Kimkim Trip Reviews

My husband, son (16 yrs) and I had a great time in Morocco. The boys had a wonderful surf experience on the coast before we started our kimkim 8 day tour in Marrakech. Brahim from kimkim was fantastic in organising a personalized itinerary for our family with a private driver. He incorporated my wish list of destinations with our departure date in Casablanca and our accommodation was a good mix of traditional Riad experiences and hotels. Our highlight was definitely the sunset camel ride and overnight stay in the Sahara. The Dades Valley And Todra Gorge is stunning landscape. The Roman ruins in Volubilis were a must see for me, the mosaics and setting are amazing. Ait Benhaddou and Fez were culturally a must do and I loved having an organised guide in Fez with a personality. The changing landscape in Morocco is amazing and made the car travel not an issue. Our family has done extensive traveling and we always felt safe in Morocco while excercising a normal level of caution that you do anywhere in the world. Our driver Mohammed was always prompt and protective of our security. 🇲🇦🌍🐪

I liked that kimkim provides suggested itineraries. It helped me to decide what to do on my trip. It resulted in my choosing to start in Buenos Aires, going to Ushuaia and finishing up in Chile. This was my first time using kimkim, so I was unsure of the quality of the service I would be receiving but I was happy with how things turned out.

My reason for giving only four stars is that there was quite often a lag in communication. I would request something or ask a question, and sometimes would only receive a response days later. An immediate response, such as “We got your question, please give us a few days to get back to you”. would have been helpful.

As well, a breakdown of the costs would have been helpful. I only received a total dollar amount with no idea of the costs for the individual tours and accommodations.

Daiana’s service was good. The tour companies she chose were excellent. The tour guides, Sandra in Buenos Aires, and Gabriel in Ushuaia were first class. Sandra spent more than a half day with me. She was flexible in that she was able to start the tour right away instead of waiting until the afternoon. She was very knowledgeable about the city, took me to places that matched my interests, and gave me good advice for the next day when I was on my own.

Gabriel of Nunatak was fantastic as well. I liked being in small groups, he was also very knowledgeable, and provided a good insight into life in Argentina. The lunches provided by Nunatak were very good as well. Daiana picked excursions for me that I found very pleasing. I was happy with everything that she organized.

Again, the area for improvement would be communication. The pickup in the airports were difficult as it took time before I was able to find my driver. Maybe I should be wearing a sign and stand somewhere near the exit of the arrivals area instead of trying to find the driver.

I had difficulty using the emergency numbers provided with my cell phone while at the airport. Nothing seemed to work. At the Buenos Aires airport, the number that finally worked was the one for outside of the city but still in Argentina. It would have helpful to know that at the airport, one should use that particular number.

In Calama, it was particularly difficult. The written instructions sent me to the wrong counter.
Transfer Andion had no idea who I was, and it was only by accident that I found out that arrangements had been made with another taxi service. As well, I didn’t really need a pickup as the resort I was staying in (Awasi) always comes to pick up their guests. I am not sure why Daiana was unaware of this and made these other arrangements.

Finally, on the day of departure for going back to Canada, the written instructions indicated my driver was to pick me up at 2:15 pm. His understanding was that the pickup time was 3:00 pm. Another communication breakdown.

So on the whole, the service was good, but I can’t give it an excellent rating because of these communication issues.

Our trip to Jordan was very good, our Driver- Khaled was very friendly and helpful. Petra was amazing, and the Dead Sea was a good experience. Overall Wadi Rum was our favourite, everything was great at the Bedouin Camp and the Jeep Safari was fun.

This was my first time booking a trip through Kimkim and I am extremely happy with the process and my trip to Morocco. I was first connected to João who took my details and rang me. Once he had an idea of what i wanted and the cost, he but me in touch with Brahim who was the local. Brahim did a fantastic job personalizing this trip to the needs of me and my 3 friends. We all travel a lot and had high expectations for this experience and they were fulfilled. We travelled for 7 days from Casablanca, to Chefchaouen, to Fes and ended in Marrakesh. Our driver was with us the entire time. Tarik was an excellent driver and made fantastic suggestions for local meals and sites to see. He was available 24/7 and helped us with every question. The accommodation Brahim booked was fantastic, and just what we wanted. We had two tours, one in Chefchaouen and the other in Fes; both our guides where friendly, knowledgable and gave us an appropriate amount of information. The car Tarik drove was comfortable, spacious and great for 4 people with luggage.
Overall I am very impressed with Kimkim and the service they provided. I recommend them highly.
Thanks for making my trip to Morocco a fabulous, stress-free, easy and memorable time.

It was spectacular. Both Barahi jungle lodge and Tiger Tops were excellent. The former was new with all of the amenities while the latter was quaint, rustic with a true feel of living in the jungle.
The guides at both were knowledgeable and informative. We saw all wildlife, except for tigers.
The time spent with the elephants was special.
Overall, I recommend this most highly.

