Kimkim Trip Reviews

The trip was great. Everything was well organized, and the guides were very knowledgable and flexible. Highly recommended.

Just wished our initial briefing contained more information on the android phone operation and bike cover use with android. Miha was very responsive and really facilitated my recovery of my Fed Ex package!

We had an amazing time in Costa Rica. The communication with Olman during the planning process was excellent. He was extremely responsive. The trip was extremely well planned and well organized. All the transportation and transitions went off without a hitch. All of the hotels were lovely, but Tabacon was the winner. The rooms and grounds were beautiful, especially the hot springs and the breakfast was sumptuous. All of the tours were great and well run but the wildlife tour and turtle nesting tour in Tortuguerro were incredible (and Willis, our guide, was extremely knowledgable) and the white water rafting trip with Wave Expeditions was the highlight for all of us. Our guide, Yorjani, was incredible. He made us feel safe and kept us laughing the whole time. And thanks to the kayaking photographer for preserving our memories (and saving our cameras and phones from being submerged). Thank you for a wonderful and well-planned trip. Our kids keep saying how much they miss being in Costa Rica and can't stop talking about all the animals they saw. thanks kimkim!

Chris was an amazing travel planner. He listened to what we were looking for in our trip to Greece and nailed it. We couldn’t have had a better time. The hotels were boutique and beautiful. Everything fell into place. Drivers were there and on time and courteous. Tours were set up for us by Chris and were outstanding! I can’t say enough about our experience. We had a blast. And I will definitely choose kimkim for our next travel!! Lots of love to your team!! Lynn

Outstanding service from Ingrid and the KimKim team before and during my trip - including helping me though an unplanned hiccup in my itinerary!

I absolutely loved my stay in the Lofoten Islands and especially Reine. I'll definitely head back there some day to explore some hikes I had to cancel due to the inclement weather I experienced on my trip.

Bergen was a ton of fun too - great charm, cool vibe along with tons of great shops and restaurants / pubs!

Transportation throughout the country - airfare, buses, trains and taxis - were all super easy and convenient too.

With only 8 days before departure Emanuela put together a great trip to Iceland. Before contacting KimKim, I had an idea of where in Iceland I wanted to go and some must do activities. After finalizing the details, such as driving distance for each day and the type of accommodations that I wanted I received a detailed itinerary for the trip. The trip was fantastic. I always book my own vacations unless I am doing a specialized tour (photography tour etc). Due to timing logistics I reached out to KimKim. It was the best decision for this trip. All my accommodations were great. Most of the hotels where smaller with maybe only 10-20 rooms except for one that catered to tour buses. That hotel was good except for the pushing and shoving at breakfast as the tour groups dominated the breakfast. I received a detailed itinerary with suggestions for each day in terms of what to see along with a detailed driving map and restaurant recommendations. I knew exactly what order I would come across the sights and what side roads to take. Emanuela also had some suggestions for hikes and other natural wonders that I had not come across in my research. During the trip Emanuela reached out to me to ensure everything was going ok. The tours she booked were all first class. Good guides who truly enjoyed their job and offered us a wonderful experience. I did three different tours and there were never more than 10 people in my group. I did a glacier hike with Icelandic Mountain Guides lucking in with only one other person on the tour. We were able to cover a lot of terrain and get quite close to the fissures. This along with our guide Brook, who is a geology master's student added to the experience. Every day had detailed suggestions such as the history of a street, or inclusion of a site in literature, or additional museums to visit made for a wonderful trip. On my last day I stayed at the hotel at the Blue Lagoon, all details where taken care of to ensure I could check in and enjoy the lagoon. If you are able to go to Iceland and have Emanuela organize your self drive trip you will have an enjoyable time. From kayaking in Jokulsarlon lagoon amongst the ice, to hiking a glacier, seeing the beautiful colors of Landmandalauger, hiking to Gylmur waterfall, discovering gorges and seeing the beauty of Snaefellsnes Pennisula, lounging in geothermal pools as I shed a winter jacket for a bikini, and viewing Kredid Crater the trip offered beauty, nature and new discoveries every day. I would not hesitate to use Emanuela, or KimKim again.

Accommodations, hiking and biking suggestions, food at restaurants and huts -- all were excellent. We especially enjoyed our stay at Kekec Homestead in Trenta. And the private cave tour at Skocjan was perfect.

We had just 4 nights to explore outside of San Jose and no time to plan, so we took a chance on Kimkim and Randall after randomly finding Kimkim online. Randall put together a plan based on the info we gave him, tweaked a few things at our request and then put it into action via the local contractor Coast to Coast Adventures. Every activity on the pretty busy schedule went off without a hitch -- ALL drivers arrived on time (or early!), ALL activities were pretty much as described, ALL hoteliers were expecting us and the rooms were as described, and ALL the guides for the various activities were well-trained, knowledgeable and personable.

- Day 1 La Fortuna Arenal Volcano nature walk; Tabacon Hot Springs
> The nature walk was less of a hike than we were hoping for, but really beautiful scenery around the volcano and Nestor, the guide, was very knowledgeable and great at spotting birds/wildlife.
> Of all the experiences Kimkim/Randall/Coast to Coast Adventures arranged for us, we might have skipped Tabacon Hot Springs just because it was very expensive, crowded and super touristy (we live in Japan and the hot spring experience here is very, very different!), but it was good for a laugh just the same, with the wall of water and hidden nooks and crannies. Other visitors, beware -- the footing around some of the pools is very slippery and we really recommend water shoes or flipflops or something grippy to keep you on your feet. We were both fine, but we saw a visitor in bare feet slip and fall hard on some tiles, banging his head and tailbone pretty hard. A medic was called to tend to him.

- Day 2 La Fortuna Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge boat trip
> Hermann, the boat driver, didn't speak English but he was REALLY good at spotting wildlife even as he drove the boat, and Gustavo the guide was good at both spotting and explaining. This was a brilliant day -- we saw SO MANY birds/animals. Sloths, 3 different kinds of monkeys (we were actually treated to a big monkey drama as 2 troupes of white-faced monkeys shrieked at each other across the river), "Jesus Christ" lizards, snakes, tiny little bats, one caiman, and an incredible number and variety of birds. TAKE YOUR BINOCULARS if you do this trip. They were glued to my face the whole time. It was a rainy day but the boat had a roof and we were very comfortable. A tasty homemade lunch was also provided after the morning voyage.

- Day 3 La Fortuna & transfer to Santa Elena - Kayaking on Lake Arenal in the morning
> The kayaking was fun and easy, and the guide, Joseph/Jose was one of the nicest guys we encountered. Earnest, hardworking, friendly, knowledgeable, curious -- he was a great representative of Costa Rica. We really enjoyed spending the morning with him, while the views of the volcano towering over the placid lake were pretty spectacular.
> The bus/boat/bus trip to Santa Elena was a laugh -- the boat pulled up on a completely undeveloped shoreline and we were asked to get out with our bags. Without explanation, we were led down a dirt path, across a makeshift bridge and up to a dirt road were, magically, a bus appeared! Then off we went on the bumpy, mostly unpaved road to Santa Elena. Loved the green green green views of farms and jungle along the way. BEAUTIFUL Costa Rica...

- Day 4 Santa Elena / Monteverde Cloud Forest
> Morning hike in the reserve was great but here we did find our guide to be a bit ... what... jaded? Too used to tourists, maybe? Bored? All the same, he did spot some fantastic wildlife for us that we would never have seen on our own, including the Resplendent Quetzal (several, in fact...) WOW! On this hike, we found there was a lot of standing around -- we might have liked a smaller group that went a bit further afield.
> "Night walk" -- it POURED rain on us, but we were prepared with rain gear, etc. The animals were not so keen to be out in the rain, so it was harder to spot things, but we saw snakes, spiders, Costa Rican porcupines and sloths all the same...
> Our B&B -- Grace & Renzo B&B -- was excellent. We talked a lot with Grace and enjoyed their hospitality.

- Day 5 Aventura Ziplining and transfer back to San Jose
> Great thing for thrill seekers! Screaming through the canopy -- don't miss the Mega Tarzan Swing -- HEART STOPPING! Good fun for us and the weather cooperated. We enjoyed getting to know other travelers in our group.
> The Interbus transfer back to San Jose was punctual, comfortable, and uneventful.

SO, overall, we had a fabulous trip thanks to Randall, Kimkim, and all the local service providers. Randall arranged exactly what we asked for -- a taste of Costa Rica on a limited time budget -- so all in all, we are very satisfied.

Trip was wonderful overall, and Parque Hotel was exceptional. Receipt of itinerary details could have come earlier. Also, itinerary should include address and phone number of Hotel (some confusion since several hotels have similar names in Guayaquil). Katie was very pleasant and responsive .

Miha planned us a great trip. The only reason I didn't give him 5 stars was that he forgot to let us know more about the phone & it was frustrating for the first bit. However, the rest of his service was definitely 5 stars.

The trip was a great variety - w/hiking, biking choices as well as the visit to the beekeeper - which was fascinating & the caves. I am so glad we had the private tour of the caves.

The trip plan was totally customized to our needs, with all activities and routes organized on a convenient itinerary including clickable planned routes on Google maps. It couldn’t have been easier!

This is our first time using KimKim and we will be sure to recommend to anyone looking for a customized travel experience. We too will be back! :)

It was a superbly planned and organised trip. Kudos to Lucie who managed the entire planning. As well as Simon from So Provence So Alps! Everything worked like clockwork and exceeded my expectations!
All the excursions were wonderful - the off beat walking tour through the coves and beaches of Marseilles, my stay in the beautiful town of Aix-en-Provence, the wine tours in Luberon, Tavel and Chateauneuf du Pape to the hikes up St Victoire and Calanques National Park, my time on the beaches in Cassis and finally the gourmet tour in the charming medieval town of Avignon.
The guides Marc, Stephan, Aurielle among others were all extremely knowledgeable and made the experience memorable.
I would definitely recommend a visit to beautiful Provence with its breathtaking landscape and make sure that the trip is planned by So Provence So Alps and its local partners.

Nadia, our specialist, was very helpful in booking our trip to Bali. After a couple of messages, we had a fantastic trip plan ready to book. She also helped us during our trip with recommendations and booking transportations for an extra person who joined last minute.

Our guide John and driver Benny were fabulous. They took us everywhere on the itinerary and even included extra stops. It was a lot of fun visiting Bali. They were very knowledgeable and flexible. Skipping an activity, leaving earlier and other last-minute changes were not an issue.

Highlights of the trip were Mt Batur hike at sunrise and Gili Trawangan, great car-free island, where we enjoyed snorkeling with turtles, swimming in crystal clear water and glorious sunsets every night.

Couple things could have been better:
- I couldn't find my driver at the airport, I had to take a taxi. Luckily Nadia made up for it and comped us the value.
- We didn't really enjoy Candidasa. The hotel was very average compared to the others. Walking on the beach, we've counted 10 unsightly oil tankers and an oil terminal. Not very appealing.

Positives:
+I appreciated having places to stay arranged for us for our long trip around Iceland
+ The places which were arranged were all very nice, definitely nicer than if I had tried to plan it myself.
+For the most part, the staff was pretty responsive to questions while we were on our trip.
+ The itinerary given was pretty good for ideas and suggestions within most of the things I had expressed interest in
+ Everything was provided in a good, organized manner

Negatives:
-There were a few parts in the itinerary where it was out of order so I would have to make sure ahead of time that we were able to go to all the places without backtracking
-There were a few places that I feel were recommended that could have been missed and there were a few that were not mentioned that I felt could have been on the places recommended, so even with the provided itinerary, I did spend extra time to make modifications.
- A little flexibility or a little more heads up about things may have been helpful? One of the unfortunate things with our trip and completely not the fault of the Kimkim staff, is that we had a bit of not good weather which significantly altered some of our activity plans. It would have been nice if offerings for alternatives or even if they had a notice about weather and could have switched a day's activity with another day's activity. As it was, we had 3 days in a row where we scrambled to find alternative plans due to weather.
-There was a least one time where some questions were left unanswered for a very long time.
-There were a few parts on our itinerary and vouchers that were not complete and needed clarification

Overall, I am glad that I used kimkim to plan our trip. There were some things that could have been better but then again, i usually don't book with multi-day tours, especially self-guided ones. I would definitely consider kimkim again for future travel possibilities.

Our Nar Phu and Manang trek was an unforgettable adventure. Especially the Nar and Phu part of the trek was outstanding with amazing landscapes and breathtaking views, great hikes, incredibly friendly and hospitable people who always had a great smile for us and a deep insight into local culture.
Our guides Mingmar and Dorje were supergreat and a lot of fun and would always offer support when needed. We spontaneously changed the second part of our trek due to my fear of heights, which was good for me and Mingmar found some perfect alternative for us. Both our guides were a great source of information on Buddhist and local culture and history.
Amanda is the best local specialist you can get. No matter what kind of questions, requests and problems we had when planning our trek, she would always find a perfect answer or solution within no more than a few hours. You can hope for no better, more helpful, likeable specialist! Thank you so much for planning the best trek with us!

This was our first visit to Russia, and fist time we have traveled with Kimkim.
St. Petersburg was very impressive and turned up to better than expected. Thanks to our knowledgeable guide and his excellent language skills we were able to absorb lot's of historic information in quite short time. Thanks to Sean from KimKim team we could design our custom tour and it was possible to tune up wile being there as we have a local guide just for us. All recommendations were very useful and we have wonderful time with ability to experience Russian cosine and a visit to Mariinskiy Theatre on more than one occasion.
Booked accommodation was a good choice and walking distance to attractions and restaurants.
We consider the cost of our trip very reasonable and a indeed very good value as we did not have to queue for hours to get in, as we have a prepaid tickets and curator as a guide for 4 of us in The Gold Room in Hermitage.
The process of creating our itinerary with Kimkim's assistance was very easy.
I highly recommend the Kimkim to any body for their traveling needs, as they using people with local knowledge and can accommodate any interests.
Thanks KimKim
Andrew

Anne put together an amazing trip for us to Peru. Everything was well organized. Drivers and guides were reliable, always on time and very caring. Everything was well thought of for us. We loved all the local hotels that were selected for us especially the one in Cuzco. The whole process to setup the itinerary was very easy for us and the whole trip was perfectly tailored to allow us to see all the things we wanted to see.

All the sites along the northern coast were very unique. The ancient city of Chan Chan by the coast was beautiful, and all the gold at Lord Sipan's museum. Kuelap was impressive but very hard to get to, the major airport at Jaen has one or two runways I think. We loved Arequipa and our trip to Colca canyon to see the flying condors. Our guide Luis made this part of our trip memorable. Our girls loved that we stopped by local shepherd's pen to see all the llamas and alpacas before they start grazing for the day. Driving in Peru was thrilling and spectacular. The different sceneries were amazing from the coastal desert to the altiplano and the high peaks of the Andes. The crowds at Machu Picchu was as amazing as the sight itself. The mini Inca trail to the sun gate then the real site next day was perfect for us. The amazon jungle was a perfect ending for our trip. We were amazed by the beautiful lodges we stayed at deep into the jungle. The wild life we saw was wonderful and the food was excellent. The biking with tasting food at Lima was so interesting as well.

This is now the third trip we have done using KimKim. We have never been disappointed and will continue to use them in the future.

Dear all,
It’s not today that I going to review my experience. But just to let you know that it was by far the most incredible trip that we made. It was not just about the place itself since there are incredible places all around the world, but it was the way you all took care of us. You know when you go to a place and there is a family relative that knows you and he provides not only what you need but also surprises you all the time? That’s how we felt all the time!
Question:
Are all the agency’s that you work with like Peruvian Soul?
If so you have made a difference in the traveling world!!!!

We thoroughly enjoyed our 14 day self driving tour of Iceland. The itinerary prepared by Preeti enabled us to see much of Iceland and much more than if we just followed highway 1. The accommodation and vehicle were both quite satisfactory - we had no mishaps whatsoever. And Preeti was immediately responsive on our few queries.
I would recommend Kim Kim to anyone wanting to tour Iceland.

We had a wonderful time in Norway thanks to the Kim Kim team!
To everybody who got involved during our vacation.I would definitely recommend the Kim Kim crew to anyone.

Ingrid did an excellent job putting our busy trip together.We only had 6 days in that beautiful country and we got the most out of it !Even on that rainy day we had in Rosendale. Thanks for Sjur and Laila.
Ingrid booked everything (train and ferry tickets,glacier tour, hotels) for us so we did not have to worry about those and everything went perfectly well.Ingrid even helped us during the days we were there with the transportation in Oslo.Very helpful staff in the Kvikness and Thon hotels as well.
Many thanks Ingrid!!!