Kimkim Trip Reviews

All the guides were wonderful. Ana for the Torres del Paine, Jorge for condor and trekking, Ray and Gonzalo of Andoandes for volcanoes and hot spring

We had a wonderful trip and everything worked out wonderfully. Everything planned worked smoothly and on time. Here is a short review:
The car was delivered on time. We did not get to see a lot of Poas as it was very cloudy and raining heavily. The Arenal observatory lodge was great so was the complimentary breakfast and the dinner menu. The pool and hot tub are spectacular. It is 30 minutes away from the touristic La Fortuna area but that was just fine as the little that I did get to see of Lafortuna did not seem very authentic.
The private guide at Arenal was very enjoyable, especially at the beginning of the trip as we got to chat about different subjects and the country and as he pointed out and got us great pictures of animals and insects.
Monteverde was great and we enjoyed Selvatura park and canopy zip lining was very impressive.
All the hotels selected were clean and comfortable and the personnel friendly and helpful. The poco à poco hotel in Monteverde was comfortable and the breakfast very good, the room was clean and comfortable but thin walls and metal roofs made it noisy, although quiet at night. The personnel were nice and helpful and they even found a sweater I had forgotten in the selvatura shuttle and arranged to have it delivered to my hotel in Manuel Antonio.
We did not get a guide at Manuel Antonio which was fine because by that time we could move at our own pace and animals were more obvious than at Arenal. Since our last day activity was unfortunately cancelled (scuba diving) we visited playa dominical which we liked for its smaller local feel.

So overall it was a great experience, and everything worked out perfectly. We visited near the end of the rainy season, and it can rain quite a bit, sometimes all day and all night, the mornings are usually dryer and we managed to get one sunny day on the pacific coast.

We always planned to have plenty of time for travel between cities and that was very useful as the roads are narrow and we came across some traffic every time for different reasons so drivers should plan for extra time when driving just in case.

We visited Iceland in November 2022 and our trip was planned by Terry. Terry was extremely helpful throughout the planning process and provided us with great suggestions to make our trip memorable. She was extremely attentive and provided prompt responses to our queries. She gave us all information to help us prepare for the trip.

We were also given a local contact Sigurdur who sorted out tour cancellations quickly making our experience less stressful. We would like to say a big thank you to Terry and Sigurdur for helping us plan the most memorable trip and we will be recommending Kim Kim to our friends who would like to visit Iceland in the future 😊

Oleksandra did a great job organising our 12 days in Argentina with brief stops in Brazil and Chile. She packed in as much in as she could without it feeling too rushed, though we did move about a lot and everything went very smoothly, pickups, flights and excursions. The excursions were well chosen and well run. Often we were on our own with a guide just for 4 of us which was fantastic, though we weren’t expecting it and I guess it was just how it worked out on the day.

The guides were very good especially Lorena, a local guide in Iguazu who was charming and knowledgeable. Dante in Puerto Madryn was also excellent - very keen to please and knowledgeable.

Alongside Iguazu, Mendoza was lovely with a highlight being a delightful lunch/ wine pairing in a spectacular location (Ojo de Agua) where we were given plenty of time to relax and enjoy it. Patagonia was a change and we did get to see some wonderful flora and fauna including whales and sea lions as well as penguins very close up.

We had a few minor a questions on the way which were dealt with promptly. Hotel choices were good and we specially liked Ivy de Selva in Iguazu. Some were a little more quirky than I had desired, but I think that goes with the territory here not the operators and nothing impacted the enjoyment of our trip.

I would use Kimkim again and plan to do so in the future.

Hotel Reviews

L'Hôtel Palermo

Buenos Aires

Sweet little hotel, fantastic location in a delightful area with many lovely bars, coffee shops, utterly charming staff, quirky plumbing (but very manageable).

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Yvy Hotel de Selva

Puerto Iguazú

Huge rooms, very clean, set in amongst the forest

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa La Galeana

Lujan de Cuyo

One of our more quirky stays. The rooms were huge and unique, decorated with local artefacts. The beds were very comfortable. The air conditioning struggled to cope, but we mentioned it as we were going out and the staff said they would open the windows while the outside was cool , but shut them later and we returned to find fans had been put in the room as well. So 10/10 for doing what they could to help. Layout is curious and one of the pools was out of use, but the other was fine. Again, the shower took some working out, but we got the technique. Sweet, attentive staff and a small, homely feel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Quiet, but rather far from the main town

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Explore the Argentine Falls

Puerto Iguazú

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Clean, on time, comfortable

Punta Tombo Penguin Colony

Puerto Madryn

The penguin part of this trip was really good, but because of weather the boat element to see the dolphins we were really looking forwards to was cancelled. We weren’t told and it was only after rather further in the car than expected that we realised we were on a different trip than we thought. There was some confusion and we only then came to know that we had embarked on a different trip which replaced the boat trip with a cultural experience to another town. Given the choice up front we wouldn’t have done it and would have opted to do something else, so this was rather frustrating, but having set off and driven quite far at that stage we went with it. Somewhere along the line the communications had missed us out as obviously the cancellation due to weather couldn’t be helped.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide, Dante

Transport

Whale Watching tour

Puerto Madryn

Can’t choose just one place as they all were amazing!! Liz really did a fantastic job guiding us through when choosing what I thought would be the most interesting places for us. When we had questions Liz would get back to us in a prompt time period. We never experienced any bad tour guides along with our pickups. They were prompt every time!!!

