earth! Leo took care of everything and answered all my questions and concerns in such a timely fashion and patient way. I was super anxious about traveling to the Philippines alone for the first time, and because Leo organized everything for me, I was able to enjoy my time there without having to worry about all the little details. El Bacuit Tours was also amazing, and the tour guides who work for the company are so friendly and welcoming. People like Jojo and Mike (and the others whose names escape me right now) were excellent, helpful, and just so nice! The islands and the beaches there were pristine, and the views were spectacular. Tour A and Tour C were definitely my favorites, and I had so much fun snorkeling and kayaking in beautiful clear waters! Also, the staff at the Sea Cocoon hotel was excellent. The hotel was clean, and they provide bottled water for every guest in the room. They went above and beyond to make the guests feel welcome. They even packed me a complimentary sandwich the day I left for the airport! All in all, I would highly recommend kimkim and Leo as the local specialist.

Activity Reviews

Island hopping in El Nido - Tour A - group tour

El Nido

The sights were spectacular here!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Island hopping in El Nido - Tour C - group tour

El Nido

As with Tour A, the sights were particularly spectacular. Great snorkeling locations.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a wonderful trip to Peru. The booking process and working with Johanna on the trip plan was enjoyable and she provided the best suggestions. We had some delays due to the airport incident and Johanna was even more amazing to work with during the rebooking/cancellation process. She was always available and willing to help. Our trip would not have been a success if it wasn't for her and Kristy who went out of their way to accommodate our changing plans. A big thanks to Johanna and Kristy from all of us.

Hotel Review

Abittare Hotels

Cusco

Although the hotel's location was ideal the rooms itself were very small and the hotel was very blah. Unfortunately, we happened to stay here on the night of our 25th wedding anniversary and were very disappointed. The light in the bathroom was so dim that we could hardly see anything in there. The front desk staff was not helpful either. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone planning to stay in Cusco.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Dinner Cooking Class

Cusco

We enjoyed the cooking class the lot. Chef Jesus was very knowledgeable and fun to work with. The setting of the cooking class was very nice as well I would highly recommend to other travelers in the area.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Lima Food Tour

Peru

We had a great time with Patricia!! Her knowledge of Peruvian history, culture and food is very impressive. We enjoyed all the restaurants she took us too. Especially the one where we learned to make coconut ceviche. Very well planned and fun for all.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport