Kimkim Trip Reviews

Lisbet was very responsive and helpful. We revised our trip several times to coordinate with friends. Lisbet was there at every turn to help us, always with patience and insight.

We were in Iceland in April for a series of concerts by the American band Wilco. We love the band, and a visit to Iceland is something we had on our bucket list, so it was natural. The first four days of our trip were spent traveling the sparsely populated South Coast, then back up through Thingvellier. The next four days were spent in Reykjavik.

Iceland is an amazing country, and we absolutely loved our visit. One might say we were a bit unlucky with the weather--lots of rain in April! But my wife and I felt we got a real taste of the combination of the incredible shifting microclimates and precipitation patterns against the landscape. We saw water in every form. We had blazing sun, near hurricane level wind with rain, dense fog, brilliant rainbows, ice caves, and hail. It was almost psychedelic. I would never have imagined that ice climbing by a volcano in the rain, with an avalanche (that made us turn back), would be so exhilarating. It was. Talk about feeling alive. Wow.

Favorite Hotel
360 Hotel: Anna and her husband run a beautiful and serene place. The food was superb. We'd go back there in a heartbeat

Favorite Destinations
- Black Sand Beach in Vik. The columnar basalt formations, the power of the sea, and the volcanic outcroppings made it a mythical place
- The Gullfoss waterfall
- Reykjavik's Harpa Center was also spectacular.

Favorite Food
- lamb stew
- licorice

Best Moves
- Go directly from the airport to the Blue Lagoon: totally refreshes after the international travel. Can't think of a better way to start any adventure than this
- Having the mobile wifi device that came with our car assured us that we would have excellent connectivity everywhere, so using Waze and accessing the internet was easy and especially appreciated when in remote areas
- Having truly waterproof outwear--total lifesaver (nothing like being prepared!)

Biggest Surprise
- Iceland is effectively a bi-lingual country. Everyone speaks English, and we never even needed to exchange currency

Final Thought
- Iceland is a complex and beautiful place we will surely visit again. Remember, as they say there, "It's not just cold; it's expensive."

Mieke was fantastic to work with! She pulled together a varied and interesting itinerary for 7 days in the Netherlands, arranged a great team of guides and offered so many helpful tips to make the most of our time there. Mieke was also readily available for questions and assistance along the way.
We highly recommend!

João and his team were amazing to communicate with in the planning process. We wanted an Azores adventure for our family (2 adults, 2 school-aged kids) and they recommended exploring Sao Miguel for the week, which was perfect. We stayed in Ponta Delgada and then Furnas and explored the different ecosystems around the island. We did the full gamut of activities including hiking, whale watching, biking, kayaking and canyoning. João kept in touch throughout to make sure everything went smoothly, made sure we had adjoining rooms, to help when we were running late, helped plan a birthday surprise for my son and gave us tips on some local hot spots. :) We had an amazing time and will definitely be back to explore more islands!! Thank you, Across Portugal!!

Hotel Reviews

Octant Furnas

Furnas

Really appreciated the filtered water in the thermal pools. Overall very relaxing atmosphere. Recently built within a historic building so the rooms are a bit small, but beautiful property. Hotel restaurant is delicious!! Staff were wonderful!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Octant Ponta Delgada

Ponta Delgada

Super helpful staff and awesome accommodations! Highly recommend!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Walkable to all of town and easy to park in their garage, so can zip out to explore easily also.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Whale & Dolphin Watching Experience in Azores

the Azores

Glad we went on a calm day! Saw dolphins and spent whales. The ride back was definitely an adventure!

Welcome Service

the Azores

Very warm and kind welcome.

I am 73 and decided to travel to Spain on my own. I had specific plans and wanted some built-in assurances since I had not travelled for a few years. After spending extensive time on the internet I found Kimkim and was put in touch with Patricia in Barcelona. She was so helpful with ideas about how to make the most of my time there and worked around my specific requests that fit with my already partially self-planned trip. Everything went perfectly. I was provided with all the necessary vouchers/ tickets beforehand. The driver/ guides were punctual and very helpful. Tour guides were all excellent and they really managed to bring the history of a site to life for me. Patricia was in touch with me every step of the way.

