Kimkim Trip Reviews

We were so impressed with the detailed organization of our trip and giving attention to our likes and desires with planned side excursions. Nikola kept in touch with us daily and all transfers, ticketing, tours were seamless and on time. It’s hard to choose one thing as outstanding but Plitvice Lakes was magical. Kortula our favorite destination and all tour guides were knowledgeable and friendly. What a clean and beautiful country.

Hotel Review

Vila Nepos

Split

We loved this hotel. Located in the heart of the palace and had space for us to sprawl out a bit. It gives the feel of living back in the day with modern amenities.

Authenticity & Character

The mirror opened up to a closet

Location

In the palace walls

Staff

They helped bring our luggage from the car drop off.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Konavle Region Culinary Experience (small group)

Croatia

We loved the drive inland again up cliffs showing the dramatic backdrop of the castle and Dubrovnik. This family is so welcoming and the gardens divine. A thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Boat Tour to Blue Cave & Pakleni Islands

Croatia

We had such a lovely day and experience here. Luckily the cave was open and the beauty of it does not disappoint. We were taken to private beaches to swim where it was just us and the few with us in the group. The water is so clean and the surrounding islands so pretty.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half-Day Island of Hvar Tour With Local Guide (Afternoon)

Hvar

We loved traveling inward to see how the local people live. Our guide was full of history and information and the wine tasting at his 350 year old estate was special.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Working with KimKim to create a special birthday holiday to Greece for my wife's birthday was one of the best decisions that I could have made. The team that we worked with up-front was fantastic in terms of working on all the details and then the team in country to help support us while we were on the trip was just as great. The experiences they recommended and guides they chose were all outstanding. A 10 out of 10 all the way around.

Aleksandra was always available to answer my questions when asked.

We got picked up by a normal taxi service at the airport. I was very concerned because was not normal based on my previous travels with KimKim travel and based on what I requested. The driver told us we need to pay for toll or go the long way. We went the long way because we did not have a clue what was happening. On our return home, we opt to pay the toll because it was quicker. The taxi picked us up and did mention we had to pay it if we wanted to get to the airport on time. I was not expecting a normal taxi to be my means of transportation for this trip.

My driver Mick that drove us to the cliffs of Moher was phenomenal. He came to get us with the preferred car service we expected from Kimkim. He was very informative and gave turn by turn commentary of the city of Dublin. Hene, we requested him for a second tour.

Mydie was good and then some. I would suggest she used a company owned vehicle instead of her persona car to take tourist on a trip. The car smelled of cigars which made it hard to breath. Considering the drive was over 4 hours each way, it caused us to feel sick, and the ride was overall uncomfortable. Mydie is really nice and would make this trip even better only if she has a better means of transportation.

The hotel was amazing, the safe was great, the restaurant was good, and I would go back to this hotel or recommend it to anyone traveling to Dublin.

Overall, great trip love Dublin.

Hotel Review

The Leinster

Dublin

Best hotel, great staff, the bar was good, and the cocktail were good

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Wicklow Mountains, Glendalough & Kilkenny Tour

Dublin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cliffs of Moher Small Group Tour

Dublin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Blarney Castle and Cork City Private Tour

Dublin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Howth Coastal Half-Day Bus Tour from Dublin with Live Guide

Dublin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dublin Private Walking Tour

Dublin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit the EPIC Interactive Museum & Jeanie Johnson Famine Ship

Dublin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Guinness Brewery Experience

Dublin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The overall trip was smooth and hassle-free—just the way I had envisioned it. Arianna was incredibly patient and accommodating, customizing the itinerary to fit my preferences perfectly. The local agents stayed in constant touch throughout, which allowed me to focus on enjoying the experience rather than managing logistics or the daily schedule. They were also flexible with last-minute adjustments, which was a huge help as I was traveling with my two kids who needed extra attention. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience—this is my second time planning a trip with KimKim, and it’s always a delight. If you’re looking for a stress-free, well-organized vacation that still lets you see and do as much as possible in a short time, KimKim is the way to go. It’s something I’ll always cherish!

