Kimkim Trip Reviews

My husband and I had the most impeccably organized 13-day honeymoon planned by Veronica. She made sure we were able to do everything we wanted and everything was planned with love and top notch detail. Everything from transportation, local recommendations, and tours with knowledgeable and courteous organizations, made this trip truly unforgettable. We’ll never forget our memories of hiking through the Cloud Forest and rappelling down waterfalls near Arenal Volcano. Thank you Veronica and GWA for making our honeymoon the trip of a lifetime and showing us the true Costa Rican experience. Pura Vida!

Although he was not our original planner, Chris hopped right in and did a wonderful job of creating our Italian adventure. He communicated with us from the get go and always answered our questions/concerns timely. Transportation, tours and accommodations all went well. Athough the time was short, we felt like we were able to get a good feel for Florence, Lake Como and Venice, all special places that we would visit again.

Tours: We only had a few tours planned (unfortunately the museums were closed on Mondays in Florence) and Chris arranged several - one to the Accademia Gallery to see the David Statue and a walking tour of the city. I especially liked Deborah, the guide who lead the walking tour. She was very knowledgable and seemed to enjoy what she was doing. We were on our own in Lake Como which was nice not to have to adhere to a schedule. The food and wine tour in Venice was interesting but we felt the guide rushed through it as if she wished she were someplace else...

Transportation:
We had personal drivers for much of our trip. Cars were clean and comfortable. The bottled water provided was much appreciated. The drivers were all on time (actually early, for the most part) and even tho some did not speak much English, they had apps on their phones to help with communication. Our water taxi in Venice to the airport was a fun(and a little wet) ride. Maneuvering the train from Florence to Milan was a little tricky because nowhere on the board in the train station did it say Milan, but we went with the train number and time so we were ok. We had 2nd class tickets and the seats were quite comfortable. We thoroughly enjoyed our boat ride from Venice to Murano (extra charge) and tho we did not see a glass blowing demonstration, we found a gallery and made some beautiful purchases. We wish we had had more time there and also to go to the island of Burano.
We did not take a gondola ride, but used the city boat transportation both days we were there.
The ferry that took us from Como to Varenna was at times crowded but the scenery made it worth it.

Accommodations:
All were spectacular. I had changed a couple that Chris picked out initially based on my budget and they were well worth the upgrade. The Plaza Hotel Lucchesi in Florence had a most spectacular rooftop view of the city. The Palace Hotel in Como had a wonderful view of the lake from our room. The Hotel Antiche Figure in Venice was a small boutique hotel (no view from rooms) that was a personal favorite of Chris's and the couple who ran it was so kind and helpful.
Although we are not big breakfast eaters, all of the hotels provided abundant and delicious spreads each morning. And they thankfully all had A/C!!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Antiche Figure

Venice

This is a small boutique hotel with helpful and friendly staff who went out of their way to assist.

Authenticity & Character

I loved the Venetian mirrors and light fixtures in the breakfast room.

Location

It is directly across from the train station and one of the water transportation stops. Walkable to just about everything.

Staff

Could not have been any more helpful and friendly. The owners really seem to enjoy all of their guests!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room had everything we needed but the view was lacking (we faced the side of the building next door). Also, not a fan of the two single beds pushed together. Also, not a fan of the handheld shower wand.

Palace Hotel Lake Como

Como

Perfect location overlooking the lake.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Lakeside view was beautiful. Short walk to everything.

Staff

There was a mixup with the number of rooms we and our friend were to have but it got straightened out with no issue.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Comfy bed and bathroom shower. Not the step up kind that we see so often in Europe, but a walk in shower that is more to our liking.

Plaza Hotel Lucchesi

Florence

Our room was spacious and modern. Lots of closet space. We overlooked the river and the rooftop bar/small plates had a most spectacular rooftop view of the city. Bartender in the lobby bar was delightful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Away from the crowds

Staff

All friendly and accommodating

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bed comfortable, good A/C and lots of room

Activity Reviews

Welcome to Lake Como

Lake Como

We had free time in Como to explore on our own. We took the Funnicular up the mountain for the most spectacular view of the lake and the town. The line to get in was long and it was hot and the bathrooms were a bit shady, but overall we enjoyed the excursion. The ferry to Varenna was very long but relaxing. There were multiple stops along the way but we opted to stop in Varenna, which was awesome!