Bhutan is a fascinating country. The positives about the trip were the guide and driver, (both excellent)the opportunity to see the lifestyle of the bhutanese at our own pace and the major attractions in the country including the tigers nest monastery, fortresses and the rhododendrum festival. The food disappointed with the lack of variety and blandness eg 2 buffets per day including chicken curry and rice almost every meal when we were aware that there were other local dishes that could have been made more freely available. ,What we got for effectively US 190 per day per person (being the $250 charged less $60 govt tax) was not great value considering the relatively low local prices for food and accommodation.

My granddaughter became a Bat Mitzvah and my gift to her was a trip anywhere in the world. She picked Japan. Nicole Rhoden helped me plan the most spectacular adventure I could have imagined. My granddaughter loves anime and manga and we were able to include a visit to the Ghibli museum on our first day (tickets are hard to get, but Inside Japan Tours was able to secure them for just the right day and time) and an amazing full day tour in Tokyo with Chantel Furbert in Akihabara, Harajuki and Shinjuku. If you are traveling to Japan with a teenager you should definitely ask for Chantel or if you are traveling without a teenager you should definitely ask for Chantel! After Tokyo we went to lovely ryokan in Hakone and had a lot of fun exploring all for two days including a memorable hike on the Tokaido Trail. Shipping luggage was as easy as promised so we were able to travel light to Hakone. We loved Kyoto! In addition to the International Manga museum, we fed monkeys and deer, rented bikes and best of all, toured the Nishiki Market with a guide from the Women's Association of Kyoto and bought ingredients which we used when we cooked a dinner at the WAK townhouse--one of the most delicious meals on our trip--among so many delicious meals.

Nicole was so responsive and helpful. The travel packet gave us all the information we needed. It was a trip for the memory books. I cannot recommend highly enough!

We had a wonderful trip through KimKim/Himalayan Trails. We got great support from Erin locally, and we really enjoyed spending time with our guide, Tindu. Nepal is a beautiful place and we will always cherish our trip. Our journey went smoothly and we had absolutely no issues with the planning or booking process, plus everything was perfectly arranged during our time in Nepal.

We had a wonderful time traveling all over Morocco! The entire process from beginning to end was five star. Brahim was so efficient and friendly and helped book us an incredible trip. All of our guides and especially our driver, Hya Hya, were excellent. The only negative on this trip was Riad Andalucia in Fez. The people that run it are very friendly; however it was just way too noisy, the room had a very strange odor to it and the bathroom could use some work. It felt more like a Hostel than it did a Hotel. They never even came to clean our room. We also had a misunderstanding with a tour guide at that hotel which caused a bit of chaos on our first morning which wasn't pleasant. But other than that everything was excellent. The most memorable part of the trip was the camel ride out to the Sahara! What an extraordinary experience. I also loved Rabat - very nice city. Marrakesh is a bit crazy but fun. There is a lot of driving involved but it flew by because the countryside is just beautiful. I would recommend Brahim, Hya Hya and KimKim in a heartbeat. Thank you for everything.

We traveled as a family group of 3 seniors and had a wonderful trip to Greece. Tasos arranged visits to Athens and 4 islands with tours and activities included, as well as transportation and tix. We especially enjoyed our tour with Katerina on Naxos and our guide Danai in Athens. The catamaran sailing day was great fun and something we never would have thought of ourselves. Thanks to all our drivers, esp Lampros in Athens, and guides. All the people in Greece were very friendly and welcoming. And the food and wine were delicious.

Marina was fantastic! She was available during the entire trip with information and answering any questions I had. The tours to Krka and Plitvices Parks we’re spot on awesome. The apartments were nice and close to everything for sightseeing.

We had a truly great trip. We spoke with Deborah and Tara beforehand and they planned everything out perfectly. All great choices for accommodations, tours and guides. Also, they stayed in touch with us the whole time to make sure we had no problems or to make additional suggestions on the go. So glad we found them and KimKim!! Seth Jacobson

Background: I was originally supposed to do the 12 day Laya Gasa Trek, but we had to abort after 3 days (at Mt Chomolhari Base Camp), due to heavy snow on the passes. Consequently, we completed on alternative trek. Either side of my visit to Bhutan, I stayed in Kathmandu for 24 hours while waiting for my flight to Paro. Dates for trip 1/4/19 until 22/4/19.

Comments on KimKim: In short, the service from KimKim and Bas in particular was superb. I cannot fault it. Since this trip encompassed 3 weeks, several towns and two countries and I was very specific about what I wanted to see and do, this holiday could have been a nightmare to organise. However, it was so easy: I merely inputted my wishes and needs, then was allocated Bas, who organised everything, including the visa for Bhutan and flights between Nepal and Bhutan. Any queries were answered expertly and punctually. I also really appreciated their flexibility: when I needed to change the dates for my guided tour in Kathmandu, it was dealt with rapidly and seemlessly. I cannot thank Bas enough. Due to the fantastic organisation of the holiday by Bas, everything apart from the weather went smoothly in that the guides were waiting at the airport for me and hotel rooms were ready when I arrived. The accommodation was satisfactory, with the exception of the Druk Hotel in Thimpu, which was fantastic; a real bit of luxury after the rigours of hiking and camping.