Hotel Reviews

Condominio Monti Boutique Hotel

Rome

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

B&B L'Orto Delle Terme Bagno Vignoni

Bagno Vignoni

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Residenza Fiorentina

Firenze

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Canaletto

Venice

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Grand Hotel Cesare Augusto

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Guardian Hotel

Rome

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Rome in a Day: Skip the Line Vatican Tour & Colosseum

Rome

Rome Pasta-Making Class

Rome

Full Day Excursion to Cinque Terre: the Scent of the Sea

Florence

Full Day Tour to Pisa, Siena and San Gimignano with Lunch & Wine Tasting

Florence

It was a group of about 80 people. While the experience was good overall, it wasn’t quite what I was hoping for—I was expecting a more relaxed pace and a deeper opportunity to explore the place. But with time we had the places we covered in a day..I would say it was a good tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lunch and wine experience in Montepulciano*

Italy

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half-day Capri Boat tour from Sorrento*

Amalfi Coast

The tour guide Nicola was awesome !!!!!

Amalfi coast boat tour from Sorrento (Amalfi & Positano)

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our Driver/Guide, Reda, was amazing!! Without his advice, guidance and generosity of his time with us, our experiences in the beautiful country of Morocco would not have been half as spectacular.
Every tour guide in the cities we visited were A+.
In all, Kim Kim , along with Original Travels , the local Tour Company in Morocco were beyond fabulous!!

Guys,
The trip was great for the most part.
The driver that met us at the Dublin Airport was super, even though the plane was 2.5 hours late.
All the hotels were wonderful! Very high marks indeed!
Now some bad news:
The black taxi tour in Belfast was not in a black taxi but a giant van.
The tour guide, Tony was awesome, but in your itinerary, it was stated to be a three-hour tour. It was only 40 minutes and was rushed as Tony had another tour immediately after us.
Now the really bad part: I will NEVER EVER rent a car from Europcar again! I strongly hope you consider your relationship with them. First, the agent at the Dublin center at the pier, did not speak English very well, he was eastern European we believe, and would not let us talk to someone else. All he did from the moment we walked in the door, was try to upsell us to a luxury car. And the then through intimidation, he tried to upsell us on added insurance. (Had I fell for it the added insurance it would have added more than 1000 Euros to the bill.)
After that he would not help connect my iPhone to the on-board nav, I had to fine a Europcar maintenance guy to help us. (He was nice.) The car we ended up was fine, but we needed to stop EVERY day to fill the tires with air, all four were leaking. We stopped at the Europcar agency in LetterKenny (They were closed, everyone was out for lunch) and Sligo, at least they sent us to a local tire shop that was too busy to work on the car that day, so we took a chance and keep filling the tires. Frankly, Europcar service was totally unacceptable.
All and all a very good trip and we certainly will use Kimkim again.
Thank you so much for a great vacation.
Larry and Pam

Sandy was able to fulfill all the requests we asked of her. The responses to e mails was exceptional.
The accommodation was varied in style ,with all of them being excellent. Highly recommend the Miyako City in Osaka, Ryokan Koho in Kyoto, Metroploitan in Sendi and Shibya Excel in Tokyo. All for different reasons. The Kanazawa Zoushi and Hotel Wood in Takayama were also unique. We could not have managed such unique stays on our own.
Thanks Sandy for all the train bookings. Each trip was wonderful, and seating could not have been better. We managed to have luggage room on all trips and did not need to "on send" our luggage. All vouchers and tickets for tours and travel arrived well in time for the experience. The one time we had to book train tickets on our own-we had a minor issue. It pays to use the professionals!!
The suggestions for free time were invaluable -as we did them all.
The private drivers ,although most had limited English ,added their own uniqueness to each day.
High lights for me were:
Nara park
Bike ride in Kyoto(so many cherry blossoms),
Full day bus trip with Kaci in Kyoto, Sunrise Tours. Kaci was one of the best tour guides-so knowledgeable and witty.
Matsushima bay cruise - Despite the fact that the weather was wet and cloudy
Sky tree in Tokyo
Trip to see Mt Fuji and the visitors/museum on Fuji .This suggested by the driver and well worth the visit.
Hike and chair lift on Mt Takao. Also saw street theatre and musical performances by the ticket office.
Day walk in Kanazawa. The guide- Yasuko- was the best we had.
Bike ride in Hida hagiwara. A long train trip to get there but the young man was knowledgeable and informative. He helped us get a bus back to the hotel due to an unprecedented train delay.
Bus trip to Shirakawago
These least inspiring tour was the Yanaka historical tour in Tokyo- Nezu shine was stunning with the azaleas, however too much time making the maneki-neko cat and not much else.
We also had two hiking tours amongst the time planned with Sandy.(with another tour company) She managed to make it all flow seamlessly. In hind sight I did not realize the number of trains we were catching-however it was the best way to see Japan at its most picturesque-cherry blossom time. We managed to see the blossoms in every town and city at their very best apart from Tokyo. I would highly recommend Sandy and Kim Kim to other travelers.
Big thankyou to Sandy for managing to satisfy all our requests and added suggestions.

