Kimkim Trip Reviews

Leslie was awesome at planning our trip. She took all my requests into consideration and was patient when I wanted to change some things at the last minute. The hotel choices were excellent, well located, safe and clean. Ximena and Melia took great care of us while we were in Mexico. They were easily available via text when I had questions. They were in touch with our transport and local tours guides all the time, so well that they could give us 5 minutes notice. As in "your transport will arrive in 5 minutes", and they were always right! The tour guides they organized for the ruins, bike tours, etc were all top quality. All transports were safe and efficient. I would highly recommend using Kimkim to plan your next adventure.

Hotel Reviews

Niyana Biocultural Hotel

Very cute hotel focused on sustainability and being kind to our planet. Plants everywhere, a small pond with swinging seats around it was so peaceful. Roof top terrace was a quiet space to hang out and I was able to use it to get my workouts in each day. Don't be scared of the dry toilets, they really do work! Even my mom and me, age 80 and 50, had no problems-I guess you can teach old dogs new tricks. There a kitchen open for use. Make your own coffee etc. The staff were super helpful. They called us taxis when needed, even to pick us up at a restaurant and bring us back to the hotel. Highly recommend.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa Pepe Puebla

Puebla

Great location for walking around Puebla. Such a cute street that a car commercial was being filmed there one day! Good breakfast, cute vibe. Very clean. The upstairs area has some spacious seating areas with nice rugs that I was able to use to get my workouts in each day. Highly recommend.

Authenticity & Character

Location

so convenient to walking around Puebla

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Catedral

Mexico City

Excellent staff. Clean rooms. Great location. Yummy breakfast. They even packed us a fruit salad for our departure day when we left earlier than the buffet breakfast opened. Highly recommend.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Explore the history and crafts of Oaxaca through Monte Alban, Arrazola, Cuilapam and Coyotepec.

Oaxaca

Our guide for Monte Alban was excellent. Very knowledgeable about he history of the inhabitants. Carefully explained some complicated astronomy. Was super kind and helpful. Our driver was also awesome. We had a great bufffet lunch with so many food options. The experiences at the pottery place and the artistic painted animal place were not super salesy which I liked. We were able to see the wares, learn about the process, but then weren't pressured to buy anything. The people were helpful with our purchases, don't get me wrong, but they managed to do that without being annoying. I like that much better than the higher pressure sales tactics you get some places. Both locations packed up people's souvenirs very carefully so they could travel.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Between markets and corn in the magical town of Cholula

Mexico

Our guide was amazing! Born in Mexico, lived in Chicago, moved back to Mexico. Thus excellent English and Spanish. She adapted to our pace very well. Was very kind to all the vendors in the market. Showed us foods we had never tried before and really like. Explained how the market works, how to purchase, how to turn it into a meal. We also went to a restaurant that uses the local corn to make all their dishes and drinks. We tried our hand at making tortillas and tried some of their ice cream. It was a fun day. Our driver was also amazing. He kept in touch with us via text to make sure we had everything we needed. He was super kind and gave us a safe ride and was fun and chatty along the way.

Quality of Experience

Food

Pineapple tamales! Who knew there was a dessert version of tamales?

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lucha libre experience & mezcal tasting

Mexico City

Our guide was great! He used to be a Lucha Libre wrestler and knows so much about the sport. He made our walk fun and engaging. I wasn't too sure about this one because I am not that into wrestling, but after reading a few reviews, I decided it sounded pretty fun. It was so fun and funny and great. Our group was small, 7 people, and we all had fun together wandering the neighborhood, tasting the mezcal, and cheering for the wrestlers. This is a great tour; you should go even if you think you don't want to!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Learn how to prepare delicious traditional food

Mexico City

This was described in my itinerary as a "gastronomic experience". I didn't really know what that meant, but I like food, so I figured it would be good. It is actually a cooking class where your group can be interactive in helping prepare the meal. The chef was great and the food turned out delicious! He is also the owner of the coffee shop next door and gave a some tastings, history and education about Mexican coffee. He is so proud of Mexico and it made our experience really great.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This was the first time I’ve ever used a Travel Agency and the first time I’ve ever been on a small-group guided tour. It was a fantastic experience. The itinerary that Mathias put together was well coordinated and thought out. The activities varied from the active to the intellectual. Milton was a fantastic guide who was knowledgeable about Ecuador in general and the Andes in particular. He was helpful, patient, and flexible changing plans to accommodate our needs. He went out of his way to make sure everyone had an enjoyable experience. I particularly enjoyed our hike to Catopaxi. I also greatly appreciated his role as translator when he accompanied our group on a hike in the Amazon jungle and an exploration of a cave. His presence made me feel safe and comfortable. Galapagos snorkeling was my favorite part of the entire trip. I had the chance to Galapagos penguins, rays, octopus, sharks.. even two hammerheads, turtles, a large blue spiny lobster, and too many fish to name. Our Galapagos guide, David, and the crew aboard the Galaxy were fantastic. They all were friendly, competent, knowledgeable, patient, and accommodating. I would love to do this again!

