Kimkim Trip Reviews

We had a fabulous trip to Greece from start to finish. Everything went incredibly smoothly, in fact I didn't have to get in touch with Tasos or KimKim/ Travel 12 once the entire trip. All our hotels, guides, tours and drivers were wonderful! I wish I knew how to spell all of their names but they were all so much fun as well as knowledgeable and kind. We also enjoyed all the hotels very much. Sweet Home in Athens was in a great location and had a wonderful breakfast and super comfortable beds. We LOVED the welcome dinner at the Zillers rooftop restaurant which had amazing views of the Acropolis. The Adriani Hotel on Naxos was beautiful and also a good location within walking distance of the port and St. George's beach. We really enjoyed the food and culture tour of the island as well as the medieval hike and our driver both days (Yannis?) was awesome! Naxos is beautiful and less "touristic" than Santorini although the Volcano View Hotel is simply stunning. The views of the caldera are mesmerizing and my only regret was that we didn't spend most of the last day sitting in lounge chairs simply enjoying the view. We did enjoy the insider's food and wine tour and Anna was wonderful but I had expected/hoped to see more of the island on the tour. The sunset catamaran cruise in the caldera was fantastic with great food and people. Tasos had arranged for a birthday cake for my dad who turned 80 that day. It was unforgettable! The only small glitch was that my mom who had hip surgery a few months ago had lots of stairs to climb at the hotels on the islands which did not have elevators. But overall it was worth it and I think her strength improved with all the activity! I would enthusiastically recommend Tasos and KimKim/Travel 12 and hope that we have the opportunity to work with them again for future trips!! Thank you Tasos and team for putting together a trip that was absolutely incredible!!

A very well thought out trip working around 2 Rugby world cup matches which inevitably constrained the itinerary to a degree. The information provided before and during the trip was excellent and where we had guides they were very good, it was nice to be met at the airport and talked through using the train system and to set up our japan rail pass. We became confident in using the transport systems much more quickly than we would have left to our own devices.
Hotel choices were well judged with great locations and were a better standard than I expected for the cost of the tour. We took up a couple of suggestions that we wouldn't normally have gone for and were glad that we did - the evening guided food and drink tour in Osaka was particularly memorable.
We started with a few days in Tokyo then travelled down to Hiroshima and over to Miyajima Island - that was a highlight despite the iconic Tori gate being covered in scaffolding. We then got the train back up to Kyoto where we were based for 4 nights, as well as visiting numerous sites here we also did day trips to Nara - must visit, loved the deer and Himeji castle where we were shown round by a volunteer guide - these were available at numerous sites and very knowledgeable.
The station hotel in Kyoto was probably our favourite in Japan - great rooms, facilities and location and good restaurant recommendations by the concierge.
Next we went back to Tokyo for 3 days and met up with some friends for a couple of days watching England beat Argentina, visiting the robot restaurant and going on a bar/restaurant crawl, we also really enjoyed the team labs borderless digital art gallery.
From Tokyo we did a loop through the mountains first to Kanazawa, we then stopped at the world heritage site village of Shirakiwa-go in the mountains on the way to Takayama. We stayed for 2 nights in a ryokan in Takayama to coincide with the autumn festival - a lovely town and great experience. From here we got the bus to Matsumoto where we visited the castle and art museum.
Our last stop on the trip was Yokohama - very near Tokyo but quite a different feel with a very interesting waterfront. Unfortunately the England v France match was cancelled as Typhoon hagibis passed through on the saturday - it was eerie spending a day in the hotel with everything shut down.
The weather was beautiful the next morning and we managed to get tickets to watch Japan beat Scotland - a memorable last night in Japan before our flight home next morning.

Hello Kim Kim
The trip in itself was unusual to the places where general visitors go to .that said the trip schedule was excellent in its execution. From arriving at Beijing Four days of non stop activity with our Guide Tom. to the Bullet Train to Zibo ( I have to compliment the Chinese railway , a pleasure to ride on a fantastic train in total comfort ) Meeting Chris who was the most enlightened guide that my Grandson has met .
Then to Qingdao where we met Eden , I personally had an excellent time with him as he is a teacher and we spoke about the way he could get his students to understand English better .
Then to Shenyang , all of the train trips and Internal flights were great.
Wherever we went we met the most courteous children , good for the future .
The places we visited for my grandson were the best he had ever seen ( thankyou for that ).
The hotels were pretty ok , The Shangri la was TOP SHOP. Food was interesting but we entered into the spirit and eat a lot of what was on offer.
Kim Kim Thank you for a well organised Holiday with excellent representatives at each city to meet us .
Paul Baker

For me, the most memorable part of our sensational trip was the train ride to Myrdal & then down to Flam. We have seen many things, but the scenery and its dramatic changes on the way up and back down. We loved the golden trees of Autumn. For George, it was the trip through the fjords.
Every part of our trip exceeded our expectations in every way. The Thon Opera Hotel was great and so well located. Stig was an excellent guide and great guy, in Aurland, the innkeeper had no rooms & said we could stay in our own cottage right on the fjord which was great-there is that word again! Bergen was charming & we had a full day of sunshine with our guide. He was OK but had not gotten the certification training and just wasn’t as knowledgeable as Stig. He did a good job, but Stig was extraordinary.

My husband and I can’t say enough great things about our experience with Your Trip to Spain and working with our local expert Patricia to plan our recent adventure. From start to finish and at every turn along the way, Patricia was the ultimate professional always making herself available throughout our travels and helping create one of the most memorable and enjoyable trips we’ve ever experienced. We are grateful for her expertise and knowledge. And, of course, we look forward to working with her again.

Nepal was the second part of our holiday abroad, and it was fantastic. We enjoyed our hotel choices, especially Dwarika in Kathmandu. The helicopter ride to Mount Everest was epic! The views were incredible. Thank you Erin for planning such a memorable adventure.

First I want to thank Adele in South Africa ( she works at Duma Explorer that provided the safari services) who helped me plan every step of the way in this safari. She was excellent and her first draft of an itinerary was very close to the final version. Since this was a solo photographic safari, I was concerned that my specific needs might be difficult to accommodate. It did not take long to realize that Adele was on target and did a great job is meeting my needs.

My journey started off a bit rocky. I was met at the airport in Arusha by a person from Duma Explorer, but not the one I expected. Apparently, my guide, who I knew to be highly qualified for my trip, had a car accident and, although unharmed, was unable to make the safari. The man who met me at the airport assured me that he was well qualified and that we would have a wonderful trip together. This sort of a surprise certainly causes apprehension and some anxiety. The next morning, my new guide took me to meet Wilson, my planned guide. While Wilson was unable to lead my trip, after meeting him, I felt reassured that everything would be fine. Read on for my review of my safari.

My guide, Chaduu, was fantastic. He knew the wildlife very well, not just the names, in some cases the Latin genus and species as well as their behavioral characteristics. This would be pretty meaningless if we didn't find animals. Chaduu knew the favorite haunts of many animals (mammals, reptiles and birds) so we saw, identified, and photographed a great number. He was also helpful in answering my questions about animal behavior. Finding wildlife is also a matter of luck and I have to admit that we were very lucky. This was a solo photographic safari. Chaduu and I were together for many hours a day for 17 days in a safari vehicle together. We never seemed to run out of discussion topics, and discussed a wide range of subjects. He was very careful to obey park rules of the road and "parking locations". In addition, photography requires patience, hoping and waiting to see some interesting behavior. We spent a great deal of time waiting and as a result got some amazing photos and observing some incredible behavior. He never complained and seemed always eager to experience seeing animal behavior, knowing that patience is necessary. Chaduu was excellent in helping to position us for the best angle for a photo and responding to every request to move even a few feet in on direction or another. His assurances on day one were completely accurate and I was happy to have Chaduu as my guide.

I was also interested in tribal cultures and people. I was not disappointed. We engaged Hadzabe bushmen and Datoga metal workers and women. Each tribe lives in their ancient ways and the people were fully authentic and friendly. Duma provide a local expert who spoke the native languages. He was very helpful in the success of meeting, engaging and photographing these tribal people.

Granted this was a solo safari. Chaduu and I could pretty much do what we wanted without having to consider the needs of others. That fact in itself made this photo expedition worthwhile and greatly contributed to our success. We were a terrific team, working together every step of the way. Chaduu was always a professional.

Overall, my experience in preparing for this trip as well as the trip itself, met or exceeded my expectations. Good job and thanks so much for your help along the way.

Laura was a pleasure to work with! Every detail of our trip was planned to our liking and she was very responsive to any changes we wanted to make or questions we had. During our travels, when minor issues arose she (or her coworkers) was readily available to sort it out. She suggested places I would not have known to go for instance beyond guatape, we loved our overnight in San Carlos. I would unhesitatingly recommend Laura for your next trip to Colombia.
Thank you, Laura!

We would like to thank Olman for the amazing 11 day trip he planned for us with such short notice. Costa Rica has been on our list of places to visit but we only booked the flights 4 weeks before travelling. I was apprehensive about Travelling in October as it is meant to be the rainy season. Olman explained the weather is normally sunny in the morning clouding over in the afternoon. We seemed to be lucky as we only had 1 evening when we had a real downpour, which was quite an adventure. The 5 hotels we stayed in were all different but each lovely. Pick ups and transportation excellent all on time and went without a hitch. We got to see so much wild life. Our favourites were the sloths and a turtle laying her eggs. The white water rafting down the Pacuare River and zipline tour in La Fortuna were so exciting and fun through beautiful scenery. Thanks again Olman and Kim Kim for planning a stress free amazing holiday

Our driver in Jordan was Hassan, but I don't know his last name, He was an excellent driver and a thoroughly nice fellow. Our driver in Israel was also very nice and accommodating, even walking us through the exciting towns of Caesarea and Akko - his name was Rami, but again, I don't know his last name. I'd recommend both of them. Our guide in Jerusalem was called Jacob, but he also has a Palestinian name. Fantastic, and super knowledgeable about all the places we went. I have his name to recommend to anyone I know who will be coming to Jordan.

The hotels were all fine, the best ones being in Jerusalem and Haifa. That said, the food in general in Jordan and Israel was not fabulous. Maybe we should have asked for better hotels, but that is certainly not your fault. We realize that hotels have to consider that their guests come from all over the world and it's impossible to please everyone. The best restaurant in Jordan was the one Hassan took us to in Jerash, owned by someone he knew. It was lovely with fountains and a great menu. The food in Wadi Rum at the place we stayed was also good. The neighborhood in Haifa was delightful and lots of good restaurants nearby, I wish we'd spent another day there. Next time...

I will certainly recommend your company if I have any friends who are traveling to your region. I also see that you do tours in other parts of the world, too, and will keep that in mind for the future, as I still plan on traveling even after both of us got sick and had such a long, agonizing trip home with lots of layovers, etc. Again, not your fault, just bad luck. Thanks again for your kind and helpful suggestions and we have great memories of Jerash, Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea, Dana,and of course Petra. Our guides at Dana and Petra back door were also excellent. Your country has so much history and stark beauty I think your tourism numbers will improve. Jordan seemed very safe while being surrounded by turmoil in all directions. Good luck in the future, and thanks again, Lena!

Sincerely,
Kim and Bob McGregor

Antonia planned the perfect trip! The guides she works with all over Croatia and Slovenia are excellent, and the private guided tour of Plitvice Lakes was a highlight. She also planned an amazing excursion to Bled in Slovenia, where I took a hot air balloon ride over the lake - a truly unique experience that I'll never forget. I highly recommend Antonia for your next trip to Croatia/Slovenia!

