Kimkim Trip Reviews

Wonderful job by the team for my first trip to Nepal. Everything went to plan, thanks to Kripa. Also many thanks to my guide Suman for taking good care of me and showing me around the beautiful country. Will be back.

Natalia, and Kimkim, worked together with our group point person to facilitate our visiting many wonderful places in Colombia. We stayed in very comfortable hotels, were the staff made us feel at home.

Our guides added great interest to our visits to so many wonderful sites. In addition, the guides were really fun people to spend time with.

Everything went flawlessly, all of our check ins, check outs, getting picked up, getting dropped off, making connections.

For me this was a wonderful introduction to South America.

My husband and I just returned from a lifetime trip to Peru where we both celebrated our birthdays! Everything went beautifully and according to plans. The service offered by Kim Kim and Peruvian Soul exceeded all our expectations, mostly regarding our three main contacts: Anne (Local Contact), Cesar (Guide) and Roberto (Driver).

Anne who was involved in the full logistics and planning was excellent since her very first contact with us, always very friendly, very helpful, very responsive, and very patient...she ensured that every detail of our trip went spectacular, THANK YOU Anne!! Cesar, our very friendly and knowledgeable guide provided us every possible detail to make each experience memorable, including his help taking beautiful pictures for us. Roberto, our driver, in addition to being responsible for safely driving us to every destination, provided us a peek inside the quechuan traditions and practices through his marvelous stories. He even had the very special detail of sharing with us a quechuan tradition the day of our birthday! THANK YOU Cesar and Roberto, our two new peruvian friends!

Finally, we want to thank Peruvian Soul for the delicious chocolates left for us at our last hotel room, it was a beautiful birthday surprise!

It was our very first experience booking a trip through Kim Kim and we had an EXCELLENT EXPERIENCE! We would DEFINITELY recommend Kim Kim and will DEFINITELY book through Kim Kim again. Thank you Kim Kim for making our birthday trip to Peru such a memorable life experience!

We had a great trip. Brahim did a great job organizing and planning considering it was last minute. He was able to accommodate the things we wanted to do as most standard tours had a different itinerary. Having started in Tangier he really helped plan out an itinerary that worked for us. Tangier-Chefchaouen-Casablanca-Rabat-Meknès-Volubilis-Fes-Ifrane-Merzouga-Todra-Ouarzazate-Ait Benhaddou-Marrakesh. All in nine days. All of the accommodations were very comfortable and nice. The riads were all beautiful and the various staff were all very friendly and helpful.

Amine our driver was good and very safe as an added bonus he new the local areas quite well, thanks to him we enjoyed late night street food in Fes and other foods that we may not have had the opportunity to try. Amine, was very accommodating and he was willingly available for us at night when there were things we wanted to do like going to Rick’s Cafe. It was quite enjoyable having someone that could take us to local spots to watch football (he’s a Barca fan fair warning to Madrid fans). With Amine it was like having another member of the family with us, we were very comfortable, and all three of us would highly recommend his services. He was very pleasant and enjoyable to be with. On a side note Amine really went the extra mile when my mother left her jacket in our hotel in Casablanca, he arranged to have picked up and delivered to her in Marrakesh. We really appreciated everything Amine did for us.

The tour guides we had were all very good and very knowledgeable. In Fes we had Saïd and in Marrakesh we had Mohammad. Overall we had a fantastic and safe time in Morocco.

We had an amazing trip to Morroco. We are really pleased with the services provided by kimkim. They were fast and reliable before the trip and during the trip. The cities proposed and the accommodations were great. There is a special mention to all the people who helped us have an amazing trip.

Hassam Fes tour guide - He gave us a short but effective tour of the Medina. We were able to see the most important places. During the tour, we visited artisans workshops we felt they were interesting but repetitive. Not a lot of information on the history of Fes and the Medina

Samir driver - He was really nice and attentive. He got us safely to each location. Moreover, he was constantly making us aware of the scams to tourists. He was punctual and provided information about the places we were visiting.

Hassan Marrakech tour guide - He gave us a great tour, we saw all the points of interest inside the Medina. He gave clear and interesting explanations. Also, he gave us amazing recommendations on what to do after the tour.

