Kimkim Trip Reviews

We had a wonderful trip to Vietnam and Cambodia with Asia Aventura: the culture in both countries was so rich and diverse, with immersive rural visits, shows, and truly incredible historical sites. The food of course was fantastic, thanks to recommendations from our guides, from street food to our own cooking course. All in all the trip was well-paced, comfortable, and full of memories we will treasure forever. Our guides Nhan, My, Sang, Lee and Sen were so friendly, knowledgeable, and fun. And thank you Trang for putting it all together and making our honeymoon so special! We would highly recommend Asia Aventura to anyone who wants to discover the beauty and charm of Vietnam and Cambodia.

The transportation team was great, they gave us enough time to gather together; mostly on time.
Tacotel receptionist was most helpful; I believe she is the assistant manager. She made sure everyone was taken cared off; she helped us book extra tours; the kids love the Baldy Hotspring side trip; overall they enjoyed every moment.
Maria one of the tour guides on the rainforest hike in Fortuna, left in the middle of the hike and just directed us to go to the waterfalls.
Be that it may we made it back

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Heliconia

Monteverde

Stunning views, sunset was amazing seen from balcony;, saw some exotic birds, from the balcony and from the dinning room ; food was excellent

Authenticity & Character

Love the architecture,

Location

Quite, away from main business areas

Staff

Friendly and courteous

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cleaning ladies came in everyday, spa was excellent

Holiday Inn Express San Jose Airport

San Jose

Clean and spacious

Authenticity & Character

Easy access to elevator

Location

Close to airport 10-15 minutes

Staff

Friendly and accomodating

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean bathroom

Hampton by Hilton San José Airport

Alajuela

Spacious rooms, front desk smells like chlorox

Authenticity & Character

Spacious rooms and bathrooms

Location

Close to airport 10-15 minutes, walking distance to Dennys

Staff

Friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bathroom is clean

Hotel Lavas Tacotal

Fortuna, San Carlos

We had a hard time with the door locks, need to turn 4x clockwise or counterclockwise to open the room; otherwise everything was great

Authenticity & Character

Away from the main city, nice quiet

Location

Beautiful scenery, away from crowds, best sushi and ramen place next door

Staff

Friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Garden maintenance was superb, laundry room not for guest -needs organization; pools were fun

Activity Reviews

Coffee, Chocolate & Sugar Cane Experience

Monteverde

3 in one tour is the best coffee, chocolate and sugar cane; we even get to meet Don Juan the owner of the ranch; educational, fun and tasted sugar cane; freshly made chocolate from the seeds

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cloud Forest Reserve Hike

Monteverde

Guides were good at pointing out interesting birds, tarantulas and fauna

Sloth Discovery Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

Did not see much sloth

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Eternal Rainforest Night Walk

Monteverde

Fireflies, frogs, dense forest exciting night walk

Quality of Experience

Worth the walk and experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly and enthusiastic

Transport

On time

Río Peñas Blancas Safari Float Experience

Arenal/La Fortuna

The local term for jip-bo-Jip - means land to water to land; Fortuna to the lake to Monteverdi; delightful ride, with the sailor stopping at interesting points to show us more birds and fauna

Quality of Experience

Fun, refreshing and great sight seeing

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendliness and points out interesting sighting along the way, birds

Transport

On time , clean and friendly have extra water for passengers

Sky Adventures Hanging Bridges

Arenal/La Fortuna

Fun and beautiful, hanging bridges were a treatsa

Quality of Experience

A chance to connect with nature and reset perspective of life

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly

Transport

On time,friendly

Arenal Volcano Horseback Adventure

Arenal/La Fortuna

Kids loved it, it was one of his favorite things to do

Quality of Experience

Perfect shape of the volcano

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly and knows the types of fruits that grow around

Transport

On time and clean

Venado Cave Spelunking & Exploring

Arenal/La Fortuna

Mainly the kids enjoyed it; I’m basically claustrophobic; I did not finish the entire route; but the guide was nice enough to come back for me and Protima Beautiful cave though

Quality of Experience

Natural rock formations inside

Guides, Drivers and Staff

He was fun and entertaining

Transport

On time

It was my first time using KimKim and I would definitely do it again! My travel advisor, Tricia, was fantastic! She was super responsive and made planning our first trip to Norway so easy and enjoyable! With a little information from me, Tricia put together a fantastic tour that took us from Oslo to Flam to Bergen. Our hotels were fantastic! Even with a little blip in the plan in Oslo, she easily changed our hotel to The Thief which was wonderful. Our tour guide in Oslo, Stig, made Oslo come to life (and the city was closed due to the Easter holiday!). The train to Flam was stunning! Tricia took care of our tickets for everything - it was 5 star from beginning to end!

Thank you Tricia!

We had one of the most amazing trip to Portugal , all arranged through KimKim, with absolutely no hassles and totally satisfying. Our agent Rita Pagano of Espirito travel put together an itinerary taking into account our interests. All the discussions were easily done through email and chats. Rita was very prompt to answer our questions and concerns and was amazing in putting together the itinerary in an app which was extremely useful. The app was superb and contained links to all the places we visited, directions to the tour meeting points with one click and contact numbers. WE DID NOT NEED any paper copies. There was also a chat option in case we faced any difficulties, which we did not use at all. Everything went smoothly as planned with absolutely no glitches, even minor.
Hotel Portugal in Lisbon was extremely nice, five star quality and service.
Food tour in Lisbon with Danni was truly amazing. Danni was extremely good and she wasso passionate about her job and we felt we never had a better food tour anywhere else in Europe( we have travelled widely)
Trip to Cintra with Martha was another highlight. She was very knowledgeable and extremely articulate and gave us a delightful tour with precise history of the place and country and took us to a local restaurant for lunch which we all enjoyed. The cuisine was delicious. Would love to travel with Martha again.
Journey from Lisbon to Porto was very nice. Paulo who took us was a star. He again was very nice, articulate and knowledgeable. He went out of his way and took us to small towns to show us the local culture and cuisine. Will never forget the piglet lunch in a local restaurant. Paulo was very caring and did an excellent job.
Stay in a Hotel in Porto , although branded as belonging to Hilton, was a bit disappointing. The staff was very nice but overall lacking in facilities with very small rooms. Lost water supply in the middle of a shower and had to wait 2 hours before the water supply was restored.
Trip to Duro valley with river cruise and wine tasting withNelson was superb. Nelson was so good and treated us very well to the extend that by the end of the trip he was part of our family and the highlight was a dinner in a local restaurant near Nelson’s home. We will miss Nelson.
Walking tour of Porto with Celia was also good and enlightening. She showed us the old and new parts of the city and even treated us with coffee and snacks.
The trip back to Lisbon from Porto was with Gustavo, who again was very good and he took us to a restaurant for lunch and we will never forget the Fish Cataplana which we all had and the fish was so fresh.
Finally the icing on the cake was dinner at a local home in Lisbon with Margarida. She was a very welcoming, warm and charming host who prepared an excellent cod fish dish which her mother used to make. Overall it was a five star experience.
The eight days we spend in Portugal and put together by Rita was amazing and something unforgettable.
Would recommend KimKim and espirito travel without any hesitation.

Overall it was a wonderful journey of beauty and discovery. Our driver/guide Faysel was knowledgeable and friendly. His English was clear and easily understandable. He was also a great driver and we always felt safe with him behind the wheel. His understanding of his country and his culture was broad and passionate. He was always on time to pick us up and happy to see us. We loved the Atlas Mountains and the Tiziri Luxury Camp in the Sahara which was a true highlight for us. Learning about the Berber people was enlightening. the food was great, the tents much more comfortable than expected, and the music made at night by a campfire by camp staff was moving and rousing. Fez and Marrakesh are a must-see but prepare yourself for a cadre of aggressive salespeople in the streets. I think the city we enjoyed the most was the seaside town of Essaouira. It runs on a much mellower vibe. The merchants are much less aggressive and the prices of goods are much lower than in Fez and Marrakesh. Overall it was a wonderful adventure and we are the better for it.

We really enjoyed our Santiago city tour with Felipe, as well as the volcano hike with Ermine and Ricardo. Renting the car was perfect as we then had so much flexibility fitting everything in on the itinerary and more. The lodging in Santiago and Pucon were adequate, however the 3 other hotels were exceptional. A more itemized summary of our trip itinerary costs would have been helpful I regards to tipping and knowing what all was included, e.g. admission to Termas Geometricas. We did so appreciate Jesse getting back to us for clarifications and reimbursements throughout the trip even when it happened to be on the weekend!
I would not hesitate to use Kimkim again for future travels.
Sincerely,
Marian

Our guide, William Berry, from Black Cab Heritage Tours, was fantastic!!! His knowledge of London and beyond is unbelievable! He went above and beyond to make us happy. He worked many long days educating us about your beautiful country! He was funny, kind, caring and considerate. So worried about our well being at all times. Whatever you pay this gentleman, you should pay him twice that amount! :)

Hotel Reviews

Arches B&B

St Austell

It's a very quaint house. The rooms are up a steep flight of stairs so this will not suit everyone. The rooms are decorated beautifully, very cozy and clean.

