Kimkim Trip Reviews

If its your first time going to Nepal and you don't use Himalayan Trails, you are making a mistake. period.

Just back from an amazing unforgetable 7 day trek to Pikey Peak. from the first contact with Erin through to our last day in Kathmandu Erin was amazing. We met Erin and our guide (Mingmar) the night before the trek to go through the finer details and also when the trek had finished we met again with Erin at our hotel to see how it went and if she could assist us any further, Erin arranged for my friend to take the Everest plane trip.
I ve back- packed all over the world and never taken up a service of this type before but when up a mountain alot can go wrong so felt this was the right choice as all the guides and sherpas are trained and excellent at their job.
Throughout the trip if we had any questions Erin was 10 mins down the road from our hotel and also contactable while on the trip.
Physically i found the trek ok but did get a bit of altitude sickness which Mingmar took care of with some tablets.
This tea house trek is quite new so the accomadation is very basic which is what we wanted also with it being new we had the mountains to our selfs and probably only saw 2 others treking. the most amazing views of everest and the landsape changing daily. many thanks Erin.

We did a 6 day tour of Rwanda including Nyungwe National Park, Lake Kivu and the Volcanoes national park and we had an absolutely amazing trip! Everything was perfectly organised, Eric our guide was super friendly, with a great sense of humour and extremely knowledgeable about everything. He was always on time (read early :D ), had everything we needed, and drove the crazy winding roads with ease and comfort. Our tour was tailored to our wants and needs, without fuss. Booking was incredibly easy and safe and Agnes (who organised the tour) followed up and kept in contact to ensure everything ran smoothly and that we were comfortable. All the places were worth seeing, and we are so glad we did everything that we did. I would highly recommend these people and will definitely use them again if/ when I venture back to Africa.

Thank you Nicolás for planning our trip on short notice and being so responsive to our questions! We had a great time and things went smoothly - from our transfers to our accomodations and our guides. We especially liked our accomodations in Cartagena and Tayrona. Our guides were also wonderful, particularly Jairo in Bogotá. He was very flexible and knew a great deal. I can't recommend him enough!

The easiest experience ever! First time using kim kim and would definitely use it again! Adriana was my specialist/travel agent. She was a pro and knew exactly what i wanted to do. The hotels books were very nice and the activities were everything we expected. My favorite part was the white water rafting! Over all happy and easy experience.

I was so delighted with this amazing trip to Morocco with my parents. I normally do all of my own travel planning and have never used a service like this so initially I was hesistant. So glad I took a risk and went with KimKim. From the beginning Brahim was very attentive to every detail and took time to understand our needs so that he could plan the perfect customized itinerary. He made sure that all of the hotels would be good for my retired parents as well as for me. Getting picked up from the airport and to our first Riad was very easy. I’m glad we had a guide because navigating Moroccan Medina’s can be tricky. Overall the trip logistics went very smoothly and it was so nice not having to worry or stress over things. When we did have a few small mishaps, Brahim immediately contacted me to rectify the situation. Really amazing customer service.

I was SUPER impressed by our driver Mohammed as well. He was kind, patient, and flexible. He also was a very safe driver, who followed the speed limit, used caution on difficult roads, and kept us safe from some crazy cars on the road. My parents fell in love with him and have even invited him to come visit them in California.

I also really enjoyed our private Fes tour guide Hafid. Not only was he hilarious and entertaining but he had a deep k owl edge of the town’s history.

In terms of memorable cities, I think Chefchouen and the Fes Medina are a tie. Both so unique- like nothing I’ve experienced before. But really, every city we visited was beautiful. The mosaics, fountains, and ever changing landscapes were awesome. I was surprised too by how many small towns and villages we crossed along the way. Stopping for lunch or to explore them as we drove between major cities was one of my favorite things about the trip.

We spent an amazing 4 weeks in Chile. Mariano helped us organize the trip from beginning to end and absolutely everything went according to plan. The local guides were knowledgeable and professional. Roberto went out of his way to help us with a minor health issue and still managed to show us the best of Vina del Mar and Valparaiso. Mario shared his love for Chile, and especially the Atacama and all its diversity, and Anna from Akorn was there 24/7 if we had any questions. Chiloe and Pucon were also on our list, and biking in the Lake District surrounded by volcanoes was an absolute highlight.
Thank you!

Our guide, Chaminda, was wonderful. He really went out of his way to make sure we had a great trip, taking us birding in the morning and stopping at shops when we asked. We really liked Sigiriya which was the highlight of our trip!

We worked with Harris to develop a custom trip from Athens to the Peloponnese and back, by rental car. It worked out beautifully, allowing us to be flexible about arrival and departure times, and to work out meeting times and places with our tour guide, Ilias, on the fly. We were met by a driver, Lampros, at the Athens airport, and delivered to our hotel for the night. It was a short walk to pick up the rental car the next morning. Our local guide, Ilias, took us to four sites: Corinth, Epidaurus, Mycenae and Olympia. The sites were great choices, giving us some variety in site ages and styles. Ilias is a fount of information, easy to understand, and worked very hard to tailor his information to our interests. The hotels Harris booked were nicer than I would have chosen, and several of them were really special. One brought a fabulous breakfast basket to our room, one upgraded us to an ocean-front room with balcony, and one changed our room to a lower floor to accommodate our mobility issues. As a nice lagniappe, Harris provided us with a local SIM card to use in our iPhone during our stay.

Miguel was a very competent careful driver. The driving part of the trip was longer and tougher than expected - 9 hours day 2, 7 hours day 3, 6 hours day 4. There was a lot of extreme poverty with many beggars requesting water and rice because they were so hungry. The main sites to visit were nice enough but the scenery along the way much less interesting than I had imagined. Taroa dunes beach is lovely. Places we stayed at understandably very primitive. Food monotonous but we did not get sick.
We very much enjoyed the boat trip in camarones. Carlos, our boatman and guide was well informed and we saw many flamingos and red ibis. Learned about Wayuu which interested me. Would NOT recommend trip to others unless they have some real reason to be interested in area.

This review will inevitably be too short to capture the brilliance and splendor of Myanmar -- both its people and its places. My guides: Minthu, Thinzar, and Wai were all fantastic. Anne, owner of Myanmar Pure and all-around amazing human, used my input to handcraft a one of a kind spiritual and physical journey that had me interacting with locals, cooking meals, watching handmade crafts be made, and involved planes, trains, automobiles, e-bikes (think vespa), and boats. I met local fortune tellers and got a traditional tattoo. I took in the wonders of Old Bagan and the radiance of Inn Lay lake. I meditated for 20 minutes in a small crawlspace within the Pindaya Cave. Overall, this will forever be my favorite trip, partially because it is the trip of a lifetime, but partially because my guides and the local people made it so effortlessly special. THANK YOU.

We had a fantastic time in Myanmar; it's a magical place. Our itinerary: One day, Yangon, two days in Bagan, two days in Mandalay, one day in Heho.

We took four internal flights, and we found the domestic airlines to be excellent. I felt more safe than on some US airlines. All we're prop planes.

The whole tour was great and the guides we're wonderful. They all had different strengths
Our guide in Yangon, Ong, was extremely knowledgeable. We called him as a nickname Google. And his English was fantastic. Our guide and Bagan, Tin, was enthusiastic. He was very much concerned with us understanding Buddhism and the cultural practices surrounding the religion. He was thorough and seemed to really enjoy his job. Our guide in Mandalay, Ben, was more on the personal and caring side. He was quick to assure us when our children were running around not to worry about it that Burmese children do that as well in temples. Our final guide, a young lady in Inle was really sweet. We we're with her only for a short time and we were on the boat all day so there was a little less interaction. She actually gave her shoes to a woman who list hers in a temple. Talk about a good deed; ring the bell in a temple. Very kind. Of course my wife gave her her shoes at the end of the day.

The drivers in each stop we're attentive and careful.

The highlights of the trip both involved water. The sunset river cruise on the Irrawaddy in Bagan was once in a lifetime. We we're really moved by the experience. And the day on Inle Lake was fascinating. We loved every minute.

We experienced only one low point which was U Bein bridge. I saw it as a crowded tourist trap and we were out of there in 15 minutes. There is really no need to go there.

My only recommendation for future tours has to do with the hotels. Hotel Hazel in Mandalay had essentially no Wi-Fi. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things; however, it's nice to post pictures to Facebook at the end of the day so your friends and family can see what you're up to. Additionally the hotels were a little far from the city centers so in the evening we really couldn't stroll anywhere just to relax and taken some more of the cultural experience.

Our agent Linn did a really nice job; often following up with us.

I highly recommend using Kim Kim, especially if you have children, ours 11 and 5. I would use Kim Kim again. Thinking of Bhutan next!

The communications should be directly with the person and not with the whole group!
Payment should be in 2 installments, 50% down payment and the final payment of 50% 2-4 weeks before the trip.
You should give us the phone number of the local person who will be receiving us at the airport.
We should have a copy of the flight reservations/confirmation.
We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and the resort- I’ll at Lake Inle. We wish we had more time there!
Most of the guides were excellent.
Thanks,
Jaya and Satya Ahuja

Our trip to Jordan was beyond anything we could have imagined. From the “Grand Canyon”, Mt. Nebo, Wadi Rum and Petra, the landscapes were unforgettable. Our driver Akrem made it all come alive. He is so knowledgeable. He saw to our every need, and took us to places off the beaten path. Please give him a raise Carmen.!
KimKim does a good job of connecting with local agencies, and Lena from In2Jordan put together an amazing itinerary. Our only complaint was with one driver (George) in Israel. He needed a lot of improvement in his English speaking and comprehension, and should have at least known the names of the sites he took us to. Martin Handal, our guide in Bethlehem, did a great job. We're not sure what the purpose of dining in a local home in Wadi Musa served, but the “upsidedown” was delicious.
Maybe printed instructions for border crossings, and encouraging travelers to make sure they have WhatsApp or similar for storing all driver/guide numbers would be beneficial.

I am telling everyone that if they make one trip -go to Jordan and make sure Akrem is your driver!!!
Thanks Lena and Akrem!!!

Jordan is an example to us all of getting along no matter what your religion!

Guides in Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan and inley lake were good. However, the ones in Mandalay and Inlet lake had no clue about our departure times or flight iternerary causing confusion on the last days in those cities. The guide in Yangon was misinformed about our arrival at airport on Dec 3rd and showed up 1 and 1/2 hours after our arrival at the airport only after we communicated with Su by email. If Su had not answered we would have had to find a way to reach Savoy hotel ourselves at night one way or the other.

We have just returned from a spectacular four week journey to Chile. Thanks in no small part to all the stellar folks at Kimkim and their wonderful contractors, our diverse wanderings went off without a hitch. Mariano, our Kimkim specialist was there for us at the start. We were a group of four people with diverse interests and pretty much zero prior knowledge of the country. We threw our various desires into a pot and Mariano sorted us out with a trip which took us from the high plains of the Atacama desert to the rugged coastline of Chiloe, from the bustling city of Santiago to the bohemian hills of Valparaiso. We had amazing local guides set up by Acorn where Ana was our 24/7 "go to" for requests, wrinkles and suggestions. From finding dentist to dealing with a missed flight, Ana was always there for us - cheerful and helpful!

We would definitely use Kimkim again any time!

This was a complete mess.
We were given no details regarding the tours beforehand. Only what time they began.
The paperwork said someone would be in touch to confirm our pickup time, etc. We didn't hear from anyone. I had to make an international call at midnight the night before to find out when we should be ready. When I inquired about a drop-off time, she couldn't tell me.
Then, we hated our guide (about 99% sure she was hungover). She threw up the entire first half of the tour, told us next to nothing about the places we saw. Then we were dropped off in town at the tour office, so had to walk back to the hotel. We only had about an hour and a half in between tours. The morning tour was so miserable, we didn't even go on the 2nd tour of the day.
We did however, stop by the tour office to find out what time our next morning pick up would be.
And lo and behold, we had the same guide. At least she was not sick the following day, but we were once again underwhelmed with her knowledge. We basically ended up eavesdropping other tours who had knowledgeable guides with interesting information.

Overall, our experience in the Atacama desert was underwhelming, which was extremely disappointing considering all the wonderful things we heard about it before going.

We had such an amazing time in Iceland! Our guide, Jon, was super nice, helpful and really help made our trip a memorable experience. The first day, there was a wind storm and many of the tours were cancelled - Jon helped us find an alternate route and rearranged the day's itinerary so we were able to still see all the attractions for the day. The accommodations provided were also very comfortable, and we especially loved Fosshotel Nupar (too bad there were no northern lights the two nights we were there), and also the apartment at Guesthouse Sunna. Everyone we met on the trip was very knowledgeable and kind, and we had a wonderful time!!

Highlights: The glaciers, Diamond beach and the glacial lagoon - those were my absolute favorites!!

8 day trek in Langtang Valley Nepal . Stunning and unforgettable ! Great Guide (Chhiring) and the organisation of everything was great. The Langtang Trek is perfect for a first timer but it is not easy, so make sure you have done plenty of walking before and have got yourself reasonably fit! Tips? take your own toilet roll, a face flannel for washing ( may not get a warm shower for several days), travel light and take layers of clothes not heavy jumpers, and one or two walking poles. Don't bother buying a Nepal phone card or wifi connection - just enjoy being out of touch , its still all there when you reconnect! I saw a post you can do this trip cheaper on your own . Well maybe you could , but if you want someone to take care of everything and not have to worry about who, what, when, where and how, then I recommend Amanda and the team

The Manaslu trek was excellent. It had great changing scenery, interesting people, nice teahouses and good food. We visited a remote school by chance on a Sunday and meet one of the teachers, and some of the kids, which was a real highlight of the trip.

Our guide Nawang was excellent, always making sure we were enjoying ourselves and full of information and a good sense of humor. He was helped by two great porters in Ngima and Gelbu, and this team of 3 made our trek so enjoyable, thankyou!

Thanks Mads and Amanda, organisation was great and thanks again for your time and efforts.