Kimkim Trip Reviews

Karin was so easy to work with. Booking the trip could not have been easier.

The trip to Cuba was really seamless and eye opening. Everything went off without a hitch and was well paced. We loved all of our guides. Fernando was waiting for us at the airport in Havana and was with us both days in Havana. He was knowledge, fun and accommodating. His love for Cuba was evident.

He drove us to Trinidad where we stayed at the Casa de Mi y Osi. It was in a perfect location and we could not have asked for two better hosts.

Kirenia promptly met us for an interesting and educational walking tour. We not only saw the tourist spots but also the neighborhoods where many locals lived. We also went to a fantastic pottery making studio.

Luis picked us up the following day for a tour to the mountains. We went to a small coffee farm and hiked to some beautiful waterfalls. Luis was an exceptional guide - so knowledgeable, informative, and a great conversationalist.

The trip ended with Fernando picking us up to travel to Santa Clara. We flew back to the US from Santa Clara. Thank you to all the hosts and guides - we are so happy to have met you all!

We have decided to break our review down into a review of Kimkim.com and Travel12, our local agent in Greece.

Kimkim.com

Pros: feeling of security from an American company and guarantee; beautiful itinerary provided free of charge; great communication platform.

Cons: no breakdown of cost provided; chance of being arranged with a bad travel agent; some judgment when questioning the cost.

Booked and completed a 10-day tour in Greece. Overall happy with the service. They put us in touch with a local agent. Kimkim reached out in our first few days to see how things were going. Our first agent was not helpful in explaining the price break down or in getting the price cheaper. The Kimkim agency helped us get a new agent. I did feel a little judged by the Kimkim agent when we explained we were not happy with the cost estimate provided. When you first start you take a short survey to provide the local agent with an idea of what you want. We chose the “mid-budget” option (other options budget and luxury). I forget the exact amount but around 100-150 a day. So we were expecting/hoping for around $1250 but we were provided a cost of $2000 and only 8 days of activities. This was a bit of a shock; when we tried to get a cost break down to see where the money was going to so that we could cut cost, we were told this would not be provided. When kimkim reached out we told them we were not happy with this. They at first tried to see if we could work with our first agent but we wanted to switch after some negative exchanges and unwanted/unauthorized changes to our itinerary. The kimkim rep was okay but they did make us feel a little judged by emphasizing that this was a custom tour but they did switch for us. We ended up paying around $1800 with 7 days of activities and 10 nights of hotel (3 travel days to different islands). The next travel agent provided a better breakdown but we never got a complete breakdown. We had a lovely vacation. Unsure if the travel agent treated us better because of kimkim but overall happy and will use the service again because of the guarantee and the assistance in finding a new agent.

Travel 12.

Pros: Responsive, cost-conscious, and flexible.

Tasos, was very responsive to our needs. He took the time to call us from Greece so we can understand what we were looking for and met us in person on our first day. One of the greatest benefit with Tasos is that you get access to the whole Travel 12 team. We could send them a What’s Up message or an email with any questions, double check tour times, and they did the same.

Tasos created a great itinerary that was customized to us. One of the experiences we were looking for were local Easter celebrations, and Tasos arranged for a private driver to take us to ancient Monastery in Pyrgos were the most beautiful celebrations were taking place.

Tasos was very cost conscious and took into consideration how much we wanted to spend on certain activities. On top of that, Travel 12 assumed all costs for any changes in the itinerary that were beyond our control (like a local protect that required Tasos to cancel our ferry ride and book a flight instead at no cost to us).

Travel 12’s professional driver Lampros was very nice, dressed very well, gave us a bunch of tips and local info, and even made a detour on our last day to show us a beautiful view of Athens. The whole team of Travel 12 was very caring and it was a great feeling of comfort.

Cons: The only con we could think of was that not all possibilities for upgrades were not communicated to us. We would have upgraded our ferry ride from Athens to Santorini if we knew that was an option.

On the whole, a very nice trip. The guides put a real lot of insight into the places we visited which made the trip extra special and their local knowledge helped us find our way around as well as find some really good places to eat. I especially appreciated Max's efforts in speedily resolving some of the issues we had along the way.

A couple of small things I didn’t like .
1) the train trip from Xi’an to Bejing was too long and would have preferred to have been booked either on the express train or taken a flight.
2) didn’t like being dropped off at the domestic airport or train station 3 hours before our flight.

All of the guides were good but thought Rocky (Beijing) and Kevin(Zhangjiajie) were the 2 standouts for going that bit extra in flexibility and providing extra activities outside of the itinerary which we were interested in. Angela(Beijing) was also a great guide too and gave us a full day of activities.

Lastly, all of the hotels you suggested were fantastic .

We would love to come back one day to see the Li River and visit Shanghai.
I would definitely book again through Kim Kim and would not hesitate in recommending it to any of my friends and family.

Fantastic experience! Petra, Jarash, WadiRum, Dead Sea, Madaba and rides along all places and King's Hwy are unforgettable. My driver Haytham was the best I could get, by sharing his own stories he presented Jordan in very friendly and attractive way. Highly recommended trip.

Our guide Milton was absolutely fabulous. A wealth of knowledge, and a great human being. In my opinion, the day we spent with him was the best day of our trip. Visiting the paramo and the volcano was an experience of a lifetime. Being introduced to this beautiful country and unique ecosystem, while at the same time talking about social and contextual issues was quite meaningful. While everything worked out quite fine, I do want to raise one personal concern. Our driver from Medellin to the coffee region, Luis, was quite fine. There was lots of road constructions o we were forced to go very slowly. I was concerned, however, that he had driven through the night to get to Medellin to pick us up, and then drove us at least 6-7 hours back, with still 2 more hours of driving to get home, all without any sleep. Not only is this a safety concern, but I hope KimKim does not expect this of its drivers. Our entire experience was fabulous, but I wanted to make sure to mention this.

It was wonderful well organized and everything we had asked for was there I would especially like to mention and thank Nicky, Mr Lampros and Mr Tasso for going out of their way to come pick us up from the port when the ferry got canceled (due to bad weather) and putting us on a flight to Naxos so that we would not miss any part of our tour. I would certainly use them again and have recommended them to all my friends and family

Spent an amazing and memorable 10 days in Myanmar thanks to Kim Kim and Pergus Tours. The Kim Kim app Is easy to use and eases communication between you and the tour operator they put you in touch with. Hsu Hlaing made me feel that her main concern was for my trip to meet expectations in every aspect. A free call at the planning stage with an international consultant helped set expectations, flexibility on the itinerary was offered along the way, the guides were informative and hotels well chosen. It’s a real personalized service. It may be cheaper to organise everything yourself or directly with a tour operator, but if you have a busy life and little time to sit and plan going through Kim Kim and having the reassurance of a recommended agency to help you plan and execute your trip is a definite advantage and one I would recommend.

The amount of attention to detail and care that Travel team 12 and Tasos put towards my customized trip was outstanding! I loved the experiences that they put together for me since I love learning about culture through food- the gastronomic tours, wine tours, and a cooking class allowed me to learn about Greece in such a special way that I will never forget. The boutique hotels that were chosen were such great options that I would have never known of without the help from this team. I have nothing but good memories from this trip and now a part of my heart remains in Greece.

This was our 2nd time using Kim Kim for international travel & we were very satisfied again. Milenka was very helpful in building the itinerary we requested & was also very flexible when we needed to make modifications mid trip.
The local guides were all exceptional, bringing their expertise & knowledge of the area, as well as warm & welcoming personalities. The accommodations & activities all met or exceeded our expectations. We would definitely consider using Kim Kim again for a unique travel experience.
Regards, Darina & Tim Bellman

Morocco for me will be one of my most memorable trips. Yassine was amazing and was so efficient, professional and friendly in organising our fantastic trip.
We had a wonderful driver Nabil who was so obliging and nothing was too much trouble also not forgetting that he is an excellent driver.
Hakim our guide in Fes was exceptional as was our guide Hassam in Ouarzazate and our guide in Essaouira. They were all so interesting and we loved learning about the history of Morocco.....
Josef in Marrakesh was a little disappointing but very nice and friendly .
I personally loved the whole trip but the drive through the Atlas Mountains was spectacular and the night in Camp Chebbi in Merzouga and riad Caravane in Ouarzazate.
Overall all accommodation was excellent and the Moroccans are such lovely, helpful and very friendly people.
Also the cooking class in Fes was fun and the chef an absolute delight.
I would highly recommend Off the beaten track as an excellent well organised company.

We had a fantastic time in Upper Mustang thanks to our guide Chhongba who did his very best to make sure we have a memorable experience. Especially the fact that we were able to alter travel plans half way through the trip has been much appreciated. We can without hesitation recommend the KimKim team to anyone who is looking for a well organised trip that is tailored to individual preferences.

Amazing experience in Jordan.
SAFE, friendly and clean.
Lena from KimKim did amazing job for us. Very helpful and professional at all times.
Five stars to Lena. Lena you created amazing Jordan memories for us.

Driver Walid was very friendly, accommodating and safe driver. He had even demeanor at ALL times. Spoke very little but did a lot. Treated all of us with respect.
Five stars and kudos.

Guide Nassar was also friendly and very knowledgeable, responsible and helpful throughout the trip. Five stars.

Donncha is a fantastic guide! We couldn’t have been in better hands. Louise needs to get some experience in scheduling tours. Very aggressive timeline. BUT, we loved our Ireland experience!

All the guides were first rate , the gentleman who walked us round Palermo and the guide at Syracuse we’re particularly good , the latter was very knowledgeable on horticultural matters as well as history and archaeology. We had a series of excellent drivers who took us around the island. They were immensely helpful anddrovewithgreat care.

Carmelo, our tour organiser was excellent , we were delighted to meet up with him in Catania where we could thank him in person. He had enormous patience especially when our friend who was going to drive us had to dropout. He rearranged transport quite brilliantly. His command of English and his care and attention to detail as well as his kindness and thoughtfulness were remarkable. When he was engaged in examinations his supervisorMarianne was equally helpful.

As to memorable places , there really are too many to list ! Sicily is a treasurehouse of history and Archaeology with so many groups and civilisations leaving their mark. I was particularly interested in the Norman influence but theGreek , Roman and Arab civilisations were also very special and remarkable.

The best thing about the tour was the guides. Thy were all very knowledgeable, generous, fun to be with and willing to be flexible.
The organization was great and worked like clockwork - we got the mix of experiences we were looking for.

We have given detailed feedback to Raluca face-to-face so I won't be writing it all down again.

We had a superior experience with Drive Albania! Thanks to the Drive Albania team -- host Ed Reeves, our guide Ardi Zhugjeli, and their supporting staff -- our trip to Albania was fabulous and beyond expectations. Ed planned our activities meticulously, accommodating our wishes for backcountry hiking, bird-watching, and botany. Ardi obviously loves his country and has an outstanding knowledge of everything Albanian. His fun-loving personality made our two weeks an unforgettable experience. He showed utmost concern for our well-being and drove expertly on some exciting mountainous roads. We enjoyed a great variety of local dishes prepared by our hosts at guest houses in remote villages, as well as locally grown, organic five-star cuisine in lively urban settings. We highly recommend Drive Albania without reservation if you wish to experience the stunning scenery and friendly people of Albania.
Vera Markgraf, Kathy Hilton, Mindy Bell (May 2019)

We have just returned from our two week tour of Norway arranged by Linda. It was wonderful!! Our lodgings were perfect and all transportation went smoothly. We had great personal tours in both Oslo and Bergen and especially enjoyed our stay in quiet Aurland combined with a sea safari out of Flam. Thank you for a Very memorable trip!

Donncha was the highlight of the trip. His knowledge and love of Ireland history, geography, politics, music, etc. deepened our experience. His singing was an unexpected treat and helped define Irish culture. My favorite memories include the Burren, Cliffs of Moher and Dingle. We had a great trip.

This is the second trip we’ve arranged through kimkim, and it was again excellent. Abdullah was very patient with juggling 3 different groups with a variety of itineraries, interests, and length of travel times so that we could travel together when possible.
We especially enjoyed our time hiking in the Atlas Mountains and exploring the area around Aït Ben haddou. The drivers/guides got us everywhere comfortably and safely. They were available to answer questions but allowed us to absorb our surroundings quietly when we wanted to. We had a couple of donkeys with us on our Atlas hikes, led by Ibrahim and Ibrahim (I think). They - the Ibrahims - were so sweet and encouraging to one of our hikers who had a problem with her leg and had to hike more slowly. The donkeys can be ridden by tired or injured hikers, but they’re pretty small for us big Americans.
Marrakech was both invorgating and enervating, not to be missed. Riad Pasilla was a gem, quiet and beautiful, and a welcome haven from the frenzy of Marrakech. We didn’t want to leave!
Thanks to Abdullah and company for providing a wonderful experience.