Kimkim Trip Reviews

THe booking was easy and straight forward and Bas was efficient in responding promptly, however the order of activities could have been much better as we suffered from altitude sickness all through the hike - whihc we did only 2 days after arriving from sea-level. As we were there for two weeks with only 5 days on teh hike it would have been possible to do more of the lower altitude activities first so as to acclimatise better before the hike. The hotels turned out to have very different quality rooms and even though we paid 6 months in advance we seemed to get almost the worst room in each hotel. This may have been cost saving but was not even discussed with us if we would like to have a decent room and pay a bit more.

Thoroughly enjoyed this trip, loved the people especially Sherpa Pemba and Dawa. The drivers were awesome and the choice of accommodation was spot on so we were well taken care of. Erin was friendly, responsive and understood the needs of the group well.

Loved Loved Loved this trip. Erin Green was wonderful to work with - very knowledgeable and accomodating throughout. She comes highly recommended along with her team of Pemba and Dawa who made this trip extra special.

We'll be telling everyone about kimkim- thank you all so much again for an unforgettable adventure.

Ellie ter Haar

The entire trip went as smoothly as possible. All transfers were on time, all guides were quite knowledgeable and gracious hosts. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would love to return. We had many unique experiences and were grateful to see them all. The most spectacular were the Beagle Channel tour in Ushuaia, the hiking in El Chalten and the Perito Moreno Glacier tour near El Calafate.

Brahim was an excellent trip planner for us. We are retired univ profs in our 70s, fit and adventurous and well-traveled. Not having been in Morocco before, I was excited to see city life, the Atlas mountains, village life, the desert on camels, casbahs and Brahim planned all of that for us quickly (as we made our plans almost at the last minute), responding to emails right away and especially contacting us in the Berber village by phone to organize a change in train travel, all of which worked out very well. My husband and I like to engage with our guides and discuss not only all we learned from them about Morocco, but also their lives and experiences. The Dar Baraka in Marrakesh was wonderful, esp the roof top where we had breakfast. I can't remember the name of our first guide in Marrakesh, who we enjoyed being with. He also taught French in secondary school, and as we were teachers (and my husband speaks French) we got along very well. Our guide for our tour in the desert and Ait Benhaddou was Rashid (from Essaouira) -- another great companion and good conversationalist. The driver was excellent, which we appreciated. Our guide Samir accompanied us to the Berber home stay, where we met the 80 year old pater familias and other family members. Wonderful! And our day in Tangier with Khalid was also memorable -- beautiful weather, interesting sights, good conversation. I'm so glad I found your website -- it was truly a great experience!

My wife and I are very grateful for the fantastic support we have received from Erin and the local guide Chhiring. They moved so rapidly, reorganizing our whole itenerary after it became evident we couldn't do the EBC + Gokyo tour anymore due to bad weather.

We decided to do the fantastic Annapurna Circuit. Definite hiking highlights here are the Tilicho Lake and Thorong La Pass, but for us, the experience is also elsewhere. For example, the fantastic food you eat on the way, meeting other trekkers, the peace and calmness of life, no internet and mobile phone connection, and even the unfortunate event of blocked roads due to busses not being able to continue in the mud.

Throughout our trek, Erin was in close contact with our Guide Chhiring. To us, this just shows so much dedication to her profession and emotional connection. It goes therefore without saying that we are extremely happy with the great travelling experience and the fantastic support we received from Erin and Chhiring all the way through! Definitely recommend to go on tour with them!

I have a few requirements when I travel: I don't like to fight for space with loads of tourists; I like to see inaccessible or unusual places; and although I tend to travel alone, I like to be part of a group to share my experiences.
From the moment I asked my first question about Khopra Danda, I knew I was in good hands. To plan a holiday into the unknown requires complete trust in the company you deal with - this includes Ngima (the owner of NMMT), the guides and the porters. No question was too much or inconsequential.
During the briefing, the night before we left, the group of three Australians and three Americans instantly bonded - a great sign for the upcoming 7 days of trekking and transport.

Our main guide, Lhakpa, set a steady, manageable pace which managed our energy reserves throughout the trip.

The first part of the trek was to get to Ghorepani and Poon Hill. This is clearly a popular destination, as the 3,400 stairs were never empty, and the dawn viewing was inundated with tourists. None of that mattered: we were entertained and looked after the whole way; and the views were spectacular!
Throughout the entire trek, both the food and the views just got better every day.

Out of the six of us, two suffered from upset bellies at various points in time and we all had our own special pace to keep us going. This meant that Lhakpa needed to discuss with the group new plans each day. For example, one day we shortened our hike, and on another we pushed on further than we thought possible. This would not be possible with an experienced guide!

Lhakpa also seemed to be able to get us the best of everything! From mountain-side seats on our flight, to top-floor rooms in Ghorepani, to double rooms in overcrowded lodges.

It is not just walking, eating and sleeping involved in trekking. We often discussed local politics and religions in an effort to understand the local culture, something that our guides were only too willing to educate us on. Old customs, overthrown royalty, yaks and naks, yeti and wildlife (leopards, tigers and wolves) were everyday conversations.

The highlight of the Khopra Danda Trek was the day we hiked to Kaire Lake, at 4660m. We set off before dawn and returned as the sun was setting. It was a truly humbling experience to climb over 1,000 metres amongst some of the biggest mountains in the world. To reach Kaire Lake, a holy place for both Hindu and Buddhist, was not only exhilarating, but also calming.
Out of all the people who stayed at Khopra Lodge, we were the only group to make it, to which I credit our wonderful guides.

I would book another trek through Ngima again, no doubt at all. And if you made it through this review, then you should book one as well!

Our trip to Nepal was amazing! Erin did an excellent job of organising our trip, and responding to our queries. Our guides while up in the mountains, Pemba and Dawa, were incredible- kind, attentive and great company. Our stay in Manang was excellent- the views of the mountains there are beautiful and we hope that Hotel Mystic does very well, as they took very good care of us! Would happily recommend KimKim and Himalayan Trails to anyone else looking to do some trekking or exploring in Nepal! :)

As I only delt with Amanda online and very briefly in Nepal I gave 4 stars, this is not a reflection on her service as she was very helpful and easy to liaise with. I wanted to save the five star rating for our wonderful guide Sonam and porter Mik Ma (hope i spelt his name right). Everything was perfect. My first trek and apart from it hurting badly on my very sole it was awsome.. Josh

Carmen set up a trip of a lifetime for our family. We were impressed with every aspect of our journey. From our driver, hotel rooms, and general itinerary - all of it was superb.

Our driver (Haitham Shaltoot) was way more than just a driver. Immediately upon greeting us at the airport he was asking us our likes and dislikes for food, and what we expected from our visit to Jordan. He became our driver, cultural adviser, and tour guide. Without Haitham our trip would have been great, but with him our trip turned into something special that we will always remember. He was great with both of our boys (5 and 10), and ensured that they were always included. We were all saddened to say goodbye to him at the airport on our last day - he had become part of the family.

We met a tremendous guide at Little Petra (Qassim Mohammad). Qassim led us through Little Petra and we were so impressed that we asked him to lead us through the desert to the Monastery at Petra. Qassim not only led us to the Monastery, but he also explained all of the wildlife and vegetation along our journey. We all learned a great deal from Quassim specifically about the Bedouin way of life. He got along so well with our children that he invited us over for dinner after our visit to Petra. His whole family showed us tremendous hospitality and my wife was able to get the experience of our dreams - learning how to cook Arab food from an Arab woman.

I cannot recommend Carmen enough - you cannot go wrong working with her.

Brad

Great trip but missing voucher so did not know the plans for the big birthday day. Had to make other plans.

We did a two-week custom tour, with guides, hotels, ferries, transfers, etc Tasos helped me come up with itinerary and responded to my questions and suggestions. He was great.

It was pretty complicated but it went off without a hitch. When I had questions, Tasos was great about getting back to me quickly.

We went from Athens to spetses, Napthia, micenae, Olympia, Navpaktos, meteora, and Delfi. 3000 years in 12 days. Greece was amazing!

The brief for our trip was culture, trekking and wildlife. The itinerary was finalised months beforehand, apart from the very end which was subject to confirmation. Mads suggested various options for earlier in the trip depending on how we departed from Nepal but being realistic, this was never going to happen as it would have meant changing the whole itinerary. In the end, we agreed to go to Suklaphanta but this was the most disappointing part of the trip. October is the wrong time of the year, apart from anything else.

Our main guide was very pleasant but as a trekking guide he didn't usually come in to museums with us and didn't seem particularly knowledgeable about flora and fauna. Lodge staff were all very helpful and nice and the guides were generally very good. We loved the scenery in the Annapurnas and seeing a tiger in Bardia was a highlight of the trip.

Ngima and his team has provided an amazing first time Nepal experience for us. We had a very long conversation via this portal as we cannot finalize our arrival/departure dates to/from Nepal, but Ngima was ever patient in waiting and answering all our inquiries. He was also very flexible in changing the itinerary according to our preference. He managed to arrange everything (itinerary, flight, permits, tea house booking, etc.) without any issues despite having a very short lead time on hiking peak season.

