Kimkim Trip Reviews

Sandy was amazing. No question went unanswered and no detail was missed!! Would highly recommend to anyone that wants to plan a street free vacation. The local guide we had while in Japan were amazing as well.

We used KimKim for our recent trip to the Southern coast of Italy and it was incredible. Harris and his team had every detail planned so we were able to show up with minimal planning and zero stress. Everything they planned ran true to schedule and was an excellent time. Will use KimKim for every trip moving forward!

Just got back from Italy: Milan, Lake Garda, Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre, Chianti area, Pompei, Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, Ravello. Jessica delivered my dream! While I wanted some of the most famous tourist attractions, I also wanted a variety, including "off the beaten path" opportunities with the local people. Additionally, we hoped for smaller more private groupings to be able to really talk and learn about the places we visited. Jessica listened and chose beautifully!

Lake Garda was INCREDIBLY beautiful. We circled the lake visiting Salo, Limione, and staying in Riva (which I felt was the best.) Elena in Sirmione was fantastic at completing the historical perspective of the lake. Sara in Venice gave us the lay of the land, the history, and introduced us to incredible cicchetti! Unusual and delicious! Saura took us to the best of Cinque Terre (Manarola), Chiro the best of the Amalfi Coast (Ravello!), and Pompeii with Mario was fantastic...blew our minds with the knowledge. In Florence, I booked a 6:30 Arno River ride, the Accademia, Palazzo Vecchio tour, and the special tour of the Duomo including the terraces! Swimming in the Sea with our small group near Capri will never be forgotten. Tulio Bondi and his gelato making experience, Christina at Campanelle Winery, and Chef Fiore in his restaurant on the Amalfi Coast were highlights for the tastebuds and made us feel like royalty! So special.

Transportation could have been intimidating...but not with Storywalking. Professional, courteous, punctual, and kind, we loved talking to all of them - and learned so much about their lives. David, Giuseppe, Max, Ricardo, are just a few that shared their love of home. Ricardo's personal history of being German, Greek & Italian was so interesting. You don't get that on a bus or train! And don't forget the women who helped us with our water taxis and train in Venice. Not sure how long it would have taken me to figure all that out.

We had a major car issue (on a Sunday) and were so glad to have Jessica, Barbara, and all their local connections to save our day, our trip! What would we have done without them?? Not really sure! Honestly.

Lodging - I asked for a few upgrades and Jessica didn't disappoint. Beautiful and memorable.
And the weather (September) - downright perfect! Most days in the 70s and low 80s. Some rain, but didn't stop anything.
Pacing was good....never felt rushed!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Lorelei Londres

Sorrento

Gorgeous room with view of the sea. Private "beach" area at the bottom of the cliff. Morning breakfast outside overlooking the sea. Cocktails at night, too.

Authenticity & Character

Loved the aqua and white - sea feel.

Location

Walkable, too!

Staff

Great intro upon arrival! Helped with bags, showed us everything. Bottle of champagne.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Perfect!

Hotel Balestri

Florence

Location!!! The best. Our room - kind of small and tight, but serviceable. Maybe because we had had two really nice rooms ahead of this one.

Authenticity & Character

Has been there awhile, but up to date. Nice terrace on the roof. Bar was always hopping at night.

Location

Perfect - central and walkable

Staff

Great intro to Florence at arrival

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ca' dei Proverbi Suites

Venice

Very centrally located! Tucked away and quiet. Completely new and clean. Breakfast was fantastic and the young woman who served was extremely gracious. She wa from the Phillipines. Linzane was her name?

Authenticity & Character

Totally like the pictures....and so new.

Location

Easy walk anywhere, but away from crowds

Staff

The amazing breakfast server.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Air conditioning was needed that day and felt great.

Hotel Sole

Riva del Garda

Right in the center of everything! Views from the balcony - fantastic. Restaurant - delicious!

Authenticity & Character

Old pictures on the wall, but totally well kept and up to date. Circular staircase.

