Kimkim Trip Reviews

We enjoyed every place we visited in Greece for different reasons. We experienced beauty, history and culture. Most of our guides were excellent, but I did not write down their names so I can’t give specific input on certain ones. The one at Delphi seemed to be in a hurry so we felt a little rushed there. The experience our last night at the fish restaurant was especially nice. The people connected with the the farm tour and meal were very gracious and made a lasting impression. The worst experience was with Mykonian Mare. The people related to food service were very accommodating, but the reception staff was not, especially the night they left us in Mykonos and the lady I called would not give us a time that they would be there to get us. She hung up on me the second time and did not answer the third. Therefore, we had to stand and wait for 11/2 hours for the shuttle to arrive. When we told the manager, all we got was excuses. Other than that, we enjoyed our stay immensely. The last day of our trip there seemed to be a lapse in planning. We even had to pay to go to the Temple of Poseidon. This should have been included in the information given to us. Overall though, we were very satisfied with the trip and gave the trip and you 5 stars.

We enjoyed a wonderful Romanian experience thanks to Raluca’s excellent planning and organisational skills. She was always quick to reply to our questions and it was great to finally meet her in person when we picked up our road book, vouchers and itinerary in Bucharest. We enjoyed the variety in our itinerary which included a visit to the Bear sanctuary, visits to beautiful Medieval towns and castles and a steam train ride through the scenic Vaser valley. Our Romanian experience has left us with beautiful memories.
Thank you Raluca and the Kimkim team.

Sue & Kerry Walker
Melbourne Australia.

Overall our Greece trip and experience was great. Some highlights in my opinion:
On Crete: Tour to villages and particularly the distillery, Knossos Museum, Dinner in small town of Archanes
On Santorini: Hidden Gems and Wine Tasting tour (guide was very fun), sunset sailing
On Mykonos: Farm tour/dinner (very friendly hosts), hanging out at the Dublin pub
In Athens: Hotel roof top restaurant, every historic site/museum, farewell dinner arranged by Travel12
Overall: fact that almost all our tours and transfers were private to our group (a benefit from having 8 persons)

On hotels:
Ambassador's Residence - very good to excellent
Kalimera Archanes Village - our stay too short to appreciate, but excellent host and transfers on Crete
Kasimatas Suites - very good, met our expectations, older property with some quirks
Mykonian Mare - good and bad, large variation in rooms between the group, hotel was performing water system work while we were there which was unfortunate
Athens Gate - good, location great, but we were given rooms on low floors so no views from rooms and fair amount of traffic noise, great rooftop restaurant

Guides/tours/transfers in general were very good, on time, and informative of the area and its history.
Travel12 provided us very good itinerary information with all contacts etc and made sure we had their support when we were in Greece, although everything went so well we did not really need much help.

We all had a great time, the trip had excellent value for dollars spent.

This was my first time using KimKim and I will definitely use them for travel again. Every part of the experience was amazing - planning, accommodations/experiences, and our driver. The planning process was pleasant and efficient all thanks to Yassine. He was extremely responsive and patient. He worked with me to plan an amazing 5 year anniversary trip that my wife and I loved. I had a rough idea of all the things I wanted to do and he used his expertise of Morocco to help tailor a trip that would best accommodate it all. Thanks to Yassine, my wife and I traveled worry free as we went from one amazing experience to the next.
We arrived in Marrakesh and were picked up by our Riad (pre-arranged with the help of Yassine). We explored the markets in Marrakesh and the famous Jemaa el-Fnaa square. We had dinner in a restaurant that overlooked the square as we watched all the commotion below us. The next morning, we were picked up by our driver, Ishmael, to start our journey to the desert. It was a very long trip to the desert. I am so happy that Yassine recommended we break it up into two days. Day 1, our drive time was about 3-4 hours. Day 2, the drive time was about 5-6. The hotel we stayed in overnight in Ouarzazate was one of the highlights of our trip. It was called Caravane and it was amazing. It was a quaint, French inspired hotel with friendly staff and amazing food. In fact, the best food we had on our trip was at Caravane (their Chef lives in a local Kasbah close by). After Ouarzazate, Ishmael drove us to Merzouga where we started our desert stay with a 1 hr camel ride into the Sahara Desert to our tent in Luxury Camp Chebbi! The whole desert experience was the highlight of our trip. It was extremely romantic and the tents offered a "glamping" appeal as they had showers, toilets, running water, etc. The sunset & sunrise over the Sahara were spectacular and so was the stargazing at night. I can't say enough about our desert experience. After the desert, we returned to Marrakesh for a hot air balloon ride on our actual anniversary day. We then took a train to Casablanca and stayed in a hotel where, shortly after check-in, we were presented with a little surprise anniversary treat - courtesy of Yassine and the rest of the staff. Speaking of staff, I have to give our driver Ishmael a special shout out. He was an amazing travel companion to my wife and I. His driving was perfect. He would stop whenever and wherever we wanted along the way. He talked and conversed with us and let us sleep or played music when we just wanted to relax. He often stopped to get us bottled water and just always knew what we needed before we asked. He was always on time to pick us up in the morning and was extremely patient whenever we ventured off to different activities while he waited on us. Ishmael truly enhanced our experience and we're so glad he was our driver.
Overall, I was very pleased with the entire travel experience and highly recommend Yassine and the team to anyone interested in visiting Morocco. We have traveled a lot in the past 5 years and this trip was right at the top with the best of them. Thanks for a wonderful experience Yassine and team!

Carlos arranged an amazing trip for my family that captured all the best things about travel: opening hearts and minds, meeting new people and some great fun! I'd say that the trip included something for everyone, but it actually included everything for everyone. We all - myself, my wife and my 10 and 8 year old kids - loved rafting on the Balsa with Carlos T., a chocolate tour near Arenal with Katherine and surfing (or trying to, anyway) on Playa Blanca with Walter and Niels. Along the way we managed some relaxation in the Arenal springs and some poolside chillin' in Papagayo.

Unexpectedly, the highlight of the trip may have been the afternoon before we left when Carlos himself came out to spend an afternoon with us in San Jose. We walked, ate and went to markets where we met some of the warmest and friendliest people you can imagine. Thanks Carlos, for sharing some of your amazing home town with us.

Carlos arranged a seamless trip. Every tour and transfer he arranged was with warm, friendly, and reliable guides. To a T, each was on time and ready to go. Carlos was immediately available by phone, text or WhatsApp throughout the trip.

The highest compliment was from my 8 year old who had tears in his eyes as we left, wanting to know when we could go back to Costa Rica and willing to give up his Nintendo Switch just to stay another day.

Thanks Carlos. Pura Vida!

My cousin and I had a great experience in Lithuania! Our tour guide Minda was fantastic and made the trip a special experience for us. We called him our Guardian Angel. As we drove or walked he gave us such great historical and cultural information just as we wanted. He felt like a friend or relative and was so comfortable to spend time with. We highly recommend him.

Leva did a great job helping us with our itinerary. I told her some places we wanted to go and the types of experiences we were looking for and she organized it perfectly for us. When I asked for some changes or soecial requirements like air conditioning she came through. Our only disappointment was not finding Kugelis! We found a dish that was very close though and enjoyed all of our meals. I will recommend Leva and Kimkimtravel to my fellow travelers!

It was a great trip and exactly what we discussed. Could not be happier.

Thanks again,
Jake

There are so many wonderful places to visit in Iceland, but to do it justice you need time. We had 17 days and it was hectic. Course, we didn't want to miss anything. Caroline certainly put a great itinerary together for us.

One of the regions I thought was exceptional was the Western Fjords, but everything was memorable. The northern regions of Akureyri and Lake Myvatn were also well catered.

We met people from all over the world and shared stories and experiences, and you always felt safe. Even leaving luggage in the car anywhere, without problems.

The western tip of the Reykjanes Peninsula (near the airport) is a must, as well as the more commonly visited places.

Anne was great. Very accommodating and responsive. Whenever there were any questions she answered promptly. We would use Anne again to help plan our trip :)

Brahim was very helpful and patient in organizing our trip! He went above and beyond in picking the kindest and most knowledgable guides. The driving agency was top notch, as was every experience we had through Brahim planning. I would love to repeat my trip and would not hesitate to recommend Brahim and the Kimkim team to anyone!!!
Karen slonski

I found Kimkim on the internt when i was looking at going to Greece for a holiday.
I dealt with Chris and he listened to what i wanted to visit and as a woman travelling on her own, safety was too of this list.
Not only did Chris put together a fantastic itinery he sent draft copy to me first to peruse, along with some excellent comments on due to his knowledge of the area.
From start to finish everything rang like clockwork, the best was having someone there to pick me up at airport or cruise port do deliver me to my hotel or pick me up at hotel to take me somewhere else. Everyone was so accommodating and lovely.
I started in NZ ..Auckland 10 hour stop over at Dubai then onto Athens. From there to Crete for 4 days, awesome beaches outside my door. Then onto Sanorini for 6 days, went on day cruise to other sights around island.
On to 4 days on Naxos, such beautiful beaches, ideal to relax. Back to Athens then home.
Once again a huge thank you to Chris and his tem.
Will be referring them to all my friends and will use them .

Our guide Mr. King Kong was Fabulous! He was fun, engaging and very knowledgeable about the history of China. He was also an excellent photographer as we were able to take some unique shots we would have otherwise missed.
5* highly recommend!

Every person that we interacted with was amazing and were extremely helpful. The Arenal Lava flow hike, Monteverde river raft, coffee plantation, zip line, and Damas Island mangrove kayaking were all super fun and the tour guides were all very knowledgable about all the questions we were asking them. It was nice that all we had to do was hand over the voucher and were driven around to wherever we were going. There was also a perfect blend of activities to do and relaxing time at a pool or beach.

We loved our experience and would highly recommend anyone else to use KImKim in the future.

After years of doing my travel arrangements all on my own, I decided to trust a travel agent again, for a trip to Iceland that I was organizing as a birthday gift to my husband and had to be just perfect in every way.
Entrusting Kimkim and their local specialist Preeti was the best decision I ever made! Massive time saver, not a single problem or hiccup, and all the choices they made - bookings, itinerary, recommendations, - everything was perfectly tailored to my requirements, individual interests and circumstances.
Very quick response, great professionalism and customer care. Warmly recommended!

Our trip to Greece exceeded my expectations. From the first interactions with kimkim I was very pleased as I was having difficulty finding a good balance between relaxation, luxury and adventure from one source. The initial survey made me feel I finally found a source that understood that there was more than a single goal in vacation planning. With limited time available, Dimitris with Personality Journeys was able to fit all three goals into a 9-day tip with a one-month lead time. With the added bonus of being thousands of dollars less than another quote I received from a travel specialist I've used before.

The interaction through the website was seamless. Being able to reliably communicate online is important to me with a busy full-time job and the time difference using a local expert. Knowing that Dimitris was local made me feel at ease with his recommendations. I also found it very refreshing that he was not pushing for the most expensive options and was considerate of value vs. convenience. Having never been to Greece, Dimitris was patient with my requests, changes and need for clarification prior to the trip. Throughout the entire trip Dimitris was available through Whatsapp to answer questions or communicate any changes.

Together we planned 9-days full of rest as well as adventure in 3 very different locations in Greece: Athens, Naxos and Santorini, Naxos being a recommendation and my favorite of the 3. The New Hotel in Athens was artisitic, beautiful and the provided the top service from the security greeting at the front door, through check-in and everything in between. Warm, friendly and highly professional. It was in walking distance of many of the tourist spots but far enough that I didn't feel overwhelmed and crowded leaving the hotel. With only two days in Athens the pre-arranged activity was a tour of Acropolis Hill and Acropolis museum. Our guide was well versed and patient with our group. However, completely from personal preference, while I very much enjoyed visiting the locations I would have preferred a private guide. The group was larger than expected, it took long for the tour to begin and with a group of several families the guide needed to cover a lot of detail to cater to the different interests. I prefer more personal interaction.

We transferred to Naxos via ferry (the Greek Ferry system is very impressive and efficient) and made our way to Naxos Rock Villas which was simply stunning! I had never heard of Naxos prior to Dimitris' recommendation and it was our favorite fr the laid back island atmosphere. I specifically asked for a balcony and private pool and was pleasantly surprised with a completely private Villa with not only the requested but full kitchen and two baths. I fell in love with these accommodations. We were briefed by the owner on the Villa and the island. "Breakfast included" referred to a stocked fridge which was a very nice change of pace to prepare our own meal. Local snacks, wine and beer were also stocked for our enjoyment. The Rock Villas took our breath away as did the day of sailing that Dimitris arranged for us. Naxos Yachting Giannis and his crew were friendly, professional and engaging. The home cooked meal, the stop at Paros and 2 swim spots were out of a dream. I've traveled around the world but if I ever run away you'll find me here. I would have loved to stay longer. The only change I would make our next visit is to rent a car as the Villas are hillside away from the heart of the town and taxis are not cheap in Greece.

Finally, on Santorini, we were located at Del Sol. Del Sol is about a 30-minute walk from the tourist heart of Santorini or a 5-minute cab ride. Our room was somewhat "stand alone" which we prefer. The rooms were well appointed and the restaurant staff was very friendly and accommodating. The front desk staff was friendly and quick to help us when asked. We also managed to squeeze in a visit to the spa, a last minute request that I am glad we made. In Santorini our acitivities included a wine tour of Argyros Estate winery, sea kayaking and a hike. The winery was very modern but steeped in history. The tour was brief but the tasting was wonderful, including pairings with local fare, rich and plentiful. Our guide gave us a lot of input and suggestions as well as time alone to enjoy the experience and eachother company in private. The best of many wine tastings that I have experienced in my lifetime.

Our second adventure in Santorini was sea kayaking with Adonis. Due to weather conditions, we had to be re-routed. I was a little disappointed as I was very interested in the original route but was happy that the guide made safety the number one priority. The tour was a little late to start but we felt well supported throughout the activity and we were happy that they could accommodate and not have to cancel per previous days. They took a lot of pictures that were e-mailed to us a week later so we could focus on being in the moment. They were very open to feedback and Adonis was very entertaining while explaining the history of Greece and the islands.

Tied with sailing as our favorite activity was the hike from Santorini to Oia our last day in Santorini. It is not to be missed. Intimidated at first looking at the distance we were about to cover, we were in complete awe! Our guides Thanos and Mariana were absolutely wonderful. They were so knowledgeable and yet had the enthusiasm as if they were seeing it for the first time with us. The picnic they prepared of local favorites was perfect. By the end of the experience they felt like friends spending the day with us. While many people were completing the hike independently, I was so happy to have experienced it with our guides. This was the perfect way to end our adventures.

Outside of all the scheduled activities, the itinerary allowed for plenty of relaxation and independent exploration. Our trip couldn't have been more perfect.

Dean was great to work with and it was nice to have things set up and prepaid along the way (car, B&Bs, etc). Also good suggestions on places to stop, sites to see. One place not to miss is Skellig Michael, especially on a clear day, but reserve well ahead!

Olman was amazing responding to all my queries in a timely manner and changing things in the itinerary based on my daughter’s animal and wildlife requirements!

Our trip, while only 7 days, incorporated so many trips and places. We had an absolutely amazing time and pretty much saw most of the country’s animals in their natural habitats.

Absolutely stunning country and Olman’s help definitely helped us to make the most of our limited time there.

Thanks again!

My granddaughter and I had a wonderful trip!

Petrina arranged everything beautifully and was responsive to all my questions and doubts.
My only complaint was the weather. I doubt she could do anything about it, though.

Ireland is beautiful. The people, the scenery and the food were lovely.

Thank you for all your help.

Stephanie Penn

We booked a vacation that included me, my husband and our adult children and children in law. Tasos made it all so easy. We arrived and departed at different times. Pickups and drop offs were perfectly executed.

Tasos's recommendations were excellent. We had a wonderful combination of historical exploration, guided cultural experiences, beach days and time to explore on our own.

Highlights included: welcome dinner at Zillers, our guides in Athens, our guided trip to Delos, our full day exploring Naxos with Katerina of Vioma (do not go to Naxos without meeting her), our car trip to the Temple of Poseidon during the time between arriving in Athens by air from Naxos and leaving by ferry for Hydra, and our brief respite on Hydra at the Four Seasons (no relationship to the chain).

The process of planning was efficient and painless.

Already planning our next KimKim vacation.

I can't thank Julia enough for all her recommendations of where to go in Northern Norway. I started out trying to organise the trip myself, as I would usually do, and Norway had me perplexed with exactly where to go and how much time we would need. Julia was spot on with her advice and location choices. Particular highlights were the Sea Cabins in Reine, the stunning house and surrounding areas in Senja and the gorgeous accommodation approximately 30 minutes outside Tromso. Active Tromso and our midnight kayak was also a massive highlight. I can not recommend their adventure experiences more highly and we will be back to do some mountain climbing and husky adventures soon. Thank you again Julia! Our experience was so memorable and you took all the angst out of the decision making process guiding us through ferry crossings and pointing out not to miss spots along the journey.