Kimkim Trip Reviews

Where can I start reviewing my trip to Guatemala? From the beginning Eduardo was amazing in answering all of my questions and planning the trip the way we wanted it. He knew how important it was for us to visit Guatemala after living for 40 years abroad. He planned our trip where not only we learned about the culture, but saw amazing places and met very interesting people.

From the moment Don David (our driver for the duration of the trip) picked us up at at airport until the moment we finalize out trip, his service was extraordinary. He drove us from Guatemala City to Antigua Guatemala. Quetzaltenango, Solola, Chichicastenango, back to Guatemala City (at 3:45 am) for us to take the plane to visit Tikal, picking us up at the airport again, take us to the Hotel Barcelo and picking us up again at 4:30 am to go back tot he airport. His service was incredible. He was always very cordial and will let us know about places and landmarks he thought were interesting or important for us to know.

Now about our tour guides throughout the trip. First, let me tell you about our primary guide, Diana. Such a young, energetic and fantastic tour guide. She is extremely knowledgeable about Guatemala's history. She not only took her time to explain to us each of the places we visited, but also gave us ample time to take pictures, make purchases, eat, and look around. Diana never made us feel rushed and never left us alone in any of the places we visited. She took her time to explain the places we traveled to even told us about the other trips she has done with other groups.

Don Oscar in Chichicastenango was great! The place is incredible. Don Oscar was super knowledgeable about Chichicastenango and its history. If you love to buy items traditional from Guatemala, Chichicastenango is your place.

Don Oliverio (tour guide) and Fernando (driver) in Tikal: From the moment our plane landed in Flores, Don Oliverio and Fernando were already waiting for us. They both made sure we had what we needed for this trip. Our recommendation is to plan to buy bug spray, sun screen and water once you get to Flores (They took the sun screen and bug spray at the airport in Guatemala). Before we started the tour, they took us to a store to buy these items. Don Oliverio explained to us from the temples, royal houses, plants, animals, to the history of the Mayas in Peten.

The hotels: excellent! No other words to describe the cleanliness, comfort and service. In every hotel, we had complementary breakfasts (which were delicious). My favorite hotel: San Buenaventura Hotel in Lake Atitlan. We had our breakfast overlooking the lake and volcano. Amazing experience.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Barcelo

Guatemala City

I've been extremely blessed to have traveled to many places around the globe. Hotel Barcelo is for sure a 5 Star Hotel!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very close to the airport

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

San Buenaventura Hotel

Panajachel, Sololá

Loved this hotel. We were able to have breakfast right on the garden overlooking the lake and volcano.

Authenticity & Character

Loved all of the pictures hanging around.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Boutique Casa Morasan

Quetzaltenango

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The beds were super comfortable. Very nice suite

Casa Antigua

Antigua

We stayed two different nights in this hotel. The first room was very very, but the second one, was extraordinary! Very good service and breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right in the middle of town and super close to everything. Loved the store right next door,

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Explore Tikal National Park

San Ignacio

The history and amazing architecture is incredible!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Chichicastenango Market

Lake Atitlán

The colors!!!! They were so vivid all throughout this tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fuentes Georginas

Guatemala

If you are looking for a place to relax and enjoy the health benefits of these water, you must definitely visit Fuentes Georginas.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Antigua Historic Walking Tour

Antigua

Diana was our Tour Guide. She was very punctual and started the tour on time. Very knowledgeable. She never rushed us. We were able to take pictures, buy things and look around. She never minded repeating information or answering our questions.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I want to commend Margoth and the entire team we worked with for the wonderful work they do. I was looking to plan a vacation with my mom when I came across the KimKim website. From the curiosity phase they were quick and friendly. Once I committed, they made sure we were prepared for our trip by contacting us ahead of time with important details like immigration forms and a summary of what to expect ahead of the trip. The hotels as guides were A+. David the guide in Bogota was extremely knowledgeable, patient, and kind. All of our drivers were also very punctual and made sure to stay on schedule. The restaurant recommendations we also superb. On our second leg, we went to Cartagena where again we were met with a great guide. Jose Miguel was very warm and also very knowledgeable. We arrived before check-in and he made sure to wait with us until we were able to get up to our room. We were also connected with the same driver for the entirety of our time in Cartagena and Emerson was a charming and funny guy. He made great conversation and like all the other drivers he was always punctual. There were 2 small instances when we had different drivers and this is when we started to see how how much care Margoth and her team had for our trip. On our trip to a beach club, we had some rain and the driver was late so they made sure Jose Miguel was there to meet us upon our return. He ensured we safely got back to our hotel with a Taxi. He made sure to take down the Taxis info and he ensured a safe arrival. Our favorite activity in Cartagena was the dance class. I would definitely make it longer or make it a multi-day activity on another trip. The last leg of our trip was to Baru. On the way to the dock, I left my cell phone in the back seat of the car and the driver returned immediately to return it. Again, the best service and care from this team. At the Sofitel, we ran into a small medical issue and I reached out to Margoth and her team after hours she immediately escalated the issue and got us some help. Last but not least, we had purchased some jewelry and she had Felipe send us all the info. We arranged to get to the airport and bit earlier to process the tax refund however, the counter would not take our digital copies and they rushed a messenger to the airport with hard copies so we could claim our refund. Again, this team went above and beyond. We were able to process the refund which was about $700 and we made our flight. I had never used a travel agency before and now I may never go back to planning my own trips. This was an incredible experience. Thank you for helping me create wonderful memories with my mom.

We had an amazing trip to Iceland! Eva did a great job outlining the best stops and planning our accommodations. We loved the hotels, food, and excursions. Iceland is the most beautiful place I have ever seen!
10 out of 10 for the Super Jeep Tour of Valley of Thor
10 out of 10 for the Glacier Lagoon
I would recommend water proof boots and rain coats!!

Hotel Reviews

Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon

Hnappavellir

Adorable hotel. We loved the hot tubs, restaurant, and sheep right outside our window! It is a great location for getting out to the Diamond Beach and Glacier lagoon but nothing nearby. There is no shopping (grocery or supplies) or restaurants within 20-30 min.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Vík í Mýrdal

Vík

Restaurant was delicious!! Rooms were small but nice. Location was great- easy walk to shopping and quick drive to many activities.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Across the street from major shopping center.

Staff

They dried our boots in the boiler room- so nice!!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Reykjavik Residence Apartment Hotel

Reykjavík

We loved this hotel! They deliver a basket of delicious breakfast foods each afternoon and fresh bread each morning. They also have free laundry machines to use!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

One block off the main strip.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon

Iceland

Our guide was amazing!! We loved this boat trip!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This once in a lifetime trip took months of planning and coordination. The first leg of the trip to Easter Island went off well with a few minor hiccups but that is to be expected and was resolved quickly. The guides were awesome and it was a great experience. Not so awesome was the Calama section of the trip. Let me start with the positive. The guides were very knowledgeable and I had an ok time. Now for the negatives. I was picked up from my accommodation during the time window provided but I expected to be dropped off at my hotel at the end of the day but instead was left in the middle of a city I did not know and was told this is where the tour ended. Are you kidding me??? I had no idea where my hotel was located and it was dark. The guide provided directions that made no sense so I had to beg her to go with me. She said it was not part of her job but she was gracious enough to go with me. I would never have found it on my own with the directions she had provided. The next day I knew what would happen and the guide provided directions. Fortunately it was not that far from my hotel. The following day was going to be the highlight of the tour going to the geyser. When I got to the hotel I received a message that my pick up to the airport was going to be at 9:30am. The tour started at 4:30 am so I thought I would have plenty of time to make the connection. She then told me that I would not get back from the tour until 11:30am. Are you kidding me again??? I would miss my flight if I went on the tour. She then said I can take a private tour for $100. I told her I am not paying for that. This itinerary was months in the making so Kim Kim should have known about my flight as I provided the information months before and the itinerary said I would be picked up at 10:40am. That would be enough time to get to the airport. I was devastated as this is the only time I will make this trip and I felt that someone dropped the ball. This is not my first tour with Kim Kim. The previous tours were mostly problem free. I expected this would be as well and at this point I am not sure if I would recommend them to anyone.

Just finished our 2nd trip with kimkim.
Irene was our planner and she exceeded in all aspects. Revised the intierary perfectly to accommodate our needs was always accommodating. All hotels choosen for us were in comfortable and in amazing locations, walking distance to anything we wanted too see or do.
Activities throughout the trip provided knowledge, amazing sites and all food tours had excellent selections.
Overall a great vaction with amazing tour sites, delicous food/drinks, picture perfect beachs. Memories for a lifetime. Thanks again kimkim and to Irene!

Hotel Reviews

Residenza Il Hotel Campanile

Sorrento

In a amazing location, right across the street from the best Gelato to finished every night

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Very nice lady

Cleanliness & Comfort

Heliotopos Hotel

Santorini

Amazing balcony view, could of stayed on it all day.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

SanSal Boutique Hotel

Chania

Great location with awesome rooftop bar and infinite pool.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Caldera Cruise & Volcano Visit

Santorini

Very cool day, nice swimming spots on a nice boat with delicious food.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Santorini Highlights with Wine

Italy

The tour guide made this enjoyable. Would of been nicer to maybe visit more vineyards. Sight seeing spots are nice though.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Olive Farm Visit & Lunch in Archanes

Heraklion

Nice to learn a little bit about the process and how to read olive oil labels. Owenr is very passionate

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Balos & Falassarna Beach Tour with Lunch

Chania

View point of balos is very cool, this day was one of our favorites. Falassarma beach was super chill with the right amount of wave action to have some fun in the water. Very nice day that ended with delicious food

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Driving Tour in Chania Mountains

Chania

Was nice to see the moutinan side of chania, the highlight of the trip is the local resturant they brought us to that was run by a family with no electricity and only used firebeds to cook. The owner was amazing and made sure we're having a good time. He served us a overwhelming amounts of diffent meats. Best goat I ever had.

Quality of Experience

Food

Very good meats

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Driver very friendly and resturants owner was awesome,

Transport

Trastevere Afternoon Food Tour & Wine Experience

Rome

Food selections and wines were great

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very friendly

Pizza Cooking Class in Napoli

Naples

Was cool but maybe I had my hopes up a little for a pizza class in Naples. don't really due much to making the pizza besides the dough that you don't use "dough has to rise"

Amalfi Coast Boat Tour From Sorrento

Italy

Provide plenty of drinks, picture perfect swimming spots. Even served us raw sea orcants.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sorrento Sunset Sea Kayak Tour

Sorrento

Was a cool experience, that ended with a amazing sunset. Definitely happy I was familiar with a kayak. The ocean is a little rough and I could see how some would of been anxious paddling through the rockinlet to the swim area.

Christina in Rome and Cristina in Verona were both GREAT! We also loved Daniel in Venice / Murano. I really appreciated how transportation was included and well planned for us. Made the trip seamless . Andrea was very patient with us when we called with questions.

Hotel Reviews

Ca' Pozzo Inn

Venice

Authenticity & Character

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Oasi Boutique Hotel

Levanto

Air conditioning marginal

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Roma

Florence

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Indigo Rome - St. George

Rome

So close to everything. Great roof top bar/ restaurant.

Authenticity & Character

In an older part of Rome

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Guided tour Doge's Palace and St Mark (small group)

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Exclusive Murano & Burano islands visit (private service)

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Verona guided walk - private guide

Italy

Quality of Experience

No

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pisa guided walk

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bike ride in Tuscany Countryside from Florence (small group)

Florence

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Florence private guided walk including Accademia Gallery

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pizza Making Class

Italy

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel - private guide

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel skip the line ticket

Rome

Quality of Experience

Private Colosseum Underground Tour with Roman Forum and Palatine Hill

Rome

The tour guide for underground tour was very hard to understand

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rome Private Golf Cart tour

Rome

ChristinA the guide was great. Pantheon was my favorite but she hit any spot we wanted

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Majid planned a perfect trip for us and responded quickly to all questions.
Moha, our guide did a fabulous job. He was responsive and flexible when we wanted to change the schedule.
The private guides that were provided in Rabat, Fes and Marrakesh were excellent as well.
All in all, we had a great time and are very happy that we chose Majid's company

Our family decided to take a trip together: my husband and myself, 2 sons and significant others. We spun our wheels trying to make decisions about where to go, where to stay and what to do and who would drive. Fortunately we ended up on kimkim.com and within 24 hours had a full itinerary planned. We went back and forth a few times with Audrey until we had a plan that covered all our wishes. She helped us out a few times during the trip as well with some minor things. Rather than rent a car, we hired drivers for travel between cities and for private tours. That was a great decision that saved us fights, parking, navigation, and as a bonus included a lot of local knowledge. We stayed in 5 hotels (****) in Nice, Cannes, Marseille, Arles and Avignon. Highlights of the trip included: Monaco & Eze, Roussillioin's Ochre hills which we hiked, the market in Arles on Saturday morning (the most authentic market we visited), St Paul de Vence, Grasses (interesting tour of the perfume factory and town), our boat cruise with Captain Renauld in Nice, olive oil factory & tasting at l'Angandau in Le Beau de Provence and swimming in the gorgeous waters in Cannes and Nice. All our drivers were great: Cathy, Arnaud, Thierry, Peggy. We kept in touch via WhatsApp when they would drop us off so we could do our thing and then they'd circle back to pick us up. Parking was challenging in most cities so we were very happy to not have to deal with that. I have since recommended kimkim to several friends. It saved us hours of work and certainly some arguments since the planning was done by the local pros! Will definitely use them again.

Hotel Review

Hotel de Cambis

Avignon

Great location in Avignon. It was recently renovated so nice and clean inside and modern. Staff was friendly and helpful. The room doesn't have a fridge but they provided one to us upon request. A nice breakfast was included with very good staff, and there was an additional modern lounge nearby where we could do some work. Wifi was good. The only challenge is there are some stairs that you have to get your luggage up. I'm sure the staff would help if required.

Authenticity & Character

New clean and modern inside...fresh smelling

Location

Within the walled city of Avignon. Easy to walk anywhere. Not noisy...windows blocked noise.

Staff

Breakfast staff and front desk staff all very nice and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Decent sized room with queen bed. Safe in closet. Received a mini fridge upon request.

Activity Review

Sunset cruise

France

Our flight to Nice was cancelled so this trip was delayed one day, but they were able to accommodate us with no problem. Captain Renauld was very fun, experienced, and knowledgeable about the area. We felt very confident with him. He took us to a cove where we were able to snorkel for a short time. The water was very fresh and he enticed some fish to us, with some food. Champagne was served. One of our group gets motion sick and he was considerate and helpful. It was a calm cruise for most of the time until he gave us a bit of a thrill ride with lots of splashing and soaking which added to our adventure. Highly recommended. A nice way to kick off your vacation upon arrival.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

