Kimkim Trip Reviews

Everything was great but I will mention 2 things. The driver on the first day booked me on a ‘boat tour with lunch and swimming and snorkelling’ out of Aqaba (I had told him that I would love to go snorkelling). It was a disaster, do not recommend again. I was the only one on the whole boat going in the water, there is no reason to snorkel as there is absolutely nothing to see…total waste of time!
The Hotel Kempinski was wonderful, recommendation from the driver to dive with Aqaba Shark diving and Talal was a wonderful experience. Thanks.
The driver that picked me up for my flight back to Amman arrived early, had not been to the airport in over 2 years so not quite sure where to go. He dropped me in a parking spot from where I could not see an entrance. There was nothing happening. The first set of doors that I found, no one there, the nest set were locked. Finally, I followed another van coming in and walked to where they were and found the departures entrance. Nothing was open. I was picked up at 3:15 pm for a 6:25 pm flight and the airport was not even staffed until after 5:15pm. I should have stayed at the hotel and I should have had a driver that knew where the entrance was. I realize that tourism is just reopening but I do think that these two things could easily be improved. Thanks for organizing, thanks for listening. I very much enjoyed my 11 days in Jordan.

My parents and I had an amazing 2-week vacation in Iceland!! This was my third time visiting, but it was my first time driving the Ring Road; it was also my parents' first time visiting. Preeti was an exceptional agent to work with. We initially planned to travel in May 2020, but COVID-19 altered that. Once we decided to go in September 2021, Preeti was able to get everything arranged without difficulty. We loved all the hotels and excursions she arranged for us. It was so nice to have someone else responsible for the details so we could just enjoy the trip stress-free. Her colleagues Michele and Halldor were also helpful. Iceland is such a beautiful country, and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the different regions. It is truly magical and honestly one of my favorite destinations in the world. We're already looking forward to our next trip!!

We enjoyed the trip to Norway. Thanks Hilde and Linda for customising the trip for us. Just couple of suggestions:
1. Felt that more suggestions could have been given for Tromso activities upfront
2. Felt we could have spent 2nd day in a row chasing northern lights instead of cruise. Maybe should have discussed bit more with us about options.

Hotel Reviews

Thon Hotel Tromsø

Tromsø

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Grand Hotel Terminus

Bergen

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vangsgaarden Gjestgiveri

Aurland

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Northern Lights Adventure in Tromsø

Tromsø

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Aurora Dinner Cruise

Tromsø

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bergen Walking Tour With a Local Guide

Bergen

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sonia put together a fabulous trip for us. We were particularly interested in Italian wine, and she was able to secure personal tastings at local wineries specializing in Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello, and Nero d’Avola. The wine is Sicily was a particular treat, as we were not as familiar with it prior to the trip. The Gambino winery on Mt Etna was the biggest surprise. I even joined the wine club.

Our trip covered the north (Piedmont) to the south (Sicily and Sorrento) over 18 well-spaced days. Accommodations were interesting and excellent. No chain hotels. Drivers were always on time, spoke good English, and often provided helpful local knowledge. Our virtual concierge Mara was always available by phone when we wanted to reschedule an activity on our itinerary.

Marina put together a great itinerary that met my goal of lots of active time out of the cities, while still seeing the cultural highlights in each place I stayed. All of the guides were very good, but a Rachel who was our guide for Caminito del rey was truly outstanding.

Our trip provided the experience of a lifetime. From the time we were met at the airport, we generally felt like the guides were knowledgeable and open to allowing us to experience Egypt in the way we desired, even when that deviated from the schedule of events.
Tour guide for Cairo and Alexandria- Tito was knowledgeable and flexible. Good at communicating local customs and helping us with checkpoints and helping us to feel at ease.

Tour guide for Aswan, Nile Cruise and Luxor-Mustafa was and is the best tour guide we’ve ever experienced. All should take lessons from him. He’s personable, knowledgeable and asks questions to be sure we were getting the very tour WE desired, not necessarily the tour listed in the agenda. He understands local culture and customs and asks questions to gage the comfort levels and desires of his guests. He made us feel like true family. He is a true gem.