We were personally fetched from the airport and directly sent to the hotel by Ngima in Kathmandu. The hotel room we stayed in Kathmandu is very well maintained and spacious. I observed that Ngima and his team really tried to get the best accommodation possible. This is also evident during the trek. Of course, you cannot expect the same level of cleanliness and comfort on mountain tea houses, but the accommodations we’ve stayed usually had the basics (i.e. comforter, hot shower, bottled/filtered water, wi-fi, power outlet, etc. – may or may not be chargeable). Some of the tea houses we stayed-in also provided remarkable view of snow capped mountain peaks which personally is the best place to sit and have a sip of piping hot coffee/tea in the morning or afternoon.

The night before we departed for Pokhara, Ngima and Ang Gelu – our guide met and briefed us on what to expect and see during the trek. Upon arrival to Pokhara airport, we were met by our porter (who is also named Ngima) and traveled by land for 2 hours until we reached the jump off point for trekking. Both Ang Gelu and Ngima were friendly and competent. Ang Gelu was very patient and let us trek at our own pace. We never felt that we were rushed and pressured. He regularly asked if we were already tired from walking and needed rest. We were always given morning and afternoon tea/coffee breaks which we really appreciated. Ngima, though shy, is very strong and funny. Ngima and Ang Gelu are both knowledgeable on the mountain trails and are always ready to answer our trivial questions. Every night during dinner, Ang Gelu provides a quick briefing for our next day activity. He also gets our dinner and breakfast preference in advance to ensure that we can have our meals on time.

Our flight back home was also re-scheduled few hours later so once we returned to Kathmandu, Ngima met with us again and helped buy some stuff to bring back home. He even accompanied us to Boudhanath temple to have different experience of Nepal apart from trekking. This was not part of our original itinerary but Ngima gladly accompanied and sent us back to Kathmandu Airport. He even provided some souvenir to for us to keep.

Over all, we are very satisfied with the trip provided by Ngima and his team. The trip has a very personal touch and makes you feel at home away from home.

Firstly, Kana (who you've asked us to rate above) initially handled our booking but we were then changed to Shakira when Kana went on maternity leave and then had no one specifically for the last week when Shakira went to Japan herself. These changes did not cause any problems but were a bit disconcerting. Obviously dealing with one consultant all the way through would be preferable.

And certainly one of the things we really liked was your responsiveness when we had a query, including one when we were in Japan. This was excellent.

Overall the trip was great and everything went very smoothly. The only hiccup was on Day 20. Because of flooding our train from Kii-Katsuura was 4 hrs late getting to Nagoya which meant we well and truly missed our connecting train to Tokyo. However JR were very efficient in getting us on to another train once we had arrived in Nagoya.

Your organisation was excellent. All of our train and bus journeys, our accommodation and pre-arranged guides and events happened exactly as planned. The accommodation you booked for us included traditional ryokans as we had requested and these were a great experience. Your advice re on-forwarding of luggage proved to be spot on and we ended up really appreciating not having to lug it all around all the time. All our guides and pre-arranged experiences (e.g. tea ceremony, Kyoto bike ride) were excellent.

Your documentation was really excellent, very comprehensive. The key Itinerary document was comprehensive, well laid out and very useful. The booklets for each location (Tokyo, Kyoto etc) were also really comprehensive and useful.

There are a few comments etc we would like to make, not necessarily in any order.

Your book said the Daiwa Roynet in Kanazawa might not want to assist with filling out of Takkyubin forms. In fact they could not have been more helpful. Maybe they have had a change of attitude.

Your documentation suggests tipping in Ryokans. This seems to be at odds with other advice, e.g. from Japan Tourism who say no. This needs some clarification.

The map and location description for our Minshuku in Tsumago were hopelessly inadequate. A much more detailed map and description are needed. Noting that it is very close to the Tourist Information Centre would be a good start. We only found it after enquiring there.

The itinerary said to get to our hotel in Kyoto to take exit 22 from Shijo station. There is no exit 22. This should read exit 2.

The itinerary says the train from Shin-Osaka to Kii-Tanabe is "as scenic ride along the coast for nearly the whole route". That's a bit misleading. In fact it is nowhere near the coast for most of the journey and you really only get the odd glimpse of coast.