It took some time to shorten this review because we had such a great experience, from the initial planning with Gustavo through the entire trip itself. Never having had help like we did with kimkim I was a little nervous but they exceeded all my expectations in every way and we're so grateful for their meticulous organization, planning, attention and responsiveness. My family of five spent 8 days in Costa Rica, spending 2-3 nights in three different areas and it all went so smoothly. I would have been fine with some hiccups but there were none. Drivers were so friendly, on time, transportation was new and clean, hotels were exactly as described and expected, adventures were perfect selections for our family. And the guides all along the way were a highlight. We did Horseback Riding at the Base of Arenal Volcano, which ended up being in a crazy storm, but one of the most memorable activities of the trip. In Monteverde we did Sky Adventures: Tram, Zip Lines & Hanging Bridges. Roy who took us on the bridges was a delight! He was so knowledgeable and pointed out things we never would have seen on our own. All the ziplining guides, too many names to recall, were awesome! So funny and we knew we were safe with them. We also did the Don Juan Chocolate & Night Hike Experience. Our guide Alex was fantastic, sharing lots of information and displayed dogged determination to find interesting things to show us in the dark. At our last stop, Manuel Antonio, we did a day at the National Park and on our last full day we did the Full Day Waterfall Adventure with Paddle 9. Ken, Andres, Elliott and driver Cumi (sp?), thanks for an exhilarating day of facing our fears and pushing our limits! Hotels, restaurant recommendations, activities, transfers, all perfect! My immense and sincere gratitude to Gustavo at kimkim who took care of us every step of the way and to Jessica who came in to help once we booked. I would recommend kimkim to anyone and would definitely use them again for future travel!

Having traveled quite a bit, this was one of the best trips I’ve had so far. Lupe put our trip together within two weeks! We got to do everything we had hoped for and each transition could not have been any smoother. Our guides Yuri and Natalia took exceptional care of us and felt like family by the time we left. It was a mother daughter trip and I have never felt more safe and cared for. Thank you Peru and thank you Aspiring Adventures!!!

Overall, Italy was great. Communication between us, KimKim, and the tour guides/companies was somewhat difficult and unclear at times. We had a couple of instances in which the specific company that was used to book the tour was unclear and we ended up with the wrong tour for a time because of confusion.

We were able to get a partial refund for an event due to weather issues and not being able to go on a private vineyard tour, but the refund was initially refused and I had to argue to get the refund.

Overall, our trip was a roaring success! The hotel breakfasts were wonderful, the beds were comfortable and having all of the tickets for ferries, trains, funiculars prebooked was really helpful. The tour team did a great job of making our travel scenic - knowing when a train or a ferry would offer us better scenery. The ferry, trains and such were clean, easy to sort out and a wonderful way to see the country. The recommendations for hikes in Stavanger (Preikestolen) and Bergen (Mt Fløyen to Mt Ulriken) were wonderful - they were highlights of our trips. We had a great guided hike with Ivar in BodØ and learned about the plants, geology, and history of the area. He helped connect us with a friend of his who rented out e-bikes and suggested a Midnight Sun bike trip up Kaiservarden which was magical. Our catamaran tour of Trollfjord was a relaxed pace and the kids loved napping on the beanbags. The midnight sun kayak was our least favorite thing in that we didn't kayak much at all, much more standing about chatting. We did get to see some cool nesting grounds on the trip.
Joanna did a great job of responding to our concerns, putting together the trip itinerary. Fenne was also great at helping us and responding quickly to questions when we were preparing to leave and in country. She provided some restaurant ideas for Stavanger and helped arrange a tour closer to our hotel to save us needing a taxi.
I would recommend using Kimkim in the future and keep in mind for future trips.

We wanted to go in an epic tour of Iceland to celebrate some milestones, but neither of us wanted to take on the challenge and responsibility of planning the trip. On the recommendation of trusted family, we turned to KimKim (at the last minute) to put it together.

Our trip to the WestFjords was amazing. Adam took our minimal guidance and built a well-balanced trip that took us off the beaten path but also checked off some of the most popular destinations in Iceland. He gave us full daily itineraries that gave us plenty to pick and choose from if we wanted more free time, or plenty to keep us going from early morning to late night. (Not dawn to dusk so close to the Arctic Circle in the summer!)

We loved our (premapped) drives broken up by hikes. We loved his dining recommendations. We loved talking to Icelanders we met while traveling.

The scenery, hiking, people, weather, stories and food are only some of the elements we enjoyed in our trip. We only appreciated the unhurried time and space of the WestFjords after we went to the Golden Circle (with what seemed like the rest of the world)—and we got a taste for how much for how we had learned about Iceland after talking with other travelers in the last couple of days.

Truly, letting Adam from KimKim take on the planning of our time in Iceland was the first step in making our trip a stress-free, remarkable and enjoyable experience.

Thank you, Adam!

The trip was amazing. Nicholas in saby sand was amazing. game rides were awesome. Thank you!!

Thank you to all of the team at kimkim and salty travel for a truly memorable holiday, each and every interaction with the staff was very prompt and thorough and all planned with just a few short weeks notice!! No question was ever too much for Stephanie during our planning / discussions and she was always helpful to give us further information or suggestions. Every detail was taken care of and made our vacation very easy for us when in South Africa, from transfers to hotel bookings and our excursions, all was taken care of. Safari was our first stop and a truly incredible time, two different lodges gave us the opportunity for different experiences and each time the staff were so welcoming, helpful and knowledgeable and made the experience that little bit more special. After this we headed to Cape Town and were met by the lovely Ben. He was our transfer, taxi driver, guide, friend and more!! It was so nice to explore his home town and get all the additional information as we went on various excursions, and he was always on hand to help or adapt to our needs. We had such an amazing time during our holiday and throughout this process that we are already talking and looking to see what our next adventure could be!!