Departure day

Italy

Our driver didn't arrive at the specified time, but the hotel owners quickly got a hold of him and he was there within 5 minutes. It was a fun ride to the airport. Once we departed the boat, there was a person at the dock to help us with our luggage, since the airport is a good ten minute walk away. This was helpful since we had a lot of luggage.

Cicchetti & Wine Tour

Venice

This was a private tour, just me and my husband and the tour guide. She took us to several small bars and we sampled small plates/tapas and wine in the busy Rialto (?) section of town. The food was a bit exotic for our taste - anchovies, octupus, creamed cod etc but that was described to us when we chose it. Wine pours were generous. Although we enjoyed it, we felt a little rushed through this tour and it seemed like the tour guide wished she were someplace else.

Best Of Florence Walking Tour

Florence

I thought our tour guide Deborah was great! She was quite enthusiastic and informative about her city and I loved her accent.

Afternoon guided tour to Accademia

Florence

It was good, but very crowded at the Accademia making it a little hard to focus on what our tour guide was saying.

Jessica planned such an amazing trip with the limited time we had! We especially loved the floating Islands and interacting with the locals. Our guides were very friendly and knowledgeable and we absolutely loved and adored them. Peru was so stunning and we are so happy that we had Jessica to plan this to our liking where we didn’t have to worry about calling a taxi, or what we would have to do on certain days.

We are very happy with our experience with Kimkim. Nadia was very responsive to our requests and quickly gained a good understanding of our goals and intentions for the trip. She selected high-quality venues and experiences for us, and gave us all the resources we needed to feel confident that we could make the most of our time in Greece.

The trip went very smoothly from start to finish. The hotels were all of good quality in excellent locations. All of our drivers and guides were professional and welcoming. Particularly memorable tour guides were 1. Penny (Delphi) who went out of her way to engage the children and help us see and learn as much as possible of the ruins in a few hours, and 2. Celia (food tour), who was very fun for all of us including the children and also knowledgable and generous with her time and energy. Andreas (driver to Delphi) was also extremely kind and fun to get to know during our long car ride. Feedback for Anna (kids mythology tour) is that at times it was difficult to hear her above the traffic or other city noise (needs a louder voice or wait until we are in a quiet place to speak) - but she did teach us a lot when we could hear her. For Manos (Knossos) - we were a bit frustrated when twice he stopped to take an extended call on his cell phone during our tour; other than that he was knowledgable and made the tour very informative and engaging.

A shoutout also goes to the manager of the Hotel Ariadne in Naxos, who was extremely welcoming and kind to us throughout our stay. We would heartily recommend his hotel to others looking for a stay in Agios Prokopios.

On this trip we achieved exactly the balance we were looking for in visiting historical sites, experiencing Greek culture, eating the best local food, and enjoying the beauty of the Mediterranean while avoiding big tourist traps. Will definitely use kimkim for future trips and have already recommended it to others.

Hotel Reviews

Holiday Inn Athens - Airport

Athens

Convenient, clean, well-run. Reliable shuttle to/from airport. Practical choice for our final night before heading to airport.

Ariadne hotel Naxos

Naxos

Extremely kind and welcoming staff who checked in with us throughout our stay to ensure our needs were being met. Beautiful setting, walkable to beach, lovely pool, plenty of restaurants and markets nearby. Bus stop a few blocks away with service to other areas of the island. Rooms were comfortable, we enjoyed the verandas.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lato Boutique Hotel

Heraklion

Excellent location - walkable to city center and fortress. Friendly staff. Made use of the beautiful rooftop restaurant. Huge breakfast buffet available at long hours. Comfortable rooms.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Achilleas Hotel

Athens

Very comfortable facilities. Friendly staff. Excellent location within walking distance of many Athens hotspots.

Authenticity & Character

Location

walkable to endless restaurants, markets, squares, historical sites

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Restaurant Suggestions in Naxos

Naxos

Most of the suggested restaurants were not within walking distance of our hotel, and we did not have a car. Eventually we figured out how to use the public bus to get to the port where one of the restaurants was, but mostly we just ate at restaurants close to our hotel which were ok but nothing too memorable. Our dining experience in Naxos was definitely inferior to that in Heraklion and Athens -- not bad, but nothing memorable like the many highlights we had in the other places.

Hiking the ‘ring’ in Central Naxos

Naxos

Was a beautiful setting and we appreciated the opportunity to see some of the more remote villages and farmland in Naxos, to break up our beach days. Mildly strenuous hike. Everyone really enjoyed being able to sample the delicious figs, berries, grapes growing along the path as we hiked.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Thomas was very knowledgable and engaging. Was a bit put off by his cigarette smoking during the hike.

Transport

Flavors of Athens Food Tour for Families

Athens

This was a really fun way to learn about Greek cuisine and culture and be able to try some of Athens' best products. We made so many stops at a really wide variety of locations (markets, shops, restaurants, cafes) each specializing in a different and important part of Greek cuisine. Very impressive tour - we left feeling VERY full and with our arms full of take-home goodies.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Celia was so sweet and really fun for all of us to spend the morning with. Very knowledgable and committed to making sure we had a good time.

Transport

Private Full-Day Trip to Delphi

Athens

Was really exciting to spend a day exploring the countryside outside of Athens and see Mt. Parnassus and the ruins at Delphi. We had a fascinating tour of the museum and ruins, followed by a delicious lunch at a family-run olive grove/tavern.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Andreas (driver) was fun to get to know on the multi-hour ride, and a safe driver. Penny (tour guide at Delphi) was outstanding --- very knowledgable, engaging for all of us (including the kids), and helped us make the best use of our short time at Delphi.

Transport

Athens Museums

Athens

Mythology for Families

Athens

Kids enjoyed writing their names in Greek, and we learned about lots of the local architecture and saw some of the ruins while walking around town, with the relevant mythology weaved in.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Restaurants in Athens

Athens

This was very useful as there are so many restaurants in Athens, a decision among Nadia's suggestions felt much more manageable. We ate at several of them and they were all very good.

This was the trip of a lifetime. Angela worked through the details of our itinerary with us, tweaking it as we customized it. She was extremely responsive.

Alexis was a fabulous guide, allowing us to change our plans and then showed us a number of sights that fed our archaeological hunger that were off the beaten path.

Janne was a great driver and turned out to be a wonderful guide on his own as he got us from our hotel in Athens to Delphi and Meteora and back to Athens. He gave us a nice bit of color along the way.

Nicole gave us a tour of Therassia with lots of local information and history. The tour was a bit of death march up hills and stairs, but we saw wonderful caves, a beautiful church, and tasted local figs and plants along the way and got the triumphal sprig of rosemary when we reached the pinnacle!

The one thing I would recommend is doing the tour of Athens and the Acropolis+museum in two four hour days. Or waiting until you have fully recovered from the jet lag. It was more than a bit of a death march and, by the afternoon at the museum, we all felt it was interesting, but just wanted to lie down.

I highly recommend this kind of tour. It was private, just the three of us, and even though the tour guides have an agenda, which gets in the way of in depth exploration, every moment was orchestrated to give us the highest and most comfortable experience possible (except when marching, but that is easily adjusted for in the future).

I will never go on a tour with a large group after this experience and I will definitely use KimKim again for my next trip.

We are so grateful to Maria Grazia, who helped us plan the perfect family trip to Italy and to Jessica for answering any questions immediately while we were there! The tours and tour guides with Liv Tours added so much history and life to our experiences! SaraG in Florence was particularly wonderful. The transportation arrangements were seamless and the accommodations each offered something special for our family! We can’t thank this team enough for helping provide a lifetime of memories!

Barcelona- our stay at Be Mate Gracia was incredible- great location (thank you Bea!), and great space for families. The reception and all staff there was so helpful and kind and attentive throughout. I would highly recommend them.