This was my first time with Kimkim. The platform was easy to use and connect us to Kripa in Nepal who has been great. She arranged everything for us and was extremely helpful. The guides, porters, drivers were sincere, knowledgeable and friendly (if not too friendly, as we prefer guides that are less intrusive ie not having to follow you everywhere including meals). Overall experience was pleasant. Our local specialist Kripa was very attentive and responsive when we need help or advice.

Price is reasonable, we didn't mind paying a premium for better services and arrangements. Mountain biking was deemed begginers but my wife found it quite difficult and scary (she's not the most adventurous type).

Nepal is a great countries, it has both scenary, heritage as well as culture. Thought you must expect min choice of international food (at least nice ones) and alcholol except if you are in some nice restaurant or hotels or tourist area.

We really enjoyed it. Thanks very much.

Our trip to Morocco was amazing. I really enjoyed staying in Fez , Marrakech and the Agafay Desert, as well as visiting Casablanca and Rabat. We could not have asked for a better local specialist! Omir was so welcoming since we arrived. He was constantly making sure we were happy and having fun. He really knew his way around all of Morocco, which made us feel more comfortable during our trip. I would recommend him for any trip in Morocco.

While my overall experience was great, I had one negative incident with my purse (and phone) being taken from me on Wednesday as we walked to a nearby restaurant in Marrakech. It was very upsetting, scary and I felt shaken for the next day... I would recommend telling future travelers to not walk anywhere at night.

Other than that, our trip was great. I loved riding camels and ATVs in the desert! These activities should definitely be included for anyone visiting Morocco.

After this trip through kimkim, my husband and I are convinced - the only way we can travel is through kimkim, a fully-personalized and customized vacation that meets our travel objectives with private transfers from city to city, 4 and 5-star hotels, and all within our prescribed budget.

I found out about 6 weeks before a fully-paid-for pilgrimage to Croatia that it had to be cancelled because of insufficient interest. I had bought the airtickets myself and so had to make the trip. Desperate, I googled online late into the night and found travel platforms and companies which might be able to help me put together a trip to Croatia. Kimkim surfaced towards the end and I was exhausted and thought, “No need for more” but something told me to write to them too, and so I did.
Guess what, kimkim was the first to respond and Antonia Ljustina of Croatique sent me a proposal that covered all the places I wanted to visit with a clear and well-presented full itinerary within my prescribed budget. She asked if she could call me and within 5 minutes of chatting with her I made up my mind to go with her. I did receive several other proposals in the next few days but none could beat Antonia’s in terms of depth or appeal.

Antonia is the consummate travel professional, a joy to work with from day one. She has great ideas but listens carefully and the end result, she crafts a customized dream vacation for you – Croatia is a beautiful country and we wanted to enjoy the scenery, partake in the cultural and religious heritage and try the great local food.

Antonia did an amazing job for us – it was so easy communicating with her prior to the trip through the kimkim platform. Being local, she put together a most enjoyable itinerary with “must-do” experiences, beautiful hotels, and some of the best local guides. Private transfers, the way to go. No fear of being delayed by anyone and we simply zipped across borders….very different experience for the tour buses each with 40 or more passengers trying to clear customs.

Antonia welcomed us with a full package on arrival, we had a good chat on the phone discussing the itinerary and any questions I had. We also had a great app for the itinerary. She reminded us every night of the program for the next day with helpful reminders re passports, weather, etc. We could call her anytime for help – she was available 24/7 and we were in constant communication through Whatsapp. Upon checking in at each hotel, she made sure we were happy with our room and on 2 occasions, got us upgraded to bigger rooms with better views.

My husband and I had a very special and wonderful vacation, and we have been telling family and friends nonstop since returning about kimkim – a secure online Californian platform that works with terrific travel specialists overseas. You must check them out for your next trip!