Tour guide in travel from Luxor to Hurghada was young and quite inexperienced. We were placed in a precarious position because of this. He should be training with a more experienced guide. He left us physically alone during and after a chaotic incident with a local bathroom attendant at the “rest stop”. 2 Americans who know NO Arabic, angry merchants with no other tourists around -alone for 45+ minutes, with only 2 brief checks to say “it’ll be 10 more minutes” and leave. Our other tour guides had the experience and knowledge to NEVER do this. It was frightening.

Otherwise, the people, staff were very accommodating and helpful. Always pleasant and seemed to truly desire that we had a wonderful time at each location. Even the events that were not coordinated well, were taken in stride and light hearted. Overall, one of the best experiences we’ve encountered.

We are a family travelling with two adult daughters and from day one our interaction with Oriana was positive . She is prompt in her replies and experienced with meticulous planning of our trip . Good communication always and made good suggestions for places to visit and hotels.
Our driver Khaled was excellent with good communication skills and he went the extra mile for us . He was always on time and sometimes treated us on extras like coffee and sweet treats . He had good suggestions on local eateries .
Basil , our local guide in Petra was also very knowledgeable and exceptionable .
The other local guides in Jerash and Salt were adequate

I had a 5 days break from work and decided to visit Nepal. From the onset of the trip, I had support from Kripa who provided me with a packed program that captured all of historical and cultural places in the Kathmandu Valley. It was a mesmerising experience made perfect by the local guide Rajiv who was able to give me many insights and information about Nepal. I visited temples, palaces, museums but the highlight of my trip was a hike in the mountain.

Hello Kim Kim;Chris and fellow travelers.
Words will not convey all positive aspects of our time in Greece. This trip designed by Chris was perfection!! We spoke by phone for a few moments, he sent me some suggestions for the trip, I chose the suggestion I liked, then everything was prepared in the most professional, the most optimal plan from professional, college graduates for our guides, friendly, warm inviting. We did something different every day (9 days)• We can not thank Chris enough for making 2 ordinary people feel like royalty. Everything was prepared in advance and everyone was expecting us
Our accommodations were absolutely amazing. All future holidays, I will use Kim Kim again and I suggest everyone should!
Kim Washington
Florida USA

Marina designed an amazing trip for us! She really understood what we were looking for and went out of her way to deliver. She was also very easily accessible during our trip to help us navigate any hiccups or last minute changes. Would definitely book with Marina again!

Samir was quick to respond and arrange a trip that fit our interests. All guides were friendly, pleasant, knowledgeable, professional. Everywhere we visited was enjoyable, especially liked Dana Reserve and Wadi Rum.

We were on our own having a rental car for 7 days. Our walking is limited so we asked Preeti to consider that while putting our itinerary together. We missed a few sights due to walking and a few due to torrential rain and wind. The weather is unpredictable so we were disappointed that it was too cloudy at night to see the Northern Lights. That’s the negative. The positive was the spectacular scenery right out the car window, the amazing geothermal baths, a fabulous helicopter ride into the volcano that had been active for months prior to our visit. We were happier that it was inactive so we could get a really close look. The overnight stay at the Retreat at the Blue Lagoon was worth every cent, although the sulphur smell (from geothermal water source) at night in our room was pretty nauseating. The endless lava fields were awesome in the surrounding area we were in. I’m sorry we didn’t arrange more time in Reykjavik but we will next time. The food was good , we tried reindeer burgers that were great and the morning breakfasts at the hotels were mostly good.
I think our itinerary of the Golden Circle and South was pretty standard fare but Preeti really spent a lot of time with me to try to individualize the tour for us as non-walkers, considering most tourists are hiking trails and glaciers. I would be very comfortable contacting KimKim and Preeti for another trip.

In Bogota, I was very pleased with my guide Mafe, as well as the driver(s), and my guide Lina for a game of Tejo.
In Medellin, I was also extremely happy with my driver Claudia and my guide Daniel, as well as my guide Flako in Communa 13.
What made the tours of both cities go so well, is that having one guide the whole visit means they know what you have done so far and have not done yet, so if/when schedules or interests change, they can be flexible without being redundant or missing something.
Every pick up and drop off was on time and I was able to absorb a tremendous amount of information about the country, people, and culture.
The entire trip, Margoth and Felipe were checking in and making further recommendations and adjustments that I asked for. I never felt alone, and knew I had them looking out for me. They went above and beyond expectations.