Erin and Nara helped us with our W trek and our transport and lodging from Lago Grey in Chile to our El Calafate and El Chalten stays. They were very responsive and the KimKim platform made it very easy for us to review our conversations and trip details. When one of us left her sunglasses on a shared ride van, Nara was very responsive and contacted the transport provider who found and delivered the sunglasses to us! After we made a change to one of our lodging arrangements, Erin went anboce and beyond and was able to get us refunded for the 2 nights we didn’t stay. The only thing that would have been even better is if we had both elevation and distances for each of the W segments but it appears that most available maps only had approx time and some distances.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Lunajuim

El Chalten

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Lago Grey

Torres del Paine

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Refugio Grey

Torres del Paine National Park

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Refugio Paine Grande

Puerto Natales, Chile

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Refugio Los Cuernos

Torres del Paine - W trek Circuit Reserva Cerro Paine

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Refugio El Chileno

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Las Torres Patagonia

Torres del Paine

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Kosten Aike

El Calafate

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Aquaterra

Natales

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Minitrekking Ice Hike on Perito Moreno Glacier

El Calafate

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The great: rafting trip
The good: Hotel in San Jose; The pick -up
The marginal: everything else

Especially frustrating was that nobody talked with us the history, culture and traditions of Costa Rica. So we spend a week and learned nothing except for reading in Wikipedia

Hotel Reviews

Crowne Plaza San Jose La Sabana by IHG

San José

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Terrazas del Caribe Hotel

Puerto Viejo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Everything

Cleanliness & Comfort

El Nido del Tigre Camping

Linda Vista

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Wagelia Turrialba

Turrialba

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Overnight White-water Rafting Out of the Campsite

Río Pacuare

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Overnight White-water Rafting into the campsite, meals included,

Río Pacuare

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Irazu Volcano Tour

San José

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

There was no guide just driver

Transport

We had never been to Colombia before and in fact some friends asked us why we were going there. Felipe, our local specialist was very attentive and on each leg of our trip we were met at the airport by a greeter and a driver (very welcome on our arrival at 4:00am). Anytime we had a question through Watsapp, Felipe or a member of his team would reply within minutes even late at night. For each transfer Felipe confirmed the pick up details and gave the name of the people meeting us. We are now spoiled by the handholding but it absolutely eliminates the stress of travelling to a new place. A minor issue in the booking was sticking to the budget we had given for the trip.
We had guides in Bogota (Tom), Medellin (Manuella), Cartagena (Oscar) and the 4 hr drive from Taganga to Cartagena (Javier, who gave us an impromptu seminar on Colombian music). The latter was a pleasant no-cost surprise as the drivers rarely spoke English. In every case, the guides gave us a thorough overview of their cities, made restaurant recommendatons and were a very time efficient way to learn about Colombia. All were very enthusiastic and proud to teach us about their country.
The accomodations were all well selected boutique hotels, even the ones owned by Marriott and Hilton in Bogota. The locations allowed us to mostly walk to dinner and we never felt any security concerns. The restaurant bookings were excellent and made for some memorable evenings.

Hotel Reviews

Nacar Hotel Cartagena, Curio Collection by Hilton

Cartagena

A good hotel owned by Hilton. Great location, the best feature was the rooftop pool with dining/bar area. The room was modern, spacious and clean with separate toilet and shower area and double sinks. A deep and narrow modern building resulted in long narrow halways that reminded us of a movie set for an institution with blank walls holding multiple small wall planters. Breakfast had many options with a buffet and menu choices. The in-house Peruvian restaurant looked cool but we did not dine there.