The information on Shirakawago is a bit misleading if you take the public bus from Kanazawa as we did. The Shirakawago booklet implies that the public bus stops adjacent to the open air museum at the south end of town and talks about immediately crossing the suspension bridge. This is where all the tourist buses stop but not the public bus which stops at the information centre at the north end of town, nowhere near the suspension bridge.

We would suggest changing how you organise the Nakasendo walk section - days 9 and 10 of our itinerary. You had us taking a limited express train from Matsumoto to Nakatsugawa then a local train back up the line to Nagiso then walking from Nagiso to Tsumago that afternoon. Next day walking to Magome and catching a bus to Nakatsugawa. After reviewing this a day or so before day 9 I decided we would do it the other way around. Thus on day 9 we took the train to Nakatsugawa, then took the bus to Magome (there was a bus essentially immediately) and then walked to Tsumago. On Day 10 we walked Tsumago to Nagiso, took a local train to Nakatsugawa and then continued on as originally planned. I think this works better for a couple of reasons. Firstly it gives you all afternoon to walk to Tsumago without any time pressure due to having to catch a bus. The other way around you are under time pressure to get to the Magome bus in time, and in fact we met another couple organised by Inside Japan Australia who did it the way you planned and due to reasons associated with their accommodation had to really hurry to get the Magome bus. Secondly, doing it Magome to Tsumago is easier in that it is more downhill than uphill. Doing it this way then makes for a very leisurely walk to Nagiso on the second day and plenty of time to explore Tsumago if needed and Nagiso. There is a bit of wait in Nagiso to catch a local train to Nakatsugawa but there are things to see there - the historic wooden suspension bridge, impressive river and an excellent park on the other side of the river. Overall I was very happy that we switched this around and would recommend that you consider doing so yourselves in future.

Having the pre-organised shuttle bus to get from Narita to our hotel on arrival was a good thing but for the return journey to Narita on departure I would suggest that you offer catching the train as an option. By this stage we were very familiar with how the trains worked etc and this would have been an easy and quicker (and presumably less expensive) option than the shuttle bus.

So what did we really like? Everything! The Japanese people are so friendly, efficient and helpful. The food was a great experience although Japanese food for breakfast was not really to our liking! The language was challenging but we always coped with a mix of Google translate (having a translate app on our phone was very useful), signs and what little language each of us had. The autumn colours up around Takayama and Matsumoto and other places were spectacular. We loved all the gardens and the temples, shrines and castles are amazing. We thought Kanazawa was fabulous with so many and varied things to do, We thought that Arashiyama was a better place than Nara - we did the Hozu River boat ride and that was a real highlight - thoroughly recommend it. Although you did not organise it, the five day trek along the Kumano Kodo trail was also a highlight for us. We loved it. We don't know if you offer that as an option but if not we would highly recommend that you do for appropriate (fit and healthy - it's quite challenging!) clients.

Would we recommend Inside Japan to others? Absolutely.

I booked a trip from Quito to Guayaquil prior to a Sierra Club Trip to the Galapagos.
I was hesitant booking the trip and paying online.
Mathias was great. He promptly answered all my questions. We went through three versions of the trip until I was happy with it.
The trip was better than I expected. The hotels were wonderful. Christian, our tour guide/driver, gave us an insight into the highlands of Ecuador that we will always remember.
We especially enjoyed the walking tour of Quito, hikes in Mindo, Ingapirca ruins, hiking in Cajas, and Cuenca.

Really wonderful experience from start to finish. Exceptionally well taken care of by my guide, Sonam and my helper Tarmring. It was culturally magnificent, rewarding and the best in every facet.

We enjoyed our trip to Jordan very much. It was very well planned out. We got to see and experience everything on our list! It was a fast pace, but did allow some down time for a bit of relaxation at the Red Sea and Dead Sea.

Our guide at Petra, Merriam, was exceptional! She invited us to dinner at her sister's house, which allowed us to experience true Bedouin hospitalty.

Our drivers were competent and experienced. We only wish their use of mobile phones during driving was less frequent.

The hotels were occasionally disappointing. The Grand Hotel in Madaba was especially shabby. However, we really enjoyed the Wadi Rum Aicha Camp!

It was simply amazing! From the early planning to the quick response to our pre visit questions, Adam and Ging we’re wonderful. We couldn’t have asked for more.
Both our Vietnam crew and Cambodian crew were fabulous. We fell in love with both countries because of them and had an truly authentic experience. I could write for hours about how great each guide, mechanic and driver were. They were kind, funny, unbelievably helpful and knowledgeable!
We can’t wait to recommend them to others!
Thank you so much to all of them!

David was excellent would definitely recommend him and the company.