This was our second time planning and booking a trip through kimkim. We had a large group of 11 people and overall we had a lovely trip. The planning was a little more onerous for this trip, partly I suspect due to the size of the group and a busy time of year but I think also there were points where communication from Chris could have been better and possibly the information/communications he was receiving from local partners. In particular, it was hard to understand the details of the Lake Como planning and there were points where information had already been discussed or sent but was overlooked. While on the trip, the Lake Como and Venice portions of the trip were great. Donatella was a good guide in Lake Como (although we felt like we were being rushed through in Bellagio and Villa Carlotta only to end up with extra time on the back end of each location). Luccia and Caterina in Venice were wonderful and so great with the kids and our transfers in Venice were also wonderful. We enjoyed Hotel Centrale in Cernobbio and the town of Cernobbio was lovely. The hotel in Venice was mediocre - the A/C did not work in 2 of the 3 rooms we had, there was likely mold issues , and we kept finding dead bugs/mosquitoes on our beds, and the water in shower would unpredictably become scalding hot requiring one to step out of the water every few seconds and creating a dangerous situation with young kids. The location of the hotel in Venice was great.

We had a lot of frustrations and poor experiences in Florence with poor communication, issues with transfers to and from the train station, issues with transfer to one of the activities (a cooking class), and the cooking class itself was not what was described. Our day trip to Sienna, San Gigamano, and Pisa with guide Silvia was great and Silvia and the driver Vladimir were both wonderful.

While on the trip, Chris really came through in problem-solving and communicating to help smooth over the problematic parts of the vacation. The central number we had additionally been provided for more immediate service was terrible and incredibly frustrating to deal with.

Hotel Reviews

Palazzo Alfani al David

Florence

Lovely apartment style accommodation directly across from Accademia, 5 minutes from Duomo and near great restaurants. Host Francesca also lovely and easy to communicate with.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Ca Dei Conti Venice

Venice

Hotel is perfectly located with a 5 minute walk to San Marco Square, the main walking strip along water, and a 10 minute walk to the Rialto Bridge. However the cleanliness/comfort of the hotel as well as the breakfast were mediocre. 2 of the 3 rooms we had did not have working A/C -- one of the rooms we had changed and then did get working A/C. In at least one room, we kept finding dead mosquitoes on the bed and there was mold in the bathroom. In all rooms, the water would suddenly become scalding hot requiring one to step out of the water in the shower every few seconds and being very dangerous with kids.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

functioning a/c, water temperature fluctuations to dangerously hot, mold/mosquito/bug issues

Hotel Centrale Cernobbio

Cernobbio

Clean, spacious hotel with nice staff, great location near bus station and short walk to ferry terminal and near restaurants in a charming town. Breakfast was also good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Explore St. Mark's Basilica and The Doge's Palace, Gondola ride

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Tuscany Grand Tour - Best of Siena, San Gimignano, Chianti and Pisa

Florence

It would have been helpful to know the length of each walking tour and options for alternate routes to accommodate oldest/youngest members of family both in the planning portion and on day of tour. Siena was beautiful but the tour was a bit long for members of our group. Silvia was amazing in accommodating people and being considerate of the grandparents and young 5 year old.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full day Lake Como Tour

Italy

Donatella was a lovely guide, engaging kids and adults while on the ferry. Once in Bellagio and again at Lake Carlotta, the communication of plan and distribution of time were less clear and we felt rushed through both locations only to then end up with a lot of extra time in both locations that we would have preferred to use to explore a little more. The amount and difficulty of walking in all locations was also not clearly provided in planning the trip which would have been important given we had a 5 year old and two adults in their mid-70s.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pizza & Gelato Making - Cooking Class

Florence

While we had a lovely time with the couple who provided the class in a beautiful location -- there was no gelato making which was a huge disappointment as we had been telling the kids all day we would make gelato. In addition, the class was nothing like described on the itinerary - no culture/history was discussed and no traditional oven was used.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

terrible experience with drivers and poor communication about who would be picking us up and where leading to confusion. I was not given phone numbers and drivers were not given my number. Also, the walk to host house was uphill and not well communicated when I had two adults in their mid-70s in our group.

Transport

A little background about my family to help give a perspective as to why we chose this trip. I traveled with my husband, my sons age 25 and 22 respectively. My youngest son achieved the rank of Eagle at 15 in 2015. My oldest is an officer in the Army. My husband and my boys have been in outdoor fanatics since elementary/primary school. While in college, both boys served in various roles as Wildland Firefighters. Me however, not even close. My minimum requirement for any outdoor activity must have running water and a flushable toilet. With this background, the family chose the trip titled "Thailand Off the Beaten Track". Two family members would go into anaphylactic shock with food containing crab and peanuts, and none of us can read or speak Thai, we elected to have a private tour with a guide.

I worked with Hien Do, the Local Specialist from Realistic Asia, back in October, and we finalized the trip in February. Needless to say that Hien was very patient and understanding throughout this process, and was very accommodating to my family's circumstance since October. When my husband could not fly with us on the actual travel date, and had to take a separate flight to Thailand, Hien arranged to have my husband picked up at the airport and dropped off where the rest of the family were located at day 2 in the trip, which was a 3 hour drive and a 20 minute boat ride to the River Kwai Jungle Rafts Floating Hotel. Now that's customer service done right!