Authenticity & Character

Modern and nice but could have been in any city.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel San Pedro de Majagua

Isla Grande

People go to Rosario Islands because the beaches in Cartagena are not very nice. This hotel is served by it's own speedboats from the main port. We were fortunate to have a guide and driver take us to the departure point which was a bit chaotic. Our guide stayed outside the fence until we had checked in and were ready to board. It takes about an hour but on the return seasonal winds caused a detour that resulted in a 2 hour trip. Pro tip: sit on the right side on the way to avoid the sun and also on the way back to avoid the spray, some people were soaked. There are 2 boats carrying 40 people each, most of whom were day trippers. When the boat docks there is an orientation and welcome drink and then a stampede for one of two small beaches (one has music, the other does not and both have bars). There are beach chairs and a few Bally beds with curtains. Activities included scuba diving, cycling and kayaking through the mangrove but we found them quite pricey for what they were and in the case of scuba, about twice the going rate (300,000 COP for a 1 tank dive). It seemed more like a community money-maker than paradise lost. A positive was the great service and warm reception at the main desk and would like to cite Evelyn specifically. The service in the dining area was also excellent and the food and drink were good and reasonably priced for an island. A drawback were the ever present flies in the outdoor dining area, there were a couple of propeller type devices to shoo them which sort of worked but at breakfast we actually changed tables to get away from relentless flies. The rooms were little cottages scattered around the property. They were clean and comfortable, with outdoor seating areas and a hammock. We turned off the mini fridge at night as it was a little noisy and the room had a broken towel hook and toilet paper holder. On the whole, nice but in need of an update.

Authenticity & Character

The rooms need an update, service was excellent

Location

Staff

Evelyn at reception was a standout and spoke excellent English

Cleanliness & Comfort

The rooms were clean but had a few issues

Hotel Quadrifolio

Cartagena de Indias

We ended up in this hotel because our original choice was booked by the time we pulled the trigger. It turned out to be the No 1 hotel in Cartegena and we were lucky to get it at no extra cost. It is set in a Colonial building that has been completely restored (there is a book in one of the lounges that describes the three year project to bring it back from ruin). The location was in the heart of the old town with bars and restaurants on every corner. We were met on arrival by the manager and checked in while sitting comfortably on a couch with a cold welcome drink. The room was incredible with high ceilings and a period appropriate theme. Breakfast was excellent and served at a community table so that you can meet other guests (however you can also dine privately across the hall). One morning we had an early pick up and the hotel served us a half hour before the usual starting time without a question. There is a hot tub on the roof with a small seating area that made a nice spot to sit outdoors (the hotel also supplied us with plastic wine glasses and a corkscrew so that we coould enjoy some wine we had bought).

Authenticity & Character

Beautifully renovated colonial building with a central courtyard. This was the highlight of the trip.

Location

The heart of the old town a quick walk to dining and bars.

Staff

Friendly and attentive, met ou every request including where to buy wine and water.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Patio del Mundo

Medellín

This hotel is located in two large houses across the street from one another. Both have beautiful gardens where breakfast is served and nice lounge areas. While they are right in the heart of a restaurant and bar neighborhood, the gardens made it seem like we were in the country. The hosts were very welcoming and attentive. We met another couple at dinner who were scouting wedding venues and enthusiastically recommended Patio del Mundo as a place to book the wedding party during their stay in Medellin.

Authenticity & Character

Every room has a theme, we were in Argentina. There was no TV in the room but we didn't miss it and has a nice time on the patio of our room surrounded by tropical gardens.

Location

we only took an Uber for dinner once and walked to our other dining spots.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Artisan D.C. Hotel, Autograph Collection

Bogotá

A nice boutique hotel in a trendy part of Bogota. There was never a security concern and restaurants were all a few minutes walk. The bar and dining room were very nice (although we found that a glass of wine in the bar was a little pricey). The breakfast was excellent and the service was great. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was the noise. At 6:00am someone outside was shouting something that sounded like he was selling and there was ongoing conversation in the room next door that made me wonder if it was being used as an office. We stayed here again on a different floor the night before our trip home and I had to call the front desk about the noise coming from our neighbor at 11:00pm.

Authenticity & Character

Cool design of the room and very nice bar and restaurant

Location

Safe and trendy, near restaurants and bars

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Dinner Reservation at El Chato

Bogotá

Due to confusion at the reception we were led to a table on the second floor which turned out to be exclusively for the 6 course wine-paired tasting menu. We had no interest in that and had some discussion about whether to just leave. Finally, they just accomodated us and we had a very good meal of three appetizers and a main in full view of the kitchen. Very interesting experience. The pastry chef was introduced who recommended a Vegan dessert which was great.

Quality of Experience

Dinner Reservation at Mistura

Cartagena

Live music, a place popular with locals. We shared an apetizer, main, dessert and wine.

Quality of Experience

Dinner Reservation at Juan del Mar

Cartagena

We had walked by this restaurant earlier and thought it looked cool. There was live music and again we shared appetizers, a main and dessert. Service was very good as was the music. Lot's of locals dining there. It was a block from our hotel.

