Kimkim Trip Reviews

We had a fantastic trek for our honeymoon and would highly recommend Amanda, our guide Tendu Sherpa and the entire Himalayan Trails team. Amanda was so responsive and helpful in planning our adventure - and went above and beyond to track down my bag that arrived late from our airlines and helicoptered it to the Himalayas to meet us a few days along our trek - really grateful! We have already recommended them to our friends!

The trip was a blast. Our driver Amjad was personable and professional. My only critique is that there was not enough time to do this trip properly. If I did it again, I would skip the Wadi Rum and spend more time in the other locations. We spent a long time driving just for a couple of hours touring the Wadi Rum. Otherwise, it is a good overview of some of the spectacular highlights of Jordan.

While we had a really good trip, we were honestly a bit disappointed with the city of Heraklion. (Should note that we originally intended to go to Chania, but we 'accidentally' booked flights to Heraklion, not realizing there is more than one airport in Crete. Perhaps we could have been steered further away from Heraklion, or just driven out for more day trips from there.) The pedestrian areas there were nice, and George did a great job w/our food/wine tour; however, it was almost frightening to walk around much of the city, since motorcycles abound on the myriad tiny, winding streets. We did thoroughly enjoy our wine tour to Douloufakis, as well as our olive oil farm tour to Koronekes. Our driver, Alexandra, was great! Always on time and very friendly, as well as an expert on touring commentary, especially cultural comments. Tasos was very kind and generous in taking good care of us, and again, a good trip, but would definitely have done a few things differently had we known that Heraklion probably lacks much of the charm that Chania apparently has. KimKim is, however, excellent to work with, always answering questions quickly, and very attentive. Thanks!

My trip to Croatia went smoothly as planned with the help of Alex. Zero hiccups on all arrangements made. He exactly knew how to select perfect locations and comfortable places to stay. I liked the flexibility of setting the itinerary to fit my preferences or recommendations from Alex. As a solo traveler, the open line between us during the entire trip was definitely a plus! Looking forward to more trips with kimkim's services. 😁

From the point of enquiry and putting together a personalised itinerary to the fruition of the trip the service has been five star.
Following a very late arrival we were met at the airport by a team member and taken straight to our hotel.
The following day we met with Ngima and Lhakpa who explained in full our next few days adventures.
Following a long car journey we arrived in Jhapre to begin our 5 day Pikey Peak trek.
We were a party of 2 adults and 2 14 year old boys and this trip was perfectly geared to our fitness levels. Challenging in places but most definitely achievable.
Of course, reaching Pikey Peak's summit at sunrise was awesome and we had a perfect view of the surrounding mountains.
What goes up must come down and this was equally a challenge with steep, rough, loose pathways underfoot but the guesthouse in Jumbezi with it's hot shower was most welcome. The following day was a rest day were we visited the Thuptenchholing Monastry which, along with the early morning summit climb, was one of the highlights of the trip.
The rest of the trekking was relatively easy following the ridge towards the final destination of Phaplu.
Our Guides and porters were all amazing but a special mention to Lhakpa who was the perfect trekking partner. Extremely patient with the slower members of the group, great fun with the teenagers and a master at Rummikub !!!
Ngima once again came to meet us on our final evening before his transport took us to the airport .
Thankyou everyone!!

We had the most wonderful trip to Jordan, thanks to Imke. She was knowledgeable, very pleasant, had great recommendations, answered all my questions and was very patient with me. We are seasoned travelers but this was our first time in the middle east and were a little apprehensive but not anymore. We were able to see Petra, Wadi Rum, Baptism Site and Dead Sea. The whole experience was breathtaking. We were very happy with our hotel accommodations. A special shout out to our wonderful driver Akram. If I had to rate Akram from 1 to 10, I'll give him a 20. He went above and beyond to make sure that we were comfortable and well taken care of. He was always prompt, looks professional, very informative and always in a good mood. He ensured that we were taken to the places as per our Itinerary. He made our trip to Jordan very enjoyable and definitely one for the books. Our trip to Jordan was only the first leg of our vacation, we went to Dubai and Switzerland after and enjoyed it but our trip to Jordan was our favorite and the most memorable one, thanks to Imke and Akram! I've already recommended kimkim, Jordan and Akram to a few of my friends who are apprehensive to travel to the middle east. I'm now planning our next vacation to South America through kimkim as well!! Can't wait!! :))

The trip over all was fantastic. .Weather was great , food was very good and the mountains
are beyound, to be so close to Annapurna is a experience in its own.
The check in/out time in Kathmandu is 2pm we arrived at the hotel at 9.00, so i had to wait 2 hours
to get in my room. That was the only small hinderance of the whole tour. ( from Jomson/Pockara)
I want to thank everybody who was concerned for making this tour a unforgetable experience.
Peter

The experience was great. We could have done with a rest afternoon and a better driver to return back with. However Wangchu was a great guide who was very knowledgeable and helpful

We had a glorious time last week trekking through Lower Mustang and would like to take this opportunity to commend Chhiring for his first-rate guide service. It was a pleasure to walk with him.

It was my 14-year-old son Dylan’s first trekking experience and Chhiring did an excellent job of gauging our comfort and ability levels to ensure that we were always challenged but never overwhelmed.

Chhiring knows the Mustang area well, affording us glimpses into otherwise hidden corners, and was always willing to accommodate tweaks to our itinerary - even if it meant lingering longer in a Tibetan temple or adding extra hours and kilometers to our scheduled trek.

Chhiring has an easy way about him, always calm, cool and upbeat – crucial traits on the trail. He was respectful, open and communicative with locals, and provided just enough special insights to be interesting but not overbearing. Chhiring struck a perfect balance.

So, too, did our hardworking porter. We were not able to communicate with him on the same meaningful level as we did with Chhiring, but he was also pleasant to be around - though he was usually streaking well ahead of us on the trail.

All in all, we had a splendid time and owe much of that life-changing experience to Chhiring, our porter and the KimKim Team. Accept here our gratitude and we look forward to our next KimKim guided tour of Nepal.

All the best,

Shawn W. Crispin

Overall, the cities tour of Casablanca, Chefchaoen, Fes and Marrakech was very good. Our driver Said was very professional, accommodating and spoke excellent English. We felt very well cared for by Said.
Our guide in Fes (El Hadi) was very knowledgeable and courteous. Luckily, we had the services of our driver in Casablanca which made for seamless touring around the city. Our only disappointment was the fact that we had stressed twin bed accommodation to the tour company but this was not provided at some of our hotels. I would recommend KimKim and Anzal Tours to friends and family members.

The trip was excellent, nothing to complain about at all. The guide/driver was very professional, prompt and accommodating. The agency was also very professional, excellent communication and very helpful when we had some queries. Excellent experience all considered.

We weren't sure we were even able to do a tour through Jordan and its most exciting places as short as 3 days, but Carmen planned a great tour for us and catered to all our wishes and needs. She was always quick to answer any questions we had and made alterations to the trip as we needed them. Overall, the trip ended up being absolutely wonderful, one we will certainly never forget! Even days before our tour, Carmen was always there to answer any questions we had!
Our driver was Nedal. He was absolutely fantastic! Anything we needed, be it information or some background facts about Jordan and its landscape - he was there, he had an answer. It is also owed to him that we had such a great experience!

The itinerary turned out to be a bit too much driving in the first few days. The drive from Ajloun to Wadi Hasa was tough - thought it was booked this way because of tight scheduling at wadi Hasa but that in fact didn’t seem to be the case?? The backtrack to Amman after the wadi also seemed unnecessary just to turn around and head back south again.

Raisa was awesome at making some last minute changes and updates.

Islam was the best- really enjoyed the wadi with him. He needs to NOT bring so many heavy cans for everyone to haul‼️ Appreciated him giving up his tent to us when we found ourselves without. The lunch after the hike at safir? Was awesome.

The hike from Dana to Petra was so awesome ‼️‼️ It would have been so much better if we were given an historical guide rather than an adventure guide( Mirwan was really nice but knew not much of any history of geographical details). Our local guide was very quiet but knowledgeable when you asked him questions - he just didn’t offer up much spontaneously. Happily the scenery was stunning and made up for some of the shortcomings of our guides. Food along the hike was awesome except for Dana which was soso.
Might suggest that before the bag lunches are packed they ask if we do or do not want certain things. I don’t drink juice or pop and carried the extra weight a couple of times before learning to check the lunch before we started hiking so I could leave the unnecessary weight behind.

The souvenir shop near Madaba that Mohammed took us to felt weird. The people in there weresuper pushy and aggressive and I kind of got pressured into buying stuff that I look back on and feel it was a bit of a spoiler for our visit to the area.

Mohammed was always on time but could have been more helpful with baggage. He’s also a bit aggressive on the road and drives very fast - there were no close calls but going so fast while he was texting made me feel a little nervous

The Red Sea and Dead Sea were awesome. Also liked um Qais but a guide here ( which we hired on our own) is essential to really get the most of the visit. Should just automatically book a guide for guests - Mohammed had no clue how important a guide was and we almost didn’t hire one.

Petra was awesome. Just the right amount of time there.

Wadi rum was great but we had one day too many as we did the two days of itinerary in 1

I could have been supplied with more detail.
There was an error in the airport pick-up for which I was promptly compensated for
The driver was great
The overall experience was great

We were a bit worried with two families of four going to Vietnam for the first time but I have to say, after the experience, I’m already looking for our next destination with kimkim! We have traveled extensively on our own but sometimes you want to de-stress and let someone do the figuring for you. That’s why this was perfect! Alex had us set up with everything we wanted to do from start to finish and LaLa (our guide) took us to places we never would have gone to on our own - hidden eateries tucked away down almost invisible streets, only known by locals and served the most amazing food and local fare. Monuments and pagodas along with the stories behind them, made it educational as well. In the end, I will say, if you have any reservations about traveling, alone or with a group, kimkim is the way to go:)

We would like to thank Halldor for the last minute planning on our Iceland Vacation.

While searching for the Northern lights, he did a great job at moving us around for our best chances.
Our Itinerary also include some amazing scenic sites and recommendations.

Our trip to Iceland coincided with our 35th wedding anniversary and my two month recovery from hip replacement surgery. We had a slightly rocky start as the ride from the airport didn't drop us off at the hotel but instead at the bus depot, a 20 dollar ride to the hotel. Because it was a special time for us I booked the Icelandair Reykjavik Marina hotel for 4 nights so we could enjoy the city and its sights and cuisine. The hotel was fantastic and perfectly located. The room I booked came with a social hour that included free wine and beer and snacks which took a little of the edge off of the expense of Iceland. I hired the kimkim team to plan the next 4 days and they came through with a spectacular agenda in the Golden Circle and the South of Iceland. They arranged for the rental car, three hotels, and forwarded the agenda which included google map directions, vouchers for a zodiac boat tour of the ice lagoon, and an ice cave exploration. We were picked up in the morning to get the car. The car came with a wifi hot spot and a garmin nav device. Driving in Iceland is easy once you get the feel of the two lanes roads that become one lane over bridges. Our mapquest instructions broadcast through the radio and were perfect during our first days exploring through the glorious, sometimes strange landscape. Waterfalls and photo ops every few feet it seemed. We drove approximately 235 km on the Golden Circle and stopped at Thingvellir National Park, got drenched by an active Geyser but recovered with a mug of spectacular lamb soup, saw the magnificent Gullfoss waterfall. We ended our day at the Hotel Ranga. This was another beautiful hotel with rustic charm and amazing views, including one of the most productive Salmon rivers in Iceland right in their back yard. We continued on around the Island towards the east coast with more astonishing landscapes but at this point our mapquest couldn't find a network. Fortunately we had printed the itineraries and had the Garmin navigation device so we were ok. We visited black lava beaches, looked at seals and took photo's of icebergs on the beach before donning our survival suits and flotation devices for a zodiac ride on the lagoon. We were up close to a glacier that represents one 6th of the landmass of Iceland. The day was really wonderful but we were ready for a quiet night in our next Hotel, the Fosshotel Nupar. This was a bit of a disappointment as it was a little old and tired looking but since we booked late there were no better accommodations to be found. We were there for 2 nights. It did have a nice bar lounge that played some really great music. I should mention that all the hotels kimkim booked for us came with a full breakfast which again helped the budget from bleeding too much. The last day took us through the charming town of Vik with its lovely red and white church standing over the town and from which one had spectacular views of the ocean and the surrounding landscape. We drove through miles of lava fields, the largest in human history, that was other worldly! We took our time, visited the Bridge between the continents where the Euroasian and the American tectonic plates meet. I had to cancel the ice cave adventure as it involved some climbing which my new hip just wouldn't allow. Kimkim were gracious enough to refund that portion of the trip and we were very grateful. It gave us a little more time to drive to the most geothermal area of Iceland and feel the heat! We also at some point went to a waterfall that had a rainbow in front of it for hours and one that we walked behind. Our last night was at the Hotel Berg near the airport for our return flight the next day. Iceland is one extraordinarily beautiful country and we picked what must have been be nicest 8 days in the year. It was sunny every day with only one having a mild rain squall. Unfortunately it was cloudy at night so the only time we saw the Northern lights was on the plane as we approached Iceland. Just an excuse to return. So thank you Preeti, our kimkim travel coordinator, and her colleagues, and kimkim itself for helping us make memories.

Had a great, albeit too short, experience in Morocco! Brahim was able to tailor an experience to our short timeline. The trip was a great balance of travel between locations, local tours, and some free downtime to explore on our own. It was exactly what we were hoping to get out of the trip. Our driver, Rashid, was absolutely fantastic; provided us with comfortable transit between Casablanca, Tangier, and Fez - and he was great to talk to and share information with us about Morocco. Overall, I would highly recommend the kimkim team and would definitely use them again for our next trip where we hopefully will have more time to explore all the amazing sites that Morocco has to offer.

The trip times and experiences were told in advance to be one thing and were very much another. We were told we would be in Wadi area for lunch, turned out the time to get there was about 7 hours. We got there around sun down and took the camel ride as the sun went down and got to the overnight accommodations after dark. Our guide explained that the people booking this did not understand the time and distances and we needed to be flexible. We cooperated but were surprised that Lena did not know how long it would really take to travel from the Jordan entry point down to Wadi Rum and had put the trip as us getting there for lunch, and doing a jeep tour that day. Wafa was an experienced guide and helpful in many ways. We did not fault her for the confusion on our part when the times were so different that in the paperwork sent out.

We trekked the Langtang-Gosaikunda-Helambu route for 2 weeks with our Nepalese guide Dawa and porter Renjen. The trip was absolutely amazing: stunning views, friendly people, interesting culture! We felt safe and welcome from day one until the end.