Kimkim Trip Reviews

We had a specific requirement to accommodate our own tandem bike. Kimkim and Grasshopper Adventures were very attentive to that and made it happen.
Our trip was a chain of itineraries beginning in Bankok and ending in Hanoi, with the mix of companions changing as we went. At one time we were 16 (a bit over the promised limit of 15) but on the final leg we were the only travelers, making it a private tour with a guide, a passenger van and a service truck and two drivers! A bit much for a couple who ordinarily ride on their own. They were very attentive.
Accommodations were always 5 star if available and excellent in every case. The entire trip was well researched. We were impressed with Grasshopper Adventures' focus on patronizing local businesses and restaurants and seeking those which included a mission to help disadvantaged youth get training in the booming hospitality trade.
Early in the trip we were both had colds and the heat was debilitating, causing us to fall several times on the second day out and we had to ride in the van for the last few km. The guides, staff and our riding companions were all very attentive and supportive. At 76, we were at least a decade senior to all the others.
Guides and assistants who stood out were Sophat and Rong, in Cambodia, and Ky and Huong in Vietnam. We came to know Rong and Huong quite well because we were always last in and they were riding sweep. My only minor complaint is that they were too attentive and I kept having to remind them that "I can do it myself." There were two communication lapses which did not detract from our experience. On our arrival in Cambodia, Sophat was surprised by our tandem bike. He never let on to us and he managed it smoothly. And in Saigon we were sceduled for a foodie tour on Vespa motorbkes, but we did not know and had arranged for dinner with some departing companions that evening.
Our favorite experience was at Phong Nha national park with the Choy Lap Farm Stay, karst landscape, caves, waterfalls and scenic riding.

Valentina has been extremely accommodating throughout the entire process — from proposing an itinerary, to making late changes in our plans due to weather, to ensuring that our trip was going well. Our trip to Italy would not have been the same without her. I would definitely work with her again should I travel back to Italy in the future.

Must-do trip in north India to get to know important spots of Indian's history and get amused by the marvellous architectural accomplishments.
At the same time, it is a very touristic tour. One will be pushed to buy stuff by the guides (which for sure is normal and moves the economy but one should be given the option in advance).
Jaipur is a great city, walking around the city is an experience of its own.
Make sure to review (and change if you want) the hotels given by the agency before accepting the tour.
The agency provided a great driver

Our trip was wonderful. Our driver Faysal was by our side throughout the trip. Other than in Casablanca, all our hotels and Riads were exceptional. Riad Lina in Chefchaouen and Riad Passali were the best. Every day was planned well, with time to tour and rest. Faysal was very attentive and helpful. He knew the roads, ATM's well. His took us to a store to get scarves and water before the nights in the Sahara. Cannot thank him enough for everything he did for us.
This is one of the best trips we have had.

Hakim did a wonderful job planning our vacation. He was very responsive to our feedback and worked with us to create an itinerary that suited everyone's needs. A night in the Sahara was a highlight of the trip where we enjoyed a beautiful cloudless night of star gazing. Getting to the Sahara involved a lot of driving so we were happy to have the company of our driver, Said, who brought joy to our long van rides. We got to stop at many attractions along the way to break up the drive. Exploring Ait Benhaddou was tons of fun and I was glad to have stopped to take the studio tour in Ouarzazate (never would have thought to stop there without the help of kimkim). All of our accommodations were lovely, especially Dar Azam in Marrakech - Omar and Sana (employees or Dar Azam) were extremely welcoming.

We organized the trip through Olman, and communication was very smooth (quick replies to questions). Hotels and transportation was all very good (in particular the hotels in Arenal and Manuel Antonio areas).

What a fabulous introduction to Nepal my recent trip was. Whilst primarily visiting Nepal to attend a conference, I organised a 12 day tour to follow the conference using kimkim and their local Nepalese travel agent Sangita & Bipin and the team from HNB. “Wow” did I hit the jackpot, Sangita & Bipin were fabulous and put together a trip to encompass all my requirements of wildlife, natural and cultural sites along with an insight into to the cultural history of Nepal. From the first meeting Sangita was a true professional, continuity providing advise, updates on tour program and where needed calming words whilst I experience the frustrations of airport delays through out the length of the tour. In fact she went far and beyond when one of my travelling colleagues inadvertently left some expensive electronic items in her hotel room and didn’t realise till we were some two hours out of Kathmandu and could not contact the hotel by mobile phone - a quick WhatsApp message to Sangita and within five minutes the items had been located and placed in safe storage for pickup on return to Kathmandu. Sangita and her team use top rated guides, drivers and provided excellent accommodation during the length of my trip. A highlight was having breakfast on the balcony of the Sarangkot Mountain Resort overlooking Annapurna south mountain on what was an exceptionally clear morning. There were many trip highlights from the overnight trek to Australia camp with guide Bhim who is a top rate guide and certainly made the trek the fantastic experience it was, but the one highlight that will last a life time was the cultural tour of Kathmandu provided by Bipin, I can’t say enough about this experience-for me this was what the essence of what I wanted an insight into the cultural history of Nepal. Yes you can explore Kathmandu on your own with out a guide, but you don’t experience or receive the insight into the culture delivered by a local with an extensive knowledge and more so a passion for the history of his country - Bipin your in-depth tour will always be a lasting memory. So if you are planning a visit to Nepal for a multi- day trek or just to experience all it has to offer non trekking visitors I can highly recommend Sangita and Bipin and the HNB team they run a five star operation.
Wayne

I was very impressed with the kimkim platform and Dittmar Adventures! Erin was extremely helpful from the very first moment that I requested information, responded quickly, and worked with me to build a customized trip that fit into my budget and schedule. Not having to manage the logistics on my own made the planning so much easier.

