Kimkim Trip Reviews

Overall, I would recommend trip planning through Kimkim and if that travel involves Spain, Marina is definitely a top notch choice. The hotels and experiences were first rate. My daughter and I really enjoyed ourselves. My only issue and that's why the rating isn't a 5 is the inability to make changes once the trip started. I was told that we could have some flexibility but unfortunately, any change always involved a fee. I feel there should have been better communication about which hotels and airfares were locked in.

Our trip was amazing. All of the hotels were nice. Our drivers were always on time. The guides were very good. I would use Kim Kim again!

Hotel Reviews

Inti Punku MachuPicchu Hotel & Suites

Machu Picchu, Aguas Calientes

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa Andina Standard Cusco Plaza

Cusco

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Del Pilar Miraflores Hotel

Lima

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sonesta Posadas del Inca Puno

Puno

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Shared Uros & Taquile Floating Islands tour

Puno

Shared tour to Pisac, Ollantaytambo & Chinchero tour

Cusco

I wish I could give Kimkim and our travel specialist Nikola more than 5 stars. Everything about my trip to Croatia was terrific - start to finish. I usually plan family trips on my own - researching destinations (Kenya, Tanzania, France, Spain, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Mexico, etc), figuring out where to stay, what to do, and where to eat. This time, I traveled alone to Croatia. I needed to plan the trip quickly, and did not want the burden of having to rent a car. So after reading many wonderful reviews online about Kimkim decided to take a chance and book through them. Nikola was very attentive from the start. Once he figured out what kind of trip I wanted, he planned every last detail - private airport transfers, private tours, and beautiful hotels. He even suggested restaurants along the way. I could tweek anything I wanted. I decided to upgrade two of the four hotels he originally suggested, but when I look back on it, I probably didn't need to do that. All of his suggestions were spectacular. I will absolutely use Kimkim to plan future travel, and have already recommended the company to many of my friends.

Hotel Review

Adriana Hvar Spa Hotel

Hvar

This place is the bomb. Hvar is like a 2,000 year old Nantucket, and this hotel is in the middle of all the action. Clean , spacious rooms, amazing pool and spa, fun rooftop deck looking over the harbor, and walking distance to everything.

Authenticity & Character

chic and clean

Location

Accessible to everything!

Staff

the only downfall was the waiter who didn't want to serve us drinks at 9pm on the front patio until we told him we were guests of the hotel

Cleanliness & Comfort

beds were cozy!

Activity Reviews

Private Walking Tour of Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik

Ivana was lovely. She grew up in Dubrovnik so told us what life was like during the Siege 30 years ago. She gave us many historical facts that helped as we walked the wall the following day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Full Day Boat Tour to Blue Cave & Pakleni Islands

Croatia

We had so much fun with Dominic and Dea! Dominic gave us the grand tour around the Adriatic. The Blue Caves were a little overrated, but the small coves and beaches were terrific. The water is unbelievably clean. Dominic played great music the whole day and we really loved the chill vibe.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hvar Half-Day Private Island Tour (Afternoon)

Hvar

5 stars for Grgo! He was so kind and knowledgeable. We loved hearing about growing up on Hvar and what it's like to raise a family and make a living on the island. We enjoyed learning about his wines, loved seeing his home town (Jelsa is super cute), and enjoyed eating a traditional meal off the beaten path.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Walking Tour of Split

Croatia

Ivana was terrific. She was so kind and well natured and easy to understand

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Antonia organized the trip I took to Croatia with my friend. From the beginning she was cery helpful with every step! When I arrived in Zagreb a driver was waiting for me at the airport and when I arrived at the hotel they already had all information on a serious food allergy I noted in advance. My friend and I had a driver named Ivo who drove us from Zagreb to Zadar and then to Split. He was great, very friendly and knowledgeable about the areas. The hotel we stayed in when in Split (Villa Toni) had the friendliest front desk representative. He ensured we had everything we needed, presented us with a wonderful breakfast each morning with items we mentioned we liked and he was aware of our our itinerary. We had a personal boat for a day when in Split and the skipper named Stipe was very nice and took us all around (Blue Lagoon etc ) for 8 hours! When we arrived in Hvar there was a personal driver who took us around to parts of the island we didn't even know existed. Wonderful seeing all areas of the island. We finished our tour in Dubrovnik and stayed at the wonderful Hotel More. I would definitely recommend Kimkim and Antonia! Antonia went above and beyond helping us tweak our itinerary as needed during our trip.

Activity Reviews

Hvar Half-Day Private Island Tour (Afternoon)

Hvar

Our guide Josip was from the island and drove us to so many beautiful stops, including the area he was from. It was a private tour so you really felt the VIP treatment. We stopped for dinner at a local restaurant and were dropped off at our hotel at the end.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Private Boat Tour to Blue Lagoon & Island of Šolta

Croatia

We had our own boat for a day when in Split and the skipper named Stipe was very nice and took us all around the areas (Blue Lagoon etc ) for 8 hours! We stopped for lunch and went snorkeling over a shipwreck. Would definitely recommend!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Stipe was great!

Transport

everything was very good. Jenny was very responsive and helpful though out the entire process. Small details on the trip regarding specific locations, but nothing mayor. The experience was overall very good one

Activity Review

Horse Riding Tour

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This was one of our best trips to Europe. Croatia is a beautiful country and Robi made this trip memorable for us. The guides that we had starting with Bruno, Pero, Antea were top notch each one of them were experts in their field. Robi planned a special boat trip for us and we got glimpses of Dubrovnik from the coast which was the highlight of the trip.
I am very satisfied with this trip and will recommend it to all my friends and families.
Robi treated us like his guests and not clients and he inculcated the love of Croatia within us. This is invaluable to find. The customizations, the impromptu requests all were met smilingly and without any complaints.
We will be forever grateful to Kim Kim and to Robi who made this trip so very special. Robi went above and beyond for us and we will remember this trip for a very long time. Hvala vam to the entire team.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Marul

Split

The lady at the reception was not nice. The elevator was not working. Robi had arranged for a drink when we arrived. But the lady was very patronizing and told me that I should travel light which was none of her business and not professional

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Pasike

Trogir

Not good. We had a lot of trouble finding a parking and they were very callous about the whole thing. They should have a better parking arrangement

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Skradinski buk

Skradin

The lady at the reception was very nice and helpful

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Dubrovnik

Zagreb

Authenticity & Character

Location

It was in the heart of the city

Prijeko Palace

Dubrovnik

This was the best hotel. Very very nice. Staff was very professional and the room was the best!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

It was very well located and we were treated like loyalty!! Overall a great experience for us

https://www.facebook.com/VillaRadicSton/

Ston

Very nice arrangement and friendly owner

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Degenija

Rakovica

The hotel staff was nice and friendly

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Goodbye Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Leisure day in Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dubrovnik and Elaphiti islands - Lopud and Koločep private boat trip

Croatia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pelješac Penisula and Ston- Triple Atraction

Ston

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Split & Diocletian's palace

Split

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Krka National Park -Trogir

Skradin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit to Zadar and overnigth in Skradin

Zadar

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Leaving Zagreb and exploring Plitvice Lakes National Park

Zagreb

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Zagreb - Arrival Day & Sightseeing

Zagreb

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dubrovnik Old Town and the City Walls

Croatia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ryan and Brittany were great, always in communication during both planning of trip, as it reached closer to dates of departure to Costa Rica and when I reached out during my visit to Costa Rica. We had a mix of beach, rainforests and volcanoes - I wouldn't of changed it a bit. I highly recommend KimKim, they are a A+ in my book. Thanks KimKim.

Hotel Reviews

Karahé Beach Hotel

Manuel Antonio

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel & Spa Poco a Poco

Monteverde

Authenticity & Character

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arenal Country Inn

La Fortuna

Not my favorite, very dated and rustic. Rooms were tiny.

Hampton by Hilton San José Airport

Alajuela

Activity Reviews

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Nature Hike

Manuel Antonio

Arenal Hanging Bridges Walk & EcoTermales Hot Springs Experience with Meal

Arenal/La Fortuna

Really good suggestions and organisation. Picked venues I would never have chosen and activities that were all top rate. Would definitely recommend.

Julia planned my 14 day trip to fjords in Norway. She did a superb job and my trip was amazing. I visited Flam, Balestrand, Bergen, Geiranger, Alesund, and Oslo. Every place was charming with a beauty of its own. As I was a solo traveller Julia had planned most of my excursions and given me enough options for my free time. It was indeed travel made easy and enjoyable! Thanks Julia and KimKim!

I am so happy that we decided to use Kim Kim! Ina and her team were prompt and very knowledgeable and helpful in the planning and the actual execution of our trip. We were in contact with her the entire trip and she continued to modify our plan according to our wishes! Loved it! Thanks Ina and KimKim!

Hotel Reviews

Korali Palace Hotel

Naxos

Very nice hotel with very friendly staff and a great location. We just walked everywhere from our hotel!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right in town, but not on too busy of a street.

Staff

I loved the staff, but I wasn’t sure were else to mention this: the reception opens at 9am, and this is a problem when your flight leaves at 8:30am and you need to check out and pay the taxes on your room. Who I think was the owner did come down and open up early for us, but we had to get one of the breakfast staff to call her and explain our situation.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Herodion Hotel

Athens

A very nice hotel with a great rooftop bar and beautiful greenhouse dining room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Beautiful view of the Acropolis

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room was a little small, but other than that it was a great stay.

Cavos Hotel & Suites

Tinos

Super nice location and big rooms! Felt very luxurious. If you are big on cocktails however, the bar only makes a few of the common ones and they were not as good as we could find other places. However, the food and local drinks were very enjoyable! The pool is also very very nice. There is AC in the rooms, but it is only turned on when you are currently in the room. This is how it is all over Greece from our experiences.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Only giving 4 stars here because the bed was two twins pushed together and that was not ideal for our honeymoon hahaha. Also the AC situation was a shock coming from USA

Activity Reviews

Sailing Tour around Naxos

Naxos

Quality of Experience

Quality of Experience

Food

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transport

Hike & Cook in Naxos Villages

Naxos

SPECTACULAR! This was the coolest experience. The couple was so authentic and very hospitable and friendly. Our translator was super sweet and very knowledgeable. What was so cool with to me was that the translator (as the couple speaks no English) and the couple were actually good friends. It wasn’t just a job to either of them, they all would have been enjoying each other’s company without us being there, so it was like we were invited to a friends house for a casual but fun and delicious meal.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Emanuela did an incredible job planning this trip to Iceland for my family! She was super helpful and insightful about appropriate activities for myself, sister and dad. She was very professional and listened to our request and needs, and ultimately guided us in the right direction. We had a blast on the snowmobiles, forest lagoon, blue lagoon and glacier walking tour. We were provided an extremely detailed itinerary with where to go, the history behind the places and restaurant recommendations. There was a minor hiccup at a hotel, but Emanuela was reachable and helped solve the problem right away. We requested higher end hotels and only the ones in the main city of Reykjavik were exceptional. The others were a little run down compared to what we asked for, but that may be due to the remote towns we were in. Overall, we had a great experience.

Activity Reviews

Depart Iceland

Reykjavík

Easy airport.

Glacier Walking

Skaftafell

Our guide Sofie was incredible. She made the entire experience fun and educational.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

At the feet of the Vatnajokull glacier

Höfn

Would instead recommend going directly across the bridge to diamond beach. This area was extremely crowded and difficult to see.

Forest Lagoon

Akureyri

Stunning. Would recommend this over blue lagoon.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Scenic Drive to Akureyri

Iceland

Did not see. We used the Google maps gps map provider for our drive and didn’t realize this was optional so we were already too far past it when we realized it was missed.