Location

Quiet in the morning, busy and fun during the day. Near lots to do!! Our balcony - fantastic!!

Staff

Morning breakfast folks weren't the happiest, but everyone else was good.

Cleanliness & Comfort

good bed, robes, towels - nice

NYX MILAN by Leonardo Hotels

Milan

BIG room, great sitting area. Too bad we were only there one night. Close to public transportation and rental cars. Restaurants were near. Ohio from Nigeria was very helpful!

Authenticity & Character

Contemporary Italian

Location

Near trains, car rental.

Staff

Ohio helped with a map.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Limoncello Tour & Tasting

Amalfi Coast

So... you think you are going to learn about lemons and taste it, but Chef Fiore takes it to a whole other level. A tour and information about his lemon garden at his rental home, then back to make some Limoncello as a group, followed by a 4/5 course gourmet meal....each course having a bit of lemon in it! We had no idea that we were going to get a meal like that!! The food just kept coming. :-) And the view - incredible!! Perfect final touch to our trip!

Quality of Experience

Food

Best of the whole trip!! Seafood, fish, pasta, lemon desserts & of course, limoncello

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Tour: Positano, Amalfi & Ravello

Italy

Chiro was smart about our trip! Took us directly to Amalfi before the crowds arrived. It was lovely to be in the square and feel the peace before the chaos (which we saw when we came down from Ravello. Ravello was our favorite! Gorgeous villa, gardens, square and quiet shopping. We headed to our Limoncello experience next, which went from about 12:30 - 3:30. Chiro squeezed Positano in at the end....and we wished we would have skipped it. We were on a high after our Limoncello experience and the 5 course gourmet lunch. It had been the PERFECT ending to our trip!! Instead we walked through a very crowded Positano just to see it. Hindsight, for us, not needed. Got back to Sorrento about 6:30. Long day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ask for Chiro!

Transport

Exclusive Capri Boat Tour from Sorrento

Italy

We arrived around 9:30 and decided to just enjoy the harbor area. We were near the end of the trip and kind of tired of big crowds. We enjoyed coffee and pastries...and later had lunch. People who went up (the LONG line ) of the funicular enjoyed the garden and shopping. We got on the boat around 1:15 and the skies cleared and it was FANTASTIC! No blue grotto due to tides, but the rest, including swimming was wonderful! Loved it. Food included was a ciabatta bun with tomato and mozzarella. Fruit cup later, chips, wine, beer, limoncello. Fun!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Luisa - so fun!

Transport

Boat driver was excellent and they played fun music.

Naples to the Amalfi Coast or Amalfi Coast to Naples - Pompeii en Route

Italy

Pompeii is mind blowing, especially with Mario explaining everything!

Quality of Experience

Mario and just us!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Exclusive Chianti Wine Tour with a Driver at your disposal

Florence

We woke up in Florence after coming back from Cinque Terre the previous day. It was a day excursion and we LOVED the first winery - Capannelle!! What a gorgeous place and amazing experience with Christina. Magical!! Ricardo was our fantastic driver. Loved talking with him. He took us to Greve for lunch and that was wonderful, too. We went to a second winery, but it paled in comparison to the first. More commercial and slooooow. We decided to skip the tour portion (we waited and waited to begin) and head back to Florence as it was almost 5:30 and we had left at 8:00. In hindsight, we wished that we had checked into the Capannelle Winery Inn after Cinque Terre, woken up to the breakfast and tour, then had another night there to enjoy the pool and walk the countryside. We ended up in the car a bit more than we needed?? This was the only thing we would have changed about the whole trip!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cinque Terre Private Day Tour from Florence

Italy

Saura took the best care of us! She shared all about Manarola - gorgeous and fascinating history! She took us places we wouldn't have know were there. We then learned how to take the train....and went to Monterosso. Loved the winery experience and shopping a bit in the city. She introduced us to a chickpea flat bread, that was delicious. We did go to Riomaggiore, but quite frankly, it wasn't needed. We had had the best time in the other two....and it was busy and just lots of shopping. We could have headed back to Florence earlier. (Or even better to The Campanelle Winery - our next day's excursion - to stay for the next two nights!)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Train - was fast!

