Kimkim Trip Reviews

It was a superbly planned and organised trip. Kudos to Lucie who managed the entire planning. As well as Simon from So Provence So Alps! Everything worked like clockwork and exceeded my expectations!
All the excursions were wonderful - the off beat walking tour through the coves and beaches of Marseilles, my stay in the beautiful town of Aix-en-Provence, the wine tours in Luberon, Tavel and Chateauneuf du Pape to the hikes up St Victoire and Calanques National Park, my time on the beaches in Cassis and finally the gourmet tour in the charming medieval town of Avignon.
The guides Marc, Stephan, Aurielle among others were all extremely knowledgeable and made the experience memorable.
I would definitely recommend a visit to beautiful Provence with its breathtaking landscape and make sure that the trip is planned by So Provence So Alps and its local partners.

Nadia, our specialist, was very helpful in booking our trip to Bali. After a couple of messages, we had a fantastic trip plan ready to book. She also helped us during our trip with recommendations and booking transportations for an extra person who joined last minute.

Our guide John and driver Benny were fabulous. They took us everywhere on the itinerary and even included extra stops. It was a lot of fun visiting Bali. They were very knowledgeable and flexible. Skipping an activity, leaving earlier and other last-minute changes were not an issue.

Highlights of the trip were Mt Batur hike at sunrise and Gili Trawangan, great car-free island, where we enjoyed snorkeling with turtles, swimming in crystal clear water and glorious sunsets every night.

Couple things could have been better:
- I couldn't find my driver at the airport, I had to take a taxi. Luckily Nadia made up for it and comped us the value.
- We didn't really enjoy Candidasa. The hotel was very average compared to the others. Walking on the beach, we've counted 10 unsightly oil tankers and an oil terminal. Not very appealing.

Positives:
+I appreciated having places to stay arranged for us for our long trip around Iceland
+ The places which were arranged were all very nice, definitely nicer than if I had tried to plan it myself.
+For the most part, the staff was pretty responsive to questions while we were on our trip.
+ The itinerary given was pretty good for ideas and suggestions within most of the things I had expressed interest in
+ Everything was provided in a good, organized manner

Negatives:
-There were a few parts in the itinerary where it was out of order so I would have to make sure ahead of time that we were able to go to all the places without backtracking
-There were a few places that I feel were recommended that could have been missed and there were a few that were not mentioned that I felt could have been on the places recommended, so even with the provided itinerary, I did spend extra time to make modifications.
- A little flexibility or a little more heads up about things may have been helpful? One of the unfortunate things with our trip and completely not the fault of the Kimkim staff, is that we had a bit of not good weather which significantly altered some of our activity plans. It would have been nice if offerings for alternatives or even if they had a notice about weather and could have switched a day's activity with another day's activity. As it was, we had 3 days in a row where we scrambled to find alternative plans due to weather.
-There was a least one time where some questions were left unanswered for a very long time.
-There were a few parts on our itinerary and vouchers that were not complete and needed clarification

Overall, I am glad that I used kimkim to plan our trip. There were some things that could have been better but then again, i usually don't book with multi-day tours, especially self-guided ones. I would definitely consider kimkim again for future travel possibilities.

Our Nar Phu and Manang trek was an unforgettable adventure. Especially the Nar and Phu part of the trek was outstanding with amazing landscapes and breathtaking views, great hikes, incredibly friendly and hospitable people who always had a great smile for us and a deep insight into local culture.
Our guides Mingmar and Dorje were supergreat and a lot of fun and would always offer support when needed. We spontaneously changed the second part of our trek due to my fear of heights, which was good for me and Mingmar found some perfect alternative for us. Both our guides were a great source of information on Buddhist and local culture and history.
Amanda is the best local specialist you can get. No matter what kind of questions, requests and problems we had when planning our trek, she would always find a perfect answer or solution within no more than a few hours. You can hope for no better, more helpful, likeable specialist! Thank you so much for planning the best trek with us!

