Kimkim Trip Reviews

Brahim did an excellent job of creating a seamless itinerary that blended my unique time constraints with my location preferences. (I only had 5 days in Morocco and wanted to fly into Tangier and out of Fes.) In hindsight, I probably would have added another day in Chefchaouen and removed a day in Fes, but this change reflects my own personal preferences in hindsight and does not reflect on Brahim's planning or judgment in any way. Brahim was simply fantastic, and I would highly recommend working with him.

This was my first time using Kimkim, and I would certainly use them again, especially for trips that I do not want to logistically plan myself. There is a real sense of security in knowing that Brahim and his team were available to me 24/7 in case anything came up, and I really appreciate that level of support and customer service.

!! شكرا جزيلا! استمتعت بالسفر إلى المغرب كثيراً

Kimkim performed great on providing a safe and reliable platform to connect with great team, perform payments safely and communicate effectively right from planning the trip, during the trip and even after the trip had concluded.
Ngima was great at communicating promptly from trip planning till the time, I left Nepal. After the commencement of trip, his first priority was safety of all the team members (including staff), followed by making sure, trip starts and ends on time. Really appreciate, his efforts to organize helicopter rides to and from Lukla, when the weather was not good for flights. He made sure, tour members were well during the trip. Last, but not the least, Ngima is great human trying to return his community in the form of medical camps, planning hospital construction etc.
Mingma and Chhering were great in making sure, we stayed in good tea houses, ensure we get great food, ensure everyone was feeling good during trip. Dinner time briefings provided us with overview of whats to come the next day. Being not very fit, I was slow. Both of them made sure, either of them was with me to make sure, I was ok and provide motivation to keep going.
All the three porters were great, in promptly moving our bags and always smiling and being happy.
It definitely felt like a family for the three weeks of trip.
I would like to make special mention of "Show you care" attitude, where Ngima's team promptly communicated with my wife and confirmed my wellbeing, while she was stressed for not hearing from me for few days.

The trip was amazing, Greece is a country that has lots of colors, flavors and adventours. Tasos was very helpful and on the Two occasions we had an issues with the hotels he made sure he got an upgrade or a change of hotel.
I would advise to take a close look at the hotels before booking them.
Aside from that everything was great

I can't say enough about how effective and awesome Erin was -- and everyone I interacted with at the local guiding company Dittmar Adventures. Erin was very fastidious with her correspondence, always answering quickly and thoroughly, from our very first exchanges, when I was outlining what we wanted to do, and what our budget was. She tweaked the itinerary to suit our, quite unique, needs. Because our situation was pretty unusual -- in that I was traveling with a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old alone while my husband hiked the "W" trek in Torres del Paine -- Erin really had to think hard about what would work for me and two small children to do that would be manageable. Her itinerary worked so well. It was a combo of two days of group tours (one to an estancia, Estancia La Peninsula, which was INCREDIBLE, and the other a boat tour aboard the Agunsa to the Bernardo O'Higgins national park to see glaciers) and one day of a privately guided tour to Torres del Paine national park, with a guide (Victor, also amazing, who Dittmar uses with some regularity). Everything Erin chose was awesome, including the days off for the kids and I to recuperate from long days of activity! We thoroughly enjoyed the inn she chose for us, the Amerindia, and the staff there were so helpful and friendly, particularly with my boisterous children. The owner of Dittmar, Laura, even lent me two carseats to use for the children on the day-trip to Torres del Paine. All I can say is that Erin, and all others from Dittmar I associated with, were so personal, so interested in us having a good time, and so available to help when needed. We ended up needed some help because a member of our party had her hiking backpack lost by LATAM, and Erin coordinated with Laura and another Dittmar employee (the amazing Emily) to be sure our traveling companion could rent everything she needed the night before their trek began. All I can say is that my whole experience with KimKim, and then with Erin and Dittmar, was excellent. Erin is so generous with her time and all the information she shares. I highly, highly recommend working with her!

Our trip to Costa Rica was amazing thanks to kimkim. We had no idea what to expect and from the moment we were picked up in the airport, we new we made the right choice. A representative greeted us and introduced us to our driver & from that moment on it was a carefree and memorable vacation. Our trip guide helped us plan it from beginning to end! Customizing it to our liking every step of the way. (If you will be visiting, make sure to check out La Fortuna waterfall...it is absolutely breathtaking!) This was our first time using kimkim, but after the service they provided...it won't be our last! I already started spreading the word to my family and friends about kimkim!!