Blanca, my guide in Granada was amazing. I enjoyed my time with Flavio on my tour of his winery. Carmen gave me a great tour of the Seville cathedral, Giraldi tower and Santa Cruz. Driver and guide Alexis, very kind and informative took me to my olive oil mill tour which was sooo interesting and another day to Córdova where I enjoyed a wonderful guided tour of the mosque/cathedral which was amazing. In Barcelona my guided Gaudi tour was amazing and the guide , Laura so enthusiastic. All my guides were superb and I thank them. Each hotel was top notch and I thank Patricia for that.

Thank you to all. Connie

Waterfall was our favorite followed by the hanging bridges. Our guide, Mau, was amazing. Sloth tour was great and so was our guide. Zip line was safe and efficient, but felt more like an exercise and rushed. Night tour was too crowded with many large groups. Loved the beach at Carrillo. The snorkeling is nothing like the pictures. There are few fish and only dead coral. Our guides were very nice though and the kayaking was not difficult. Our last private transfer back to the airport was pleasant and the only ride we had that wasn’t nausea inducing.overall, a great trip!

Hotel Reviews

Nammbú Beachfront Bungalows

Sámara

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right next to the beach!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Beds could be bigger.

Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs

Fortuna

Loved walking to breakfast and dinner. Room was big and clean. Lots of birds to view especially from the hot springs area and hummingbirds from our room. Food was great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

A little removed from activities

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

El Establo Mountain Hotel

Monteverde

The rooms are very far away from the pool and restaurants with very steep hills. The transportation service is slow to respond for requests for rides. Views are great from the room but you can hear conversations in the rooms next door and below you. I would not stay here again

Authenticity & Character

Seeing lots of birds and a few animals

Location

Better transportation

Staff

Very nice

Cleanliness & Comfort

Queen size bed would be better

Activity Reviews

Isla Chora Ocean Kayaking & Snorkeling Tour

Sámara

The reef is not like the pictures. It is a dead reef so the fish are few but did see two eels.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Zip Line (Canopy) Monteverde

Monteverde

A bit rushed and robotic but fun to fly over the trees

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Night Walk

Monteverde

Way too many people in our group and other groups. Could here more humans than the night sounds.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

He was very friendly and knowledgeable

Sloth Tour (Sloth Territory)

Arenal/La Fortuna

Loved our guide and small group. Made it nice and quiet to hear the forest.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanging Bridges, La Fortuna Waterfall & Arenal Volcano Hike

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our guide, Mau, made this a great trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The jerky lotion of the stick shift car is difficult for those with car sickness. The rods are full of potholes and are very curvy

Danny was our guide he was awesome perfect fit for a relaxing vacation. Alvaro planned our trip he did a awesome job very happy with both of them

We just finished an amazing trip to Peru. Justino was an excellent guide who provided us with an authentic Peruvian experience. We were able to engage with locals, stay at family run hotels and learn about the history of the area. Our driver Reuben was also amazing, caring, and fantastic driver who safely drove us each day. I would highly recommend Aspiring Adventures to anyone looking for a uniquely personalized Peruvian adventure!

We thoroughly enjoyed our 3-hour walking tour in Rome with our highly professional tour guide Yevgen Lysenkov.
From the moment Yevgen picked us up at the hotel in Rome we felt his warm and inviting personality that highlighted our trip. He was accommodating, professional and personable. Having with us our 13-year-old grandson did not make the long walking tour easier! However, our boy felt that he was exploring the landmarks of Rome with a new friend and not just with the guide.

Yevgen has a deep knowledge and understanding of the history and culture of ancient Italy and made connections to modern Italy which made the archaic places come alive. This special way of presenting the places that Yevgen took us gave us a real appreciation of Rome and its place in history.

We truly rank Yevgen as one of our top tour guides and have already started recommending Kimkim and Yevgen to friends who are planning a trip to Rome.

Thank you so much for the memorable visit to Rome.

Alla, Bill, and Nick

We really enjoyed our trip and working with Antonia to plan our family vacation to Croatia. We really enjoyed all our guides and places we visited. We went to Split, Hvar, Kotor and Dubrovnik. We went hiking, ate delicious seafood at the oyster farm in Ston, saw some of the Game of Thrones sites and just had a wonderful time seeing these beautiful countries.

Hotel Reviews

HOTEL LIBERTAS

Kotor

This boutique hotel had amazing breakfast and the staff was extremely friendly. Our issue was that the AC in our room did not work and the staff didn’t know how to fix it. It was also a little farther from Kotors city center than expected. The beds were hard as well.