Really amazing trip - everything was extremely well organized, and we loved beautiful Morocco with its interesting history and stunning architecture. We had excellent tour guides - Sharif in Fez and our guide in Marrakech (sorry, I don't remember his name) were very knowledgeable and thorough. I especially want to give compliments to our driver Samir - he was truly excellent. He was always on time, always accommodating, as well as truly kind and pleasant. We are very fortunate to have had such an excellent team of professionals helping us with this trip. Thank you!!

The airport transfers were awesome. The hotel was ok. It was one block off a major avenue near a hospital. So, we heard sirens day and night. Paid extra for a balcony and rooftop bar. Being one block off major streets, we were surrounded by taller buildings blocking all views from balcony and roof top bar. No one ever used the rooftop bar in the evenings. Also, no severs were visible to order drinks from, ie useless. Never used! The rooftop bar area was used for breakfast area which was ok. However, breakfast buffet was the same exact food every single morning. No variety or other options given.
The scheduled tours were provided by Liv Tours. All the guides and drivers were excellent and went above and beyond. One guide Ribal who was amazing, remembered us from our tour with him and came over to say « Hi » the following day when we were with another guide from Liv Tours. He (Lou name?) was also great and at the end of our Collosseum tour with him , he summed up our time perfectly ´It was like spending time with family!’
Our Day Trip to Pompeii and Positano was a delight. We were impressed by our guide’s knowledge of Pompeii and could tell she really enjoyed sharing her knowledge and experience with us. We were disappointed kimkim could not book us and advised us against a long day trip by van to Florence & Pisa. I personally don’t like the opaque pricing but I understand it’s typical of travel agencies.

Hotel Review

Hotel Monte Cenci

Rome

It is a nice boutique hotel. I would not say it was 5 stars but charge as one. It is located in a central location. Everything is walkable. However, the hotel has no views from balcony or rooftops bar. No one ever used rooftop bar as it had no servers. The breakfast buffet was identical every day. Staff was excellent! We had room serviced every day and turn down service too. Close to a hospital so sirens noise 24/7.

Authenticity & Character

Small but elevator limited to two guests at a time. Some long wait times.

Location

Walkable but no views!

Staff

Awesome staff and very helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cleaning public areas all the time.

Activity Reviews

Colosseum & Roman Forum Visit: Arena Access, Gladiators Gate & Ancient City

Italy

Awesome inside and out. Our guide was excellent and treated us like family. Also suggested the best spots for that prefect picture.

Quality of Experience

Just awesome!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was very knowledgeable and brought along a slide deck (paper PowerPoint) too help explain some items in more detail. I loved it!

Private Pompeii & Amalfi Coast Day Tour from Rome

Rome

As a private tour we could go at our own pasce and select where to stop for pictures.

Quality of Experience

Pompeii is huge could spent a whole day there.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Driver and guide were excellent and experienced. Made everything run smoothly.

Transport

Top notch Mercedes-Benz van. Very spacious and comfortable. Expert driver on tiny little roads.

Private Guided Visit of Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel

Rome

Private tour is the way to visit. More time to ask questions and can spend more time in areas you enjoy. Very crowded so small group is easier to navigate around huge groups.

Quality of Experience

We could ask to see or find items that were of interest to us.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ribal our guide was very knowledgeable and knew where to stand to take the best photos.

We started our trip in Edinburgh. We had an amazing guide Zander who guided us through the old town and Edinburgh Castle. All the history between Scotland and England was fascinating. We also did the Vaults Tour. This was great as well, learning about how people lived in the bridge and even as recently as 2014 the use by a Wiccan coven to practice their witchcraft.

The next day we headed off on our road trip.
Scotland Highlights:
1. Scone Palace which was the first castle we saw that wasn’t a ruin and is still occupied by the current Earl of Mansfield and his family.
2. Loch Ness cruise which was fun. We thought we caught something on video but now realise it was a seal 😬
3. TheHighland Coo Tour. Loved this. We had the best time visiting the coos and feeding the baby sheep they had.
4. Eilean Donan Castle was different being surrounded by water.
5. Isle of Skye. It’s all about the scenery. Absolutely beautiful countryside. The good thing about the Quiraing is you can see everything from the car park or a short walk. You don’t have to do the hikes to see the views
Ireland highlights:
1. Cobh. Beautiful seaside village
2. Ring of Kerry.
a. We absolutely loved exploring Muckross Abbey ruins. So many nooks and crannies.
b. Torc Falls. Something different and beautiful. 10min walk if fit but if you’re like me it’s a hard 20min walk back up but worth it.
c. Ladies View. We had lunch here and admired the view.
d. Derryanne Beach. Just to see a beach was worth it but it has nothing on Australian beaches.
e. Geokaun Mountain
3. Leap Castle - fascinating listening to the owner about how he rebuilt part of the castle to live in.
4. Guinness store - interesting but lots of walking!