Abdellah trip planner - He was a great trip planner. He was very friendly and extremely effective with our plan, four days before our trip we had to cancel another agency with whom we were planning to make a trip to Morroco. Abdellah rapidly organized us a wonderful trip in 4 days which was fully customized to our preferences and budget. He was also available on the phone at any moment to resolve any issue before and during the trip.

Kesaeb was great - always had my back - very friendly and knew his stuff concerning the trek and tea houses - a very knowledgeable and personable person and always on time - if I come back again I’ll definitly your organization again and ask for Kesaeb as my guide - take care - enjoy

One of the best holidays we have ever been on. Beautiful country, beautiful people, amazing food, breathtaking landscapes. The kimkim team - Amanda, Akram, Mustafa - were incredible. Thank you guys!

From been greeted at the airport, my guide, Tashi and driver set the standard of this trip, very high.
Our itinerary was not too manic, but ran like clockwork, with excellent driving, and time keeping, the manners were impeccable. We saw so much, hard to choose a favourite, for me , it was between an Everest Mountain flight, and rafting on river. trishuli.
The visit to Pashupatinath was an experience I wil never forget, made even more memorable by our excellent local guide ,Prajwol, what an interesting man, his memory for facts and figures is second to none, he explained so much, with so many interesting facts, he even took us to a great place for lunch, on both days out with him. The ancient villages of Bungamati and Khokana, were quite a contrast to Kathmandu, but once again, made so interesting, and stress free thanks to Prajwol and our amazing driver, who at all times remained calm, and very pleasant.
I can not thank Tashi and the team from NMMT, and Prajwol for their attention to detail, humour and seemingly bottomless knowledge.
Highly recommend, and so many thanks for creating this adventure for me.

On many of the locations that we visited the detailed information could show that walking in gravel and dirt pathways should be know so as to not ware your best footwear. Asking us if we had out swimwear when in-route to the Delta was not good. That river is very dirty and to swim for someone from the US is not even a question to ask. Also the car travel time to locations should be included so that trips to areas are not booked without reason. Many of the things advertised to tour in the City were not gone to Post Office were not done. When people come from cold areas to Hot they do not have that much energy to be marched around all day. We paid a lot of money for taxi to and from the airport and some trips to the Market.

I had a great experience in Morocco! Brahim did a great job helping me organize my trip. He gave me the best suggestions and was super quick to reply. I really liked the accommodation he booked for me, the riad in Marrakesh was beautiful but the glamping experience in Agafay was definitely the highlight! The tent was very comfortable, the food was the best I had in Morocco and the place itself is magical, you can tell there is attention to every detail.
People in Morocco were welcoming, very friendly and always proud to introduce me to their culture.
The diversity in Morocco really surprised me, from the beautiful Sahara desert to the lively city of Marrakesh, impressive waterfalls, beach cities to remote villages in the Atlas mountains. You can find it all!
I definitely recommend everyone to visit this country with such an amazing culture.

Overall we had a great holiday. Chile is a diverse, amazing and civilised place. Everywhere we went people were friendly and we didn't feel threatened at all. Highlights were the Atacama Desert and the trips run by Rutas Andinas (especially Andreas); they were very laid back and informative. We also loved Torres Del Paine and had the bonus of being on all inclusive, which we didn't realise until we were on the transfer from Punta Arenas. We did a number of trips from the hotel - Grey Glacier, Base of the Tower, Patagon and Laguna Azul, and all of the guides were excellent. If we were to go again I would probably give the Lake District a miss - Puerto Varas is really nice but the Chiloe Island trip, although there is nothing wrong with it, is a long way (400 km round trip) for not that much return. Osorno Volcano trip was good.
We spent 5 nights (in 3 blocks in Santiago) and the Ismael Hotel is in a great position. Lots of positives about the hotel - staff, atmosphere, breakfast, comfortable bed and pillow but be aware there is not much sound proofing in the glazing, so if you are in a room that is low down and either on the noisy side (back of hotel is on a busy street) or in room 413 (next to apartment that has all night parties on a Saturday - till 0700), try to get moved higher. Walking tour of Santiago was good and the Valpariso/Wine Tour was great. Felipe is a good guy. We also went on a Colchagua Wine Tour, which was the only one where we felt we were pushed along by the guide (Vivi). The vineyards were excellent and we had plenty of wine and a good lunch but we kept being told 'we need to move on in 8 minutes; 5 minutes etc', which isn't great considering how expensive it is.
Oxana (supported by Marina) was excellent and planned the whole thing around our wishes. Also, when we had a couple of scheduling issues with transfers they were resolved immediately. One other thing to mention, throughout the tour, regardless of operator, all of the drivers were good and we both felt safe on all trips (bus drivers in Cambodia please note!!).
An excellent trip and I would use KimKim and EcoChile again.

The experience:
Our visit to Amazonas felt like a real adventure!
We were met in bustling Leticia by Darwin, our English-speaking guide, and spent the next 90 minutes awe-struck by the immensity of the river and the expertise of the boatman, who skilfully navigated past tree trunks and other floating debris as we sped our way upstream to Callanoa.
Our ‘home’ at the ecolodge was a beautifully designed 2-storey casita (more than just a cabin). Surrounded by a garden of heliconias and other floral delights, we were immersed in the sounds of birds in the secondary forest – the crested oropendolas with their liquid ‘glopping’ call, yellow-rumped caciques, and a multitude of diverse tanagers - with a rhythmic backing of frogs and cicadas.
We spent three comfortable nights here on the banks of the river Amazon as the river was rising at the start of its annual flood.
Each day started with a tasty breakfast –often in the company of a visiting troupe of squirrel monkeys or black-mantled tamarins. Then we would be hailed by the enthusiastic Darwin and taken off for a visit to the neighbouring village or, further afield, by boat, to flooded forests and islands, where we cruised amongst the trees spotting birds, sloths, pink dolphins and other wildlife. We will never forget the huge horizons and looming cloudscapes (nor the tremendous downpour that caught us midriver).
Going back to the lodge each day for lunch and supper –usually fish (always locally caught) and always delicious - provided opportunities to relax and rehydrate with a beer or exotic fruit juice.
We would love to return to the Amazonas wilderness in the future and, after a blessing from the local shaman at Callanoa, who knows, maybe in spirit at least...
The people who helped to make the trip so good:
-Darwin, a cheerful and knowledgeable guide. He appeared to know the area and the people and interacted well with the local guides to enable us to get the most out of our visit.
-The owner of the ecolodge, Diego. He was often present at meals when he was willing to answer our questions and to explain the ideas behind the Callanoa project. He aims to develop sustainable tourism as a way of restoring the natural forest and to provide the local people with employment and a cash income.

Karin and Espiritu Travel teamed up for a great inaugural trip to Havana. Karin communicated well and responsively throughout the entire pre-trip experience.

Julio met me at the airport and was basically a full-time guide from 9-10am until we packed it in for the day. Julio is a proud Cuban and incredibly knowledgeable about history, culture and life in general -- and very customer service (American style) focused. Luis, another guide in training tagged along for a couple of days and was a pleasant guy as well. Annie, yet another guide, took us out one night for a nightlife tour. Julio and Luis even met us on our last day for no reason other than to make certain that we got in taxis and off to the airport (note: that was a two hour bus ride each way for Luis).

This was Father/Son trip with my 18 year old son. And memorable it was -- I was expecting the old cars, cigars and rum and none disappointed. What i did not expect was the sheer volume of beautiful architecture, the rich and interesting history at nearly every turn, the many color characters that have left their mark - some small, some big -- on Cuba. The food was fresh and fantastic (that is coming from a foodie).

The accomodations were arranged - a casa particulares - by Espiritu. Maria's place in Vedado was very nice. Maria was a terrific host and a great breakfast cook. Rooms were clean, with a/c and hot water.

My family really enjoyed the hike up volcano Pacaya. Our guide was thoughtful and friendly and well prepared.

We had a wonderful, nearly two week, experience traveling around Sri Lanka with the help of KimKim and Sandun. The star-ratings would have easily been fives except for the following:
1. While tour operators have to rely on the competency of the guides assigned to clients, the initial guide assigned to us was clearly unacceptable due to his lack of timeliness, his inadequate preparation and organization, and his lack of honesty. To the credit of Sandun, once we brought our concerns to his attention, he immediately changed our guide. Our new guide, Denver, was one of the best guides we have ever had -- anywhere -- and we have traveled throughout the world. As a result of the inadequacy of the first guide we were, disappointingly, unable to enjoy all of the sights in Anuradhapura.
2. A suggestion for future, similar tours. We enjoyed the train ride from Kandy to Hatton, but suggest that the ride be from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya. From Hatton we were driven to our extraordinary accommodations at Tea Trails. But, in order to see the sights in Nuwara Eliya we would have been required to drive 2-3 hours (each way) the next day from Tea Trails (our only full day at Tea Trails) to Nuwara Eliya. Had we taken the train from Kandy, through Hatton, to Nuwara Eliya we might have been able to see the sights in Nuwara Eliya following the train ride, and on our way to Tea Trails, and then spend the full next day at Tea Trails without missing sights in Nuwara Eliya.

Overall, the itinerary was well planned and the lodgings were excellent. And our guide, Denver, as explained earlier, was the best ever. He has a patient temperament; is well-organized; has excellent driving skills; is friendly, humorous, and full of wonderful stories. And Denver is fully knowledgeable and an able teacher. We thank Denver, and Sandun, for making this trip such a worthwhile and, overall, enjoyable experience.

I took the 5 day Pikey Peak Trek and the experience was amazing. Amanda and my guide/porter Rishi met me at my hotel the night before in Kathmandu. They went over my list of what I was packing, and gave me some valuable advice. They picked me up at my hotel and drove me to where we met our public transportation. The trek met all of my expectations. The views were amazing, and the tea houses were great. It was wonderful to submerse yourself in the Himalaya culture for five days. Everyone was friendly and welcoming, and my guide was amazing, very helpful, and always asking me what I wanted to make my experience better. I would highly recommend this trek to someone who is in good physical condition and wants to experience the authentic local culture.

We had a great experience in Nepal and, thanks to Kim Kim and Sangita, we could arrange everything to suit out needs. Sangita could not have been more helpful in giving us advice about planning our trip and also making us feel welcome on arrival. We would really recommend Kim Kim and Sangita to people wishing to visit Nepal.

Lena was terrific in every way. She worked endlessly to make our trip exactly what we wanted.
I like the kimkim format, the communication thread, and recommendations. We had 2 different drivers during our 8 day trip, Akram and Mustafa, both were awesome.
We wanted to see the entire country of Jordan, not just the popular places. Lena assured me that the North was less traveled, but well worth it. She was right. We loved Jarash, Ajlun, and Umm Qais. We soaked in the hot spring, Al Himma, on the border near Syria. Who does that? What a blast!
Petra is jaw dropping, Wadi Rum is wild, the Dead Sea is fun. Aicha Camp in Wadi Rum was perfect.
Jordan is a great travel destination!

Overall, the planning for the trip was done well. Monica was very good about answering questions and making changes as we did the plan. The activities were as expected.

It would have been helpful to have more information about what was involved in some of the activities. e.g. we arrived at Sky Park to find out that we were going on a 3-hour hike to the hanging bridges before the zipline. There was not a great deal to see on the hike. There was no time to eat before the zipline at 1:00, and 2 of our party were so tired or slightly ill that they didn't go. The ziplining was great for the 2 of us who went.

similarly, the instructions for what to bring could be clearer. It said to bring hiking shoes and a bathing suit for the river trip. We did not need either. Water shoes would have been better.

the tour to Manuel Antonio was well-done with an excellent guide. We were not quite prepared for the long wait to get into the park. Also, you might tell people to wear a bathing suit if they expect to swim. There is no place to change. The hike itself was great with lots of wildlife.

Travel advice was great. Walk Bike Hike was very friendly. Great B&B hosts.