Kimkim Trip Reviews

Our 14 day trip to Colombia was great and we owe it all to our wonderful local specialist, Andrea.
Not only did she patiently help the 3 of us plan and customize of trip (we must have changed our plans 10 times!), she was with us (virtually) every step of the way while we visited 4 locations in this stunning country. We traveled from Bogota (loved the Gold Museum!) to the coffee region (highlight: Cocora Valley hike in the Andes to see Wax Palms) to Medellin (highlight: visiting Communalist 13 at night) and last to Cartagena (highlight: Street Foodie Tour). Accompanied by lovely guides in each location who shared stories of their community with us. Lodging in each location was top notch too.
While we had a few disappointments, Andrea was quick to make sure we could do something to make up for it later on. I was a bit nervous booking such a big and expensive trip on an online platform, I would now not hesitate to use Kimkim to help us plan our next adventure.

Hotel Reviews

Bio Habitat Hotel

Quindío, Armenia

This was such a unique and relaxing place to relax. Each guest "nest" is a glass box perched in the trees. Quite amazing! The food was also quite nice here. I loved the breakfasts. The view at sunset from the pool deck (or in the hot pool) is spectacular!

Tips for future travelers

If you are mobility challenged, be sure to ask for a room close to the top near the reception building! The route to our room was steep and at this altitude, we needed to rest walking up! Oh, and wear your bug repellent that they provide!!!

Authenticity & Character

Loved the guest room and the public areas

Location

We had a day here just to enjoy the resort. it was great. Very relaxing

Staff

very helpful staff - especially if your Spanish is good!

Cleanliness & Comfort

what you'd expect from a 5 star property

The Click Clack Hotel Medellín

Medellín

This was a nice hotel but a bit too trendy. For my taste. My least favorite on the trip. The rooms were quite small and the corridors so dark, it was spooky! Nice bar and great breakfast . Loud music playing somewhere at night.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Traditional Farmers Market

Bogotá

We enjoyed this activity and our guide made it special by introducing us to special Colombian pastries, cheeses, coffee and fruits! I tried several that I had never seen or heard of!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Smaller more comfortable Van

Cartagena’s Street Food: The Soul of a City in Every Bite

Cartagena

This tour was a great introduction to Cartagena! We recommended it to several other travelers. Andrea was our chef guide and she was terrific and the food was awesome!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We walked!

Covid Test

Colombia

The lab came to our hotel the day before our flight. So easy. Quick results. No problems

We had an incredible trip! Wonderful guides, amazing stays and great food were all set up for us.
Joseph, our local specialist, communicated well with us and was easy to work with, he answered all our questions promptly and made our requests reality. Richard was our driver in Nairobi and he was welcoming and informative. Our guide in Kenya was Andrew and he was knowledgeable and wonderful, going above and beyond in helping our Dad, and find for us some incredible animals, especially the 4 cheetahs hunting in the Maasai Mara. Our guide Mansour in Tanzania was patient and well informed, we had the opportunity to see a bunch of cats in the Serengeti and the surrounding conservation area. We also had the opportunity to meet Susan at the Maji Moto camp, which was a unique experience during which we enjoyed getting to spend time with some of the Maasai, who taught the tween boys to throw spears and shoot atraditional bow and arrows. We had an amazing time and can't wait to go back!

Loved it! The whole experience was so seamless from the planning and booking stage to actually being there. All the tour guides were wonderful too.

I had a great experience with Kimkim thanks to Leandro. I had to book all the details of a trip to El Chalten and El Calafate within 24 hours of take-off during high season. There was very little hotel and tour availability, and the these destinations and tours also can require a significant amount of complicated ground transportation, with required tour guide coordination to allow entry into Glacier National Park. Leandro was able to get me a private room in each location, and book me with an amazing all-day mini trekking tour of Perito Moreno Glacier, complete with crampons and mandatory tour guide for glacier trekking, along with all necessary bus transportation to the destinations. I tried booking hotels last minute from the US while at the airport but many El Chalten hotels don’t have self-booking enabled on their websites. I first left a message for Kimkim Sunday night as I was about to board my flight to Buenos Aires from JFK. By the time I landed in EZE Buenos Aires, Kimkim had connected me to Leandro and he had already worked out 90% of the details of my trip. Working with Leandro was such a relief and allowed me to enjoy my very short last minute trip stress-free and to the fullest.
Highly recommend.

Hotel Review

Hotel Lunajuim

El Chalten

Great place to stay. Kind of rustic rooms as are most places in Chalten. They offer great support services for hiking (helpful trail reviews and guidance/suggestions of best trails for the day given erratic weather conditions) and they offer a packed lunch service which is great if you’re on the go and don’t have time to grocery shop. Wifi is insufficient during wind storms (super frequent) and also when the hotel is full (afternoons and evenings after hiking). Wifi is ok early AM and late night when people are offline and on nights when it is not extremely windy. Very nice lobby with bar.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Minitrekking in "Los Glaciares National Park"

El Calafate

Great tour! Fun on the ice with great guides.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We thoroughly enjoyed exploring the country of Colombia. Felipe and his team planned an itinerary for us that was perfect. We had outstanding guides and drivers. In particular Diva, in Santa Marta and Jose in Medellin were excellent for learning the culture, the food, the history, and all the natural beauty that their regions had to offer. Having a professional driver throughout the country was critical to a relaxing trip. The roads are good but crowded with many different types of vehicles and people. We felt very safe everywhere in the country and the local people clearly enjoy having Americans among them.

Hotel Review

Hotel Casa Medina Four Seasons

Bogotá, Cundinamarca

Beautifully renovated property in downtown Bogota. Staff is excellent and speaks English and super comfortable beds! Breakfast included were delicious.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Zipaquirá Salt Cathedral and Guatavita Lake Tour

Bogotá

One of the most unique tours we have seen. This former salt mine converted into a very creative and sacred Cathedral. Definitely worth visiting.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a marvelous 8 days in Panama. Thanks kimkim! Our local specialist Zulmy was with us every step of the way. We had a much delayed flight in and she instantly rearranged a tour for us, she set up Covid tests before our flight back and even sent condolences about a sudden death in the family we had just found out about. Our driver Juan was such a pleasure - super punctual, pleasant and informative. (He claimed his English was terrible, but we were impressed.) We felt very well taken care of by both Zulmy and Juan.
Highlights of our trip in Panama City were the Panama Canal tour and exploring Casco Viejo. The rooftop pool at our hotel that overlooked the Panama City skyline was a hit as well. We also enjoyed the laid back vibe of Bocas del Toro - the snorkeling/dolphin tour was super and also hanging out at Starfish Playa on our own. The food was excellent in Panama, we especially loved the ceviche. The warmth was felt weather-wise and from the people of Panama. We were impressed with the collective Covid precautions taken by everyone. We definitely recommend kimkim and this trip.

This is the first time my wife and I have used a service like KimKim and we would recommend it very highly. We told Andrea the areas that we wanted to visit and the activities that we like doing and she developed a detailed itinerary for us. This included our daily activities, local flights, transportation, hotels, etc.

We spent 20 days in Columbia and had a very active trip of multi day hiking, city tours, food tours and different excursions in various parts of Columbia. Andrea was there every step of the way, very helpful and unbelievably responsive and available 24/7. My wife and I have traveled for business and pleasure throughout the world over many years and Andrea is exceptional in the service that she provides. She was efficient, knowledgeable, responsive and very thoughtful.

We really enjoyed our Columbia trip, the people are very friendly, the food is great and the beauty and variety of scenery is incredible. Our 20 day trip just scratched the surface. We will definitely be back and will use Andrea and KimKim to help us plan another great trip.

What an amazing adventure Erika planned for us!!

We planned our holiday with very short notice. Erika was fast, responsive and available at any time right from the start. She took all of our demands into account and quickly planned a beautiful route with carefully chosen safe and exquisite hotels along the way.

Once in Ecuador she came to meet us with some small gifts which was extremely kind on her behalf and most importantly throughout our stay in Ecuador she was just a message or a phone call away whenever we needed her or had any doubts about the journey.

Her choice of accommodation was impecable, at all our stays we were greeted by extremely educated and welcoming staff, and all the facilities were extremely clean.

Thank you for an amazing trip Erika!

Hotel Review

Huasquila Amazon Lodge

Cotundo

We were lucky enough to spend 3 days at this lodge. The attention was completely personalised, we were taken care of at every minute. Doña Cecilia made sure everything worked according to plan, and overlooked everything so it was perfect for us. Her husband was also extremely kind to us, and always had a smile and a "¿Cómo les fue, disfrutaron hoy?". Saúl was our guide for most of our stay there, he was so welcoming and did a great job at taking us on two different hikes, as well as on our full day trip. Finally, we can't forget the food! Best food ever!! We enjoyed every single dish they served us. We'd recommend this lodge with our eyes closed, it was incredible!! Gracias chicos por su excelente trabajo, les esperamos por Mallorca!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Misahualli River Excursion (Huasquila Lodge)

Archidona

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our guide was the absolute best. We were so lucky to have him and all arrangements were as promised Everything went very smoothly and could not have asked for more. The people at all the hotels were so kind and couldn’t do enough for us. The whole experience was amazing.

Brittany helped us to plan a great trip to Costa Rica! My friend lives there, but we wanted to make the trip extra special by going on some tours together. We were particularly impressed with our green turtle nesting tour and riverboat and rum experience. The guide (I didn't catch his name) for our turtle nesting tour was very knowledgeable and helped us to spot over 10 turtles! He also helped us to arrange a taxi after the tour.

Our Riverboat and Rum Experience at Hacienda Viejo was extraordinary. Brittany was able to get us last-minute transportation to the hacienda when something came up which was very helpful! Our guide, Minor picked us up and drove us to the Hacienda. Along the way, he pointed out various flora and fauna, and talked about the pura vida way of life. He was not only very knowledgeable but personable as well. It ended up being a private tour and we got to know Minor very well. The grounds of the Hacienda were well kept and all the staff were friendly. After a quick stop for fresh juice and fruit, we made our way to the river. This again was private and there was only one other boat on the river at the same time. We saw various types of birds, monkeys, bats, and crocodiles with the help of Minor.

We then went back to the Hacienda for a delicious and traditional Costa Rican lunch. After it was time for our Rum experience with Roberto, the Rummelier. He was very knowledgeable about the distillery process, and we got to sample sugar cane juice as well as rum. At the end, you can infuse your own rum with a variety of spices or fruits. If you like your infusion, you can infuse a bottle and buy it to bring home. They even create a special label for your bottle to include a name and the date, a nice personal touch.

Overall we were very impressed by our trip and Brittany's responsiveness. We definitely would recommend Minor as your guide for the river cruise. Can't wait to go back!

Activity Reviews

Nighttime Pacific Green Turtle Nesting Experience (Seasonal)

Costa Rica

Our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. He helped us to find a taxi for the way back which was really great. We saw lots of turtles!

Quality of Experience

Seeing the turtles!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was knowledgeable!

Transport

Air Conditioned

Wetlands Boat Ride and Rum Tasting at Hacienda El Viejo

Costa Rica

This was our favorite experience of our trip. Our guide Minor was amazing, very knowledgeable as well as personable. He was able to point out all the wildlife and give us information about the ecosystem and interactions of the flora and fauna. The food at Hacienda was fresh and delicious. Before going to the river you can stop for fruit, coffee or juice. The lunch was great as well. All the staff was friendly. The rum experience was also great with Roberto. He was very knowledgeable and friendly. You get to see the process from the sugarcane, to the barrel. You can then infuse your own rum with a variety of spices and fruits. If you like your infusion you can even buy a small bottle to bring home with a personalized label. The Hacienda grounds were clean and beautiful.

Quality of Experience

Beautiful grounds, great guides, and staff, able to see wildlife, private, luxurious

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide Minor was the best! So knowledgeable, kind, and funny. He went out of his way to make our time great!

Transport

Air-conditioned, comfortable van, No issues with picking us up.

Overall this was a very good trip. Two of the three hotels were extraordinary with excellent meals and service. Costa Rican people are very friendly and helpful. Our only disappointment was that wildlife viewing was very difficult to get good photos. We took several nature tours and all offered much of the same with little chance of capturing good photographs. Tour guides were very knowledgeable and group size was small. There were many good restaurants in every place we visited. We had no interaction with our local specialist Olman during the week. The schedule he planned for us went very smoothly and almost all the local contacts and transportation services were punctual.

Hotel Review

Tabacón Thermal Resort & Spa

Fortuna

Location

Too far from La Fortuna

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Guided Hike in Arenal Volcano Park 1968

Arenal/La Fortuna

Great views of volcano and interesting geology. Slightly difficult hike but very enjoyable. Guide was very knowledgeable and attentive.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Anne was absolutely wonderful to work with throughout the entire process. She was very quick to answer our questions during the planning process, and provided us with numerous options that fit within our budget. Most importantly, we really valued the type of activities she planned for us. We got to interact with the communities and experience the culture firsthand. I feel sometimes that travel agencies will only focus on “Instagram moments” and that is not what we experienced at all. Our tour guides were wonderful, and we learned SO much (and still got great pictures as memories!).

For upcoming travelers, here are some places we really enjoyed: Machu Picchu, private lunch at the plantation outside of Lima on our way back from sandboarding, the rainforest (we only stayed two nights and wish we would’ve stayed 3), the local market in Cusco, and our extended stay in sacred valley.

Additionally, even with traveling during covid Anne made us feel comfortable and prepared throughout the trip. We loved that she met us in Lima on our first day! It helped us feel more prepared and comfortable walking into our 12 day trip.

Overall, it was a wonderful experience and we could not have asked for a better honeymoon. In 12 days, we went from the coast line, to the desert, to the rainforest, and ended our trip in the mountains. If you are looking for a great adventure - Peru is it!!

Hotel Review

Refugio Amazonas Lodge

Puerto Maldonado

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Ollantaytambo Village and Inca Site Exploration. Pinkulluna Hike

Peru

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Amazing Costa Rican Trip!

Adriana helps us setup a perfect trip for us! Adventure/Travel/Relaxation

Thank you!!

Our family of 5 adults had a terrific trip to Italy with the help of Kimkim and our travel planners Sonia and Barbara. Our trip was very customized to fit everyone's interests. The first part of our trip was hut-to-hut hiking in the Dolomites. We had assistance planning our hiking route, and Sonia arranged for all the lodging and transfer details. After the 4 days of hiking, we spend 4 days in Lake Garda area for wine tasting, cooking class, city tours, and relaxation. It was a perfect trip for our family - a mix of adventure and culture. We had a couple of small glitches and Sonia/Barbara were a phone call away with quick fixes. We are so impressed with Kimkim and plan to use their travel services again.

Valentine was amazing!
She solved every detail of our trip including Covid issues!
Great trip, great experience!

I don’t even know where to begin with this review, because our trip to Spain was perfect…and I mean PERFECT-from start to finish.

Patricia was incredibly patient and kind during the planning stages. She quickly and seamlessly accommodated the many changes we had to make because of flight changes , Covid, etc Due to storms back home, we has to stay in Spain extra days. Patricia set up a new and wonderful hotel and our new Covid test appointments.

We spent 3 days in Barcelona, took the high speed train to Madrid, and took a day trip to Toledo from Madrid. In Barcelona, we had a bike tour in the Gothic Quarter with Clara who provided an fun and enlightening information as well as tips on where to go for tapas! We also has an intellectually stimulating tour of the Gaudi Masterpieces and Güell Park with Elena, whose historical knowledge was stunning. For us, the icing on the cake was the guided tour of La Boqueria Market and subsequent cooking class with Carlos. We learned to make paella, crema catalana, Spanish omelette, pan tomate, and flat bread with spinach, pignoli, and raisins. We highly recommend all of these activities

After arriving in Madrid, we were greeted by the most gracious driver, Ricardo. He ended up driving us three times while we were in Madrid, and by the end we felt like he was family. Our day trip to Toledo was life-changing. Toledo was one of the most physically beautiful places I had ever seen! We were so fortunate to have Inma as our guide. We took a cab tour to see the bigger picture, and then we saw the Cathedral and the Jewish Quarter. She left us at a wonderful place for lunch.

I can’t think Patricia enough for this trip. It was truly magical, and she was the one who made it happen. I would recommend her 1000 times over. Thank you! You made me and my husband fall in love with Spain. We will be back!

I planned my Jordan and Egypt itinerary with Dunes and Beyond. I worked with Mr. Sherif Khalil who not only planned my trip but was very vigilant with all flight and rules changes that were going on given the Pandemic situation. Everything arranged and managed by him and his company was absolutely fantastic. I highly recommend this company for your egypt (and if going to Jordan) travel!

All the guides provided by the company were fantastic, very accommodating and knowledgeable! Especially my guide for Cairo, Lina was simply magnificent in terms of knowledge and time management. Their company is also very flexible and can change your plans as needed. As an example: there was heavy fog when we had planned to see the pyramids but they changed the sequence of itinerary that day and even paid out of their own pocket for me to go to giza that evening when fog had settled.

when I go back to egypt, i am definitely going to use this company again for planning my itinerary! Thank you for everything

Deborah could not have been more perfect from start to finish.

The start: we were taking a last minute vacation to South Africa as part of our honeymoon (I worked for an airline so that was feasible). When I say last minute, we were coming in a week!!! That was absolutely no problem for Deborah, who took it in stride, perfectly planning every detail from our time in Cape Town to our safari in Krueger. If you are considering working with Deborah, do it! Thanks again for making our trip one we’ll never forget.

We really enjoyed the pickup at the airport and delivery to our hotel in Venice at the start of our custom journey to Italy and the pickup and delivery from the hotel to the airport at the end in Rome. Kimkim even had drivers delivered us from hotel to the train station with tickets on time in the morning between all the cities we visited. The hotels were all first rate and either 4-5 star with exceptional free breakfast included. The first hotel Bauer II Palazzo in Venice the was perfectly located and only a few blocks from Saint Marks Square and made it easy to walk everywhere and for us to pick up the water bus system to visit different islands like Murano for glass blowing and Burano for lace making items. Alessia our Concierge in Venice was amazing. She made sure we saw the sites and had a great experience in Venice and made sure of all our other visits to Bologna, Florence and Rome all went with out any problems. Our tour guide Dennis for the Colosseum and Roman Forum in Rome was amazing. His fold out pictures of the Colosseum and Roman Forum before and after and clear explanations made it very interesting. When it is time for us to return to visit Italy with the rest of the family we will be sure to use Kimkim again.

Karin was very patient in putting together our trip. We booked two weeks in advanced which is too short and Karin was able to make an excellent trip for us. Thank you Karin, we always remember you and Kimkim.
Once Beatriz de Pablo took over in Spain and Portugal it was an awesome trip. We told her our flight and she was able to adjust in short notice our accommodation. Beatriz make our trip so it won't be tiring for us. We have enough rest and go sight seeing, shopping, walking downtown and having tapas. Beatriz also made sure we are doing fine by texting via WhatsApp everyday, if our pickup was there. She also got all the professional guides for us. It turns our almost all out tours were private. Hotels she choose with our budget were excellent. They were very clean and comfortable and made us feel welcome. Staff at the hotel were accommodating as well, they guided us where to eat, shop, what to see on our free time.
Hello Bea, Hats off to you, you did awesome. It's a trip we can't forget. Please also thank our professional guides Cristina, Enrique, Sergio in Barcelona. Jorge in Madrid. Train ride to Toledo was excellent and the place great. It was sooo cold. But anyway we were able to change our return trip to Madrid earlier. Oh gosh, we were having a good time and I forgot the names of our guide in Granada Please so sorry. Our guide in Seville Andres who waited for us to get our antigen test and was very patient. Our driver Juan Pedro going to the Andalusian Olive Estate thank you for being an excellent guide. Now in Lisboa, our last destination this trip was suer great. Miguel our food tour guide was so professional, friendly with a god sense of humor. Maria our guide to our Lady of Fatima was to drive and guide us was very good. It was an hour and a half drive from Lisboa. Tireless woman.
Overall, five stars to all who made our trip worth remembering. Hats off to all!!!

Hotel Review

Ciutat de Barcelona

Barcelona

Easy access to shops, restaurants, points of interests. Hotel can call a taxi for you. Excellent location. Very clean rooms and we had free buffet breakfast. Breakfast selection was very good.

Tips for future travelers

No parking nearby.

Authenticity & Character

Ambiance

Location

within City Center

Staff

Friendly and accommodating

Cleanliness & Comfort

very clean, good wifi connection

Activity Review

Tapas Walk in Barcelona

Barcelona

Excellent tapas. Wine or any drink you like to have. Cava was our favorite.. We went to three bars and tapa place and they were all very good. Tasted parmesan cheese cake!! Cristina was a professional guide.

Quality of Experience

we had the best tapas

Food

Awesome!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very Professional

Transport

we walked