Liz went over expectations from me when planning. She watched my budget but also was able to provide us great entertainment and adventure!

Hotel Reviews

Auckland City Hotel

Auckland

Very polite and helpful! Room clean!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Scenic Suites Queenstown

Queenstown

Very clean and great location. Great Mountain View.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bay Villas Resort

Port Douglas

Great, quiet place. Very clean and good location!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vibe Hotel Sydney

Sydney

Great place and very nice and comfortable!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Museum entry and 1 Hour Highlights tour

Auckland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hobbiton Express -

Auckland

Auckland Walking Tour

Auckland

Views were great and guide was great as well

Walter Peak Farm and Gourmet Barbecue Lunch

New Zealand

Food and sheep dog talk was great. Beautiful views on ride over on steamer.

Half-Day Macetown 4WD Tour

New Zealand

Our guide Mark was phenomenal! Everything we could have asked for in a 4Wheeling adventure!

Skyline Gondola Ride

Queenstown (NZ)

Beautiful!!

Welcome to Port Douglas

Port Douglas

Glad we didn’t choose to go to a big city. Port Douglas is perfect for a few days!

Mackay Coral Cay Great Barrier Reef Day Trip

Port Douglas

Wow! Exactly as they tell you. Guides were very informative and helpful.

Day Trip to Kuranda Village & Rainforest Tour

Australia

Beautiful scenery and enjoyed seeing the local animals! After an entire day the only thing we weren’t sure of was the actual train ride back. It was slow.

Full Day Mossman Gorge Adventure Day

Australia

Amazing adventure! Especially in the rainforest. We could have stayed all day!!

Morning Panoramic Sydney Sights

Sydney

Sydney Opera House Tour

Sydney

A must see!

I think Ndudi covered most of what I would like to say about the trip however we had some issues at that last hotel.

There was a minor issue too but this was the main one. When checking out the clerk at the desk kept insisting that our room was not paid for and we needed to provide a credit card to pay for the room. He didn't have any idea of how the rooms where booked and who was responsible for payment. He said he needed to wait for somebody to Call and confirm that our room was paid for and that once he got the confirmation that we would be good to go. At this point our guide was already there and waiting on us to leave.

This interaction was a little disconcerning but besides that overall it was a pleasant trip.

Words cannot adequately describe the positive experience we had with Sherif and his team. From the planning stages to the actual trip, no detail was overlooked. He offered excursions that he felt might fit our family; the Fayoum safari and sand boarding adventure was a HUGE hit! This was our first time traveling to Egypt, and it was extremely comforting to know he was behind the scenes making sure everything went according to plan. We truly cannot thank him enough!

If you are thinking of going to Egypt, and feel a little overwhelmed like I did, Dunes and Beyond is your answer.

Everything was perfect for our Winter trip. I will definitely use kimkim in the future.

The tours were fantastic: the guides were knowledgeable and personable and we enjoyed every minute.

The hotels hit all the right notes.

I had planned my trip to Costa Rica for February, but it had to be rescheduled for November. It was a great relief that the KimKim team assisted me and made all the changes easily and smoothly from the beginning until the end :).

My partner and I had an amazing time in Costa Rica! The whole trip was on-point, without any issues with the activities and transportation within the country (which was my biggest concern, since the roads are tricky to navigate). We arrived in San José and initiated the adventure in La Fortuna (which was one of my favorite places), then Monteverde, and finished in Manuel Antonio/Quepos.

Despite some rainy days, we had a fantastic time and all the activities were wonderful! I especially enjoyed La Fortuna Waterfall and Hanging Bridges Walk with Jacamar tours, in Monteverde the Cloud Forest Hike with Ocotea Tours was phenomenal <3. And if you're going to Quepos or Manuel Antonio, I'd recommend the Catamaran tour as well!
All the hotels that we booked were downtown so it was easy to walk to restaurants, shops, cafés, etc. But there are some great hotels in all towns if you're planning to have more chill and private time.

My only advice would be to check all locations in advance and maybe avoid traveling during the heavy rainy season since some roads get blocked and the distances are not that close between each town (ie. from La Fortuna - Monteverde there's a big hill to travel even if you're taking the shuttle).

Overall, it was a great experience because it made planning the trip a hundred times easier and we got great recommendations from drivers, tour guides, and locals. I'd definitely use KimKim in my next travel adventure! :)

Hotel Reviews

Arco Iris Lodge

Santa Elena

Great location in the downtown area. Easy access to restaurants, cafés, and shops. Super quiet and comfortable place. It feels like you're in the middle of the forest, but with an on-point location!