Quality of Experience

Bird Sanctuary

Colombia

Interesting but not the same as seeing birds in the wild

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Oscar was very enthusiastic

Transport

Dinner Reservation at Marea

Cartagena

we cancelled this reservation

Departure from the Islands

Rosario Islands

The seasonal wind is very strong so they start the boats home early. The wind comes from the left so we boarded 20 minutes early and were rewarded by not getting soaked like those on the left side. Because of the wind the route back was along an artifical river made 300 years ago that adds an hour to the trip home.

Quality of Experience

Day at the Islands

Rosario Islands

The actrivities are good on paper however in practice underwhelming and a little pricey. The cuba diving was twice the going rate so we dove with a local dive shop nearby. The local guides wanted to sell us on the pricey cycling/kayaking in the mangrove tour saying there were no mosquitos (there were). We passed.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The staff at the hotel were excellent

Transport

The trip home took 2 hrs because of the wind. The left side of the boat was soaked, fortunately we had chosen well.

Arrival to the Islands

Rosario Islands

We and boatload of day trippers arrive to a welcome drink and orientation. Then there is a mad dash for the beach chairs at one of the two small beaches. We can check in at 2:00 pm but get in a bit sooner.

Quality of Experience

A bit crowded and impersonal, a tourist event but for locals

Transport

A 40 person sppedboat, check in and boarding is a bit chaotic and time consuming

Depart Colombia

Colombia

We were met on time at our hotel and had an uneventful 35 minute drive to the airport. We delayed our departure time to reduce our wait for our flight.

Traditional Colombian Coffee Tasting

Cartagena

We had very insightful comments from the coffee person and had samples of coffee prepared in different fashions

Quality of Experience

Half Day City Tour of Cartagena

Cartagena

Very interesting given the history of the city. Oscar was a very competent and enthusiastic guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dinner Reservation at Candé (live music)

Cartagena

A very potpular restaurant, it was big, busy, expensive and touristy. We had a nice meal - mostly appetizers and there were dancers around the tables and live music. We prefer smaller and more authentic local spots.

Quality of Experience

The location was convenient and the restaurant was nice.

Suggested Sunset Drinks at Café del Mar

Cartagena

We skipped this activity, it sounded touristy and busy/expensive. We have seen many sunsets.

Dinner Reservation at Rocoto (Provenza)

Medellín

This was an outdoor dinner spot a short walk form our hotel. At first we thought the reception was a bit abrupt but the waiter warmed up during the evening (picture a rough character from a Bond film). In many of the restaurants we went to we found the portions large enough for us to have 2-3 apetizers and wine.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

we walked

Highlights of Bogotá City Tour (with Gold Museum, Local Market and Monserrate Hill)

Bogotá

Tom gave us a great tour of the city and a trip up to Monserrate. He was particularly helpful and interesting during the gold museum tour which I hadn't really been keen to do. Due to time constraints we did an interesting coffe tasting at the end of the day near our hotel. At the local market we tried a number of fruit that we had never seen before.

Quality of Experience

Tom was very knowledgeable and personable. He gave us a restaurant recommendation that turned out to be a highlight of our trip

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Best of Medellín City Tour (with Comuna 13)

Medellín

Manuella was an experienced and enthusiastic giuide who gave us a thorough tour of Medellin. She worked effectively with our driver who made a convenient and fun recommendation for an al fresco lunch in a local spot. We all had a great time.

Quality of Experience

We visited a local marketn took the metro, the goldolas and explored the hilltop communities and graffiti art of Medellin.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The driver was particularly personable and made a great recommendation for lunch. He seemed happy in his work and we requested him for our trip to the airpiort

Dinner Reservation at Andrés Carne de Res

Medellín

This was doubled booked to give us an option. We chose Alambique instead and cancelled the reservation.

Dinner Reservation at Alambique

Medellín

This was another highlight of our trip. Very cool ambiance, live music and great food.

Quality of Experience

You would not find this place if your didn't look for it. It is down a long hallway in an old building on a busy street. Very cool,

Guides, Drivers and Staff

we went on our own, the restaurant staff were excellent

Transport

we took and Uber

Dinner Reservation at Tierra (Chapinero)

Bogotá

A busy, trendy restaurant we had good food and a fun time. At the end of the evening they provided dry ince and sparklers for eveyone to celebrate the evening.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lunch Reservation at Madre

Bogotá

This was a recommendation from a friend who visited Colombia last year. Very cool vibe and filled with locals. We asked Tom to join us and had a great meal and Cervesa. We were told it was better to do at lunch as the location was a bit sketchy at night..