Highly recommend the guided tours of Torre Del Paine, Perito Mereno Glacier, the Estancia and the guided hikes via Walk Patagonia (Pablo was great). All of these tours were very well run, and the guides provided very interesting information.

The one suggestion I have for the future- unfortunately, due to weather our Penguin tour in Punta Arenas via Solo Expediciones was cancelled. It is very important to have a plan B for this ahead of time, because it seems that the penguin tour is frequently canceled for weather and the “alternate Condor Tour” offered by Solo Expediciones was extremely disappointing.

Thank you to Erin and Julia for your responsiveness and for setting us up with a great trip!

My wife and I were unfamiliar with Costa Rica but she loves sloths so we selected this location for our honeymoon. With minimal details aside from sloths, Olman was able to plan a beautiful vacation for us. It included a romantic stay for a few nights at a resort as well as a multitude of excursions. Thanks to Olman, we had a great experience in Costa Rica with wonderful memories - we are now planning a trip to Hawaii because of our past experience with KimKim.

I had an amazing adventure in Australia. The in-country agents that kimkim set me up with were overall very good. Initially, I had to review everything quite closely and we made changes to a number of things on the itinerary, such as choice of hotels or upgrades to the hotel rooms. If I hadn't been so engaged I don't think the trip would have been quite as fun and satisfying as it was.

Peggy was very responsive to my requests and added a few nice touches, like private limo airport transfers, which I really appreciated.

All my stops were incredibly satisfying. Sydney was terrific. I did the Bridge Climb (pay the premium for the twilight option as you get afternoon light, sunset and night views) which was really fun. Swissotel was a fine choice — very central and make sure you choose the Executive Lounge option (thanks Peggy!).

Really enjoyed Adelaide and the Mayfair Hotel. About as central to city center as it gets. Wine tour of Barossa Valley was excellent. My two days of touring on Kangaroo Island was wonderful. Kangaroos, wallabees, koalas, sea lions, seals, dolphins, and more! My Inn, Wanderer's Rest, was a little downscale from my other hotels, but the owners and food were lovely. Next time I might splurge on Southern Ocean Lodge.

Cairns was really fun. Peggy suggested the Riley Hotel, which was an excellent choice. Great view of the sea and right on the promenade. Day of snorkeling the reef and the Sky Rail to and train from Kuranda were real highlights. Make sure to do the Gold Service on the train. Well worth the few extra bucks.

Ended my trip with three days at Uluru. I broke the bank staying at Longitude 131, which is the safari-inspired hotel with magnificent views (the only hotel with good views) of Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Food, room, everything was amazing. If you can afford to splurge when you visit Uluru, Longitude 131 is the only option, trust me.

In terms of negatives, I was concerned that when I called kimkim customer service about an issue, not only did no one pick up but there was no answering maching. Please upgrade!

Overall, I must give it a big thumbs up, as I had a truly wonderful trip. Having all of Peggy's logistical help was incredibly helpful.

My husband and were able to see five of eight Grand Canary Islands in the course of 11 days. Gilles came up with a great itinerary based on our suggestions of things we wanted to see or do on our trip. The first portion of the tour, visiting the Tenerife and Gran Canaria Islands Gilles arranged local guides for us. Both guides, Juan Miguel and 'Paco' had amazing knowledge of the history of each island and we thoroughly enjoyed our time and hikes with both of them! Gilles then accompanied us for the last three islands, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and La Graciosa. Gilles is originally from Belgium but has made Lanzarote his home for 15 years. He has a great passion and love for his adopted home and has amassed a great knowledge of the history and the special features of the islands. Our days were full and some were long, but we enjoyed every minute of the experience. We met so many friendly people along the way and learned so much about the islands and the unique culture, landscapes and cuisines along the journey. We highly recommend Gilles and Grand Canary Islands!

Had a great trip, everything from planning, preparation and changes during the trip worked very well. We had a great driver who had a pleasant driving style and provided us with a lot of background info about Jordan.

I’m so happy with the Bali service of kimkim it’s beyond words! My guide Yohanes & driver showed me Bali the way I always wanted to see it. They were amazing!