Authenticity & Character

Loved that is surrounded by nature and monkeys!

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Fortuna Downtown Boutique Hotel

La Fortuna San Carlos

Amazing location super close to all restaurants, cafés, and shops. Easy to walk around the area as well and found the best pizza nearby! The staff is super welcoming and helpful. The rooms are a bit small, but the bed is very comfortable and it's a great place to stay if you're planning on moving around the area.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Best Western Hotel & Casino Kamuk

Quepos

Rooms are big, comfortable and with much light! The staff is great and super helpful! Very close to the Marina and restaurants (also if you're into CrossFit there's a box nearby) ;) My only issue was the the wifi was a bit slow and not very powerful in the rooms, other than that it's a good place to stay!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Holiday Inn Express San Jose Airport

San Jose

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Cloud Forest Reserve Hike

Monteverde

Loved the tour! 10/10 recommended! Our guide was super knowledgeable and we learned a lot! <3

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee Experience and Nighttime Nature Walk

Monteverde

Would recommend the tour because the guide was super helpful and knowledgeable, but would check the weather if you're planning on taking the nature walk at night. Unfortunately, heavy rain doesn't let you see much. Other than that, I learned a lot about coffee :)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Hanging Bridges Guided Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

Loved it! Got to see monkeys, birds, and some other cool flora and fauna! 10/10 would recommend Jacamar tours. A must for taking great pictures ;)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Catamaran Adventure with Barbecue

Manuel Antonio

Great tour and staff. The food was delicious as well. The whole tour took around 3 hours, but it was probably because of the weather conditions that didn't allow us to stay longer.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Timing

Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands.
We are so glad we found kimkim to help book our trip to the Galapagos Islands. I have only great things to say about Daniel, Alvaro, and Daniela who made our trip such a success. Initially, we provided them information regarding our budget, timeline (two weeks), and level of activity and preferences, and they worked diligently in creating a detailed and personalized itinerary that worked best for our group of four. Our trip began in Quito and then had stops in the islands of San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, and Isabela. Alvaro and Daniela ensured that everything about our travel arrangements was absolutely seamless! It was so nice not to worry about transportation. All of our taxis, boat transfers, entrance tickets, travel guides, and hotel stays were taken care of. Every single excursion and activity the kimkim team planned for us was an amazing experience, we loved all of our snorkeling trips! All of our tour guides were very knowledgeable and friendly, and provided us with detailed information about the islands and the animals. Daniela and Alvaro also kept in touch with us during our entire trip and were available in case we had questions or concerns, we were very grateful for their quick responses and consistent communication! Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands is an amazing place to visit. I loved being so close to all of the animals, seeing such different plants and landscapes, eating all of the food (trying the seafood is a must!) and meeting all of the welcoming and friendly people. We had the trip of a lifetime and I would definitely book my next trip with kimkim because of our positive experience. Thank you!! :)

Hotel Review

Ikala Quito Hotel

Quito

Great location and awesome breakfast. The front desk staff was very friendly and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Kayaking Adventure: Exploring Quilotoa Lagoon and Resting in Cotopaxi

Ecuador

Such a beautiful place, the view is incredible. The walk down to the lagoon is fairly easy, however the walk uphill is a bit strenuous, you may want to consider renting a mule for $10 a person :)

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Daniel was a great guide!

Transport

Sierra Negra volcano - Speedboat to Santa Cruz

Galapagos Islands

The views are worth the long walk, it was so neat seeing the crater of a volcano and the various lava formations. It looked like you were walking on the surface of the moon!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Experience the Pristine Beauty of Galápagos Islands: Discovering an Uninhabited Island

Puerto Ayora

The best snorkeling experience of my life! We got to swim with a Galapagos penguin!! The trip was on a beautiful and comfortable boat with a chef who prepared a delicious lunch for our group. The location for snorkeling was absolutely ideal. It was the best day on our trip!

Quality of Experience

Food

Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for breakfast, and fish, rice, pasta, and beet salad for lunch.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had an amazing time in Morocco with our guide Aziz , who was always punctual and communicated well, and answered all our questions about local life in Morocco. Spending the night in the Merzouga desert under the sky full of stars was a beautiful memory that will last me a lifetime. I also enjoyed seeing the contrast between landscapes and lifestyles in Marrakesh, Taghazout and the desert.

This trip has changed my perspective on traveling! I usually wing it with minimal research ahead of time. This was the first time I have had a complete itinerary set up for me and it was great. It allowed my wife and I to meet people and see places that we would have never found.

The highlights of the trip for me were our Flamenco tour and out city tour in Granada. There was so much more to learn about Flamenco and the gypsy lifestyle than we expected. And the fact that our guide was performing at the end of the tour really made it unique. She introduced us to the culture and brought us to some great local places. I would change a thing.

Our tour with Pedro in Granada was also a blast. He was very passionate and prepared. Of all the tours he was the easiest to talk to and was very accommodating. After getting to know us he made some last-minute tweaks to the tour to show us a local spot that most people try to avoid. It was a genuine experience, and I would recommend him to anyone.

Our driver who Yuri coordinated for us was also a very cool guy. He drove us to Granada, and we talked the whole time. He shared great tips on things to do in town. The tapas are included in every bar and there are some many spots to check out.

I definitely recommend southern Spain to anyone. Very safe, clean and packed full of history.

The only things I would have changed are:
-The hotel Petit Palace Puerta de Triana which had a very strong odor throughout the building and our room. We choose to sleep with windows open.
-Our guide to Seville’s Cathedral & Alcázar was a little quiet and seemed kind of rushed. Nice guy but not quite the typical outgoing guide personality.
- Now that I know the spots, I personally would prefer another night in Granada and maybe skip Malaga.

We had not done personalized private tours before and the experience overall was better than expected. You will need to budget quite a bit more for this kind of service to start with, and in the end you will get the quality of local tour guides if you had diligently selected your own tours separately.

We wound up selecting kimkim as the main contact for setting up our private tour. It turned out however, that they worked with another private tour company Odynovo that specializes in the Asia countries. They, in turn, hire local freelance tour guides. Odynovo itself didn’t offer tours that cover Vietnam and KL together, so it took kimkim to step in and manage multiple country tours. Kimkim only calls you up at the start and asks for your budget for hotels, travel preferences, and food allergies. After that they step aside and provides the online platform to share itineraries with fellow travelers and provide point of contact if any issues come up during the trip. So basically this review is of Tom (our local contact) and Odynovo who I give 5 stars. Tom worked with us to tweak the itinerary to our liking and even accommodated our request to limit tourist shops. He was very responsive throughout our trip. For kimkim, the user interface is nice and easy to navigate but I would dock off a star or two since there is no transparency in pricing the trip, which kimkim may be involved with.

A e-visa is needed to travel to Vietnam. Although they say it is easy to apply, in reality it takes a bit of wrangling to get the right credit card to be accepted.

In Hanoi, our first tour guide Mr Le Thien was available as soon as we arrived in Hanoi (in fact all the guides are there during the Vietnam part of the tour). During the first full day tour he was thorough in explaining the impact Ho Chi Minh had in Vietnam history and explaining the migration path of the Vietnamese people and surrounding villages to the south. I had some trouble understanding his English in some parts but could manage overall. The tour offered lunch at a local restaurant but the food was not traditional Vietnamese food aside from the spring rolls. The food quality was good but I would prefer more local varieties in the preset meal. Mr Le made up for this by going out of his way to show us local restaurants that served dishes like Cha Ca, Banh cuon, banh mi, etc. after the tour. The hotel accommodations was good since it was within walking distance of the old town and lake. The next day at Ha Long Bay was perhaps the best part of the trip. Note that between destinations, stops are made at various demonstrations and government price shops so you can buy souvenirs. Sometimes it is better to stop at these and not have to haggle with prices, while other times the stops seem a distraction.

In Hoi An/Danang, Mr. Bui Anh Tuan was our guide. He was very knowledgeable about the My Son Holy Land and Hoi An ancient town, both of which were highlights. He provided a lot of insight in Vietnamese life and culture and was humorous which was a plus. The second tour at Ba Na hills is more like a Disneyland like resort. The hotel location and tour lunches were pretty good, with a good selection of Vietnamese dishes to sample. This was the next best spot in Vietnam as there are less motor bikes zooming around and the area is close to the coast so we were able to try the fresh fish for dinner.

In Ho Chi Minch city, Mr. Victor was our tour guide. Compared to the other cities and guides, the intensity was ramped up a level. A sheet with over 20 or so bullet items is handed to you to watch for scams, stolen phones, rude locals, and a bunch of other things to watch for. This might be useful if you started the tour in Saigon, but we had already been seasoned in Vietnam customs up to that point, so it just raised anxiety unnecessarily. The guide was prepared with plenty of background material in several notebook binders and YouTube-like videos from his phone. The material could get overwhelming presented in this fashion, but you have to appreciate the level of energy the guide provided to present it. The hotel was a little older than other hotels we stayed at and located in a similar hectic part of the city. The hotel selection was perhaps the worst of the trip. The Mekong delta tour was not quite as impressive as it did not include any visit to floating markets. It seemed more geared toward providing monetary support to the locals than providing a memorable experience. The lunch was very good. The next day tours at the Cu Chi tunnels and city tour were better as they provided in depth content about the war. But the lunch option was very poor as the Vietnamese dishes had no flavor.

Finally, in KL, there was no tour guide to greet us at the airport. You can tell the discontinuity of the different country tours. The hotel accommodations were good.