We had 2 sets of guides and drivers, one in Bangkok (Kun Thim and Run Joie), and one in Chiang Mai (Kun Arty, Kun Johnny, and Kun Sompong). Both guides are very good in their jobs, very knowledgeable of the history and tribal knowledge of each location. When we wanted to take extra excursions, they found ways to fit them into the already packed itinerary, and they did so with great efficiency and always with a smile. With food allergies that could send my family to the hospital, they were on top of it like an eagle - always speaking to the restaurant staff to make sure that there are no crab or peanuts in any of the dishes. While at the Movenpick Hotel, Kun Thim requested for an allergy card for each of my family members, in the event that both guides were not available, we could just show the allergy cards to the restaurant staff to make sure that there were no crab or peanuts in the food.

If you ever go to Thailand and require a guide in Bangkok or Chiang Mai, I HIGHLY recommend using their service because, man alive, they are super at their job, but more importantly, they are good, honest, hard working folks who are patient, accommodating, kind, and understanding of you or your family's needs. Big shout out to both guides and drivers! Our trip would not be successful without them, they were really amazing, warm, and welcoming people.

The rest of the review will be to focus on notable events that happened during the trip beginning with a stop to the Hellfire Pass Museum, fully funded by the Australian government, this put a lot of perspective throughout the rest of the trip, and we were all so grateful for the opportunity to visit such a place rich with history. We proceeded to head towards the River Kwai Jungle Rafts Floating Hotel. What a beautiful floating hotel, the staff are very kind, patient, and polite. We stayed for 2 days, and each morning, we had the good fortune to meet the village elephant by the restaurant, who gladly took the fruit and vegetable scraps from you. She had such a funny personality and the family had great fun feeding her. We also toured the Mon Village and got a better understanding of Mon history and culture, the Buddhist Monk's way of living, and the seamlessness of the people to the monk's co-existence. Note to others: There is no electricity, except for the kitchen and dining area. Although a LED lamp and battery operated candle are provided in the room, might be good to pack a head lamp to navigate in the room for better light. While in the River Kwai, we visited the National Park, where we had the opportunity to explore various trails. Note to others, bring plenty of water, avoid using sunscreen with mineral content (somehow it attracts the mosquitoes, and other biting insects), wherever skin is exposed, and on your back, slather on loads of citronella or bug spray with Deet, and wear appropriate footwear. Depending on the weather, wet or dry, makes a difference in footwear. Some hiking trails can be quite slippery.

Lawa Cave, caught us by surprise, in a good way, because of the healthy bat population living in the stalactites and stalagmite formations. We've gone to caves but not had the experience of bats residing in the caves. This is a great sign of a health eco-system.

On our way to Ayutthaya, we rode on the historic Thai Burma Railway (aka: Death Railway), the experience made it more rich since we visited the Hellfire Pass Museum a few days before. This is a must to experience, to ride on a train and the track built in the 1940s with the knowledge of the circumstances that took place during construction made the experience all the more remarkable.

We took a side trip to the Maeklong Station (aka: train market), and that was quite the experience to watch the vendors pack up their stuff to make way for the train to pass. We also took another side trip to the oldest floating market, Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, the boys truly enjoyed the experience of watching how food was cooked on the boats and served, as well as haggling with vendors on the side of the canal.

We took the bike tour in Auytthaya, the guide was fantastic, and honestly can say that biking in temperatures between 90 F (32.2 C) and 97 F (36.11 C) with almost 100% humidity was not fun. Although the guide provided water, we froze water the night before and packed it with us. The temperature stifled the enthusiasm of the great history that was told by the guide, and we cut the trip short by an hour because of the sheer heat and humidity. Our guide was fantastic and bought more water for us, but whoo geez, it was super hot.

We flew to Chiang Rai and met up with another guide, Kun Arty and driver, Kun Johnny. We stayed at the beautiful The Riverie Chiang Rai hotel overlooking the Kok River. The food, accommodation, and service were unbelievable. Our guide, Kun Arty took us to an Akha village, specifically to her good friend's home to meet her and to get to know Akha life from her perspective. What a special treat that was to meet a special, old-time friend, and to get to understand Akha life. While in Chiang Rai we visited the tea plantation and was able to understand the process from growing, harvesting, packaging, and selling tea. Most notable during the tour, was the presence of the Akha women during harvest, they wear their traditional outfits. Although we did not see the harvest process, Kun Arty's friend informed us that she too goes to the plantation to pick tea leaves wearing her traditional garb.

From Chiang Rai, we headed to Chiang Mai, where we stayed at another beautiful hotel, Na Nirand Romatic Boutique Resort. Just as in the Riverie hotel, the accommodations were fantastic! We took an additional trip to the Silk Factory. Well worth the trip! We walked through the process of mulberry silk making and purchased beautiful scarves and clothing. What an experience.

