Kimkim Trip Reviews

This was the highlight of the trip. The accommodations are luxurious and you do literally look out over the ocean like the pictures show from your room. The staff (Jane, Yasmine, Tomas, Paul and the others) are all such welcoming and positive people and made us not want to leave. Part of the Sea Dragon experience is the full day nature tour. I will say it's a lot of driving (the island takes about 90 minutes to get from east to west) but it's broken up nicely with a stop at a popular koala hangout spot (we saw about 10 in the trees), a brief stop to stretch your legs at a surfing beach, a stop at a natural arch where the seals come to rest, a lunch in a nice covered picnic area, and a stop at the sea lion sanctuary where we were just a few feet from sea lions. Some of the shorter activities are on-site (honey tasting and gin tasting) and the lighthouse is just a 20 minute walk away. The sheep shearing is a 20 minute drive. We didn't do the wine tasting trip or any of the other options due to lack of time but you could easily fill 3 days worth of time while still having some quiet time to just sit and look out at the water from your patio.

We had a very spacious 2 bedroom apartment. It's right on the main drag but it's set back from the street (not that there's much road noise anyway) with a large courtyard flanked by two swimming pools. It's not your traditional hotel so you don't get daily cleaning service but that's fine. We had a kitchen so it let us buy some groceries at the local grocery store (a legit full sized grocery store is only a couple blocks away) and keep everyone fed and happy throughout our stay (4 nights). They provide beach towels that you can take to the beach or on your snorkeling trip so that's a nice minor extra. It's a short walk to the dock where the boats depart and all of the shopping and restaurants are within walking distance. The only area for improvement is that the room was rather dimly lit.

We somehow got upgraded to the penthouse suite which was certainly unexpected and gave us an amazing balcony with skyline views across the river that can't be matched. As you might expect, it was a cavernous "room" with three bedrooms, a living room, kitchen and dining room. There may have been other rooms that were in there that we didn't find because it was so large :-) The staff was friendly and welcoming and the room was clean. However, even the penthouse suite was a bit tired (couches were a bit worn, carpet looked a bit dirty, and the soap dish in the shower and other fixtures were a little wobbly) and during certain times of the day, there were food smells in the hallway. There was nothing wrong with our stay and given its convenient location, we'd probably stay here again but it wasn't anything particularly remarkable.

We booked our own stay at A by Adina right in the center of the CBD because it was one of the few hotels that offered two bedroom suites and we had stayed in another Adina in Berlin and loved it. Liz wasn't able to book it so we booked it directly. We were very pleased with the room and it had everything we needed and expected. The washer/dryer was particularly helpful since we had rain on our second day in Sydney and needed to dry everything out upon return to the room. The bedrooms aren't terribly spacious but that's fine since there's a living room with a couch and table/chairs to let you spread out and catch up on reading and whatnot. We'd stay here again as the location was perfect for reaching all of the primary tourist spots with short walks. It was clean and comfortable.

This is the one activity that we might recommend against. It's a long day from pickup to dropoff. The day consists of 4 main parts: * Skyrail (cable car) over the rainforest canopy from sea level up into the hills -- lasts about an hour with two stops along the way to change cars and take a short nature walk between getting off and getting back on. The views are clear and 360 degree and you see the waterfall both from the cable car ride and at the second stop (boardwalk). * Walking around Kuranda Village at the top (tourist shops, mostly, and some food/ice cream options). In Kuranda Village is the butterfly sanctuary which is small but very nice (maybe 20-30 minutes total). * Transfer to Rainforestation Nature Park for a 3 hour visit. This was the part that we definitely wouldn't repeat. It was crowded and touristy and somewhat contrived. As you'll see we did a bunch of other activities on this trip where we saw kangaroo, koala, crocodile and wallabies in the wild so the confined spaces here weren't our cup of tea. The aboriginal presentation was with an audience of like 300 people and the duck tour was on a caravan with 3 other duck boats all packed full so you felt like you were in Epcot Center on an attraction rather than out in nature. * Return to Cairns via the Kuranda Scenic Railroad - the reason this was a let-down is that the only views are on the gorge side of the train so if you don't have a window seat on that side of the train, it's largely just a hot and slow 90 minute train ride without much to see.

This is as expected. A lot of history (some interesting, some not so) and you get to enter each of the main performance halls. You can take pictures outside and in the hallways/corridors but not within the performance halls themselves (which is a little peculiar since these spaces see thousands of concert/theatre goers each year). It's only an hour long which is about right. The group size is about 30-40 people and you wear a headset so you can hear the guide regardless of how far behind you are. You probably should do this.

