Kimkim Trip Reviews

We enjoyed our trip to Spain. I am not sure I would use a travel agency for planning again though. I should’ve been more proactive with planning/input. We were a group of 14 including seven kids ages 4 to 18. With Spain being so hot in the summer it really would’ve been helpful to have a pool at each of our accommodations. The trip plan involved far too much driving. We had at least an hour drive there/back to each daily activity. More restaurant information with specific recommendations and even advanced reservations would’ve been very helpful. A favorite activity was e-bike mountain biking. Loved Segovia, San Sebastián, and Madrid.

Tiernan did a great service to Susan and I during our visit to Portugal on our 30th wedding anniversary .

The hotels and the activities provided were excellent. Maybe because of our age but I thought the trip had too many activities planned without enough time between. There was no way we could have made the trip from Vigo to the boat trip on the River Sal.
I thought San Sebastián was a Zoo and very hard to drive. I would skip that City and use the time for a more leisurely drive through the rest of the trip.
Everyone is different but apart from the above comments everything else was great. No complaints about Bea, the hotels or the places visited. We will use Kimkim again!!

Hotel Reviews

One Shot Tabakalera House

San Sebastian

Great hotel and the lunch at the Basque Culinary School next door was our best meal in Spain.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Petit Palace Arana

Bilbao

Adequate but below the standards of all the hotels. Unclear instructions about arrival at the hotel. The car park is conveniently located but in practical terms you need to park the car before checking in. There is absolutely no space to park in front of the hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Puebloastur Eco-Resort Wellness & Spa

Cofiño, Parres

Great place. Amazing views, tranquility and excellent service and food.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Princesa Munia Hotel & Spa

Oviedo, Asturias

Compared with some of the other hotels it couldn’t quite compete. Not a bad hotel but we were not interested in any of the Spa services and maybe a less pretentious hotel in Oviedo would’ve been better.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Parador de Monforte de Lemos

Monforte de Lemos

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

NH Collection Vigo

Vigo

Authenticity & Character

A nice hotel but obviously part of the tourist bus tours

Location

Staff

I can’t remember his name but one of the guest services person was very good.

Cleanliness & Comfort

San Francisco Hotel Monumento

Santiago de Compostela

An excellent historical hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very close to the Cathedral of Santiago.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

7 Islas Hotel

Madrid

Authenticity & Character

It was just a nice hotel

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

San Sebastian Pintxo Experience

San Sebastián

We tasted Pintxo that we never tasted before or after this tour. The guide chose excellent places to sample the Pintxos.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Visit of San Sebastian

San Sebastián

Excellent tour

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A Day at Lakes of Covadonga & Covadonga Sanctuary

Spain

The guide was excellent. Even though the most was so dense that it was hard to see the lakes, it was still a good tour with an excellent guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Oviedo Old Town Foodie Walk & Cider Experience

Oviedo

A very good tour with some unique features of the tour, such as the cider tasting.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Excursion along Ribeira Sacra: Rivers, Canyons & Vineyards

Spain

I was not feeling well that day and so we canceled the boat trip on the River Sil. However when the time was changed to be an hour earlier than originally scheduled it would have been almost impossible to get there on time. Unless you set off from the hotel at 8 am and that would have been typical because of coach tours checking out at that time and you would still need someone to get the car (front desk in our case). Completely impractical for a relaxing holiday.

Where the Camino Ends: A Guided Walk Through Santiago

Santiago de Compostela

The guide was excellent

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tapas & Tradition: A Madrileño Evening

Madrid

Never happened because our flight to Madrid was delayed.

Everything planned through KimKim and our local specialist Angela went exactly as planned. Having all of the transfers arranged greatly relieved our stress . We were able to enjoy the trip rather than spend any time worrying about the next step. We enjoyed all of our hotels and local tour guides. No regrets!

Hotel Reviews

Filotera Suites

Santorini

Excellent service from staff at the hotel. Great views from hotel pool and dining area.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nastasia Village Boutique Hotel

Naxos Chora

Nice Balcony with our room. 10 minute walk to downtown with shops/restaurants and 10 min to the closest beach.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Niche Hotel Athens

Athens

Within walking distance to all of the tourist hot spots of Athens including La Plaka, National Gardens and Acropolis. Excellent accommodation and service. Breakfast is great and rooftop bar has amazing views.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Bartop was very busy but worth the wait.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Reservation at Oia Gefsis (no meal included - only a reserved table)

Greece

Excellent table with sunset views was reserved as expected. Large food portions - share a plate!