We were extremely pleased with our trip to greece. It was all that was promised and more. We were always picked up at the exact time that was expected. Dinner at mani mani the first night was delicious and a great way to start our holiday. The first day we tried to call about our flight e tickets early in the morning but no one was in the office so we went on our tour and figured we would call later. We were very impressed that you saw the missed call and tried many times to get to us. We really enjoyed that each hotel was unique and different from eachother. The room in acropolis hill hotel was aLittle to small. We left the Alcnea hotel in Chania early in the morning to catch a plane and they packed us breakfast. We loved our hike in Naxos. Would just suggest that hiking shoes are recommended. Very much enjoyed the food tour also in Naxos. We loved your suggestion that we tour cape sounion the last day. It extended our vacation another day with a wonderful tour guide. We felt very well cared for. Every tour guide was professional and knowable and extremely nice. A++ I have already been recommending you and will definitely use kim kim on our future travels.

Edwuardo was good, at times a bit condescending. I think he needs to show more background info on the trips he guides in other words plants and animals. Trips were to short. Back to the hotel by 14:00. I paid a lot of money not to have short days. On one day we did the geyser basin plus the 10km hike that was to be schedule the next day. back to hotel by15:30. because of this I pointed out to my guide that I had an empty day. We ended doing a hike up this volcano. Again back early. Your rep. Santiago should have met me, not talk on the phone and give me a number to contact. You should REALLY stress with your clients in Chile not to lose their PDI and were to get a replacement. This will avoid challenges I had to put up with hotel manager in San Pedro(19% surcharge on hotel cost if I could not get one by the end of my stay)

I found KimKim (and Amanda) totally on the ball, professional, and very competent. They responded to emails/questions very promptly and were very attentive to detail. The greeting and meeting in Kathmandu was helpful and the trip itself was excellent and tailored to our needs. Overall very pleased.

KimKim was fine as a tour company. I, however, found out I was not crazy about having a guide and using a touring company - though I do recognize that I would probably have had a difficult time without them. Perhaps it would have been better if I had had only one guide? Or if I didn't feel somewhat rushed from one monument to another and then was taken to tourist-trap type places to buy things at elevated prices? In any case, KimKim was very efficient - they got things together well and were very attentive. Any problems or issues I had with using KimKim were probably more just personal preference than any inadequacy on their part - though I do think they could do a better job in terms of giving more 'local' experience.

KimKim Travel was amazing from beginning to end. If you want to take a major trip around the world somewhere and really experience the culture and adventure that country has to offer, this is the agency to make it happen. I truly had an amazing birthday vacation in Greece, and utilizing this company for this celebration gets 5 stars all the way. Harris was very helpful and attentive through the whole process as well as the local contacts in Greece. Would I ever use this company again - YES!!! You cannot go wrong how everything is seamlessly planned. Thank you KimKim Travel for this Amazing Trip. I will definitely be using you once more in the near future!

**Apologies on how long it took to get me to write this review. It was back to the conundrum of work in DC. :)

I am very impressed with the service. I submitted my request less than a week before I decided to make a trip to Cuba. Karin responded quickly to my request and curated an itinerary for me. I’m grateful for the swift respond and the customised planned itinerary with accommodation included.

When I arrived Cuba, it took me a while to find my tour guide (Fernando). My feedback is that the signages could be bigger. But other than that, it was alright.

Throughout the trip, I had 2 tour guides with me - Fernando and Laura. Both had given me an amazing overview of Havana and a delightful time. On days that were meant to be spent at my own leisure, they provided me great recommendations and always cheerful. They did make some tweaks here and there. For eg my itinerary stated half day at Vinales but they explained that I wouldn’t see much of it with a day trip as most times would have been spent on the road due to the long distance ride. Hence instead suggested to bring me to Las Terrasaz and Finca Vingia, which is totally enjoyable. My itinerary did not include Buona Vista social club, maridaje (cigar ceremony) and cannon shooting ceremony but they went out of their way to arrange it for me.

Honestly I came to Cuba with lil expectations but I left my heart (heavily) as I totally enjoyed myself thoroughly. My only gripe is that I didn’t stay longer than 4 nights. I will definitely be back again (for the beaches which I think it’s amazing) and without a doubt would engage Espiritu travel services.