Private Gelato Making Florence Class

Florence

Tulio Bondi!! Do this....so much fun! He is a hoot and so smart. Has been on the Food Network and trains apprentices from around the world. Plus...it's the best gelato in Italy!

Quality of Experience

The Grand Canal by Gondola and Venetian Cicchetto - private

Venice

Sara was perfect - she not only introduced us to Cicchetti, but all of Venice. Being born and raised, she took us down side streets, gave us the history, and also points about Venice of today! We loved talking travel and motherhood with her, too.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sirmione Walking and Boat Tour & Scaliger Castle

Italy

Elena was really good! Knew her history and gave us a fantastic restaurant recommendation. The only thing we wished is that we could have left for Venice a little earlier. We aren't much for shoppers so had a couple extra hours there that we didn't need.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guiseppe - personable!!

Transport

Guiseppe and his Mercedes! Comfort plus!

Our guide, John was very knowledgeable and pleasant. He recommended a restaurant where we had an excellent dinner.
The weather changed a few times, from sunny to rain but he was equipped with umbrellas 🙂
Stig, our guide in Oslo was the best, very knowledgeable about the history of the city and country and also very fun!

Francesca did a great job getting things in place for a smooth trip. All of our guides were very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. There was a small glitch with our last hotel but the team quickly fixed it.

Activity Reviews

Short Inca Trail Day 1: Hiking to Machu Picchu via Chachabamba and Wiñay Wayna

Peru

Puno to Colca Canyon

Peru

Jesus was a pleasure to work with.

Sacred Valley Via Ferrata & Zip Line

Peru

Just wow. Our guide for the climb and zipline was incredibly patient and kind.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Lunch at Mountainview

Peru

Amazing food. A fun time with the animals. Views were outstanding.

Pachamanca Lunch at El Albergue Farm in Ollantaytambo

Peru

Amazing experience. Would higly recommend.

Food

Full Day Cusco & San Pedro Market Tour

Cusco

Emelia was an amazing guide and very attentative.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lima Food Tour - (PM Tour)

Peru

The food was delicious. I would have liked to have more local, downhome type experience rather than "fancy" places.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Raquel was wonderful. The trip was wonderful. But, I must say, it was too pricy for what we received. Five nights of hotel, three taxi rides and four tours for two people should not have cost $5000. We’ve taken many tours in different parts of the world and this seems extra pricy. So I can’t recommend to our friends, unless they are cognizant of the price and only book if they think it is reasonable. But other than the cost, it was an excellent trip. Thank you Requel.

Hotel Reviews

PortoBay Marquês

Lisbon

It was OK.

Hotel Cascais Miragem

Cascais

Wonderful breakfast and views.

Activity Reviews

Portuguese Wine Tasting with a Sommelier

Lisbon

Get to Know Lisbon with a Local

Lisbon

Great guide! And great that it was a private tour.

Lisbon Roots: A Food & Cultural Walk

Portugal

Very nice tour. However, we’re now in Florence on our own and booked a similar food tour here which was phenomenal compared to the one in Lisbon.

Private Transfer {{start_location}} to {{end_location}}

Portugal

Everything from start to finish on this trip has been outstanding. From the moment we began planning, Mathias was on point with the experience we were looking for. Our hotels were perfect and each segment of our trip was personalized just for us. Our guide Danny was the best and added so much to everything we did. We loved our Galapagos add on and are so glad we included that portion of the trip! Mathias couldn’t have done better tailoring our excursions. We really appreciated how he kept in contact with us throughout the trip to make sure everything was going well and answer any questions we may have had. This was truly an amazing and unique experience and one we will never forget. Thank you Kimkim, Mathias, and Danny for a great vacation!!

