Kimkim Trip Reviews

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.

The trip was quite satisfying. Dinner with view of alhambra was most memorable.
Mr. Joseba Villarino gave an out-standing Basque guided drive.
Miranda gave a great evening tour in Seville. She took us to an excellent Flamenco show.
To me the troupe is the best I have seen and I wish I have got their name and see if they have some
commercial video. The Granada Victoria is great; the hotel in Seville in only two & half star.
All in all, Patricia, you have done a good job and we felt well taken care of.

I had a wonderful experience booking my trip to Greece with kimkim. Harris was extremely informative and helpful along the way. He answered any and all questions we had. Based on our interests and budget, Harris designed an itinerary that was perfect for me and my 3 single girl friends. The itinerary was so well organized, we didn’t have to worry about a thing. Every driver that picked us up from the airports, hotels, and ferries was on time and courteous. The tour guides on our excursions were very knowledgeable and interactive and helped make our experience more enjoyable. The hotels were all conveniently located, clean, and comfortable! The beaches and mythology tour were stand outs for me on this trip along with beautiful Santorini!
I would highly recommend using kimkim to book a trip and would happily use them again.

We had a fantastic trip. Everyone was excellentl. Our tour guides Shimaa and Saladino were amazing and very knowledgeable and friendly. Zein was great and very organised. Our drivers were excellent. Everyone we interacted with was polite and helpful and very friendly. They all tried to deliver our dream trip. No request was too hard. We loved every crazy minute of it. But Egypt was the star. What an amazing place. Thank you to Ibrahim and all your people for a fabulous experience xxx Fred and Sara Iezzi

We could not be more pleased with our trip to Morocco. Honestly it would not have been the same without Kimkim organizing, planning, and hooking us up with Amine as our tour manager with Experience Morocco. Every detail was perfect and stress free. Morocco has more surprises than we could ever have imagined and never would have experienced if it was not for you all. And we can’t wait to go back.

From the places we stayed, the food, the markets, every experience... none of it would have been experienced without your guidance.

It was so easy... review the proposal you made, approve it, and go enjoy. Zero stress. Zero time lost planning, zero getting lost, zero bad experiences, zero danger.

Amine was incredible and while
initially hesitant to have someone with us for the week that we did not know, we became fast friends and hope we will continue to be in the future. He was professional, but fun. An awesome driver on tricky routes, honest, a wealth of knowledge and went above and beyond to make sure we had a world class experience. He loves his job and it shows. A million thanks to him!!!

Our guide in Fès, Chakib, while we were only with him a day, was also out of this world fun and knowledgeable. Again taking us places and introducing us to food and markets we never would have found without him. He even helped us negotiate better on some rugs!! Without him we would not have fallen in love with the culture and people in Fès.

I have already recommended your services to everyone that asks and we personally will never travel abroad again without your services. It was so worth the fee and made it so we could truly enjoy our time.

I could go on and on about our trip. There is just too much to list... not a single thing to complain about except for maybe would have liked to have spent 1 more day in Marrakech, but that’s our fault, not yours.

Thanks times a million. You will hear from us again.

Our driver Salim was a friendly, capable and patient man who took care of our needs and always had a smile.

We enjoyed staying in the variety of accommodations like the tent in the dessert, the rooms built into the rock at Todra Gorge and the lovely Riads.

We also enjoyed the great variety of activities and things to see such as beautiful buildings, amazing scenery, ancient Roman ruins and bustling Medinas and souks. The cooking day was fun.

Linda was amazing. My travel plans were fluid early on and she gave me numerous options and updated along the way as I finalized the details, with regular communication. I couldn’t have asked for more.

I completed the 3 passes trek in early October - an incredibly challenging and rewarding experience. Ngima (from Nepal Myths and Mountain Trials and Kimkim) was fantastic in tailoring the trek to allow me to complete it over a shortened time frame. He responded promptly to all my questions and requests and was even there to greet to me upon arrival at Katmandu and to see me off after the trek. My guide (Da Furi Sherpa) and porter were both experienced and friendly and were a great support, especially on the steep and sometimes slippery descents. Of the three passes, the Kongma La Pass was definitely the most challenging, though this may in part been due to the fact it was the first pass we did and I was not as acclimatized. I would highly recommend this trek to anyone looking for a challenging trek in Nepal.

Carrick was integral in making this trip happen! From booking the travel and accommodations, to answering questions, to helping me be as flexible as possible, there was no way I could have done the Kumano Kodo without her help. Through Carrick, I was able to do not only the Nakahechi Route, but the lesser traveled and (I think) more rewarding Kohechi Route. Even when things went slightly awry, their English speaking support team was able to help me work through any missed connections. I fully recommend her, Oku Japan, and their services via KimKim! Thank you for making my trip so amazing.

The best thing about Himal Mardi trek is the changing terrain from tropical to alpine . Our highlight was reaching the base camp and seeing the closeness of the peaks of Annapurna and Macchapuchare ( Fishtail Mountain) . We had a tremendous guide , Scchapel , who was very informative , very experienced and we got along very well with him . Everything from start to finish was very well organized thanks to Erin . The only setback for me , which probably can’t be helped due to water shortage is that the tea houses are very basic and sanitation like the toilets need to be improved. Having said that the owners who run the tea houses are extremely friendly .

Our guide Alban was amazing - a veritable font of Albanian history, knowledge and culture. He is very well educated and speaks fluent English and French. Our group of three spent 8 days with Alban traversing the length of Albania and definitely want to go back. As avid hikers and a vegan with a highly specific diet, Alban tailored the trip with our needs in mind and always made sure I was well catered for, The historic sites are interesting, the country side is beautiful, the people are warm and friendly and almost everyone speaks fluent English. This country should be much better known for Americans...

Our review is highly positive for Alban and Evasion Albanie but also for Albania as a whole.

Everything was terrific, Lena did an excellent job planning this, the accommodations, food, people, experiences were all terrific. Everyone went over and above the call of duty. We loved our drivers Ziad Qaryti and Ahmad Alsuwi and Osama Manaseer! My wife and I had an excellent down to earth, home cooking lesson experience with Nesreen Ali, Osama's wife with their family in their home. Sherrin's review of the cooking lesson is below:

"My cooking lesson was an A+ !
It was a pleasure to have dinner with Nesreen and Osama and their beautiful, sweet children. They provided not just a generous and warm example of Jordanian hospitality, but also an enjoyable loving, family experience. I learned how to cook traditional Maglouba with Nesreen who is a force of nature with a stunning smile. She exudes joy, happiness and the essence of motherhood. My cooking lesson was decorated with cardamom brewed coffee, family experiences and Arabic lessons. Eight year old Zain smiled shyly and helped when asked to and one and a half year old mischief maker Cadi (whose name means white flower on the mountain) pushed the kitchen chair around, walked around in my shoes and enjoyed herself dancing while mommy sang and clapped. Dave and I had a priceless experience and I learned to watch Nesreen’s left hand fold and tuck the parsley and mint as she chopped and about a new vegetable Jarjeel, water lettuce! I recommend this cooking lesson experience highly." Sherrin Bernstein

Our 11 day trip to Colombia was memorable and hassle free. Columbia was both surprising and inspiring. The quality of the experiences including the guides were world class. We particularly loved our guide Santi in Medellin and his "innovation tour", he was insightful and intellectually challenging in the best possible way. The internal flights and airports were all remarkably modern. The roads generally were less than ideal! The biodiversity and birding opportunities were fantastic. The food scene in all the major cities is diverse and great value (and we are foodies).

Carlos is a great and experienced guide. He was very candid and happy to answer any questions about Cuba, the political situation, and more. It was a refreshing and fascinating introduction to the country - our only regret was that our trip was too short.