Kimkim Trip Reviews

Spent 6 days in Norway (August 2022).
Our guide Stig in Oslo was fabulous, and our walking tour through Oslo was exactly what my daughter thought was great. Oslo was easy to traverse, and we both obsessed over the art at the Munch museum (don't miss)
Train ride from Oslo to Myrdal and the Flam Railway were breathtaking. The highlight of the trip was the Fjordsafari out of Flam. Easily the most beautiful scenery in the world.
Wished we could have had more time in Bergen. Morning was rainy when we toured with our guide, but the afternoon was sunny and I wished we could have slept in and had the tour later in the day.

Hotel Reviews

Thon Hotel Terminus

Oslo

Is 1 block from main train station, if you intend to take the train on arrival at the airport or if arriving via train from elsewhere in Norway. Rooms are small, but clean. Breakfast buffet was included in our room rate. Excellent choices with typical Norwegian fare.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Front desk staff not knowledgable about local/adjacent stores, restaurants etc. Do not expect concierge type service.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Grand Hotel Terminus

Bergen

This recently renovated hotel is exactly what a quiet European hotel should be like. Excellent bar with good bar menu, with food service to 10PM (a rarity in Norway where the kitchens tend to close by 9 with last seating at 8:30). Excellent breakfast buffet (was included with our room). Clean room with juliet balcony with doors that opened, and a fabulous heated floor in the bathroom. Is exactly 1km from the ferry port. We walked with our bags(small carry on & backpack) If you have a larger bag, take a taxi. Is across the street from the train station. So if arriving by train you are right there. Is 1 block the fountain and main museums, is a less than 10 min walk to Bryggen and port area.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vangsgaarden Gjestgiveri

Aurland

Very small property in a very small town (800 people) The view of the fjord from our room was amazing. Very gracious staff and we ate both nights at the hotel gasthous, which was quite reasonable in price but delicious food and and extensive bar list. Breakfast was included in our rate, and was a buffet typical for Norway. If you like hiking/biking this is the place for you. If not into hiking/biking the town does not have much else to offer.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very quiet with beautiful views

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Bergen Walking Tour With a Local Guide

Bergen

Walked approximately 5 miles on this tour of Bergen. I enjoyed the guide, but my daughter (age 26) was less enamored. If this would have been our first day in Norway I think we would have enjoyed it better, but we had already spent 5 days in Norway and seen typical 19th and early 20th century architecture. The fortress was not open, and the Bryggen was a disappointment with the Hanseatic museum closed for renovations.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer from Aurland to Flåm

Norway

Landslide closed the road (only 1) between Aurland and Flam. Our driver picked us up and drove on the bike path to get us to our Fjordsafari on time. We were incredibly grateful to not miss our experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer from Flåm to Aurland

Norway

Taxi driver arrived on time. Drove us to our hotel in Aurland. Please be aware that there is limited taxi service in the area. If staying in Aurland, definitely have Kimkim arrange the taxi transfer in advance.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fjord Safari Taste

Norway

This should be 10 stars not 5. Absolute highlight of the entire week.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Oslo City Walk with a Local

Oslo

My daughter loves vintage clothes. Stig took us through the central shopping area where these stores were located so we knew exactly where to go. Took us on the walking path by the river to the Mathallen, and had a great rapport with this guide. Had the best coffee of my life with him at Tim Wendelboe. (If you like coffee, this is a must not miss destination)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This was a trip of a life time. Morocco is a beautiful country and the people are friendly.

We could have not planned a better trip on our own, and we’re grateful for Original Travel and KimKim for an excellent itinerary. Over 12 days we visited many cities with nights in Casablanca, Chefchaouen via Rabat, Fes, Merzouga, Boumalne Dades, Marrakech, and Essaouira.

Our driver, Tarik took care of us the entire trip, and we never felt unsafe. And our booking manager, Said was very responsive to our needs and made immediate adjustments to ensure our comfort. Original travels exceeded my expectations.

The highlight of our trip was all our stays at Riads inside the old medinas, our overnight camping in the desert at Erg Chebbi, dune racing on ATVs, and the sunrise camel ride.

Our drive over the Atlas Mountains into Marrakech was memorable.