Authenticity & Character

The rooms, and the owner was very personable.

Location

It's set back off of a busy road with no where to walk to for food or sightseeing.

Staff

The owner was very accommodating and kind.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The rooms were great. Just he steep stairs were difficult to navigate with luggage.

Duke of Cornwall Hotel

Plymouth

This hotel is lovely!! It was built in 1863 and it retains the charm of that time period. Really clean and friendly staff. The restaurant was good, too.

Authenticity & Character

Authentic Victorian in every way!

Location

Right downtown so easy to walk the city

Staff

So friendly and helpful :)

Cleanliness & Comfort

No complaints!

ibis Styles London Gloucester Road

London

Very nice hotel. Staff was warm and welcoming. The Continental breakfast was top notch. My only complaint was the room was so very small. Hard to move around in.

Authenticity & Character

An old historic place

Location

Right downtown London

Staff

They were very warm and welcoming and willing to help us in any way.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cleanliness was perfect but the rooms were very cramped.

Activity Reviews

Downton Abbey, Cotswolds and Highclere Castle Private Tour from London

London

It was ok. A very long drive to get there and it was a bit disappointing, actually.

Quality of Experience

Nothing. Just a long drive for not much to see

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver, William was fantastic. So patient with us! :)

Transport

Everything! Bill is the best!

Full-Day Tudor Tour to Hampton Court Palace and Hever Castle

London

There are not enough superlatives to describe this place!

Quality of Experience

Everything was presented so very well

Guides, Drivers and Staff

William Berry is the best, and the staff guides were so helpful

Transport

William Berry and Black Cab Heritage Tours are the best!

Black Taxi Beatles Private Tour - Explore Abbey Road

London

So fun to actually see where the Beatles recorded their music and the places in the city where they lived or performed

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

William Berry was great

Transport

William pointing out Beatles sites as we drove around

Private day trip to Windsor Castle

England

An amazing historical day! To actually experience what we learn in history books was fabulous!

Quality of Experience

Awe inspiring

Guides, Drivers and Staff

William Berry is fantastic!

Transport

William Berry got us there safely and back home safely :)

Historical Pub Walking Tour of London

London

This was so informative and fun!

Quality of Experience

The guide was knowledgeable and fun

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Everything

Hop-on, Hop-off Bus

London

We got there too late the first day to really use this service. The second day we used it some. Not sure I'd bother with it ever again. The town shuts down at 6 pm so it can't be used at night.

Quality of Experience

Private transfer to your accommodation. Then check-in or bag-drop

London

Both trips were fast and the service was great

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a fantastic trip to Costa Rica! Our guide, Bryan, was fantastic. He was super responsive before and during the trip, and he was very patient in answering all of our questions. The KimKim service was well worth the fee and led to a more relaxing, enjoyable vacation for our family. We would not hesitate to use KimKim again for our next trip!

We fully enjoyed our family trip to Greece. Every single one of our transports and tour guides were top notch. The hotels recommended were fantastic and in safe and accessible locations. I feel that we were able to maximize our experience of Greece with the short amount of time we were there. Athens had a lot to offer. Naxos was gorgeous, just wish the weather held out for us. Santorini was absolutely amazing and full of adventure; one of the most scenic places I have ever been. The experience would definitely not have been as pleasant without your coordination.

The only thing I would suggest for improvement would be the advertisement of the hot tub at the Illoperato in Santorini. Should be advertised as a slightly heated pool. Never did get warm enough for me to get in, but the kids enjoyed it! :)

Having Raquel plan our trip for our family of five took the stress out of it and made the trip so much more enjoyable. She gave us several itineraries to choose from and balanced self guided and guided tours very well. We especially enjoyed our guide, Danny, in Barcelona. Barcelona was the highlight of our trip. The tapas welcome was also perfect for our arrival and welcome to Spain. I would definitely book another trip through Kim Kim and recommend it to others.

This was our wedding anniversary trip!
Claudia did a fabulous and amazing trip plan for us. She truly knows the entire region very well.
Here communications skill are excellent and her response timely. The locations we visited were incredible and the tours and staff were very good and knowledgeable made it easy to follow.
Argentina is an amazing country with so many different regions ,climate and the people are so friendly like where we are from , Iran!
The sites visited in both Argentina and Rio were. Amazing, thanks once more to the planning and hard work by Claudia. We will recommend your company and team to our friends and colleagues!!

