Kimkim Trip Reviews

We typically are DIY travelers. For air, ground transport, hotels, and activities, I enjoy the planning process. Often, this is driven by the very specialized aviation activities I enjoy. Indeed, the first part of our trip was to Belgium for an airshow and photography activities. However, I was a little unsure of myself when it came to Greece so we decided to go with Kimkim. I was struck by the professional nature of the website.

We were then put in contact with Rebecca who did a great job in tailoring an itinerary to our specific needs and interests. While more expensive than my original DIY plans, we feel that we received excellent value for that extra money. We are extremely happy that we made the choice to go with Rebecca and Kimkim.

It is difficult to state the most memorable attractions because there were so many. Every attraction was unbelievable and at times jaw dropping. The attractions and scenery were something to behold!The adventure gave us a briliant insight into the geography, geology, history , culture, cuisine and lifestyle of Peruvians, both past and present.
I should state at this stage that our original reason to come to Peru was to learn about the Inca civilisation and we came away with an indepth knowledge and appreciation of their culture.
Our guide Zac was fabulous. He was informative, knowledgeable and enlightening in his knowledge of all aspects of his country both in the past and the present.
He individualised our program to suit our team of people. He was excellent at reading the individuals in the group in relation to their physical ability to comlete hikes , mental resolve in completing these tasks and know when it was time to have a rest. He developed a strong rapport with the group . He was humorous and answered our many questions with authority and interest.
Clearly an intelligent man who looked after us so well. Our other short term guide who covered the Lake Titticacca patr of the tour was also very good.

Even tho they were in contact with us at each location when we needed some questions answered they were slow to respond. Once it was overnight to a question that required immediate attention.
Partially because I did not study locations of accommodations I was disappointed in our 3 island hotels. They were much farther from city center and in Naxos and Mykonos much farther from beach than I hoped. In Naxos the hotel was a member of small luxury hotels but obviously that hotel had not been graded lately. Our accommodations in Athens both on arrival and last night before departure were exceptional and what I had hoped for the entire trip. I thought by requesting the Grande Bretagne in Athens that Christo would know and understand what we expected. It also seemed that where we stayed in all 3 islands that our rooms were the less accessible and farthest away from all amenities. All excursions were good except out trip in Athens to Poseidon’s Temple. Driver was disinterested in us or I trip and because of bad advise we missed getting into Poseidon Temple for sunset although restaurant we ate ,at base of temple, was wonderful and we did have some outstanding sea bream. Our transfers in islands was not reliable but after calling each hotel that responded quickly. Katrina our tour guide in Naxos was exceptional and would highly recommend her also Catamaran Sunset Cruise in Santorini was good. It was getting close to end of season and after working 7 days a week since May they admitted they were about burned out. Not sure what Kimkim got as your percentage but felt considering our accommodations and seeing what they would have cost if we booked independently it seems maybe that Travel12 was probably a little high. We have booked with Keningston the last 3 years. They absolutely were much more expensive but all details were flawless and documents were sent well in advance. All that said I would use Kimkim again but would use much more due diligence on a personal basis than I did this trip. Thanks and please feel free to reach out to me if you like.

Our guide Maurice from Ireland Walk Bike Hike was very helpful both before and during our recent trip to Ireland. He and a woman from their office (whose name I don't recall) called twice in our 7 day trip to make sure all was well. Galway was a good base for excursions. Westport was a lovely little town. We heard the best Trad music there and on my husband's birthday too! Ballina was a fun. We tried the traditional hot seaweed baths since this wasn't something we could do in the US. It was a relaxing end to our trip. If we had it to do again, we would have spent 1 less night in Galway (we had 3) and added another stop or longer in Westport. We enjoyed our trip!

We are very disappointed with our experience with KimKim on what should have been a great trip. Randall was helpful in laying out an itinerary that suited our needs. The quoted price seem quite a bit higher relative to the experience of friends and family who have been to Costa Rica, which prompted us to ask about any included fees. Randall said that all contracts with tour operators were "confidential" and that "all benefits are passed along to you." He insisted that there were no added fees beyond what was shown at the end.