We loved our trip to Northern Spain. Our food tour in Madrid was wonderful. The highlights were the private tour in La Rioja of a personal winery with a wonderful meal cooked by the owners wife! We loved San Sebastián it is a little bit difficult to reach but a magical experience. The only place we would skip was Bilbao it was a depressed industrial city. All the guides were great!

This was a fabulous trip. I loved how we had a healthy mix of historical and fun. There were a few minor issues with the quality of hotels and Antonis has made it right with a credit to our account. We very much appreciate the effort.

We deeply appreciate the plans that you made for us.
The Kviknes motel was a high point of our experience. We stayed for the evening seafood buffet that ranks #1 in my mind so far of any place that I have been in the last 15 years, and I told the maitre'd this.
The opposite end of the luxury spectrum was at the Eidegard in Sjkolden. What a wonderful place, staying in a very old house. The kitchen was wonderful for the 4 meals we made there.
Our trip to Fortun to visit my grandmothers birthplace was breath taking both in scenery and physical exertion to go up 300 meters on foot.
Our stay at the Laerdal Motel was also very good. We got in before the 3 tour buses both days. Food was very good.
Going to the Bogrund stave church was amazing. Going to the Hauge church and finding 6 tombstones with my last name was bitter sweet. Good to find my roots. Visiting the city hall and library was very informative. Folks knew my family name and the farm they came from.
Tunnels-did I mention tunnels and ferries? Those people knew what they were doing.
The Voss Gondola ride was so much better than we anticipated. The weather really did cooperate at the top for us to wander around for an hour. We should have stayed in Voss.
Returning Bergen, the Food and Culture tour by Mateus was very good. It again exceeded our expectations.
We then went to the Cornelius. Another amazing place with amazing food, wine, ambience and just fun.
Our stay at the Augustin worked out. The original address was closed for cleanout and renovation. The "new" place was half a block away and that worked out very well. Luckily they had a single parking spot for our rental car. We did not know that breakfast was included. Very good! We were 5 minutes from the city center mall and the harbor and fish market.
We spent a day exploring west of Bergen, before returning our rental car.
We give Kimkim a rating of 10 out of 10 and highly recommend using them. A little investigation would have prepared us for the wonderful side trips.

In Split, Salvadore was a great guide through the Roman Palace and introduced us to local jeweler. Dora was amazing in Vis and we will be keeping in touch with her.

Hotel Reviews

Boutique Room Kaliopi

Hvar

Perfect but like the area, lots of steps

Authenticity & Character

Location

Loved the waterfront action

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Loved the breakfast in the morning

Apartments & Rooms As

Vis

Close to everything

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Villa Desideria

Split

Amazing and close to beach and waterfront, all staff was fantastic

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Lapad

Dubrovnik

Unfortunately there was construction in front of hotel and was not great for taxis to get in and out.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Walking Tour of Split

Croatia

Salvadore was very good

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Drivers, transport were great, took the worry out of moving luggage. All were very friendly

Private Half-Day Island of Vis Tour

Vis Island

Dora was amazing, we are definitely keeping in touch with her as far as family history, driver and Dora were very informative, had the best day ever

Quality of Experience

A

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Walking Tour of Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik

Quality of Experience

Small Group Speedboat Tour: Blue Cave, Vis Island, & Pakleni Islands

Hvar

Absolutely fantastic day, overall great day, I didn’t care for our waiter at restaurant I thought he was very rude.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had an amazing adventure in Norway. Mar and Fenne were both fantastic. They responded to all our questions and concerns almost immediately. The accommodations and guided tours were perfect for how we wanted to spend our time. We did almost everything on the itinerary they suggested. Each guide, Maximo in Stavenger, Connor in Flam and our guide for the glacier hike was extremely knowledgeable, easy to communicate with and really, just a lot of fun. The cider tasting was very interesting and the food and cider was delicious.

Thanks you for putting together a memorable and exciting trip. We will definitely use KimKim for our next adventure.