This was our first visit to Russia, and fist time we have traveled with Kimkim.
St. Petersburg was very impressive and turned up to better than expected. Thanks to our knowledgeable guide and his excellent language skills we were able to absorb lot's of historic information in quite short time. Thanks to Sean from KimKim team we could design our custom tour and it was possible to tune up wile being there as we have a local guide just for us. All recommendations were very useful and we have wonderful time with ability to experience Russian cosine and a visit to Mariinskiy Theatre on more than one occasion.
Booked accommodation was a good choice and walking distance to attractions and restaurants.
We consider the cost of our trip very reasonable and a indeed very good value as we did not have to queue for hours to get in, as we have a prepaid tickets and curator as a guide for 4 of us in The Gold Room in Hermitage.
The process of creating our itinerary with Kimkim's assistance was very easy.
I highly recommend the Kimkim to any body for their traveling needs, as they using people with local knowledge and can accommodate any interests.
Thanks KimKim
Andrew

Anne put together an amazing trip for us to Peru. Everything was well organized. Drivers and guides were reliable, always on time and very caring. Everything was well thought of for us. We loved all the local hotels that were selected for us especially the one in Cuzco. The whole process to setup the itinerary was very easy for us and the whole trip was perfectly tailored to allow us to see all the things we wanted to see.

All the sites along the northern coast were very unique. The ancient city of Chan Chan by the coast was beautiful, and all the gold at Lord Sipan's museum. Kuelap was impressive but very hard to get to, the major airport at Jaen has one or two runways I think. We loved Arequipa and our trip to Colca canyon to see the flying condors. Our guide Luis made this part of our trip memorable. Our girls loved that we stopped by local shepherd's pen to see all the llamas and alpacas before they start grazing for the day. Driving in Peru was thrilling and spectacular. The different sceneries were amazing from the coastal desert to the altiplano and the high peaks of the Andes. The crowds at Machu Picchu was as amazing as the sight itself. The mini Inca trail to the sun gate then the real site next day was perfect for us. The amazon jungle was a perfect ending for our trip. We were amazed by the beautiful lodges we stayed at deep into the jungle. The wild life we saw was wonderful and the food was excellent. The biking with tasting food at Lima was so interesting as well.

This is now the third trip we have done using KimKim. We have never been disappointed and will continue to use them in the future.

Dear all,
It’s not today that I going to review my experience. But just to let you know that it was by far the most incredible trip that we made. It was not just about the place itself since there are incredible places all around the world, but it was the way you all took care of us. You know when you go to a place and there is a family relative that knows you and he provides not only what you need but also surprises you all the time? That’s how we felt all the time!
Question:
Are all the agency’s that you work with like Peruvian Soul?
If so you have made a difference in the traveling world!!!!

We thoroughly enjoyed our 14 day self driving tour of Iceland. The itinerary prepared by Preeti enabled us to see much of Iceland and much more than if we just followed highway 1. The accommodation and vehicle were both quite satisfactory - we had no mishaps whatsoever. And Preeti was immediately responsive on our few queries.
I would recommend Kim Kim to anyone wanting to tour Iceland.

We had a wonderful time in Norway thanks to the Kim Kim team!
To everybody who got involved during our vacation.I would definitely recommend the Kim Kim crew to anyone.

Ingrid did an excellent job putting our busy trip together.We only had 6 days in that beautiful country and we got the most out of it !Even on that rainy day we had in Rosendale. Thanks for Sjur and Laila.
Ingrid booked everything (train and ferry tickets,glacier tour, hotels) for us so we did not have to worry about those and everything went perfectly well.Ingrid even helped us during the days we were there with the transportation in Oslo.Very helpful staff in the Kvikness and Thon hotels as well.
Many thanks Ingrid!!!

The clockwise direction around Iceland and detour onto Snaefellsness peninsula were perfect. We saw far more cars heading in the opposite direction which made for a much smoother driving. Given the extra time it was a real treat to have some of the island’s most beautiful attractions to share with a relatively small crowd of visitors . It was shocking to encounter large caravans of cars and campers by the time we reached glacier lagoon. The golden circle was almost anti-climactic. Cases in point: Krafla crater lake was much more impressive than Kerid; and the Myvatn nature bath was very enjoyable ( skipped blue lagoon ).

At first, there was some confusion on where we would meet our guide. We had thought we would meet inside the shipyard but that was not the case. We tried to call Jolita but could not get through. We eventually met our guide outside of customs. There was a communication problem for the meeting point but after we met the guide was pleasant and apologized for the misunderstanding. We enjoyed the rest of the day and the tour was as promised. We enjoyed the trip to the Synagogue the most. The tour guide made a special effort by calling the day before we arrived to have a synagogue representative meet us at the synagogue.
We arrived back on time and had enough time to see all of the planned sites.
We will try KimKim again.
Regards

Lawrence Goldfinger

Judith was great we have to change or alter our plans many times and she was super helpful and cool. All communications were very professional and prompt everyone was on time;

My wife and I used kimkim to plan our honeymoon to Greece. This being our honeymoon and the fact we were traveling internationally, I wanted the trip to be as stress free and seamless as possible. Whether it was helping us pick which Greek islands would be best for the type of vacation we were looking for, to booking private transfers from each port to make getting around as easy as possible, Harris helped us plan a trip we will never forgot. I was very impressed with the service that we received from Harris and his team both while planning the trip and on the trip itself, which included a 24/7 number that we could text if we had any issues. Overall, very happy with the kimkim experience.