Hotel Reviews

Bhaya Classic

Quang Ninh

Friendly staff. Food options good. Rooms were clean and had good character. Definitely best part of the trip including visit to caves, beach and kayaking activities.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lasenta

Hoi An

Within walking distance to the ancient town. Good breakfast options especially the Vietnamese coffee. Friendly staff gives good restaurant recommendations

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Alagon D'antique Hotel & Spa

Ho Chi Minh City

On the old side. Tiny, slow elevators. Tub with shower affixed to it was awkward. Bed is firm. Located in a busy area so not relaxing.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Park Royal Service Suites Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur

Good breakfast options. Friendly staff. Location within walking distance to street markets.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Lapis Hotel

Good location. Clean. Not much of a view. Breakfast options ok. Elevator touch buttons hard to activate

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to old town

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Hanoi City Tour with Museum of Ethnology

Hanoi

The morning visit to Ho Chi Minh mausoleum and residence was a highlight. You have to get in 2 lines before entering the mausoleum. Once inside, you get to see the embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh in a glass case. It’s a little cold inside so wear long sleeve shirt if possible. In another part of the park, you get to see where Ho Chi Minh resided. No outlandish buildings but modest and simple structures. We also visited a museum which introduced us to the mixed ethnicity of people occupying the area in the past. Outside the museum, you get to enter in replicas of structures (mostly bamboo?) that local villagers lived or gathered in. The visit to Hanoi Hilton prison was also interesting. You get up close to the difficult conditions the prisoners were in. The puppet show towards the end of the tour was ok since there was no translation available. Finally the rickshaw tour of the old town was neat. It gives you a front row view of how to navigate through people, motor bikes, and cars all at once. The locals will tell you the rickshaw drivers will try to rip off tourists, so you feel obliged to tip them (it’s a hard way to earn a living..)

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer from Hanoi to Halong Bay

Vietnam

The stop to the government priced souvenir store was good. It gave you a chance to buy stuff without the haggling. The stop to the pearl store seemed unnecessary.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bhaya Classic Cruise -Day 2

Ha Long Bay

In the morning, you can join the Tai Chi exercises on the upper deck. The exercises are quite refreshing with the surrounding. Following that, we visited one of the large caves in the bay. This requires you to go up and down a number of stairs, but nothing strenuous. Most of the caves are well lit so you get to see a lot of the structure and colors.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bhaya Classic Cruise -Day 1

Ha Long Bay

After a long drive, you see references to the King Kong movie shot around the area, so right off you can expect a touristy area. After checking in and a short wait, we are escorted to the cruise where the staff greet you warmly. Once onboard, you check into the rooms which have a unique charm to them. You can hang out in the patio area of your room or wander around the different decks of the boat. The views of Ha Long Bay are spectacular as the boat travels through the various shaped rocks. During the afternoon, you get to spend a few hours kayaking and/or hanging out on a small beach in the bay. There’s some amount of garbage in the waters, but not too bad, The preset dinner on the third deck was good. At night the ship anchors in the peaceful calm waters. If the weather is good you can get nice sunsets or sunrises.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day My Son Holy Land and Hoi An Highlights Tour

Hoi An

The tour takes you to old ruins of Hindu temples in the morning. After a drive, you hop onboard an open seat electric cart that has several rows of seats. The ride itself is swift and has a theme park feel to it before you get to the remnants of ruins that survived the bombings (you get to walk by one of the bomb craters). There are several different sites but each show the same symbolism (Lingam and yoni mainly). In the main site, you can walk inside and around the ruins before joining a regularly scheduled cultural dance show. There is a museum on the way back from the returning cart ride that has some interesting displays worth checking out. Back to Hoi An, you get to walk around the ancient town. There you can see a 17th century Japanese bridge still intact. You can also see old Chinese merchant houses. The lunch there featured some good Vietnamese cuisine. At night the town lights up with red and other colored lanterns along the river and not to be missed. The street market becomes very vibrant as well.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Drive to Da Nang with Visit to the Golden Bridge

Vietnam

Ok, maybe it is not surprising that there is a theme park in Vietnam. But this park has some historical context. The morning drive takes you through a few local towns until you reach the foothills. After winding up the hills you reach a large parking area leading to the park. There you pass through a large gate and line up to enter the park. The resort is at the top of the hills so you take the cable cars up. The first stop takes you to the golden bridge where giant stone hands seemingly hold up a pedestrian bridge. Then you pass through a French village, complete with wine cellars. The buildings were built during French occupation of Vietnam. We ate at a buffet restaurant which served a wide range of Asian food. The next cable car takes you to Buddhist temples and other resort buildings (you can see construction for further expansion). This is the highest point on the mountain so on a good day you can see Hoi An/ Da Nang and the ocean. On the return trip there is a drive though the city and a stop at one of Da Nang’s beaches.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fly from Da Nang to Saigon

Ho Chi Minh City

After arriving to Saigon, Mr Victor took us several blocks to the van. Mr Victor then played a pre-recorded tape of how not to get in trouble in Saigon. The level of anxiety surely increased unnecessarily. After checking in the hotel, we were taken through a hot building with a bunch of merchants and street vendors. Not the greatest environment to shop around. In the evening we had free time to check out the local cuisine (and try not to get run over)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Mekong Delta Tour (My Tho)

Ho Chi Minh City

The drive out of Saigon didn’t show anything worth remembering. Mr Victor gave a pretty thorough background of Vietnam and the Mekong delta in his presentation. After arriving at the port, we boarded a motorized boat and shuffled through fairly strong currents of the river. We were then taken through a family owned coconut candy shop. Next we found another local willing to give us a ride on a horse drawn cart. This led us to a family restaurant that served us various local fruits and even performed some traditional music and dance. Finally, we were led to a stream where a lady and her daughter tried rowing us to the delta to our original motor boat (she and her daughter ditched that boat and took a motorized version back). We travelled further along the delta to a restaurant for seafood lunch. After lunch we took the same motor boat back to the original port and drove back to Saigon.