The tours and experiences that Randall had booked for us were actually prominently advertised with their prices in every hotel we visited. All the hotels themselves also had their rates prominently displayed. Once we added it all up, we realized that KimKim had charged us more than a 30% premium on every activity and hotel as well as added on the fee at the end. Given the price, the lack of unique experiences that we all readily bookable everywhere, we would never use this service again. If you like the convenience and are willing to pay the huge premium, this is a great service. However, be aware that there is no transparency with regards to this premium and you can probably do just as well booking with your local reputable hotel from one of the major sites.

Preeti did an excellent job putting together our 6 day trip to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula and Southern Iceland. Her itinerary and suggested activities were spot-on, and she and her team were very responsive to questions and changes that we submitted. So glad we enlisted her help!

Our trip to Spain was all that we hoped it would be. A view of the culture, it's diversity, history and richness has made us desire to return.
Patricia did a masterful job making our desired results a reality. We had a very diverse list of things we wanted to see and experience: history, culture, nature, etc.: and she spent a lot of time refining our itinerary to maximize each one.
She booked us in small hotels right in the center of historical areas so that we could easily, in our free time, explore the everyday life of the beautiful cities and villages we visited.
Our guides, Elena, Raul, Julio, Christina, Miguel and all of the others were passionate about their love for their city, region, and Spain as a whole; and they had deep knowledge of the places they guided us through.
All of our travel coordination was seamless and not stressful. Even the one instance of a driver miscommunication was remedied within 30 min.
I cannot begin to more highly recommend Patricia and her team.

We had an AMAZING time in Morocco and give all the thanks to KimKim and Brahim for the experience!! Everything was seamless and I never had to worry about anything from the moment we booked to when we left Morocco. Brahim had worked with me on all my asks, getting me everything I wanted in our itinerary and answering any random questions I came up with. Mohammad was our driver and we loved him! I was part of a group of 6 and he picked us up in a large van that was clean and had AC and fit us all great. He took us everywhere and anywhere we needed to be, made reservations for us at restaurants, called hotels to confirm our arrivals and have someone meet us to take us to our rooms, he was on call if we wanted to go anywhere special and was overall a joy to be around. We were so happy with all the riads we stayed in and the experiences Brahim had booked for us. We happened on one small hiccup in our last stop, and I was honestly so impressed with the customer service, as Brahim called me right away to make sure we were happy and set for the day. After the experience, I would definitely use KimKim again and already looked at other countries they have services in.

Our trip to Iceland was incredible. The places to stay were a wonderful and except for the last night way exceeded our expectations. The last night was fine it was just a smaller room than all the others we stayed at so had grown accustomed to the beautiful rooms and locations along the way. The hints of things to see and do were very helpful. The food was fabulous and enjoyed the breakfast offered at each hotel. Appreciated Caroline's suggestion to go clockwise around the island. It worked out perfectly and we saw the northern lights 6 nights. Fosshotel Nupier was the best for them and wish we could've stayed their 2 nights. Mostly wish we had more time and could've had more days to explore areas. Just gives a reason to come back. Fosshotel Siglo and Fosshotel Eastjords were my favorite hotels. Didn't get the opportunity to use the pool at Ork but so was planning on it just something came up that changed the plans. Since it was a self tour we could adjust our plans based on what happened each day. 4 of the hotels I would have like 2 nights to explore those areas more, included Siglufjdur, one more further north of Mytvan and also be able to take a whale tour, East Fjords, and Skafatfel. Highlights besides the countryside and drives with stops along the way, numerous waterfalls (breathtaking and each unique), sheep, and birds was the Diamond Beach, Petras stone museum, helping herd sheep, Vatnsnes cave tour, hiking in Dimmuborgir and Dynjandi falls. The people were friendly. The guide at the Cave people tour, Hermann was awesome as well as the guide Max at the into the glacier tour.