Authenticity & Character

Location

A little farther away than we would like

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

No AC

Vila Nepos

Split

This is an amazing location. Right in the center of Split and it was extremely clean. We loved that it felt like we were staying in a castle with all the exposed stone. Our only complaint was that the bed was a little hard, but this is just a personal choice and understand everyone has their own preference when it comes to beds. Great location and host and would t hesitate to come back again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

So helpful!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Ston Oysters Experience & Wine Tasting

Croatia

Best seafood ever!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Original Travels (Abdellah and Said) arranged a wonderful trip for us. They quickly and easily made the minor changes that we requested for the itinerary prior to booking. There were no surprises with the booking itself.

The trip went off without any significant hitches. Our driver, Ilyace, was great. From the pick-up at the airport through our last day in Marrakesh, he made sure that we were always taken care of. We appreciated his knowledge of Morocco and his clear love for his country. His English was excellent. We were so grateful to have a driver - the traffic in the cities was crazy. We would not have enjoyed the trip nearly as much if we had been trying to navigate everywhere that Ilyace took us.

Our accommodations were lovely overall and when food was included, it did not disappoint. Kashbah Titrit near Ait Ben Haddou was a lovely facility with gorgeous rooms, a beautiful terrace, and an amazing (and affordable) dinner menu. However, the jacuzzi needs to be shut down. It was moldy and made the entire pool and common area smell bad. We just didn't use the jacuzzi, so it wasn't a problem for us. Hotel Xaluca Dades had an expensive and very underwhelming buffet dinner that we would not recommend. Hotel Movenpick Casablanca also had an expensive buffet dinner on the 16th floor, but it was worth every penny. Dar Jasmine in Chefchoauen was probably our favorite - the setting on the hill was breathtaking. Their dinner was inexpensive and delicious.

Our activities were well planned and most were exactly as advertised. The guided tour in Fes was somewhat disappointing - while we saw the things that were noted, it felt like a good portion of the tour was going into shops where we were often sat down to get a sales pitch. It doesn't help that we had no idea the actual value of many of the items that were being offered so bargaining (which is expected) was difficult. Along the trip, we figured out that shopkeepers are likely often starting at twice the price they are willing to accept. Sandboarding in the dessert was nonexistent. A single sandboard was available at our hotel. It was actually an unwaxed snowboard, so it did not fit well over regular shoes and did not slide down the sand. If waxed, it may have been fun. I get the impression that the hotels just have the boards available and you can grab them, so I would not ask for this to be a special activity.

We skipped our planned Food Tour in Marrakesh because our guide let us know that most of the places she liked to showcase were closed for Ramadan. We appreciated her honesty and the company treated us to dinner on the square instead, which seemed like a very appropriate response.

Unfortunately, it rained on the day we planned to do the hot air balloon ride, so it was cancelled. The company refunded that expense without hesitation.

Overall, we loved the trip and were extremely satisfied with the support from Original Travels through kimkim. I would consider booking another vacation with kimkim in the future. It was definitely more expensive than most of our vacations, but it was also the most pampered and luxurious vacation we've taken.

Hotel Reviews

Riad Nyla And Spa Marrakech

Marrakech

This hotel was just recently completely redone and it is modern and beautiful with the classic character of the riads.

Authenticity & Character

Location

very convenient to get to the Marrakesh souks

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kasbah Titrit

Ait Ben Haddou

This hotel is really great. I'm only giving it 4 stars because the jacuzzi is really bad. It has mold on the ceiling and makes the whole common area smell bad. This was unfortunate because the pool area was otherwise really nice. This hotel has a fabulous rooftop terrace as well. The restaurant served us one of the best dinners we had, from the beautiful presentation of the meal to the delicious food. It was also very inexpensive. If they just drained and shut down the jacuzzi, this would be 5 stars.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The rooms were great. The jacuzzi was icky and made the common areas smell bad.

Hotel Xaluca Dades

Boumalne

This was a nice hotel. It felt much more like any other hotel outside of Morocco as it was significantly larger than the other places we stayed. The buffet dinner was really underwhelming and overpriced for the quality of the food. The included breakfast was good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

there was a bit of a strange smell in our room, but not in the kids' room

Riad El Yacout

Fès

Lovely Riad in Fes. Our rooms had beautiful stained glass windows in addition to the gorgeous decor. The included breakfast was very good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

seemed very convenient for the places we went from here

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

newly redone bathrooms that were very nice

Dar Jasmine

Chefchaouen

This was probably our favorite hotel during our trip. The combination of the character and the view over Chefchoauen made it so peaceful and serene. I would love to go back and stay there for a week or 2. The staff was excellent and the food (inexpensive dinner and the included breakfast) was really good.