Many thanks, sadik and Nasrin

Activity Reviews

Full-Day Corcovado & Sugar Loaf

Rio de Janeiro

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half-Day Tijuca Forest by Jeep

Rio de Janeiro

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Brazilian Falls tour

Argentina

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The tour guide was very knowledgeable

Full-Day Iguazú Falls Argentine side

Puerto Iguazú

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Nautical Safari tour

El Calafate

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full-Day Perito Moreno Glacier

El Calafate

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dinner & Tango Show

Buenos Aires

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half-Day Buenos Aires City Tour

Buenos Aires

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We just had the most amazing trip to Italy! My sister and I were with our 80 year old mother, and we visited Venice, Florence and Rome, and couldn't be happier with how it went and all that we experienced. Irine Lappa was a perfect vacation planner and her team missed no detail. The timing of the itinerary was perfect - the the right amount of time for transitions, it was not harried, just the perfect pace. All of our connections were just as planned, and all of the tour guides were so knowledgeable, warm and so welcoming. We loved our tour of Venice with Marie with Liv Tours, she was fun and passionate about Venice. And Monica (Be local with Monica) gave us an amazing tour of Murano - such a fun day! In Florence, our guide Antonella gave us an expert's highlights tour - she was truly one of our highlights of the whole trip. We loved our excursion throughout Tuscany - Marco with Florencetown tours was so great. It was really enriching being with a couple from Brazil and a couple from the UK to experience this beautiful countryside and hear each other's stories. Lastly, in Rome after an amazing visit to the Colosseum and a wonderful tour with Barbara with Liv Tours at the Vatican (we skipped the line everywhere - I can't tell you how helpful this was!), we enjoyed a super fun Roman food tour of the Trastevere with Aly. Irene and her team were in contact with us throughout the trip, and super responsive. They even communicated with one of our hotels about our mother's birthday, and the hotel surprised us with a cake! All of our hotels were just stunning, centrally located, welcoming and helpful. I highly recommend Irene and her team at KimKim - our trip was just the best!

Hotel Reviews

Martis Palace Hotel Rome

Rome

This modern hotel was smaller than the other two, but the staff was still very attentive. The breakfast room was a bit smaller, but the food was good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Santa Maria Novella

Florence

This hotel was our favorite, thanks to its amazing location and beautiful rooms. The breakfast was great, and the staff was attentive. The only downside was that our triple room had just one bathroom for the three of us.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Splendid Venice - Starhotel

Venice

This charming hotel in Venice had two adjoining rooms and two bathrooms, which was perfect for our group of three. The staff was attentive, and the location was beautiful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Trastevere Afternoon Aperitivo & Food Tour

Rome

We joined a small group for an afternoon food tour in Trastevere, which featured a mix of international travelers. The food was great, and it was a fun experience overall.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vatican Guided Tour

Rome

We had an amazing small group tour of the Vatican, learning about its history and art.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chianti Wine & Olive Oil Tour from Florence

Florence

This small group tour took us through the Tuscan countryside, where we tasted wine and olive oil at various locations. It was a delightful experience. We even got to bring home some wine and olive oil.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Florence Highlights Tour With Uffizi Galleries

Florence

Our knowledgeable guide, Antonella, showed us the highlights of Florence, including the Uffizi Galleries. You would have thought she has a degree in art with her extensive knowledge. It was perfect for us, as we got to see the most important pieces. We recommend having a guide for this tour unless you already know a lot about art.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Murano Glass Demonstration & Walking Tour

Venice

We enjoyed a private group walking tour in Murano and visited a glass workshop. The glassmaking demonstration was fascinating, although was slightly touristy.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I decided to try kimkim because there many different elements of travelling to Argentina that I wanted to combine, including a focus on seeing Orcas in the Valdes Peninsula, which has long been a dream of mine. Without the specialized and in-depth advice from Francesca and her team I would never have been able to plan this trip myself- or at the very least not without investing weeks of research! She was always super responsive (even going beyond the call of duty in answering smaller questions and offering tips) and her suggestions were completely spot on regarding tours and activities. During the trip, everything was organised seemlessly, with all trips/drivers/reservations having been planned perfectly. I have already recommended kimkim to friends and family, and can only do the same here!

Hotel Reviews

Oceano Patagonia Wild Coast Residence

Puerto Piramides

It is drfinitely the best ootion in the area. The homemade breakfast brought to the room is a lovely touch. But it really needs a coat of paint as well as the heating and water pressure/temp fixed- we were cold most of our stay.

Staff

Once again, very friendly staff

Alto Andino Hotel

Ushuaia

Excellent room and hotel! Staff goes above and beyond the call of duty and the breakfast is good too.