Langjokull glacier snowmobiling

Golden Circle

The most incredible activity we had. The company was extremely organized and made everything easy. We spent a decent amount of time snowmobiling, so we were all really happy. Would definitely make this a most on people’s itinerary.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Golden Circle

Reykjavík

It was really beautiful but extremely windy and a little hard to drive.

The whole process from first contacting Daniel at Kimkim to discuss the itinerary through to arriving back home at the end of the holiday was as seamless as it could have been. Daniel was super responsive throughout and always happy to talk through any changes to the itinerary we wanted, and the guides/drivers we had in Ecuador were similarly super helpful and friendly (Danny, Francisco, Segundo and Pablo).

All the accommodation booked was exactly what we wanted (the Huayna Capac suite at the Luna Volcan adventure spa in Banos was particularly amazing) and all the activities were excellent (horse riding in Cotopaxi national park was a favourite of the kids, despite the weather). There was a lot of travelling during the holiday but the vehicle Daniel booked was perfect and spacious for a family of four.

Iberia airline were awful throughout but that's nothing to do with Kimkim and in fact Daniel helped a lot by finally getting Iberia to return our luggage which they lost. So if you want a reliable tour guide I would recommend Kimkim.

Hotel Review

Luna Volcán Adventure Spa

Baños

Book the Huayna Capac suite if you are in a family of four and it is available, the views are incredible. Checkout is 1230 lunchtime so make the most of it and checkout at 1230....

Activity Review

Agroecological Farm - Mompiche

Quito

We only stopped here because it was en route to our final destination but so glad we did as it was fascinating to get a personal tour of the farm and amazing lunch.

Our family of three returned last week from a truly phenomenal experience in Iceland, planned by Emanuela Grieco for KimKim. The process of planning the trip with Emanuela was entirely smooth - we worked through some adjustments after her itinerary was developed, and she incorporated our input at every step. Once we got on our way, we found the GoogleMap links to be particularly helpful on our driving days. While we did have a few very busy and long driving days, overall she planned just the right amount of activity in each day and the distances were manageable. Working with Emanuela saved our busy family a ton of time, resulted in an itinerary that we never would have produced ourselves, and and was worth every penny!!

Our itinerary that gave us sufficient time to explore Reykjavik at the beginning of our tripo, returning 3 mornings in a row to Braud & Co. for incredible pastries right near the Hallgrimskirkja. We had a really lovely dinner at Snaps, befriended a friendly Icelandic cat, and visited the Settlement Exhibition at the Reykjavik City Museum. She booked a helicopter ride over the volcano fields that left our 9 year old son's jaw on the floor, and a whale watch that enabled us to see 5 species of marine mammals. On our third day we left the city and toured the Snaefellsnes peninsula, having a very nice traditional Icelandic lunch at Langaholt Guesthouse & Restaurant on the south coast right after the Ytri Tunga Beaches. Further along, we joined a tour of a series of subterranean lava tubes left behind 8,000 years ago during a volcanic eruption. All around the peninsula, we kept trying to count waterfalls but there was so many it was impossible! By far our favorite hotel was FossHotel in Reykolt with lovely hot tubs and a quiet setting after a long day of travel. The Golden Circle is a "must do" but the sites along the way were (not unexpectedly) crowded and touristy - parking was a challenge at most stops. An unexpected find was the small, easily accessible Fitjarfoss waterfall off the 52 Road on the way to the Thingvellir Visitor Center from Reykolt. [Careful - there is more than 1 Reykolt in Iceland!]. After staying outside Selfoss, we traveled to Vik and along the way stopped at incredible waterfalls, fed bread to the friendly Icelandic horses and stumbled upon a film being shot on location at the Kvernufoss waterfall - a lesser known and much less crowded site than the incredible Seljalandsfoss waterfall. The Seljalandsfoss was awesome - our son loved the "pouring rain" and walking behind the falls. We had 2 perfect kid-friendly dinners in Vik at the Black Sand Pizza Company and Smidjan Brugghus and stayed at Hotel Kria, which had a great breakfast. Emanuela booked us a horseback ride along the black sand beaches the evening we arrived in Vik, and the next day she sent us out on a whirlwind day including a glacier hike on the near the Skaftafell Visitor Center with Troll Expeditions (Tina was a highlight for our son) and an amphibian boat tour of the Jokullsarlon Glacier Lagoon. The late afternoon sun light shining through drifting glaciers was gorgeous, and harbor seals were everywhere. On our last day we drove from Vik to Grindavik for an ATV tour over the lava fields and a final night at the gorgeous Silica Hotel, where we sampled the Blue Lagoon and had sandwiches at the hotel for dinner. The Blue Lagoon is absolutely worth, even if only for a strange, other-worldly experience and people watching!! Relaxation was more easily achieved in the smaller private lagoon of the Silica Hotel.