Quality of Experience

The different modes of transportation may be interesting for the first time but it kind of felt like an unnecessary way to help the locals out given the labor provided

Food

May have got sick from food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Cu Chi Tunnels Tour

Ho Chi Minh City

The tour gives you a first hand look at the Vietnam (or American) war. You can actually fire some live ammunition for a fee. There is about an hour or two drive to the site where the Vietcong dug an elaborate maze of tunnels. The site consists of bomb craters, damaged tanks and armored vehicles, and various carved out areas of underground tunnels and rooms and traps. If you don’t mind the sweat and darkness, you can walk through short tunnel segments. After returning to Saigon, after lunch the tour takes you through a war museum. The effects of the war are in full display with unique photos.

Quality of Experience

Better food would make this 5 star

Food

No taste. We had to request the fish sauce?

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Ho Chi Minh City Tour with Dong Khoi Street

Ho Chi Minh City

We visit a palace where the south president gets overthrown by the communist north. We also get to see other historical buildings (mainly French influenced)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Malacca Tour From Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur

It is fairly lengthy ride to Malacca, but definitely worth it. There is a pit stop midway to the ancient city. Once in Malacca we visited ruins of an old church, then proceeded to the old town. There we entered or passed by local shops and various historical buildings (mainly Chinese)

Quality of Experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transport

Half Day Kuala Lumpur City Tour

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia is a strong contrast to Vietnam. There’s more order on the streets despite the much larger population. We get to drive through the city to see various historical sites which can be seen for free. The main highlight is the Petronas tower which requires a fee to take the elevator to the viewing areas like the tower bridge and near the top floor. The view at the top is not part of the tour so we had change the original lunch plan, but the tour guide was accommodating. We chose to eat in the food court area in the towers where there is a wide selection to choose from.

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We had the most memorable first time in the Philippines thanks to Kim Kim and the wonderful staff from Unchartered Philippines. We get to Manila and Ana picked us up and toured Intermesos. She was nice, sweet, informative. The next days we spent in Palawan starting with Rich in Puerto Princessa for one day then 4 in El Nido. You can really tell the passion and knowledge Rich had about the country, Palawan. He was personable and friendly. The drivers were great and our tours with Mike and his crew along with Rich was exceptional. The lunches were absolutely amazing. Rich was also kind and helpful to my mother who was limited in activities that can be done but equally enjoyed the part of the PI she’s never seen. When we got to Coron, Jonas was our guide and equally good. His passion for the environment and the ocean really showed through. He was great leading us through the tour especially with his diving experience. He went the extra mile to bring us places we couldn’t miss. Both boat tours were kind, professional, and that real Philippine spirit of hospitality. My children enjoyed everything and even tried new foods. Thank you for showing us part of the beautiful country. It will be a large part of our special time as a family together.

Alvaro, Daniela, and Daniel did an outstanding job with the planning and execution of our trip to Ecuador (Quito and the Galápagos Islands). They were available (even checking up on us during the trip!) and willing to go above and beyond to make our experience the best it could be.
They connected us with very knowledgeable and passionate guides like Daniel in Quito, Wilson in San Cristobal, and Enrique in Santa Cruz.
I especially enjoyed the hike down to the Quilotoa Lake, the unforgettable and breathtaking views from Bartolomé Island, and the hike to the expansive crater of Volcano Sierra Negra.
We also loved all the animals we found along the way on land and in the water. The trips to los tuneles and las tintoreras allowed us to get extremely close to blue-footed boobies and whitetip reef sharks. We snorkeled as much as we could and were even joined for a swim by a couple of playful sea lions! It was an amazing experience. The free snorkel experience at Concha de Perla on Isabela Island was also well worth it - we saw sea turtles and sting rays!
Our hotel hosts were also very kind and the food provided at breakfast was delicious. Shout outs go to Casa de Nelly in San Cristobal, Hotel La Isla in Santa Cruz, and Casa de Marita on Isabela.
Overall it was a 5/5 star experience in every way. With quick communication, connections and transfers from airports to hotels to boats made easy the trip went as smoothly as possible. Thank you for your hard work and for making this such an amazing experience!

Hotel Reviews

Ikala Quito Hotel

Quito

Great location and delicious food!

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Casa de Nelly

Puerto Baquerizo Moreno

Very kind host who made us delicious meals and provided towels for snorkeling!

