Kimkim Trip Reviews

We visited Vietnam and Cambodia. Our guides were Gracie, Tom, Danny and ChanSip. They were all wonderful in their own way but Tom deserves a special mention. The VIetcong tunnels are not to be missed, the Saigon Vespa tour with its guides was truly memorable and a once in a lifetime type of tour and, the street food tour in Hanoi was exceptional. The meals and restaurants chosen by our guides were all delicious and not just standard fare served to tourists. We became a huge fan of Vietnamese food! The hotels chosen for us were also lovely, comfortable and well-located. Ms. Huyen was very accommodating of any changes we wanted to make to our itinerary (which were minimal bc it was so well planned) and very responsive. She handled communications with the local guides and it was a truly hassle free trip. Highly recommended!

Being at a loss on how to plan a trip to New Zealand, we came across this company through an internet search. Paula became our contact and adviser and she put together a well-tailored holiday for our needs. Everything went off smoothly from landing in Queenstown until handing in our hire car at Auckland airport. We really enjoyed our trip to Milford Sound and our guide Paulie, was brilliant. Another highlight was our Rob Roy Glacier tour at Wanaka. Our guide Thierry was fantastic and made the trip so enjoyable despite my throbbing feet. Sadly we couldn’t do our tours at Mount Cook due to poor weather but we made the most of the available walks and were taken aback when Aoraki finally made an appearance from behind the clouds on our last day.

It was then off to Rotorua where we watched our daughter compete at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. The Big Kanu glow worm tour was fascinating, as was the Hells Gate experience. We were a little disappointed with the Kahukiwi experience as it seemed a little disorganised and unstructured although the guide was friendly and extremely helpful.

In summary, a well organised and satisfying first trip to New Zealand. We would have no hesitation in recommending your company to others. Our thanks to Paula for putting all together and putting up with our endless messages.

Thanks!

Hotel Reviews

Scenic Suites Queenstown

Queenstown

Handy apartments for visiting Queenstown. Very comfortable with all the amenities. Only observation was to try to avoid getting a room too close to the road as happened to us. People walking by could look into our apartment and there was traffic noise.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Edgewater Wanaka

Lake Wānaka

This was a beautiful hotel next to the lake in a tranquil setting. Like being in the centre of a golf course. Although the rooms were well equipped, our room seemed antiquated, with a tired bathroom. Maybe up for renovation soon?

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Hermitage Hotel

Mount Cook Village

The place to stay in this area with commanding views of Mount Cook when the clouds clear. Our room although well equipped was on the small side and felt a little cramped. Apart from driving and walking around the beautiful scenery, there isn’t much else to do here. Maybe other activities could be offered when the weather is bad and organised tours get cancelled. All we got was a refund which was fine but perhaps alternatives would be more enjoyable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Chateau on the Park -

Christchurch

Our favourite hotel during our holiday. Comfortable rooms, great location and even played a game of outdoor chess. Only criticism: our check in was delayed by a couple of hours due to airline staff being given permission to check out late. Took a bit too long with only a drink voucher to make up for it.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Airedale Boutique Suites

Auckland

Well situated hotel in the business district of Auckland. Handy valet parking took the stress out of finding a car park on our own. Modern comfortable rooms with all the amenities we required. Recommended.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Milford Mariner Overnight Cruise from Queenstown (2 days, 1 night)

Queenstown (NZ)

An overnight tour here was the best thing to do to avoid most of the day cooped up in a coach or car. Milford Sound was a brooding and cascading experience that we would recommend. Hats off to Paulie our guide, who provided so much information about New Zealand and the trip whilst driving us effortlessly through the winding roads.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide Paulie was excellent.

Transport

Full Day Gourmet Scenic Wine Tour

Queenstown (NZ)

Enjoyed our trip to the vineyards and we were lucky with the weather. Finally know a bit more about NZ wines. The meal was interesting and enjoyable. A good day out.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Rob Roy Glacier ex Wanaka

Wānaka

We were the only people doing this tour that day. Our guide Thierry was fantastic, from picking us up to guiding us along the walk, sharing his favourite tree with us and sorting us out with lunch. Highly recommended to anyone capable of walking over uneven ground for several hours. You won’t regret it!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Thierry was great!

Transport

Bumpy ride

Big Kanu Starlight Glow Worm Tour

Rotorua

Fascinating to see these glow worms in action when night starts creeping in. The guides were quite entertaining too. Recommended!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Redwoods Treewalk day

Rotorua

A comfortable stroll through these amazing trees along walkways and platforms. Nothing. We enjoyed our visit.

Quality of Experience

The Hell's Gate Experience

Rotorua

Fascinating to see these geysers and hot pools bubbling away. Lethal if you fall in! The mud bath experience was also enjoyable. Recommended!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Half Day Kahukiwi Experience

Rotorua

Our Māori guide was a lovely man but the tour lacked structure with just information being thrown at us in a haphazard manner. We did learn about some of the legends but this tour could have been a lot better.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had an absolutely fantastic experience with Moonika from Kimkim! The trip exceeded all our expectations—every detail was thoughtfully planned and perfectly organized. A highlight of our journey was witnessing the breathtaking Northern Lights on New Year's Eve, an unforgettable moment that made the trip truly magical.

Moonika was incredibly responsive throughout the process, always quick to answer our questions and accommodate our needs. Her professionalism and meticulous planning ensured a smooth and stress-free vacation for us.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Moonika and Kimkim to friends and family. This was a trip we’ll cherish forever, thanks to her expert guidance and care.

Jane and Celina were outstanding.

They helped us with substantial last minute changes including adding an extra person and making sure all our lodging and activity reservations were modified to accommodate our request. We got great recommendations about things to do in Edinburgh. It is a fascinating city and we look forward to returning.

Hotel Review

Hotel du Vin & Bistro Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Authenticity & Character

Location

Great neighborhood near the university and across the street from the National Museum. Walk everywhere!

Staff

Helpful and courteous in every way.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Small group visit of Mary King's Close

Edinburgh

Fantastic experience. The perfect way to start your visit to Edinburgh. Learn history, geography, get oriented to the city.

Walk up Calton Hill

Edinburgh

We should have done this earlier in our visit. A great way to see the city from a vantage point. And don't overlook the Old Calton Cemetery directly across as you approach on Princes Street.

A Show at the Edinburgh Playhouse

Edinburgh

This was a rousing show. Great performances in a wonderful venue.

This was our first time using assistance in planning and booking a vacation and it was SEAMLESS! Angel planned an awesome vacation for our family of four from start to finish and was so patient and helpful. We will absolutely use KimKim again!

We went to our first trip to Morocco and it was a blast. We planned it very late with near a week’s notice — and Kimkim did a great job of organizing it.
Riad in Fes was right in the old town and was a lovely experience. Their breakfast was awesome!
Glamping in Sahara was the clear highlight of the trip — the sand dunes, the camel ride, sunrise and sunset.
Marrakech was a rich city with culture and class. The hotel in Marrakech (Kenzi Garden) was comfy even if not a Riad. A special mention about Rashid our guide who was super-enthusiastic about everything Marrakech and quite funny to boot.
Air-Bin-Haddou was a good spot as well — wish we hadn’t stopped overnight there. It wasn’t a great hotel — and we could have spent an extra day in Marrakech.

The guide in Fes wasn’t great — she was patronizing and we had the feeling that we were constantly being sold to (in the shops we were taken to) and sold against (she kept talking about the Riad folks are bad and that they’d sell us stuff, when they were actually very nice)…

Overall, it was a very memorable trip — thanks for organizing this at short notice.

Jose in Satiago, Pierre in Santa Fe de Atacama and ATA in Rapa Nui were very serviceful, attentive to our needs and knowledgeable guides.

Had a great time! Zip lining, canyoning, and hiking were all top notch in LaFortuna. Had a much better view of sloths in Arenal than on the Sloth tour, but we had bad weather during the tour, so no fault to that organization. Don Rufino was tasty, but by far our most over-priced meal of the whole trip. The boat ride from Arenal was nice but I felt it was presented as a way to avoid a long, bumpy shuttle ride. We still had a long, bumpy ride in a van after the boat. We added a coffee tour on our own in Monteverde since our cloud forest hike ended an hour earlier than expected. The forest guide was very informative, but it felt rushed; I would’ve preferred more time to hike and explore the forest on our own at the end of the tour. Treehouse restaurant was the best dining experience. Decent prices on the food and drinks, cool pics with the tree, and the live music was phenomenal. The transfer to Tamarindo was long as expected, but took 2hrs longer than expected. We also stopped twice for 20min breaks. Added 40min unnecessarily. 10min bathroom and snack breaks make more sense. I don’t want to waste vacation time in a roadside gift shop. It was wise not to book anything for that afternoon with the slow drive. Also great was the hotel dining at El Jardin del Eden. Breakfast and dinner half-board was perfect. Huge breakfast spread and gourmet dinner options. No need to waste money outside restaurants. All 3 hotels were great. I would recommend all 3 as long as the people you are booking are capable of the hikes. Lomas was a decent uphill walk from pool/restaurant up to the room, but there’s a golf cart on site if needed. Helped a lot when it rained. Ficus was a grueling hike up from St. Elena. Golf cart on property was good, but back from town was rough. Even Jardin had a long walk from the beach, but it was a flat path. Probably the best part of the entire trip aside from food and stays was the catamaran sunset experience in Tamarindo. Olman and Graciela were both very helpful before and during the trip to help with reservations and transfers.

The sites chosen were very good, though we chose not to go to the last one because we preferred to take it easy and go to a local beach. Hotels also were very good. The boat to Isabella was a bit rough, but I understand this cannot be avoided unless you use a slower service.

While Alvaro was good in the initial stages in scheduling and designing our plan, he was quite absent and not very responsive while we were in the tour. Here is a list of issues:

1. The person handling our baggage sent it to the wrong hotel. I contacted Alvaro and he took long time to respond.
2. On the way to Isabella, I asked Alvaro several questions including suggestions for dinner at Isabella. He saw my message around noon but responded at 11pm, when it was obviously too late to follow any suggestions.
3. Initially when designing the tour, I told Alvaro that one of us -myself- would like to do scuba one day. When I asked later in the tour, he never responded to that. Also when we decided to cancel our last tour, we asked one of the local people that came to pick is up the previous day whether it was possible to get a refund or schedule an alternative. He told us that he had contacted Alvaro and that he would let us know. He never responded to this request.

Overall, we felt that after paying for this trip, we were left pretty much on our own, except for the pickups and dropoffs. We got very little value added from the local team, and in fact we were never greeted nor explained in detail what would happen in during our stay. Alvaro might have been the local specialist, but he doesn't reside in Galapagos so he wasn't there.

Hotel Reviews

La Casita de la Playa

Puerto Villamil

Great location beachfront

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Casa de Judy Galapagos Hotel

Puerto Ayora

Excellent rooms, so and so breakfast.

Location

Its a couple of blocks from the main road

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Welcome to Santa Cruz Island: Highlands (Plant a Tree) & Charles Darwin Research Station

Puerto Ayora

Amazing choice. The guide was good and gave us information, but not an expert guide.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wildlife Encounter at Los Tuneles (Cabo Rosa)

Galapagos Islands

This was great, you should never miss it! Our guide was great at snorkeling, showed us sharks, turtles, rays. She definitely knew where to find things.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discover the Wonders of Tintoreras Islet: A Journey into Breathtaking Biodiversity

Puerto Villamil

Its interesting but could be skipped. In retrospect, we would have preferred doing a bike ride on the Island or something else.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Experience the Pristine Beauty of Galápagos Islands: Discovering an Uninhabited Island

Puerto Ayora

Very good, nice trip and the volcanic island is quite amazing!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

History and Nature: Full Day to Floreana Island

Puerto Ayora

We skipped this one. Three days in a row of traveling in boats is not advisable, distances are long 2-3 hours each way. We decided to choose stay local that day.

I can’t recommend KimKim enough! From the very start, they made the entire planning process so easy. I had no idea where to start or what to do for my family, but their team put together an amazing itinerary that fit our needs perfectly. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing—it was exactly the trip we wanted without even knowing it.

Every hotel was booked correctly without a single issue, our tours were the right balance of fun and relaxation, and traveling between destinations was a breeze. It was so nice to just enjoy the experience without stressing over logistics.

I’m so glad we used KimKim, and I’ll absolutely book with them again for future trips. If you're looking for a stress-free way to plan an unforgettable vacation, this is the way to go!

Major props to our coordinator, Vicky, who was incredibly responsive and made my family and me feel well taken care of.

This was amazing. Such a thoughtful itinerary with nothing but great guides, hotels, and experiences all throughout. I highly recommend for a trip like this.

Columbia is just an amazing country and we are so glad we had the help in planning.
Most of our guides were FANTASTIC- so friendly, intelligent and interesting! We had one guide that was good, I have nothing bad to say but I do not think we needed a guide for the activity and truth be told, it was too touristy. I would not have selected Guatape but went with the suggestion anyway.
I did most of the other planning and KimKim did the rest (booking guides, drivers, internal airfare) but I could have really let KIMKIM select the hotels as they know the area better than I did.
We loved the hiking and the remote villages and of course the tour of the Stilt Village was awesome.
It was truly a carefree trip and while using KIMKIM is certainly more expensive than doing it on your own, it takes all of the stress and organization off your hands and to me, that is worth it to me!

Hotel Reviews

Landmark Hotel Medellín

Medellín

Perfect room, location with a lovely gym and healthy food! Decor was amazing and it was very clean. We appreciated having free laundry!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Boutique Casa Carolina

Santa Marta

The hotel is beautiful and the staff were amazing but the location did not feel safe. We stayed in the hotel and did not venture out once we were in for the day. It is also very noisy from the streets around.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

OZ Hotel

Cartagena

We checked out, it was dirty and the staff were not very nice.

Location

Staff

It could be the language barrier and that is my fault for not speaking Spanish but it seemed they were annoyed with me even in terms of showing me my room.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Had bugs, cracks in the walls and the hallways smelled.

Activity Reviews

Peñol Boulder & Guatapé Boat Trip

Medellín

We did not like this part of the trip as it was too touristy and there was not much to do. We would have preferred to do some activity there other than sit and climb the rock

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Natural Reserve: "Cerro Bravo"

Medellín

We love hiking and while this was the scariest hike I ever did, we loved it. What made it challenging was there is no real trail and what is there is very slippery. Going up was fine, hard but good but I was really worried about going down.

Quality of Experience

Food

Wherever you picked the food up from it was amazing!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I forget our guides name Froi, I think and he is AWESOME

Transport

Medellín Transformation Tour

Medellín

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hike Tayrona National Park

Tayrona National Park

You do not need a guide for the first part of the hike and I think that was all that was scheduled for us but we decided we wanted to do more bc we actually like to hike and be in remote areas. Once we got past the crowd it was awesome. You do not really need a guide for this trip but it is nice to have and he was lovely.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hiking in Cerro Kennedy

El Dorado Nature Reserve

Loved it!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Nueva Venecia and the stilt villages of the Ciénaga Grande (On the Way to Cartagena)

Colombia

Our guide was awesome and this was one of the highlights of our trip- definetly worth stopping!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Market Visit & Cooking Class

Cartagena

While the market is quite the adventure, is is not for the faint of heart- it is truly dirty but very cool place to be! I would not have felt safe being there without all of the support staff we had.

Quality of Experience

We could have done more cooking- we have done cooking classes in other countries and did a lot more.

Food

I think for foreigners you must cook the food and not serve raw.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

They were fine but we did not interact much

Transport

Walking tour in Cartagena's Historic Center

Cartagena

The guide did not provide much to the trip, we learned very little. We could have just walked around the city ourselves. She was nice and tried to help get us a dinner reservation but we did not do anything that required a guide and she just did not teach us much. The other guides were full of knowledge and stories.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had clean cars and transport the entire time never a problem with drivers!

First visit to Vietnam but I have used Kimkim many times for other vacations.
Our planned Minh did a very nice job communicating with us and guiding us to an excellent 9 day long trip Hanoi to Saigon, including Minh Binh and Halong Bay.
The local tour company guides were excellent and the communication on the ground was great, no lapses or misunderstandings.
Overall, as usual, kimkim did a wonderful job.

Hotel Reviews

Hanoi Pearl Hotel

Hanoi

Great location. Comfortable room, staff very polite, accommodating. Breakfasts typical Asian but a few Western options. Disappointed variety of fresh fruit options given Vietnam produces so much.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ninh Binh Hidden Charm

Ninh Binh

Well kept hotel, very nice grounds, very closed to town (quite walkable). We were there New Years Eve and the gala buffet dinner left a lot to be desired. I cannot comment on the non-holiday food options or quality but I was definitely unimpressed with the kitchen on the Eve and New Years Day. Food rather tasteless and not kept very warm. Breakfasts also did not have the variety of fresh fruit I expected from a hotel in the fruit producing country.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Renea Cruises Halong

Hon Gai, Ha Long

Outstanding service, rooms so well prepared and comfortable given this is a rather small ship. Chef prepared amazing meals in a confined space. So tasty, good portions and variety. He was easily able to accommodate diets that were fish only or meat only. This overnight was probably the highlight of the trip.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms were perfect, ship spotless

Au Lac Charner Hotel

Authenticity & Character

Location

immediate neighborhood was not as appealing as others we passed by. Would have enjoyed staying in the Opera House with better dining options close by and a better walking environment.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hanoi - Ninh Binh: Hoa Lu - Trang An Grottoes

Vietnam

Cuc Phuong National Park

Ninh Binh

Primate rescue was worthwhile but the Cave could have easily been skipped. It didn't offer anything and was generally a waste of time.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A day trip to the fertile Mekong delta, Ben Tre

Ho Chi Minh City

Loved the authentic experience, scenery and cultural interactions excellent.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ninh Binh - Halong Port – Bai Tu Long Bay - Cong Do– Cap La island (Renea Cruise)

Vietnam

Fortunately weather was very cooperative. The overall experience was outstanding and a highlight of the trip.

Quality of Experience

Awesome ship and guide. Chef top notch

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The trip was well organized by Angel and fully met our expectations. The trips to Atacama Geysers, Lagoons and Night Sky View were too good and memorable. I felt Bolivia is a lot more scenic and the ride through the vast deserts and points of interests was exhilarating. The highlight of the trip was of course Uyuni Salt Flats!!!!!! Can't describe!!!

Though all our guides were very knowledgeable and helpful, our Bolivian guide Orlando stood out - super good and truly Amazing!!!

It’s been several months since I returned. This trip goes down in memory as one of the best…and easiest! Kim Kim made super easy for my friend and I to travel to South Africa. They worked with us to customize a trip suited for our interest. Nadia was incredible - checking in on us all the time and helping make quick decisions if travel changed due to weather or other things. The guides they recommended were incredible- some we still keep in contact with. I’m planning my next two trips with Kim Kim because this experience was so special.

Activity Review

Full day penguin safari - Cape Peninsula

South Africa

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We visited India in Dec/Jan 25 as a family and it was amazing!
Active India team were great, especially Aditya.
Everything was exceptionally organized.
We visited Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Ranthambore and Varanasi and we had the most amazing time.
Would definitely recommend Active India to everyone

Tour operator in Vietnam & Cambodia created a well planned itinerary that matched our travel style & interests. They gave quick responses to our questions before our trip & during our trip & chose excellent guides & drivers with nice cars. Tracked our movements during the trip to make sure all was going well. Good hotels. Excellent platform for planning & communication. Highlight was meeting a family of a tour guide where they shared roasted sweet potatoes & corn. And another guide took us to his favorite off the beaten track eating places & taught us how to eat native fruits in the market. A memorable experience besides experiencing the best food!

Hotel Reviews

Palago Boutique Hanoi Hotel

Hanoi

Just as pictured & noted.

Authenticity & Character

Felt like we were in Vietnam with the decor. Not a huge hotel which felt more authentic.

Location

In a good part of town & close to the places we wanted to go.

Staff

Yes. So nice & helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Yes even the beds were comfy.

Victory Star Cruise

Hanoi

Advertised as a replica junk with sails but there were no sails. It was poorly maintained. Needed painting, wall paper peeling, picture frames broken & the anchor system so rusted I thought it could break at any moment. Towels like sand o Paper & faded. Outside furniture faded. The staff was courteous & helpful & food quite good. Just the boat was poorly maintained. And the false advertising of having sails. Not good at all.

Authenticity & Character

Maintain the boat as noted above. Don’t advertise as having sails.

Location

Ha Long Bay too touristy. Over tourism at its worse.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Beds were hard as rocks. Was clean though.

Emeralda Tam Coc Resort

Luxury resort but not too pretentious. Great location.

Authenticity & Character

Vietnamese decor with beautiful tropical grounds & pool.

Location

In Tam Coc a quieter location than Ninh Binh city center but still near restaurants & shops.

Staff

Always helpful & courteous.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spotless.

Hoi An Delicacy Hotel & Spa

Hoi An

Great little hotel in Vietnamese decor. Good location walking distance to Hoi An old town.

Authenticity & Character

Vietnamese decor & peacock theme throughout.

Location

Walking distance to Hoi An ancient town

Staff

Always helpful. All of the staff remembered our names, where we came from & when we were checking out. Truely amazing.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spotless.

Thanh Lich Royal Boutique Hotel

Had a room under the restaurant & was noisy. They did change my room the next day which was quieter but heard rats in the ceiling during the night.

Authenticity & Character

An Asian style but so poorly maintained didn’t work.

Location

Close to the promenade.

Staff

Courteous.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Was clean at least.

Angkor Village Hotel

Good location in Siem Reap, beautiful grounds & rooms. This was our favorite hotel of our trip. We didn’t want to leave. The rooms were fabulous. With the first walk-in, beautiful spa/meditation music playing from the room’s music system. Pure Nirvana.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful tropical grounds with huge Cambodia inspired decorated rooms.

Location

Walking distance to good restaurants & night market (Pub Street).

Staff

Very courteous.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Perfect

Activity Reviews

Hanoi - Halong Bay Cruise - Overnight on boat

Ha Long Bay

Too touristy. Would skip or just take a day tour. Too many boats & tourists.

Quality of Experience

Limit number of boats to at least half allowed in Ha Long Bay

Food

The buffet was excellent & serving staff professional.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Buffet Dinner with Apsara dance show

Siem Reap

Show was just ok but too many tourists. Going through the buffet with that many people was a bit disgusting. Too touristy.

Quality of Experience

Food

Just average. Too many people to serve excellent food.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was the best.

Transport

Our driver was there for us immediately after the show because we wanted to get out of there fast to beat the hundreds of people that would be leaving at the same time.

Siem Reap: Explore Angkor Complex Temples

Siem Reap

Temples amazing.

Quality of Experience

Remotes uniqueness

Food

Local restaurants with excellent local food.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide always informative & helpful.

Transport

Cambodia is a great country to visit

We used KimKim for two parts of our Philippines trip - canyoneering in Cebu and a city tour in Manila.

The canyoneering tour was great. The driver was fine. He did a good job driving but didn’t interact with us or tell us much about the country. The drive itself was intense - few street signs or lights, lots of people and animals in the road, people driving in the wrong lanes - it was not for the weak of heart.

The canyoneering tour guides were incredible. We had 5 guides for our group of nine. It seemed like a lot in the beginning until we got in the canyon and needed every one of them to help lead us through. They did an excellent job navigating us through and taking so many awesome pictures. They’re clearly professionals because they knew all the good spots for pictures! That tour was a highlight.

The city tour of old Manila wasn’t great. Ana was very nice and accommodating. She took us to the hotel to drop off our bags and then drove us to a local restaurant to get lunch. She was very helpful in helping us order at the restaurant and making recommendations. But when it came to the actual tour of the old city I don’t think it hit the mark. She essentially just walked us through the different locations. They was very little sharing of the story of the country or the importance of the buildings and what they meant to the country or to the people. We had to ask her questions to get an understanding of what we were seeing and the resemblance. Ana was in a difficult situation because our group consisted of different age groups though and varying levels of interest. So she may not have known how to read our group and the appropriate way to guide us.

Overall our trip was amazing and would definitely recommend KimKim for the planning to others.

Hotel Reviews

Conrad Manila

Pasay City

I wouldn’t stay here again. Although the service and rooms were incredible, they were very strict about their Hilton Honors rules which are different from other Hiltons. I’m a Diamond member and typically get free breakfast for the guests in the rooms that I reserve but here they only allow two people the free breakfast, regardless of paying for two rooms. It was disappointing that their rules were so different because I would have stayed somewhere else if I knew.

Authenticity & Character

Very charming and well decorated for the holidays.

Location

Conveniently located next to the Mall of Asia. Not too far from the airport.

Staff

Superb service, everyone is very friendly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Paolyn Houseboats

Coron

The house boat is spectacular. The accommodations were better than I expected and the service was as good as any 5 star resort. The location can’t be beat though. Truly a memorable experience that defined our trip.

Authenticity & Character

Location

In the middle of a beautiful lagoon with clear waters

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Our boat was the best and it felt pristine inside. Everything was perfect.

Shangri-La Mactan

Beautiful hotel, slightly dated though.

Authenticity & Character

Loved the charm and decor.

Location

Awesome location, on the beach, lots of chairs at the pool and beach

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

A/C was clutch!

Activity Reviews

Canyoneering in Kawasan Falls

Philippines

The canyoneering tour was great. The driver was fine. He did a good job driving but didn’t interact with us or tell us much about the country. The drive itself was intense - few street signs or lights, lots of people and animals in the road, people driving in the wrong lanes - it was not for the weak of heart. The canyoneering tour guides were incredible. We had 5 guides for our group of nine. It seemed like a lot in the beginning until we got in the canyon and needed every one of them to help lead us through. They did an excellent job navigating us through and taking so many awesome pictures. They’re clearly professionals because they knew all the good spots for pictures! This tour was a highlight.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kept us safe, expert at navigating those roads!

Manila Day Tour

Philippines

The city tour of old Manila wasn’t great. Ana was very nice and accommodating. She took us to the hotel to drop off our bags and then drove us to a local restaurant to get lunch. She was very helpful in helping us order at the restaurant and making recommendations. But when it came to the actual tour of the old city I don’t think it hit the mark. She essentially just walked us through the different locations. They was very little sharing of the story of the country or the importance of the buildings and what they meant to the country or to the people. We had to ask her questions to get an understanding of what we were seeing and the resemblance. Ana was in a difficult situation because our group consisted of different age groups though and varying levels of interest. So she may not have known how to read our group and the appropriate way to guide us.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

More engagement, ability to share the history and culture of the country.

Transport

Great driver!

This mother-daughter trip was organized by the awesome Aleksandra, who helped us in every step of the way with hotels, activities, tours, and everything we needed to have a great trip. We visited London, Edinburgh, Inverness, Glasgow and Dublin.
I will write as much as possible for each city.
- London: The hotel in London was comfortable, although the beds were very small, everything else was good, especially the room cleaning service. The breakfast was excellent. Our private Royal tour with Diana in Spanish was very good, the walking pace was calm and she explained in a detailed way the places we visited. The Shakespeare's Stratford and Cotswolds tour was nice, however, the time in each place was short and the group was very large which made it difficult for us to follow the guide. The Afternoon tea at Fortum & Mason was amazing, we had a great time and the manager explained every single detail about this tradition to us.
- Edinburgh: The hotel in Edinburgh was nice, the room was comfortable, large, and clean. The breakfast was good but limited in the dishes that they offered. We asked for a decaf coffee and they reluctantly gave us a press full of coffee, it wasn't until we spoke to the manager that they brought a cup and apologized. The hotel's location is excellent, you only need to take a bus to get to the center and the hotel's area is calm. Please, warn others NOT to take the tram, it is too far from the hotel. The Old Town private tour was rushed, full of relevant information and interesting historical facts. Gains, our guide, is an amazing guide, and patient, he allowed me to translate to my mom the information he was sharing with us. Possibly not fully appreciated because we visited the old town at night. The St Andrews & Kingdom of Fife tour was very nice, our guide shared great information, and he gave us the correct amount of time for each stop without rushing. Many places, especially the cathedrals like St Giles and St Andrews were closed during the whole time we were there.
- Inverness: The Ness Walk Hotel is the best hotel we've ever visited. It is a gem of Scotland. Inverness is a really small town but the hotel has a great location. Everything about the hotel was amazing, from the customer service to the hotel room, simply wonderful. The Ultimate Isle of Skye Tour was great, Emma showed us relevant sites during the tour. The bus was full and it was kind of uncomfortable but everything we visited was amazing.
- Glasgow: The Adress Hotel has very basic and small rooms. The bathroom is too small, especially the shower. Service upon arrival was slow and the hotel keys were disabled when we wanted to go up to the room. Absolutely NO ONE helped us with our bags, we were just told “There is an elevator”. I recommend this hotel for a few days for its good location but everything else is bad, to be honest. We booked a free tour online in Spanish with "Somos Escocia", highly recommended.
- Dublin: We honestly didn't have enough time in Dublin. This city is amazing, the people are warm and nice, and the city is lively and fun. The Cliffs of Moher was a great tour, the weather was amazing that day but the description said "small group" and it was a big group! like 40 people in a big bus. The tour was not bad at all but it wasn't a small group tour.