Kimkim Trip Reviews

We had such an amazing time in Iceland! Our guide, Jon, was super nice, helpful and really help made our trip a memorable experience. The first day, there was a wind storm and many of the tours were cancelled - Jon helped us find an alternate route and rearranged the day's itinerary so we were able to still see all the attractions for the day. The accommodations provided were also very comfortable, and we especially loved Fosshotel Nupar (too bad there were no northern lights the two nights we were there), and also the apartment at Guesthouse Sunna. Everyone we met on the trip was very knowledgeable and kind, and we had a wonderful time!!

Highlights: The glaciers, Diamond beach and the glacial lagoon - those were my absolute favorites!!

8 day trek in Langtang Valley Nepal . Stunning and unforgettable ! Great Guide (Chhiring) and the organisation of everything was great. The Langtang Trek is perfect for a first timer but it is not easy, so make sure you have done plenty of walking before and have got yourself reasonably fit! Tips? take your own toilet roll, a face flannel for washing ( may not get a warm shower for several days), travel light and take layers of clothes not heavy jumpers, and one or two walking poles. Don't bother buying a Nepal phone card or wifi connection - just enjoy being out of touch , its still all there when you reconnect! I saw a post you can do this trip cheaper on your own . Well maybe you could , but if you want someone to take care of everything and not have to worry about who, what, when, where and how, then I recommend Amanda and the team

The Manaslu trek was excellent. It had great changing scenery, interesting people, nice teahouses and good food. We visited a remote school by chance on a Sunday and meet one of the teachers, and some of the kids, which was a real highlight of the trip.

Our guide Nawang was excellent, always making sure we were enjoying ourselves and full of information and a good sense of humor. He was helped by two great porters in Ngima and Gelbu, and this team of 3 made our trek so enjoyable, thankyou!

Thanks Mads and Amanda, organisation was great and thanks again for your time and efforts.

Loved every part of it. Erin and team saved our holiday and made our trip to Patagonia unforgettable. THANK YOU!!!

My guide was Tmazin Tamang or Timal
He was professional, reliable, attentive. I was very satisfied with his service
I spend with him 14 days on the trek, and i always felt safe and the journey was very pleasant with him in general.
the places we visited were all interesting and different.

We had a fantastic time in Morocco. We visited seven cities in a span of 12 days, accompanied by our Morocco Off the Beaten Track driver, Mohammed. We began our tour in Chefchaouen, then Fes, Merzouga, Ouarzazate, Marrakech, Essaouira, and ended in Casablanca. Each city was uniquely different from the last and we were greatly pleased with the beautiful accommodations secured for us by the MOTB team. We met some wonderful locals while we were there, and felt so welcomed in a place so far away from home.

My bespoke trip to Nepal for 15 days in November 2018 was a brilliant experience.
My local agent, Sangita was informative and efficient in helping me to put an itinerary together within my budget and covering all the places I wanted to visit.
She met me in Kathmandu, introducing me to the guide I would have on my trek to Ghandruk village and was really considerate in checking in with me at every destination to ensure I was safe and happy and that I knew what was happening next. If something needed changing, she did it. Nothing was too much bother and her care was very reassuring, particularly as I was a solo traveller.
Each of my guides along the way, Mr Bhim, Mr Diwakar and Mr Govinda were helpful, good company and informative.
I covered a diverse range of places from Kathmandu, Lumbini, Pokhara, Ghandruk, Bandipur and Chitwan National Park where I had the rare privilege to spot a tiger. As part of my safari itinerary I did a canoe ride, a jungle walk, a jeep safari and ox-cart ride. The guides at Chitwan were knowledgable; the resort was eco-friendly, comfy and sustainable.
At Ghandruk, after a 6 mile uphill trek, I had an awesome clear view of the sunrise over Annuparna 1 and Macchupichre the next morning. That will be etched in my memory forever. The beauty and calm of the mountain village landscape more than made up for the uphill ascent.
Pokhara was a relaxing area and is a destination for foodies - the choice and quality of food was impressive.
Sangita and her husband saw me off with a lovely dinner and cultural show on the final evening.
I couldn’t have been better looked after.
Sangita is an excellent agent and I couldn’t recommend her highly enough.

The trip was AMAZING! So great to see and explore so much of east Java in such a short amount of time; Plateau Ijen, Mt. Bromo, Yojakarta, Borobudur and more :) The landscape is breathtaking (especially the sunrise over Mt Bromo) and I found myself time and time again in awe of the lush green surroundings.