Our bike tour was great, great guide!

Unfortunately our tour guide for our day trip to Girona-Costa Brava- Pals was so nice, but way too chatty and the tour was not geared towards children at all. My kids were SUPER bored. Pals was an amazing last stop though.

We did Montjuic on our own which was nice but I would not recommend Poble Espanol- pointless.
Casa Battlo was one of our favorite places in Barcelona, along with Oassis restaurant for delicious salads across from our hotel.
.
Valencia was magical- we loved the city and did a bike ride on our own which I recommend. Although Mon Suites Catedral was clean and in a fabulous centrally located area (the Old town), it was very loud, and the beds were terribly uncomfortable. As a result, I would NOT recommend that place to anyone.

Special thanks to Bea for being so attentive to all of our needs during the trip!

Hotel Reviews

Be Mate Paseo de Gracia

Barcelona

Great location, great for families, great staff, super helpful, super comfortable beds!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mon Suites Catedral

Valencia

It was a great location but unfortunately the beds were so so uncomfortable that I cannot recommend it. Rooms were clean, spartan. Great Kitchen.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

clean but the beds were NOT comfortable. felt like sleeping on a table

Activity Reviews

Day trip to Medieval Girona and Costa Brava

Barcelona

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Flamenco Night

Barcelona

Quality of Experience

Guided Visit of Barcelona by Bike

Barcelona

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip through Uganda was amazing!
The tour was perfect organized, our driver and guide Teo (Able Safaris, a local office, 19 days) was perfect, he managed everything in a good way.
The gorilla-tracking, the beautiful landscape, the game drives, the friendly people,.. all that we will never forget!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Kontiki Hoima

Hoima

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Topi Lodge

Kampala, Uganda

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kidepo Savanna Lodge

Kampala, Uganda

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arcadia Lodges Lake Bunyonyi

Kabale

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Forest Cottages

Kampala

I would never choose this hotel again! Extremely loud music during the whole night (because it is a wedding hotel), the cleanliness in the room especially the bathroom was disgusting.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rushaga Gorilla Camp

Bugambira

Nice lodge, nice location, amazing activity (gorilla-trakking), one of our best lodges!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Isunga Lodge

Fort Portal, Uganda

A extremely beautiful lodge! The architecture, the design, everything well deliberated. Nice and professional people, amazing view,..

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Gorilla Tracking/ Village Walk

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Lion tracking in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Chimpanzee Tracking & Bigodi Community Walk

Kibale National Park

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Kidepo Valley National Park

Kidepo Valley National Park

Quality of Experience

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and on to Gulu

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Antonis knows what he is doing!! Amazing trip from beginning to end!! From our transfers always being on time and in style, the adventures and tours he planned for us to the perfect locations of all of our hotels! Trip of a lifetime! Thank you Antonis and Kimkim!!

Hotel Reviews

SanSal Boutique Hotel

Chania

Clean with the most amazing views!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Olive Green Hotel

Heraklion

Clean and close location to everything

Authenticity & Character

Location

In the middle of everything

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tzekos Villas

Santorini

In the middle of everything! Most beautiful view from any hotel I have ever stayed in. My only complaint is the definitely need to update their beds!

Authenticity & Character

Authentic Greek hotel

Location

Beautiful views, in the middle of everything!

Staff

Poor bell boy had to carry all of our very heavy luggage up many flights of stairs and did so with a smile!!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Views from room

Pelican Bay Art Hotel

Mykonos

Very authentic Greek hotel! Beautiful views from the pool.

Authenticity & Character

Views, pool, made me feel like I was in a movie

Location

Not many places to walk to to eat but loved quietness

Staff

Very helpful on recommendations

Cleanliness & Comfort

Elia Ermou Athens Hotel

Athens

Great location and accommodations

Authenticity & Character

Location

Location

Staff

Very kind

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Walking Tour of Acropolis and Plaka

Athens

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Island of Santorini - Tour & Wine Tasting

Santorini

One of my favorite days. Learning about traditions and the villages. Watching the donkeys carry things up the hills and the wine tasting!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very kind, and adjusted the tour because it was a very busy cruise ship day

Transport

Sailing Yacht Cruise to Rhenia Island & Delos

Mykonos

Loved everything, just a very hot day for the walking part. I should have brought an umbrella or fan

Quality of Experience

The sailing and swimming was amazing

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Real Cretan Cooking Experience - Private Tour

Chania

The most amazing experience!! From our tour guide to the views to the gracious couple who shared their home and gave us the culinary experience of a lifetime!!