Authenticity & Character

It was just really neat - both the indoor and outdoor spaces were all well thought-out

Location

gorgeous views over the city

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mövenpick Hotel Casablanca

Casablanca

The actual hotel and rooms were very nice, but nothing special in particular (especially when compared with some of the riads). However, it was clean and convenient. The restaurant on the 16th floor served a really impressive buffet dinner. The selection was excellent and everything was delicious. It was about $40 per person, which was more than we were expecting but there was nothing else open in the area because of Ramadan. Thankfully it was really good. We did not realize that the main floor also had a restaurant that I bet was also good and less expensive.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Orient Desert Camp

Merzouga

This was a really cool experience. If only all camping was this luxurious... The staff here was really kind and enthusiastic. The food was delicious.

Authenticity & Character

The evening music with the staff was quite engaging and fun. They worked really hard to get everyone involved.

Location

Beautiful to arrive by camel (although 1 camel ride is enough in my life...).

Staff

Kind, respectful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Architectural Elegance: A Journey through the Hassan II Mosque

Morocco

The mosque is beautiful. The tour is a larger group and our particular guide was a bit difficult to hear as the group was large. It felt a bit rushed, but was still very interesting and worth the time.

Hammam & Spa Experience Marrakech

Morocco

This was pretty cool. We had the bath and scrubbing with the black soap. We then had time to relax followed by a massage. It was a busy place so it felt a bit like we were being moved through (because we were), but it did not feel rushed.

ATV Ride in the Dunes of Merzouga

Merzouga

This was so much fun!! The Quads were high quality machines and we had a great time racing around the desert. Really a blast. The only hiccup was that we were a bit confused about when it was supposed to happen - nobody told us in the morning that we'd be doing it at the end of the day. It worked out just fine though.

Morocco Last Nomads Experience: Tea, Tales & Desert Adventures

Merzouga

Ali was a member of the hotel camp staff, so he also sang with us in the evenings. He drove us into the desert and we had tea in a nomad tent. We had berber pizza and got to see a fair bit of Merzouga. The shops that we stopped at here did not feel as pressured as in Fes.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Cooking Class in Fes

Fes

Ameena was amazing. She took us shopping in the souks for the vegetables for our chicken tagine. Her home was lovely and the instruction was great. The completed meal was delicious and I'm so glad we learned how to make chicken tagine!! It was a privilege to spend time in her home and to meet her family.

Quality of Experience

It was really great to purchase food in the markets and then take it back to Ameena's home to prepare our meal.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ameena was a good teacher.

Transport

Ameena met us at the hotel.

Sand-Boarding in Erg Chebbi (Free of Charge)

Merzouga

The hotel had a 'sandboard' for guests to use. It was a snowboard that was not waxed. Because of this, you did not slide down the hill. There was only one board, so if it had been working, we would not all have been able to go.

Our trip to Morocco was pretty amazing, partly because the country itself is so amazing, and partly because Sharon, KimKim, and the team at Morocco Immersion Tours pretty much thought of everything to make it really special.

When we first spoke to Sharon, we told her that we'd booked a flight to Marrakech and intended to spend the first four days there -- and that we'd like her help with the rest of our 11-day trip. I think we said something like, "Here's our budget. How about a little time in the mountains, a little time in the desert, a couple of days in Fes, and then we fly back to the States from Riad?" And, with only that input, Sharon put together a draft of an itinerary that was based on our preferences, and filled with fun and interesting places to eat, stop, tour, learn, meet crafts people, hear music, and enjoy excellent accommodations along the way.

To say that the itinerary was very detailed and very complete makes it sound boring, but the detail was very reassuring (i.e., someone is actually thinking of EVERYTHING), and the way it was written got us even more excited about the trip than we already were.

Key to the success of our trip was our driver, Rachid, who was not only a great driver, but also a great person: warm, funny, likable, knowledgeable, and ready to help us with anything we needed on a day-to-day basis. He was our driver, our guide, our translator, our photographer (because sometimes our "selfies" aren't as good as they could be), our cultural tutor, and more. It was a real pleasure to spend time with him.