The highlight for my husband and the boys was the bamboo river raft experience. This is the portion of their trip in their element: long hike (8 km, normally 12 km) through the jungle, villages, and rice patties. I paid to ride on a motorcycle to get to the village. We stayed in very rustic, provincial accommodation at our guide, Kun Suwit’s home. We helped cook dinner with Suwit’s family and watched LOADS of fireflies near the house, and in the darkness, watched the countless number of stars above. The toilet and shower are a few meters away from the house, so we did our business before retiring for the night. The next day we met and fed a very friendly elephant within the village owned by Kun Suwit’s friend, Kun Salam. He spoke no English and did not understand English, so he went through Kun Suwit to relay messages. We did not go to Elephant EcoValley, but enjoyed private time with Kun Salam’s elephant, Mabutsi. So special, to experience first-hand in a quiet setting to getting to know Mabutsi. Before meeting Mabutsi, several local villagers prepared the bamboo raft. Amazing to see how the bamboo raft was put together in a matter of a couple of hours that can easily hold 6 people. The raft floated right on top of the water, so every rapid we went down, we were easily under water a few inches, then popped back up to the water level. We stopped by the Lahu Hill Tribe briefly, nothing notable, then proceeded down the river to the Shan village to have lunch. This was the last stop before heading back up to Chiang Mai to head back to Bangkok.

This was a story, not a review, of our family’s experience in beautiful Thailand, with fantastic guides, all coordinated by the patient and helpful Ms. Hien. A highly recommended trip for those that love adventure with all the riches of history, temples, museums, monks, hiking, biking, and to experience the jungle, raw, rich with foliage, and filled with people in villages that are so kind and accommodating. We are looking forward towards our next visit in years to come.

Hotel Reviews

The Riverie Chiang Rai

What a spectacular hotel. We arrived and was greeted by this beautiful lounge area overlooking the Kok river. The staff were just lovely and accommodating and the rooms so pristine. Our room overlooked the river and was just wonderful to just sit next to the window and relax.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

River Kwai Jungle Rafts Floating Hotel

Arriving by boat to be met by thatched roof accommodations was very special. The staff were very polite and accommodating. The food was delicious, and in the mornings between 7:00 am - 7:30 am, were greeted by the village elephant! What a magnificent surprise. One thing to note, there is no electricity in the rooms, however, there is in the kitchen and dining areas. LED lamp and a battery operated candle are provided in the rooms so that you can navigate to the restroom at night. Other than not having electricity in the bedroom , this was a very nice hotel.

Authenticity & Character

The accomodations was just wonderful. Right outside of the room is your own hammock and deck to just just lounge. Super relaxing.

Location

Only way to get to the hotel is by boat ferry. What a fun way to get to your hotel. Note, there isn't very much room to put your luggage. So we kept our luggage in the outside patio behind the bathroom. The hotel felt super safe and felt comfortable leaving the luggage in the back patio.

Staff

Super nice and warm people. Most, if not all, are from the Mon village, which is located above the raft hotel.

Cleanliness & Comfort

We stayed 2 nights, and upon returning after a long day of excursion, came back to a room that was cleaned and the beds turned.

Na Nirand Romantic Boutique Resort

What a beautiful resort! The room, service, and food was fantastic. Just a few minutes from the night market, a fun place to grab local food, and experience the culture. Will definitely come back to this resort at our next visit.

Authenticity & Character

The room had this kind of SoHo vibe, relaxing, beautiful, and very comfortable. We had fresh fruit on the table, a complimentary post card, and the room smelled of jasmine.

Location

In a maze of buildings, we arrived greeted by beautiful buildings, a gorgeous pool, and friendly staff.

Staff

The staff were always very polite and accommodating.

Cleanliness & Comfort

No dust bunnies! Super clean. There was even a citronella lamp to keep mosquitoes at bay. Details, they matter.

Activity Reviews

Karen Hill tribe village - Bamboo raft - Lahu Hill tribe Village - Shan Village – Chiang Mai

Thailand

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Chiang Rai – City tour – Chiang Mai

Chiang Rai

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ayutthaya biking - Transfer to Bangkok

Ayutthaya

The guide, Bella, from Recreation Biking Tour, was absolutely amazing! The downside was that the temperature by 9:00 am hovered around 90 F (32.2 C) and hit 97 F (36.11 C) with almost 100% humidity by 10:30 am. Biking in such warm conditions was not fun by any stretch of the imagination, but Bella was super nice and very informative. We cut the tour short by an hour because of the heat, it became remarkably unbearable, but other than that the everything was fantastic. We went to a restaurant, where Bella informed the restaurant of the food allergies, for which the restaurant was sure to not present any food with crab or peanuts.

Quality of Experience

Food

We went to a restaurant where Bella helped us out by explaining to the restaurant staff that we had crab and peanut allergies. The food was fine, but coming from a hot ride under the sun, eating was not really our priority.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Under the circumstance, Bella was remarkably patient and made frequent stops to be under the shade during the tour.

Transport

We rode the bikes, popped them onto a boat ferry, and made shortcuts around town. It was great!

Chiang Mai – Local Market – Karen Hilltribe Village – Elephant feeding and bathing

Chiang Mai

This is an experience for those that truly love to hike and be connected to nature. This is a truly provincial, rustic experience of trekking 8 km (should have been 12 km, but the rice patties were dry so an alternate route was taken) through rice patties, jungle, other villages, close encounters with water buffalos, and crossing creeks to get to the village. Once there, it's basic accommodations where the toilet and shower are meters from the main living quarters. We stayed at our host and guide, Kun Suwit, home. We helped prepare dinner with his wife and kids. The best part after a long day trekking, preparing and having dinner, was to watch in the darkness, the millions of stars, the quietness broken by the humming of the cicadas, and being entertained by the hundreds of fireflies next to the house. The next day we were greeted by a beautiful, 50 year old elephant named Mabutsi. We didn't head to the Ecovillage where the other elephants were staying, but had a private, wonderful encounter with Mabusti. Then we witness how a bamboo raft was built within a couple of hours that safely can carry 6 adults down the river. Shortly we bid Run Suwit's family goodbye and headed down the river until we landed in the Shan village.