Quality of Experience

Everything!!

Food

Everything was delicious

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our tour guide was amazing

We have wanted to go to Norway for a long time to see the Fjords.We got great advise , where to go what to do from Tom. the planning stage was extensive with multiple revision to my itinerary.
The trip was planned and executed to perfection by Tom. It was personalised to my taste and liking. Tom even figured out a way for me to drive a Porsche 911 GTS , which was an absolute pleasure for me. All the hotels chosen were to my liking and beyond. From when we landed till we left Tom was in touch constantly to help me with my every whims and fancy, it was like have him as friend along with me in the trip. We are planning a trip in winter soon. My friends and relatives who saw the pictures want to come and wanted Toms contacts.
we had an amazing experience in food , places we went , the tours everything.
Cheers!
Thanks Tom

Hi, my daughter and I took a fairly short trip to the Galapagos in August 2022 and Alvaro at kimkim set up every detail. Through Alvaro, kimkim continues to provide a wonderful, small group, personalized trip. We had the luxury of being met at airports and ports, and taken to comfortable, well-located hotels. Whenever I had a question or there was a problem (in our case, in the form of a cancelled flight that threw the schedule off), Alvaro was there and worked intensely to help.

Before the trip, Alvaro worked through several different itineraries with me, as I tried to figure out what would work. He was, throughout, friendly, cordial, responsive, and full of suggestions that might fit. He listens well, and never seems to get impatient. I'll always associate our memorable trip with his benevolent presence, and would highly recommend both him and kimkim!

Great Experience,
Best guides in Bogotà at the market (Alejandro?) and in tayrona, Aruen
Need experience Ely in bogota
All places remarkable except for Santa Marta, nothing really to see and remember
Also the trip to playa tranquilla was far from expectation, too far, too crowdy

Our favorite guide was Jordi in Barcelona. He was the perfect guide and extremely knowledgeable; providing us history , taking us to a fabulous restaurant for lunch, visiting incredible sites (Prak guell, sagrada familia). We also loved Mercedes. She was extremely knowledgeable about Seville and we loved visiting the alcazar and the Roman Catholic cathedral. And Elena was also one of our favorite guides. She was so knowledgeable about Spain and Frigiliana (which we loved so much!). One of our favorite sites/tours was trekking the Caminito del Rey!!! Loved it!!!

Activity Reviews

Sevilla Guided Tour

Seville

Our guide, Mercedes, was very knowledgeable about Spain history. She gave us an incredible tour of alcazar and the Roman Catholic Cathedral. I learned so much!

Quality of Experience

We loved visiting alcazar.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Mercedes was so knowledgeable and pleasant!

Transport

Mercedes was on time.

Caminito del Rey with guide

Spain

Caminito del Rey was Amazing!!! We loved trekking by the tall cliffs. We love nature and this tour was incredible!

Quality of Experience

The scenery was incredible!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Pleasant guide, Alfredo.

Transport

On time and very nice vehicle and drive to Seville.

Transfer to Nerja with Frigiliana day trip

Spain

Frigiliana was the perfect small town to visit. It was beautiful and a nice relaxing place. Elena was the perfect tour guide. We loved having her as our guide!!!

Quality of Experience

The town was beautiful!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Elena was incredible! She was so knowledgeable and extremely sweet!

Transport

Perfect traveling vehicle and a nice relaxing drive to Frigiliana.

Alhambra Private Guided Tour

Spain

Our guide gave us wonderful history about the Alhambra and all that was occurring at the time. The palace was beautiful!

Quality of Experience

The Alhambra was beautiful and we were able to see everything close up.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide, Enrique, was great.