We are new to new having someone else plan a vacation for us and drive us around, because we usually do it ourselves. We thought Morocco might be the place to get some help from the experts because there is so much to see and do, we could use help prioritizing -- and not only do we not speak Arabic and Berber, we can't even read the alphabets!

This was truly an amazing experience from beginning to end. Sharon and Rachid took all the work and anxiety out of everything, and gave us the luxury of just being able to relax, experience, and enjoy!

The guides and drivers were excellent

The details and the planning for the trip were excellent. We changed plans many times prior to finalizing - I loved the flexbility of the planning - I was in charge. However, about 2 weeks prior when I was emailing Paulina, she never responded. A new person was assigned to my account and that went fine after that, but I had to escalate. During the trip, there was one hotel where our rooms were on 2 different floors - we were travelling with 3 kids. The hotel said there was no comment in the reservation that said they had to be together - so either the hotel was being difficult or there really wasn't a note. That was the only hiccup. The only other issue was the pick-up times for our events were so early - and I didn't realize that until one week prior. I should have asked more questions as to WHEN the trips were planned so I could have modified them. We were being picked up twice at 6:30 a.m. when the hotels' free breakfast didn't start until 6:30 a.m. - making it as if we really didn't get a free breakfast. I would look into those details if I were to use them again. Having said all that - the service of the drivers was excellent - everything went off without a hitch.

It was so easy planning a trip with Hakim, he managed to organize our trip very quickly and thoroughly. It took the stress and time out of planning it myself. Very helpful to have a tour company who knows the country and to organize all the main highlights, accommodations, tours etc. It was also very nice to have a personal driver for all the long drives who knew where to stop to eat and visit.

I recently returned from a trip to New Zealand that was, overall, a great experience. However, there were a couple of unexpected factors that left us feeling slightly disappointed.
One of the biggest challenges we faced was the unpredictable weather. We had planned to do several excursions, such as a zodiac trip at Mt Cook a helicopter ride to the Franz Joseph glacier, and a couple of others but unfortunately, the weather didn't always cooperate. We had to cancel some of our planned activities due to rain or wind, which was disappointing.
Another challenge we faced was with some of the locations where our trip planner had booked us. In a couple of cases, we found ourselves in small towns or rural areas where there was little to do and we didn't have our own transportation to get anywhere to do anything, including getting something to eat. This made it difficult to fill our time and left us feeling a bit bored and frustrated.
Despite these challenges, we still managed to have a great time in New Zealand. The natural beauty of the country is truly breathtaking, and we were able to enjoy many stunning vistas and landscapes during our trip. We also met some incredibly friendly and welcoming people and learned a lot about the history and culture of the country.
Overall, I would recommend a trip to New Zealand but would advise travelers to be prepared for unpredictable weather and to carefully consider their itinerary to avoid any areas with limited activities or transportation options. With a bit of flexibility and planning, however, I'm sure anyone can have a memorable and enjoyable trip to this beautiful country.

Hotel Reviews

Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise - Real NZ Fiordland Navigator

Manapouri

Location

Beautiful fjord!

Staff

great people good experience

Millennium Hotel Rotorua

Rotorua

Staff was very professional and courteous, breakfast was very nice

Location

Easy walking distance to things

Staff

Top notch

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very good

Marlborough Bed & Breakfast

Tuamarina

Unless you have a car do not stay here. It is not near anything, not that there is a ton in Blenheim anyway. We were stranded here for two days. Our included breakfast consisted of some fruit, yogurt, and 4 eggs that we had to make, ourselves and clean up all the dishes and that was it for two days. This place is nice, but in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do. Every day we would hear what sounded like a huge gun or cannon going off every few minutes starting in the early morning. Turns out it was grape harvesting time and the local growers literally had a gas cannon that they shot off to keep the birds away. This went on all day long at random intervals many times an hour. The proprietor was confused as to why we were even staying there considering we didn't have a car. We thought about trying to do some laundry as that was supposedly one of the perks only to find out that there was a washer but no dryer. We had to take taxis back and forth to town to eat which was costly and a pain because we were way in the back and could not tell when they were in the main driveway. Our pick up for transport to the train was not until late afternoon but the owner insisted that we check out by 10:30. With some back and forth with our travel people we got an early pickup but then had to sit around with our bags all day in town waiting for the train.

