Kimkim Trip Reviews

The Galapagos islands were my number one travel destination, but the idea of planning and organizing a trip was a bit complicated so I reached out to KimKim and got paired with Tamer. I’m not sure how I got so lucky to have him as my agent.
Right from day one of us talking, he really put me at ease and gave me lots of ideas for the trip and options, and we worked together on things that I had heard of and wanted to do, and paired them with some things that I would never have known about without him. He took my budget and got us the most out of what we wanted to spend, and really personalize the experience for us.
When we got closer to the trip, he also sent lots of information for us on what we should be packing and what to expect when we got to Ecuador and the islands so that we were fully prepared.
Arriving in Ecuador, we were amazed at how organized the trip was, and Tamer had even gone ahead of us to the hotel to make sure it was up to our standards and leave us a little gift. Everything was so easy we knew exactly when we were getting picked up and where we were going and what to expect on each day trip we were taking. He definitely took all the guess work out for us and while we were in Ecuador, we even got to meet Tamer for lunch. I was beyond excited to meet him because I had been speaking with him daily for months, organizing the perfect trip, and I really felt like we had become friends over this time.
Every day on the trip, he would check on us and how we were doing and how we enjoyed each excursion or day that he had planned for us. I couldn’t have planned a more amazing trip without him.
I highly recommend if people are thinking about going to the islands to reach out and get someone to help plan that knows all of the amazing day trips, and different places you can go.
This was definitely the trip of a lifetime and one I will never forget.

Hotel Reviews

Wyndham Quito Airport

Quito

We were only here for a very short time, but the room was beautiful

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa Opuntia Galapagos Hotel

Puerto Baquerizo Moreno

Love the location of this hotel. You walk down the stairs and you are right at sea lion beach, which I love just to watch every morning when I would wake up.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Albemarle

Puerto Villamil

Nice staff and clean hotel. Good breakfast

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Isla Hotel

Puerto Ayora

Beautiful, small hotel. The location was wonderful. The only downside is I prefer a separate room for a washroom for a little more privacy and these ones just had a half length door off of the main room but other than that the staff was great and the hotel was clean and well cared for

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Swissotel Quito

Quito

This was a beautiful hotel, and the staff were so helpful and kind. Very clean, and a great location. Also, the restaurants in this hotel were amazing.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Embracing Nature: Discovering Wildlife on Española Island

Isla San Cristóbal

This island was another one of my favourites as far as day trips went while we were on our vacation. So many baby sea lions were here and we saw lots of birds, and even baby albatrosses. The guide we had this day was one of my favorites, and made the trip so enjoyable. Food on the boat was great and this island was one of my favourites for sure.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

360° Tour of San Cristóbal Island: Highlights, Beaches & Marine Life

Isla San Cristóbal

I loved the 360 tour because we got to see a lot of different parts of the island. However, if I could’ve done just a Kicker Rock I would have. If I went back, I would want to spend more time there. I can’t even explain the beauty of the coral underneath the water. I was shocked when we went snorkelling there. We saw hammerhead sharks here as well as turtles and sea lions. It was the most amazing snorkelling I did in the Galapagos.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wildlife Encounter at Los Tuneles (Cabo Rosa)

Galapagos Islands

This was one of my favourite days on our trip. We saw so much from sharks and rays to blue footed boobies and sea lions. We were even lucky enough to see some penguins on this trip

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

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

Puerto Ayora

So much wildlife to see on land and in the water. The guides were very personable and enjoyable to be around.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full-Day to The Middle of the World Monument - Catequilla Hill & Pucará de Rumicucho

Quito

The guide that we had for this trip was amazing. So knowledgable and made it such a fun day.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

When we chose Costa Rica as our honeymoon destination, we didn’t know that we would have the trip of a lifetime! From the first day to the last, Green World Adventures planned a fantastic trip for us! From a private rafting and bird watching tour to meeting people from different countries joining us on coffee and chocolate tour—each day unfolded into something special.

Every hotel we stayed at was a great experience, and they all were generous in surprising us with honeymoon champagne and chocolates. We want to visit again soon!

Hotel Reviews

Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, San Jose Aeropuerto

San José

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Volcano Lodge, Hotel & Thermal Experience

San Carlos, Alajuela

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

El Establo Mountain Hotel

Monteverde

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Parador Nature Resort & Spa

Manuel Antonio

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Ocean Kayaking Adventure

Manuel Antonio

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cloud Forest Reserve Hike

Monteverde

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee & Chocolate Tour

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Río Celeste & Tenorio Volcano Rainforest Hike with Lunch

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sloth & Bird Hike

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Night Walk Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano Hike & Tabacón Hot Springs with Meal

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer San José to Arenal with Safari Float in Sarapiqui River.

San José

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ana was just super helpful and supportive! Couldn't ask for a better Specialist. Its not a quick trip from Florida but once you get a feel of the argentinian people what a wonderful visit. Dont hesitate to see this gorgeous land!!!!

We had an awesome trip. Yassime, our driver/tour guide, was an excellent, attentive driver! Fez was really interesting, especially because of Sayid, one of the best guides we have had. If you plan a hike in the Dades Valley, make sure to request Bob. The Monkey Finger canyon hike was spectacular! Thank you, Sharon!!! We will be back to Morocco!!!!