The overall experience was 5 stars. Karin’s direct experience and knowledge of Spain provided invaluable information in making decisions about the itinerary of the trip. The interactive application provided by Kimkim during the trip was extremely useful to review daily plans and verify trip details.

Hotel Reviews

Dear Hotel Madrid

Madrid

Great central location on Gran Via, metro station and plaza de ESPANA. Easy access to numerous city highlights

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Catalonia Catedral Hotel

Barcelona

Fair to good

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Petit Palace Museum

Barcelona

Fair to good

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Melia Sevilla

Seville

A lot of amenities and good ambiance

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel NH Collection Granada Victoria

Granada

Great location

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Catamaran Trip around Mallorca with Snorkeling or Paddleboarding

Mallorca

A fun way to introduce yourself to the island and get an opportunity to go swimming, relax, and drink.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Day Trip to Montserrat & Penedès Region Wine Tasting

Barcelona

Montserrat was very cool to see, but the wine tour was the highlight. You need to expand the time for the wine tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Guided Visit of Seville

Seville

The guide was truly passionate and insightful. Walking through the Jewish quarter was very cool. Again having someone provide you input to what your observing simply enhances the experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Transfer {{start_location}} to {{end_location}} via Caminito del Rey

Spain

Again, a must do if your in this region. The hike brings diversity to your itinerary with its breathtaking views and natural settings.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The actual S class Mercedes Benz used for transport; extremely comfortable!

Flamenco Show

Granada

If your in Granada you have to see this original local show. The performers were extremely passionate about their craft.

Quality of Experience

Guided Visit: Alhambra & Generalife Gardens

Granada

A MUST DO!!! One of the major highlights of the trip. The 8th wonderful of the world.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The high speed train

Train Madrid to Segovia, Guided Visit of Segovia, Train Segovia to Madrid

Madrid

Train ride is always fun. Segovia is a must with 3 major attractions: the Roman aqueduct, the cathedral and Alcazar.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Walking Madrid’s Old Town

Madrid

The guide was knowledgeable an insightful of the city’s history. She was very pleasant and easy going.

Quality of Experience

Tapas Culinary Experience

Madrid

A must do if your visiting Spain. You get to taste a variety of tapas and wines, while getting a local feel of the people during this bar crawl.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The trip was great overall, Our guide, Steph, was fantastic. We changed a few items in the itinerary due to weather/cancellations & added a few unplanned activities. All of the hotels were great. Activities
Bettys bay - Stoney Point Penguins colony; Wilderness - canoeing/hike; Boutkans bridge bungee jump; Tsitsikamma National park hike; Plettenburg Bay skydive; Robberg nature areas hike; Knysna catamaran sunset cruise; whale watch tour; Oudsthoorn cango caves; meerkat viewing

From the moment we started planning our trip James was an amazing resource and guide. He set up a fantastic itinerary that included Barcelona, San Sebastian, Costa Brava and Bilbao. We had amazing guided private tours in each city. Some of the highlights was the Pinchos tour in San Sebastian as well as our Picasso museum tour. The cooking class in Barcelona was very memorable. This was with cook taste Barcelona cooking class and our chef with Rosa. Our Picasso museum tour guide was unbelievably fantastic her name was Gilda

Rocio was our in country guide who was always available and made changes as necessary. We ate at some great restaurants hiked kayaked and spent amazing times with the Spanish people.

