Kimkim Trip Reviews

Edwuardo was good, at times a bit condescending. I think he needs to show more background info on the trips he guides in other words plants and animals. Trips were to short. Back to the hotel by 14:00. I paid a lot of money not to have short days. On one day we did the geyser basin plus the 10km hike that was to be schedule the next day. back to hotel by15:30. because of this I pointed out to my guide that I had an empty day. We ended doing a hike up this volcano. Again back early. Your rep. Santiago should have met me, not talk on the phone and give me a number to contact. You should REALLY stress with your clients in Chile not to lose their PDI and were to get a replacement. This will avoid challenges I had to put up with hotel manager in San Pedro(19% surcharge on hotel cost if I could not get one by the end of my stay)

I found KimKim (and Amanda) totally on the ball, professional, and very competent. They responded to emails/questions very promptly and were very attentive to detail. The greeting and meeting in Kathmandu was helpful and the trip itself was excellent and tailored to our needs. Overall very pleased.

KimKim was fine as a tour company. I, however, found out I was not crazy about having a guide and using a touring company - though I do recognize that I would probably have had a difficult time without them. Perhaps it would have been better if I had had only one guide? Or if I didn't feel somewhat rushed from one monument to another and then was taken to tourist-trap type places to buy things at elevated prices? In any case, KimKim was very efficient - they got things together well and were very attentive. Any problems or issues I had with using KimKim were probably more just personal preference than any inadequacy on their part - though I do think they could do a better job in terms of giving more 'local' experience.

KimKim Travel was amazing from beginning to end. If you want to take a major trip around the world somewhere and really experience the culture and adventure that country has to offer, this is the agency to make it happen. I truly had an amazing birthday vacation in Greece, and utilizing this company for this celebration gets 5 stars all the way. Harris was very helpful and attentive through the whole process as well as the local contacts in Greece. Would I ever use this company again - YES!!! You cannot go wrong how everything is seamlessly planned. Thank you KimKim Travel for this Amazing Trip. I will definitely be using you once more in the near future!

**Apologies on how long it took to get me to write this review. It was back to the conundrum of work in DC. :)

I am very impressed with the service. I submitted my request less than a week before I decided to make a trip to Cuba. Karin responded quickly to my request and curated an itinerary for me. I’m grateful for the swift respond and the customised planned itinerary with accommodation included.

When I arrived Cuba, it took me a while to find my tour guide (Fernando). My feedback is that the signages could be bigger. But other than that, it was alright.

Throughout the trip, I had 2 tour guides with me - Fernando and Laura. Both had given me an amazing overview of Havana and a delightful time. On days that were meant to be spent at my own leisure, they provided me great recommendations and always cheerful. They did make some tweaks here and there. For eg my itinerary stated half day at Vinales but they explained that I wouldn’t see much of it with a day trip as most times would have been spent on the road due to the long distance ride. Hence instead suggested to bring me to Las Terrasaz and Finca Vingia, which is totally enjoyable. My itinerary did not include Buona Vista social club, maridaje (cigar ceremony) and cannon shooting ceremony but they went out of their way to arrange it for me.

Honestly I came to Cuba with lil expectations but I left my heart (heavily) as I totally enjoyed myself thoroughly. My only gripe is that I didn’t stay longer than 4 nights. I will definitely be back again (for the beaches which I think it’s amazing) and without a doubt would engage Espiritu travel services.

My specialist, Randal, planned me an amazing trip to Costa Rica! This was my first time traveling alone internationally, and I wanted a mix of outdoor activities + leisure. Randall worked with me and happily tolerated it when I changed my mind about things periodically until the plans were perfect! I had no questions or issues along the way -- everything was planned from top to bottom.

We had an absolutely amazing Time. Mr. K was a gracious host, extremely knowledgeable, personable and a great conversationalist. I would recommend this trip to anyone.

Aspiring Adventures organized a good customized tour in Peru. Steve and Katie made sure the logistics where well planned. Aldo was a good guide and very knowledgeable.