The entire experience of working with Kim Kim was terrific. I was able to customize a plan that included all of the activities my family wanted to do in Costa Rica. In country, every single driver, guide, etc was very punctual. We never had to wait for anything and all of the activities we planned were excellent. We loved stand up paddle boarding in Lake Arenal, zip lining in the cloud forest, and playing at the beach in Manual Antonio. The company Desafio was especially fun for our excursions in Arenal. Two out of the three hotels were great- clean, convenient, and comfortable. The third hotel was not exactly up to the standards we were hoping for so we were disappointed there. But overall, the trip was so memorable and I would recommend the use of Kim Kim to anyone wanting to plan a trip to Costa Rica.

It was a wonderful experience from the start of the planning with the Kimkim team through the actual hike with Ako-san. Andy and the team were very responsive to our needs and went out of their way to celebrate my wife's birthday with a cake at our initial dinner. Our guide was fantastic in her service and knowledge of the trails and the history. She explained fully what was happening and gave us many options to take. If we do another hike or tour in Japan (which we will) we will request specifically for Ako-san. I would highly recommend to anyone to use this company and their guides. Thank you for a wonderful time.

The hotel accommodation arranged were overall good and the travel map was well marked with the route and locations of hotels and places of interest clearly indicated.

However the following negative experiences limited the extent and the peace of mind for us to fully enjoy the trip despite a well planned itinerary.

i) Upon arrival, to our surprised we were informed that Hong Kong currency (eventhough it is a major currency which is accepted internationally) was not accepted at the money changer at the airport; which led to some initial concerns and delays resulting in our arriving late to Reykjavik.. This was a disappointment as we had chosen the itinerary to spend an extra day in Klauster instead of Reykjavik and had planned to explore Reykjavik on day of arrival.

ii) The pickup by Enterprise Car Rental was late and we have to call a few times to chase them. We were also surprised that the pickup to their office was only for 2 instead of the group which meant that the rest had to wait at the hotel. This delay resulted in a rush to cover the place of visits and we only arrived at the hotel in Henna very late.

iii) The rental car developed some noise after we went off-road to visit some of the places of interest on the very first day which was a Saturday. Eventhough we managed to contact their helpline, we were unable to have it checked at a service centre since it was a weekend. This created a overhanging worry over us for the next 2 days as we were worried that the car may fail any time and in a remote location.

iv) We managed to send the car to a service centre in Klauster on Monday. The time spend waiting and checking again cause further unnecessary delays. We also had to pay for the maintenance in advance.

v) As we only reach back to Reykjavik after 5pm, we could only drop-off the car at the bus terminal parking area and email the claims for reimbursement as we had opted for a Zero access insurance coverage. To-date we have not received even a acknowledgement of my email nor reimbursement.

vi) There was an initial error in the number of pax (2pax instead of 4pax) stated on the voucher for the Flybus transport to airport. After we reported this, a replacement voucher was subsequently received via email. We only realized that the new voucher was issued with a wrong travel date when pointed out by the staff at the bus-station. Prior to that we had to endure suspense and worries of missing our flight as there was no pickup from Bus Stop at the designated time and repeated calls to enquire and chasing for a pickup. Eventhough it was our error to only check that the number of pax was correct and not double checking the travel date on replacement voucher, we had not expected an error since the first voucher had the correct date. Luckily the management at the bus terminal was kind enough to arrange for a taxi to send us to the airport at no extra cost so that we could be on time to catch our return flight.

Regrettably the above bad experiences soured what could otherwise had been a great holiday and tour for our family with what Iceland has to offer.

Regards

The guides were amazing, charming, warm and knowledgeable. Jamaal was a lot of fun to spend two days with in Fes. His English is impeccable, and he is sweet, funny, and so likable that everywhere we went in the city he ran into people who enthusiastically greeted him with hearty handshakes and hugs. The time he spent living in the US has informed him well about our culture, making him an even more effective cultural ambassador for his home country and city. The tasting tour was fascinating, and we pushed out of our comfort zones with the gentle guidance and good humor of Jamaal. I would recommend him to anyone!

In Marrakech, we had the pleasure of spending a full day with Hassan, who was lovely. He was very amenable when we wanted to add the Jardin Marjorelle to our tour, and at all times made it clear that whatever we wanted was exactly what he wanted. He was extremely knowledgeable and imparted his information in a very clear and interesting way. He took great care of us!

The rep greeting us at the airport was courteous.

Our guide Richard was very knowledgeable. He even bought us some delicious food treats. We had the best experience with him.

The Siam Niramit Show was great. But we wished the audience could be warned ahead of time about the "Hell" scene. Little children could have been scared.

The Food Tour on the last day was not very special, unfortunately.

Our 13 day journey through Morocco was very memorable. Our driver, (Youseff) was very punctual and shared with us his personal knowledge and experiences along the many roads we travelled.