Karen and Dave

From the minute Dimos became our travel specialist he was amazing. He listened to the type of trip we were looking for and then customized our trip to our wishes.
The 2 weeks in Greece was exactly what we were looking for. From the moment we were picked up from the airport in Athens and taken to our hotel until the last transfer back to the airport we had the perfect amount of tours , sightseeing and down time .
One of the many highlights of the trip was when Dimos showed up at our hotel to take us with a tour guide up into the Lasithi mountains on a private tour. Including a lunch in a small village Taverna which we helped to make ( a little bit )
I would not hesitate to use Dimos to plan our next adventure to Greece and very highly recommended him .
Thanks so much Dimos and Kimkim for an incredible trip .

Overall we found the trip to be a very positive experience, both of our guides Justino & Ale were excellent and provided us with a unique experience of the countries we toured. The planned excursion trips met all of our desired goals and were both very interesting and interactive. The accommodations for the most part were okay some locations were not particularly well kept and lacked internet access. That said the trip was well planned and put together, we had a very good time and can say with confidence that it was a memorable experience for the both of us.

Cole & Ray

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Cally Galapagos

Puerto Villamil

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Villa Laguna

Puerto Ayora

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hacienda La Cienega

Cotopaxi

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Posada J

Baños

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bird Garden Guest House

Quito

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Eureka lodge ( former Kuychipunku)

Ollantaytambo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Terrazas del Inca

Aguas Calientes

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Unuwasi Hotel & Villa

Calca

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Llipimpac Guesthouse

Cusco

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Coffee and cacao

Galapagos Islands

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bike into the Lares Valley

Galapagos Islands

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Pisac and try Cuy in Lamay Village

Galapagos Islands

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arrival and explore Cusco

Cusco

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We deeply appreciate the plans that you made for us.
The Kviknes motel was a high point of our experience. We stayed for the evening seafood buffet that ranks #1 in my mind so far of any place that I have been in the last 15 years, and I told the maitre'd this.
The opposite end of the luxury spectrum was at the Eidegard in Sjkolden. What a wonderful place, staying in a very old house. The kitchen was wonderful for the 4 meals we made there.
Our trip to Fortun to visit my grandmothers birthplace was breath taking both in scenery and physical exertion to go up 300 meters on foot.
Our stay at the Laerdal Motel was also very good. We got in before the 3 tour buses both days. Food was very good.
Going to the Bogrund stave church was amazing. Going to the Hauge church and finding 6 tombstones with my last name was bitter sweet. Good to find my roots. Visiting the city hall and library was very informative. Folks knew my family name and the farm they came from.
Tunnels-did I mention tunnels and ferries? Those people knew what they were doing.
The Voss Gondola ride was so much better than we anticipated. The weather really did cooperate at the top for us to wander around for an hour. We should have stayed in Voss.
Returning Bergen, the Food and Culture tour by Mateus was very good. It again exceeded our expectations.
We then went to the Cornelius. Another amazing place with amazing food, wine, ambience and just fun.
Our stay at the Augustin worked out. The original address was closed for cleanout and renovation. The "new" place was half a block away and that worked out very well. Luckily they had a single parking spot for our rental car. We did not know that breakfast was included. Very good! We were 5 minutes from the city center mall and the harbor and fish market.
We spent a day exploring west of Bergen, before returning our rental car.
We give Kimkim a rating of 10 out of 10 and highly recommend using them. A little investigation would have prepared us for the wonderful side trip

We had a wonderful trip. Vaseem was very responsive to our questions during the planning and throughout the entire ten days. The pastry tour, cooking class, Champagne tour and D Day beaches were the highlights of the trip.