Quality of Experience

Local tastings 2024

Greece

Our somellier/cook was excellent. Great knowledge and cooking skills with clear expertise in her profession.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Naxos Culinary Tour

Greece

We were under the impression olive oil production was a part of the tour, and it was not. This trip consisted of two stops. The majority of time spent at local farmer's home. We fed animals and cooked a meal with his wife. They were excellent hosts and gracious.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Medieval Castle Sightseeing Tour

Naxos

Our favorite tour of the trip. The local guide was well versed in the history of the town and had an excellent pace.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Boat Tour Unique Sailing Experience to Agistri Moni Aegina with round transfers

Greece

Crowded tour with no space to sit on our way home other than on the deck. Some staff on board were excellent, but others were clearly unhappy with their job. Food on board was great. Money needed to pay for additional excursions on the islands once you get to them.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Athens Highlights Mythology Tour

Greece

Our guide Michael did an excellent job relaying history with a little humor.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Overall had a wonderful time. Valentine was very helpful and would respond immediately to our questions.
Switzerland was great except the room in Montreal was uncomfortably small.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Design Sorbonne

Paris

Hotel Phoenix Zermatt

Zermatt

Hotel Beausite

Interlaken

ibis Styles Zurich City Center

Zürich

Hotel La Rouvenaz

Montreux

Room and shower area way too small. No place to even open your bag especially if big.

Authenticity & Character

Not sure if this can be improved but the size of the rooms too small and AC would help.

Location

Nice lively area and close to public transport

Staff

Always pleasant and helpful with information.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean but not comfortable. Too small and hot.

Activity Reviews

Louvre Museum in Paris: entrance tickets & audioguides

Paris

Palace of Versailles Day Trip with Audio Guide

Paris

Summer Kayak Tour Lake Brienz

Switzerland

Quality of Experience

The kayaking guide is as very good.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Jungfraujoch, Top of Europe (tickets and seat reservation)

Switzerland

Mount Pilatus, Golden Round Trip (Tickets)

Switzerland

Afternoon tour to Rhine Falls and Stein am Rhein

Zürich

Swiss Travel Pass

Switzerland

Wilie from Serendipity was wonderful. He went way over and above wonderful to accommodate and help each one of us in the group. Our group was diverse but with more seniors then young people he actually assisted us and particularly me on and off the bus. Beside his help he is a very smart, well informed guide with spot on answers of facts and information. His knowledge of Costa Rica history and Central American politics is amazing. Our driver was great and I liked the fact that they ate their meals with us. We were a family group and they became part of the family. Our trip was a little different because we primarily were there for my grand daughter's Bat Mitzvah. The day went off better then we even planned and the services and celebratory dinner will be memorable to all of us. The sites were well planned and either every tourist gets to see Sloths, Anguti, coatimundi, Tuocans, monkeys wild pigs, whales or we were the luckiest tourists to visit Costa Rica. The hotel accommodations were wonderful, the food, the amenities and the people were so helpful and friendly except for the driver on the return trip from horseback riding (not everyone is entitled to a bad day)when you work with the public.
The trip will remain memorable to all of us and Pura Vida to our new Tico friends.

We had an amazing time in Morocco. We were able to fully customize our itinerary to exact dates and flights, and we were easily accommodated when we arrived late. Tours and accommodations were excellent, and we had enough free time/flexibility to do some additional activities and explore.
Our driver, Soufiane, was a superstar! He was patient, kind, safe, friendly, and unbelievably helpful. It was our first time in Morocco (two female friends on our own), and he made us feel welcome and comfortable. We recommend him 100%.

Tricia did an awesome job. And the whole team was available when a mud slide meant that we had to take a ferry rather than get picked up. We especially loved our day spent kayaking, hiking and rappelling in Lofoton and our glacier hike in Tromso. Both were EPIC!

Activity Review

Full day Combo Tour: Kayak, Trek and Rappel

Norway

EPIC!!!! Guide was awesome. Great group of 8. Kayaked to a beautiful island, had a bbq before hiking up to a cliff which we the rappelled down! Then hiked some more and rappelled again. Awesome!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our local South African specialist, Petru, organized a wonderful trip for us to Cape Town and Greater Kruger that ranks amongst our most memorable experiences. Jimmy, our local guide in Cape Town (Paradise Touring), was welcoming and kind, with a warm, energetic, and enthusiastic personality, and had deep knowledge about life and history in Cape Town and South Africa. He made sure that our experience was top-notch, and we recommend him highly to any future travelers to the Cape Town area. We visited the city of Cape Town, went to the the top of Table Mountain via cable car, visited Robben Island, and toured the Cape Peninsula all the way to the Cape of Good Hope. The beautiful scenery that we saw in the city and during our Cape Peninsula tour will always remain in our minds.