Hotel Reviews

La Maison Arabe Hotel

Marrakech

Lovely hotel!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Chez Ichou

Dades Gorge

Authenticity & Character

No

Location

Staff

Great staff and food!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Madu Premium Camp

Merzouga

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ok

Riad Al Makan

Fès

Authenticity & Character

Location

Great location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Guided Tour of Fes

Fes

sayid was a great guide!!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

O

We had the most incredible time in Greece! KimKim made the trip super easy for us! Tassos and the KimKim Team were super responsive and worked with us to plan the perfect trip for our time in Greece. We had a whirlwind of a week visiting Athens, Delphi, Galaxidi (a gem of a seaside town), Olympia and Nafplio. We had the best tour guides all throughout the trip, from Athens to Nafplio, everything surpassed our expectations, the guides were knowledgeable, friendly and great people overall, we enjoyed meeting each and every one of them. The activities suggested by Tassos were fabulous, and not something we would have chosen if we were planning this trip on our own; specially the "picnic" at the organic vinegar manufacturer, how dare they call this a picnic, it was a magnificent feast of the most delicious Greek food! Dominik deserves a special mention as a superb guide during our last day in Nafplio, he really went above and beyond to make us feel like family.
Of course nothing is perfect, but the few mishaps we had during the trip (including a flat tire and some other car trouble) were dealt swiftly and efficiently by the Kimkim team. We always felt there was someone there to help us.
Overall, we would HIGHLY recommend KimKim to plan an unforgettable trip to Greece, we were blown away by the history, knowledge and people.

Kim Kim did a great planning for our 11 days trip to Peru. When we had to reschedule our Machu Pichu trip, the team did a great job in rescheduling. The airport pickup everywhere was on time and the team addressed our queries/concerns immediately. The local guides were amazing and very friendly. Especially our guide in Cusco, Flor, she is the best! Overall it was a pleasant experience with Kim Kim.

The guides and drivers were helpful and accommodating.

In Hanoi, Mr. Le “Leo” was kind enough to take us to some restaurants to taste some food we wanted to try.

In Hoi An and Da Nang, Mr. Tuan allowed us to stop by a tailor to get some custom clothes.

In Saigon, Victor helped us negotiate the chaotic Saigon traffic. One suggestion is that he should provide links to the videos he showed rather than showing them during the drives. It can be difficult to watch videos while in a car.

In KL, Suzi and Mr. Wong were particularly accommodating. We were able to go to the observation deck of the Petronas twin towers, despite that not being on the schedule. Mr. Wong’s driving through a flash flood thunderstorm on the way back from Melacca was quite impressive.

Activity Reviews

Half Day Kuala Lumpur City Tour

Kuala Lumpur

We were able to change plans and go to the Petronas twin towers observation deck

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bhaya Classic Cruise -Day 1

Ha Long Bay

The sights are gorgeous

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Outstanding throughout. The booking had to be changed several times for reasons beyond our control and Mieke was proactively helpful the whole time. Guide Jonten was excellent throughout an itinerary that was ideally tailored to me. Bhutan is a truly exceptional place that I will never forget, and I intend to return.

Can't express enough of how wonderful Sergio was in helping us plan our trip. Sergio easy to contact and there to answer all our silly questions and make changes when needed. He was even available during our trip and after we returned home. I will be returning to Costa Rica and will defiantly be using Sergio to help with planning. EVERYTHING was taken care of and we had zero issues. Best trip of my life.

Thank again!
Audrea Hiatt

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Costa Verde

Manuel Antonio

Beautiful hotel, great views(pool, patio, ect), nice staff, town foods and shopping are over priced. Walking distance to the beach.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Super super hard bed. Rooms are beautiful and big with small kitchen though.

Hotel & Spa Poco a Poco

Monteverde

Did not like walking up 4 floors to our room. Other then that the staff was nice and hotel was walking distance to the town. Food and shops were great as well.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lots of floors to walk up.

Casa Luna Hotel & Spa

La Fortuna

AMAZING!!! AMAZING!!! AMAZING!!!! Beautiful hotel and staff. Everyone went above and beyond to make our stay one to remember. Can't wait to go back. Loved the town and the local people. Everyone was so nice and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Just beautiful. Sitting on the porch and watching all the wild life was amazing. I could sit there for hours.

Location

Great location, close to the town. $7 taxi ride into town. Felt very safe at this hotel.

Staff

Nice beautiful people. Even the lawn crew smiles and says hello and welcome.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very Clean and comfortable.

Hotel Balmoral

San José

Okay hotel but didn't like San Jose. Had free breakfast and staff was friendly. A/C didn't work in our room the first night.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

100% Aventura Zip Line and Hanging Bridges Monteverde

Monteverde

Do it! I got to see flying toucans while ziplining.

Quality of Experience

Amazing! Was scared but I overcame my fear and I don't regret it.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private: Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Nature Hike

Manuel Antonio

This was not on our visit at first. Then after arriving and speaking to the locals and visitors. We learned how amazing the national part was. We opted to do a private tour and it was better then we could of hoped for. Wish we would of had time to enjoy the park beach, but we will for sure next time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private tour guide was one of the best in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. His love for this area shows. He loves to teach and wants you to learn everything possible able the jungle.

Transport

Horseback Riding to Nauyaca Waterfalls

Costa Rica

Breath taking experience. Horses are so fun and make the travel to the falls so easy. You fall in love with your horse and get to know there personalities. Horse guides are fun and make you smile. Horse guides also teach you a lot about riding a horse. Lunch after visiting the falls is amazing as well.

Quality of Experience

Food

Lunch made by local woman was amazing.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Dennis was a super fun horse guide. He always had a smile you his face and answered all our questions.

Transport

Private transport stop at his house to give us fresh made ceviche his wife made. BEST CEVICHE EVER! Nicest couple you will ever meet. They would of invited us in for dinner and made us feel welcomed.

Sloth Discovery Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

We saw a momma and baby sloth. The tour guys great and were able to find sloths just driving down the road. We got to see 5 different sloths. Learned a lot about 2 and 3 toed sloths. We even saw other animals like a howler money. So cool!

Quality of Experience

Seeing a baby sloth with his momma.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

So smart and ready to teach you everything they know.

Transport

Had water and umbrellas available for everyone.

La Fortuna Waterfall, Hanging Bridges, Arenal Volcano, and Ecotermales Hotsprings

Costa Rica

Great experience, would do this again. It was raining very hard and we did not get to go down to the waterfall but we did go to the over look. Ecotermales hot springs was AMAZING! We got to swing in the hot spring and order drinks. Then had a nice all inclusive dinner. Must do if you visit La Fortuna.

Quality of Experience

Food

Lunch was included at the hanging bridges and it was fantastic. We even had coffee and desert after. Dinner at the hot springs was amazing as well.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Loved our private tour guide Raul. He was very knowledgeable and we learned so much from him. He truly loves his job and teaching people everything he knows.

Transport

We had Raul as out pirvate tour guy for the day and it was worth the extra money.

Our holiday was memorable! Everything was perfect and we highly recommend travelling with kimkim.
Kripa was very patient in answering our many questions and was fantastic in organising the two weeks.
We did the 9-day trek to Ama Dablam base camp and visited Kathmandu and Bhaktapur.
The trek was fabulous. Our guide Suman was very helpful, punctual, friendly and always cheerful.
In addition, all the transport organised by kimkim was on time and the people we met were very friendly and helpful.

Thank you kimkim for this fabulous holiday and for letting us discover a part of Nepal!

Emi was fantastic all through the planning. She gave us great options and made changes based on our (not always clear) descriptions of what we’d like to do.

I fully recommend Emi (and Mateo) and Kim Kim

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Bellavista

Puerto Varas

Wow! What a view couldn't ask for a better location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pullman Santiago El Bosque

Las Condes, Santiago

Hotel, staff, and location were great!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full day Kayak Reloncavi Fjord

Puerto Varas

This experience was amazing! Fantastic views of the fjord, the volcano, and the sea lions. All while getting a little exercise out on the water. The the view from the woman’s farm where we stopped for lunch was awe inspiring. And she was extremely sweet. Chloe our guide was fantastic too. She was funny and knowledgeable. Also, I have to plug the lunch. All the other excursions had boxed lunches from a company. They were fine. But these lunches, someone took real time making just for us: salads, homemade cookies, coffee riverside, etc. And they took into account some dietary restrictions I have. Really put an amazing experience over the top by going that extra mile.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Excursion to Puyehue National Park and Hotsprings

Puerto Varas

This day was fun. But it was a lot of driving to get to views that may be replicated closer to Puerto Varas. Though it was nice seeing some of the small towns along the way. Christian, our driver and guide, was amazing. And he adored well when we hit some bumps. When we arrived at the park and hot springs, the staff was on strike, so we couldn’t do the big pool hot springs where you really soak. But in the end, that was ok. They didn’t seem to have much a view and just looked like a public pool. Instead we soaked our feet in the natural (and free) hot springs riverside.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full day Volcán Osorno + Trekking El Solitario + Petrohue

Puerto Varas

We are not a family who treks. So this ended up being some work and exercise for us. But so worth it!! The views, the environment… breathtaking. And Javier was an amazing guide. He could “read the room” and kept us laughing and learning. He helped us rest when we needed and motivated us when we needed it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Tour: Full Day Valparaiso & Casablanca Valley

Santiago

Orlando, our driver and guide for the day was very personable and informative. The wine tour was really good. Though it was a bit weird to do the tasting in the morning, it did mean we had a more intimate tour. The streets of Valparaiso were lovely, and the Neruda museum was fun and quirky. The only weak spot was perhaps the castle restarting for lunch and the tour through Viña del Mar. Neither was bad, just lackluster.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Huyen was very responsive and was very adept at answering our questions regarding our trip, but I felt the trip activities were very repetitive, subpar, and had poor time management in which we had hours between activities or didn't have enough time.

Day 1- Hanoi
The first day we had a great time with the photographer in the morning time at the hotel taking glamour shots. However, the cooking class/market was incredibly disappointing. The "bustling" market had no people walking around due to the time. The market is busy during the early morning, but we got there around 10am. The cooking class itself was the main disappointment. We made 3 separate dishes. The first dish was making steamed rice crepes and then hand wrapping them with premade filling. Making one or 2 is fine, but I didn't see the value in us making 30+ when we didn't want to eat that many. The second dish was basically wrapping tacos also with premade fillings with fried egg and rice paper. It was very very oiley. Also made a lot of them for no reason. Then we had an intermission where we made vegetable garnishes. It was fun, but very time consuming and also something we can do anywhere. The third dish we didn't even cook, we just watched her make a noodle soup and then ate it. Due to the time needed for the cooking class, we had very limited time for the rest of the day which we were supposed to have the photographer. The temple of literature was fun, but we didn't get any time to walk the old quarter and were very rushed while visiting the sword lake which was very picturesque before we had to go to the water puppet show.