A few things to call out - 1) underestimated the amount of time you spend traveling from one spot to another due to bad traffic, a lot of time spent in a car, and 2) the travel agency was a primarily french agency, so challenges finding an english speaking guide for our group - should have more explicitly called that out from the start.

We bought last minute tickets for Jordan, so we did not have time to organize it by ourselves so we decided to pick Carmen as our travel organizer. We only had 3 and a half day and manage to see everything that was our "must do places". Thanks to our driver Azzam, we did not feel tired at all and were enjoying our stay in Jordan to the fullest! Accommodations were also great and near to the everything. Especially we liked our stay in aisha luxury camp where we went stargazing! And the staff there was also amazing!

I would recommend Carmen to everyone who wants more free time on their vacation and for those who dont want to worry how their trip is gonna look like in the end.

Dina

My trip to Vietnam was packed with highlights. Here are the tops:

1) My first few days in Hanoi were great. I really enjoyed Kien and his historical perspective that he was able to provide about Hanoi and Vietnam. It was clear that he studied history at the university, and had many interesting stories and perspectives to share. I walked away with a very rich view of Hanoi and Vietnam, both historically and present day. Kien also let me take my time and come back to him with questions which I really appreciated.

2) The third guide Ngoc was equally excellent. He provided a great perspective of Ninh Binh, Hoa Lu, Tam Coc, the many religions of Vietnam, and daily life in Vietnam. He provided a great cultural perspective that gave me a real picture of what it was like to be Vietnamese. He also shared great personal anecdotes. Our boat ride on Tam Coc was a beautiful highlight!!

3) All hotel accommodations were excellent. The staff were professional and welcoming, the rooms were very clean and well- appointed, and the breakfasts delicious. Each hotel was comfortable and relaxing, including the cruise on Halong Bay. Each night I was able to sleep very peacefully.

4) Transportation was also excellent. All drivers were on time, courteous, and drove safely. This was a great feature for sightseeing!

My only feedback is on the second guide Sang in Sapa. Compared to Kien and Ngoc, she was not as engaged. She didn't share any stories or anecdotes about the region. I would ask her questions, and her answers were very limited. I eventually gave up and starting asking other tribal women we encountered hiking. I bought something from another tribal woman and gave her a big tip since she was more informative and interesting; I talked with this woman more than I talked with Sang.

Sang also made me feel very stressed out about the train back to Hanoi on November 20. She wasn't sure how to get my ticket for the train, and kept asking me for details. Eventually, she figured it out but I'm not sure why she panicked. This was the first and only time that I was concerned about logistics and my itinerary.

Despite my interaction with Sang, the trip was still unbelievable. Vietnam is a special and beautiful place that I hope to visit again.

I enjoyed the complete trip, my guides, Thwe Thwe Gmtt, May Han Thu, Kyikyi Aye and Ko Zay were all very knowledgeable and fun to be with. Riding the bike in Yangan visiting the villages and seeing all the markets were very special for me not only as a photographer but to interact with the people. Being able to go to peoples homes and have shared meals was very memorable. Seeing lots of things and never feeling rushed. The Balloons over Bagan was an experience not to be missed.

We spent 18 days in Vietnam and Cambodia. Lovely places to visit.
I could not fault Kimkim tours. It was so well organized. They really want you to have a great experience. Alex is a huge asset to the company. English was perfect. Alex looked after us from start to finish. She responded to our text right away, whenever we needed her.
We had a problem with our visa (completely our fault) Alex helped us all the way.
If there was one thing I would like to see improved, would be some of the guides English wasn’t great, so it was sometimes tough to understand. But They were all very enthusiastic.
Very well done.

The driver , who was supposed to pick me up from the Airport ,after the Amazone ,left without me.
Not a good feeling, being forgotten..
Casa Sol had a very small breakfast and the shower was not hot.
I loved the Sisakuna Lodge. Good breakfast , nice room, hot shower.
My guide was good.

Our driver, Rachid, was excellent in every way, very helpful in organizing porters, restaurant reservations and a good guide in Chefchaouen . Moncef, our guide in Rabat, was excellent and quite a character. Sayeed in Fes was the best guide we had: he spoke excellent English as he had lived in the US and had the best perspective on the good and bad sides of life in Morocco. Our guide in Marrakech, Mohammed, was very personable but not very informative. He showed us Le Jardin Majorelle, Le Palais de la Bahia and several shops of quite high quality, but we left feeling there was much more to see, which was not the case in Fes or Rabat. Our favorite places were Chefchaouen, Chellah Necropolis (especially the storks), our two Riads in Fes (Le Calife) and Marrakech (Kaiss), Volubilis and Lixus. The Ouzud waterfalls and the Barbary Macaques there were also memorable.

The full trip was awesome the guides very well ínformed and puntual and very helpfull. Every activity was memorable.

Karin was extremely responsive and patient as we planned the trip. Our in-country guide, Thais, was extremely professional and knowledgeable. Right away she made us feel welcomed and went out of her way to ensure we enjoyed our experience. Our drivers (Pedro and Ivan) arrived on time and their cars were well-maintained and comfortable. I highly recommend KimKim and Espíritu Travel!

Ms Nit in Bangkok was great. The itinerary day were we went to the floating markets, Grand Palace and then were suppose to go to China Town for dinner was too busy. Given that it was early in the itinerary we were still jet lagged and there was no way we had energy to go to out at night. We skipped the china town food tour because we were exhausted even though it sounded great.

Ms Nook in Chiang Mai was equally great. All experiences were great. The elephant tour day could have used some preparation. We had no idea the transportation was so long and in the back of a truck. Our son got motion sick and vomited in the back of the truck on the way there which was a bit of a struggle and rough start to the day. With some warning the night before we could have prepared and given him something for motion sickness. Also it would be nice to have clear direction to bring bathing suits for the swimming part. Overall the elephant tour was very memorable and a highlight of our trip.

Both dinner shows were great too.

Overall, my experience was great. Su was incredibly helpful and very responsive on the planning portion of the trip.

My local guides were very knowledgeable, although sometimes my questions where unanswered mostly due to a language barrier.

On a scale from 1 to 5 I would rate them all at a 4. Out of all my guides I was particularly fond of my guide in Mandalay, as he was the easiest to communicate with.

I would recommend Su and all of my guides to anyone visiting Myanmar.

The entire experience was awesome! Lena took care of the Jordan side, and Daniela handled Israel. Both did an amazing job of building a schedule that allowed us to see the key sites that each country had to offer - some of which we wouldn't have seen without their insight. We put our trust in Lena and Daniela and they definitely delivered! Having found Kimkim via a Google search, I was a little skeptical at first that it would work out, but there was far more understanding of our needs than the local travel agent we spoke with in the US who had no experience of the region.

In Jordan we saw Mount Nebo, Madaba, Karak, Wadi Rum, Aqaba, Petra (including dinner with a local family, which was an inspiringly positive experience), and the Dead Sea. Petra and Wadi Rum were outstanding, and while we had 1 day in Petra it really takes 3 to see everything. Our driver, Mohammad, was excellent, and provided neat insights as we drove around. Finishing at the Dead Sea Spa and Hotel was a perfect way to end the Jordan tour. The only lowlight was making our way through the border crossing north of the Dead Sea from Jordan to Israel. We were unaware that there would be an exit tax (10JD per person), plus fees to take ourselves and our luggage on a bus to get to the other side. This experience was frustrating (everyone else making the crossing was just as bewildered), particularly as we'd used our remaining JD to tip our driver. But overall, Jordan was fabulous!

Israel was also fabulous - rich in history and culture, and perhaps more familiar or comfortable to western hemisphere visitors. We spent 3 nights in Jerusalem and 3 in Tel Aviv. Rather than having a personal driver as we did in Jordan, this time we were shuttled to join small group (20 people) tours, which included Jericho, Bethlehem, Old Jerusalem, Nazareth, Galilee, Rosh Hanikra, Caesarea, Acre and Haifa, with some down time in Tel Aviv on our last full day. It was amazing to see so many different things, as well as being right on the Mediterranean.

We would revisit both countries in a heartbeat, and wouldn't think about using anyone other than Kimkim to do so!

Myanmar was AMAZING. The care and quality of the planning made all the difference. Anne went far far beyond my expectations in building a trip that reflected all that excited me (in this case cycling, culture, food, the people, the reasons why, ...). I have had countless great travel experiences, and working with Pure Myanmar was one of the top. Each day was unique; transitions were seamless; lots of little extras (I'm not a big beer fan & she handed me a bottle of rum ... I wanted consistent wifi and a hot spot appeared ... my companion bailed & she created a killer solo experience). Oh, and the guides - Anne has nurtured solid relationships with the best local guides. Really, I just can't say enough good things!