Staff

Fantastic- helpful & friendly!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lagos Del Calafate

El Calafate

The staff is friendly and helpful, apart from the night receptionist who kept disappearing and was not available when we had to find someone to help us to quieten the groups hanging around the reception at 1am (we had to be up at 6am). The standard of the facilities is more 3 star and I do not recommend eating dinner there. Also, ensure you do not have a room near the dining hall because it is so loud you cant get a good nights sleep.

Hilton Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Facilities a little aged but the service friendly and the food good- particularly breakfast

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very central

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

It was fine because we were in an executive room with access to the lounge, otherwise the room facilities (coffee/tea etc) would not be acceptable

Activity Reviews

Fly to Trelew and transfer to Puerto Piramide in the Valdez Peninsula

Puerto Madryn

Andi was a star during our whole time in Puerto Piramide- super helpful and flexible. We immensely enjoyed our conversations with him and were grateful for all the tips too.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer from Puerto Piramide to visit San Lorenzo's Magellanic Penguin Colony

Puerto Madryn

We were suprised at the price for what was effectively a 10minute walk amongst penguins. We were only told any information when we asked questions. The food was also a little disappointing. Also, there seems to have been a mix-up with the payment, which we havr the suspicion was in purpose to get us to pay for everything twice.

Quality of Experience

Food

Suprised that the meat was so tough

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Distantly friendly, but not really helpful informative

Half day Trek to Laguna Esmeralda - Afternoon

Ushuaia

Our driver and guide were fantastic! Noelia was suler knowledgeable, even as the weather turned she guided us expertly on the trail.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Café de los Angelitos: Dinner and Tango Show (VIP Menu)

Buenos Aires

Absolute delight! The food and wine was surprisingly good too for it being all inclusive!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This was an incredibly executed trip by KimKim through Thanos from Athens Insiders Greece. Through the entire planning process and the trip Thanos was very helpful and communicative. Everything he selected for us from the hotels to the Acropolis & Flavours Combo Tour, day trip to Delphi and the classic Santorini tour were perfect. We appreciated the time he took to video call us before the trip to explain the itinerary and answer any of our questions and he met us for coffee in Athens and the conversation was so easy and enjoyable. He was genuinely interested in making sure we had a wonderful experience keeping in touch by WhatsApp, for example in Mykonos he realized the day of the scheduled Delos tour was forecasted to rain and suggested to reschedule to the next day. The day of the tour the weather was perfection and we dubbed it ‘Thanos approved Day’ 😁 We have to specially mention the tour guides Anastasia, Georgiana and Tanya who were so knowledgeable and genuinely happy to share their culture with us. For ease of planning a trip to Greece, we highly recommend KimKim and the team from Athens Insiders they are professional, timely, knowledgeable and so friendly!

Hotel Reviews

Ilio Maris Hotel

Mykonos

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Atlantis Hotel Santorini

Firá

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

NLH Monastiraki

Athens

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Ancient Delos Excursion

Mykonos

Unfortunately our guide did not seem to be having the best day, she had some difficulty in articulating her information and indicated as she wasn’t licensed couldn’t walk us up the hill. Based on the tours we previously experienced in Athens and Santorini, the tour guide having pictures in hand to help visualize the ancient times would be an asset. Despite this, we still enjoyed a beautiful sunny day on the island.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All Time Classic Santorini

Santorini

Tanya and Stelios were wonderful, very friendly and you can tell they genuinely enjoyed sharing their knowledge. The weather wasn’t perfect, a bit cloudy and windy but we still enjoyed learning about ancient Santorini. The wine museum is one of the best museums I’ve experienced so informative with wonderful artifacts.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Divine Delphi and Arachova Day Trip

Greece

Our driver (can’t remember his name) was so friendly and wonderful to converse with. Our tour guide Georgina was fantastic! With the use of pictures she made it easy for us to understand ancient Delphi the history and culture!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Acropolis & Flavors Combo Tour

Athens

Anastasia was so friendly and knowledgeable, genuinely excited to share information on the culture and the food! She bought us so many things from the market as well!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Austin made great suggestions for hotels, places to eat and sights to see! He was attentive to details and responded in a timely matter to our comments and questions. He made our trip most enjoyable and memorable. Great job Austin and thank you!
Valerie and Patrick

Lorena and her KimKim team planned and executed a wonderful itinerary for us. We greatly appreciated that drivers taking us to/from airports were reliable and punctual. The guides in Santiago (Soledad) and Easter Island (from Mahina Tour but can't remember her name) were excellent. We loved Patagonia but not the hotel Lago Grey. Every other place we stayed was charming and memorable. All in all, a great trip.