We then took a short flight and visited a private reserve (Timbavati) in the Mpumalanga area, just outside of Kruger National Park. Our transfers to and from the reserve were seamless, and the accommodations at the camp impeccable. During our stay, our safari guide Christian and wildlife tracker Temba ensured that we were able to fully experience the breadth of amazing wildlife and the natural environment of the reserve, and made an extra effort to find animals that we were interested in viewing. We were very fortunate to see 4 of the "Big 5" on our trip, in addition to numerous other animals, including a pair of cheetah.

We would highly recommend Petru and the Kimkim service for any travelers wishing to experience the highlights of South Africa. Their ability to create a personalized itinerary for all budget ranges, with convenient communication and payment options, makes them one of the top choices for booking international travel. Based on this experience, we plan to use Kimkim for other future travel plans.

Hotel Reviews

Bateleur Safari Camp

Hoedspruit

Travelers looking for an experience that is rustic yet luxurious will enjoy this camp quite a bit. With a commitment to green and sustainable living, the camp is off the electric grid, and generates all its energy through solar panels. A local underground water source ensures a fresh supply of mineral water that is regularly quality tested and safe to drink directly from the tap. While an electric fence keeps out elephants, all other animals regularly visit and walk through the camp (including a resident group of Nyala; hyenas are also common). All meals are provided, with a large variety of fresh options for breakfast, and a 3-course dinner meal each night. Visitors returning from an afternoon game drive can enjoy a warm campfire with beverages prior to dinner. Lodges are well furnished, with luxurious beds and furniture.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Portswood Hotel V&A

Cape Town

Excellent hotel, conveniently located within walking distance of most shops and restaurants at the V&A Waterfront, with nice views of Table Mountain depending on room. Room accommodations are top-notch, and are on par with other 4-star hotels. Breakfast consists of a variety of hot and continental options, including hash browns, sausage, baked beans, cereals, yogurts, tea, and coffee, and a large variety of fresh fruit. Eggs can be made to order as well. The hotel restaurant is also quite nice, with a wide variety of food options, and dinner meals can be enjoyed in the convenience of one's room or in the dining area.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to V&A Waterfront, with amazing views of Table Mountain.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Final Morning Game Drive

South Africa

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Timbavati Private Game Reserve Safari Day

Timbavati Game Reserve

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Afternoon Game Drive

South Africa

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Cape Peninsula Tour (excluding lunch)

South Africa

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day City, Table Mountain & Robben Island Tour

South Africa

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jesus of Peruvian Soul helped us plan an unforgettable adventure. Visiting the Larco Museum with our guide Blanca was an excellent introduction to Inca and pre Inca civilizations that helped provide context to many of the archeological sites we saw in the sacred valley and Cusco.

Boris, ourRainforest expeditions guide, at the Tambopata reserve was excellent. He had so much knowledge of the flora and fauna of the area. We loved seeing the macaws at the clay lick . It was well worth the 4:30am wake up! While on a day hike we had the privilege of seeing howler, spider, cappuccino and squirrel monkeys, trumpeter birds, many different ants, giant and unique trees.

Our time in Machu Picchu was spectacular and enhanced many fold by our wonderful guide Danny. He had so much information on Inca civilization and was able to provide much needed context for us. He was patient and helpful as we hiked the short Inca trail for over 6 hours. Our day at the citadel was full of facts and anecdotes about the city. Our day biking and seeing the countryside as well as the salt mines was terrific.
Our guide jimmy made certain we were happy and safe.

Our last day we visited a llama & Alpaca farm with Danny, which I loved. We learned about alpaca wool and purchased some lovely things. Danny also took us to a place to have typical chiccerones for lunch.

It was a spectacular trip .

Our driver Mohamed was amazing, and the accommodation and experiences were good. We found the Moroccan people to be very friendly and services generally to be great. Morocco is a land of rich culture and contrasts, and I think having an organized tour makes it easier to access the sights, and the best on offer. Some language barriers and cultural challenges make it difficult to be exactly what you expect, but expect the unexpected and enjoy the ride!