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La Isla Hotel

Puerto Ayora

Amazing hotel and kind staff and beautiful rooms.

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La Casa de Marita

Puerto Villamil

Loved the access to the beach and views from the second floor breakfast area!

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Wyndham Quito Airport

Quito

Very nice hotel with a great option of buffet style dinner that is available until late - great for travelers coming in late. Don’t be fooled, the food is amazing!

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Activity Reviews

Kayaking Adventure: Exploring Quilotoa Lagoon and Resting in Cotopaxi

Ecuador

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Welcome to San Cristóbal Island! Visit the Interpretation Center, Tijeretas Hill, or La Lobería

Galapagos Islands

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The Treasure of Galapagos: Scuba Diving at Kicker Rock

Isla San Cristóbal

Loved the trip to Kicker Rock. Our dive guide Michael was awesome and he showed us how to navigate around the rock and currently safely.

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Visit Highlands Tortoise Reserve & Charles Darwin Research Station

Puerto Ayora

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Sierra Negra volcano - Speedboat to Santa Cruz

Galapagos Islands

Awesome views of Sierra Negra volcano are well worth the strenuous hike. The weather cleared up quite a bit on our hike which made it all that much better.

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Excursion to Los Túneles

Galapagos Islands

Awesome way to get up and close and swim with sea turtles and whitetip reef sharks! Let’s not forget the seahorse and penguins!

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Experience the Pristine Beauty of Galápagos Islands: Discovering an Uninhabited Island

Puerto Ayora

Really awesome and breathtaking views from Bartolome Island. Highly recommend the snorkeling with hundreds of fish surrounding the area.

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Spend the Day like a Local! Leisure Day in Isabela Island

Puerto Villamil

Snorkeling at Concha de Perla was a great way to spend some free time on Isabela Island.

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Wildlife Tour on Isabela Island

Galapagos Islands

Loved getting up and close with the animals in las Tintoreras.

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The overall trip was excellent, our tour Director Mr Sayeed coordinated our whole tour nicely

Most of the local guides were informative

Our driver Mr Ayub was very helpful, punctual, he tried his best to make our trips comfortable, one many occasions he went out of his way , sometimes at odd hours to help us

Most of the hotels/ Riads were OK

Riad at Fes was too crowded, front desk and other employees had hardly any times to answer of simple questions

Hope Desert camps had some evening entertainments

Overall the trip was great

Thanks

This was my wife and I dream trip and the KimKim team, specially our tour guide Faysal who help to make it a true dream come true.

One of the best vacation trip so far and we got to thank the KimKim team involved for it.



Upon arrival we were warmly welcomed by Faysal and we felt welcomed and with such a friendly atmosphere we had a fantastic start! The guide and tour was extremely good, very flexible (appreciate this!) and for that he deserves a special thanks. We had a great 9 days tour from Casablanca to Chefchaouen, Fes, Aït Benhaddou and finally to Marrakesh.



Faysal is such a warm personality and highly motivated guide (recommendable!). We truly enjoyed the driving and the cities/places were we visit. The sceneries were beautiful and it was a relieve to have a designated driver/friend to help us explore some parts of Morocco. Faysal went above and beyond to not only guide us during the day to the planned places but also make sure we were taken care outside of his working hours (at night) to take us to places that we would like to visite such as nice hookah lounges in Fes and restaurant in Marrakesh (a huge thank you for that!).



The trip accommodations were so special that it really felt like home to both of us. All respect for Abdellah who did a great job planning our trip.



Many thanks again and we highly recommend Abdellah and our tour guide Faysal to everyone!

Hotel Reviews

Riad Passali

Marrakech

We love everything about our experience in this Riad, especially the staff. AMAIZING Riad. We hope to stay there again on our next trip to Marrakesh.

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Tiziri Luxury Camp

Merzouga

It was a short stay but love everything about our experience in this luxurious desert tent, especially the staff and food (one of the best throughout our trip). We hope to stay there again for a longer time on our next trip to Morocco.

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Hotel Dar Mounir

Chefchaouen

It was a short stay but love our stay in this Riad.

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Riad Ghita

Fes

It was a short stay but love our stay in this Riad, especially the staff.

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Kasbah Titrit

Ait Ben Haddou

It was a short stay but love everything about our experience in this beautiful Riad, We hope to stay there again on our next trip to Aït Benhaddou.

