Kimkim Trip Reviews

Every bit of the planning of this trip was perfect! Liz did an amazing job planning it from pick up to drop off flights and all. Each and every guide we had was amazing. So knowledgeable and gave us so much information about the culture, food and people.The hotels she picked out were perfect! We were never waiting for any of our guides or drivers. Each and everyone of them was standing there waiting for us. They were kind and punctual. Peru is one of the most amazing countries I have ever visited and this trip planning made that possible. I felt that the price we paid for this trip was more than fair for the level of service we received. My children had an unforgettable experience everywhere we went in Peru. Liz also suggested we spend New Year's Eve in Cusco. That was the most amazing New Year's I have ever had!! It was so festive and exciting! We cannot wait to book another trip with Liz to see more countries in South America!!

Hotel Review

Aranwa Paracas Resort & Spa

Paracas, Pisco, Ica

This hotel was clean and perfectly situated right on Paracas Bay. The pool was huge and they gave us catamaran rides out to the reserve. We saw lots of wildlife. It was the best hotel we stayed at on our entire trip.

Authenticity & Character

Right on Paracas Bay.

Location

Staff

One was friendlier than the next!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Private transfer to {{end_location}}: Huacachina Adventure

Peru

This was definitely my kids's favorite part of our entire Peru trip!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Out trip to Colombia was fantastic thanks to Michael and his team. The trip he planned was perfect for our family of 5 (3 kids under 9). The kids were engaged with the activities. Our days were filled with activity but not too booked. Our guides were especially awesome. In Bogota, Maria Jose and Nicholas introduced us to local cuisine and fruits we had never seen before. Deanna was so gracious to meet us at the airport and show us the city and the Salt Cathedral (very cool!). In Cartagena, Gustavo was a fantastic tour guide for our three days and really showed the city and took care of us. All the guides offered their personal contact information while we were there and made sure we were taken care of. We would highly recommend Michael and his team as well as any of our tour guides!

Everything was great, from the hotel stays, hotel locations pickup, and all the small local tours…everything was smooth. Couldn't ask better.

Our only concerns pertain to the two planned day trips, which held significant anticipation, particularly for the girls given the rich historical context.

So, trip to Cardoba/ Carmona from seveille was not what we were expecting, even though we paid extra for a private tour for comfort and convenience. The driver got a very small car; we were all seated cramped for the long drive. No hotel pick up and drop off provided even though thats what our local representative told us thats irs part of private tour.Then, the mosque was closing soon, so we spent only half an hour there, although the expected time was a little more than an hour. In fact, our local guide told the driver to arrive half an hour early so that she could show the mosque property, but he refused, and he did the same for Carmona; he didn't show much interest.when i asked him in the car after my chat with Marine

Segovia and Toledo were total chaos, with 50 people on a large bus. Though it was supposed to be small grp,and on top it's was bilingual group We were just rushing through things; there were no proper restroom or food breaks. The restrooms were overly dirty, and when we declined the food place from tour guide choice because there was only one vegetarian salad option.AND it was more of BAR with overly crowded and lots of cigarettes smoke and alcohol, we wanted a family lunch place not a BAR so we told her that we will look ourselves for other options to eat in town, She became angry and started talking loudly, ugly words, which was very insulting, but she behaved similarly toward others on other occasions..so basically she had a really bad attitude towards tourists even though it's all paid, nothing free
So we will appreciate if you take care of those kind of suppliers in future because we all put lot of trust in you guys and money to make our lifetime memories . Hope you all will understand my point.
Thanks

We booked a two week trip with Hien and Realistic Asia through Vietnam and Cambodia. The tour guides, activities and drivers were very well coordinated and Hien checked in daily to make sure we were enjoying the trip. It was a great experience!

Habiba was super. She was on top of everything and anticipated any problems that might arise. She helped us deal with minor glitches and was available and helpful. The tour guides were great and we had an amazing trip. Thank you!

Our trip to Chili from December 26 - January 8th with our family of five, was a huge disappointment because of the poor organization from KimKim.

The start of our trip was "Rocky" as we didn't receive our bags after spending several days trying to fly to Santiago, of which was no ones fault, but the person of whom picked us up at the hotel our first morning in Santiago to take us back to the airport to fly to Puerto Natales, had no information about our losing our bags and we couldn't communicate to our driver that we had to go to a certain part of the airport to retrieve them. We finally got ahold of Angel, our food tour person in Santiago and he translated the information to our driver. It was very stressful and should have been taken care of by KimKim.