Hotel Review

Dar Al Madina Al Kadima

Fès

This Riad was so lovingly restored and the staff were fabulous - also in a great location not too far into the Medina . Stunning traditional stay - very small Riad.

Authenticity & Character

Stunning details, clean and great personalized service

Location

Accessible from outside the medina but still had the feel of the old city

Staff

Mohamed and Abdul

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Traditional Hammam & Massage

Morocco

We had no experience of this type of Hammam- so we’re surprised by the experience but found it relaxing and a bit mysterious. The massage was superb. Would definitely recommend

Quality of Experience

The whole experience was invigorating

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Their quiet professional service and care

Transport

Own driver for whole trip

Aït Benhaddou to Marrakech via Tizi n'Tichka Pass & the High Atlas Mountains

Morocco

Beautiful rugged scenery

Quality of Experience

Nature

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fes to Merzouga Sunset Camel Ride and Overnight in the Desert via Ifrane, Azrou, Midelt & Erfoud

Morocco

The camel ride through the desert was beautiful and the staff were engaging and fun!

Quality of Experience

Natural beauty and enthusiastic staff

Food

All tasty typical Moroccan cuisine

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Their enthusiasm and humour

Transport

The camels are stunning creatures with individual personalities

Guided Tour in Fes

Fes

This was fabulous- our guide was extremely knowledgeable and all the places we visited were very interesting- even though it was 46 degrees!! The shady Medina with its maze of lame ways would be daunting without a guide. Our guide was aware of our pace and paused so we could take in various aspects of our journey, and knew so much about all.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer to Fes, Volubilis & Meknes

Morocco

The scenery is fantastic, the high temperatures of July made the sightseeing a bit challenging , however and we found Volubilis neglected and a bit disappointing.

Afternoon Guided Tour in Chefchaouen

Morocco

Whilst interesting, we would have welcomed a more informed guide

Quality of Experience

The guide

Guides, Drivers and Staff

More informed guide

Transport

Our driver was with us for the whole trip and nothing was a drama. He also knew a lot about Morocco History and culture so was informative as well as helpful

Great hotels! First hike in Puerto Viejo wasn’t the greatest. There was a lack of communication with how much time it would take. We were under the impression that it would be 3 hours, ended up being closer to 7 hours.
-sky adventures was amazing! So structured and well planned out.
-Olman did a great job changing our itinerary after we had to shorten our trip due to flight cancellations. I do feel that we ended up paying more for less. Originally we were going for 7 days. Ended up going for 5 and paid more, 1 less activity, no airport transfer between cities, and we paid more.

Our trip to Greece was amazing!!! Everything was taken care of, I didn’t have to research or book anything except for our flights. Hotels were in awesome locations. All transfers were on time and friendly. We had 24 hour concierge using what’s app. Can’t say enough good things. We will use kimkim again.

Helena was an outstanding partner in helping us curate a customized itinerary for our first trip to Spain. It balanced history, culture, excursions and also free time for our families. All the tours and guide trips she picked were extremely professional. Even during the trip she was very hands on and responsive to all our needs. I highly recommend Kimkim!

Activity Review

Explore Costa Brava: Kayaking, Snorkeling & Scenic Coastal Walks

Spain

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Planned an amazing trip where the days we played golf our wife’s had wonderful options. Hotels, tours, travel routes second to none. Communicated daily with us. If questions arose responded quickly, with knowledgeable answers. Hotels unbelievable. Suggested numerous local spots that gave you that local charm. Did an AMAZING job. We will use him again!!

Francesca and her collegues did a great job! Francesca had so many great sites for us to visit. It was a lot packed in to a 10 day trip, but so worth it. We had great weather the entire time we were there. Sunny but windy at times. I've never seen so many waterfalls in one place! The towering cliffs and mountain views are just unbelievable! My kids loved Selijalandsfoss. They walked behind the waterfall and got soaked, but both said it was worth it! Bruarfoss was absolutely stunning and an easy, short walk from the parking lot. A must stop! My favorite place was the quaint, charming town of Heimaey on the Westman Islands. Especially visiting the puffin colony. We spent just one night there and wish we had more time. The Katla ice cave was spectacular but not for the faint of heart. I felt safe but if you have a fear of heights, it might be tough. Another favorite of ours was Diamond Beach and the Fjallsarlon area. I've never seen so many icebergs! Reykjavik City is a great place to walk around and try local cuisine. We all felt very safe there.
As far as the touristy, Blue Lagoon...we did that right off the plane when we arrived in Iceland. It was a great relaxing experience but later in our trip we did Sky Lagoon on our own and liked it much better. Smaller yet less touristy of a feel and overlooked the ocean, where we could see the erupting Fagradalsfjall volcano in the distance. How lucky were we to be there when the volcano erupted?! Something my kids will always remember. While we weren't prepared for the very long hike to the volcano site and we couldn't secure a helicopter trip, it was still awesome to be there at the time. I had some concerns the days leading up to the eruption, but Francesca assured me we would be safe and provided a website to follow for updates and warnings that may be issued. Overall I can't say enough about the trip. It was a great experience and well planned. Iceland is truly a beautiful place. I hope to return some day to visit the North.