we loved every hotel we stayed at which included the Almanac in Barcelona, hotel lllondres in San Sebastian and aigua blava in costa brava

Entire team is fantastic and I would highly recommend going with him for your memorable trip to Spain

Hotel Review

Almanac Barcelona

Barcelona

Great staff Amazing pool Virens was awesome Superb location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Everything

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Half Day Kayak Excursion on the Costa Brava

Spain

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A Pintxos Tour of San Sebastian

San Sebastián

Visiting the culinary capital of the world and taking a guided Pintxo tour was just delicious. Recommend doing this very much visiting and Sebastian

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Cooking Class with a Guided Visit to the Boqueria Market

Barcelona

Ross I was excellent. Very educational and Interactive. We loved the food and the experience

Quality of Experience

B

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I can’t express how much we enjoyed our trip to Portugal! Pedro and Joao exceeded our expectations both with the trip they planned for us as well as their responsiveness when anything came up along the way! While we enjoyed everything we did and all the places we stayed, we particularly enjoyed our walking tour of Lisbon with Ricardo, our drive to Sinatra with Jose, the beautiful Vila Vita Parc Hotel in the Algarve and the Aurora boat tour to see the caves!
We will definitely use Kimkim to plan vacations in the future!

Hotel Reviews

Pestana Cidadela Cascais

Cascais

Large comfortable rooms overlooking the marina in an old converted citadel with very interesting art installations throughout. Well located adjacent to the city center.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vila Vita Parc

Porches

Gorgeous hotel with very comfortable guest suites, delicious food and drink, very accommodating staff and unbeatable views!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pousada de Lisboa, Praça do Comércio - Monument Hotel

Lisbon

Beautiful, spacious hotel will situated in the heart of Lisbon. Great breakfast buffet included

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Boat Voyage to the Spectacular Benagil Grottoes

Portugal

Unfortunately, we were dropped off at the wrong location for this trip by our taxi driver so we thought we would miss it, but Pedro contacted the tour company and they waited and hour and a half for us to get there to start this amazing private tour of the caves! So glad it worked out because it was truly one of the highlights of the vacation! The boat captain navigated the caves so beautifully around the waves, kayakers and paddle boarders to get us unbelievable views of these magnificent caves. Ogo, the guide was very knowledgeable about the area explaining the formation of the area and showing us beautiful vantage points and interesting fauna.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

There was a mixup getting to the right place but once we found it, it was worth the trip!!

Unveil the Fairytale Villa of Sintra with a Private Driver Service

Portugal

Our driver Jose was very informative about the area and even took us to some hidden gems for photos and the beautiful Monte Mar for lunch. What a great day!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Immerse Yourself in the Portuguese Culture by Experiencing a Fado Dinner

Lisbon

Very authentic Portuguese experience!

Quality of Experience

The music was beautiful! The only negative was that the restaurant was small and when the singing began, they turned off the a/c and closed the door to better hear the performance but that made it quite stuffy inside.

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Historic Odyssey Walking Tour of Lisbon

Lisbon

Ricardo did an excellent job navigating around the hills and around to lesser known vantage points and sharing the interesting history of Lisbon. He is a very knowledgeable guide. This tour is what I wish my history classes would have been!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Good planning overall. Was helpful in taking out a lot of the work for us to plan and book and organize.

What’s missing:
1) The order shown for site visits and hotel check ins shown on a given day in the summary and detail plan needs to match the order shown on the driving maps. On most days, they didn’t.
2) Every tour and site visit on the plan needs to show (without having to look at vouchers or tour company websites):
- Total time at site (with ranges or estimate for self-guided sites)
- Total time round trip from hotel
- More logistical info - for example distance/walking time from site parking lot to site (frequently walks were much longer than we knew and messed up our timing - we ran behind). Every night, it took us half an hour or more to plan the following day step by step in order to make tour times, dinner reservations, factor in time and logistics for eating lunch, etc. And we had to look up missing information
3) For a couple of the self guided tours, way too little time was factored in when planning the day - in one case a visit was suggested that we figured would take 30-40 minutes but including a critical scenic cliff walk tour that was was a highlight of the day but took 1.5-2 hours. We didn’t know, missed most of it and saw later from people posting on a Facebook page that it was amazing. We would have planned the day differently had we known.
4) Driving times and distances between individual stops on a day’s driving map
5) Too many separate links are provided for the plan, driving directions, geo locations, vouchers, special driving tips and instructions, etc. Should all be included in the plan. 1 single link. 1 single document. Creates too much self-organizing, printing, arranging and cross-referencing when preparing for trip.
6) Every agent needs to have their cell number on the site.