Quality of Experience

Very cool, set in an area between two buildings with a roof.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lunch Reservation at Abasto (Usaquén area)

Bogotá

Very authentic local restaurant.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee Shops Usaquen recommendations (no transportation and activity not included)

Bogotá

We did not do this activity, we did lunch instead

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Colombia!

Colombia

Arriving at 4:00am we were very happy to have a guide (Tom) and driver to take us to our hotel. When we arrived there was no one at reception and Tom stuck around to make sure we were checked in. Thanks Tom!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

What an incredible trip. I have had some terrible experiences with Travel Agents in the past, so I was hesitant to work with them again. With such a logistically complex trip, I am so happy we decided to work with Jason.

Firstly, his recommendations and guidance ahead of the trip ended up being very key. With so many places to visit in Patagonia, Jason took the places we knew we wanted to visit and crafted an itinerary that mixed that with his know-how of the region. What we ended up with is a trip where we hit everything we wanted to do, as well as some surprises along the way.

Most importantly, the trip was planned out to the hour and all the transfers, flights, tours, and guides went perfectly (with the small exception of one transfer, which was not a big deal).

I would recommend Jason to anyone that wants a trip where they can truly trust someone's expertise. It was one for the ages and he made it so simple for us on the ground.

Activity Review

Hike Base of Tower Torres del Paine

Chile

This is basically a must. An extremely demanding hike with the most stunning and incredible views at the end. The highlight of our trip.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Thanks you for connecting us to the best guide for our trip to Jordan and Egypt.
Amman-Dead Sea-Petra-Cairo
Feb 2023
My wife and I were paired with Mr Sherif Khalil from Dunes and Beyond in February 2023, for an 8 day trip of Jordan and Cairo, Egypt. Everything went perfectly! This company is very professional. Do not have any doubts whether or not to use them. They delivered exactly as described and were always punctual. Thank you Sherif. Thank you Jad in Jordan, and Lina in Cairo, and Mohammed, our driver. The Middle East is my favorite part of the world. This is our 3rd Middle East trip, and I will be using Dunes and Beyond (KimKim) for our next trip.

We had a wonderful trip to Costa Rica thanks to Olman! Our itinerary was just the right mix of adventure days and relaxing days. The hotels and activities he suggested were perfect for us, and it was so nice to have all our transportation arranged. Highlights were ziplining in the cloud forest at Monteverde, sunset catamaran in Tamarindo, and staying at the Tabacon hot spring at Arenal.

Ravi was extremely helpful in sorting out our 8 day trip between Mumbai and Delhi. He arranged for 4 different hotels, excellent guides and all transport. We never felt alone, although we also enjoyed the intrepid nature of moving from place to place. We saw fantastic temples in Khajuraho and Bhopal. The safaris were all good (although the lack of wildlife is a reality). Our drivers did their utmost to find a tiger- and we finally got lucky. Our train trips were fun, and the drivers taking us from location to location were an absolute treat. A professionally run trip from beginning to end. Ravi was contactable throughout. Exactly what we wanted.

Pros: Service and convenience was great. Simplified the process of planning enabling a relatively last minute vacation (2wks notice) without the planning stress. Curated options for hotels and activities to simplify. Responsive to chat messages. All the tours and transfers and hotels showed up on time.

Cons: Price points of hotels, activities, and travel agent services ($320 that they tell you at the end) were high vs. booking oneself. Guessing 10-20pct more expensive on my 2wk trip. I'm price sensitive so if planning with more notice, would book myself and save the money.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Mountain Paradise

Fortuna

Had a great experience especially bird watching across the property including from our porch.

Fonda Vela Hotel

Monteverde

Old hotel being renovated. Working through kinks as of writing; would recommend trying somewhere else for the price. Location is also less walkable than most in Monteverde.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Coffee Experience and Nighttime Nature Walk

Monteverde

One of the most authentic feeling activities from our trip. Junior has his own (with his business partner and wife) small farm and showed us around. Felt less commercial than the other coffee options in the area, which was nice. Price was also reasonable. Bring extra money to buy coffee!

Kimkim Review

Dear Tricia and Christina,

We had a wonderful time in Norway! Everything went smoothly, all the guides were most personable and the cooking class was fantastic.