Hotel Reviews

Skuggi Hotel by Keahotels

Reykjavík

American travelers must remember if traveling in the summer, while Icelands summers are cool compared to US, there's no A/C and the rooms get warm. Luckily the windows open!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fosshotel Núpar

Kálfafell

American travelers must remember if traveling in the summer, while Icelands summers are cool compared to US, there's no A/C and the rooms get warm. Luckily the windows open!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Overlooks the glacier.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Guesthouse Hamar

Vestmannaeyjar

American travelers must remember if traveling in the summer, while Icelands summers are cool compared to US, there's no A/C and the rooms get warm. Luckily the windows open!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Skalholt

Selfoss

American travelers must remember if traveling in the summer, while Icelands summers are cool compared to US, there's no A/C and the rooms get warm. Luckily the windows open!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hellnafell

Grundarfjordur

Very clean and great views of Kirkjufell Mountain.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Reykjavík Classic Whale Watching

Reykjavík

It was very choppy seas. Apparently, the day before was also choppy. We saw no whales and many suffered from sea sickness. I wish the tour company Elding, would have canceled. They most likely knew we wouldn't see whales in those conditions. It was a little disappointing that we went out in such rough conditions for 3 hrs. I understand that there's no guarantee, in any conditions, but this tour should have been canceled and refunded.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The capt was very informative about the whales and ocean.

Katla Ice Cave

Iceland

Very cool experience. If you are afraid of heights, this might not be for you. While it's not crazy high, two people in our tour had problems and turned back.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The super jeep that took us out to the cave was a fun experience.

Fly Fishing in Golden Circle

Golden Circle

A great experience! We were new tonfly fishing but got the hang of it pretty quickly. Three out of six people in our group caught fish.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Maria and Freddy were great. Even when we tangled the line for the 100th time!

Vatnshellir lava cave tour

Iceland

Quick lava cave experience and educational. Two sets of spiral staircases to go up and down.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was very friendly and knowledgeable.

Blue Lagoon

Iceland

Very relaxing after the flight from the US.

Quality of Experience

The Secret Lagoon

Iceland

We opted to skip this lagoon due to it being very small and crowded.

Our trip was amazing! One of the best things about the trip was how smooth the transportation went and how close the hotels were to public transportation. This allowed us to maximize our time at each destination. All the guides were prompt and very informative. They went out of their way to help us find the best local restaurants for our meals. The people were extremely friendly and all the views were spectacular! If you haven’t visited a Scandinavian country put it on your bucket list!

Hotel Reviews

Scandic Byporten

Oslo

The hotel has a very interesting location connected to the train station and also part of a mall. Location is very convenient! Staff was very helpful!

Authenticity & Character

The hotel is very modern.

Location

Convenient to transportation and in the heart of the city.

Staff

This hotel had plenty of staff and they were very helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

This hotel maximizes the space it has.

Kviknes Hotel

Balestrand

This is a wonderful hotel. The accommodations were perfect complete with a balcony for optimum views. The restaurants in the hotel were very good. There is plenty of outside seating at the hotel to enjoy all the views of the Sognefjord. I hope to come back….

Authenticity & Character

The hotel has been around for hundreds of years. The furnishings and pictures were amazing!

Location

Convenience to the ferry and the wonderful views it has to offer.

Staff

Very helpful and friendly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms are clean and very well laid out to maximize space and comfort.

Activity Reviews

Orchard Tour & Cider Tasting

Balestrand

This was one of my favorite activities. It is a family run cider house that was started by his grandfather. Everything was interesting from how they grow the apple trees to how they pair the cider with food.

Quality of Experience

The amazing thing was how much the taste of the cider changed with the food pairings.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The love for what they are doing!