Pros
- Moroccan hospitality is top notch.
- Rich culture, architecture, and history.
- UNESCO world heritage sites
- Varying geography
- The King. Everyone loves the him.

Things to look out for
- The breakfasts in the Riads are all the same, carb heavy—breads, crepes, pastries, only eggs for protein, no meats, no variety. Hotels offer better breakfast variety.

- Request for vans with functioning seat belts in advance, if important to you. Be specific about the temperature you want at all points during the trip. Depending on when you visit Morocco during the summer, it’s very hot and heat can lead to exhaustion very quickly.

Hotel Reviews

Riad Perle D'Eau

Essaouira

Overlooks the ocean. Get an ocean view room and sleep with the windows open at night. Breakfast on roof deck.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Pachavana

Marrakech

Our worst stay in Morocco overall. It was only staffed by a single person. The accommodation was not to standard compared to other Riads. We had to get our room switched. There was a cockroach floating in the pool at the courtyard and the attendant could care less. Bees harassed us at breakfast everyday.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Salam Fes

Fes

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Xaluca Dades

Boumalne

Beautiful hotel with unique decor. Great buffet style dining and a pleasant break from the same, boring Riad breakfasts we experienced. The hotel pool is great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lina Ryad & Spa

Chefchaouen

Lovely riad, and the only one with a pool that was usable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Odyssee Center

Casablanca

Authenticity & Character

Location

Location is the not the best.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Desert Luxury Camp Erg Chebbi

Merzouga

Camel ride at sunrise was a magic experience.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Transfer from Marrakech to Enchanting Essaouira

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer to Fes, Volubilis & Meknes

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Essaouira to Casablanca via Eljadida & Safi Coastal Route

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Y

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour of Fez Medina

Fes

We enjoyed this visit overall. It just felt like we were being herded from one shop to the next, so we could get fleeced. To be clear, we were never forced into a purchase, but there are too many planned stops to buy things.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Casablanca to Chefchaouen via Rabat

Morocco

Beautiful views of the Hassan V mosque. Casablanca was our least favorite city.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour of Chefchaoeun

Chefchaouen

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half-Day Guided Tour of Marrakech

Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer to Marrakech via Roses Valley, Ouarzazate, Aït Benhaddou & Atlas Mountains.

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer to Dades Valley via Todra Gorges

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Majorelle Gardens

Marrakesh

OMG. This is one of the most beautiful gardens I’ve visited anywhere. The variety of cactus and the setting of the YSL home is picturesque.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hammam & Spa Experience Marrakech

Morocco

The women working at the Hammam weren’t very friendly and it was not a relaxing experience from that perspective.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer from Fes to Merzouga via Erfoud & Camel Ride

Morocco

Enjoyed the ATV sand dune and camel ride at sunrise.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The SUV ride into the desert camp was very aggressive and I almost hurt myself in the back.

Tiago did an excellent job both planning our trip and helping us to navigate. He provided a comprehensive and well organized document, complete with links, that described our itinerary, recommended points of interest and gave useful information on accommodations. He also included other useful resources, such as advice on driving in Portugal.

Tiago was most responsive during our trip when we had questions. Prior to and during our trip, Tiago would promptly respond when we contacted him. He contacted us immediately I’ll arrival and greeted us at the airport. Prior to picking up our car rental, Tiago drove us to our hotel, showed us some sights along the way, and showed us where to lock up our rental car. He also picked us up the following evening to bring us to two of our planned events. When one of our events had to be rescheduled, he most effectively integrated it into our next day’s itinerary.

The trip that Tiago planned was excellent. Every accommodation he selected exceeded our expectations. Also, he recommended that we go off the beaten path and visit Évora. This city was a highlight of the trip.

We really enjoyed working with Tiago and would most defiant key recommend him to anyone visiting Portugal.

Having never been to the French Alps before, our KimKim specialist helped put together an itinerary that matched our interests and desire to be more active. The mountains of Chamonix are absolutely stunning and we very much enjoyed this mountain town that is easy to walk around for food, shopping, and staging our adventures without a rental car.