Authenticity & Character

The place was nice enough

Location

Far from town if you don't have a car. No good access to food, for the cost of the place the "included" breakfast was a joke

Staff

We felt like they just wanted to get us in and out of there. Really not an enjoyable experience

Merivale Manor

Christchurch

This is a bit misleading unless you actually stay at the manor as billed. We stayed in what was basically some motor lodge-type rooms right on the main road. Room was okay the proprietors were nice enough, but I wouldn't call it a three-star location. Perhaps the actual Manor house is nicer

Authenticity & Character

Kind of cheap motor-lodge rooms

Location

Not really close to a whole lot if you don't have a car

Staff

Owners were nice

Activity Reviews

Eco Thermal Park - Eco Thermal Full Day Tour

Rotorua

This was an interesting excursion, but our guide was very rude to my wife at one point seemingly because he was trying to rush everyone through so he could get a sub-set of the group back by a particular time. Which made the experience less enjoyable for us as we had to dash from stop to stop. And as I said the treatment of my wife for trying to get a cup of coffee not knowing we had to leave right away because he was in a hurry, which was not communicated to us at all. Just set a very negative tone for the day for us

Quality of Experience

The guide

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was rude and rushed us the whole time

Transport

Ride was fine

Auckland to Rotorua, Hobbiton & Waitomo Caves

New Zealand

I enjoyed this more than I might of expected. The glow worms were quite interesting as was Hobbiton. Our driver was quite a character and kept us entertained on the long drive

Quality of Experience

Interesting and liked Hobbiton more that I though I would

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver was quite entertaining and made the trip fun

Transport

The driver

The Essence of Waiheke Wine Tour

New Zealand

This was a lovely stop, loved the island and wineries. Everyone was wonderful including the driver who was nice enough to take us to one of the stops we missed because of the Ferry. The lunch at Three Seven Two was excellent one of the best meals on our trip

Quality of Experience

Lovely place, with nice people, good wine, and food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Driver and wine tour people were wonderful

Transport

Need to let people know to get to the Ferry early

Sounds Connection Half Day Wine Tour

New Zealand

This stop in Blenheim was a waste of two days

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Stargazing from Mount Cook

Aoraki / Mount Cook Village

Never got to go due to weather

Twin Glacier 30-Minute Helicopter Flight with Snow Landing

New Zealand

Never got to go

Polynesian Spa Lake View Private Pool

Rotorua

Waste of time

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

It all went very well. Meree was good, but unfortunately fell ill(?). Julia took over and was equally responsive.
A few misunderstandings were quickly fixed (hotel booking, change of dates on boat etc.
So it was all good, enjoyable and well done to the team!

Hotel Reviews

Radisson Blu Hotel

Tromsø

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Thief

Oslo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bergen Børs Hotel

Bergen

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Reine Rorbuer

Reine

Great room, but service was non existent. Admittedly it was Easter but….NO breakfast, path to room was unwalkable with snow and ice. Nearly fell over several times. Called the number and simply got an answering service . Terrible

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Anker Brygge

Svolvær

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Norway in a Nutshell Tour

Norway

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fjellheisen Cable Car Ticket

Tromsø

Quality of Experience

Northern Lights Hunt by Bus

Tromsø

No northern lights….no-one to blame other than the clouds!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Marta helped us plan out a family trip to Barcelona and Madrid with a few day trips. She was helpful and patient with us prior to the trip. And we received a detailed plan through their app before we arrived with all the tickets/vouchers and info we would need. We packed a lot into the 9 day itinerary, and it all went very smoothly. It was nice to sit back and enjoy the trip while all the guides and drivers were all where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there! And any questions that came up were promptly answered by Marta and her coworkers. All the guides were great.
We weren't sure how the mosaic activity would go over with the kids on the day we arrived in Barcelona (on a red eye). But it turned out to be a relaxing activity that we all enjoyed, and we got some nice souvenirs to boot.
Also, not all of us were thrilled about the hike in the mountains on the way to Segovia, but it turned out to be a highlight of the trip for all.....it was very beautiful.