Quality of Experience

Food

Our family helped Kun Suwit's wife prepare dinner, which was pretty special.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

To get to Kun Suwit's home stay we traveled by truck, which was appropriate to get through rugged terrain.

Chiang Rai - Golden Triangle

Chiang Rai

Wow! We were so close to neighboring countries, Laos and Myanmar. We definitely were able to get a better appreciation of Thai history. We also were treated to meet our guide's best friend in of the Akha villages. That was quite an experience to hear the story of daily living in the village.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

River Kwai Jungle raft - Ayutthaya

Kanchanaburi

This was a man made fall but still very nice to visit. Visitors were able to get to the top portion of the water fall, which was greatly appreciated on a very hot, humid day. Visitors are highly encourage to remove their shoes before ascending to the top.

Quality of Experience

Sai Yok Yai waterfall - National park – Lawa cave

Kanchanaburi

The National Park has loads of trails with lots of history with some of the trails. We went at the beginning of rainy season, and the terrain in some of the trails can be a bit slippery.

Bangkok – Kanchanaburi – River Kwai Jungle Rafts

Kanchanaburi

What an experience to ride on the train and the track built in the 1940's. Having a brief understanding of the history, enriched the experience even more.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Kun Thim, the guide, and Kun Joie, the driver were absolutely a joy! We enjoyed all the history and perspective throughout the trip.

Transport

Air conditioned van, clean, and was provided cold water after an excursion. That was so appreciated in the sweltering heat and high humidity.

The care and professionalism of KimKim staff and guides were evident and much appreciated! Our first guide, Lina, was personable, patient and informative. We really enjoyed her energy and passion for us to learn about Colombia. Her suggestion to visit district 13 was an excellent suggestion! We are an antistatic family, so it was a memorable experience! We wish her all the best with her future endeavors; she has a gift! on our next destination, we briefly met Jhovanny who was briefly filling in for Juan. He was awesome with his bird knowledge and leaving a great impression on us for such a brief moment with him. Out final guide, Juan was personable and humble. He was also knowledgeable about the part, the horses (which he helped us to feel comfortable to touch one!) He and Anderson were very helpful with us arriving to the airport.

My family's biggest gripe was having to get up at 3am, so we would be ready for our pick time. When we arrived to the airport, we waited nearly an hour to check in. It appeared that we could have arrive later since the airport itself wouldn't even be open until 6am! Having to get our children ready for such an early departure was frustrating since we waiting once we arrived.

All in all, the hotels were really beautiful, but please keep in mind that two bathrooms makes far more sense for a family of four.

Hotel Reviews

Quinta Ladera

Medellin

A bohemian vibe that was fun to experience.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The lack of space for a family of four was not desirable..

Hotel Terasu Salento

Salento, Quindío

such a beautiful place, great host and relaxing experience overall

Authenticity & Character

Location

We were walking distance from market square.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The pillowcases were damp, but everything was clean and tidy

Activity Reviews

Colorful Colombia: Hike to Guatapé Rock, Guatapé & Peñol-Guatape Reservoir

Colombia

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Cócora Valley, Salento & Coffee Farm

Colombia

The best part was learning about the high quality coffee and touching the horses that roam free.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Exploring Comuna 13 and Medellín's Public Transformation

Medellín

We were very happy to support such a creative neighborhood.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Just came back from our trip to Italy. ‘Sonia’ was the organizer for our trip. She did a fantastic job preparing the itinerary and arranging guides and transport. ‘Daniela’ was our point of contact. She was super, went above and beyond to make sure that we had a smooth and pleasurable experience. Guides were local and had plethora of knowledge about focal points to take pics and shop around. This was our 2nd trip with ‘Kimkim’ and we continue to be impressed. A big ‘thank you’ to Sonia/Daniela and their team. We are already thinking about our next adventure with them.🙏🏼

Carl planned a food tour, bike tour, and Ferris wheel experience for our family of five while visiting Montreal. The tours were superb and memorable. Specifically, the food tour in the mile end neighborhood provided a history of a multicultural section of Montreal and delicious sampling of food from five different local restaurants. The bike tour was led by an expert in architecture and we learned many interesting architecture and historic facts about Montreal. The guide was attentive and catered to what we wanted to see. Our trip to Montreal was more than we expected and Carl did an excellent job in planning these experiences for us.

Activity Reviews

Bike Tour in Montreal

Montréal

Our tour guide was an expert in architecture and led us on a fascinating tour of Montreal where she shared history and architectural insights. The ride was interesting and well paced.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

High quality bikes, well paced tour.

Mile End Montréal Food Tour

Montréal

Memorable tour of a multicultural section of Montreal. The food tour helped us understand the history of the neighborhood while enjoying delicious food from local restaurants.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Well paced walking tour