Hotel Reviews

Lodge Terrantai

San Pedro de Atacama

Loved our stay here. Even when the afternoon tour was canceled due to weather, we enjoyed staying at the hotel. GREAT staff, very helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Christian and Carola were friendly and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Boutique Le Reve

Santiago

Charming and lovely boutique hotel. Great breakfasts, wonderful staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Lago Grey

Torres del Paine

The setting is majestic but probably our least favorite stay.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The entire hotel needs major update. Feels like a 3 star place when it has so much better potential. Mediocre dining.

Hotel Simple Patagonia

Puerto Natales

The hotel is, as the name suggests, very simple. But our favorite dinners of the Chilean trip were at their dining room. Quite the culinary treat!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Not close to town

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Boutique La Yegua Loca

Punta Arenas

Very eclectic, very charming. The room was bright and spacious. The restaurant / dinner was outstanding. They introduced us to the Calafate Sour and we loved our stay here.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to stunning overlook view of the city

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Hare Uta

Rapa Nui

Greatly enjoyed our stay here. The hotel was located on beautiful grounds with an authentic French Polynesian feel. Delicious dinner and wonderful staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

30 minute walk to center of town, 5 minutes to airport

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Holiday Inn Santiago - Airport Terminal

Santiago

Convenient but understaffed.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hike from Sarmiento Lake to Amarga Lagoon

Chile

Loved our hike. The driver and guide were great. THIS felt like what we wanted to experience in Patagonia!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour to Torres del Paine National Park with Overnight

Chile

We wish that the experience was more intimate. Loved seeing the National Park, but it was the only big group tour of our trip, which was disappointing.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Penguin Colony on Magdalena Island

Chile

Didn't see the thousands of penguins that were described by KimKim, but still enjoyed the experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour of Punta Arenas

Punta Arenas

Not a highlight of our touring experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boat Trip to Glacier Grey

Chile

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Afternoon Tour to Ahu Akivi

Easter Island

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Loved our guide (wish we could remember her name!)

Transport

Santiago City Tour

Santiago

We saw so much in our introduction to the city.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Soledad was awesome. The driver Alejandro was great too.

Transport

Explore the Atacama Salt Flats & Lagoons

San Pedro de Atacama

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Valparaíso & Wine Tour

Santiago

What a pleasant surprise. The wine tour was ok, but we loved Valparaiso.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Morning Tour to Orongo

Easter Island

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour of Tatio Geysers

San Pedro de Atacama

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Dinner Experience

Santiago

The private dinner was a highlight of our trip. Not only was the dinner delicious; the hosts were extraordinarily kind. Loved it!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Easter Island Highlights Tour

Easter Island

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a transition from Daniel to Lucia around November. So will start off to say that Daniel was AMAZING. Lucia was really good as well - very friendly and responsive. Also we had a fantastic trip, so that’s the most important part. Ecuador is beautiful and we enjoyed each day immensely!

What could have bumped both ratings to five stars:
- we could have benefited from more attention to detail. For example our Sierra Negra hike was 10 miles, which we didn’t know about until the morning of from the guide.
- some of the transport seemed like overkill. I’m some instances we had a taxi drive us for what could have been a 5 min walk.
- would have liked to have an itemized list of cost breakdown. At times I wondered, “what’s the mark-up for going with KimKim?”

Best guides:
- Israel for the Quito city tour. So knowledgeable and personal! Felt like we were getting a great locals perspective.
- Carmen on the first snorkeling trip. Really knowledgeable and friendly.
- Javier on the second snorkeling trip. Really well prepared and adjusted took videos of our snorkeling excursion which was an awesome bonus.

Guides that could have been better:
- both guides for the Cotopaxi and Sierra Negra hikes had poor communication and didn’t set many expectations. We also didn’t learn much from them during those hikes. Finally, the bikes on the Cotopaxi tour were broken down and unsafe.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Deja Vu Galapagos

Pto. Ayora

Close to town and generally clean. Can be noisy at times though and lots of loud children. Rooms were dated. Breakfast wasn’t as good as Kitu.

Authenticity & Character

Good beach side place. A bit run down.

Location

Right on the edge of town. Perfect

Staff

Staff helpfulness varied. Had an issue with loud kids at 10am one night that the staff wasn’t addressing so I had to intervene directly which was awkward and frustrating.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Had to chase out a cockroach the first night. Overall the rooms were clean, but the sheets felt really old. Plumbing was dated.