Our family of five (with three kids aged 9-14) travelled to Myanmar in October 2019 having a wonderful experience. We had made some initial arrangements and bookings by ourselves as we were including a visit to our friends who were volunteering in Bagan. Because our trip was quite short in duration and we were unfamiliar with the country (and our kids haven't travelled much), I researched a lot on line about places to visit and people's blogs. I came across KimKim. We had an excellent experience using the KimKim platform, and working with Hsu Hlaing at Pegu Travel, to help design our itinerary and organise logistics. Hsu Hlaing synthesised our existing bookings into the Itinerary so that we left Australia with a well organised holiday that exceeded our expectations. We had a guide, driver and mini-van in Yangon, Inle Lake, Mandalay and a driver from Inle Lake to Bagan. This made our travel logistically easy and comfortable as we moved around, a priority for us to have a great family holiday together. We learnt so much because our three guides were really nice people, knowledgeable and fun. I feel that Hsu Hlaing interpreted our style of holiday well and matched us with great guides and activities. Hsu Hlaing communicated extremely well and was helpful when developing our itinerary or providing guidance about travel times and distances. We loved our time in Myanmar, and were very impressed by the friendly people we met, as well as the culture, history, food, temples, crafts etc.

We were met warmly in the airport by Ben. The driver to Monteverde stopped at a wonderful vista and helped us access the house. We loved the walk through the Cloud Forest and was very impressed by our knowledgeable botanist guide, Rodrigo. Rafa from the boat was especially helpful in locating our AirBnB which turned out to be farther. We loved Hugo and Jacob, our kayaking guides. Hacienda la Isla was a gem. The beach walk and snorkel at Cahuita Park was wonderful! Impressive conservation of nature, flora and fauna!!

Overall, our trip to Portugal was memorable! There were more positive things then negative. We loved the country, it's history, beauty and culture. All our local tour guides were friendly, knowledgeable, and very helpful. All the transfers were on time. However, there were a few things that were disappointing and that cost us some unexpected expenses, such as: one "free lunch" in Porto, that wasn't free; a "one hour Duro river cruise," that lasted only 45 minutes, and was not a tour-- it was only circling around picking up other tourists on the opposite side of the river-- we did not see anything; and, most of the tourist attractions that we thought were included, we had to pay for unexpectedly on the spot to enter. The trip to Evora was the most memorable, and the tour guide/s, Carlos Mileu with his trainee Manuel DeSilva, were absolutely amazing: although, the scheduled visit to the winery we had to pay for unexpectedly -- it was mentioned as a part of the Evora tour -- the other tourists had it included, this was a disappointing additional expense! The Lisbon tour was great. Our tour guide, Joao Ramos, showed us Lisboa at its best! We hope to return to Portugal someday, as we fell in love with the country and its people!

Had the most amazing time in Italy. My daughter and I enjoyed our trip to the hilt. The Kimkim team planned it all out very meticulously down to the very last details. The hotels chosen were perfect and so were the tours. Valentina went out of her way to stay in touch and ensure a great vacation. She was forever suggesting places to eat and things to go. A spl. Shout out to her!

You guys are great and I have already recommended you to my friends. I will definitely go with you folks again!

Thanks, Narayani

Although we are a retired couple, we recently decided that we needed to get away so that we could relax. We decided that we should go to Greece, which has been on our bucket list for a long time but we had never managed to travel there. Generally, when we travel one of us does all the planning and booking with the stress and nervousness that can cause. Because we decided on rather short notice to travel to Greece, we decided to let kimkim take the stress out of the planning and book our itinerary. It was absolutely the best decision we could have made. Harris was terrific at getting back to us and finalizing an itinerary that we wanted. All their recommendations of things to do were spot on and the accommodations they booked were terrific. We took kimkim's advice on which islands to visit and we appreciated that they did not have us on the move too much. They were available once we were in Greece and neither one of us had to give a thought to pick-ups, tour bookings or accommodations. Highly recommend kimkim's personal, friendly and knowledgeable service.

Memorable trip! We had a fabulous experience with Sonam as our guide, and Prem as our enthusiastic, very skilled driver (how we navigated those narrow roads without a scratch, I'll never know!). Bas and the team were fantastic in tailoring the trip to our specific dates and needs, including arranging for my flight tickets to and from Kabul (which proved to be much more problematic than I'd anticipated). I'd indicated a preference for photography and hiking, and the team managed to provide us with lots of memorable experiences! Highlights include meeting the Queen on a hiking trail, doing an ad hoc photo shoot with a flurry of nuns at a convent, and of course the march up to Tiger's Nest. Thank you muchly to Sonam, Prem and Bas!

Maro, our local travel specialist was great....very helpful in planning our trip. She responded quickly to any questions or concerns and her recommendations were on point. My only regret is that we didn't get the chance to meet her and say "Thank you!"
Karen, our driver, was wonderful. He was very knowledgable, warm, and so polite. We truly enjoyed our time spent with him and wouldn't mind having him again for our next trip!
Aside from visiting the beautiful Monasteries, Churches, Genocide Memorial, and Alphabet Monument, it was so very nice meeting families and watching as well as learning how lavash and different cheeses are made.
Needless to say, we had quite an amazing trip....enjoying every minute!

Supi did a great job putting together this trip. He was helpful and resolved any issues we had immediately. Planning is sometimes the hardest part of vacationing but he made it very easy and stress free for us. I would recommend Kim Kim in our future travels. The tours were very nice and we had a lot of fun. Everything was set up from Bangkok to Phuket and then from Phuket to Krabi. Thanks again Supi!

Thank you to Megan and Brahim for an amazing Moroccan trip around the north of the country. Every aspect worked seamlessly, from the arrangements over the internet which Megan responded to quickly, and our guide’s promptness and professionalism.

Brahim our guide, worked tirelessly and adapted the trip to any of our requests. He engaged well with us making the trip fun along some of the long car journeys.

Definitely will use this company again.

We had an amazing few weeks driving through Wales and England. Louise planned a lovely trip based on our wish to see beautiful coastal walks and pretty villages. We loved Wales which has escaped a lot of the tourist hype. Mountains, villages and beautiful coast. Louise chose lovely hotels with excellent food. We also enjoyed time in The Cotswolds, Bath and Cornwall. Stand out hotels were Tyddyn Llan and Caes Faen in Wales, the Grove of Narbeth in Pembrokeshire, Dormy House in the Cotswolds, Lucknam Park in Bath and Gidleigh Park in Devon. The service was outstanding, accomodation beautiful and food amazing
The only place we found disappointing was a visit to Stratford-upon-Avon. It has become over commercialised and was packed with bus loads of tourists. All the other places we visited were lovely.
Louise also managed to sort out a small problem with the pick up location of our rental car very quickly. Communication with her was easy via Kimkim when we were at home in NZ and directly when we needed help in the UK. Couldn’t recommend her highly enough. Thanks Louise.

We loved Iceland and enjoyed the trip. Thank you kimkim and Preeti for arranged it. We are planning a 2nd visit to Iceland in Feb/Mar 2021 (2020 is already fully planned out), with more time spend in Reykjavik next time.
We loved the itinerary, the hotels and activities Preeti arranged for us.
Love -
- The Blue Lagoon was great. Well worth the admission fee.
- Horse riding at Eldhestar was great. Our guide was very knowledgeable and attentive.
- The private glacier hike was fantastic. Our guide Patrica was a great guy and highly recommended.
- Northern light viewing from hotel Gullfoss was really amazing.
Will pass next time -
- The car rental company we used. We had a full size van that fits 9 ppl for our party of 6. They didn't have any smaller car for us to switch to. The car also had 3 small chips on the windshield, right in front of the driver and very distracting.
- Secret Lagoon. Sure it was much cheaper admission but nothing special in our opinion.
- The company we used for the Ice Cave Tour. The tour was at 9:30 (or 9 as stated on the ticket) and we were running late. Tried calling their contact number but no one pick up. Got to meeting point at 9:15 and we missed the tour. It was Sunday so no one in the office and no chance to reschedule.

Overall, we had a great time in Iceland thanks to kimkim and Preeti!

Our 21 day South African “Investment Trip” was over the top in so many ways: tailor made itinerary by Carla and Deidre @ Salty Travel with revisions, figuring out and responding to our “wants”, including:
Lodgings:
*Cape Town/Presidents Hotel @Bantry Bay - 2 bedroom 2 en-suite bath sitting room and kitchenette, delicious European & full breakfast (eggs cooked to order), delightful staff and daily chocolates!
*Hermanus/Baleens Hotel - unique in style but very comfortable and close proximity to the beautiful beach, delicious cooked to order breakfast.
*Albertinia/Garden Route Game Lodge - “posh” and lovely, 2 adventure filled Safari drives (including ‘happy hour’ adult refreshments), delicious meals served in the Lodge with well appointed tables (linens, floral centerpieces), private and comfortable ‘mini’ self contained lodges with water hole views of animals coming in for a dip or drink.
*Knysna/Belvidere Manor - European styled bungalow 2 bed 2 bath, living room, fireplace and full kitchen fronting a large lawn with a swimming pool and lawn game courts from the lagoon-bay to the east and the Belvidere Manor to the west, Spectacular Service, delicious food and delightful Pub onsite! Clearly one of our favorites!
*Addo National Elephant/Schotia Private Game Reserve - our in the bush private ‘huts’ en-suite full bath, freestanding fireplace, beverage center, and a resident wild cat that guarded our residence,.fabulous guide who shared his outstanding knowledge of animals, habitats, and made the Safaris memorable!
*Kwalucia Private Safari Retreat - the absolute “highlight” of our trip - fabulous B & B hosted by Adrian and Marie Joubert, private, secluded, restful, beautiful extra large rooms with en-suite, personalized service, incredible, delicious, traditional South African food that made our stay EXTRA SPECIAL! Adrian also suggested a whale watching boat trip that also included deep sea fishing - catching a yellow fin tuna that was then prepared and served for our breakfast -SPECTACULAR memories and adventure on the water. Incredible atmosphere, service and friendship!
*Ermelo/Ermelo Inn - a quick overnight enroute to the Panorama Route Scenic drive. Adequate but very ho-hum compared to other “stays” - please note there were very FEW choices in Ermelo.
*Graskop/Graskop Inn - traditional, historical Inn with so much character! Individually designed/decorated en-suite rooms by South African artists & designers. This stay was treasured as we enjoyed an evening ‘a cappella’ serenade by hotel staff during dinner! The warm fun loving staff made this overnight stay WONDERFUL!
*Hoedspruit-Kruger Orpen Gate/ Tremisana Safari Lodge & Marc’s Treehouse Lodge - this was the most unique and in some ways least accommodating of our wonderful stays! We ‘chose’ this Safari lodging because it sounded fun, unique and accommodating. The bottom line - unique/yes, fun/yes because of kitchen & Safari staff, unique / NOT delivered as advertised - treehouses were anything but! ALL would never pass an inspection codes in the USA! We signed a liability waiver for good reason - so many unsafe situations (unsafe tree rooted walking paths to accommodations, poor lighting, electrical issues that left several guests “shocked” while showering, etc...) MAINTENANCE issues too numerous to list! YET, this accommodation will remain a favorite in spite of its ruggedness and disrepair (that could easily be corrected with a bit of infrastructure investment) because of the wonderful staff and fellow GUESTS (from around the world) that provided many discussions and giggles in a friendship forming environment. I can’t thank the cooks enough for a very special birthday cake with candles that was baked in the tiniest of ovens!
*Johannesburg /The Capital-on Bath - Carla had booked a 2 bedroom apartment, but we were initially placed in two separate rooms far apart in the hotel... after producing our printed itinerary to the staff a correction was quickly made and our accommodations were TOP NOTCH! The service was wonderful as well.