We have used KimKim for another trip that was spectacular in Norway, while spending two weeks with the most spectacular guidance from our guide (Mathias) with KimKim. This current trip to Chili and Patagonia was abysmal in comparison. We had one miscommunication after the next and it was very apparent that KimKim was utilizing 1, 2 and 3 party groups to facilitate our trip. There were several times when we did not know who our contact was and we were contacting three different people at a time trying the get the situations worked out. After being picked up by our tour guide (Felipe) in Puerto Natales at the beginning of out trip, we had to tell him what was on our agenda. He had some kind of an idea with our touring the national park, but did not know anything about lunch and that it was to be provided. We had to wait 30 minutes at 2:30 in the afternoon, standing in the foyer of the restaurant to see what we were allowed to order and then waiting another 10 minutes to see if we had drinks provided.

On our second day in Puerto Natales, Felipe again didn't know that tix were already purchased for the boat ride to the French Valley for our trek to the Torres Del Paine, so I husband spent a good amount of time frantically trying to book tix finding out that the day was sold out!!! We decided that we would just drive straight to the boat to try to ask to please allow us on as this was our only day to trek, but then on our way heard from Pamela, via text that tix were already purchased for us. Very stressful.
We were unhappy with the accommodations in Puerto Natales as the Glacier Hotel was more like a banged up youth hostel. The bedding was visibly dirty in one of our rooms and there was actually a hole in one of the bathroom doors where it had been either kicked in or in someway damaged. We were moved to another room which was nicer, but still found the hotel unacceptable. The breakfast offered was sub par as well, with the only hot item being scramble eggs and everything else store bought, packaged pastries and the like. We did inform or original contact, Francisco that we were unhappy, but he informed us that because it was high season, this place was our only option. This is totally untrue as we called around and found several properties that were not booked.

We were so disappointed with the Glacier Hotel that we contacted Francisco and had our hotel in Puerto Varas changed after seeing it was of the same calibar hotel as the Glacier and was outside the city limits, where we would not be able to walk the town. We were charged an extra $500 and service fees to change to the new Hotel for three nights. Again Francisco said that he had to book the original hotel in Puerto Varas because of late booking, but this too wasn't true as we had no trouble booking at the Hotel Puelche of which we very much enjoyed, we could walk to town and loved the accommodations. When my husband looked back at communication with Francisco, my husband inquired why we were booked in this hotel, and we were told once again that it was an availability issue and we wouldn't want any other place, that this was "THE" place to stay.

Lastly, we were booked at the Hilton Hotel by the airport in Santiago for out last two nights of which is 15 to 30 min away from any sites and my husband contacted Francisco before we arrived in Chili about changing this hotel and never received a response from him.

We are a traveling family of five and have been to over 80 countries and now have the means to hire a company to assist us with planning trips and moving forward, will not employ KimKim for the job.

Considering the amount we paid for the trip to Chili, the return was abysmal.

We have many friends of whom travel and too, will not recommend your company to them as a source for travel.

Stephanie Drummond

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Glaciares

cesson sevigne

This is like an old youth hostel. Low budget place with very nice people running the front desk. The rooms were pretty clean, but bedding not and no mattress covers, just a very thin sheet.

Authenticity & Character

Bedding upgraded and mattress covers

Location

Walking to downtown

Staff

Very nice people all around

Cleanliness & Comfort

Our duvet covers were noticeably dirty and had no covers on them.

Park Plaza Santiago

Santiago

It was a middle of the road hotel.

Authenticity & Character

The bedding

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Santiago Food Tour & Cooking Class

Santiago

We love Angel and Jenny. We had a blast cooking and loved the food. Very sweet couple.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Oaxaca day trip guide was great.

The Oaxaca group tours were too long. I would recommend half days only.

The Mazunte boat tour was great. I recommend the tour guide.

The museum tour was fine in Mexico City at the Museo de Antropologia. But she recommended a night tour is even better.

All the drivers were courteous and timely.

The hotels were all fine.

Hotel Reviews

Casa Decu

Mexico City

Nice size rooms, in a lovely neighborhood.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Parador del Dominico

Oaxaca de Juarez

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Altamira

Mazunte

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Explore Oaxaca (city tour)

Oaxaca

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Monte Alban - San Antonio Arrazola - Cuilapam de Guerrero - San Bartolo Coyotepec

Oaxaca

The National Museum of Anthropology - Guided visit

Mexico City

Within just 13 days of our trip to Patagonia, there're already two incidents that could have serious consequences:

1) On the day trip to Upsala Glacier, we first took the boat to Estancia Cristina. Soon after onboard, the local tour guide distributed the coloured bracelets for indication of the tour we were going when arriving Estancia Cristina. We logically thought that it was going to the Upsala Glacier Lookout by 4x4 vehicle, as clearly stated in Kimkim's itinerary. We then moved around and took photos on the boat as normal tourists would do. Incidentally, one of our group had casual chat with the guide, and was shocked when the guide told him that the tour booked by Kimkim was just hiking around Estancia Cristina, and for going to the Lookout, each one had to pay USD50 extra. She also cautioned that 4x4 vehicle might be hard to arrange at such late stage, and it was the only means to see the Glacier. As there's no wifi on boat nor mobile signal, it was difficult for us to contact Kimkim to clarify. Rather than a relaxing voyage, our time on boat was turned to be worrying and anxious. At very late moment we could get the the signal to contact Kimkim but was told that we had to pay by ourselves first. After some negotiations, Kimkim finally managed to pay directly and luckily the vehicle could be arranged. If there was no chatting with the guide, or the guide did not say more about the tour when arriving, or seats in 4x4 vehicles were fully booked, or extra 4x4 vehicle was not stationed in this remote area, or the driver with the skill to drive 4x4 vehicle in the difficult terran had gone elsewhere, we would have missed this major attraction, which any amount of money cannot compensate. Therefore, it was purely by luck we could see the glacier as planned.

2) As our flight to return home was rescheduled to later time, the pickup vehicle should arrive at 8am, instead of previously scheduled 6:30am, which we confirmed with Kimkim again on the day before departure. At 7am on the day of departure, when we came to hotel restaurant to have breakfast, we learned that the driver had been waiting since 6:30am. Furthermore, the hotel staff also got the information that we would depart at 6:30am and prepared packed breakfast for us. Even after we had told the staff about the correct time to leave, she still insisted that we could only take the packed breakfast to eat outside, not in the restaurant. Such miscommunication between Kimkim and partners not only embarrassed us and deprived our enjoyment of a relaxing dine-in breakfast, but could have serious consequences if our flight schedule was changed the other way, i.e. changed to earlier time, as the driver might arrive at the original scheduled later time and we could have missed the flight.

Overall, without a tour guide to follow through, we were more like travel on our own. If you can spend more time to do some research on the internet, and take the trouble to book the hotels, day tours and transport by yourself, you can already get exactly the same kind of tour experience, at a much lower cost. If you already have some knowledge about the place to visit, it's absolutely not necessary to arrange the tour though Kimkim.

Dear Shona
Thank you so much for eliciting our feedback of our trip to Japan.
There were many amazing parts of the trip that will make it memorable for a lifetime, including the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, the history of Kyoto and visiting the Snow Monkeys in Nagano. Despite this, there were several significant areas of concern.
- All reservation information was delivered late. This resulted in our family needing to review travel plans shortly before to ensure that we would be able to arrive at the correct time.
- The transfer between Tokyo and Nagano was too brief and created intense stress of navigating the station to find the train. Additional information to preview that this would be a difficult transfer would have supported our ability to plan a head.
- The trip summary plan indicated that we would leave from Kyoto, take a train to Nagano and a bus to Hakuba allowing for the 1/2 day afternoon to ski or participate in outdoor activities. The last minute change communicated to us resulted in a train from Kyoto to Tokyo, from Tokyo to Nagano, and then a bus to Hakuba. We arrived after 5pm and were not able to participate in any activities that day, which was not the original plan and resulted in a loss of a day.
Thank you,
Joanna.

Our family recently returned from an incredible vacation to Costa Rica, and we owe much of its success to the outstanding planning and support from Bryan and Wilman. From start to finish, they helped craft a seamless and unforgettable experience tailored perfectly to our interests.

The itinerary they designed struck the perfect balance of adventure, relaxation, and cultural immersion. Highlights included:
- Coffee, Chocolate, and Sugar Cane Tour: A fascinating hands-on experience at North Fields Coffee that gave us insight into Costa Rican culture and farm-to-cup coffee production.

- Arenal Hanging Bridges Guided Walk: Walking high above the rainforest was breathtaking, and the guide’s knowledge of the local flora and fauna made it even more enriching.

- Rainforest Hike in Manuel Antonio National Park: The stunning biodiversity, pristine beaches, and wildlife spotting made this one of the most memorable experiences of our trip.

Throughout the planning process, Bryan and Wilman were incredibly responsive, knowledgeable, and detail-oriented.

They ensured every aspect of our trip—from the rental car to hotel bookings and tours—went off without a hitch. Their personalized recommendations truly made our vacation extraordinary.

If you're planning a trip to Costa Rica, I wholeheartedly recommend their services. Bryan and Wilman made the entire process effortless and allowed us to enjoy Costa Rica’s beauty to the fullest.

Thank you both for helping us create lasting memories!

Hotel Reviews

Volcano Lodge, Hotel & Thermal Experience

San Carlos, Alajuela

Beautiful property and grounds. The thermal experience was wonderful to have right on site. Loved having breakfast each morning and watching all the birds.

Authenticity & Character

Grounds were beautifully landscaped and made you feel you were walking through the rainforest

Location

Easy to get to and very close to town.

Staff

Front desk folks were very nice and remembered us each time we came to the lobby

Cleanliness & Comfort

Comfortable rooms

Hotel Costa Verde

Manuel Antonio

Gorgeous property and very unique accommodations

Authenticity & Character

Truly embraced the local feel of being in the jungle.

Location

Easy to find and close to many restaurants and the beach

Staff

Didn't interact much with the staff, but the front desk folks were very helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nice large rooms with space to hang out too.

Activity Reviews

Big Arenal Mundo Aventura Zipline + Tractor

Arenal/La Fortuna

Once in a lifetime experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Hanging Bridges Guided Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

Our guide was very knowledgeable and enjoyable to talk with.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coffee, Chocolate and Sugar Cane Farm Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

The young lady that was our guide was very engaging and did an amazing job.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Wildlife Night Walk in Sukia Park

Manuel Antonio

Our guide had an incredible ability to find creatures in the dark. So worth doing this type of walk in the forest.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Catamaran Adventure with Barbecue

Manuel Antonio

Wonderful boating experience and the views of the coast are incredible, but don't expect to have a great snorkeling experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Hike

Costa Rica

Andres was incredible. He was so knowledgeable and didn't rush us through the park. He really took the time to share things with us and helped with taking some amazing photos. He seemed to know all the other guides and loved how everyone seemed to work together to make it the best experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Was a bit challenging with returning to the hotel. Had to have cab take us back and it took a while to get it through the organization.

We had the most amazing trip to Chile, thanks to all the planning by Riwal and Tamer on Kimkim. I told Tamer what we wanted to do, and Riwal assisted in creating the itinerary. After a few changes, we had a great 10 day trip planned. Everything was set up for us, including transportation, activities, and lodging. Riwal was in constant contact while we were there, which gave us a sense of security if something went wrong. Jose was our guide in at the beginning of our trip and he was the absolute best! We visited wineries, went on a city tour, food tour, and were treated to a very nice picnic with a beautiful view of the city and the mountains. After that we stayed at Cascada de Animas and really enjoyed the peace and quiet of the Andes. The resort is beautiful and offers so many great activities. Fanny was a great guide on the waterfall hike. Horseback riding was also an amazing experience. After that we traveled to the coast and stayed in Vina Del Mar. The ocean is beautiful and we got to experience the culture during city and food tours of both Vina Del Mar and Valparaiso. Cris and Grex guided us through the cities, and we learned so much about the history of the port cities. Overall, Chile is a warm, welcoming, beautiful country with amazing food and wine. Kimkim did a great job putting this trip together and making it so simple. I highly recommend!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel DoubleTree by Hilton Santiago Kennedy

Santiago

Great location, clean, amazing breakfast, and a beautiful roof top restaurant.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Lots of places to walk to and very safe.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cascada de las Animas

San Alfonso

Such a unique, peaceful, beautiful place to stay.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Diego de Almagro Viña del Mar

Viña del Mar

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Chilean Food Tour & Picnic with a View of Santiago

Santiago

Jose was the absolute best guide! He taught us so much, made us feel safe, and went the extra mile for us the enjoy this experience.

Quality of Experience

Food

The food in Chile is so delicious and such great quality.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Having our on tour guide was so nice, he made the language barrier a non issue and we learned so much from Jose.

Transport

Full Day visit to Colchagua Valley & MontGras Winery.

Santiago

Montgras was one of our favorite wineries we visited. We had a one on one tasting that taught us how to properly taste wine.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very knowledgeable and passionate about their wine. Jose made reservations for us at a beautiful restaurant at Montes Winery, and it was beautiful and delicious.

Transport

Visit Undurraga Vineyard - Wine Tasting Private tour

Santiago

Undurraga was our favorite winery tour, there is so much history and delicious wine.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our english speaking tour guide was great, she knew so much and was very welcoming and friendly.

Transport

Jose continued to provide top notch service

Private Wine Tour - Maipo Valley - Santa Rita

Chile

Great tour, beautiful winery, and very good wine. Jose made us reservations at the restaurant for lunch and we were so glad he did.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Adventure Day at Maipo Valley - Waterfalls, Adrenaline & More!

Chile

Beautiful place!! The scenery, the activities, the lodge, the food, and the friendly staff made this one of our favorites of the trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Gastronomic Route

Chile

We did a Gastronomic Route in Valparaiso, not Vina Del Mar. But we got to taste ceviche by the sea, check out the food markets, and try different types of empanadas.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Valparaiso and Viña del Mar City Tour - Wine Tasting at Casablanca Valley - Transfer to Santiago

Chile

The city tours were so interesting, and we learned a lot. Stopping at wineries on our way back to Santiago was wonderful. We had a delicious lunch at one of them.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Relax in a swimming pool next to the Maipo River - Maipo Valley

Chile

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Not sure where to begin - from the first interactions with Megan (Wanderlust Voyages) for booking this vacation to the last day of the trip - everything was impeccably planned and executed. Morocco is a "haunting" country where "new age" vibrancy (think Casablanca, Marrakech) meets "old age" charm (think Merzouga/Sand dunes/Atlas mountains). We had a fantastic 11-day trip - right from the airport pickup (Tangier) to the last day drop off at Casablanca - everything was fantastic. Our tour driver, Hassan, was a phenomenal young bloke who knew the country well! The entire roadmap, as planned, was perfect! The Riads (hotels), food, tour guides, stops along the way as planned along with all the experiences (especially the local New Year's Eve immersion at a local restaurant/bar - Malak Emeraude) were absolutely memorable! We had a few small hiccups along the way, but they were quickly resolved via the ever-so-responsive, Sara Z., who it seems, never sleeps! - so a huge thank you to her! The Wanderlust team has been incredibly responsive and for us that was a big deal - timely, prompt and professional communication all along. I would highly recommend Megan L./Wanderlust Voyages for your next Morocco trip!

I planned my trip to Morocco with the assistance of Hakim.  I found his help somewhat useful, but also sometimes not so useful.  In particular, he would (it seemed) cut and paste information and ideas about what to do for each place without actually considering things like drive time or daylight hours, and not until I enquired more closely about what I could actually do and how that would work would I discover that I couldn't do all the things I wanted on particular days.  For example, the trip started with me being picked up at the airport, and then "a self-guided tour of Rabat", which is described in four paragraphs of interesting detail.  However, given that my flight was only arriving in Casablanca at 16:00 (which he knew), and that the drive to Rabat takes at least 1.5 hours (and more at that time of day), that means that I wouldn't arrive in Rabat until at least 6pm, leaving just about all of that moot.

Hakim also did not warn me that visiting the Medina of Fes on a Friday was practically useless - everything was closed.  I might have chosen to visit there that day anyway, but it would have been good to know beforehand - and I wouldn't have chosen to book a guide for so long.  I also found the day descriptions confusing.  For example, for Fes I had "a private tour for 6 hours" and"Pottery & Mosaïc workshop" but it wasn't clear to me if (1) the guide was supposed to be with me for six hours separately from the workshop or (2) the guide was supposed to accompany me to the workshop for part of those six hours.  Also, the description of the workshop was very different from what actually happened there.

I see (now) that in the notes for the desert camp experience it says "You are being welcomed to get the necessary instructions to make sure any of your questions are answered and be ready by having your nomad scarf prepared over your head by one of the experienced staff. Trust me, it’s already a big challenge to do it on your own so make sure you ask one of the staff to help you!"  There was no nomad scarf.  I'm still not sure whether I was supposed to have brought one or they were supposed to have one for me.  For the nomad family visit the notes say "Your first break will be with a local nomadic family that calls the dunes home. Enjoy a cup of traditional tea and listen to their stories."  There was no talking with them, although they did serve me tea.

I did contact Hakim during the trip to arrange/change certain things, and that did seem to work out, but it felt almost like a game of telephone where I would contact him, then he would contact Orion Trek directly.

Thankfully, my driver for the trip, Hicham, was incredible, and was able to resolve almost all the issues and questions and help me throughout the journey.   He was also super friendly, and went out of his way to find me delicious food that was not on the typical itinerary.  I would definitely be happy to ride with him again.

I found most of the guides that I had to be adequate but not great, until Marrakech; Amine, who I had both for a six-hour city tour in Marrakech and then a food tour was fantastic and I would recommend him to anyone as a guide.  

The hammam in Marrakech that they arranged for me to visit (Les Bains de L'Alhambra) I would not recommend at all.  It was like being at a factory, and additionally all the rooms were cold so I was shivering a lot of the time.   Nobody cared.

Hotel Reviews

Riad Madu Desert Camps

Merzouga

The Riad Madu Desert Camps were quite luxurious, which wasn't exactly what I was looking for. While the accommodations were incredible, the food offered catered to a high-end experience, not providing the authentic taste of Moroccan cuisine I sought. Being somewhat isolated, it was not easy to find alternatives nearby. I wish I had known more about the type of camp experience in advance to better align with my desires.

Dar Baraka & Karam

Marrakech

Dar Baraka & Karam was a comfortable accommodation, but I was surprised to find out that all meals were included without my prior knowledge. My intent in Marrakesh was to explore local eateries, and having meals at the hotel was not part of my plan, which was a little disappointing.

Activity Reviews

Food Tour & Local Gastronomy

Morocco

Best food tour I've ever been on. We got to try a ton of things, including some extra things that I asked the guide about beforehand.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Traditional Hammam & Massage

Morocco

I nearly froze to death during this experience, and also it felt like a factory.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Full-Day Hike in Imlil Village, Return to Marrakech

Morocco

I enjoyed the full-day hike in Imlil Village, but the experience was hampered by timing issues. The hike wasn't scheduled at the best possible time, which affected our enjoyment. If we could have started earlier, I believe the experience would have been significantly better. The lack of direct communication with the guide made it challenging to address this problem.

Truly spectacular! The excursions were perfectly timed—early to mid morning, which helped beat any crowds, and left plenty of free time. All the drivers picked up on time, were very friendly, and provided very comfortable transportation. Please forgive spelling of names…Rondo and Sandie were great driver/ guide for our kayak and snorkeling adventure. Very good equipment. We felt lucky to have Srvianni as our guide for the white water rafting on the Sarapequi River. Beautiful! Weather was perfect. River was running with Class 3 and 2 rapids-just enough for a thrill, but still in control. Mariano was wonderful at the hanging bridges. We had a connection from his time in the states in the 1970s where he spent time in Madison, WI, where I went to college. Pas was very knowledgeable at the butterfly garden. Lovely. And our guide at the coffee/chocolate plantation was very funny and engaging (I didn’t catch his name). That visit was a surprise-really enjoyed learning about the coffee and chocolate making process—highly recommend it. Everything was very thoughtfully planned. Well done! Our trip exceeded our expectations!

I wanted to plan Ia 7 day trip in Australia for my in laws after their cruise. Liz was extremely helpful in planning a doable itinerary for them and booking all the hotels, tours, and transfers. They are elderly with some mobility issues so I wanted everything to go smoothly. They just came back and absolutely loved the tour. Everything was on time and the hotels were fantastic. They especially liked the wine tour in Adelaide. I was so pleased that they enjoyed their 80th birthday trip. Thank you Liz!

Our custom private trip through Ecuador designed by KimKim exceeded all expectations. Maria Jose was our local specialist and she was very easy to work with throughout the whole planning process. It took 5 drafts to get the trip to look exactly how we wanted which was a very fast process only taking about 2 days. Maria was happy to make any and all adjustments to the trip until it was exactly how we wanted it. She booked all parts of our trip for us: hotels, excursions, private guides, and private transportation for the entire trip. All of the excursions and activities were amazing and so much fun!
There were multiple points on our trip where plans had to change due to unforeseen circumstances and Maria was quick to get everything handled. She checked in on us daily and even stopped by our hotel the first day to drop off some goodies and welcome us to her country! She was so kind and attentive throughout it all and we are so grateful for her!

Our first guide, David, took us birding in the cloud forest of Mindo. His excitement for birds was infectious and his love for his country was obvious. He was such a wonderful guide and we thoroughly enjoyed our day with him.
Our second guide, Sebastian, was so easy to get along with. Laid back and kind, he took us from Quito to Cotopaxi to Mindo. For 2.5 days, he guided us on little hikes and adventures and he felt more like a friend than a paid guide. We changed plans multiple times and he always was amenable to whatever we wanted. His knowledge about his country was impressive. We had so much fun with Sebastian.
Our final guide was Eva who guided us through the Amazon jungle for 4 days. So kind, so knowledgeable, and so fearless when it came to handling the Amazonian creepy crawlers. We did so many adventures together and it always felt like she was just our really cool friend who was doing everything with us.
All three guides were top notch and had multiple similarities: so laid back, kind, knowledgeable, and were clearly proud to be Ecuadorian.

Our trip was a 10/10 from start to finish and we would absolutely do it all over again!

Working with KimKim took all the hassle and stress out of planning and navigating our trip, well worth the money spent!

Thanks Maria and KimKim!

Kien did an AMAZING job planning this trip. It was exactly the right balance of what we wanted - cultural experiences balanced with nature activities and of course, some time to relax at one of Thailand's beautiful islands. We went back and forth a few times to tweak the specific details; Kien's guidance was incredibly valuable. For instance, I had never heard of Pai and wouldn't have included it on my list of places to see. I wasn't sure what to expect and was even second guessing if it was worth the extra travel time for such a short stay - turns out, it was probably our favorite day of our entire trip!

Trip highlights/favorites:
Lunch overlooking a beautiful canyon (feet literally dangling over the edge!) visiting the Black Lahu tribe
Elephant sanctuary
Private long tail boat - and lunch! - experience in Krabi

Honestly, it was hard to pick just 3 - every day had at least one thing that was truly memorable.

I've never used a travel agent to book any trip before and was a little nervous about the logistics. Kien was very patient and walked me through everything. Everyone - drivers, guides, etc. - showed up EXACTLY when they were supposed to and we had no issue at all. Special thanks to our fantastic guides Scotty (Grand Palace, Wat Arun), Tony (floating and train markets), and Noi (the north including Pai). Our drivers were all extremely courteous and generous with fresh, cold water which was much appreciated.

Hotel Reviews

Mode Sathorn Hotel Bangkok

Bangkok

Great location right on the Sky Train line. Nice rooms and a good buffet breakfast

Authenticity & Character

Nice clean modern hotel

Location

Right on the Sky Train

Staff

Very nice - could have been more helpful with concierge-type recommendations (restaurants, etc.)

Cleanliness & Comfort

Reverie Siam Resort

Mae Hong Son

Beautiful hotel - felt very 1920's but updated. Beautiful grounds.

Authenticity & Character

Felt very authentic and full of character/charm

Location

Not walking distance to Pai walking street but the hotel's golf cart shuttle was super convenient and only took 5 minutes to get to/from town.

Staff

Very accommodating - from "breakfast to go" to never having to wait more than a few minutes for a shuttle pickup, they were great. They even stayed later than normal to pick our kids up in town after New Year's Eve! (Shuttle usually ends at 11 - they picked up at 12:30!)

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean and comfortable room though our room had an issue with humidity. We were only there 2 nights but everything started to feel very damp.

Aksara Heritage

Chiang Mai

GREAT location in Chiang Mai. Hotel was very pretty and pool area was great.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful and charming architecture

Location

Centrally located in the old city. Easy to get a tuk tuk or sontaeg to other parts of town.

Staff

Very accommodating whether it was holding our luggage on check-out day or arranging "breakfast to go". Very friendly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Amari Vogue Krabi

Beautiful property right on a nice stretch of beach. Perfect if you are looking for quiet and don't mind a slightly longer ride into town which was exactly what we wanted.

Authenticity & Character

Truly beautiful property with lovely architectural details.

Location

Beautiful stretch of beach. Didn't mind being "away" from the center of town - actually preferred it!

Staff

VERY accommodating and friendly staff! We weren't leaving until 5pm on our check out day. We had to leave the room by noon but they arranged for us to shower that later afternoon (after enjoying the pool/beach for the afternoon) in a vacant room which was extremely convenient and generous of them. Also, probably the best brunch we had the entire trip!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hidden Local Beliefs

Bangkok

Great tour of the Grand Palace with lots of interesting facts. We really enjoyed going to the meditation center to present offerings and learn more about Buddhism. Wat Arun is beautiful. And our guide picked a great local place for lunch. Scotty was great - knowledgeable and very friendly!

Quality of Experience

Scotty was great - gave really great/interesting information and was very friendly

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Night Street Food Tour After Dark by Tuk Tuk

Bangkok

The food was great! Chinatown can be a crazy, crowded and intimidating place so it was nice having our guide there to do the ordering, securing tables, etc. I didn't love all the food though I appreciate that some were Michelin starred despite being "street food". It was nice to try a mix of things.

Quality of Experience

Food

LOVED the duck with noodles and sauce and the donuts with pandan custard. Two of us loved the hot pepper soup.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Railway Market & Floating Markets: The Unique Way of Living

Bangkok

Our guide Tony gave great information not just on the markets but on Thailand in general. He also helped us pick some great entrees for lunch (it can be hard to know what to order when you're not familiar with a more local menu). The train market was fun and different. The floating market is VERY touristy - I was glad that we took a boat to get there and then walked through it since the canal in the market was packed. Amphawa market was just ok.

Quality of Experience

Food

Tony gave us great suggestions of what to order at lunch since we were overwhelmed by all the choices.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bangkok - Flight to Chiang Mai - Transfer to Pai

Thailand

Flight was great. Met Noi at the airport for the long drive to Pai. I wasn't sure if our short stay was worth the long, potentially nauseating drive but it really was - we loved Pai! The restaurant we stopped at was more expensive than most and had a very long wait for the food. The restaurant itself had beautiful grounds and a great gift shop but the food was not worth the price or the long wait - it meant getting to the hotel a lot later than expected and rearranging some of our schedule. (We did the canyon instead of hot springs but opted not to stay for the full sunset because we hadn't even been to our hotel at that point and were getting tired.)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Other than the not so great suggestion for lunch, Noi was really great and helpful. Mr. Thoy was a great driver - that is NOT an easy drive!!!

Transport

Comfortable van, especially for such a difficult drive. Mr. Thoy always had fresh cold water for us.

Sai Ngam Hot Spring

Pai

We changed our itinerary to do this on the day we did the cave instead of the day we arrived in Pai (again because of the long lunch we had - it just made more sense). The water is more of a "warm spring" than a "hot spring" - it was cool to see and soak for a few minutes but it wouldn't have been terrible if we had swapped this activity out with something else in the area.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pai - Sunrise at Yuan Lai Viewpoint - Bamboo Rafting at Tham Lod Cave - Ban Jabo Village - Sai Ngam Hot Spring

Pai

This was SO worth the early wake up time!!! The sunrise was really special, the cave was fun but the highlight was Ban Jabo village. Lunch was amazing - the food was my son's favorite meal of the trip and the view/experience of eating overlooking the canyon with our feet dangling off the edge was amazing. This might just be everyone's favorite day in Pai. We did the sunset at the canyon tour the day before but didn't stay for the actual sunset.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Elephant Jungle Sanctuary (Morning session)

Chiang Mai

So fun to see the elephants up close and get to feed/bathe them.

Quality of Experience

Food

The lunch provided was just ok. By the time we got back to CM, we were hungry so went out for a second lunch.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Staff at the sanctuary were great. Our driver (who drove us throughout Pai and Chiang Mai and was fantastic) went the wrong way twice and had trouble finding the place.

Transport

Lanna Lifestyle & Cooking Experience with A Local Family with dinner

Chiang Mai

Very cool! We loved the actual cooking part but also really enjoyed the home tour and learning more about Lanna culture. The appetizers they gave us before we started cooking were amazing.

Quality of Experience

Food

The food was incredible! It was nice to learn how to make some traditional favorites but also to make some things we hadn't tried before. And the appetizers they provided us with were fantastic!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very informative and entertaining guide.

Transport

Discover Ao Nang Paradise & Sunset by Private Longtail Boat

Krabi

SUCH a great day!! Traveling these islands is a popular Krabi activity. We saw many larger boats with 20-30 people on them and we would not have enjoyed being on a boat like that. Having it be a private boat experience definitely increased our enjoyment of the activity.

Quality of Experience

Food

A fantastic private meal on the beach!!! The staff did a great job setting everything up and it was delicious! Snacks at sunset were on the small side so pack one of two other snacks of your your own choice (from a 7-11 which can be found all over!).

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was friendly but a little hard to understand. But given that it was mostly a beach day, there wasn't much need of explanations!

Transport

The boat was great and we really enjoyed it being just the 4 of us (plus staff) on the boat.

Half-Day Kayaking at Ao Thalane

Krabi

Beautiful scenery. Not too challenging physically.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Henry was great and also suggested a great local place for lunch.

Transport

Doi Inthanon National Park - A Nature Walk and Culture

Chiang Mai

We didn't actually do this - we did a tour of Doi Suthep instead. Would have loved to do this trip if we had more time!

Thanks to Othman's patience, knowledge, flexibility and availability, we had an incredible, once in a lifetime Christmas trip to Iceland!!! Although the winter weather was a bit unpredictable, we were able to tour the South East coast, the Golden Triangle and Rekyavik with our family over the course of a week. Othman planned out a reasonable driving route and listened carefully to our hotel requests. The number of excursions per day was appropriate and we had a good selection to enjoy. The Blue Ice cave tour and the Glacier hikes were obvious highlights. We enjoyed stopping at the Diamond beach, Fjadrarjiljufur Canyon and riding the Icelandic horses during a hail storm was an outing to remember! They kept on trotting with their strong and short legs.:)The hotels were perfect accommodation for a family of 5 and we appreciated all we could see on a self guided tour. I was not sure how a trip would unfold with never actually speaking to our advisor, but Othman was a great communicator and paced out our trip, making changes even at the last minute to accomodate things. I would defintiely recommend working with Othman and using KimKim travel for my next trip!

Everyone who our local specialist Nokuthula put us in contact with was amazing. Our guide to hike up Table Mountain, Fatima was very knowledgeable and helpful as well. Everything about the trip was very planned out and outlined in the details. We were in constant communication with everyone if anything came up or if we had any questions during our stay. Couldn’t recommend them any higher.

From Beginning to End Everything was great. I normally plan all of my trips but this time around I was short on time an focused on other priorities. Olman &his staff were patient with me and made sure I and my family's needs were met. All the drivers and staff we met were great, informative and welcoming of us. Our family had a grand ol time and would definitely return to Costa Rica. Thank you for all of your patience, help and knowledge for this trip.
Until the Next one.. :)