Hotel Reviews

Edgar & Achille

Paris

The hotel was very lovely and decor was ultra modern. Bathrooms are very small. The breakfast was across the street at the restaurant and was really an amazing breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Did not love the location. Very far off the beaten path.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Chateau de Bellefontaine

Bayeux

This was a very charming chateau. They let us order room service the night we arrived as we were quite late. The breakfast was delicious.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Spa Pasino

Le Havre

We stayed here just one night but the staff could not have been more accommodating. The breakfast was delicious as was the complementary drink and dinner that evening we arrived. We also enjoyed the pool and hot tub.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

HOTEL CAMPANILE REIMS CENTRE - Cathédrale

Reims

This was a lovely hotel. The staff were very accommodating and the breakfast was adequate. Really great coffee station. Rooms were clean but a little warm.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hôtel Place du Louvre - Esprit de France

Paris

This was our favorite hotel! The staff and breakfast were amazing! The rooms were smallish yet very clean and comfortable. Can’t say enough about the staff. They were more than willing to help us with our many questions about getting from one point to another.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Central location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Discovery tour of Paris by vintage 2CV car

Paris

We loved this tour! Our driver was awesome and answered our many question along the way.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Audio-guide visit of the Eiffel Tower with access to the summit

Paris

I loved the visit to the Eiffel Tower at night. It was just magical.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pedro and Tiago did an absolutely fantastic job. We didn’t know anything about Portugal before we arrived but left very conversant with the geography, culture and history and such a well planned holiday. We asked not to stay in 5 star hotels but to get to know grass routes Portugal which we certainly did.
A very pleasing holiday.
Thank you for all your help.
Glyn and Di Denison

Hotel Reviews

Carvi Beach Hotel

Lagos

This was first class. A great location and we loved the stay.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ozadi Tavira Hotel

Tavira

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Noble House

Evora

Starting to look a bit dated. Full of tourists and not easy to find

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dom Dinis Marvão

Marvao

This was fantastic and a terrific location in a quaint village

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Thomar Boutique Hotel

Tomar

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Internacional

Porto

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Quinta de la Rosa

Pinhão

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bairro do Casal - Turismo d'Aldeia

Vila Nova de Foz Côa

Just fantastic as a remote small hotel in a Portugal village

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Zenit Lisboa Hotel

Lisbon

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Cascais & Sintra Guided Visit

Portugal

Pedro was a great host for the day. We learnt a lot.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Enjoy Dinner with Live Fado Music

Lisbon

An excellent night out with good food. Very enjoyable

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour of Lisbon

Lisbon

Pedro was excellent and gave us good background to Portugal. We very much enjoyed his company

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This was a trip of a lifetime. Gummy made it so easy. Everything was planned out, but we still had a choice if we wanted to go see something or not. Anytime something occurred with our arrangements we reached out to Gummy and he was right on it. All of our hotel arrangements were great places.

Hotel Reviews

Hótel Fransiskus Stykkishólmi

Stykkishólmur

Very interesting hotel that it used to be a nunnery.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to restaurants and was able to walk to.

Staff

The front desk guy was amazing and very helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room was clean and bedding very comfy

Hótel Húsafell

Húsafell, Borgarbyggð

Very lovely location and the rooms were awesome. Very spacious room and bathroom.

Authenticity & Character

Very modern and new

Location

Love it was out of town.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sand Hotel by Keahotels

Reykjavík

Cool place, located in the middle of the downtown area. The only downside is the parking if you have a car. Have to find your own parking.

Authenticity & Character

Love this lovely boutique hotel. Our room was very unique.

Location

Nice to be close to shopping and restaurants

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything was spotless

Hotel Ísafjörður Torg

Ísafjörður

Very old feeling hotel. The elevator wasn’t functioning one day.

Authenticity & Character

Needs to be updated

Location

Good location to downtown shops

Staff

People were amazing to work with. Had our laundry done, which came back the same day.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Berjaya Hotel Akureyri

Akureyri

We had an end room with a view, but unfortunately it rained really hard.

Authenticity & Character

Nice restaurant

Location

Easy access to downtown and shops.

Staff

Great staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hvammstangi Hill Homes

Hvammstangi

Very clean and a great view. Plenty of parking.

Authenticity & Character

Felt new and very roomy

Location

In a very small town with very little amenities.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean. The place didn’t supply coffee, so we had to leave what we bought.