The two-day pass for the gondolas allowed us to quickly on day one enjoy the striking beauty of the mountains and how awe-inspiring the views are from high above. We loved seeing para-gliders dot the sky and appreciated the countless views we felt deserved a picture to capture the moment.

We were positively surprised by all the things to do and see at the top of Aiguille du Midi. And getting out to walk around the mid-station was a fantastic complement to being at the top. For my 13 and 15 year old children this part of the trip was one they loved the most.

We mountain biked with e-bikes as a family with four others (brothers) and our guide was very nice and good. It was a bit too long (mileage) for my wife and kids but we enjoyed everything we did and saw. The logistics weren't ideal: our meetup time moved up which we didn't see until it was right upon us (but we acted fast and made it) and the bus ride back from Houches was hot, very crowded and felt like over 30 minutes.

The hike with Yannik was amazing and he was fantastic. He took us a less-traveled way up to the glacial lake and offered a lot of information about the mountains, region and Chamonix. He helped us get extra water, let us borrow his hiking poles, and offered us his picnic food -- I would absolutely recommend him to anyone as a guide and hiking companion. Before the hike we were concerned it might be too ambitious since we aren't frequent hikers. Yannik coordinated with us to make it a little shorter by taking a lift up for the first part. From there it was a beautiful, long hike up to the lake and it was amazing. We hiked down and it ended up taking us to our limit physically getting to the bottom. He was always positive and was terrific. I didn't realize it would be as long of a day and I'd recommend for future hikers surveying them for expected timing, mileage and some way to figure out how to assess where their limits might be. This is an experience to absolutely recommend to others.

Things that went well and above our expectation:
- Meeting our transfer in Geneva: this was very easy and convenient and it was a nice, large vehicle to take us up to Chamonix.
- The hotel breakfast was very nice and a great way to start each day. Great food and service!
- Isabelle had recommended a couple restaurants those were very good.
- The train from Geneva to Paris was great, and Isabelle had set us up in first class so we could sit together. It had a table and was perfect...we played cards and chatted facing each other. So great!
- Overall, we loved everything about Chamonix and would recommend it to anyone!

Things that didn't go as planned:
- The hotel surprisingly didn't have record of our requested early check-in when we arrived. I believe KimKim had made that request on our behalf so I am unsure where the communication within the hotel had broken down. We knew traveling overnight from the U.S. to Geneva and landing at 7:30am had us expecting to be tired and nervous about when our room would be ready. With the early check-in request we felt we could wait until 12:00pm when we thought we'd most likely get into our room (and not need to pay for an entire night prior). As the trip came closer we even asked if we should just purchase the additional night...but there was not availability at the hotel to do so. We knew it wouldn't be exact timing, so when we arrived at the hotel to drop off our bags and check when we could get into our room they said they didn't have any information or request for an early check in and that we should expect a 3:00pm check-in at the very earliest. It was a very distressing moment for my wife at 9:00am who was tired and wasn't sure how she'd make it the additional 3 hours to 3:00pm (or even later). They stored our bags and alerted the cleaning crew to prioritize, but it was a difficult moment to be tired and uncertain of when it would actually be ready. I asked them to call me when it was ready and hoped for the best but was concerning to know this was something we communicated being anxious about, and for the hotel to tell us they didn't have the request. We ended up getting the call that our room was ready at 12:30pm so it worked out to get in a bit early but it was not a great way to start our time in Chamonix.
- Our transfer from Chamonix to Geneva. We were about 10-15 minutes late for getting out of the hotel and downstairs to our transfer on check-out. It was our fault and I felt badly for our driver who was stressed and unhappy we were so late. He said he was trying to call us and that we almost got left. Turns out he had mistakenly thought our pick up was the day prior, so for him it was his second time coming up to Chamonix to get us. He also had another pickup tightly after ours so he was stressed about making it to that next pickup. It was a fast but quiet/tense ride to the train station, of which we arrived WELL ahead of when our train departed (about 45 minutes). It was our fault to be a bit late but it was his next appointment that seemed to trigger his stress. Maybe consider not having the transfer company book trips so tightly together.

All in all, our trip to the French Alps was really spectacular. We loved it. We also appreciated all Isabelle had done to set us up for a great time and for Joel just before we arrived. Thank you!