The KimKim Team truly came through beyond my expectations for this short, but very memorable trip to Poland. The hotel choices were excellent, well except for one, but fortunately all others were top class. The drivers were very professional, puntual and friendly. The tours I booked were amazing, but also had plenty of time to spend on my own exploring Krakow and Warsaw. My visit to Auschwitz was with a private driver and guide. I strongly recommend it to avoid the crowds even in late November. Krakow is jut beautiful all around. The visit to Czestochowa was perfect to break the long drive between Warsaw and Krakow. They even drove me through various castles called the Eagle Nest drive. Upon my arrival in Warsaw they provided me with a local cell phone which I could use to contact their local agent Igor Setkowicz. Igor was amazing. He was very attentive to my needs throughout the trip. I book the trip through KimKim’s trip advisor Jared Reisman here in the USA. He also was extremely responsive of any questions or changes during the booking process and trip. I loved the KimKim contact online interface and the various things you can sign up for. They also provide you with online maps of places of interest, dining, etc. Which ai used quite a bit. Overall I will strongly recommended giving these folks a call if you are going to Poland or you are traveling anywhere else where you need to be more independent and not tied to a specific group travel. Before I decided to go with KimKim I tried to book my journey through other agencies I have use extensively in the past like Alexander & Roberts, Kensington Tours and Abercrombie & Kent. KimKim beats them all by far when it comes to customer service.

I recommend the Kimkim team in Colombia without reservations. We had a fantastic trip and I could not have asked for a better agency to work with.
In terms of the initial planning, they patiently helped me through deciding whether to go to Colombia or Peru, which areas to cover, and worked with me through my endless questions and changes. Lisa and Chio worked out an amazing itinerary for our family based on our stated interests, and changed it with only a few weeks to go when it turned out that we could not easily get the appropriate vaccine to visit the Amazon. I had been a little distressed at the need to change the plans at that late date, but they quickly came up with a revised itinerary and I think it turned out even better because we had one fewer plane flight that way within the country.
Chio and Jules answered every question I had after arrival with patience and frequently checked in on us. Jules brought us to our hotel late at night upon arrival in Bogota and made several good suggestions for the rest of the trip. I was really impressed with Kimkim's organization, planning, and the guides they chose in each location were fantastic - very nice, fun, comfortable to be with and knowledgeable, and patient with our attempts to speak and understand Spanish, which made the trip so much more fun and intimate. I really felt like we (me, my husband, and early twenties daughters) got so much out of the trip when with the guides, particularly in Bogota, on our hike in Tayrona Park, and our visit to La Boquilla fishing village. We also really loved going to Minca and staying in the mountains, and the hotel near Tayrona was spectacular. On the way from Minca to Cartagena, a long drive, we were a bit nervous about a country-wide protest's impact on our ability to get through (though sympathetic to the cause), but we had a fantastic driver with whom we had many good conversations and he took great care of us, in addition to being such a sweet and interesting person. We really learned a lot on this trip, stayed in some lovely places, saw varied terrain, and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Thanks so much to Kimkim for this experience.

The trip was very well organised by Adriana, she was very helpful, especially when it came to last minute changes. The hotels where fantastic, all nature guides were awesome, very knowledgeable, pick ups were all on time and everyone was super friendly. La Paloma Lodge in Osa is outstanding, In hindsight I should have included a two night stay at Sirena Ranger Station, some people who stayed at Paloma did this and where blown away by this experience.
In Porto Viejo I would include a walk through Cahuita National Park rather than a walk at Punta Uva. ( this was very basic). The trip from San Jose to Porto Viejo was 6 hours due to road works......was not enjoyable but not much do be done about it. If I had to leave something out of the programme, it would be Porto Viejo and spend time in Arenal area instead.
The company at Monteverde who ran the zip line at Selvatura can be highly recommended.
All up, a fantastic trip, true pure vida........thanks a lot Adriana and the team, I will definitely recommend you......

Overall excellent experience. Vinales National Park was worth the 3 hour drive. Bike ride through Vinales was incredible. Very thankful that we did a full day guided tour in Havana on our first day. It helped us get our bearings and find a comfort zone for the remainder of the trip. Karin was very responsive and tremendous to work with.

Our driver (Mau) and our guide (Julio) we’re very friendly, knowledgeable and responsive to our requests and needs . They really added to the success and enjoyment of the trip. We would highly recommend this trip-especially with Mau and Julio.

We had a great experience planning our trip with Laura and the KimKim team.
All our drives we're nice and polite the vehicles were very clean, in all cases except once our drivers arrived on time.
Our guides were great and we got to ask them about their daily life and learn a lot more about Colombian culture. In general the tours outside the city were more comprehensive then the city tours. We especially enjoyed our in and around Valle de Cocora tour with the wonderful Mauricio, who was full of knowledge kindness and joy.
I wouldn't hesitate to plan another trip through KimKim as it really takes the hassle out of planning it yourself.

We had a wonderful 10 days trip to Colombia. From start to finish our experience with Laura in Kim Kim was perfect. She gave us plenty of options and listen to our feedback and needs and answered all very promptly and kindly.
I would highly recommend using her services.
The guides were good and I wish to particularly mention Mauricio who walked us through the Valle de Cocoa and Salento. His knowledge, energy and beautiful way made it the favourite part of our trip!!!