Things to note:
1. You have to pay for parking everywhere and card isn’t always catered for so you need coins! So be prepared otherwise you waste a lot of time.
2. Portree was a pretty town but very busy being the main stop for hikers and travellers. So book dinner in advance or be prepared to eat at 5.30.
3. You need to book the ferry in advance to get off Isle of Skye if you want to go to Glenfinnan Viaduct. We missed out on this which was disappointing.
4. Ross Castle only does guided tours and you should book in advance. We got to look through their information room and it was very interesting so would have been good to have done the tour.

We loved the entire country of Norway. It was a pleasure to have secured our hotels, train tickets, ferry tickets and two events (a dinner cruise and a kayaking expedition) . Kimkim provided excellent service and went out of their way to help me retrieve a wind jacket that I inadvertently left on a train; they were able to get it to the train station in my subsequent city. Amazing. They were very responsive to any questions we had and resolved everything quickly.

We loved the three cities: Oslo, Balestrand and Bergen. The train(s) and ferry ride to Balestrand were simply amazing scenery including going through some pretty deep snow (on the train). We truly fell in love with the peacefulness in Balestrand and hated to leave it. We even enjoyed a sauna and plunge into the fjord.

Bergen: I would not recommend the dinner cruise we took from Bergen; the boat ride through the fjord was beautiful, but the meal seemed interminable (4+ hours) and I felt the food was a letdown. The kayak trip was not through fjords but was no less beautiful; the guides made it fun and educational.

Hotel Reviews

Thon Hotel Cecil

Oslo

Good location to the waterfront and Opera House, plus the Eye of Oslo and restaurants.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Thon Hotel Opera

Oslo

Great location for walking everywhere. Our stay overlapped constitution day and it was a great place to be. Very convenient to the train station.

Authenticity & Character

Add more "Norway"

Location

Proximity to train station and many other sites

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Grand Hotel Terminus

Bergen

3 stars from its website. Recently renovated. Amazing breakfast buffet and very helpful front desk staff. No AC but we didn't need it once we opened windows. Location is excellent.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Balestrand Hotel

Balestrand

This hotel was cozy and inviting. The walk to a nearby hotel for breakfast was no problem and the breakfast buffet was extensive. The view from our rooms was breathtaking as we could watch the moon rise over the snowcapped mountains and shining into the fjord all the while sitting comfortably on our balcony.

Authenticity & Character

It was not pretentious.

Location

It was easy to walk everywhere. It was high enough to have a magnificent view of the fjord.

Staff

They were all extremely friendly and sincere. None of them were Norwegian but all loved Norway and had great enthusiasm (and great English) for the area.

Cleanliness & Comfort

There is a lot of art work to admire on the walls, It is not super luxurious but we had not requested luxury. We would stay there again.

Activity Reviews

Fjord Cruise & Seafood Dining Experience

Bergen

We had no trouble locating the starting off place and enjoyed the cruise part very much. Personally, I would not recommend this experience because the meal seemed interminable. The food was interesting and was freshly prepared for each course, but it took 4 hours as we waited a long time between courses. It wasn't made clear that the welcome sparkling wine was not included. Selecting the wine flight that accompanied each course was an extra 100 USD just for 4 glasses of wine.

Quality of Experience

Food

Timing. Better explanation of each course.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided kayak tour

Bergen

The guides made this a wonderful experience. The day was beautiful and everyone on the trip enjoyed paddling around the islands.

Quality of Experience

Food

We were SO hungry when we got back! Everything tasted wonderful!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We enjoyed the trip arranged by KimKim and Nadia very much. The process was excellent from start to finish. We really liked our guide Mark who did a great job showing us around for the the time we spent in Cape Town. They were flexible too, when we wanted to add an excursion to Khayelitsha they arranged it with no problem at all. The days we spent in the wine country were very good also. We liked the Winchester Hotel in Cape Town a lot, but the La Fontaine in Franschhoek was really outstanding. About the only quibble i would have is that the stop in Bo-Kaap on the food tour wasn't that great, due to the owner not being available to talk to us about the food and things. The rest of the food tour was excellent though and we enjoyed it very much. I would recommend Kim-Kim to anyone. Some of our group used Kim-Kim on travel to other parts of the world and thought very highly of their experience there as well. Thank you!!

The trip was planned out very well with great communication. All guides were informative and polite. We enjoyed the entire trip.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Sabah

Sandakan

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sukau Greenview Lodge

Kinabatangan River

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sepilok Nature Lodge

Sandakan / Sepilok

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sandakan: Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Santuary

Sandakan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kinabatangan D2

Malaysia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kinabatangan D1

Malaysia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sandakan: Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre

Sandakan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hien planned a wonderful trip for us. She was a good communicator and understood our needs and wants. The guides and drivers were the best-courteous and friendly. I recommend KimKim and Hien without any reservation.
When we had some trouble with the visa process she immediately offered her help.

We worked with KimKim to plan our recent trip to Switzerland and could not be happier with our overall experience! Our specialists, Aline and Bastien were super communicative and always ready to share ideas on experiences that would make our trip truly unique to us. Our time in Switzerland exceeded our expectations and we recognize that was in part due to the clear itinerary that our team provided us to ensure we made it from place to place each day.

We originally were not going to include Interlaken in our trip, but Aline and Bastien highly recommended we add those dates and visit Jungfraujoch, the tallest railway in Europe, and it ended up being one of the top highlights of the trip!

We will certainly use KimKim when planning our next big trip!

Kimkim made our Italy trip (honeymoon) wonderful. The small Boutique hotels were so nice. Melanie planned everything wonderfully. She kept in touch with us all the way. Agota messaged us every evening, remining us of the plans for the next day and what to expect.
The tour in Venice (Ganna our guide) were knowledgeable and a joy to know. Daniele was our guide in Lake Como, he took us on an unforgettable tour through the backlands of the lake, up to a Grotto for lunch that was absolutely wonderful.
In Rome we took a private drive to a vineyard outside the city. We made pasta that they cooked for our lunch. Took a tour of the Vineyard. What a wonderful Day
I definitely recommend this team and will be using them again in the future...

Pedro was awesome! He organized an amazing trip for us and kept in close contact with us daily throughout our vacation.

Carlos drove for us several days and also served as a guide and did a great job. He is very knowledgeable and has a great sense of humor.

Overall, we thought that the trip was amazing. The French team had everything planned and made the trip seemless. They were informative with suggestions if issues came up, booked great hotels (minus 1), and were communicative. Only issue we had the entire trip was when we arrived, our car service never showed up, even though we paid for it. We did have to double pay for that, but that was the only hiccup. Would recommend them to anyone, and will be using Kim Kim again!

My daughter (10) and I did an 11 day Ring Road trip. We started having not much of an idea of what we wanted to do, and Hanna worked with us to understand our interests and propose the best itinerary. At Hanna's advice, we started planning early, and were able to book the exact type of hotels and guesthouses that we wanted, and the tours that we were most interested in. During the trip we had a small issue with our car and Hanna and the team helped liaise with the rental company and got it all fixed in no time. We saw zero interruptions to our schedule.

The whole trip was amazing, but some special thoughts/highlights:
- Horseback riding in Egilsstaðir was very special. Helga, the owner of the farm, was very generous with her time and advice, and she seemed to bond with my little girl, which was very special.
- Puffins are the cutest creatures and you can spend hours observing their behaviors! We saw lots in Borgarfjörður Eystri and I just wish we had stayed in town for one night.
- Visiting the Blue Lagoon at opening time (8am) was a great experience and the best way to recover from jet lag. Very few people at that time . We also visited Vok Baths and Myvatn Baths. My daughter made a friend at the Blue Lagoon and we met them again at Vok. We live in the same city, a few minutes drive from each other. What are the odds?!

I now see why people keep going back. So much to see, and so much to learn! We may be reaching out to Kimkim for a next round of Iceland adventures!

We just returned from a seven day trip to Iceland with our adult children. Adam was great to work with and helped plan an amazing trip that our whole family enjoyed. Adam helped make the most of our time in Iceland so we didn't have to waste a minute wondering where to go next or how to get there. There were a variety of activities which were all well planned out and included driving instructions and tips for the day such as "take something waterproof today" or "recommend a 3:00 pm reservation at a particular restaurant" . All details were planned and it made for a stress free trip knowing Adam had thought of all the details. I would definitely use Kim Kim again for another vacation.