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Activity Reviews

Transfer from Fes to Merzouga via Erfoud & Camel Ride

Morocco

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Quick Tour of Casablanca with your Driver-guide

Morocco

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Chefchaoeun to Fez via Volubilis, Moulay Idriss & Meknes

Morocco

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Guided Tour of Fez Medina

Fes

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Sand-Boarding in Erg Chebbi

Merzouga

This didn’t happen so no good review to give

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From Merzouga Desert to Aït Benhaddou

Morocco

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A Journey from Ouarzazate to Marrakech

Morocco

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Half-Day Guided Tour of Marrakech

Marrakesh

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Guided Tour of Majorelle Garden

Marrakesh

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Marrakesh Evening Food Tour

Marrakesh

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Hammam & Spa Experience

Marrakesh

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We had an amazing trip and were able to see so much in five days with a full itinerary. Our driver guide Kapila was an amazing driver and we always felt very safe. He also went out of his way to give us all the great and special experiences we wanted to make this a most memorable trip. Our tour operator Dhanushka was very professional and accommodating and helpful in order to make sure we received the best trip possible with the most positive and enjoyable experiences. Very well planned five full days of sightseeing. The people we interacted with were all extremely friendly and the staff at the hotels were very kind and helpful and provided excellent service. Our boat trip on Athena lake was peaceful and gorgeous. Our rafting trip on Kelani River was loads of fun with gorgeous views, We purchased an optional additional lunch which was a traditional wood fire cooked meal in a mud/coconut leaf constructed bungalow and was a very unique experience. To walk among the ancient historical sites that we visited was just awesome. Our elephant safari was magical. We saw so many elephant families with babies up close to our jeep and even saw elephants along the highway! Loved the beautiful scenery while driving through the forests, country side and mountains and the bustling towns as well. We also saw lots of monkeys during our trip which we enjoyed watching up close. The cultural show with traditional Kandyan dance was fabulous! So many highlights from our trip that we couldn’t have asked for a better itinerary and are so happy we booked with KimKim and the local tour company who gave us this amazing trip that we will never forget! We only wish we had more time to see more of this beautiful country. Been wanting to visit Sri Lanka for so many years and am happy to finally have experienced this wonderful destination. Was a long flight to get here (20 hours) but was more than worth it! Thank you for the memories!

Activity Reviews

Discover Ancient Polonnaruwa

Sri Lanka

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Explore Lively Colombo

Sri Lanka

Transport

Picked us up in early morning from airport so we could check in and rest before our tour later in the afternoon

Colombo Lotus tower visit

Colombo

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Enjoy a Refreshing Snack at a Roadside Food Stall

Sri Lanka

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King coconut water stop and watching the monkeys

Transport

Explore the Dambulla Cave Temple Complex

Sri Lanka

Very impressive!

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Evening boat ride in a catamaran & BBQ dinner

Sri Lanka

Very beautiful and peaceful boat ride along the calm waters of the lake followed by a lovely outdoor dinner poolside

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Private Vehicle & Driver

Sri Lanka

Kapila is an excellent driver! Very safe and showed us everything we wanted to see and take pictures of

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Elephant Safari in Minneriya National Park

Sri Lanka

Magical!!! So many wild elephants up close and lots of babies. Other animals like deer and monkeys and lots of birds and eagles too!

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Lo

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Visit Sigiriya Rock Fortress

Sri Lanka

Unbelievable! It’s a climb to the top but they help and it’s worth the climb!

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Discover Kandy: Temple of the Sacred Tooth visit

Kandy

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Rainforest trail in Kitulgala

Sri Lanka

We did not do this activity due to the rain and did the river rafting instead which was beautiful and so much fun

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

Fantastic! Lorena created a truly amazing Chilean experience for my family. Lorena and the KimKim team were extremely flexible and reactive throughout the trip which insured that we were able to fully take part in all planned activities. I highly recommend KimKim and this Chilean trip of a lifetime!

Activity Reviews

Hidden Baltinache Lagoons - Currently unavailable

San Pedro de Atacama

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Tour of Tatio Geysers

San Pedro de Atacama

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Buggy Safari Through the Desert

San Pedro de Atacama

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Day Trip to Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park

Chile

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Explore Chiloé Island & Puñihuil Penguin National Reserve

Puerto Varas

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Valentine and the Kimkim travel team was very reliable and sufficient. They provided a trip plan which made my trip to the French Rivera most enjoyable. I highly recommend. You will be in great hands!

Hotel Review

Hotel Villa Victoria

Nice

I enjoyed the free, detailed, variety breakfast at the Villa Victoria. The location couldn’t have been better. The staff gave excellent, friendly service.

Authenticity & Character

There weren’t any clocks or face towels available.

Location

Everywhere in downtown Nice was walkable.

Staff

Two in particular, (male and female)were very likable and accommodating.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room was cleaned to satisfaction.

Activity Reviews

Half-Day Excursion to Cannes, Antibes & St Paul de Vence

France

Loved St Paul and Cannes. Pleasantly surprised They don’t take American money or do American Express….. I guess for the most part.

Quality of Experience

The shopping and overall atmosphere was amazing

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Professional, well versed, very pleasant, excellent driver.

Transport

Great driver. On time

Journey into the Heart of the French Riviera: Eze, Monaco & Monte Carlo

France

Great experience. Beautiful!

Quality of Experience

Excellent

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very informative.

Transport

Excellent driver

Uncover the Gastronomic Treasures of Nice

Nice

Had a personal tour guide. Very knowledgeable, pleasant, flexible, enjoyable. Didn’t do food tour.

Quality of Experience

Well done

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very likable. Easy to share time with. Very knowledgeable and accommodating.

Transport

We walked, which was fine.