Kimkim Trip Reviews

Our 15 day tour with our guide and driver Sanjaya was most enjoyable. We visited most of the main tourist sites. Sanjaya was both knowledgeable and informative about the history and culture of this beautiful country and was a confident and competent driver. We really enjoyed his company and attention to detail. He took a little extra care to show us some of the foods and fruits of the island and always knew a good place to eat.

The various types of accommodation were just as we had requested them. All of them were reasonable in price, clean and with the basic amenities that we needed. We didn't want anything flash and yet we wanted an opportunity to meet people. The accommodation arranged met those requirements. We stayed in hotels, homestay, a safari camp and self contained BnB types of accommodation. Of particular note were our homestay at Alex's Homestay in Kandy where we enjoyed home cooking and great conversations with our hosts. They were lovely people. In Jaffna, we stayed at D'Villa with Raj and his team and once again enjoyed his company and his home cooked Sri Lankan breakfasts. He loved a chat and was always on hand to provide information or assistance.

The Lion Rock at Sigiriya was most impressive though we needed some help from the guides to climb the 1 200 steps. We could only marvel at the ingenuity of the third century artisans and craftsmen who built the water gardens and sculpted the rock formations. Similarly, the rock temple at Anuradhapura , with its beautifully sculpted Buddha and ancient roof paintings, captivated us. indeed, all the temples in the various cities were of great interest to us, particularly with Sanjaya's guidance and information on their part in the culture of the country. We were disappointed not to be able to explore the highland tea country a little more because of the weather - foggy and rainy.

In summary, we believe we got great value for money and, despite arriving at a difficult time after the Easter bombings, we felt safe and comfortable wherever we went. We can certainly attest that the situation is well in hand and encourage people to come and experience this magnificent country and meet its friendly people.

Thanks to the folk at Kimkim for putting together a fantastic trip.

Overall itinerary was well planned and hotel selection was superb with good location and services except for the following :

1) Hotel Splendid Nice, who did the dinner booking for us, failed to inform us of the change in restaurant. We had a nasty shock when we went to the given restaurant and found it to be empty of furniture. The alternative restaurant we managed to locate was poor with meat dishes.

2) Hotel in Forcalquier is an excellent resort hotel, but is located 2 km from town. Taxis service was hard to come by and under the terrible heat wave, we were thankful that the hotel get their staff to send us to town and later, after much frustration in trying to get taxis, arranged for their staff to bring us back to the resort.

Marion, the local guide in Nice for the gourmet walk about was very friendly and gave us plenty of information about Nice. Marc who brought us to Monaco was a responsible guide. The Aix walking tour guide, Arthur, was very helpful and gave insights of Aix En Provence, Remy, our guide from Aix to Marseille is a cheerful and caring guide that provide plenty of information about the places we visit.

Overall Simon has done a good job in arranging this tour. It would be better if we can have a communication link such as what's app established before the tour start. We were on our own on first night when we found the restaurant we were supposed to have dinner was closed, and we didn't know then it was the hotel who arranged it. My attempt to reach Simon by phone went straight to voicemail.

Ingrid was fabulous. She planned our trip perfectly and was always quickly available and pleasant to work with when I had questions. I would highly recommend kim kim and Ingrid.

I am so glad I found this site. I was able to describe our interests, and Isabel put together a very nice itinerary that hit all our interests and maximized the use of our limited time, but still had some down time built in. Having a local "shepherd" us, first from the airport onto the bus/hotel, and then each morning to the group activity, took so much stress off of us (standing in line, buying tickets, wondering where the meet point was, etc.). We have traveled in many countries, but this by far was maybe the smoothest and best thing I've ever done -- all the comfort of a local who speaks the language without the constraints of being tied to the same group/same activities each day. Once in Puerto Ayora, Karina checked us into the hotel and explained the itinerary for the coming week, including what activities, recommended footwear, etc. Karina was both personable and efficient - always on time to the minute, with the taxi right on time as well - no stress at all. The group tour (hiking and snorkeling - our two favorite things) with Fausto on Santa Cruz was a big highlight - great tour!

Sortiria organized everything very well. Her suggestions about what to see and do when were excellent.

The car rental was excellent, and the enterprise agent was very helpful.

The hotels / Guesthouses were all good - the best room was the Stracta hotel. In general the hotels all had winter blankets, and for many the windows did not open very wide so we were quite hot given the weather. It would be great if hotels could use the "layering concept" that hikers use for their clothes when the plan the blankets for their beds.

Chile is an outstanding travel experience. I have traveled extensively in the world and I believe the country of Chile is one of the best. The scenery is stunning and the people are warm and friendly. My wife and I returned from a three week trip yesterday and are basking in the afterglow.
Our guide and driver in the Santiago and the Elqui valley areas were Alejandro and Luis. There can be no better guide than Alejandro with Senderos Nativos and no better driver than Luis.
Alejandro is a personable individual whom I immediately felt comfortable with on an interpersonal level. I feel privileged to be shown the country of Chile by a person of his stature. He is brilliant in his knowledge of all aspects of Chilean culture, history, flora, fauna, and landscape etc. Luis is likewise easy to get to know and is extremely efficient and dependable. He has raised the level of driving to an art and I never once felt uncomfortable with him behind the wheel.
Travel to the Atacama area is a must. It is a travel experience that is singularly unique and powerful.
Our guide and driver in this area was Javier with Huellas del Desierto. Like the two individuals just mentioned, he is easy to communicate with and is completely knowledgeable of the Atacama area. He went above and beyond to make our experience in San Pedro both fun and informative. He is a professional in every sense of the word.
Our guide in Valparaiso was April who was perfect in every sense. Valparaiso is another must visit travel destination. April brought the city alive in a manner that would have been impossible without her.
Mery ( primarily) and Daiana (backup) worked hard to make our travel experience happen the way I wanted. Mery was critical to the success of the trip and she came through perfectly. Daiana also provided assistance at critical moments. Everything that was arranged happened as planned and occurred like clockwork. I have friends and family considering a trip to Chile and Argentina and I would not hesitate to recommend either one of them for travel assistance.
All of these individuals are complete professionals and are excellent at their respective skills. I have never written a review before but I can honestly say if you are planning a trip to Chile and/or Argentina, you can have complete trust and confidence in them to provide an unforgettable first rate travel experience.

We had a wonderful trip! The sights were amazing , the people so very nice, and the food delicious. Planning was stress free thanks to Preeti.

Overall Dimitris did a great job in helping us plan our family Greece trip. With so many amazing sites to see and islands to visit, it can be overwhelming knowing what would be good for our family and Dimitris took care of everything. We communicated through the trip and he quickly answered any/all questions that I had. We even met him in Athens and he handed us our ferry tickets and helped us buy an extra ticket that we needed when one of my kids joined us at the last minute.

We were also able to stay in apartments and houses that I didn't see on-line when I was doing my own research, which worked great for our family.

My only recommendation for people who are going to use kimkim services is to truly think about what you want your vacation to be and then kimkim can help you plan it. Review your itinerary very closely day by day to think about what that day will look like. Understand exactly where you will be staying (does it have a pool, is it close enough to walk to the beach, can you walk to places for dinner or will you need a car/taxi etc), if you have a free day you will then need to plan your own day/transportation etc., How will you get to/from the airport or ferry to the place that you are staying? Kimkim can set up all of your transportation or you can find a taxi/Uber if you want. If you do a tour do you want a private tour or a group tour? Overall it was a great trip and I would highly recommend Dimitris and kimkim. Thanks!

We had a great experience using Kim Kim for this trip. The process was seamless and Megan was very helpful and easy to communicate with.
Overall we feel the value was good. Our driver (Ismael) was incredible throughout the trip, and really made our experience fantastic!
Our guides were solid (especially Kamal in Fes), and overall the accommodation was of a good standard.
We would certainly recommend and use KimKim again.

Isabel was phenomenal. She promptly responded to all messages and was so helpful along the way. Thank you!

Linda planed our Norway trip with not very much notice and the trip was absolutely amazing!!! It was exactly what we want and even with one minor issue which Linda dealt with immediately even though it was not her fault. Would highly recommend Linda for organizing a trip again.

I contacted Oyunerdene back in March. She was quick to respond and provided me a tentative plan. Later, I changed my returned date and stayed for 3 more days in Mongolia. She was quick to accommodate for those days as well.
When I arrived in Ulaanbaatar, my guide Jagaa and driver Ganbaa were waiting for me, with a placard with my name on it. They stayed with me for 10 days.
We spend the next 4 days driving through the Gobi desert. In these 4 days, we stayed with three nomadic families and one tourist resort. The roads in the Gobi are unmarked, unpaved and bumpy. We didn't have any issue with the car, driving on those roads, and the driver was knowledgeable. We always made everywhere in time. On my first day, roads out of Ulaanbaatar were closed due to flooding. But the driver was able to find a detour, which made it possible for us to stay on track.
I went to Gandantegchinlen Monastery, Naartuul Market, Ongi monastery, Bayanzag, Yol Valley, Aryabal temple, and Hustai national park. My guide went with me everywhere. She was fairly knowledgeable and was happy to answer any question or observation I had.
Meals were arranged in advance as well. We had lunch and dinner with the families we are staying with or at the resort.
The best part of my trip was the stay in the Gobi desert, in almost complete seclusion. It's an almost surreal and unique experience.

An enjoyable experience despite the heat. We cycled through some lovely countryside and John made sure that the pace suited everyone. He also coped magnificently with two punctures en route. The wine tastings lived up to expectations.

It was an amazing experience. My guide Naresh took care of me throughout my trip:)

Very friendly. Pick ups as planned. Accommodations very nice. Food was excellent

We had a wonderful 17 days in Sicily. Marianne and Alexandra where great. Communication while in Sicily was immediate. The guides they booked for us were knowledgeable and made our tours interesting. Each place we went to were memorable in different ways. Palermo, was the capital. We spent 3 days there which was enough. Had a great food tour with Streaty Tours. Trapani was a great little Port Town with lots to see and do near by. We cycled to the Salt pans, went to a winery ‘Baguio Soria’. The service was not very good, as we waited for well over an hour for our tasting and when we went to buy wine, there was no one to sell us the wine. However we meet some really nice people at the wine tasting and decided to join them for a tasty lunch. One of our highlights was taking the ferry to Panarea and Stromboli. Two of the Aeolian Islands. On Stromboli there is an active volcano which we hiked part way up. Upon leaving, from the boat, we saw it shooting up lava. The captain waited along time for us to watch this. Amazing!! We also had a fun time at our cooking class in Taormina, at Ristorante Porta Messina. We loved!!! Taormina. We spent 4 days at Grand Hotel Miramare. The views from our room were spectacular! The itinerary that Marianne put together was very detailed. It was helpful to included how long, time wise and distance one place was from the next. Most of the accommodations were as expected. The tours we requested, had great guides. And if I had a question during our trip. A quick text via what’s app worked perfectly. I would definitely book with KimKim tours again. Thanks for planning our fun trip to Sicily Marianne.

The trip was well planned and executed with Amanda on call if required. She was quick to respond when we had some questions

Our trip to Norway was wonderful! Bergen with Vilde was perfect! Fjaerland with Jennie also! And Oslo with Stig awesome! Tks KimKim for doing such a good job!

A genuinely excellent experience from beginning to end. Booking was simple and our agent Amanda was amazingly helpful, flexible and courteous. I was particularly impressed by her checking in with us routinely during the holiday. Everything worked perfectly, with our driver and guide Haitham being both punctual, friendly and an endless well of knowledge and advice. Needless to say Jordan itself was magnificent. Petra left us speechless, particularly the iconic view of the Treasury as we emerged from the Sic. The Dead Sea was floaty as advertised and Wadi Rum was just as beautiful, and spiritual as it appears on screen! Amman, complete with Haitham arranged feast at a local restaurant was also a highlight. My only regret was that we only had a few days to absorb everything and left so much unseen. We have to return. In sum, a truly great experience and worth every penny/cent. Outstanding.

Raluca was very knowledgeable and responsive during the planning of our trip. We were comparing a few different tour otions and Raluca’s route seemed the best. Our bikes were great. The logistics were seamless. The route was fantastic. Wonderful country roads. No traffic. Beautiful. For the most part the acommodation was quite good. The food was standard fare for Romania. I would recommend Romania Active without hesitation. Trip of a lifetime. Translyvania is undiscovered. It was refreshing to be in Europe and not be surrounded by tourists and to experience the traditional Romanian lifestyle.