This was truly a vacation that was filled with fun, adventure, delicious food, wonderful people, beautiful nature and animals, peace of mind, and memories to last a lifetime! Thank you KimKim and especially Sergio for making this such a wonderful experience. I truly appreciated Sergio’s patience and perseverance as we carefully refined our itinerary!

When we landed at San Jose’ we found our driver easily. After a red-eye flight it was a treat to be driven to our first destination, Nayara Springs! We were greeted by Andreas and escorted to a comfortable chair in the lobby where we enjoyed a cool cloth to refresh and a sample of their delicious drinks. Here is where we checked in to our room and were introduced to the many amenities of this beautiful hotel. We enjoyed a delicious lunch overlooking the Arenal Volcano and infinity pool. Our room was more like a luxury apartment! Their were two vanity areas in the bathroom, an indoor shower, private outdoor shower, large bedroom and sitting area, private patio complete with lounge bed, table & chairs, hammock, plunge pool, and the most beautiful landscape complete with birds and other creatures that graced us with their presence! Our stay here was outstanding! All of the hotel staff were super friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. The head chef was friendly & made creative dishes. It was here that we had some of the most unique and delicious meals, and the service was exceptional! Above the lobby is where I was able to get some of my first Costa Rican Coffee! Amazing! Andreas was always available to help us and even found the sloth we so wanted to see! The hotel even surprised me with a happy birthday decoration, card, and champagne in our room when we arrived home from our first tour.

Kenneth Arenal Guide was awesome! He and Pablo (great driver) provided us with our Arenal Volcano Private Hike & La Fortuna Waterfall Tour. Kenneth was truly amazing as he shared his knowledge of Costa Rica and guided us to the base of the volcano. He brought his scope along and was very talented at taking photos and videos through it to share with us. Kenneth has a passion for his work and has an incredible ability to seek out all kinds of wildlife. We had a delicious snack that Pablo had prepared for us at the end of the hike, and then we headed for the Waterfall. The 500 steps down with the cool mist of the fall was peaceful, and we stopped to take more photos of course! Kenneth was always patient, helpful, and never rushed us. What a way to begin our tour experience! I highly recommend Kenneth and also left him a 5star review on Costa Rica Travel.

Safari Float at the Penas Blancas River was also a fun. We grabbed our paddles and enjoyed a float with a small group to observe more wildlife. The guides on this float were fun, informative, and also had a great ability to find alligators, iguanas, herons, and so much more! After, we enjoyed lunch and had our first intro into extracting the juice from the sugar cane. Lots of pictures! Lots of Fun!

The transfer to Monteverde I would categorize as fun! Our driver had a new vehicle which he took pride in, and was kind enough to make a couple of stops for us to get coffee. We were enjoying the music he played as he expertly avoided as many pot holes as possible. At one point we were all singing the Queen song “Don’t Stop Me Now” at the top of our lungs… we were truly “having such a good time”. :)

Senda Monteverde Hotel was like being nestled in a little mountain cabin. Again we were offered drinks when we arrived and the friendly staff checked us into our room. The rain that was promised finally arrived! We had quite a down pour, but we were thrilled to be safe in our room and enjoyed watching the rain. After all it was a perfect time to relax after our long drive. By the way… I give this hotel the “Softest Robe Award”! Truly the softest and coziest robes of all the places we stayed. There were even hot water bottles at night and complimentary snacks in our room. The bartender and servers here were so friendly that we enjoyed all of our meals here!