To make my response more precise, I am going to organize my comments in accordance with our daily schedule

Days 1 & 2, Oslo: We took a taxi from the airport to the hotel, as recommended, and all went well. The Thief is a lovely hotel with an amazingly good brunch. Best gravlax we ate on the entire trip! Stig met us at the hotel as anticipated and we planned the next day. Our time on Day #2 at the folk museum was well spent. After several hours walking around, we ate at their restaurant and then walked along the Oslo harbor while I took photographs. Stig was a very knowledgeable and enjoyable guide.

Day 3, Sigdal: We met Einar as planned and he drove us out to Sigdal where we met with our prearranged contacts. Again, we found Einar a very pleasant companion for the day and I’m sure he’s very knowledgable re: hiking expeditions. We enjoyed a nice lunch together and he found a place where we could buy needed umbrellas (as well as some fun socks for gifts that said things like, on the bottom of one foot “The wife is always right” and on the bottom of the other, “The husband is always wrong” . . in Norwegian.) He was very patient with my photographic needs.

Days 4 & 5 Oslo to Bergen: The train ride was beautiful and I imagine it’s even nicer in the summer. John met us at the station and helped us to our hotel. Again, John was an exceptionally nice guide and showed us around the city - commenting on its history and directing us to the best reindeer sausage in Bergen. The weather was not good so we didn’t do the Funicular. The hotel was very interesting although we missed the extravagance of the buffet in Oslo.

Day 6, Bergen to Bekkjarvek: John was so kind - he came down to help us take our luggage to the ferry. We enjoyed the ferry very much - even though the seas were a bit rough. A driver from the hotel was waiting for us when the ferry landed and we were pleased to have the opportunity to see the island. The hotel at Bekkjarvek has a quasi-museum in it, as well as stores and a library - so it was really fun to walk around. The cooking class went well beyond our expectation. The chefs were extremely nice and we sipped on white wine while we watched them cook and learned about life in the kitchen. Ken even got to do a bit of the chopping himself. Afterwards, during dinner, we were invited back to watch as each separate course was prepared. Needless to say the food was delicious and the entire experience was really fun. Highly recommend this for future guests - especially once Chef Johanssen’s new facility is completed.

Day 7: Bekkjarvek to Tromso: The ferry stop is right outside the hotel - so convenient - and the bus was waiting at the conclusion of the ride to take us to the airport. Again, it was an easy transition for us to navigate. We took a taxi to the Edge - a most wonderful hotel - and then had a lovely evening on the sailing cruise. In all honesty, we could have used a bit more food on board the ship i.e. I’d recommend they serve cheese and bread with their soup. We were able to see a bit of Northern Lights but the cloud cover was substantial. The captain and his crew were very congenial - we really enjoyed talking with them and the other guests.

Day 8, Tromso: Bernard, our guide in Tromso, was extremely knowledgeable about the city and answered all of our questions in detail. He took us to some interesting shops and showed us the Sami market. I enjoyed talking with him very much. That evening we went Northern Light hunting with Dan - who did his best to find a break in the clouds so we could get photographs. We drove 3 hours into Finland, where he prepared a camp fire and served us stew. He then took pictures of us under the Northern Lights and processed all of them that night (impressive since we didn’t get back until after 1 AM). He wanted us to be able to see the photos when we woke up the next morning. Again, I think he is a top pro at what he does.

Day 9: Tromso: The breakfast buffet at The Edge (thanks to Marcus Samuelsson - the world renowned chef) was the best I have ever had anywhere. (The gravlax was not quite as good as that at The Thief - although the scrambled eggs were better). We loved being able to try the incredibly wide variety of offerings. We spent the day at the reindeer races, the art museum and buying presents to take home. We wished we had more time to see the other museums as well.

Day 10: Back to Oslo where we enjoyed returning to the Thief and walking around the harbor. Had a nice (although expensive) dinner at a nearby restaurant and packed up to head out very early in the morning for our flight home.

In summary; 1) All beds were very comfortable, 2) All guides were most congenial, 3). All transitions occurred smoothly, and 4). We had a great time! Thank you for all your work in putting this together for us. We are recommending you to all of our friends.

Moving on - do you offer a similar service for Iceland? We’d love to visit Iceland this September. Particular interests include photographing fishing villages and sheep round-ups. Also, we are trying to convince Ken’s brother and his wife (who is of Norwegian descent) to join us in Norway in late spring or early summer of 2024. When should we start working on that trip?

Best regards,

Robin and Ken

Everything was very good to excellent. All the local guides were good. Rutas360 in Atacama is merely a "middle man" to the local guide companies so that made it a bit challenging to know who to contact, but it all worked out. All the transfers to and from the bus stations and airports worked well, as did all the airline reservations.