Kitu Hotel

Quito

FANTASTIC hotel. Really friendly staff, the BEST and breakfasts and the room was perfect and even had a deck.

Authenticity & Character

The wood floors and tile work was amazing.

Location

Close to a nice part of town.

Staff

Very helpful and friendly! One even let me practice Spanish with him.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean.

Hotel La Jungla

Puerto Villamil

Felt more like a hostel and really dated room. But friendly staff and great view from our treehouse room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Great view of the beach from our room!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Really dated and sheets here felt really old.

Activity Reviews

Excursion to Los Túneles

Galapagos Islands

Quality of Experience

Great time seeing and learning about the blue footed boobies. Such a cool bird!!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Javier was amazing!

Transport

Experience the Pristine Beauty of Galápagos Islands: Discovering an Uninhabited Island

Puerto Ayora

Quality of Experience

Food

Fantastic food and drink service!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Boat staff was top notch!

Transport

Sierra Negra volcano - Speedboat to Santa Cruz

Galapagos Islands

Quality of Experience

See below.

Food

Had to share half my lunch with someone else. Really paltry portions given the hike length.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Driver was late. Terrible communication from the guide. Ended up just hiking on our own.

Transport

Late driver.

Wildlife Tour on Isabela Island

Galapagos Islands

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Carmen was awesome!! Really fun and knowledgeable

Transport

Fun boat ride!

Biking day Cotopaxi National Park

Ecuador

Loved the experience of Cotopaxi. The guides and tour itself were terrible.

Quality of Experience

See rest of comments.

Food

The lunch portions were laughably tiny. The whole tour was pretty annoyed.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide wasn’t very informative and didn’t really set expectations for what we were in for. During meals and downtime they just went into a corner.

Transport

Colonial City Tour, Cooking Class & the Middle of the World Monument

Quito

Our guide (Israel) made this a great excursion. Learned a lot!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Santa Cruz Island: Highlands & Charles Darwin Research Station

Puerto Ayora

Quality of Experience

Everything.

Food

The restaurant at the tortoise center was top notch!! Best meal of the trip.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Enrique was awesome! You could tell he was passionate about wildlife.

Transport

Daniel and Lucia at KimKim helped to plan our trip to Ecuador - listening to our needs and wants then catering the trip to our wishlist. The initial trip was planned for March 2020 and was delayed due to Covid. Finally, when we were ready- Kimkim helped to make this trip a reality. We visited Quito, Cotopaxi, and the Galápagos Islands. Their efforts allowed us to relax and enjoy all of the beauty of Ecuador- including fantastic active excursions (hiking Sierra Negra, Volcán Cotopaxi; snorkeling with penguins, sea lions, and sharks; and learning the rich history of Ecuador) without being concerned with logistics. Each of our excursions was special and unique- our favorite being visiting Tintoreas with Carmen, full day Quito tour with a cooking class with Israel, snorkeling at Bartholem, and snorkeling at Los Tuneles with Javier. Thank you Daniel and Lucia for being our main points of contact, answering our questions, and planning an unforgettable adventure!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel La Jungla

Puerto Villamil

Nice hotel at the edge of town. A little outdated and no room lockbox. Could use some upgrades but staff were pleasant and helpful

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Deja Vu Galapagos

Pto. Ayora

Authenticity & Character

Location

Easy walk into town

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Some challenges with bugs

Kitu Hotel

Quito

We had a room with a balcony overlooking Quito. The room was clean and comfortable. The staff were helpful and supportive.

Authenticity & Character

Enjoyed the breakfast

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sierra Negra volcano - Speedboat to Santa Cruz

Ecuador

Seeing the Sierra Negra was worth the experience. It was a 12 mile hike which took all morning. Group was very large and the guide struggled to help everyone

Quality of Experience

Food

Fine, a box lunch

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide struggled with the large group and bringing 20+ people on a 12 mile hike. As avid hikers we were fine, but worried about others during the experience

Transport

Excursion to Los Túneles

Ecuador

Opportunity to see blue footed boobies, Tortugas, and sea horses! Javier was a great guide even took pictures on his go pro he shared with us after!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wildlife Tour on Isabela Island

Ecuador

Carmen was a great guide - showing us wildlife and taking us snorkeling! We even had seals come join us on our snorkeling adventure!