Everything was amazing !! From our drivers, to food, to the resorts, excursions, etc. everything was perfectly scheduled and prompt. Thank you!!!

Antonia's attention to detail in planning our Croatian experience far exceeded our expectations. She was able to make adjustments to our itinerary on numerous occasions as circumstances changed. Antonia was always available and answered our questions and made recommendations almost immediately. Accommodations in both Split and Dubrovnik were excellent both in comfort and location. On short notice Antonia planned a birthday surprise at our first dinner in Split which will be one of our favorite memories. The shared cooking experience at Kameni Dvori was an excellent blend of cultural heritage and regional cuisine, and ranks high on our list of favorites. We also thoroughly enjoyed the two personal walking tours. Each guide (Ivana #1, Split & Ivana #2, Dubrovnik) was entertaining, informative and personable. Two memorable venues from Split include Diocletian's Palace and Krka National Park. Thanks to Antonia, our Croatian vacation was perfect. We can't think of anything we would have changed.

I just wanted a getaway with my son and told Olman that I was interested in natural attractions. Olman did an outstanding job right from responding to all my questions, to picking up from the airport, the local hotels, guides, attractions, food arrangements and last but not the least Covid testing services for us to fly back to USA. I have nothing but praise for the way the tour was organized. I’m a pure vegetarian and Olman took care of that and provided guides who could speak English all the way. Outstanding trip filled with memories. Thank you Olman

Antonia was fantastic. From beginning to end , planning and throughout the visit she was responsive and helpful and patient with any concerns or changes. She went beyond to ensure we enjoyed the vacation and Croatia. We had excellent private guide and drivers who were flexible enough to adapt to our change requests.
Unabashedly a wonder experience; I couldn’t recommend Antonia enough.

Our trip was wonderful and we will use kimkim again. Valentine is great to work with and the kimkim team was very responsive before and during the trip. The drivers who provided the transfers deserve a special thank you as they took care of us. The hotels that Valentine chose were great! The Villa Florentine in Lyon, and the Hotel Imperial Palace in Annecy were wonderful. The Abbaye De Maizieres in Beaune took us back in time for sure. The people of Beaune were very warm and friendly. We were very comfortable there. The location, staff and rooms are 5 of 5 stars. Next time we go to Lyon we would stay in the newer part of Lyon as the older section was a bit uncomfortable at night.

Abdel and his team were efficient and fast, but we got in touch with them by answering an ad that promised “the ultimate in luxury travel in Morocco”, and this, it was definitely not.

Most of the high-end hotels we wound up staying in, we came up with ourselves.

We asked for a guide specialised in Moroccan culture, history, food and art.
The guide that Abdel chose for our 16-day trip throughout Morocco was a wonderful person – warm-hearted, honest, committed and diligent – but his specialty are trekking expeditions in the Atlas Mountains and “budget travellers” (as he himself admitted). He had no clue about the best restaurants in the towns we visited, and he had never seen most of the hotels we stayed in. Some of the museums we most liked, he had never heard of.

The car that was used for our travel, was comfortable and at all times impeccably clean, but the driver hardly ever spoke a word with us (even when we tried to interact with him) and, importantly, he was not familiar with some of the parts of Morocco we visited, leading to us having to use our own GPS to guide him.

Abdel, the owner, was ultra-fast in the initial stages. His responses became a little slower once we had paid for the trip in full, and he didn’t bother saying hello or asking how we were, until well into the second week of our trip. He and his team requested upgrades for us in two of the hotels we stayed in (the second time at our explicit request), but he falsely claimed that “we will offer you a free upgrade” at one of the locations, when in fact it was the hotel that offered us this upgrade, not Abdel’s company.

We were very disappointed that on the last day, Ahmed, the company representative in charge of taking us to the airport, did not even bother asking us how we felt about the trip or if we had any feedback, even though we volunteered to give this information to him. It seemed more important for Ahmed, an otherwise pleasant and kind man, to give us a present (which we appreciated) and to remind us to “give our company a good review”.

So we really can only recommend Abdel and his team if you’re on a tight or mid-range budget and want efficient service. If you want a more high-end experience, we think you should look elsewhere.

Leo arranged one of my best vacation week.
Not only he is knowledgeable about local hidden trails but also all other adventure activities.
I highly recommend Leo for west coast destinations.