Kimkim Trip Reviews

Sajith was great with organising our Sri Lanka trip, his attention to detail was very high. Although we didn't end up going on our trip we would highly recommend using Sajith for organising a trip.

This is an incredible service, and I can’t express how much I appreciate being able to visit a new place — new cultures, new languages, contested histories — and feel like I left it with something more than a superficial layer of tourist-appropriate experience.

Deborah (with help from Tara - of Elgin Africa) provided us with an incredibly thoughtful and perfectly paced itinerary for our 22-day holiday. Deborah’s understanding of us — she really listened to us — and of the options before us, given our interests and length of stay allowed her to guide us to choices we wouldn’t have considered or known about. The process of working with Deborah was easy — we emailed several times, and spoke on the phone once — and each ‘visit’ with her left us more and more excited about our trip.

Deborah has worked in tourism for many years, and not only knows places and people, but has an encyclopedic knowledge of how businesses are run, what their values are, and how accommodations, tours, and even key local people will suit her clients.

We loved (LOVED) this trip. We would trust KimKim with any future travel based on our experience with Deborah. She heard our desire to travel according to our values, even though it might mean risking new experiences with accommodation, local tour guides, or wildlife (!). We asked for a non-Disney version of South Africa, and that’s exactly what we got. We’ve been home for two weeks, and already we’re saving for our next holiday (with Deborah at the helm).

My husband’s primary interest was in tracing the lives and contributions of Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Deborah ensured that we visited each significant location in that ‘Long Walk to Freedom’ — including the various branches of the Apartheid Museum. More than that, Deborah identified several contacts for us over the course of our holiday who we would meet and speak with to help us understand personal stories of activism during the struggle for a Democratic South Africa.

In Johannesburg, we stayed in the arts district Maboneng, and toured the city with “King,” a Soweto-born tour guide whose vibrancy and realistic portrait of the city challenged the ‘victory’ narrative. It was wonderful to have a more complex portrait of the country immediately — and with personal experiences and explanations to make that portrait more concerning.

In Qunu, the place of Mandela’s birth, Deborah paired us with an incredible local guide we’re still talking about. His activism during the struggle to end apartheid forced him out of university and into prison. Still an activist, and finished with his formal education, “Zim” allowed us to question him about his current work (defining and re-defining masculinity, and leading groups of people to experience their own power). Deborah had arranged for us to have lunch at his home, where we met his wife and ate a beautiful meal prepared with fresh vegetables grow in their garden. This sort of encounter is simply not possible without current connections and deep interest in one’s work. Wow, Deborah!

Deborah’s care throughout the trip created opportunities and connections like this for us. In Cape Town, for example, tickets to Robben Island were scarce because of ferry trouble and unforeseen closures of the museum. Deborah to the rescue. Robben Island may sound like a trip only for tourists, but I found it to be remarkably organized, insightful, and deeply moving. Need I mention that our tour of the prison/museum was led by a former political prisoner?

My primary interest in the trip was to see and experience the vast expanse of South Africa — its open skies, its languages, its people, and expressions of its cultures. Deborah consistently steered us toward places and encounters we wouldn’t have been able to have on our own. The range of people she put us in touch with ranged from shops selling the work of local people (sometimes co-owned and operated by those people), or informal locations where she was sure we would encounter local artisans selling their work. Our accommodations provided us with not just a white South African holiday. (On our flight home, we noticed that the cosmopolitan artsy 12 Decades Hotel in Johannesburg was written up as a ‘must-go’ location in the in-flight magazine!) Even before we left home, Deborah’s itinerary for us included descriptions of accommodations like this one, describing a beautifully designed backpacker lodge: “Hopefully you’ll meet one of the owners, Sal, who basically grew up at the lodge and is very knowledgeable about all the community projects in the area.” Intersperced with backpacker accommodations, Deborah planned luxurious nights for us. In another part of the itinerary she writes: “It’s 5-star accommodation at 4-star rates and includes breakfast.” She failed to mention that the staff at Falcon’s View Manor (“high above the town of Knysna”) would wash our car (!) while it was parked overnight in their covered carport. At this hotel, we got to our room and discovered that Deborah, who had passed through the area days before, left a beautiful bottle of wine for us. (Need I mention that the adjustment to routine life at home has been difficult!?)

Deborah arranged for several game drives during our holiday, including photographic safaris in Chobe National Park in Botswana. She had personally experienced these safaris, and although such an excursion wasn’t on our radar, our stay at Pangolin Lodge and experiences with drivers and our photography ‘teacher’ couldn’t have been better.

Our trip covered a true range of natural environments, cultural locations, and physical activities. Everywhere we were safe and cared for with attention to detail. Deborah put us in the path of people and encounters that moved us and enlarged our personal and political worldviews. This is the best of travel.

Deborah’s deep knowledge of her client’s desires (we wanted to support family-owned and community-supportive businesses), coupled with her vast knowledge of opportunities for tourism in South Africa, and even Zambia and Botswana, made this a trip our friends simply can’t believe we were able to take. Deborah’s itinerary for us included details about the businesses we patronized, what we should expect for food, even what to pack for day hikes in specific regions... I can’t tell you how grateful I am for her knowledge. Impressed, and grateful.

I can’t thank you enough for referring us to Deborah and to her collegue Tara at Elgin Africa. Although we’ll need to save for a bit before we travel again, I’d reach out to Deborah without hesitation. KimKim was a terrific way to get us started. I’m grateful for your expertise and for the thoughtfulness of your method in pairing travelers with local experts like Deborah.

Cheers!

Johnas was WONDERFUL. Thank you for a wonderful trip. Everything was handled expertly.

Tasos went out of his way to accommodate my unique request. Everything went according to plan. Panagiota was a GREAT guide to Philippi. She adjusted the amount of information provided based on our level of interest and it was fantastic!!!

We had a fabulous trip to Norway, orchestrated by Ingrid.
She was patient, kind, responsive and so extremely helpful!
We would definitely do this again!

What a great trip! Loved Myanmar. The first time I visited was as a backpacker in my mid 20s in 1986. That as a remarkable time to visit what was then Burma but I certainly travelled rough.
This time I requested higher end accommodation for my wife and I. Anne excelled with her selection. For instance, the Sanctum Inn and Bagan Lodge were modern suites in 5 Star accommodation. But we loved every choice she made for us, plus she saved us some money by recommending we stay at the Savoy in Yangon rather than the Strand.
As well the selected itinerary suited our preferred pace of travel. Every morning we were busy site seeing until after lunch and then most days we were free to swim and lounge around our hotel pool. We are in our late 50s so, for us, this was ideal. However, if we made the request our fantastic guides were only too willing to show us more. So to Nay, Arwar, NeeNee and Cherry, our guides, thank you. So too to the drivers.
We had lots of highlights but I think the pagoda strewn hills surrounding Mandalay, the railway journey to the viaduct, the cooking class in Bagan and the visit to the Elephant Camp near Kalaw will stay in my memory the longest.
Thank you kimkim.

To be honest, I’d never heard of Kimkim, coast to coast adventures, or Randall. This made me a little bit wary of sending over a few thousand pounds and just assuming it would all be ok. Randall seemed very nice over email and we were keen to support local business in the country were visiting rather than some massive tour company, so we took the plunge.

I really didn’t need to worry at all.

We’ve had a stunning time in Costa Rica - truly the trip of a lifetime. Whatever words or photos just don’t do it justice so I won’t even try. What can be said for definite is that I’d totally trust Kimkim again and, above all Randall is a total legend who sorted everything out to perfection. All the cogs and wheels that needed to turn at the same time did like clockwork and it’s all gone without a hitch. We were met at the chaotic airport after a gruelling 10 hr flight with 2 tired kids, by a lovely friendly guy who got us to our hotel. The next day we started the 3 day tour of a lifetime to Tortuguero National Park, just as Randall had recommended, it was one of those life moments to never be forgotten - the moment lasted 3 days though.

Everywhere Randall has booked for us was expecting us and we just had to get ourselves to the agreed place to find everything ready, and taken care of for us. We found ourselves on the best trips with the best guides while others struggled in the heat.

It’s hard to know what else to say, other than Randall totally made this holiday, I can’t recommend him highly enough and if we come back, and we’d very much like to, I know who to get in touch with.

For the most part, Oxana did a very good job planning and organizing out trip to Chile. We had printed our itinerary and had access to the Axios app of our daily activities. The itinerary was well organized and structured with lots of helpful information(I.e., confirmation codes, flight #s, seats, check-in and departure times, hotel names, et. al. info). The bilingual tour guides were all knowledgeable, capable, well-prepared, punctual, and professional. We were especially impressed by two tour guides: Maria Teresa Vargas Casanova on Easter Island(Rapa Nui) and Felipe Maureira, our driver, tour guide and sommelier for Colchagua and Maipo Valley tours to the wineries. They were exceptional. We would highly recommend them and now consider them lifelong friends.
The connections went smoothly and our pickups/drivers at the airports were always there waiting for us with our names on signs. First, the accommodations on Easter Island could have been better since the room looked old and needed an update. It looked better from the outside. The service, and breakfast were good, as well as location to the airport,
However, in retrospect, we would have liked to see what other places were available in that category or even a higher category hotel. We would not recommend this hotel If there is a better choice available.
Each time we based out of Santiago at the Ismael Hotel and it was great. It was a nice boutique hotel with great service and breakfast and was centrally located in a fashionable area close to Lastarria, the art museums, the seafood market, and other places of interest. It was a great choice. Our only criticism was during our time in the Atacama. Oxana, even though we did have your telephone #, there were times when the communication could have been conveyed more clearly. For example, though you organized the itinerary, it would have been better to know that local tour operators(i.e.
Rutas Andinas) were handling the tours and schedules. The itinerary you gave us was suddenly in question as the driver who picked us up at El Loa Airport in Calama handed us a different itinerary. The order of activities and the days were changed. The first activity was supposed to be at 5:30am and not at 8:00am as now scheduled. We didn’t want to miss an activity so we prepared for the earlier time. This could have been more clearly communicated to us and the night person at reception was not sure himself. Also, while we had a very nice, modern room, there was no telephone in the room of this new wing of the Hotel(Don Jose). One activity had us going to the salt flats(Salares) with a stop off at a village famous for its church bell tower and the market in the plaza. Unfortunately, we were there so early, the market was closed,! Somebody should have clarified this since it was part of the tour. A big highlight of the Atacama, which we greatly anticipated, was the astronomical observation. Since we had cloudy weather all week, the day was not promising, but it wasn’t until ten minutes before that it actually came off. It was spectacular and we highly recommend this activity with Jorge Corante F. The Atacama part of the trip was where we felt that communication was not clear and we needed more help from you, Oxana. This is the only reason we feel you didn’t get the 5th star rating. However, you did respond quite well after this and notified us of what the last three days of our itinerary were and we considered those updated. We really appreciated that since I had requested help initially with checking in for our flights. You did that with confirmed Check-in info, but we found it was more helpful and direct to just go to the Latam app which we had from our trip last year to Ecuador to get our Tarjetas de Embarque(Boarding Passes). These were superior to what was sent us. For future travelers with Latam, download the app and put in the confirmation codes. A couple of other considerations we would have wanted.
We wanted to go to Pablo Neruda’s house near Valparaiso, but we were given The choice to go there or to do the walking tour as scheduled. We opted for the latter. Luckily, it was closed on Monday so that made it easier. Our good tour guide, Javiera, recommended his house in Santiago. Finally, given our time constraint, we probably needed another day of “down time” in Santiago to more fully appreciate Lastarria, the art and cultural museums, the seafood market, and other places of interest. Santiago has really good food. Dine at Aqui Esta Coco. We started our walking tour in Santiago with our good tour guide, Max, and ended in Santiago walking in Lastarria by ourselves. All in all, we appreciate the itinerary organized for us by Oxana and want to compliment her for her efforts. Gracias por todo(Thanks for everything).

This was an amazing first trip to China for our family. KimKim, Max, and our local guides really took the heavy lifting and stress out of planning our family trip to a destination unfamiliar to us.

Max was quick to respond to our initial enquiry, worked closely with us to build an itinerary tailored to our interests, and stayed in touch with our guides throughout the trip. The itinerary details were clear and well thought-out. A helpful contact list gave us additional guidance on things like tipping.

Our local guides (Candy, Beryl and Marjorie) were exceptional and particularly great with our kids (12, 8 and 5 years old). They were incredibly knowledgeable, passionate, friendly and fun. As well as guiding us through all the sites, they were conscientious to ensure we checked into hotels, and got to the right boarding gates for the train and the plane.

Our time in Beijing and Xi’an took in the top sites including the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors and more, and all lived up to our expectations. However, it was activities at a local level that made this trip extra special: in Beijing visiting local families in the Hutong to make clay model pandas, paint opera masks, and make kites; in Xi’an learning to make dumplings and Biang Biang noodles from Mrs Lee and then eating this as part of a tasty meal in her home.

The food was amazing! We enjoyed long lunches sampling lots of different Chinese food and a delicious Peking Duck dinner in Beijing, organized by Max and our guides.

We have many special memories and lots of photos that we will enjoy for a lifetime!

Thank you so very much!

I’m a solo traveler and I chose to get a trip in Mexico by myself. Laetitia is the girl that assisted me during the planning of the trip and we kept in touch all the time, before and during my trip. She has been really detailed in everything and she always made sure that everything was fine. Always available for every problem and doubt I had. Once there’s been a little mistake and the company after having fixed it, they made me find in the hotel a little gift from them. I really recommend KimKim.com to organize your trip and if you have the opportunity to have Laetitia as a personal planner trip you ll have with 100% a beautiful experience. Great company tour operator.

We had an amazing time during our week long visit to Croatia - thanks to Ante!!

We were lucky enough to learn of KimKim and be connected with Ante during our planning process. Ante helped from pre-planning, all the details during our trip and also met us in person. He listened to our preferences and helped us design the perfect itinerary including excursions and transfers. Our trip included a walking tour, bike tour and boating day - all were coordinated with amazing guides and were the perfect experience. Ante took care of (and communicated to us) all of the transfers between cities whether they were through fast ferry or rental car.

During the trip, Ante was with us the whole way - answering questions, providing tickets and information. There is nothing as beneficial as having someone who lives in your destination to help you with your trip. Ante went above and beyond and we were thrilled to meet him in person too.

I really can't say enough good things about our experience!! Highly recommend Kimkim and ANTE!!

Linda was outstanding, she was quick at answering all my questions and made sure I was in the loop when itineraries changed.

All the guides did a wonderful job explaining Ecuador and the different locations that are popular to visit or that make Ecuador unique.

The city tour was nice, I really enjoyed the mitad del mundo museum - very informative.
Otavalo, Cotopaxi, Quilotoa, and Baños were all wonderful experiences!

I was very thankful that Linda was able to connect with my hotel and ensure that I had a to go breakfast on the days I left early. I love breakfast!!

My wife and I recently traveled to Nepal on our honeymoon to explore part of the mustang region. We were looking for adventure, culture and scenery. Our guide Thinley and the whole team from Responsible Treks gave us a wonderful adventure. Nepal is such a beautiful country rich in history, culture and spirit, and the mustang region was just as breathtaking as we had hoped it would be. Even with the monsoon weather providing us with a range of obstacles, the Responsible Treks team worked diligently to find solutions to each obstacle and succeeded in giving us an adventure that we will always remember.

Eiser was our guide and he was excellent in his knowledge of Cuba and his awareness of our needs. His driving on the trip to Trinidad was excellent and navigated the many pot holes with extreme expertise and diligence. He made the trip fantastic with his calmness and willingness to go the extra mile for whoever needed it. There was one participant who was quite difficult at times, and always late for whatever we were doing and complained about everything, but he showed great equanimity, was able to calm her down and many times I marveled at how he did it as I would not have been able to manage my annoyance if I'd been having to deal with her. The highlight for me was Trinidad and our hosts couldn't have been more warm and inclusive as if we were members of their own family. Osi and Miguel. We met her mother, daughter and grandchild, so 4 generations and even an adorable puppy! Our tour guide for the day was also excellent and it was great to have a chance to meet a wide-range of Cuban people. I consulted the recommendations on the itinerary many times and although I didn't get to try most of them, it was comforting to have. I did manage to get to a great Jazz club the last night and that was a highlight.

Everything was so awesome ..I'm so glad I met Kristy. She is did a great job:)

Our family’s trip to Peru was amazing, and a lot of the success is owed to our specialist Kristy. She was fully involved in our trip planning and spoke with my wife multiple times to answer all of our questions and help plan out a custom package. Upon arrival, she met us at the airport and ensured that every step of the way was taken care of. While in Peru, Kristy was always just a phone call away - she went above and beyond multiple times to ensure that our trip was smooth and a success. In several instances, she came to meet us to help and to ensure that our trip was the best. I can’t say enough good about the kimkim experience and our specialist Kristy - I am grateful for our experience.

We booked a 10 day trip to Jordan as a family (2 adult children). Starting in Amman we did the standard trip - Amman, Petra, Wadi Rum, Aqaba then ending at The Dead Sea.
Lena's communication and advice was excellent. We had a driver (Mohammed) throughout which made the trip very straight forward. I don't see how you could really cover this ground in a limited amount of time without a driver. The car was very comfortable and Mohammed was efficient and punctual. We got a couple of quotes and this was competitive. Jordan is quite pricey so it would be no cheaper to book once you arrived. Plus this way, everything's organised and you can make the most of your time.

We were mid summer so it was very hot but the plus was that it was very quiet and at times, we had the places to ourselves.

Jordan is a fantastic country with a lot to offer. We loved Amman and its eclectic range of markets and restaurants. The old town was much more interesting to us than the more westernised Rainbow Street. Petra was stunning - we didn't use a guide as the published material is very clear and you can then take things in at your own pace. We spent about 7/8 hours there - be prepared for a lot of walking but there are plenty of places inside to rest and get a drink. (Highly recommend The Old Village Hotel - out of the town up on the hill - but a short taxi ride to the sights).

Jerash, Iraq al Amir, Ajloun - all wonderful. The view across Galilee to Israel and Syria is amazing as is the view across the Dead Sea from Nebo. A lot of the place names are familiar from the Bible so it's really moving to actually see these landscapes which haven't really changed after thousands of years. All these sites were pre-planned and were more beautiful and atospheric than we'd imagined. The Karak castle was also really interesting.

Wadi Rum - much more interesting than I'd expected -we had the four hour jeep ride which I had been expecting to be too long but there was a lot to see (including a stunning sunset). We stayed at the Luxury Tented Camp which is a novel experience as the tents have a transparent side - allowing a clear view at night. Food at this place wasn't so good but you are in the middle of the desert! Tents are comfortable with their own small bathroom area. It was quiet when we stayed but there is a bar around a fire which allows you to take in the amazing mountain and desert scenery.

Next to Aquaba - good places to eat in town (recommend Syrian Palace). We went out to the beach for the day which was a welcome chance to rest after all the travelling. Water near the shore was not as clean as you'd hope but if you swim out from the jetty it's crystal clear. You can hire a mask/snorkel.

Finally - The Dead Sea. Now this was a great experience from the point of view of floating in the Dead Sea and covering yourself in the famous mud. The hotels are all resort style. We don't really go for this type of accommodation - (Marriot) it was packed with families and struggling to keep up with being fully occupied. If you don't like this ritzy type of place, it would be worth looking for something more low key and calmer. On the way to the airport we visited Bethany beyond the Jordan - someone was being baptised.

One thing to check- we had booked a cookery lesson and Mohammed duly got us to the place on time but communication clearly hadn't been clear, as they weren't expecting us. They cooked a delicious meal but no lesson. The other thing we didn't see which was on our itinerary was the Dana Nature Reserve - I guess we just ran out of time.

So - if you're undecided on Jordan - we'd definitely recommend! It's different - another culture - lots of historical sites and wonderfully friendly people. It really worked as a destination for all ages.

Miha organised the trip so well to suit our style. He made it easy. Everything was organised from the printed itinerary to the mobile phone on loan! Nothing went wrong and we really enjoyed the hike.

Two things I have to say: thank you and amazing!
The best thing of all, the people I interacted with: Tamara, Mohammad and Tito!
I usually do my own travel planning and booking, this time I booked a last minute trip to Jordan and I am more than happy I got to be connected via kimkim to the Why Jordan Tours team, from the first moment I got contacted by Tamara I knew that all I had to do was to leave it all to the experts and begin to enjoy my trip.
Tamara was incredibly helpful, despite the time difference between Mexico and Jordan we had a great communication, she listened and asked the right questions for me to tell her what I had in mind and she pulled a great itinerary for me. I had a few questions on regards to how I'd be crossing the land boarder from Israel to Jordan and she was able to give me all the details, I had nothing to worry about as she knew it all!
Once we agreed on a few changes to the itinerary I was all set, and with less than a week for me to arrive. Tamara did a fantastic job, you can tell right away that she is an expert in her field and she knows how to make travelers happy!
A couple days before arriving to Jordan I was contacted via phone by Tito, to put me in contact with my driver (and now dear friend Mohammad).
Once crossing the boarder and leaving the premisses I met with Mohammad, I can't say nothing more than I was the luckiest guy to have him be my driver/tour guide/travel buddy along my 5 day stay in Jordan. He is a very respectful, caring, knowledgeable person to have as your guide. He took care of everything along the ride for me to just literally enjoy and be able to see and do the most out of it, giving me the right tips of the things to do and see in the places I visited/stayed.
Jordan is an amazing country and I want to go back, soon if possible!
I began in Amman, a quick stop in the Citadel to get amazed by the view of the city and the ruins of the historical site.
Day 2 - I visited Jerash, quite an amazing and huge compound of the historical site, quick stop at Madaba to see the famous mosaic map, then stop at Mount Nebo to enjoy an amazing view and being wow by the church and mosaics. Overnight in Petra, amazing dinner and hotel.
Day 3 - Petra... I'm speechless! you have to visit at least once in your life. I had the chance to stop by the Why Jordan Tours office and met in person Tamara and Tito!
Day 4 - Wadi Rum, the desert is so magical, the sunset and the stars at night are spectacular. The camp I stayed in was unbelievable, amazing service, food, rooms, location.
Day 5 - jeep tour in the desert with amazing views and walks, a lunch prepared by my Bedouin driver in the middle of the desert, a delicious chicken bbq! Off to Dead Sea, it was incredibly hot!!!
Day 6 - end of my tour...
The best thing of my trip is I had the chance to meet amazing people, that is the most precious thing I'm taking from Jordan, the people is so warm and friendly. I truly know that I made friends which will last forever!
Muchas gracias Mohammad, Tamara, Tito and kim kim team!

Our trip was thoughtfully planned to provide us with the opportunity to drive to many unforgettable places and sights in Ireland.