Our trip to Russia was amazing! What a beautiful and interesting country.
Our guide in Moscow, Sergei, was full of local knowledge and so friendly as were Darya(Vladimir Guide), Alexander (Suzdal Guide) and Irina (St Petersburg guide). The city of Moscow was very interesting and we were surprised by the beauty and splendour of the Kremlin. Vladimir was full of medieval history with beautiful churches. Suzdal was beautiful, had a very laid back vibe and some beautiful buildings/churches. St Petersburg was stunning in its grandeur with huge and beautiful palaces filled with paintings, statues and treasures. We would recommend the Faberge Museum and also taking a boat trip on the canal/river.
The WhatsApp group was also a stroke of genius and ensured we always had a point of contact.
We paid more for our personalised trip with guides and it was so worth it! We don't think we would have seen half as much without these wonderful guides. Thank you so much to everybody involved in organising our trip - it was truly amazing!

We had a great time! Our driver Mohammad was the best. Answered all the questions he could making stops at some very cool places for us to check out.

Our driver, Mohammed, was absolutely fantastic. He was one of the best parts of the trip. We had a great time in Morocco but wish our experience in Marrakech was a bit better. Our tour guide was okay but we walked for most of the tour instead of seeing places of interest. It would have been better if we hadn’t walked through the worst places of the city. When we left early, Brahim called to make sure we were happy. The customer service was unexpected and unprecedented. Overall, our favorite city was Chechaouen, the blue city. It was gorgeous and the people were super nice. Our experience with KimKim far exceeded our expectations and we will 100% use them again.

I had a really great trip with Kimkim. Everything was so easy all the way through and the team was always a phone call away if I had any questions or needed some help.
Dean was fantastic and even dropped in for a face to face half way through to check in. I received phone calls from the team during the trip which was really comforting as I was travelling alone.
Petrina was also always close by when I needed anything and responded very quickly to any questions I had.
The hosts at each of my BnBs we’re fantastic, and I’d really love for them to know I enjoyed my stay, particularly my stay with Kathleen at Finglas House in Camp. I was quite unwell during my night there and she was very accommodating.
The pack provided by Kimkim containing route notes, maps and dining recommendations was great! I actually enjoyed readying about the next day’s activities before bed each night. They were thorough and obviously put together by people who were familiar with each walk. My favourite I think would have to be the one from Dingle to Dunquin, absolutely stunning.
Overall, I’d definitely book another holiday with Kimkim, and I plan to return to travel the north next time!
Thanks team.

I think overall KimKim did the best they could to service my group. They provided many options based on my request but our intentions were different. The KimKim service is best for those who are ok with someone taking care of everything and not worries about the additional cost. I think I was trying to learn more about the place and see various price options and activities lined up next to each other so I could get a good comparison and it’s not meant for that.

On that note Simon and Lucie did everything they could to service our group. We had a great time in Provence for the most part. The dinner we had the first night was delicious and I highly recommend the food tour/ cooking class we did with Mathilde. The wineries were less than pleasing and did not meet my expectations in terms of ambiance at the facilities. The wineries did not seem they were ready for visitors or meant for visitors. Maybe my comparison is to California wineries so there is a mismatch.

Overall, glad we went, we had a great time but I might go another route in the future due to my own personal reasons. More clarity around the cost breakdown would help the comfort level when booking for sure. The unknown makes it feel uncomfortable and I expect that we are paying a higher premium for the service but getting a rough idea would help.

My wife and I had a wonderful time touring four Greek Islands. Kim Kim was extremely helpful in arranging all the ferry/boat transportation and local transfers. This made the journey very easy. This was one error on a ferry ticket time and date; as soon as I contacted the local representative, it was immediately corrected. Overall, we were very happy with the hotels that were selected for us; they all had central locations and they had amazing views.