In the city of Fez, we were greeted by our local guide, Fatima. She had vast knowledge of the local markets and attractions within the city. Certainly one of the highlights of our trip.

Overall our trip was well organized and tailored to what we were looking for. We plan on returning to Morocco again in the future, and look to build upon the experience we had.

Cody & Leyla

The whole trip throughout South India was very well organised and executed by the Kim Kim team.
Unfortunately, one incident near the end of the trip ruined my final memories and has caused me to cancel future plans to visit North India.
On the last day in Kerala, the driver (Tency) who had been with me constantly since Chennai stopped the vehicle in a deserted industrial area and demanded, in a most threatening way, that I give him the tip (gratuity) immediately.
This behaviour was so 'out of character', that I was most disturbed and, in fact, frightened for my life.
This incident has caused me to review (cancel) my intended trip to North India with Kim Kim.
Ralph Watkins

The experience in Jordon itself was fantastic. It is a beautiful country and we enjoyed Petra and Wadi Rum immensely. The experience with kimkim was good at first, but a lot of important details were missed that soured our experience. Imke never sent us the name or contact info for our driver, despite her assuring us that she would and I reached out to her days before we left to get that info. We felt rather lost when we landed, not sure where to find him since there were groups of drivers/guides at many different places in the airport. Then we got to one of our hotels and it hadn't been paid for and the host at the desk rather aggressively insisted it was my responsibility to pay. I had to call the emergency line to get it resolved, and the whole process took over an hour from our time in Petra as we weren't allowed to leave the hotel without paying. Then, less important but most disappointing: despite confirming with Imke twice that we wanted to do the hot air balloon in Wadi Rum, she did not make the booking and it was already full when we got there so we missed out on one of the parts of our honeymoon that we were most looking forward to experiencing. And our driver was nice but we felt pressured at times to buy things from the gift shops and restaurants that he took us to (I know this is standard on tours but it shouldn't be). And then on our last day we had planned in our itinerary to explore Amman for a few hours but our driver insisted that we should stay at our hotel until 5pm (well past checkout) instead. We pushed back a bit but he was very insistent and so we felt uncomfortable and just agreed to that. Overall, we liked Jordan but I'm not sure I would go through kimkim again.

We loved the convenience, prompt reply and local insights. The local walking tours were fun and informative. The hotel in Aurland was really charming, and the fjord ferry cruise from Aurland was fantastic.

Ingrid and Vilde were helpful in offering local tips, packing tips, and so on.

I've recommended Kimkim.com's service to many friends already and many are keen to try out!

Everything went very well - the planning as as well as the trip itself. Lena was very helpful when it came to answering my many questions before the trip.
The driver in Jordan was very good and was always on time for our trips/activities. We would definitely use him again if we visited Jordan on a second trip.
There was only one small snafu during our trip and it happened while we were visiting Petra. It wasn’t clear to us on the second day of our visit to Petra how and when we were to go there. Consequently, we made arrangements with our driver. It turned out that a guide and driver had already been hired for this, and so this had to be worked out, which it was, with minimal fuss.
I want to thank Lena and KimKim for making our visit to Jordan a really great experience! We will definitely recommend KimKim to our friends and relatives when they travel and will use KimKim for planning our future trips.
Cris Kenudson

We were a party of 6 from Australia. The booking experience with Kim Kim and Off the Beaten Track was 1st class. A great team effort congratulations to Yassine and his team.

When we arrived in Tangier the pickup details had not been detailed and I was surprised to find a driver whom I had not been given his name. Nabil - a lovely man. Nothing was too much trouble for him even though his command of English was patchy at times.

I will address each part of the trip keeping in mind one of our party had been unknown to 4 of us prior to the trip. (not a great idea) This man had not been forth coming with his health issues and the fact he suffered from COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) meaning his ability to walk any distance or climb was severely impaired.

Accommodation: The accommodation was excellent in every stop - Tangier, Fez, Desert, Quarzazate, Marakesh and Casablanca. The Riads in Fez and Marakesh were beautiful and the hosts wonderful. Our Fez host went out of her way to help our impaired traveller. The desert speaks for itself and an experience all should have. Ait-Ben-Haddou in Quarzate is 6th century with the whole area under restoration. Sadly we arrived here after sunset and the "getting there" was a little troublesome in the dark. The property has no electricity and lit by candles - not that that is a problem however, not having been able to orientate ourselves in daylight did put a dampener on the night's experience. Next morning was a whole different scenario - a fabulous area and I could not recommend it more highly - just get there in daylight. Our unhealthy traveller just could not make it there and the host went out of his way to arrange alternate accommodation. The host himself was horrified that we arrive after dark.