Quality of Experience

Food

N/a

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Santa Cruz Island: Highlands & Charles Darwin Research Station

Puerto Ayora

Arriving on the Galapagos, this is a great way to get introduced to the islands!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Experience the Pristine Beauty of Galápagos Islands: Discovering an Uninhabited Island

Puerto Ayora

Great last day activity! The boat staff were amazing. Had the best snorkeling experience of our life! Saw penguins, shark, starfish, sea lions and more! Learned a lot about the geological history of the Galapagos!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Biking day Cotopaxi National Park

Ecuador

Cotopaxi is beautiful. We enjoyed seeing wild horses and a fox. We hiked and bikes on Volcán Cotopaxi. Expectations were not clear so didn’t realize the hike was going to happen, so didn’t pack all of the right gear. Our guide didn’t share too much on Cotopaxi itself - so might consider a different tour group

Quality of Experience

Food

Lunch was fine, just the whole group could have eaten more :)

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Colonial City Tour, Cooking Class & the Middle of the World Monument

Quito

Full day of history in Quito. The cooking class was special. We could have walked more throughout downtown Quito. Felt a bit rushed in the afternoon trying to get everything in

Quality of Experience

Food

Chef was fantastic. We learned so much about Ecuadorian food and ate well doing so!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Israel was knowledgeable and provided tons of information on the history of Ecuador

Transport

Nice and easy to get around. Nice to have the car. Could have also walked more.

Incredible trip
Excellent guides
Everyone welcoming and very helpful and friendly
Meteora day trip unforgettable
Athens a city of such history
Angela always there and so helpful and made our trip memorable! Cant wait to be back

Our trip was a father/son adventure entitled Passion Pursuit. It was conceived to explore the natural and environmental interests of my 14-year-old son, Theo. Given the incredible breadth of what's on offer in Costa Rica, we quickly became overwhelmed with how to put this trip together. Then we discovered kimkim and were introduced to Charlotte. With her tenured experience in the area and her responsiveness to our preferences, she built out a dream trip for us spanning from the Osa Penninsula and Corcovado, up the coast through Manuel Antonio and on to Monteverde, and ultimately concluding in the Arenal volcano region. Over 16 days we enjoyed a perfect balance of scheduled activities and time to explore and chill out on our own. I could write a novel to describe the details, but here are some of our trip highlights:
- Flying in over the beach at Drake Bay between the palm trees and watching the horses run alongside the old runway as we touched down. Following this our driver told us to hang on as we crossed the bridge. Of course there was no bridge and we drove the 4-wheel-drive through the river to the other side. This was exactly the kind of adventure we were after.
- The stunning hotel Copa del Arbol (water access only)became our base as we explored the region with guided experiences for the next four days — all beginning with being scooped up off the beach each morning around 6am for jungle hikes and snorkelling adventures. Two days straight we found ourselves surrounded by pods of False Killer Whales, an incredibly uncommon experience. One amazing highlight was to watch flying fish skimming the surface alongside our boat, only to see them being chased by a Sailfish — the beautiful translucent purple fin flying at full speed alongside us. We finished each day body surfing along one of the many pristine beaches reached by short trails from the hotel.
- We then picked up our car in Sierpe and started our self-guided drive up the coast. More wonderful wildlife sightings and amazing kayak adventures in the mangrove forest outside Manuel Antonio. Stunning clean beaches and beautiful views. All of the locals we encountered were very friendly and helpful. It became clear to us that Pura Vida was not simply a marketing tagline but an authentic descriptor woven into their way of life.
- About midway through the trip I started to experience a loss of hearing. I texted Charlotte before 8am on a Sunday morning and within the hour I had an appointment at a modern full-service clinic in Uvita where the staff were waiting for me. A quick procedure and all was well — apparently this is quite common with the heat and humidity (and the surf play) to cause the ears to plug. I was so impressed with Charlotte's attention and responsiveness. This was unexpected and really appreciated.
- Leaving the coast behind, the drive through the foothills up to Monteverde was stunningly beautiful. Our base for the following days was the lovely Hotel Belmar and it felt as though we had entered a completely different world in the mountains. Cool, breezy and with sunset views for hundreds of miles. We really enjoyed this portion of the trip. We had super informative guided experiences and many significant bird sightings.
- On our tour of the hanging bridges through the tree canopies, we spotted the amazing Resplendent Quetzal. Over two days we were so fortunate to spot both a male and female! An addition, our guide Andreas brought us on a tour of the jungle after dark and, as a bonus, gave us a lesson on nighttime photography which made our images remarkable.
In conclusion, we found Costa Rica to be safe, friendly and easy to navigate. We loved how each area was unique and unspoiled from tourism development. Charlotte put together an amazing and diverse itinerary with truly lovely hotels (we often found that we had the best rooms on offer) and terrific culinary experiences. It was a trip to remember and I would highly recommend kimkim to anyone.