Gistihúsið - Lake Hotel Egilsstadir

Egilsstöðum

Perfect location to grab a bite to eat. Food was amazing at this restaurant.

Authenticity & Character

Charming hotel with blankets and nice place to just hang out. Room was roomy with extra chairs and couch.

Location

Easy access to main road

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fosshótel Mývatn

Myvatn

This place was amazing with a view out of the window to the lake.

Authenticity & Character

Very modern and new looking

Location

Perfect location for spending 2 days to be able to use as a home base.

Staff

People were helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room with clean and bedding super comfy

Hótel Kría

Vík

Beautiful new looking hotel. The view to the mountains was amazing.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful modern hotel

Location

Great location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Höfn

Hofn

Not my favorite. Room was small.

Buubble Hotel Ölvisholt

Selfoss

This is a wonderful experience to feel like you are sleeping outdoors plus the Northern Lights are right above you. The whole experience was our favorite.

Authenticity & Character

Who gets to sleep in a bubble.

Location

It’s out in the middle of nature

Cleanliness & Comfort

The bed was super comfy plus a nice feature having a electric heating pad.

Activity Reviews

Lava Cave Explorer Tour

Iceland

Very interesting experience. The guide was very informative.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

He was funny and informative

The Secret Lagoon

Iceland

I understand this is a natural pool, but I’m not a fan of pools with lots of moss.

Quality of Experience

Krauma Spa

Iceland

Very nice and clean spa with all the different aspects of a spa. Different temperature pools, wet, dry saunas. This place was a bit of a drive from our hotel.

Quality of Experience

Spa is outdoor in nature with clean pools

Katla Ice Cave

Iceland

The ride out to the glacier is very unique in an old van on a very bumpy road. The trip was very cool to be able to climb on a glacier and feel very safe. Super cool experience.

Quality of Experience

Super cool to be able to go into this glacier. Wasn’t actually a cave for us.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Extremely safety conscious

Transport

Very old van

FlyOver Iceland

Reykjavík

This is a very cool experience to be able to see these places after we just experienced several of them.

Quality of Experience

The organization was run by another member of our group, but we were cc’d on everything and the response was quick
Out tour guide for the Laugevegar, Emma, was fantastic. The only concern was the guide to client ration, 16:1. On the first day one of our group suffered from a near sun opal episode and could not continue- only Emma’s quick thinking and the luck of her knowing another guide avoided the need for our entire group to abort our trip- this is not ver safe and also does not represent the cost of the trip-which was not budget ( nor consistent-different people paid different prices-up to an $800 difference. It worked out, but not because of any system for safety built into the system. Also, trh amount of work born by a single guide cooking and cleaning for 16 people made Emma’s job more difficult and longer than was reasonable. A lot of participation in meal prep and cleaning was not consistent with the marketing for the guide service. I cannot express enough how commentary is not a reflection of the actual guide, Emma. She was outstanding: knowledgeable, positive, attentive, and a boundless source of energy. The ratio was not safe and made for a more rustic experience of cooking and cleaning for ourselves ( with alarmingly variable participation by other hikers, which is not a great situation) than was expected.
I just want to let KimKim know what went on with the tour, as they seem to outsource things and Kimkim seems very focused on outstanding service. The trip was great because there were some great folks and the country is beautiful. But that 16:1 experience makes me rethink any group trips in the future. This is my first guides group tour and I thought it would be easier/cheaper than a private guide or sled planning (both of which I have done fairly extensively). It ended up not being easier and honestly not much cheaper either
I gave the stars for KimKim. I wrote
The review for the trek. I do not need to see the written review in public-it was written strictly for informational reasons, not to publicly air grievances. Everything is a learning experience in life. I learned this type of tour is not in my sweet spot. Thank you

I usually do all my travel planning using a variety of websites but stumbled upon KimKim as I was planning a trip to the Azores. Our contact, Tiago, was very helpful and quicl to respond to questions. Every hotel we stayed at was incredible. The recommendations of things to do closely aligned with our interests. I will definitely use KimKim again.