Transport

On time

Modernist Barcelona: Gaudi's Highlights

Barcelona

Jordi, our guide, shared with us the history of Gaudi and his beautiful, incredible creations.

Quality of Experience

Visiting Gaudi’s creations.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide, Jordi, was incredible !

Transport

Perfect with walking and taxis when needed.

Both my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our Costa Rica trip. All the planning of our activities and places to visit was done in conjunction with Yuliana and she was able to set us up with very comfortable, inviting and clean accommodations at every stop. All the hotels provided excellent breakfasts so we were well fortified for our activities
Our trip started in San Jose, then a private transportation to La Fortuna/Arenal area, boat transportation to Monteverdi area and finally a private car trip to Tamarindo, a beautiful beach town on the Pacific Ocean.
We had excellent guides for all our activities which included hiking near The Arenal Volcano and La Fortuna water falls, riding class 3-4 rapids on the Balsa River, exploring Hanging Bridges and The Monteverde Cloud Forests, Ziplining and finally kayaking in the Pacific Ocean. We were able to see many flora and fauna, including the beautiful Quetzal, Howler monkeys and sleepy Sloths!
The whole trip was amazing, stress free with the excellent planning of Yuliana and her team at kimkim. Would highly recommend planning a trip with them.

Activity Reviews

Sky Walk, Sky Tram & Sky Trek Zip Line Adventure

Monteverde

Daniel, our guide for the hanging bridges tour was extremely knowledgeable, patient and had great communication skills. The whole group of assistants working on the 7 different Ziplines were professional, caring and reassuring those who were a little scared of the Ziplines.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tamarindo Estuary Boat Tour

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Kayak & Snorkel Tour in Tamarindo Bay

Tamarindo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Whitewater Rafting on the Balsa River Class II & III

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

KimKim organized an amazing trip for our family of four to Italy. Sonia, our travel agent, attended to our every request, and Daniela, our personal concierge, made sure that all of our transfers went seamlessly. The tours arranged (mainly LivTours) in Rome were outstanding. Our family was often alone or with one other couple so our tours were private and efficient. The tour guides, Jonathan, Elena and Gio, were knowledgeable and friendly. Our transfer from Rome to Sorrento was smooth and quick. We had a wonderful tour with Jean Luc in Pompei and very intimate local tours throughout Sorrento and the Amalfi coast of a winery, lemon grove, cheese farm and pizzeria. Every outing felt intimate and authentic. Overall, I would give KimKim 5 stars for exceeding our expectations. I will, without question, use their services for future travel.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Corallo

Sorrento

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

47 Boutique Hotel

Rome

Clean, attention to detail, every amenity available

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Lemon Grove- Mozzarella Farm in Sorrento area

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit of the Amalfi Coast villages with wine tasting and lunch at Tenuta di San Francesco

Italy

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sorrento Coast & Capri Boat Tour

Italy

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Small Group tour of Colosseum underground, Palatine Hill, and Roman Forum ( max 6 people)

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Small group tour of Vatican City , Sistine Chapel & saint Peter's Basilica

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private golf cart tour

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Marta was amazing. The vacation was amazing. We really enjoyed Rui, Paolo and Sandra are very high recommends! The ladies that took us on the food tours were great as was the gal that took us on a history tour of Lisbon. The gentleman that took us on the Algarve wine tour was knowledgeable but not so good as a guide. He was pleasant but not so good at making it a personal experience. Bea was very helpful when she was able to get the extra room at the Algarve hotel. That hotel is very Bohemian and offered no privacy and thank you so much for fixing the issue. That made the experience so much better!
One suggestion is that I didn’t realize that the meeting point for the catamaran trip was more than 30 minutes drive from the hotel. I wish that the instructions were a little more clear about that. We ended up not making it on that trip because (my fault) I assumed that the departure point was Marina across the street from the hotel. The boat company let us take another cruise the following day but it wasn’t the great cruise that we had booked. But at least it was something.
Overall the trip was planned and managed very well. There are not enough amazing words to describe how happy I am with the trip. I will only use Kim Kim to plan vacations from now on. I have already recommended it more than 5 times and will continue to do so.
Also one final shout out again to Rui, Sandra and Paulo. And of course to Marta and Bea. Thank you so much! Hope to be in touch soon for my next adventure!
Best Regards
Christy

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Star Inn Lisbon Aeroporto

Lisboa

This hotel was ok - there was a mediocre restaurant and bar - it was close to the airport so that was very convenient.

Authenticity & Character

Nothing great except that the management provided a lovely welcome snack and cherry liquor shots

Location

Right next to airport with feee shuttle

Staff

They were ok nothing really spectacular

Cleanliness & Comfort

It was an older property with zero personality and the bar and restaurant were not nice

Lagos Avenida Hotel

Lagos

This is a beautiful bohemian hotel if you are a single traveler. The rooms were clean and well maintained. The issue is that there is no privacy to use the shower, dress/ undress and very little privacy for the toilet. But my experience was that the room was lovely as long as I was the only one staying in the room. The restaurant, bar and lobby are gorgeous - but I would not want to stay in a room with another person due to lack of privacy

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful lobby

Location

Right across from Marina and very near the old downtown and beautiful shops and restaurants

Staff

Very friendly and exceptionally helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

The lack of privacy makes me rate it lower - very bohemian

The Arc Carris

Porto

This was ok. The food was great. The staff were nice. The room was ok. It suited the purpose

Authenticity & Character

It was ok

Location

Porto

Staff

They were nice

Cleanliness & Comfort

It was ok

Hotel AlmaLusa Baixa/Chiado

Lisbon

This hotel is beyond amazing. It’s gorgeous the staff are very helpful. The food was great. The room was so nice. This is located in a nice location definitely recommend!!!

Authenticity & Character

So gorgeous inside

Location

Easy to get to restaurants and points of interest.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Super clean. Room seemed new

Activity Reviews

Lisbon Roots, Food & Cultural Walk

Portugal

This was fun and the food was good

Quality of Experience

The guide was great and the food was too

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I like walking

Wine Tasting & Lunch at a Portuguese Quinta

Portugal

This was wine tasting in Algarve. There was no lunch included. The guide was ok. He was knowledgeable but the wines we tried were low end and well it wasnt great at all . Was lunch supposed to be included?

Quality of Experience

The wines were meh confused about the lunch since it wasn’t included

Food

There was no food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

This wine tasting was nothing like the one we had with Rui

Transport

We drove ourselves

Catamaran Cruise to Benagil & Carvoeiro w/Snorkeling & SUP

Portugal

We ended up missing the original cruise. I didn’t realize that the meeting point was 30-40 minutes from the hotel. We took a cruise the next day. It was nice

Quality of Experience

The boat was nice the crew was fun

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Day Excursion: Sintra, Cascais & Estoril

Portugal

Paulo is amazing. His plan of visiting Sintra and Monserrate made sense based on the day’s weather and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Paulo also gave us some great recommendations for our trip to Algarve. He is great. Highly recommend him as a private guide

Quality of Experience

Such a gorgeous day. Paulo is very knowledgeable

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Paulo

Transport

Very clean

Day Excursion to Douro Valley: Wine Tasting & River Cruise

Porto

Definitely one of the best tours and days I have had on vacations ever! Rui was great. He arranged for a wonderful meal with a wine maker where we bought several cases of wine. I loved this day. Rui is super knowledgeable and definitely a recommended guide.

Quality of Experience

The wine, port and food at the Quinta was amazing

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Rui

Transport

Very clean vehicle

Vintage Car Tour of Porto

Porto

This was a lot of fun. Sandra’s extensive knowledge about Porto and her ability to tell the story made this a fun adventure.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Both Sandra and our driver were a lot of fun

Transport

Super cute vintage car

Foodie Experience in Porto

Porto

Marion was very knowledgeable. The places w we went and quality of tastings were high. I would definitely recommend her and the tour

Quality of Experience

The stories that went along with the food tastings.

Food

The quality of food and drinks was first rate

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Marion was great and we enjoyed the tour. She was personable and knowledgeable

Architectural & Historical Highlights of Lisbon with a Local

Lisbon

I enjoyed all the historical stories about Lisbon

Quality of Experience

Everything

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Food and fun

Transport

I like walking.

Marina covered all the bases and was excellent. Our experience with Argentina and with KimKim was AMAZING! Trip of a lifetime!

Only downside is now we’re quite spoiled and will probably never NOT use KimKim if it is available in whatever destination we head to next!!

Hotel Review

Panoramic Grand Hotel

Puerto Iguazú

Excellent location and accommodations. Pool is a refreshing touch!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Visiting the Argentine Waterfalls of Iguazu

Argentina

Laura was an excellent guide and just an overall wonderful human being! The falls were breathtaking and we wouldn’t have had the same experience without her. This is a MUST do trip in Argentina!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Asado Dinner at El Fogón

Buenos Aires

Staff, ambiance, and food were a must fit an already perfect visit to the city!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Biking Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

We, like so many people, had a lot of wanderlust built up from the pandemic years. We also had a few family milestones come up this year. So we wanted a really special trip and we let our graduating high school senior pick the destination -- Morocco. That was the full extent of our ability to plan. We didn't want to be on a big all-inclusive tour, but neither could we manage a fully independently-planned itinerary.

Kimkim came to the rescue!

Our local specialist team planned a fantastic and varied itinerary (Sea, Rif Mountains, Imperial Cities, Sahara, Atlas Mountains) for us, complete with private van transportation between places. I so appreciated that they took the initiative to mock up a plan, including accommodations, based on some initial feedback about our traveling style and objectives, and then were able to adjust and fine tune (that's too fancy! not enough time here, too much history/serious stuff, more camels! etc.) to craft us a trip that everybody was excited about (we have 4 boys 11-19) and which made good use of our time there to see a little bit of everything. It was so nice to be able to just relax into the rhythm of the trip once we got on the plane, vs scrambling to arrange the next place, transportation, etc.

Mike Tyson famously said, "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." The plan was fantastic. Our punch in the mouth came when a member of our group became ill in Fes one week into our trip. With four boys in tow and myself being the only person who could communicate in a language other than English, we would have been completely overwhelmed had we not had the amazing support from Abdellah and his local team. They rearranged the remainder of our trip, helped secure medical care, made sure the boys were still amused during our extended stay in one of our stops, in short, did all the heavy lifting needed so that we could continue on safely and with a minimum of stress, and maintained all the must-keeps (camels, camels and camels) from our itinerary despite the changes.

Abdellah and his team made us feel truly cared for and the guides they arranged, especially in Chefchaouen and Essaouira, seemed personally invested in showcasing the best and most interesting parts of their cities.

We went to Morocco knowing that it would be the trip of a lifetime but assuming that we would keep exploring new places after that; we now know there is so much more to explore there and plan to return!

I'd like to split my review into 2, our experience with kimkim and the serendipity team, and Costa Rica overall:
1. We knew nothing about CR prior to this trip, Bryan and the serendipity team built a perfect itinerary for us, adjusted it multiple times based on our preferences and were fast and efficient. Before but also during our trip and sometimes in a very short notice, they were always attentive, available and flexible, this trip could not have been so successful if it wasn't for Bryan and the team, THANK YOU 🙏
2. Costa Rica - how can you not fall in love with this country? Starting with the warm and welcoming people of CR and continue with the amazing nature, and finally the different attractions and things to do, we enjoyed every bit of it, our guides (Kenneth and Pablo in Arenal, Edson in the Sloth territory, Hector and David at Rio Celeste horseback riding, Andy at Monteverde, Juan at Damas) all were absolutely amazing!
We will definitely come back to CR following this great vacation.
Thank you, Pura Vida!
Motti and the family

Our driver Ilyas was an absolute pleasure. We spent over a week driving around with him exploring Morocco. He was the perfect mix of a great guide as well as a fun and interesting person to hang out with. The bookings made by Mohamed and the Kimkim team made our journey easy and maximized our time. Thoroughly recommend this entire process for those looking to explore the kingdom of Morocco.