Sky Adventures Zip Lines & Hanging Bridges - YES! YES! YES! This is a definite must if one visits the Monteverde area. We definitely chose to enjoy the hanging bridges with a guide. Again the guide was instrumental to finding interesting creatures and fully enjoying the experience above the jungle canopy. The zip lines were truly exhilarating! What an adventure! Again - lots of photos…. Lots of laughs! The staff here works hard to make this a safe and fun experience.

Coffee & Chocolate Tour - Very enjoyable! It was nice to be in a small group. Our guide was so informative and we learned so much about coffee and chocolate. It was here where I felt I was able to learn more about the culture and people who work in these areas as well. Yes, we bought lots of coffee and chocolate for gifts … and ourselves too!

Transfer to Gulf of Papagayo - again another wonderful driver. He was super kind and stopped to show us monkeys and picked a small orchid for me along the roadside. At one stop we were able to see some beautiful McCaws too!

Casa Chameleon Hotel Las Catalinas was another gorgeous hotel with an incredible view of the ocean. Again we were welcomed with a refreshing cloth and special drink. Our luggage was carried to our room for us… thankfully! Fortunately we enjoy walking and hiking and the 75 steps down to our room … and back up….well… let’s just say we stayed in shape! Our room was well decorated, complimentary snacks and drinks, and even hot tea and treats were left at night! Here we experienced still more amazing staff, food, and scenery! The servers all work so hard! I looked forward to the delicious fruit plate, coffee, specialty juice, and pastries that were served every morning. There was also entertainment at night, and they made a delicious Negroni too! William at the front desk helped me to pack some gifts that I purchased there to take home safely. There were so many extra touches… ones that might go unnoticed… such as something as simple as insuring that when we were leaving for a tour that we were notified when the driver arrived and confirmed that it was the correct one. We really appreciated all of the kindness and thoughtfulness of the staff!

Wetlands Boat Ride and Rum Tasting at Hacienda El Viejo - loved this tour too for so many reasons. Carlos/Charlie was our driver and was friendly, patient, & thoughtful too! We enjoyed our time with him in the car and also at the Hacienda El Viejo. Our guide (Daniel, I think) was exceptional as well. Helping us to find more wildlife as we toured the wetlands by boat. After we took a side tour through another section not often traveled and were able to spot so many more birds and even a rare Jabiru’! After another delicious lunch we walked down to meet our tour guide Roberto for the Rum Tasting. Roberto was also passionate about his work and shared so much information with us. We even got to blend our own rum to take home! I definitely would go back here on another visit. Hacienda El Viejo is such a beautiful place with such history, and I hear that they are adding beer tasting room soon too!

Our last tour was the Sunset Catamaran Sailing Tour. The crew was awesome and worked hard to insure everyone had a great time. Drinks were served right away and the sailing began. We even spotted turtles in the water as we sailed. When we reached a cove the crew offered snorkeling, paddle boarding, and kayaking. They were so helpful providing equipment and assisting all of the passengers. I enjoyed kayaking and just relaxing on the boat realizing this was our last full day in Costa Rica. The crew provided some delicious snacks/dinner too! We saw a beautiful sunset and then returned to shore. Although we really enjoyed this tour, I think we would have enjoyed a more romantic type sunset cruise for our last evening here.

Thank you for helping to make this trip to Costa Rica so memorable! Even the weather was wonderful. We were expecting lots of rain, and we only experienced it a few times - once in Monteverde and then a couple of evenings in Nayara Springs. We are so grateful!

My husband and I had the most impeccably organized 13-day honeymoon planned by Veronica. She made sure we were able to do everything we wanted and everything was planned with love and top notch detail. Everything from transportation, local recommendations, and tours with knowledgeable and courteous organizations, made this trip truly unforgettable. We’ll never forget our memories of hiking through the Cloud Forest and rappelling down waterfalls near Arenal Volcano. Thank you Veronica and GWA for making our honeymoon the trip of a lifetime and showing us the true Costa Rican experience. Pura Vida!