Kayaking Tour

Balestrand

Our guide was very patient and helped everyone have a good time. Our group was very large with different skill levels.

Quality of Experience

Our guide did a great job lining up the kayaks for fun group pictures.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was very laid back and took many fun pictures .

Oslo private tour

Oslo

Bjorn was very knowledgeable. He did not overload us with facts and threw in some amusing stories.

Quality of Experience

Guide did a great job getting us on and off transport so we were able to move around quickly.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide went out of his way to show us good lunch and dinner spots!

Transport

Our guide was an expert on all the “ways” to get around the city.

Private tour Copenhagen walking tour

Copenhagen

Ilsa was a wealth of knowledge. She knew so many “folklore” stories! Put on your walking shoes because there is much to see and much ground to cover.

Quality of Experience

Guides knowledge and willing to work with us.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We arrived late and she was able to accommodate us.

Organisation and booking of the trip through Kimkim and the help of Stephania was easy and straight forward. Kimkim gives you the flexibility to personalise our trip and leave out activities that are either too expensive or not interesting to us.

We went on a 10 day trip to florence, tuscany and the italian riveria. Our favourite stay was in the bed and breakfast in tuscany at Villa di Capovento where the couple that runs the place prepares the best food we had during our trip, the house and surrounding environment was also so peaceful and I am so glad we got to experience their hospitality.

We were fortunate to also stay in Camogli, a small town along the italian riveria. Although this is not part of Cinque terre - we were honestly quite glad that we were booked to stay there instead. Cinque terre is a must visit but I will not recommend staying there as it is filled with tourist. Camgoli on the other hand has nice beaches and was a train ride away from St Margarita and Portofino which was worth a day visit each.

The only down side to our trip was the advice that we got from Kimkim on self driving in Italy . I felt that more local information could have been shared about the difficulty of driving around the italian riveria as we ended up just parking our rental car in Camogli for 2-3 days and taking the train around instead due to the extremely small roads and most roads were also not accessible to rental cars during the day. We only know about this when we arrived and was advised by the hotel staff and our guide when we were visiting Cinque terre. If this information was known beforehand, we could have saved a few days of car rental cost and take a train down from Florence instead.

Kimkim is unable to help you book your rental car, and in italy the other issue is car parking along the italian riveria is very limited - this also has to be booked in advance.

Dimos was awesome to work with. The cooking class and food tour were amazing! Could not have had such an amazing time without the knowledge and planning Dimos put into our trip. Will definitely be using this service in the future!

Overall our trip was a fabulous experience. We had some wonderful interactions with local people, some fantastic accommodation and the National Parks were some of the best I have ever seen.

Highlights: Tortegeuro eco lodge (guide Oliver was funny, informative and well organised). The lodge was in an
incredible location and the wildlife was amazing
La Fortuna thermal pools and walk to the volcano (also a great guide with very good local knowledge)
Horseback ride Tamarindo through the forest and on to the beach was lovely and the beaches were beautiful
Zip lining and Cloud Forest walk Monte Verde (incredible being above and amongst the rainforest canopy).
Manuel Antonia national park walk (guide Roy was brilliant and the wildlife was incredible)
Corocavardo national park walk (again amazing flora and fauna and wildlife)

Disappointments: Whale and dolphin watching when there were no whales or dolphins and were never going to be at
the time of year. (would have like to see the famous waterfall near here instead if we were going to be
in Domincal)
Snorkeling from Tamarindo pretty much nonexistent
Danaus park night walk ( saw one frog and the guide was on his phone most of the time)
Snorkel at Cano Island the guide took amazing underwater videos of the sharks and turtles and
promised to send on whatsap but never did

Some really big issues were the lack of information on our itinerary. We often found that we didn't have any information about what we were doing, time frames for trips and what exactly was included in the day.

The hire car company Mapache was dreadful: we were given a very old front wheel drive tiny vehicle when we had booked a 4 wheel drive larger vehicle and on several occasions this vehicle was dangerous and inadequate for our trip. We were told to leave the vehicle full of petrol at the drop off and spot and when we arrived on empty there were no petrol stations for 25K so we had to hand fill our car from plastic drums and only out of the kindness of a local was this possible. Also we were not given any maps and the car had no navigation system so we took a lot of wrong turns.

We would definitely recommend Costa Rica as a fun, fabulous travel destination. Our trip covered a lot a beautiful areas and we found the local people helpful and interesting. Self drive was easy and gerat to be able to stop wherever we wanted.