Hotel Review

Chalet Hotel le Prieuré

CHAMONIX MONT BLANC

Great location, great breakfast! Very helpful front desk staff for the most part. Rooms don't have air conditioning so for those in the U.S. it is something to consider.

Authenticity & Character

Location

We could walk to everything

Staff

Helpful, but not having our early check-in request was very stressful and disappointing

Cleanliness & Comfort

Family room was good for our family of four with younger kids

Activity Reviews

Hiking in the French Alps

France

I put these in my other comments.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Electric Mountain Bike in Chamonix

France

I put these in my other comments.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chamonix : to the Aiguille du Midi

France

I put these in my other comments.

Quality of Experience

We loved Morocco… and KimKim made it the best it could be.

Ilyace was our guide: Extremely professional and truly catered to all of our needs. Whenever we needed something, he would punctually help us. (E.g. going to the pharmacy right away when one of us got slightly ill). Truly cared about us and felt like a good friend.

Our daily guides were amazing! Especially these individuals: Muhammad in Fes, Osama in Marrakech, and Amed in Merzouga Also Mohammed in The Dades Valley was the best. Very funny and really welcomed us into his house for an unforgettable lunch and time with his family.

The visits with the Berbers in two different locations was amazing. Really got to understand the culture and their seemingly difficult life.

Riads: All were extremely beautiful and in great locations with excellent services! The best way we could have experienced Morocco.

Cecilia was amazing and very helpful. Me and my wife had an amazing time. We needed to make multiple adjustments due to the heat and other things and Cecilia made it all happen. Thank you so much!!!

Activity Review

Morning Colosseum, Roman Forums and Palatine Hill

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Carl did a great job of balancing out city sightseeing opportunities with outdoor adventures around Vancouver. The best part was trying out things like cycling around the sea wall and city, something I wouldn’t normally think about doing. The accommodations were in fantastic locations. I appreciate the thoughtfulness into my itinerary since it was so last minute.
I will definitely use this company again. Thank you!

Hotel Reviews

Embassy Inn Hotel

Victoria

The hotel was close to downtown Victoria, and I block from the harbor. It was a good location to everything. The breakfast buffet was good since it lasted until 10:30 and there was plenty of room for sitting.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sunset Inn and Suites

Vancouver

The location was close to so many places like the ferry to Granville or Kipsilano and the beach. They did a great job letting guests know about the fireworks shows and other activities going on around the area. The staff were so nice. The bag to go option for breakfast is nice, but having a hot breakfast was a wait.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Every staff member I encountered were helpful and nice with a greeting.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Capilano Suspension Bridge Park

Vancouver

The bridge was busy, but the walk after the bridge was quiet and worth the trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

It was a free courtesy bus from Vancouver to the Bridge.

Morocco was a trip that I will truly never forget. I was in Morocco for 9 days with my boyfriend and Karim was our personal driver. Not only was he our driver, but he is also very knowledgeable with the rich history and culture of Morocco! Throughout our trip with Karim, he would explain to us interesting facts about Morocco and the Berber life which made this trip a truly unforgettable cultural experience.

Karim is extremely reliable, trustworthy, personable, communicative and also very funny. He speaks perfect English, Arabic and Berber. He was also our personal translator. Karim is also Berber so he shared his knowledge to us about the Berber culture and the language. It was extremely interesting and intriguing to learn about his childhood in the High Atlas Mountains. We felt very lucky to have a driver like Karim.

On the night of our arrival to Casablanca, Karim messaged us to double check our flight times. Despite our flight being delayed and us arriving a little bit later than what we expected, he was already waiting patiently at the airport. We got out of the airport at almost midnight and was greeted by a very friendly and welcoming smile :). This was when we knew that we were going to have a wonderful trip.

Karim is a very experienced driver. His driving is very relaxing and calming (I had a few naps along some of the drives). He also knew a lot of places for great photo opportunities (my boyfriend and I have a gallery full of amazing photos thanks to Karim) and he was also a great personal photographer too!

Whenever we had activities planned that required Karim to pick us up from our hotel, he would always be punctual and wait at least 15 minutes before. Karim is extremely reliable. Whenever we finshed a tour or activity with a private guide, Karim would already be there waiting for us to finish and pick us up for the next activity. He assisted us with all of our hotel check ins, luggage and lunches, dinners, everything!

Thank you so much Karim for making our trip in Morocco an unforgettable experience. We were so lucky to have a driver like Karim, who not only drove us to places but who was also very informative about the Berber life, Moroccan culture and someone who felt like a friend.

Hotel Reviews

La Maison Arabe Hotel

Marrakech

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ksar El Kabbaba

Skoura

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lina Ryad & Spa

Chefchaouen

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Odyssee Center

Casablanca

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tiziri Luxury Camp

Merzouga

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Palais Amani

Fès

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Visit Majorelle Gardens

Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half-Day Guided Tour of Marrakech

Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Skoura to Marrakech via Ouarzazate & Aït Benhaddou

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer from Fes to Merzouga via Erfoud & Camel Ride

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dine with a Local Family

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour of Fez Medina

Fes

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chefchaoeun to Fez via Volubilis, Moulay Idriss & Meknes

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Casablanca to Chefchaouen via Rabat

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Architectural Elegance: A Journey through the Hassan II Mosque

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The trip was very well organized. Thank you Johanna!

Flor Zuniga was our guide for Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley. She is very knowledgeable, friendly, patient, a great person overall and an excellent guide.

Lima Gourmet (Kimberly) and Berrios Travel (Juan) were our operators for the food tour and the day trip to Huachachina. Both were excellent and made the trips memorable.

Our honeymoon was a trip I will truly never forget! Ina and the KimKim team picked all great hotels, transfers and excursions. It is very much worth having a local person to help you book the best things as there are endless options of choices in Greece. Our favorite highlights we Super Paradise Beach in Mykonos, hiking and cooking in Naxos (Spiros with Naxos Sun was an amazing guide and we learned so much about the island), and our Santorini highlights and wine tasting excursion with Gina and Constantinos with Argyos (such an amazing tour and wonderful tour guides that I will always remember). Thank you KimKim for making our honeymoon seamless and unforgettable!

Everything went well the canyoning was a very good and the best experience , the whale watching was not so good as the boat got broken in middle of ocean and needed to wait for 40 min for someone to tow the boat back which took more than an hour , the boat was basic and old compared to the other boat you see in the marina doing the same service

I hope this helps thanks a lot

Hotel Review

Octant Ponta Delgada

Ponta Delgada

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Epic Canyoning Adventure

São Miguel Island

The staff was amazing they really were great and was the best we had in Azores

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My husband and I are just home from a fabulous holiday in Zambia. We stayed 5 nights in the marvellous South Luangwa National Park – 3 at Kafunta Lodge and two at Three Rivers Camp. The accommodation was fabulous, especially the star beds at Three Rivers and the deck, infinity pool and hot tub at Kafunta! The fine dining was an unexpected pleasure too, along with a different and stunning dining location for every meal. Our guides Solomon and David were marvellous – skilful drivers, experts on the extensive bird life and other animals and strategic in their decision making to optimise the experience for us with our cameras always clicking. Highlights here were the frequent leopard and lion sightings. We were very impressed by the strong environmental focus at Kafunta. No plastic water bottles for instance. And the network of social enterprise partnerships they have, engaging with the local community around them. Congratulations to the founders Ron and Anke Cowan for their ethical and responsible approach to tourism.

We flew from the brilliant town of Mfuwe to the Royal airstrip, where we were picked up by wonderful Weston who was our guide on the Lower Zambezi, based at Baines River Camp. The pace here was less cracking, which was just what we needed by now! We chilled as we watched the mighty Zambezi flow from the verandah of our sumptuous room. We enjoyed several interesting game drives here as well as relaxing cruises on the river. Lots of crocodiles, elephants and hippos.

We finished with three nights at the beautiful River Club, out of Livingstone. A helicopter flight to view the Victoria Falls is an absolute must –after circling the falls several times we flew low over the water zig zagging our way downstream in the fantastic gorges! Paul, Mack, Davies, Chloe and Costa ensured we had a great stay here too. Terrific food served at a different location every meal, sensational setting and lovely cruises on the upper Zambezi.

The animal of the trip would have to be the hippo. Closely followed by the terribly shy warthog. We did not see any rhinos so will definitely be back to Africa in the near future to address this omission!

Marina planned the most amazing trip to Portugal! The hotels and all the tours/excursions were amazing! Will 100% use her and KimKim again for future travel!!

We reviewed the guides, the hotels, and the itineraries every day with Pedro so refer to him. Generally speaking, the guides were very good and professional and spoke English quite well. The drivers were always punctual, well dressed, spoke English well and drove us to our destinations in E- class Mercedes. Certainly, kudos to the drivers. Although we had 4-star hotels, a couple of hotels were a little disappointing. They didn't have wash cloths, they didn't have tissues, the final hotel, the Villa Galé Cascais, didn't have an iron or an ironing board, suggesting we use their laundry service and they wanted to charge for the safety deposit box. Power went out in the room, but was corrected within 10 minutes. The hotel in Porto was good, but the safe deposit instructions were confusing. They need to get a simpler safe deposit box like other hotels. All in all, the hotels were good and the breakfasts were great! The itinerary that Pedro did for us was comprehensive and we saw a lot of the important cities and places of Portugal. Pedro acceded to our requests to change the times of pickup by the drivers to modify our itinerary and is trying to get us a refund for the Pena Palace which we paid for twice due to the Palace not honoring our tickets on a day when the palace was closed due to fires raging in Portugal. That was stupid. They wanted us to go online to request a refund instead of simply replacing our tickets with new tickets. There was constant contact from Pedro to confirm what each upcoming activity was, the driver's name and WhatsApp # and the time of pickup at our hotels. We had constant communication texting both ways. This was excellent. We reviewed everything from each day's activities for him. The walking tour in Porto was a bit redundant and and we could have done without the honey and chocolate tasting tour. It fell short and felt like a time filler. Yet, we loved Porto. In contrast to all the churches, monasteries, palaces, and other historical places, we loved the nature hiking tour in Serra da Estrela and the follow up picnic. The walking tour in Évora was also quite good.

Hotel Reviews

Lagos Avenida Hotel

Lagos

Great location, excellent breakfast, very attentive reception and staff, rooftop pool w/bar.

Authenticity & Character

Authenticity & Character

Location

Location

Staff

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cleanliness & Comfort

Évora Olive Hotel

Évora

Very good location, great breakfasts!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Octant Hotels Palácio da Lousã

Lousã

This hotel was beautiful. The reception was great. The hotel was designed beautifully. The rooms were comfortable and the breakfast was amazing. The manager greeted everyone personally in the dining area during breakfast. And, they gave us hats to take away with us. What a nice touch. The only thing that out tour planner didn't anticipate was to arrange a dinner reservation when we arrived. They were fully booked for reservations and we would have loved to have dined there.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hike & Bite with Peaks, Paths, and a Delicious Picnic in Serra da Estrela

Serra da Estrela Nature Park

Our guide was well versed in the terrain, pointing out vegetation as well as geological formations. He spoke well in English and made the hike go smoothly. He topped it off with a "picnic" which was a full lunch. This activity, in contrast to the churches and other historical places, was a highlight of the trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Seamless Discovery - The Ultimate Douro Valley Experience with Private Driver Service

Portugal

The driver added personal history to enhance the trip. He grew up here and related what he did on his family's farm.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Unveil the Fairytale Villa of Sintra with a Private Driver Service

Portugal

Driver was excellent with knowledge of the area. He pointed to things we should try. Not his fault, the Pena Palace was closed due to fires in the area.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip to Iceland was well planned and we had a great time! Jenny was responsive and made sure her recommendations were consistent with our needs. We completed the entire Ring Road in a week and really enjoyed the Blue Lagoon, whale watching, and the Reykjavik Food Tour. The South of the island has more sights to explore than the North and you could easily spend a week only in the South. I recommend kimkim’s service. It made planning easy!

Activity Reviews

Blue Lagoon

Iceland

Amazing experience. The best hot spring I’ve been to. Worth the time and money

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Reykjavik Food Walk

Iceland

Great, knowledgeable guide. Interesting Iceland history and a sampling of foods you wouldn’t have tried otherwise. Highly recommended.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Myvatn Nature Baths

Lake Mývatn

Ok experience. The hot springs were Luke warm. The Blue Lagoon is better.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Whale Watching from Akureyri

Akureyri

Great tour with knowledgeable guides. We were lucky enough to see whales breach, dive, breathe, and slap their tales!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands was very pleasant and enjoyable. Thanks to Daniel, my travel details were ironed out before , during and after the trip. I had issues with my covid test result being delayed and had a mild panic, anxious situation, but with Daniel help I was able to enjoy the rest of my trip, During the trip, Daniel was very easy and fast to reach when I had questions . He helped me speak to one of the receptionist over the phone because I couldn't communicate in Spanish . Daniel is very thorough when booking tours , he would follow through with the tour guides and made sure they were there on time and explained what I would expect on the tours. I also felt safe knowing that Daniel was only a call away via whatsapp. I'm using kimkim again for my next trip because my experience with Daniel's help made a huge difference.

Samir was AMAZING to work with: super responsive, endlessly helpful, and made our trip seamless. My husband and I are picky travelers (we know exactly what we want!) so we went through several rounds of revisions with Samir - but he was *so* patient, and always delivered answers and changes really quickly. I can't emphasize on awesome he was at this!

Our trip went off without a hitch, in part because of the private driver, Mohammed, that Samir set up for us for our whole vacation. He made changes with us along the way as we changed our minds about small details, and we always enjoyed his company and felt taken care of and safe.

Regarding our itinerary, my husband and I spent a total of two weeks in Jordan and we really did *everything*. I'd recommend taking that much time making sure you make the most of this beautiful historic place!

Here's some of things we did
- Historic sites (Jerash, Petra, Umm Qais, often with private guides)
- Outdoor adventuring (Make sure you do Wadi Al-Mujib!)
- Desert (desert castles, Wadi Rum)
- cultural experiences (cooking class, museums)

Thanks again for the perfect trip to Jordan, Samir!

Activity Reviews

Petra By Candle Light

Jordan

This is a great thing to do *IF* it's your very first view of Petra and the Treasury. The candlelight effect is really nice, and we got lucky enough to see the moon over the canyon, too. However, I wouldn't add this if you've already been to Petra :) all it is is a walk to the Treasury by candlelight, sitting on carpets and drinking a little tea, some local musicians, then shining floodlights on the Treasury building

Quality of Experience

Self Cooking Meal in Amman

Amman

We LOVED this and plan to add an experience like this to all our future trips! This was a great way to meet new friends, have a great meal, and learn more about the local culture.

Quality of Experience

Trekking from Dana to Feynan lodge

Jordan

One of the favorite days of our trip! Even though it was a long hot day, it really helped that the trail was all downhill. And our guide, a local Bedouin, was excellent! He was patient, funny, and cooked us a perfect meal on a campfire along the trail

Quality of Experience

Food

We only dealt with Giustono in the beginning, but then were being expertly managed by Andrea, whom we cannot say enough about. He answered our calls, texts, questions in a timely manner and KILLED IT every time!!! I loved the experience so much, I’m working with another KimKim referral for next year’s trip to Argentina. 😊

Tour guide and bus driver was very good

We had a terrific 9-day driving tour through Western Slovenia, focusing on beautiful Triglav National Park. Domen Strle, our virtual tour guide and travel agent, chose excellent places for us to stay and activities including hiking, fly-fishing and touring. Without his intimate knowledge of the area and his responsiveness to our questions, we would have had a difficult time planning such a trip (our first to Slovenia). He quickly accommodated last-minute changes to our schedule (e.g., an unplanned but very worthwhile stop in Lubljana; changing the day of our fishing trip), and provided feedback on activities we discovered en route. Altogether, the trip was planned just enough to avoid the stress of finding places to stay and eat, but with enough flexibility to allow spontaneous, spur-of-the-moment activities. The ability to switch digitally from places on the overall trip plan to Google maps driving instructions made navigation easy and painless. It made for a very diverse and fascinating trip, which we enjoyed immensely.