What a well organized trip that we just got back from thanks to Tasos and the crew from KimKim. I was on a mission to plan a trip for a group of colleagues - initially for over 20 people. I had done a lot of back research myself then realized it was getting a bit difficult to coordinate (especially when it came to transferring from one destination to the other within Greece.

I had been to Greece plenty of times myself, having a Greek background but had never planned for such a large group. My concern was how to successfully get the group from Point A to Point B without any delays or headaches. I then decided to reach out for help and I had reached out to a different travel company at first but the response time was painfully slow. I then reached out to Tasos from KimKim based on some online reviews, and he was so quick to respond to my many questions! After many back and forths and advice on how to save money or suggestions on destinations we finally planned a trip outline and I received it even before the initial company I had reached out to responded with a quote!

Our trip consisted of 4 desinations: Athens, Nafplio, Naxos & Santorini.

Tasos worked closely with me to work on a daily itinerary which included enough ancient ruins, sight seeing, free time - and beach time to satisfy everyone travelling! He offered plenty of great suggestions based on our needs - including offering input on island choices and how to save money. He was always looking out for our best interests.

We were a large group coming from different cities across North America (and on different flights!) Tasos arranged drivers to pick us from the airport and take us to the New Hotel in Athens. Each hotel was excellent, transportation was pleasantly on time, transfers between destinations were seamless, and the tours were excellent and fulfilling!

Highlights were the Food tour in Naxos, the Catamaran in Santorini, and Sight Seeing in and around Nafplio. Tasos always was quick to respond, or someone from the office (either Maria or Harris) would quickly chirp in when needed. It was honestly perfect!! Some well-traveled friends of ours said it was the best vacation they had ever had!

I've already recommended others to use KimKim based on the experience and they also had a great time! I can't thank Tasos at Travel12/KimKim enough for organizing this trip leaving it all carefree so that we can truly relax and enjoy Greece!

Sincerely,
Freda

Our trip was amazing and it was thanks to Valentina that we all had a fantastic time. From the start of this process I knew that I would need help planning this vacation. I've planned European trips myself before, but I didn't have the time to do it for this vacation. I knew I needed someone's help and expertise. I described how we like to travel and Valentina really understood our preferences and planned a trip that fit them. A perfect mix of sightseeing and relaxation. Our pizza-making class was a particular highlight, something we never would have done if Valentina didn't suggest it. And our other guides worked really well with us, especially Benedetta who took us around Verona.

And while on our trip, Valentina was there with helpful tips and suggestions and for any troubleshooting that we needed (there really wasn't much of any). This whole experience was great and exactly what I needed. I would recommend Valentina (and KimKim) to anyone and would gladly work with her again when it comes time to plan my next trip to Italy.

Everything went like clockwork with our trip, no snags at all with all of the connections and transfers, etc. Our guides were all excellent and the recommended hotels were all excellent. We hope to return to Peru someday and will definitely be contacting Kimkim for our next trip.

Favorite memories of our early August 2019 trip to Iceland include the low sunlight illuminating the horses in a field near Hofn and lighting the cliffs behind Hotel Kria as we got into our rooms that night.

August 10 was a 5 star day: beautiful shirt sleeve weather, ice cave tour -- just out of Vik-- with Katlatrack, followed by puffin shots, followed by rainbow shots at Skogafoss, followed by Frost and Fire restaurant. Try their chocolate cake and Pine-smoked Arctic Char!

Our ice cave guide gave us lots of insider information and gave constant cheerful helping hands so Jen could tour the cave with a bum ankle.

Thanks to KimKim who took tons of planning off our shoulders!

Everything about this trip including planning it with kimkim and Yassine was great from start to finish.

I liked that kimkim allowed me to peruse multiple 5- to 10- to 15-day itineraries for Morocco prior to engaging with my local specialist, Yassine, so that I could get an idea of what was feasible in what amount of time and familiarize myself with all options which enabled me to better brief Yassine.

Yassine (from Morocco Off the Beaten Track) was wonderful to work with from Day 1 - prompt, accurate, friendly and patient. Our trip was complicated - we were three parties flying in from separate international locations, we were planning to stay in Morocco during Eid holidays (everything is closed), and we had very strong preferences in the group - the trip he planned exceeded our expectations and went off without a hitch.

Mohammed, our driver throughout the trip, was an indispensable member of our travel crew - he was everything you'd wish for in a driver (prompt, polite, safe, reliable, flexible) but also far and beyond: he was incredibly open to sharing stories and information about life in Morocco, we always laughed together on drives and he made great impromptu recommendations. Plain and simple, we would not have enjoyed our trip nearly as much without Mohammed.

Similarly, all of our guides (we had guides in Rabat, Marrakech, and Imlil) were very knowledgable, enjoyable, showed us hidden gems (where locals buy argan oil, neighborhood bakers, etc.) and gave us great context to the cities we were visiting. Our guide, Hicham, in Rabat kept us busy all day (bring sunscreen!) and kept us laughing with his great story telling skills - we left feeling we had really seen Rabat's history and learned the "fun facts". In Marrakech, we had a Moroccan cooking class, and the ladies of Cafe Clock were extremely friendly, warm and had wonderful knowledge to share on Moroccan food from selecting ingredients, to cooking, to the dishes orgins, etc. Our guide, Ibrahim, in Imlil welcomed us into his home for a meal with his family and guided on us on an unforgettable hike through Toubkal National Park (truly an amazing experience, we'd highly recommend).

All of our Riads were beautiful and different - difficult for me to say which was my favorite, except that I'd recommend staying in a few different ones so you can experience the variety. All were clean, comfortable and had excellent service, though varied in modernity and spaciousness. Same to be said for all our hotels - everything was lovely (all 5-star rated, so not surprising, but neither did they disappoint).

All there is left to say is THANK YOU to Yassine at Morocco off the Beaten Track and kimkim for planning an amazing trip for my family and I!

We had an overall great experience on our Morocco trip. We decided at the last minute (the night before) that we were headed to Spain and then Morocco. Megan listened to what I wanted to do and kept within my budget restraints and helped us plan a fantastic vacation. She continually checked in with us during the week and really helped us feel comfortable.
We arrived in Tangier around noon on the first day and our driver/guide Yassine was waiting for us.
He was personable and kind and knowledgable and we visited several sites before heading to our hotel. We had travelled from Atlanta to Madrid to Tangier having left our home at 100pm on Thursday and now in Morocco it was 400pm the next day (or 10;00 pm Atlanta time with the time change) so 33 hours without any solid sleep.
The only blip in our week happened at the hotel in Tangier. (Hotel Kenzi Solazure) At first it really concerned me. We waited over 45 minutes in an overcrowded lobby for a room. When we finally got our key and got to our room, the room was dirty and hadn't been cleaned!. I asked the maids in the hall to clean and they came in and just made the bed! The room was quite hot so we turned on the air to cool the room while we went for dinner. When we came back we realized that there were no towels in the room!. We called every extension from the phone and we received NO ANSWER!!! Eventually after about 10 calls it was answered and we were told it would be "5 minutes" Five minutes came and went and I went to the desk once again "5 minutes" went back to the room , NOTHING. Found maids in the hall and asked for towels, and you guessed it, "5 minutes" . I ended up taking the towels off the cart.
All of this was happening while the air-conditioner didn't work. It was never fixed and it was miserable. Breakfast was included in the morning before we left and it was disastrous. It was dirty, unorganized and a very unpleasant experience in the dining area. I was concerned for the rest of my trip. I advised Yassine to make sure his agency did not place any one else in this hotel.
The rest of our trip was wonderful!
The Riads were amazing! One of my favorite parts of the trip. They were majestic, beautiful and the service was amazing. We felt as if we were visiting someone in their home. Best Riad was was Riad Maialou in Marrakech. The staff was wonderful and the courtyard as well as the rooftop was spectacular. The guides that we had were FABULOUS!!
Our guide in FEZ was Hammel?? I can't spell his name. He was a wealth of knowledge and imparted that knowledge in a wonderful manner. We learned so, so much. I really didn't enjoy the stops n to the pottery shop and carpet shop/factory. If I wanted to buy these things I would have asked. I didnt like the high pressure to purchase something.
In marakesch the guide was Mohamed and he also was very interesting and we explained how we didn't want to be pressured to buy and he adjusted our stops on the day tour. We loved the tours through the Mausoleum and the Medina.
We want to come back in 2020 for a desert tour and want to ask for Yassine again. He was great and should be commended for the wonderful job that he did!!
Thank you Wanderlust for a great time.

Emily did a super good job building a trip around my existing constraints and interests. Two wishes for the kimkim platform:
- Itemized cost shown both as the trip gets built and when I’m billed.
- Not asking me to review twice, once in TrustPilot and once here.