The reef sail was via Sailaway and they are a professional outfit. The boat is huge and clean and very well equipped. There were 50 passengers on our trip and it didn't feel crowded. The crew aboard and in the office are all very pleasant and polite and welcoming. The boat is loaded with food so if you're the type that can eat while out on open water, you'll have plenty to snack on and eat during lunch. I'm not that adventurous so I could only eat with my eyes. It's a 2 hour sail from port to the first snorkel site so you'll spend some of that time just watching the horizon, some time learning about the biology of the reef from the marine biologist crew member, and some time getting fit for your stinger suit (full body suit to protect against jellyfish), flippers and snorkel/mask. Once you get to the dive site, you have about an hour in the water. We saw amazing coral and a sea turtle and a million fish. No sign of Nemo though. Definitely an experience you need to do once in your life. There was a medical emergency with one of the other passengers during the first snorkel (he ultimately appeared to be fine by the time we reached port) so we had to head back to port directly and didn't do the second dive. Sailaway handled the situation well and gave us a full refund (after first trying to rebook us on a new trip -- but it wouldn't have worked out due to our other activity schedule) so they should be commended for doing the right thing.

We very much enjoyed this full day tour despite the fact that it varied from damp to sprinkles to showers to full on downpour throughout the day. Our tour guide (David) was very good and adjusted the commentary appropriately so the kids could participate. The day consisted of an hour drive from Port Douglas to the Daintree River where we stopped along the way to see a massive colony of fox bats hanging from the trees. The boat ride on the Daintree River started with an absolute downpour but it tapered off halfway through so that we could see a few mother crocodiles and some of their baby crocodiles along the shore. We then continued on into the rainforest and stopped at a boardwalk trail where we David talked about the different types of plants and trees. Dinner was at a lodging/restaurant venue within the park and was very good (kangaroo steak for some of us .. I can't remember what others ordered). We then did the nighttime tour along a different boardwalk where we saw spiders and other insects galore that were huge and not terribly visible during the day.

Our two days at Sea Dragon were awesome. I covered the nature tour (day 1) and the smaller activities (day 2) in the review of the accommodations so I won't repeat it here.

Excellent experience. They get you suited up, give a briefing on how the time in the water is going to go, and out into the water you head. The waves on the day we were there were about 2-3 feet so we were able to mostly wade out to the starting point and still touch the bottom. They offer lessons to all levels of ability so even if you have surfed before (we had not), they can tailor the experience so you get something out of it. Super bedside manner by the instructor (Tom). I had no interest in ever surfing but it was great and both kids had a blast.

This is indeed a very unique experience. When darkness falls, dozens of little penguin come out of the ocean and march up the dunes to their boroughs. However, it's a long day to get here for what amounts to about 45-60 minutes of watching small groups of 5, 10 or 15 penguin exiting the ocean. We heard about how great this was from other tourists we saw on the trip and might have expected too much. I expected a swarm of hundreds to come pouring out all at once but it was just dribs and drabs. Also, it's absolutely a tourist attraction. There are probably 2000 people sitting on bleachers waiting for the penguins to emerge so it's not private or particularly special -- so that kind of detracts from the experience. Lastly, it's a solid 2 hours from downtown Melbourne so you're spending a lot of time in the car and getting back to your hotel late. Bert was our driver/guide and he was a great conversationalist so it made the time pass in the car pretty quickly. We unfortunately had rain pretty much throughout the day so we skipped a couple of the lookout points along the way since it was too cloudy to see much. We did get lucky and the rain cleared just at dark so we didn't have to sit wet puddles while waiting for the penguin.

Great overview of the city -- easy biking on mostly flat terrain. A few short stretches on roads but for the most part, you're on pedestrian/bicycle lanes. We had a rainy day so we ended up pretty wet but it was still interesting and the guide was very good to stop and explain what we were peddling past. There is one minor uphill stretch toward the end that some folks had trouble with but if you use a bike ever, you'll be fine. And toward the end, you'll need to walk your bike through the botanical garden (about a 10 or 15 minute walk) since you can't ride bikes in the gardens. The 2.5 hour trip is about the right amount of time to be on a bike.

What a ludicrous concept! Climbing a bridge with cars and trains whizzing under you. Never would that be permitted in the US! We had rain for the first part of our climb (they climb the bridge unless it's crazy wind or lightning) but then it stopped about halfway up, cleared and made for some great pictures with the tops of the buildings in eerie clouds. The actual time on the bridge is about 2.5 hours with the first 30 minutes being safety briefing and changing into the full set of gear (full jump suit, harness, audio rig, etc.). You do a mini practice climb indoors so you understand how the cable that you're going to be tethered to works on ladders and whatnot. The photo package was actually priced fairly -- all pictures that they take of you and your group are sold to you in digital format for $35 USD (50 AUD) per adult. So if you're a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids), it's $70 USD. That's fair enough considering how high some other attractions price their photos.

Some things in the room did not work (like nightlights on steps in room) but they were able to fix it.

This cruise hotel was BEAUTIFUL, SPACIOUS for a boat that size & their food was delicious! Of course, the sites helped a lot 😋!!

The Staff was INCREDIBLE!! RESPECTFUL!! HUMBLE!! KIND!! And extra credit to/for Ms. Ella!! Her personality shines!! She makes those activities fun, includes everyone & makes everyone feel SPECIAL!! She definitely has the heart & skill to work with People!! This trip was probably my favorite from Vietnam!! Although it was short, it was INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL!! The Staff was EXCELLENT & the FOOD was DELICIOUS!! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THIS TRIP!

Clean and in a good location to walk to everything with easy parking nearby. Appreciated that they let us check in early

Very comfortable rooms (beds were very nice) and great location right next to the public swimming pool (highly recommend going for a dip at night!)

This was my favourite hotel of the trip - beautiful interior, super comfortable beds, including a massive pillow for reading in bed.

Beautiful spot to stop for a couple of days. The restaurant has great food. The person at the front desk called the national transportation service to check on road conditions for us (above and beyond!). And we saw the northern lights while staying here.

Favourite hot spring visit of the trip - beautiful view at sunset, great sauna and cold plunge, yummy smoothie, relaxed atmosphere, and a really nice extra warm hot spring area.

Seven Step ritual was lovely, the entrance to the pools was stunning, and the view was beautiful. I found it very crowded with many people taking photos and there were a lot of cups left lying around which detracted from being able to relax. The sauna was amazing and I really wish we’d been able to go into it more than once.

Really enjoyed being able to jump in the lake and then move right into the hot tubs. The rain walk outside the steam room was highly refreshing - really appreciated the different temperatures one could move between and experience.

Truly beautiful view. I literally soaked and stared across the sea for hours! Wish there had been a sauna (not just a steam room) and a cold plunge, but to just relax and absorb the view was very relaxing.

What really appealed to the younger members of the group was the nearby river warm enough for swimming.

This was fun! We saw more wildlife here than anywhere else on our trip. Our guide and boat driver were patient and skilled observers. The buffet lunch on sight was delicious, and there were not hoards of tourists.

Of course, this was a must-do for our grandsons, and was really a great experience. The young men manning the zip lines took their jobs seriously and treated each traveler with respect and humor.

Absolutely beautiful and we got to watch a wedding from our balcony.

One of our top 3 experiences in India! Fabulous place, fabulous cooking class, fabulous people.

Honestly, this was not the best hotel. This is definitely not the fault of the staff! The service and breakfast were great, but the building is old Kolkata just doesn’t have the same standard overall. I would advise anyone opting for 3-4 star hotels to request a 5 star hotel in Kolkata.

Not our favorite. Staff was sketchy and not very friendly. Cook wasn’t really a chef. They told us we couldn’t use the air conditioning until evening and it was over 90 degrees outside!

One of our beat experiences in India. Diya did an amazing job teaching us and is super fun! She is very easy to talk to. I wondered if it would be awkward, but it wasn’t at all. 5 stars!

Very detailed and hands on instruction. Our host is a real teacher, and I have a much better understanding of India spices now!

I recently stayed at Arya Villas and had an absolute wonderful experience. What stood out was the food, every meal was delicious and thoughtfully prepared.

Great resort to stay at, must have been the time of year but it was very quiet and peaceful. The staff, room, and food were all fantastic - I had such a great experience.

Loved everything about the cruise ship. Crew bent over backwards to meet everyone’s needs but were not intrusive in any way. Food was so much more than expected!

Absolutely loved the ambience. One of the outstanding parts of our trip!!

Fun day with a great guide, Innis. He was the perfect mix of knowledge and humble guide. Never hurried us and let us set the pace. It was really nice to have a private tour with scheduled tastings as the wineries were quite busy, especially after lunch and when to tour busses arrived, but we never had to wait and got individual attention from the servers. Bikes are a great way to do this.

The views were outstanding and we had a very peaceful and enjoyable experience with a calm and fun guide.

Very charming hotel in a great location, except for the stairs. Extremely friendly and helpful staff. Very quiet in our room at night, which is important to us!

From day one the welcome was warm and the individual rooms were private and peaceful. Being only one block from the main street was a plus. We had early tours every day but the hotel had a bagged breakfast/ snack bag ready for us every morning. It was a unique experience to start our visit to Chile!

The hotel is beautiful, the rooms are clean, and the beds are very comfortable. The hotel had a great restaurant with excellent food. The only slight negative was we asked for late checkout and they said we had until 1pm when we checked in but called our teens room at 1215pm the next day and told them they had to leave and locked us out of our room at 12 so we had to get new keys to get our stuff out of the room. Better communication at the front desk level would have avoided this issue.

Wow!!!! What a gorgeous place - I thought I'd died and gone to Heaven... superb cabins, amazing restaurant and dinner, gorgeous reindeer to feed, and watching the Aurora from our private hot tub. It just doesn't get any better than that!!

Great staff, lobby and breakfast. Rooms are clean and beds were firm and comfortable. We slept great facing the courtyard. Metro and restaurants were good near the hotel too.

We enjoyed visiting this new area of Paris. It’s an intimate gathering where you can ask questions and experience wines from different regions of France. Very memorable and fun

Sebastian was a great guide! We finished with a good upstanding of the timeline, where it started and who was there (don’t want to give away the surprises). It’s an easy walk and he was good with engaging the 15 year old in our group. Good for history buffs and always good to have a chance to talk with locals.

Tbere was water damage in the lobby of the hotel. The chef didn't show up for work on a morning we had an early execursion. The first morning we went to breakfast, the coffee machine wasn't working. The second morning, we had to scramble to find a quick breakfast before we were picked up as the chef didn't show up for breakfast. They didn't offer to help us pay for that. While the room was nice, it was very hot and humid and the room's AC had a hard time keeping up.

Really enjoyed staying at this hotel. It seemed new and was very well appointed.

The hotel is located in the middle of Chinatown and on a busy street. It lacked any character and the breakfast was inedible. The rooms were small and lacked storage space for suitcases, etc. Plus the rooms were very warm, again it was hot and humid and the AC couldn't keep up.

The place was not inviting and the operator didn't open the doors until the time the tour started. There was no place to wait and we had to find our own tranportation there and back. They seemed a bit short staffed and disorganized until the last minute. Even though we did see dolphins, I wouldn't recommend this tour to anyone.

This was an amazing experience. Our guide, Raff, took us to three unique places we never would have found on our own. Plus he was a great conversationalist and shared information about the arts scene in the city. Very impressive.

Overall this was a good tour, just really long. Rown, our guide, was very knowledgeable and engaging. He did a great job with the group and well-versed about Daintree and the rainforest and its history. Great storyteller. The only drawback was the cruise we took on the river. I don't think that added anything to the experience. We probably gotten home a bit sooner if we skipped that.

This was an amazing tour. I'm so glad we were able to do this. The story of the construction and updates just fascinating.

I did not participate as we had a long tour the day before on a tour we booked on our own. However Glen went and enjoyed seeing the city by bicycle. The guide, Pat, asked the group if they minded if the tour went on a bit longer to cover more ground. Everyone agreed and had a good time.

While this was a long day, it was enjoyable. Steve was a great guide who was very knowledgable.

It was great to drive around and have someone point out points and places of interest. However, we saw some great architecture and didn't really stop in the city, probably due to traffic. Our guide took us out of the city center to nearby neighborhoods where we did stop a few times. I probably would have preferred a walking tour of the city.

Overall, the tour to see the Great Barrier Reef was great. That said, the weather brought high winds making the sea choppy the cruiand the cruise a bit uncomfortable for several people. But the staff did a great job in offering ginger to help those struggling with seasickness. tThey also had two marine biologist to provide educational components on the way to the reef and back.

Lovely hotel- quaint, charming, modern, and beautiful! Was perfect for a family of five with two adjacent rooms that shared one large balcony. The view was amazing from the room and from the outdoor restaurant restaurant balcony area.

The hotel was nice and the volcano springs were amazing. The hotel was very busy though and reminded us of a Disney World hotel here in Orlando Florida. Several daily buses unloaded with guests for daily use of the Hot Springs. It made the hotel and springs very busy. They also charged us an additional $100 a day for a 5th person. We booked two rooms both with double beds and one with a pullout couch. However, when we went to check in, they charged us $100 for every night to have the third person in one of the rooms even though there was bedding for the 3 people. I thought this was a rip off and unnecessary. They insisted on the charge and would not budge. We had no choice but to pay it.

We loved this hike. Our guide was very knowledgeable, kind and professional. We were able to see howling monkeys, white face, monkeys, slots, and various birds, lizards, and bats.

Family of five had an amazing experience on the 3 to 4 rapids white water rafting. Congo was a trip! We enjoyed getting to know him and had a lot of fun. We felt safe the entire time. The nature was beautiful!

The boat ride was nice. The workers were kind and fun! The food was fair. The drinks were good! The water was unclear the day we went , so the snorkeling was not good.

The zip line was no joke. We have zip line many times in the United States and have never been that high or gone that far. The staff was nice, kind, and professional. The kids loved it. It was quite an experience.

The hiking of the volcano was fair. Our toy guide was great. He shared a lot of information with us. He was kind, hospitable, and professional. We enjoyed getting to know him. We also enjoyed learning from him.