Activity Reviews

Hike & Historic Segovia

Madrid

Gabrielle was our driver for the day. He was great and kept everything flowing. We were picked up in Madrid and taken to the mountains for a hike with Hugo. We had a nice hike along a mountain river which was highlight for the entire trip. Then on to Segovia for a nice suckling pig lunch and then a city tour with Maria. The ancient aqueduct is pretty cool.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Family Day Trip to Toledo

Spain

Toledo was beautiful. We had great weather and it wasn't too busy, so that helped. Our guide Natalia picked us up at the train station and took us for a nice walking tour through the city starting with a nice view from outside the old city. Included some stops for local treats.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

A Day along the Mediterranean Coast: Beaches, Boats, & Medieval Towns

Barcelona

The area is beautiful. We had a nice hike, a little walk through a coastal town, a boat ride, and then a nice meal on the coast. Vincente and Joaquin were well orchestrated getting us around. It was Easter Sunday, so it was a pretty crowded the day we went.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Barcelona: A Family Friendly Experience

Barcelona

Lisa was engaging with the kids and got them interested in the history of the Gothic Quarters. The area is pretty cool.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Family Fun: Mosaiccos (Trencadís and Mosaic Workshop)

Barcelona

This was a chill activity for the day we arrived to Barcelona on a red-eye. We all enjoyed and got some cool souvenirs to bring home.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The trip planning was terrific. Some minor suggestions:

Would have been nice to know it was Ramadan when we were planning the trip.
Car should have been prepared with water for us

Riads were fantastic! Our driver, Soukayna went above and beyond. Like traveling with a friend. Guides were all great. Everyone was very timely.

Wonderfully planned vacation. Excellent clearly planned details provided. Always available for help along the way!
Patagonia is amazing......hike to Grey and the base of Torres del Paine is a MUST!!!!!!
El Perito Moreno in Argentina is spectacular!!!!!!
We unfortunately were unable to do the kayaking to Glacier Grey because of high winds.....but I would still recommend doing it.

After putting over 100 hours of research into our family trip to Paris, I'm very happy with the tours and guide choices. Amandine had good ideas and stitched everything together very well.

We have a 5 year old and a 2 year old, I'm pregnant and we also traveled with our nanny. There were a lot of moving parts and we hadn't done a trip like this before. We obviously had things that worked well and things we wouldn't do again at our current stage. I can't speak highly enough of the Blue Fox tour group, especially the bike tour we did was so much fun for everyone. While the museum tours were really well done, I think they're meant more for children 7+ (not 5+) and I wish we'd gone without the kids.
We stayed at Marriot hotels in Paris and Dijon (we have status) and those worked great for our large group and we're in a centralized location. Figuring out the Paris Pass was more complicated than I thought (you have to attach a photo to it or get a ticket!) But it made traveling around Paris very easy.
Amandine did a great job of taking my research and finding the specific tour guides, booking, and coordinating everything. I just printed everything off and drivers would text me the night before to confirm pick up.
The two issues that came up that I would recommend other people be aware of when booking:
First the protests-- I'm not talking about trash in Paris, but the national protests, dates published in advance, most of the city shuts down. It wasn't Amandine who told us it was happening, that we would need to reschedule our tours for that day, or areas to avoid since we had small children, but the Blue Fox tour guide the day before and some local friends living outside of Paris. I had to reach out to Amandine to confirm and arrange for our trip to Versailles to be refunded. At that point it was the day before, so we couldn't reschedule to another day without major disruption. This was a pretty big deal and something I absolutely think should have been communicated since the days are published in advance.
Secondly, I'd asked Amandine if she'd be able to help book restaurants while we were there and she had told me she could. I had selected the restaurants but had wanted assistance with making the reservations to inform the restaurant of my pregnant dietary restrictions. She informed me 3 days before we left that she couldn't complete the reservations without my credit card and sent me website links. Obviously several of my choices had already booked up at that point and I was left scrambling to try and find alternatives. I would rather her have been upfront that it's a service she doesn't offer and I would've taken care of it myself.

Fortunately communication with Amandine was always easy and she was readily reachable when I had the protest concerns while we were in Paris. This is our second time using KimKim and I'm very pleased with Amandine's putting the trip together, and really selected great tour guides! I do think those two negatives were pretty big for us though and I recommend either her group be aware and make changes for future clients or clients understand the limitations of her group.

Activity Review

Private Family Bike Trip

Paris

Cecilia is amazing and this bike tour was everyone's favorite thing on our whole trip. Can't recommend this highly enough.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport