Kimkim Trip Reviews

From our local area specialist, Abdellah, to our driver to our constant guide, Abderrahim, to our local guides in both Fez and Marrakech, our trip could not have been ANY better. A great example of this was, as soon as I notified Abdellah, of some concerns I was reading of our Sahara Desert accommodations (while ON the trip), he immediately investigated and decided to make changes, which were WONDERFUL (I had not wanted to say anything just off reviews, but glad I did, and he agreed, that changes since we booked had been made to the accommodation, and he was unaware, until I notified him). I NEVER use full service tours such as this, as we are very seasoned travelers, but given our shorter trip (6 days), I did not feel there was any room to leave things to chance, and am SO GLAD we selected both KimKim and Abdellah! Cannot recommend enough! This "seasoned" traveler will be using KimKim for future adventures for sure!

No one can predict the weather, but even with half the trails covered in slow, we were able to navigate with very little worry. Olivier was great to deal with, and we look forward to planning another trip some day.

You driver was phenomenal. Had a wonderful trip and plan on returning.

My 16 year old daughter and I had the trip of a lifetime, thanks to KimKim and Tasos' planning! Firstly, Tasos was incredibly patient and helpful as we tailored the trip to fit my budget and my daughters dreams (there were several incarnations of this trip before we finalized the best version). And we were not disappointed! It was the perfect mix of tours (private, small group and large group), down-time and free-time. So glad we made a two nights stay in Athens to take in the sights with a super cool semi-private "Mythogical Tour". On Santorini, our hike from Fia to Oia with Georges was a definite highlight. What an excellent guide; funny, interesting and knowledgeable. He definitely had the inside scoop and helped us avoid the crowds and see some really beautiful sights. Throughout the trip our lodging was excellent. The Agean Gem, on Santorini was above and beyond expectations. The hotel is impeccably clean, beautifully decorated and in an amazing location, very close to the beach, beautiful hiking and within walking distance to the outdoor cinema (which I highly recommend).

The rafting trip was well organised and a great day out !

Planning process with Hsu Hlaing was very smooth and she obviously had a lot of experience. She was very responsive, communicative and proactive and made the whole experience getting our ideal itinerary so easy as a local expert.

Both our guides, Tunn tunn in Mandalay and Min in Bagan were excellent - friendly and professional and had so much to share with us about the history, people and culture of Myanmar.

Overall a great experience and would highly recommend for planning your dream trip with minimum fuss!

My husband and I took our four children (ages 11, 8, 5 and almost 2) and my mother-in-law (aged 60+) to explore Iceland on an 11-day Ring Road tour. Preeti was excellent in assessing our desire to see as much as possible, while being realistic as to what was possible given the ages of our crowd and the duration of our trip. The itinerary that she curated for us was excellent. The accommodations were fantastic -- cozy, spacious and conveniently located. Whenever an issue came up -- once with our rental car and with our accommodations in Reykjavik -- Preeti and her team (Pauline and Halldor) were quick to respond and followed-up until the issue was resolved, checking back-in with us to make sure we were satisfied. Communication through the app is easy and convenient. We had a great time and would definitely use kimkim again. We especially recommend horseback riding in Husavik with Madja at Saltvik Horse Stables (she could not be more attentive with my daughters, both beginner riders), Into the Glacier at Husafell (the entire team was excellent, although it is a long experience and younger children are likely to get cold and wet and miserable towards the end), and glacier hiking at Skaftafell with Icelandic Mountain Guides (Till was awesome, but note that this is a long hike and younger children may get tired towards the end). Too many great experiences to choose from -- we are exhausted in a good way!

Trip was great. Andre was very responsive to our questions. We had a tour guide cancelation on the first day and he quickly found us another. He also quickly helped verify our kayaking trip when the company had questions about a voucher #.

A few thoughts about the locations:
We didn't know what to expect at each location, and relied on the local experts for that. That being said, Bergan was a nice jumping off point. Flam was probably our favorite mainly because of the bike ride and kayaking. 3 days there was just right because we had activities planned for each day. Had there not been any activities, there is nothing to do there as it's a cruise ship port with nothing but tourist shops. The hotel was nice in Bergan and Flam.
The visit to Bordund on our way to Skei was great. Skei didn't have much to do as it seemed like a midpoint between driving destinations. The hotel there was just ok.
The next stop was Gerainger. The location of the hotel was amazing. This was another tourist/cruise ship stop. We never went down into town as there wasn't much to see there. instead we went on some nice hikes up to the waterfall and up to the viewpoint of the fjord above the hotel. That was very nice. The last stop was Alesund. I read a lot about this town and everything written said it was an amazing town, lots to see and do. We had 3 nights there which was 2 nights too many. Walking around the town, it was nice, but it looked like any other mid size European town. There also wasn't a whole lot to see. When looking at activities to do in town, almost every one was something that we had already done (day trip to Gerainger, Stave Churches, kayaking....). There really didn't seem like a whole lot to do there. The day long road trip to Trollstigen was really nice. I found a few other stops along the way which made it more interesting (Andalsnes and Valldalen didn't offer much to see).

Overall, the countryside was incredibly beautiful and we wouldn't have been able to see it had we not rented a car and drove through the smaller villages and towns. Kimkim was very helpful in arranging the tip, but some of the locations didn't offer much to see.

Thanks again!

Olman did a fantastic job arranging our trip to Costa Rica. We were very happy with the hotel recommendations as well as activities that were pre-arranged. Transportation was flawless. Various drop-offs and pickups were all right on time. I changed my plan mid trip , and Olman sent new itinerary within a few hours. Great job.

Our trip to Greece was lovely. The guides were wonderful, and the itinerary covered what we had asked for - archeology, mythology, and some family relaxation time. The visit to the family farm / vineyard was especially memorable for our entire family. Hercules, a guide that we had in Nafplio, was also wonderful interacting with the kids- teaching my youngest all about the local plants, and talking to my older two about Scouting in Greece.
The primary reason that I am giving 4 stars instead of 5 for our local specialist was that I didn't receive the confirmation numbers - particularly for our car and hotel until just a few days before our departure. I believe they were booked beforehand, and would have appreciated having those numbers "in hand" for my own comfort.

It was a great trip - and I would use Kimkim again!

Highly recommend KimKim and will use them again on my next big adventure! The travel company with whom KimKim matched us, Royal Silk Holidays was fantastic! Our main travel planners, Suwanna and Supi were great during the planning phase. Great communicators and truly tailored our trip for our interests and budget, making as many changes as we required. Our Thailand private tour guide, Niracha Saksopin (Pom) was fantastic! She and her driver were a huge part of our excellent experience. We will request her on our next visit.
Our outdoor "adventure" experience with 8 Adventures was phenomenal! Highly recommend them! Our guides, were top notch! Our 4-wheeler guide was kind, fun and attentive. Our hiking and home-stay guides, Oat and Jafu were terrific! The Lahu home-owner for our village home stay, Pim Weda, was so very nice and hospitable.
Our "Elephant Owner for a Day" experience at Patara Elephant Farm was even better than expected! Highly recommend!
Finally, the beautiful boutique hotel, Yaangcome Village was absolutely wonderful! Highly recommend!

Hi there,

I was skeptical of using an impersonal travel service like this, but it worked out fantastic and I guess this is the way of the future. I am a single female traveler and usually go alone. Myanmar was intimidating to me so I hired KimKim to help me out. I will definitely use them again. Everything was set up exactly as they stated. The price was reasonable. They were with me every step of the way. They tailored my six day trip to Myanmar perfectly. The guides on the ground were flexible, spoke English, and super helpful.

Most importantly as a single travel, I felt 100 percent safe. I loved Myanmar in large part because of the experience that KimKim set up through the guides. I will use them again (did I say that already?!).

Some small nuanced notes: I chose the least expensive lodging choices. In doing it again, I would work more closely with KimKim on the lodging. One location was very far outside Yangon city center. I liked the place but the location was not ideal. The hotel/guest house set me up with a sim card and Grab so I could get around the city using this service (the Asian version of Uber). It only cost about $2 to drive the 15 minutes into town.

Also, very nuanced, I had a hard time leaving Myanmar. My guide helped me buy some jade rocks in the market. We didn't get a receipt as it was only $20 at a place that was not the kind of establishment with official receipts. However, when departing Myanmar, I was immediately confronted by Customs after the X-ray of my bags. I was accused of exiting the county with "precious" stones without a receipt and they were confiscated. The guide should have known that would have been an issue. If I had a receipt, it probably would have been fine. It could have got dicey. It did not. I lost $20.

I don't consider the rock incident KimKim or the guide's faulty. Myanmar is still emerging tourism. It was ultimately my fault as a tourism 101 will teach you to get receipts.

See you for the next trip KimKim,
Megan

Our 15 day tour with our guide and driver Sanjaya was most enjoyable. We visited most of the main tourist sites. Sanjaya was both knowledgeable and informative about the history and culture of this beautiful country and was a confident and competent driver. We really enjoyed his company and attention to detail. He took a little extra care to show us some of the foods and fruits of the island and always knew a good place to eat.

The various types of accommodation were just as we had requested them. All of them were reasonable in price, clean and with the basic amenities that we needed. We didn't want anything flash and yet we wanted an opportunity to meet people. The accommodation arranged met those requirements. We stayed in hotels, homestay, a safari camp and self contained BnB types of accommodation. Of particular note were our homestay at Alex's Homestay in Kandy where we enjoyed home cooking and great conversations with our hosts. They were lovely people. In Jaffna, we stayed at D'Villa with Raj and his team and once again enjoyed his company and his home cooked Sri Lankan breakfasts. He loved a chat and was always on hand to provide information or assistance.

The Lion Rock at Sigiriya was most impressive though we needed some help from the guides to climb the 1 200 steps. We could only marvel at the ingenuity of the third century artisans and craftsmen who built the water gardens and sculpted the rock formations. Similarly, the rock temple at Anuradhapura , with its beautifully sculpted Buddha and ancient roof paintings, captivated us. indeed, all the temples in the various cities were of great interest to us, particularly with Sanjaya's guidance and information on their part in the culture of the country. We were disappointed not to be able to explore the highland tea country a little more because of the weather - foggy and rainy.

In summary, we believe we got great value for money and, despite arriving at a difficult time after the Easter bombings, we felt safe and comfortable wherever we went. We can certainly attest that the situation is well in hand and encourage people to come and experience this magnificent country and meet its friendly people.

Thanks to the folk at Kimkim for putting together a fantastic trip.

Overall itinerary was well planned and hotel selection was superb with good location and services except for the following :

1) Hotel Splendid Nice, who did the dinner booking for us, failed to inform us of the change in restaurant. We had a nasty shock when we went to the given restaurant and found it to be empty of furniture. The alternative restaurant we managed to locate was poor with meat dishes.

2) Hotel in Forcalquier is an excellent resort hotel, but is located 2 km from town. Taxis service was hard to come by and under the terrible heat wave, we were thankful that the hotel get their staff to send us to town and later, after much frustration in trying to get taxis, arranged for their staff to bring us back to the resort.

Marion, the local guide in Nice for the gourmet walk about was very friendly and gave us plenty of information about Nice. Marc who brought us to Monaco was a responsible guide. The Aix walking tour guide, Arthur, was very helpful and gave insights of Aix En Provence, Remy, our guide from Aix to Marseille is a cheerful and caring guide that provide plenty of information about the places we visit.

Overall Simon has done a good job in arranging this tour. It would be better if we can have a communication link such as what's app established before the tour start. We were on our own on first night when we found the restaurant we were supposed to have dinner was closed, and we didn't know then it was the hotel who arranged it. My attempt to reach Simon by phone went straight to voicemail.

Ingrid was fabulous. She planned our trip perfectly and was always quickly available and pleasant to work with when I had questions. I would highly recommend kim kim and Ingrid.

I am so glad I found this site. I was able to describe our interests, and Isabel put together a very nice itinerary that hit all our interests and maximized the use of our limited time, but still had some down time built in. Having a local "shepherd" us, first from the airport onto the bus/hotel, and then each morning to the group activity, took so much stress off of us (standing in line, buying tickets, wondering where the meet point was, etc.). We have traveled in many countries, but this by far was maybe the smoothest and best thing I've ever done -- all the comfort of a local who speaks the language without the constraints of being tied to the same group/same activities each day. Once in Puerto Ayora, Karina checked us into the hotel and explained the itinerary for the coming week, including what activities, recommended footwear, etc. Karina was both personable and efficient - always on time to the minute, with the taxi right on time as well - no stress at all. The group tour (hiking and snorkeling - our two favorite things) with Fausto on Santa Cruz was a big highlight - great tour!

Sortiria organized everything very well. Her suggestions about what to see and do when were excellent.

The car rental was excellent, and the enterprise agent was very helpful.

The hotels / Guesthouses were all good - the best room was the Stracta hotel. In general the hotels all had winter blankets, and for many the windows did not open very wide so we were quite hot given the weather. It would be great if hotels could use the "layering concept" that hikers use for their clothes when the plan the blankets for their beds.

Chile is an outstanding travel experience. I have traveled extensively in the world and I believe the country of Chile is one of the best. The scenery is stunning and the people are warm and friendly. My wife and I returned from a three week trip yesterday and are basking in the afterglow.
Our guide and driver in the Santiago and the Elqui valley areas were Alejandro and Luis. There can be no better guide than Alejandro with Senderos Nativos and no better driver than Luis.
Alejandro is a personable individual whom I immediately felt comfortable with on an interpersonal level. I feel privileged to be shown the country of Chile by a person of his stature. He is brilliant in his knowledge of all aspects of Chilean culture, history, flora, fauna, and landscape etc. Luis is likewise easy to get to know and is extremely efficient and dependable. He has raised the level of driving to an art and I never once felt uncomfortable with him behind the wheel.
Travel to the Atacama area is a must. It is a travel experience that is singularly unique and powerful.
Our guide and driver in this area was Javier with Huellas del Desierto. Like the two individuals just mentioned, he is easy to communicate with and is completely knowledgeable of the Atacama area. He went above and beyond to make our experience in San Pedro both fun and informative. He is a professional in every sense of the word.
Our guide in Valparaiso was April who was perfect in every sense. Valparaiso is another must visit travel destination. April brought the city alive in a manner that would have been impossible without her.
Mery ( primarily) and Daiana (backup) worked hard to make our travel experience happen the way I wanted. Mery was critical to the success of the trip and she came through perfectly. Daiana also provided assistance at critical moments. Everything that was arranged happened as planned and occurred like clockwork. I have friends and family considering a trip to Chile and Argentina and I would not hesitate to recommend either one of them for travel assistance.
All of these individuals are complete professionals and are excellent at their respective skills. I have never written a review before but I can honestly say if you are planning a trip to Chile and/or Argentina, you can have complete trust and confidence in them to provide an unforgettable first rate travel experience.

We had a wonderful trip! The sights were amazing , the people so very nice, and the food delicious. Planning was stress free thanks to Preeti.

Overall Dimitris did a great job in helping us plan our family Greece trip. With so many amazing sites to see and islands to visit, it can be overwhelming knowing what would be good for our family and Dimitris took care of everything. We communicated through the trip and he quickly answered any/all questions that I had. We even met him in Athens and he handed us our ferry tickets and helped us buy an extra ticket that we needed when one of my kids joined us at the last minute.

We were also able to stay in apartments and houses that I didn't see on-line when I was doing my own research, which worked great for our family.

My only recommendation for people who are going to use kimkim services is to truly think about what you want your vacation to be and then kimkim can help you plan it. Review your itinerary very closely day by day to think about what that day will look like. Understand exactly where you will be staying (does it have a pool, is it close enough to walk to the beach, can you walk to places for dinner or will you need a car/taxi etc), if you have a free day you will then need to plan your own day/transportation etc., How will you get to/from the airport or ferry to the place that you are staying? Kimkim can set up all of your transportation or you can find a taxi/Uber if you want. If you do a tour do you want a private tour or a group tour? Overall it was a great trip and I would highly recommend Dimitris and kimkim. Thanks!