Comments on Windhorse:
Kimkim allocated Windhorse Tours to look after me on this trip. They provided me with a guide (Pema), cook (Long De Bu), assistant cook and horsemen. I was very happy with the team. They went out their way to put me first and make my holiday special. The equipment provided was satisfactory and did the job. The only thing I would say is that the eating tent has quite a lot of mould on the covers: it either needs to be replaced or scrubbed between trips.

Special mention must go to my guide, Pema, and the cook. Pema was punctual, knowledgeable and passionate about trekking and Bhutan. His English was brilliant. Even though he was super fit and I was super slow, I never felt rushed while walking. The cook, Long de Bu, was amazing. I never thought that, at 4100 metres, I would be eating popcorn, pizza, noodles etc. The food was so good and I was so well fed that I actually gained weight despite a total of 10 days of hiking! Despite being away from the their families and coping with tough weather conditions, the team were always singing, laughing and smiling.

Comments on Bhutan: in contrast to Kathmandu, which was dirty and overcrowded, Bhutan was clean and fresh. It was so quiet and the scenery wherever you look is breathtaking. The Bhutanese are the friendliest people in the world. They are full of song and laughter, yet are also softly spoken and gentle. Whenever I looked a bit lost, the locals were quick to stop and give me directions.

We did the 5-day Balthali trek with our guide, Ang Gelu Sherpa.
It was a throughly enjoyable experience! Our guide was very experienced (has done Everest summit twice!) and knowledgeable and took care of us, while also being friendly and happy to exchange stories and information about each others cultures/countries/previous treks.
We were able to meet the locals, eat decent Nepali and continental meal options 3 times a day and had adequate accommodation at the tea houses.
The accommodation on the first night in Nagarkot was particularly nice.

We also enjoyed the cultural tour of Kathmandu with our guide Surendra, He showed us around Darbar square and Patan among other places and told us the interesting historical background of each site!

Finally, our trip coordinator (Tashi), was great. He picked us up from the airport and checked in regularly to make sure we were enjoying things. He also provided a lift back to the airport and gave us his blessings at the end of the trip which was nice!

From my experience, I would highly recommend this company!

Marianne was so easy to work with. Anytime I asked for changes or to fix something she did it with no hesitation. Marianne adapted my trip to my needs, she was so accomodating and managed to schedule a seamless trip for me. Before during and after my tours she took the time to ask me how things were going and she always made sure I was content with my days. At one point during the trip a company accidentally forgot my tour when I called Marianne to explain the situation she had everything fixed in minutes. I would definetly book another trip through kimkim and I suggest it to anyone who wants to feel at ease with their travels.

Absolutely fantastic from beginning to end! Top guide, incredible attention, 0 issues!

Overall, one of the top experiences you can have,

Ingrid did an amazing job planning our trip through Norway. We were able to fly into Oslo and make our way across the country towards Bergen via train. We made stops along the way in Geilo and Flam, finally reaching the city of Bergen. We were so impressed with how accessible Ingrid and her team were in making last minute changes, booking restaurants and their overall knowledge of what to see and do. We had a wonderful and memorable family vacation in Norway and I felt so blessed to be led by the kimkim Team! Thank you!

My two trips within Chile which were organised by Oxana were fantastic.The first was a full day outing from Santiago , where our fantastic guide Paolo led a very memorable and stunning day hike in the El Morado national monument and then we had a soak in the hot springs topped offwith a picnic watching the land changing colours in the sunset. Then I had 3nights in San Pedro de Atacama, an amazing place. Oxana organised my transfers from Calama , a great hotel and two full days of experiencing that wondrous region. I found Kimkim to be very helpful, responsive and flexible when I had an issue I unexpectedly needed to resolve which required their understanding. I highly recommend Kimkim.

Our trip to Jordan was very well organized by Tamara and Mohammad from Why Jordan operations. To top it all off our tour guide Mohammed Ali made this whole trip a memorable one. We were with our 2 yr old daughter and initially worried how it will be but he made everything very comfortable and catered to our needs. He made us feel at home and shared his vast knowledge about Jordan and his immense experience. Mohammed Ali went extra mile to give us the authentic experience of Jordan and honored us with traditional meal Mansaf at his home. Also, when we informed him that my wife was pregnant he coordinated with "Why Jordan's Tamara" to adjust the tour for her safety (eg. jeep ride in Wadi Rum). He made good recommendations for hygienic food. One thing we really liked was that our itinerary was customized to our needs on the fly. We have been to lot of countries and if there is one country that impressed us the most with their hospitality and friendliness, it would be Jordan especially Mohammed Ali. When we come back again we will definitely choose Why Jordan (Mohammad Ali and Tamara) in a heartbeat.

All hotels were quite fine. Staff in hotels were great . The rooms assigned to me were underwhelming. All private guides were outstanding. Overall the trip was wonderfull.
Warren Finlay