Tours arranged for by Carla and staff:
*Cape Town - Hop-on Hop-off - great way to see the city, becoming familiar with the surroundings (would highly recommend). It would have been nice to have pre-paid vouchers for Table Mountain but now reflecting back - we were very fortunate to even get to the top due to erratic weather!
*Robben Island Museum Tour - prearranged/prepaid tickets made this MUST SEE Cape Town landmark a wonderful trip without waiting in walk-up lines.
NOT INCLUDED ON ITINERARY-Cape Point/Boulder Beach/Cape of Good Hope private tour arranged by another private tour company once we realized the time and difficulty of doing it “self drive” - highly recommended when in Cape Town! .
*Spier Wine Farm - fabulous, wonderful setting, great wines and knowledgeable staff! Thanks for the recommendation!
*Garden Route Game Lodge - absolutely “posh” but a bit contrived as far as animals in “natural” environments. Being familiar with San Diego Zoo Park - not much different but the Garden Route Game Lodge is a whole lot farther away!
*Knysna - Knysna Eco Adventure/Featherbed Eco reserve (outstanding). In spite of a rainy day, we loved this active hiking Eco Tour! The Lodge, newly rebuilt after being leveled by a wildfire in 2017 was AMAZING! The buffet style lunch was incredible offering locally sourced fresh foods, some cooked South African meats, soups, salads, and Malva pudding or ice cream sundae bar!
*Addo Elephant Park - Schotia Private Game Reserve Safari included 2 dusk drives, 2 dawn break drives and 2 nighttime after dinner drives - EXCELLENT Safari GUIDE/Naturalist. Additional Safari to Addo Elephant National Park - outstanding opportunities to see over 8,000 + elephants in their natural surroundings.
*St. Lucia - Hippo & Croc Sunset Cruise - at best “okay” crowded with boats on the estuary.
*iSimangaliso Wetland Park Tour - UNESCO World Heritage Site - absolutely WONDERFUL!
One of the best Guides we had our whole trip! We didn’t get to snorkel due to high winds/waves but were allowed to wander the beach for two hours and then stopped at several beach heads on the tour!
NOT INCLUDED ON ITINERARY: but arranged by B & B host - a pre dawn departure whale watching (migration season) and deep sea fishing tour by a private provider... breath taking, incredible, thrilling and a MUST DO tour in St. Lucia!

Rental Cars
Cape Town delivery - seamless in the pouring rain - however we didn’t notice a sizable dent as a pre-existing damage during the initial inspection. When loading our luggage we then noticed the dent and took “time and date stamped” photos - we then presented photos at drop off in Port Elizabeth with no problems and no incurred charges!
Durban - airport pickup very easy but time consuming.
Hoedspruit /Eastgate Airport - Very Easy once we found The airport!

Maps/printed directions:
Schotia Game Reserve - drove right past it! Poorly marked! We were 1/2 hour late checking in and missed part of the afternoon game drive - Schotia Reserve was very accommodating and quickly made adjustments to deliver us to the tour already underway in the bush!
Hoedspruit Airport - directions took us to the South African Air Force Airport and after several local inquiries and our own GPS locator we finally found the Eastgate Private Airport/airstrip 1 hour later than anticipated!

SIM Card: unfortunately, not being familiar with SIM card replacement on my apple iPhone we thought we had accomplished the set up when in actuality we had NOT! We did rectify the issue six days into the trip. Fortunately, we did not have the EMERGENCY of NEED to use the SIM card but we did have the USA based SIM card with us and could have used it for an expensive option if absolutely needed. Very minor detail that was easily corrected.

OVERALL - our itinerary was wonderful and the website information was easy to refer to, maps were primarily correct (our experience with Google or Garmin GPS is 95% accurate) useful and helpful. We certainly appreciated Carla’s accommodating us via Skype on several occasions - even though our emailing was equally useful - talking to and seeing who you are working with is MOST ASSURING! The importance of working with local travel specialists ie, Carla, Deidre and Shonna @ Salty Travel is ADVANTAGEOUS ! We would HIGHLY RECOMMEND others to use Kim Kim Travel and their localized selected travel specialists.