My only minor issue was some of the hotels. The Doubletree in Santiago and the airport Holiday Inn were both very good. Don Tomas in Atacama was excellent.

Hotel Otai was a mixed bag. We had a noisy dog nearby and the breakfast was ok, and they got the AC working well, but on the last day I saw two cockroaches in our room. That was not horrible for me, but for most people that would be very bad.

Hotel Casa de Patagonia in Puerto Natales had good service but it was a bit noisy with thin walls. Hotel Germania in Puerto Varas was fine though our room, which faced the street, was stuffy, noisy and a bit small.

It was unforgettable trip. The service in every point was accurate, that means each pickup point we had ready driver waiting for us, which was even above expectation, compare to other countries we have traveled before. Good selection of the hotels and accommodations in every point we have chosen. Also the people in each town that provided service to us, drivers, guides, tour guides were cheerful and genuinely liking what they're doing, which reflected on us, as a clients. This may be because of overall tourism and service industry culture in the country. This whole trip was above every expectation. I would give 6 stars if I could. Thank you!

Hotel Reviews

Mirador del Lago Hotel

El Calafate

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Diplomatic Hotel

Mendoza

5 stars hotel in center of the city. All good. Can walk out of the hotel to walk through the town, Good location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

5 stars hotel in center of the city. All good. Can walk out of the hotel to walk through the town, Good location.

Staff

5 stars hotel in center of the city. All good. Can walk out of the hotel to walk through the town, Good location.

Cleanliness & Comfort

5 stars hotel in center of the city. All good. Can walk out of the hotel to walk through the town, Good location.

Los Acebos Ushuaia Hotel

Ushuaia

Far away from city center. Once you get in, no way to get out, other than calling taxi or wait 2 hrs for scheduled shuttle. Hotel itself is good. Since it is far away from anywhere, no evening entertainment of any sort, just restaurant to eat.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Far away from city center. Once you get in, no way to get out, other than calling taxi or wait 2 hrs for scheduled shuttle. Hotel itself is good. Since it is far away from anywhere, no evening entertainment of any sort, just restaurant to eat.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cumbres Nevadas Hotel

El Chalten

No internet or very-very slow internet. Rest is all good

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pestana Buenos Aires Hotel

Buenos Aires

All good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Between Vineyards and Olive 🍷🍇 (Luján de Cuyo & Maipú)

Mendoza

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Very friendly driver, guide, accommodating us all times we were in Mendoza

Walking with Penguins 🐧

Ushuaia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tierra del Fuego National Park (Half day visit) 🌲🌿

Ushuaia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Safari Azul Experience

El Calafate

I am so glad that we were not chosen for the ice walking but Emilci offered to us this Azul excursion instead. That was a hit! The ice walking was not really needed since we had enough walking around the glacier with a professor glaciologist explaining nature and all details about this glacier. I am really satisfied with this tour and guide, educational.

Quality of Experience

I am so glad that we were not chosen for the ice walking but Emilci offered to us this Azul excursion instead. That was a hit! The ice walking was not really needed since we had enough walking around the glacier with a professor glaciologist explaining nature and all details about this glacier. I am really satisfied with this tour and guide, educational.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I am so glad that we were not chosen for the ice walking but Emilci offered to us this Azul excursion instead. That was a hit! The ice walking was not really needed since we had enough walking around the glacier with a professor glaciologist explaining nature and all details about this glacier. I am really satisfied with this tour and guide, educational.

Transport

Tango Show & Dinner

Buenos Aires

No suggestions. I liked everything, performance and location of the theater.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Neighborhoods Tour

Buenos Aires

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We didn't give Kimkim much time to organise our trip but they managed to pull off an awesome experience for us. Hassan, did a fantastic job accommodating out travel requirements and Hammid our driver was the best from start to finish. His knowledge, generosity and kindness left us feeling more than satisfied with our trip and very humbled to have experienced this trip with him . Our guide in Fes, Fatima was a real delight and her knowledge was outstanding - congratulations to her for being the youngest female guide in your team. The accommodation at each place was amazing - special mention to Chez Pierre Gorges Du Dades - our favourite although the Glamping in Sahara was a close second.
We will definitely recommend and hopefully use Kimkim again. Thank you, Shukran .....Yallah Yallah

Our driver Mohammed was excellent. Safe driver, friendly and helpful. Always punctual. Couldn’t fault him.
Kamal, our guide in Fez was also excellent. Knowledgeable and interesting. He had an excellent outlook and friendly demeanour.
Riad Hinchim in Chaouen and Riad Kalaa 2 in Rabat both lovely, but special mention to Rabat Salam Fes, where the staff were particularly excellent and friendly, especially young Yassine.

Hotel Review

Riad Salam Fes

Fes

Loved this Riad. The Friendliest and most helpful staff. Special mention to Yassine who was only in his first week there.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Tour Fes with a Private Guide

Fes

Kamal was excellent. Friendly and nctedinly interesting and knowledgeable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I want to say a big thanks to Tomaz's time and effort in planning my Switzerland trip. The trip was what we wanted and you made it possible while we work and not able to plan an itinerary. Tomaz has made very good recommendations to my hotel and activities. He attended to all my requests and patient with my constant adjustment to the itinerary. Thank you once again!

Activity Review

Paragliding

Switzerland

The staff were early for the appointment and extremely thoughtful. They knew we were not dressed warm enough for the activity and readily loan us shoe and bottom. This was the highlight of my entire trip! Highly recommended!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip to Cartagena was great. We wanted an exotic getaway (without the kids) and since we did not have a lot of time to research and plan, we decided to use KimKim. Our local specialist, Wendy was very easy to work with. We discussed our plans initially over a call then everything else was handled via messages. Wendy was very responsive to our needs regarding our itinerary and settled on a 5 day trip that was a great mix of down time and exploration/tour time. A day or two before our trip we got all the contact details we needed. We were picked up the the airport and later at the hotel for various outings. We never once was left wondering what was happening or felt unsafe.

Our city guide Roberto and snorkelling/nature guide Philipe Louis were awesome - not pushy, providing lots of fun conversation and information. Dean our local coordinator was always reachable whenever we had questions. In our 5 days, we did a city walking tour, a drum safari/workshop, a trip to the market and a full day at the Rosario islands. We felt we were able to get in touch with a more local side of Cartagena. Something most tourist would not experience. All in all, a very memorable trip. Thanks to everyone involved!!

Norway and the Lofoten Islands have been a lifetime dream trip of mine and Meree was able to deliver. From designing my trip to being support when in Norway, it went above and beyond my expectations and I can't wait to book my next trip!

★A big reason why I chose Kim Kim Tour
・ Ms. Emilce Alonso provided a very detailed information about all of my questions and courteous response(ex Chile side or Argentina side)
・I didn't know how to travel and how to spend time in the Patagonia El Chalten& El Calafate, however she arranged the best schedule for me.
・We were able to carefully share information using chat from the tour schedule to the day of departure.
・After arriving at the Buenos Aires, El Chalten & El Calafate, the transfer to the airport proceeded on time using a similar chat system with the local staffs in charge.
・The two-step system from reservation to payment is easy to understand, and the cancellation system is also clarified.

★Detailed reasons for choosing Kim Kim Tour
・Hotel selection was close to the trailhead, in the center of the downtown area, etc. The location was good and the concierge staff was solid.
・Local staffs with driver who met us at the site, exchanged money, pre-flight check-in, and reserved seats for the flight
・My big trouble: Even when the window glass was broken due to strong winds at the EL Chalten hotel, the chat system with the local staff in charge responded smoothly.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Kalenshen El Chalten (NO USAR)

El Chalten

Location is good, Staff is so kind, English speaking

Authenticity & Character

Good

Location

Good

Staff

Good

Cleanliness & Comfort

Good

Kapenke Hotel

El Calafate

Location is good, Staff is so kind, English speaking

Authenticity & Character

good

Location

Staff

Kind & English speaking

Cleanliness & Comfort

Good

Two Hotel Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Location is very good, Easy to go around a city sight seeing, and one more good point is late check out system until 14;00 pm.

Authenticity & Character

late check out system until 14;00 pm.

Location

Very good!

Staff

Vey kind & English speaking

Cleanliness & Comfort

Good

Activity Reviews

Nautical Safari

El Calafate

Excellent

Quality of Experience

GOod

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Good

Transport

Good

Perito Moreno Glacier Excursion 🗻

El Calafate

Amazing experience in my life,

Quality of Experience

Excellent

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Good

Transport

Good

Nativo Experience

El Calafate

All of attendee is Spanish speaking, however Driver gave me detail explanation about Patagonia history to only me in English.

Quality of Experience

Good

Food

Excellent

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very good

Transport

Good

Nuria made booking an expansive trip across 3 different areas of Costa Rica very easy. She provided various tour and hotel options and stayed reasonably within the budget we had initially discussed. Overall 10/10 would recommend!