Day 2-3 Ha Long Bay
Ha Long Bay was beautiful. I had initially questioned whether it was worth it to drive 3.5 hours there and then 3.5 hours back for an overnight stay, but the beautiful sights changed my mind. We took the ship Victory Star. The ship was clean although a bit rusty on the outside. Food was very mediocre. English speaking guide was ok. It was a bit difficult to understand him. The squid fishing and karaoke that was on the itinerary did not happen. The Me Cung Cave and climbing up for panoramic views were incredible. On the second day we were picked up from the boat and headed to the airport. We had over an hour before we needed to check in at the airport and we had to ask and get approval to have them take us to a restaurant before then heading to the airport. We were not checked in advance so we sat very far back in the airplane

Day 4-5 - Hoian
Hoian had the best hotel. The hotel staff was wonderful, the food very good and the itinerary was largely very good. The bike ride through the old quarters in Hoian, the Japanese covered bridge, Ancient house, Chinese temple and old house was very scenic and I really enjoyed the architecture. We then took a very long motor boat "cruise" along the river which didn't contribute much value in my opinion. The coconut village was fun though. We cast a net although no fish was ever caught. My sister was able to do the swirling coconut ride where the fisherman would basically rock the boat, but we didn't get that option (don't know why). Then we took a very long bike ride to the herb garden for lunch. We put on farmers clothes and took pictures and that was interesting, but the food was not great. I would have picked a different place for lunch if taking pictures was the draw. Day 5 - we had our own free time.

Day 6-8 Ho Chi Minh/Saigon
The flight that was scheduled for us was in the afternoon so by the time we landed it was past 2pm and half the day was gone. Again, we were not checked in in advance so we sat at the end of the end of the plane.
We were supposed to go check in the hotel first, but due to the time constraints we immediately had to go from the airport to driving around the city despite not feeling very well. We were also short of VND and wanted to exchange money at the airport, but wasn't given the time. We could feel how the guide felt immensely rushed from the speed of his walking and we were left with 2 hours to travel to 6 different places, before everything closed and the driver was off. Unfortunately, due to the illness of one of the travelers, after the first stop, we wanted to drop off the one traveler at the hotel (5 minutes away) before resuming the tour. Unfortunately, the driver left after dropping us off at the hotel before his time was up.

Day 7 we were scheduled to go to the Mekong delta/Ben Tre and then the Cu Chi Tunnels. The problem is that it would have had 5.5 hours of travel. We chose to only do the Ben Tre and then do Cu Chi the next day. Ben Tre was ok. It was a 2 hour trip to get there. While we were there, we took another really long motor boat ride that again didn't really provide much value. We had a very short display of how they made coconut candy, watched someone make straw mats, and then took a motor cart to lunch. Lunch was at Green Coconut. Presentation was nice, but food again was very mediocre. I would definitely have chosen to eat someplace else. Then another boat ride before going to the hotel.

Day 8 - we chose to explore HCM that we had planned for the prior day instead of doing the Cu Chi tunnels. It was a lot of fun and I wish we had spent more time exploring HCM instead of spending 4 hours of driving the day prior.

Huyen was very responsive and very nice, but I wish we were given more options and we could have picked what sounded interesting versus just being given a plan and then objecting to parts of it. We unfortunately didn't know what else there was to pick from.

In regards to exchanging money, I did not know that the crispness of the bills were of importance and it would have been immensely useful to know that.

Overall KimKim was flexible, but we found the planning to be not great. One of the things that could have helped would be an itinerary broken down with times and flight numbers. That way we would be able to tell the guide what we want to spend more time on or whether we want to spend 6 hours of the day in a car. In many days I felt rushed and also my time wasted due to the inefficiencies of the trip. I would have much more enjoyed having more time taking pictures and having more time to explore the city vs spending so much time seeing pheasant activities. I really don't see a value in seeing multiple farmers markets in the afternoon when no one is there and it's not even open. I don't see a value in taking so many boat rides. I also see no value in watching someone cook. It would have also been nice if there were restaurant recommendations for our down time.

Hotel Reviews

Victory Star Cruise

Hanoi

The boat was clean if a bit rusty. Food was very mediocre and I had trouble finishing it. The tour was fun if a bit rushed. Tour guide was a bit hard to understand. Not all activities on the itinerary set by the boat was done.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Eden Star Hotel & Spa

Ho Chi Minh City

Amazing location. Hotel felt a little dated. Food was mediocre.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Allegro Hoian

The best breakfast buffet of my whole stay in Vietnam. Very clean and the staff was nice. Close to the night market and walking distance to almost everything I wanted to do.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Oriental Jade Hotel

Hanoi

Nice hotel, but the views are a bit lacking. Food is pretty good

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Ha Long Bay Overnight Cruise

Ha Long Bay

Food not great, but the scenes were very nice. Tour of the cave was fun as well as the hike up the mountain for views.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ho Chi Minh - Ben Tre - Ho Chi Minh (2,5 hours transfer)

Ho Chi Minh City

It was not worth the 5 hour round trip drive. We drove all the way there, watched them make some coconut candy, straw mats, took a motor car ride, and then had a mediocre lunch. Redundant boat rides

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hoi An - Tra Que Village & Hoi An Ancient Town

Hoi An

The bike ride through the old quarters in Hoian, the Japanese covered bridge, Ancient house, Chinese temple and old house was very scenic and I really enjoyed the architecture. We then took a very long motor boat "cruise" along the river which didn't contribute much value in my opinion. The coconut village was fun though. We cast a net although no fish was ever caught. My sister was able to do the swirling coconut ride where the fisherman would basically rock the boat, but we didn't get that option (don't know why). Then we took a very long bike ride to the herb garden for lunch. We put on farmers clothes and took pictures and that was interesting, but the food was not great. I would have picked a different place for lunch if taking pictures was the draw.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanoi Cooking Class & City Tour

Hanoi

The first day we had a great time with the photographer in the morning time at the hotel taking glamour shots. However, the cooking class/market was incredibly disappointing. The "bustling" market had no people walking around due to the time. The market is busy during the early morning, but we got there around 10am. The cooking class itself was the main disappointment. We made 3 separate dishes. The first dish was making steamed rice crepes and then hand wrapping them with premade filling. Making one or 2 is fine, but I didn't see the value in us making 30+ when we didn't want to eat that many. The second dish was basically wrapping tacos also with premade fillings with fried egg and rice paper. It was very very oiley. Also made a lot of them for no reason. Then we had an intermission where we made vegetable garnishes. It was fun, but very time consuming and also something we can do anywhere. The third dish we didn't even cook, we just watched her make a noodle soup and then ate it. Due to the time needed for the cooking class, we had very limited time for the rest of the day which we were supposed to have the photographer. The temple of literature was fun, but we didn't get any time to walk the old quarter and were very rushed while visiting the sword lake which was very picturesque before we had to go to the water puppet show.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We recently used Kimkim to put together a 10 day trip to Peru. I usually love to put together travel itineraries, but in this case, I just didn’t have enough time to do it justice. I haven’t used a travel agency before and was a little nervous, partly because I hadn’t used this type of service before, but also because I am a very picky traveler and like to avoid typical tourist experiences. This led to quite a few requests and questions on my part that Jessica very promptly answered. She walked us through each step of the planning to make sure that we were able to accomplish everything that we wanted to do on this trip. I felt like she really listened to our requests and was able to create a trip that was perfect for us. She set us up with amazing tours and experiences that had not even been on my radar. Our particular favorite was Edwin from Cusi Travel who took us through the Sacred Valley and through Machu Picchu. He was a wealth of information and was able to make the history come alive. Jessica’s support did not end once the itinerary was put together, but continued throughout the trip. She helped us set up additional transportation and negotiate travel delays that arose with a shut down airport in Lima and ensured that we were not delayed any longer than necessary. I was incredibly happy with the support that Jessica and Kimkim provided and the caliber of experiences that they set up for us. I will definitely be using them again.

Hotel Reviews

El Mapi by Inkaterra

Cusco

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Novotel Cusco

Cusco

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pullman Lima Miraflores

Miraflores, Lima

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Discovering the Treasures of Machu Picchu

Aguas Calientes/ Machu Picchu

A once in a lifetime experience that did not disappoint!! Absolutely magnificient! While I expected this from the location and site, it was made even better by our outstanding tour guide Edwin from Cusi Travel. His descriptions and fact about Machu Picchu made the trip far more meaningful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pachamanca Lunch at El Albergue Farm in Ollantaytambo

Peru

So fun! Great experience both learning about Pachamanca, but also more about the El Albergue farm.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sacred Valley Tour: Cusco - Pisac - Ollantaytambo

Peru

Excellent experience that really augmented our understanding and experience of Peru. Our tour guide, Edwin was the highlight of our trip. He provided a great mix of current information and historical facts. He made the history and region come alive.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lima Food Tour - (PM Tour)

Peru

Outstanding. One of the highlights of our trip. Our tour hit some great locations, and our guide was full of information about Lima and its cuisine, including some great historical information.

Quality of Experience

Great variety. Delicious!!

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very informative. Lots of fun.

Transport

Meree was great at listening to what I wanted to see and do and updating the itinerary accordingly. Julia was helpful while traveling as well.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Ullensvang

Lofthus Hardanger

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Heimen Hotel

Bergen

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fretheim Hotel

Flåm

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotell Bondeheimen

Oslo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Fjordcruise in the Nærøyfjord

Flåm

It's extra cold with the wind, so need to factor that in. It was a great experience. It's helpful to follow audio guide to know what's coming up because it goes pretty fast. I missed a waterfall.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The trip was incredible; I totally recommend it! Yousef (our driver and companion) was amazing, always available, very kind, and resourceful. Samir was very responsive and answered fast.

Hotel Review

Sun City Camp

Wadi Rum

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Petra Basic Visit

Jordan

amazing!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wadi Rum (2-3 Hrs Jeep ride)

Jordan

a must!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our kimkim experience was fantastic! Lucas worked with us to plan an unexpected trip. He offered insight and guidance to ensure that we received the most well-rounded Argentina experience in the time we had available. From quality lodging to excellent guided service, we thoroughly were able to enjoy the culture, people, food, wine, and excursions. We pleased with all of our service but specifically that of Fabian and Fleur. Their personalized attention, friendliness, knowledge, professionalism, and flexibility were superb!

Our trip provided us with comfortable stays at the Posada Verde Oliva and the Charming Luxury Lodge. We have very found memories of a cooking class and amazing meal at Casa del Visitante and of course Saint Julia wines. (FYI, best empanadas ever!) Our tour guide Fleur gave us the most educational, enjoyable day for a tour of Uco Valley Wine Country. We were then off to breathtaking Bariloche where we relaxed, hiked Cero Llao Llao, and kayaked the lakes of Patagonis (Lago Gutierrez). Lastly we enjoyed a historic tour of downtown Buenos Aires. It was absolutely a trip of a lifetime. Thanks to kimkim, Lucas, and our amazing guides for making this trip hassle free and fantastic!

It's hard to know where to start. My first trip to Spain was filled to the brim with sites, tastes, and experiences. We must have walked 3 - 7 miles/day. Regarding the guides:
Tslila's Tapas and Wine/Vermouth Crawl in Barcelona was a superb intro on our first night. So much fun and delicious food and drinks. I must have tasted four different vermouths. Tslila couldn't have been better.
Miguel's tour of La Sagrada Familia and the Gothic Quarter was superb, a highlight of our trip.
Our guide in Girona was amusing but he seemed more interested in taking photos of members of the group than anything else. The misunderstanding regarding the contents of the tour (Costa Brava instead of Figueres) was solved quickly and generously by Helena and the kimkim team. We were able to fit in the Jewish Museum and lunch on our own and then take a taxi to see the Dali Museum.
Our small group trip to Monserrat with Alex was memorable. The views are spectacular. He is an enthusiastic and well-informed guide. We were surprised and impressed by the art museum there, too.
Eduardo's tour of Granada via Senses was a nice way to weave in the history of the places we passed but the synthetic fragrances did not always hit the mark and we had little room to carry home the fragrance kits.
Our Alhambra guide was excellent but we don't have his name.
Flamenco dance experience was enjoyable but it was an hour instead of two hours and did not include "a fascinating overview of this culturally distinct musical genre, from its origins to its current global renown."
Eva was the perfect person to introduce us to the Jewish history of Ubeda since her family's home, which she opened for us, contained Jewish history.
Marta was an informative and entertaining guide to Baeza.
The driver who took us to Cordoba from Granada was accommodating and flexible when his instructions didn't match our expected tour. We were able to fit in most of what was listed (confusingly) for the day, although in a different order. We were not able to visit the olive oil factory.
Antonio Jose's tour of the Medina Azahara was well done. Impressive.
The guide for Cordoba (Saray?) was superb. She had a dramatic and informative way of showing us the steps in the transformation of the Mezquita.
Sevilla - our tour was supposed to include the Cathedral and bell tower as well as the Alcazar and the Santa Cruz neighborhood but ended up being split into two different tours, the latter led by Pablo who was excellent, the former afterwards led by Teresa whose stories about the two sisters was memorable.
Jorge's evening introduction to the Hapsburg district was interesting. He shared many insights and left us off at a wonderful restaurant friends had recommended which happened to be across the street from his hairdresser.
We enjoyed Esther's generous wine, vermouth, and tapas tour near our hotel in Madrid. She shared a wealth of information.
Our guide for Toledo (Antonio?) was excellent - so enthusiastic and informative. We appreciated his detailed discussion of the former Synagogue.
Elena's tour of Segovia included details and stories that were very interesting. Our only tour in the rain/drizzle went very well and the restaurant she reserved for our lunch was excellent. Love those artichokes.

The plane and train tickets Helena prepared were a big help.

The hotels:
All the hotels and breakfasts were great:
The Radisson Blu in Barcelona was the least charming but the breakfast was the most extensive - amazing spread. After being offered a room with no view - just the air shaft - they gave us what seemed to be the honeymoon room which had light coming in.
The Aurea in Granada was well situated and historical with lovely Garcia Lorca quotations on the wall.
We appreciated the whimsical creativity and light of our room at the Madinat and enjoyed the Hammam experience that was included. The staff was very nice as was the breakfast.
The hotel in Sevilla was very well situated and elegant with a slightly less extensive breakfast.
We enjoyed the art and craft nature of 7 Islas in Madrid but never did get to sample their craft cocktails - too busy. The staff was helpful and the breakfast was excellent.

Highlights for me:
Museums in Barcelona, Monserrat, and Madrid we went to on our own: Miro, Picasso, Dali, El Prado, Thyssen, Reina Sofia, Sorolla
La Sagrada Familia and Casa Mila
Wine/Vermouth/Tapas tours
Cordoba's Mezquita
Driving through the olive orchards
Olive oil tasting - guide was very good
Several superb restaurants

The experience working with kimkim was enjoyable. I appreciate the initial approach where we discussed the pros and cons of various scenarios - six iterations before we paid anything. There were a few mix-ups while we were in Spain but they were settled right away. We packed a lot in and, at 71 years old, were amazed at our stamina. Perhaps we should have left more free time.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Madinat

Córdoba

Creative and comfortable with excellent staff and breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

originality

Location

Staff

helpful and English-speaking

Cleanliness & Comfort

Áurea Catedral Hotel

Granada

Comfortable, historic, good location, very good breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Radisson Blu 1882 Hotel, Barcelona Sagrada Familia

Barcelona

Superb breakfast. Not charming. Many rooms have air shaft views.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

7 Islas Hotel

Madrid

Creative design and very helpful staff. Outside room with light but noisy at night since the Spaniards eat fro 10pm - 1am it seems and then hang out in the street.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Casa 1800 Sevilla

Sevilla

Elegant and fun location.

Authenticity & Character

Restored building Lovely breakfast area. Our room had a sitting area and bedroom.

Location

It wasn't noisy but was off a pedestrian street with restaurants and very near the Cathedral.

Staff

A few little problems with the wi-fi. Staff was helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

No complaints.

Activity Reviews

Barcelona Highlights: Guided Walk & Iconic Sagrada Família

Barcelona

Guide was excellent. Everyone should experience La Sagrada Familia.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Monumental Seville on Foot & Visit Real Alcázar

Seville

An excellent introduction to Sevilla.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Taste Madrid: Wine, Tapas & Vermouth

Madrid

The guide was excellent and brought to us to especially selected bars where we were served generous portions of wine, vermouth, and tapas.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was excellent.

From Market to Kitchen: Cook Paella

Madrid

We enjoyed the food tour in the market and the small class. We helped make salmorejo, spinach and chick peas, and paella. We learned how to make a real sangria and how to debone a chicken. Each person was involved and there were accommodations for vegetarians and pescatarians.

Quality of Experience

Segovia Highlights Day Excursion: a Fairy Tale Getaway

Madrid

Loved the designs on the buildings. Tour included the Jewish quarter and other interesting sites and beautiful views.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Train Madrid to Toledo, Guided Visit of Toledo, Train Toledo to Madrid

Madrid

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was very knowledgeable.

Transport

Train was fine. Good to have the tickets purchased in advance.

Highlights Walk of Old Madrid

Madrid

Very nice evening tour with history and interesting neighborhoods. Madrid is so large it's hard to get a feeling for it and this was just one special corner.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Spain's Liquid Gold: Visit an Andalusian Olive Oil Estate

Spain

Very interesting and worthwhile.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Staff was great. The driver got a little lost - first time ever - but got us there.

Private Guided Visit of Córdoba

Spain

See my evaluation of guides.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Medina Azahara Guided Tour at Night

Córdoba

Wasn't at night but was very good.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Renaissance Splendor: A Day in Úbeda & Baeza

Granada

Very nice addition but don't know if it is necessary given the amount of trips and activities that were put into our 18 days.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Helpful if the drivers speak English although our Spanish skills helped.

Flamenco Show

Granada

Would have liked an explanation of the history of Flamenco. Dancing was great.

Quality of Experience

Guided Visit: Alhambra & Generalife Gardens

Granada

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Discover Granada Through Its Scents

Granada

Guide was very good. Senses part - nice idea but not that necessary.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Discover Girona & Dalí’s World

Barcelona

Mishap related to misunderstanding of the tour group was remedied very well by kimkim. Fit in the Jewish Museum in Girona.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Scenic Escape to Montserrat Monastery and Nature Park

Barcelona

Go to the museum in addition to the church. May need more time to go up to the top of the mountain.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Taste Barcelona: Authentic Tapas & Neighborhood Walk

Barcelona

Guide was great. Excellent tour.

Quality of Experience

Food

Variety of tapas and wines and vermouths.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

This was the best trip of our lives! The travel agent, Terry, was amazing and planned our trip to the fullest extent possible! We will use her again in the future!

Activity Reviews

East Glacial River Whitewater Rafting

Iceland

This was the best thing we've ever done!

Quality of Experience

Absolutely breathtaking!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Viking rafting was phenomenal!

Transport

Perfect!

Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon Kayaking Excursion

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Everything!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was amazing!

Transport

Perfect!

Our trip to Mexico was amazing!

Rutopia basically set us up with a personalized guide in both Mexico City and Oaxaca for our family of four. We felt totally taken care of -- private car, private transfers, and private tour guides showing us around everywhere -- flexible to our needs. It was totally a luxury, and not how we usually travel. I think we could have done this trip for about 30% cheaper if we did it on our own. But, we were traveling with two small kids, without knowing much Spanish, so I was glad we paid extra for the luxury. It was worth it. We would have never found all these tours and private guides without the help if Rutopia (via KimKim).

Also, Rutopia found us two gem hotels to stay at -- little boutique hotels in quiet neighborhoods with easy access to everything -- Casa Decu in CDMX and Hotel Tabaa in Oaxaca. We LOVED where we stayed.

Highlights:
* Food Tour of CDMX with Adrian from Eat Mexico. Learned about all the foods of Mexico and their history. Fruits, pastries, cheeses, mole, and tacos.
* Seeing the CDMX Anthropology Museum with our guide Jose.
* Dinner at Rosetta in CDMX. One of the best restaurants we've ever eaten! (We did this on our own)
* Seeing the Pyramids of Teotichuacan with our guide Jose. Good explanation of the site and plenty of time to explore on our own. I just wish we could still climb the pyramids.
* Private transfer from CDMX to Oaxaca stopping in Puebla and Zapotitlan Salinas. The cactus reserve near Zapotitlan Salinas was particularly awesome to visit. Way off the beaten path -- but spectacular to be among the cactus like that.
* Street Food Tour of Oaxaca with Pepe from Ethnoturstica. We ate ALL the things and learned so much about the history of Oaxaca, Mexico, and all the different types of food -- from memelas, to agua fresca, to mezcal.
* Guided tour of Monte Alban with Alejandro. Learning all about this ancient Zapotec site that I'd never heard of before the tour.
* Visiting the alebrije workshop and the black pottery workshop near Oaxaca.
* Private cooking class in the Oaxacan country side -- starting with a visit to the market to buy everything, cooking everything from scratch, and eventually eating it all.

Things I would do different:
* Xochimilco in CDMX was meh. It was a Mexican party boat. It wasn't what we were looking for with two small kids. Most people can safely miss.
* Don't book a tour everyday. If I had to do it again, I would have one "dead" day in CDMX where we can do things on our own, e.g. visit the Centro Historico and another "dead" day in Oaxaca where we can just wander the city.
* Tell your guides early on that you want to have lunch and to work it into the plan. The working assumption was usually "no lunch". Which didn't work for the kiddos.
* Don't book fancy dinner reservations on the days that you are doing food tours. After the food tour I basically didn't want to eat for another 18-24 hours I was so stuffed.
* Note that Guides are important for context at various sites -- but you don't need them all all the places. For example -- Centro Historico, Coyoacan, the more "tourist markets", and many other places in CDMX are easily visitable on your own. I would strongly recommend getting the private guide for Teotihuacan, the Anthropology Museum, Monte Alban, food tours, and the cooking class.

All in all though, an amazing experience -- we really felt like we got to see large swaths of Mexico, learn a lot about the culture and food, and be taken good care of the whole time.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Tabáa Oaxaca

Oaxaca

We loved our stay at Hotel Tabaa. It's located just three blocks away from the Historic Center of Oaxaca in the neighborhood of Jalatlaco -- just a short walk from all the action, but on a quiet corner away from it. The inside of the hotel is a beautiful courtyard that feels like a little oasis in the middle of Mexico. We loved spending time in the courtyard having breakfast, tea, and hanging out on the hammock with the kiddos. Our initial room was a single room with a double bed -- that wasn't big enough for our family of four (which includes a baby). But after talking to the owner, he was able to switch us for the last three days to their master suite that had two separate rooms -- a master and a "family room". That was a perfect fit for us on the ground floor. I wish it had a kitchen, but we made do. The little breakfast kitchen in the courtyard was just ten steps out our front door, so we ended up using that to store our milk and make bottles for the baby. It really just felt like our courtyard. The staff was *super* nice and helpful as well. They went out of their way to make us feel welcome and helped us order food when we arrived there late at night on the first day, store our baby stuff under the stairs, help us switch rooms, and just talk and get to know us (and us them). It felt like staying at a family house rather than a boutique hotel (in the best way). Super authentic.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa Decu

Mexico City

Fantastic boutique hotel right in the heart of Condesa. It's on a quiet street just steps from the greenbelt that circles the neighborhood (Amsterdam Ave). The room we were in (a suite) was well appointed for our needs. We had one room with a queen bed and a crib. Our older daughter slept on the couch in the living room that could be converted into a comfy twin size bed. There was a kitchen as well with a fridge, microwave, and sink -- perfect to store water, milk, make bottles, etc. One of the best parts of Casa Decu is the rooftop. We had breakfast on that roof every morning . There is a nice spread of juice, coffee, bread, cereal, yogurt -- with the option to purchase hot food if you wanted. It was really relaxing to go up there every morning overlooking Condesa and have a lazy breakfast and chat with the other tourists at the hotel. The staff was really helpful as well -- pointing our restaurants, letting us store our baby stroller and car seat on the ground floor, and keeping the room sparkling clean.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Be amazed by the pre-hispanic beauty of the chinampas in Xochimilco

Mexico City

This was meh. It's a Mexican party boat. Wasn't the right fit for us as a family of four with a baby. We just sat on the boat for 2 hours and in traffic for another 3 hours to get there and back. Would not do it again. It felt very "manufactured", e.g. a tourist trap like experience where it's just a bunch of other tourists on boats and people trying to sell stuff to us.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rural cooking workshop in Oaxaca

Oaxaca

This was one of the highlights of our trip. It was such an authentic experience. Pepe, our guide, took us to meet Dalia, our cook, at the market in Tlacolula. There we picked out all our vegetables and meats and took them back to Dalia's house in the village of Santa Ana del Valle. There she has a big kitchen where we got to work. Dalia only speaks Spanish, but Pepe was there to translate for us. We made: * a mole from scratch with dried chiles, corn, and other herbs. We ground it down on an old school moler stone. This was much of the fun. * A pumpkin flower soup with zucchini in there. So good. * mashed down corn to make empanadas and the mole base * sweet empanadas from our corn mash and corn husks We ate: * our mole over chicken * said soup * chile relleno * agua fresca * said sweet empanadas We would do this again in a heartbeat. My 8 year old loved it and participated in everything. The baby was happy there crawling around on the floor and interacting with all the other people.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Max was a great guide and we had a wonderful experience! There is so much history, culture, and delicious food to be had! Our stay on Mount Koya was an indescribable experience and it was something I’m super happy we had the opportunity to do.

Hotel Reviews

Shinjuku Washington Hotel - Main Building

Tokyo, Shinjuku

Exactly what we needed in Tokyo. Great location, great staff, delicious breakfast!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Station

Kyoto

Beautiful, clean, great staff, great breakfast, and great location. The laundry self service was perfect!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Koyasan Saizenin

Wakayama

Something I never imagined having the experience to do but it was unforgettable. The communal bathrooms and specified shower times were interesting. Was happy to have the experience.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Japanese Buddhism, Mount Koyasan

Mount Koya

Definitely was unaware of what I was walking into, but we got the full immersion experience by staying in a temple. You have to just fully go with it and enjoy the experience!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Traditional Kyoto

Kyoto

Max, our tour guide, was super knowledgeable! Beautiful city and we got to so and see so much in our short time there.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hakone Full-Day Private Tour By Public Transportation

Japan

Make sure to take the cable car to the top of the mountain for a view of Mt Fuji and black volcanic ice cream!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

7-day Ordinary JR Pass

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visiting Osaka: The Gourmet Metropolis of Japan

Japan

So much fun exploring this city and eating all the food! The local fashion and culture was really cool to experience and different than the other cities on our trip.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport