Kimkim Trip Reviews

Our trip to Iceland was amazing! We were very pleased with the sites and recommendations made by Preeti and kimkim - so much so that we want to visit again - and soon.

Things that stood out:
While we enjoyed the entire trip, the following stood out as truly exceptional experiences: the south coast, Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon, the glacier hike, the fjords on the east coast (Hotel Bjarg was charming!), Arnarstapi hotel and the surrounding area, Skaftafell national park, Kirkjufell mountain, Reynisfjara beach, Djupalonssandur beach, Londrangar, and Thingvellir National Park. Plus, we loved all the waterfalls, and we would most definitely recommend to anyone going to Iceland to drive around the country - it is simply breathtaking.

Things we'd do differently:
Our itinerary was quite full, which at times felt like there wasn't enough time to enjoy many of the locations fully. Also, we visited Perlan on the last day of our trip, and looking back, we think Perlan would have been great at the start to help provide more background and context to the area we explored. While all of the hotels were clean and sufficient, our least favorite was Hotel Laugarbakki, perhaps because of its remoteness (and the hot tubs were rather cold). Given that we drove around the country, we might also recommend a different car (a crossover perhaps or SUV) other than the sedan we received. While most of the routes were paved, we did occasionally find ourselves in the middle of bumpy gravel roads and a more durable car would have eased our minds a bit - though our sedan worked out just fine, and we did not have any difficulties.

Or southern Peru trip was wonderful. The petroglyph field of Toro Muerto was amazing and the weather for the trip could not have been better. Our favorite places were the area surrounding Colca canyon (such as Sumbay Caves, Mollenpunko Caves, the viewpoint of the volcanoes, the reserve with the wild vicuñas and all the wildlife, including the wild flamingos) and the canyon itself with the Andean condors. Another favorite was Puerto Inca, staying at the hotel with the private beach surrounded by beautiful cliffs and lots of Inca and pre-Inca ruins. Our driver, Luis, did a wonderful job driving and taking care of the car and our guide, Alberto, picked fun places to break up the trip, such as olive stands and small churches. Our guide did seem more interested and engaged in the history around Arequipa and Colca Canyon. Towards the end of the trip he was more interested in his phone than the places or sites so we would explore the areas on our own mostly. Alberto did, through a friend, arrange a last minute change for us in our itinerary as we did decide to fly over the Nazca lines, which was very nice of him to offer to do so. Our guide for Lima, Narda, did an excellent job explaining the history, cultures, trends and politics of all of Peru and was very knowledgable on every subject. She did an amazing job and the driver, Juan Carlos, was excellent and very kind. Narda also pegged all of the food we would like to try and brought us to small food markets and food fairs that were amazing. Our itinerary was full of things to see and fairly fast paced so we did see a lot and most of what was on the itinerary. Clara did a good job arranging the trip at the last minute for us and there was only one miscommunication between us that was ironed out fine in the end. She fit in everything that I wanted to see and we ended up seeing almost all of it. There were some delays in communication over Kim-Kim but I realize that I would also go dark for periods when planning this trip because I was traveling during the time. Recommend the dinosaur footprints attraction more for children - but I am from an area with many dinosaur footprints so it is not such a novelty for me. It would have been nice to have more information about who the guides and drivers would be and how the transfers between places would happen but I also realize that I did not expressly ask for this information.

Raluca was fantastic! She met us at the hotel and made sure we understood the route and itinerary as well as arranged for car pick up at the hotel. She was also easily contactable the we wanted to make some minor adjustments to the program we had arranged. Would highly recommend her as a tour organiser.
We mainly stayed in a B&B in a small village in the Carpathian Alps (Maluga). The hosts were friendly, helpful and efficient with ample breakfast and dinner provided as well as opportunity to make sandwiches for treks into the mountains. Room was comfortable, clean with en suite.
Carpathian Alps have well marked, long walking tracks with views comparable to Austria or Switzerland. Guidebook provided was accurate with good directional assistance.
Also stayed in Brasov. Accomodation was in an Austrian styled villa hotel walking distance from old town with nice views of Black church and the hills behind the city from the balcony. Brasov also had a very pretty old town if maybe already a bit touristy. There are also skiing resorts in the mountains 30 min from Brasov with walking, cycling tracks etc.
Bram castle was a chaotic place with too many tourists and buses and probably worth avoiding in June / July. Krasnov citadel was easier to access and more interesting.
Dont expect to get anywhere quickly by road in summer. Lots of traffic jams, around towns and road works. Alpine roads are likely to be dirt or gravel a lot of the time - so drive carefully!
Prices were very reasonable everywhere in Lei. With the arrival of the Euro and more tourists Romania will more than likely become as unreasonably expensive as the rest of Europe. So, get there before more of the regular tourists discover it.

We had a great time in Jordan. Lena was very thorough and helpful both prior to the trip and during the trip. She was quick to respond and deal with queries and issues. She made the whole experience seamless. Yahya was a thoughtful and knowledgeable driver whose local knowledge helped us experience and appreciate the history of the area. Petra was unbelievable. Beyond what we were expecting. Bilal was a very knowledgeable Petra guide who has endless amounts of information about the area. We had an amazing time and enjoyed learning about Jordan’s place in the world and it’s part in history. The itinerary is fast paced, yet ideal to get the most out of the country in a limited amount of time.

Thank you KimKim, Lena and your local team for making this happen.

Happy Travellers all round,

Gillian and Michelle

An unbelievable trip of a lifetime. Through Kimkim, Sticky Rice we’re able to put together a truly unique experience. Although some details weren’t exactly clear before travelling (some confusion over one accommodation) when I arrived the whole trip ran like clockwork. I can’t recommend Sticky Rice and each of their staff more, and without KimKim I wouldn’t have found them.

It was incredibly helpful to have kimkim to arrange this trip. It was in between heavy work travel and I needed something to do on personal time, but I did not have the bandwidth to arrange such a complicated trip by myself. Having an English-speaking driver as well as guides at Petra and Wadi Rum was enormously helpful. They were all flexible and resourceful. I was also pleased about how easy it was to customize elements of my trip, particularly choosing and using miles to book accommodations for some nights. My favorite accommodation was the La Locanda in Amman the way it served as a local cultural spot, and I enjoyed the campsite in Wadi Rum--it was a bit awkward because it was empty due to a tour group having their flight cancelled, but I enjoyed the spirit the of the staff despite that and being alone. The itinerary was packed and I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had more days and slowed down the pace, but what was put together was based on the parameters I had set.

I was glad to have visited Petra and walk around. My favorite part of the trip was Wadi Rum, as the landscape was so unusual and fascinating, and I enjoyed the feeling of being remote from the world. I was able to meet a friend in Amman and enjoyed just walking around a bit--I would have liked to see the citadel and possibly some of the museums. I think if one is going to Petra, there's not as much need to see Jerash, especially when it's hot, as well as some of the other minor stops--although I don't regret any of those. If I were to return to Jordan, I would probably opt for more of an adventure trip. The Dead Sea was a great place to recover, but I felt my time there was a bit too short to make myself feel comfortable in the large resort complex.

Mohammad was an excellent driver and we got along very well. There was slight confusion and I had been dropped off at the wrong hotel in Petra, although Mohammad was very quick in finding out what had happened and got me to the correct hotel. I would definitely have Mohammad be my driver again. We played a mix of Western and Arab music in the car, and occasionally stopped for tea or coffee. We had some good conversations and Mohammad was open about his life and thoughts. My guide in Wadi Rum was also named Mohammad and he was very accommodating when there were some French tourists who were a bit stranded in the desert with their vehicle and we assisted them.

Some things that could have been improved include having a better sense of the line item costs in the travel agency package, as that would have helped me figure out the right tips. I also personally prefer to avoid being around tourists when not at a popular tourist site. It would have been nice to stop by local restaurants in the various cities and towns, or get some street food. There was also a souvenir place around Mount Nebo that was fine to stop by, but I felt obligated to purchase something without really expecting it. I'm a bit of a minimalist traveler and don't like to add souvenirs unless I spot something at something like a boutique shop I spontaneously walk into. Also, it would have helped to get some guidance about the seasonal conditions in Jordan with the heat. It was hard even with looking up the weather in Jordan to understand how much hotter it was under the sun in midday. I'm quite happy that I was there during a low tourist season, but probably could have been more psychologically prepared for the heat.

Overall, I would use kimkim again and be more assertive about the details and my particular preferences as a traveler. I wasn't sure about how flexible I could be in these trips, but it seems like I could have customized the trip even more. I very much appreciated having someone around helping me and able to contact while I was there, so that I would not have to worry about being able to get from one place to another or smoothly returning to work travel at the end of my time in Jordan. I'm very grateful for all the work and service that went into this trip.

Ingrid did an amazing job helping us plan our trip. She was very responsive to all our questions and always made sure she was available.
Even during our trip she provided us suggestions for restaurants and axtivities to do

Thanks you Ingrid

Marco was great helping us plan this trip. He did not miss any detail and was able to answer all the questions we had. Our guide Felipe from Nattrip was wonderful. He was with us from beginning to end of the trip. Since we do not speak Portuguese, he translated everything to us. Seems to enjoy what he does. The few times he didn't have the answer to one of the many questions we had he did not hesitate to find the answer.
Lençóis Maranhenses is an amazing place, we are so glad we were able to experience this nature's phenomena.

We highly recommend using Nattrip for tourist seeking a reliable tour company.

We just took three teenage boys on an adventure in Peru. We used KimKim to start the trip and Quechua Treks. I can not express what an amazing trip this was. James and Haley were amazing at changing details and getting the trip just right, and Quechua Treks were the best. From hotels, to amazing food, great adventures, and the best guides we have had on any trip. They were also extremely accommodating when we had to make a change mid trip. This was such an amazing company. We could not have done what we did without them. Thank you for making such an amazing memory for our family.

Working with Miha and the Kim Kim team was a seamless experience from start to finish. I would highly recommend this company and will be using them in the future.
Thanks Kim Kim

Everything was well organized and really personalized as well. I loved every minute of this trip. Thanks to Clara and the team for organizing such a fantastic experience!

Everything went perfect.
Very impressed with their professional work.

Was super helpful in planning our trip and coordinating the moving pieces. Sotiria was super responsive and knowledgeable!

Lisa from Adventure Colombia was fantastic as our travel coordinator and advisor to the coffee region of Colombia. We flew from Cartagena to the city of Pereira where we were met by a private driver and van for the ride to Salento. Lisa had made reservations for us at the best hotel in right in the heart of the town. We were met by David our tour guide the next morning for a fantastic day of hiking in the Cocora Valley and touring OcaSa Coffee Farm. David has fantastic knowledge of the region and was extremely accommodating and enjoyable to be with.

Lisa also provided us with great information and ideas for our time in Cartagena, Bogota and Villa de Leyva.

Colombia is a beautiful country to visit. We felt safe everywhere we went and hotels, meals etc are extremely affordable when compared to traveling in Europe or the States. Although we do not speak much Spanish we found that many people had some English language skills.

KimKim and Aventure Colombia really did a great job in making our trip so fantastic.

David, Jan, Ryan and Lauren

We planned a 2 week vacation to visit the Dalmatian Coast. I was confident in choosing my own accommodations through Airbnb, but needed assistance in planning activities for my family, as well as places worth visiting. After completing some research online, I contacted KimKim who put me in touch with Veselka. She was extremely helpful from the start. Her communication was precise and prompt. We worked together over a period of 6 months putting the trip together. I could not have been more please and would highly recommend her. The communication stayed all the way till the end. I can't express how easy she made our travels - never having to worry about transportation or guides. Honestly, I just can't say enough good!

Our 16 day self drive tour went off very well. It was well planned by Sveindis Maria and only once or twice did we feel that we could have traded a day or so in a particular area for a longer stay where we were. We felt that our consultant had heard our desires and heeded them well in her planning.
We discovered truly extraordinary food in Hotel Borealis. The hotel itself was a comfortable but not exceptional lodge - with a fabulous view down the valley - but the chef was a wonder with both vegetables and meat. The meal there was unmatched and I think will be unmatched long after we return home. To add to it, our waiter was a delight.
Our 2 most beautiful rooms were both in Fosshotels - at Hőfn and Eastfjords. The Eastfjords hotel has an intetesting museum attached and built into it. Though the weather was rainy, the fjords here were really beauffiful. We recommend exploring them all and not being deterred by gravel roads.
The lava flows and craters at Krafla, the one desolate and the other awe inspiring, were fascinating as was the intricate shoreline of the Myvatn lakes.
The slow reclamation of the lava fields by lichen, moss and wildflowers was interesting to see as we moved from very recent to very old fields. The coastline on the roads to the Westfjords is not to be missed.
We heartily recommend the Settlement Cafe and associated museum in Borganes and the food at the Reykholt Fosshotel. Best salad in Iceland.
Our only disappointments were 2 rainy days and the Fosshotel in Reykjavik. It was tired and grubby. That said, the staff there was pleasant, kind and helpful.

I’m not much into planning ahead but knew that we were heading to Albania and Montenegro for a week. Stumbled upon KimKim on line and wouldn’t usually use a service like this because I like to deal directly with people I will interact with during a trip but I have to say this worked out brilliantly this time around. Ed whipped up an itinerary on short notice and we accepted. We got ourselves to Tirana in Albania to spend some days on our own, after that the plan was to do some hiking in the mountains which is when we met our guide Ardi who helped us out the entire way. We had a car ride to the lake Komani ferry which is a spectacular 3 hour journey through the mountains to Valbona. We stayed at an awe inspiring home stay in the valley. The views and lifestyle of the locals are what dreams are made of. We stayed at Kol Gjoni’s homestay which is a must. The food and hospitality was terrific as well of course as the room. In the morning we started our hike to Thethi, which took all morning and well into the afternoon. One of the most spectacular hikes I’ve ever been on. Once in Thethi, we had another remarkable homestay location beside the river. Two nights here with another day trip to visit a waterfall and swimming hole called “Blue Eye”. This ended our trip in the mountains, so we then headed to Shkodër for a quick night and finished our package with KimKim in Ulcinj. Every step of the way, our guide Ardi was terrific in helping us understand the local cultures and experiences. Terrific service and looking forward to heading back to Albania again.

Preeti was fantastic! Each day was filled with great adventures and experiences! Preeti was available for quick questions and advice at any time , and was really interested in preparing a trip that fit our interests!

Sangita worked with me over the course of 2 weeks to help me plan my first visit to Nepal. She took all of my requests and suggestions into account, coming up with a fantastic itinerary. Unfortunately, I became ill with pneumonia shortly before my trip and ended up coming home early, having spent less time in Nepal than originally intended. However, I enjoyed the sightseeing that I was able to do, thanks to Sangita's extraordinary attention to detail and organization of every step of my journey (really white-glove service), as well as the friendless of all the staff and locals who I interacted with. Good people, lovely country. Thank you again, Sangita! I'll be back to complete Part 2 of my Nepal trip sometime soon!

Linda, Vilde, and Julie collaborated to create a wonderful experience for me in Norway for 5 days on a budget of $1000. I managed to see the sights without being overwhelmed by a packed schedule. I love relaxing for an afternoon in Flam and the ferry ride from there to Bergen was probably the highlight of my trip. The only downside to my trip was that the timing of transportation somewhat limited what I could do in terms of activities in each city. I would get to a city with limited time to explore in the evening and only have a little time in the morning before I had to be at a train station. That said, the amount I got in given that I only had 5 days was definitely enough. It also left me spending less than I expected on activities leaving me with a bigger-than-expected food budget, which was great, because I could spend more exploring all the great food in Norway!
Overall, my experience booking through KimKim took almost ALL the stress out of planning the trip. My guides were extremely helpful in providing detailed information, even helping me track down which buses to take, maps of routes to/from train stations, etc. All I had to do was show up in a city and find something fun to do! Next time I plan a trip I will probably be coming back to KimKim, and will just keep an eye to arrival/departure times (maybe see if I can't do overnight trains and such)