I've been to Spain several times and love this country so much. This time, I was taking my 74-year-old parents with me to Spain. It was their first time and I wanted them to have an amazing experience and fall in love with Spain as much as I did. Instead of planing the trip on my own, I decided to use KimKim to help me plan the trip to make sure my parents would have a smooth experience. KimKim connected me with Sam's team and it could not have been better. The entire trip was super smooth and Sam planned everything, especially the transportation that made the most differences. My parents are old and can't walk a lot. Sam planned private cars picking us up and dropping us off wherever we went and it was invaluable. The guided tours that Sam arranged for us were amazing as well, especially José in Seville. We learned so much about the culture and food in Andalusia and José made us felt like we were spending time with an old local friend! Throughout the entire trip, Rocio stood by and ready to help whenever we needed something. The hotel room Sam booked for us in Granada has the view of Alhambra! And the hotel in Barcelona on our last day was right in the shopping district, perfect for us to do some last-minute shopping before heading back home.

I couldn't have planned it myself like this and my parents' experience in Spain would not have been the same without KimKim and Sam's team.

I definitely recommend them if you ever find yourself heading out to Spain!

Muchas gracias

The entire team was great! Whenever we encountered any issues they were resolved very quickly. The paperwork was very thorough and made the driving experience go smoothly. We will definitely contact KimKim for travel in the future.

Highlights:
Fantastic walking food tour on Naxos
Great hotel in Santorini, 5 min walk to the black sand beaches
Informative walking tour in Athens
Kimkim hooked us up with a great personal driver in Athens!

Low points:
First hotel in Athens was just ok, but it had a great view
Probably should have flown to Santorini rather than take a 5 hour ferry. With getting there early to avoid rush hour, it ends up being a 7 hour trip with a 5am wakeup. Worth the extra $

Exceptional Service: When all of the ferries for the next day were going to be cancelled, which would have meant missing our international flight, kimkim and Harris were very proactive. They reached out to us to make sure we got on the last ferry that day and found us a fantastic hotel outside Athens.

This is the third time we have used Kimkim to plan a trip and it was, as usual, extremely helpful. We wouldn’t have had such an interesting and easy time of it without their assistance. The local agency, Iceland Offbeat, arranged for a rental car, provided us with route information and booked all our hotels/guest houses. They also gave us good recommendations for things to do/see and some places to eat. They booked some specific activities that we requested such as a glacier hike, whale watching, and horse back riding and we were impressed with the quality of the outfits they booked us with. In addition, we also made a reservation for the Viking Sushi Adventure that goes out of Stykkisholmur, which we really enjoyed. We loved being on our own schedule, traveling independently.

We had two weeks to drive the entire ring road around the coast and I can’t imagine doing it in less time although some people do. The roads are narrow and windy and the scenery is spectacular so you have to take your time. Also, we were on dirt roads at times that had a lot of potholes. If you rent a car be sure to get something with good suspension and tires. They originally reserved an economy car for us but we upgraded to an SUV with 4x4 and all season tires and we were glad of it - the extra expense was worth it. The wi-fi coverage throughout the country is amazing. We had one of those wi-fi gizmos that plug into the car and were able to follow the google map directions they provided quite easily. Although, I do recommend that you also purchase a full road map of Iceland so you can cross check names and numbers of the roads - the signage is sometimes confusing.

The only glitches we ran into were because we had a couple of changes in our itinerary during the planning process. Two of the guest houses that were originally reserved didn’t provide breakfast so the reservations were changed for us. We got a revised itinerary with the new locations and vouchers, however, the changes didn’t get made in the google map directions so one night we drove up to the wrong place. Fortunately, the correct guest house was only a few km away and we were alert to that problem for the future and didn’t make that mistake again. Also, at one place, there was some confusion about payment but they were able to phone the contact number on the voucher and it got worked out fairly quickly.

All in all, we had a fantastic trip to a unique and amazing country thanks to the kimkim team.

David was very attentive to our requests and needs from the start. We wanted a hut experience in the Dolomites and he suggested a beautiful trip. We had a wonderful accommodation at Hotel Pider in Wengen, and then two days hiking to and back from Rufugio Fanes. The hikes had a lot of variety in addition to the beauty that is the Dolomites. The food was delicious and the hosts were welcoming in both places. We had several questions for David before the trip, which he answered promptly and graciously. We found his service very professional yet friendly.