Meals: All meals provided were great with hosts providing lovely meals on our arrival. Breakfast everywhere excellent

Travelling by Car: Nabil was an excellent safe driver. The 4x4 vehicle comfortable and well maintained. Our travel times were challenging for him time frame wise. Arrival times were really impossible given the state of the roads in some areas and the trucks, buses etc filling the roads. ( I might say some of this was my fault as I had tried to put so much into the trip and Yassine has gone out of his way to accommodate this - in retrospect I had been a little ambitious - an extra day would have made so much difference especially Fez to the desert) We were due to drive Marrakesh-Casablanca on the Saturday morning for a 11.45am flight to London. This truly was not possible - the road over the Atlas mountains is being rebuilt and consequently slow. I didn't know this at the time but given the time it had taken to get everywhere else I cancelled the last day in Marrakesh and added an extra night in Casablanca. The Kim Kim team did this effortlessly for us - thankyou it was the right thing to do.

Guides: The local guides in Fez *** , Quarzate *****, Marrakesh ****** Desert Experience ******
My only comment is that travellers need to understand the driver is not a tour guide as well sadly
and as a result we travelled a long way with no local commentary which would have been very nice. Nabil did his job so well and this comment is in no way a mark against him. He could not have done more.

The Experience would I do it again = Most definitely I could not recommend it more highly

Well done Kim Kim and Morocco Off the Beaten Track
Marion Patrick

Overall experience was good. There was one time it took almost 3 days to hear back from Mads regarding what gear I should bring on the trek so I had to wait to know if I needed to buy anything or bring anything that I didn't have on my list. My 2 guides is Nepal were great -- Dawa and Prathicksha. Both were knowledgeable about the areas they took me. The best part of the trek was being on the trails. The worst part was trekking on the roads, especially the 30 minute walk when it was hot and dusty and trucks were coming and going from Panauti to the trail we turned off at the rice fields (past Khopasi village).

I would say be leery of going to the Herb Nepal Farm overnight -- the experience was great, so was the food, but I got a small abrasion on the front of my right shin there going up the narrow stairway in my cabin and ended up having surgery to cut out the infection and then came home early so did not go to Bhutan for 12 days as planned, and landed in PDX in the emergency room for continued care of my infection which will take a long time to heal.

It turned out I got the bacteria acinetobacter, which the infectious disease doctor said in Portland was rare and that bacteria is mostly found in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq, so he was surprised this bacteria showed up in Nepal. Just something to be aware of if you have other clients you are taking to that area -- they cannot get even a small scratch on them or cut or it may turn serious.

I should not let my injury deter my experience as I enjoyed my whole trek overall.

Tasos did a superb job setting up what is, perhaps, a somewhat unique trip. No islands but remote, ancient Byzantine churches. No beaches but many monasteries. No classical sites but every Byzantine site within reach. With other travel agents we've had to go back and forth several times to convince them we knew what we wanted. With Tasos - one time and he had it. Thank you.

In 3 1/2 weeks there are so many spots we loved that we can't list them all so here are some highlights:
Thessaloniki: great city for walking, Byzantine sites around every corner, great climate and sitting on the bay, enjoying a great ice cream cone and watching the ships come and go can't be beat.

Kastoria: fascinating old town best suited for wandering and discovering. At the Byzantine Museum we discovered Achilles, a guide who took us on a walking tour of the town. He knew the history and culture and, most important, he had the keys to the locked churches we wanted to visit.

Meteora: monasteries in the sky. All I can say is that they're worth the hard work of climbing the hundreds of stairs. See as many of them as you can.

Nafplio: laid back port town - this was a great place for us to kick back for a couple of days at the midpoint of our trip.

Monemvasia: a medieval town built on a large rock in a bay. A map can't do it justice for walking around - you have to be aware of all three dimensions. Climbing to the upper city for sunset was a wonderful experience (the sunset, not the climb.) The town did help me appreciate how tough people had to be in the Middle Ages and why the life expectancy was in the low 30s. But today, the town is full of great places to stay and eat.

Athens: 3000+ years of history and a third of the population of Greece make it a daunting city. For this, our first trip to Greece, we concentrated on the museums: The National Archaeological Museum (where the Antikythera device resides and is being researched), The Acropolis Museum and the Benaki Museum stand out.

All in all, I'm not sure why it took us so many years to get to Greece but I'm glad we did.

Edy was the best!! Local tour guide made the trip an awesome experience.
Kimkim company meet our needs but there would have been less travel stress with increased communication form the company. More emails, quick call or check in would have been easy to do and made our travels much better.

Great guide, great porter, great trip!