Kimkim Trip Reviews

When my son said that he had a lifelong dream to see the northern lights, I knew that I'd need the help of a travel agent familiar with northern Scandinavia. A quick internet search led me to Kimkim, which had already done the work of planning the outline for a perfect trip. I had never used an internet based travel agent before, but the idea of using agents based where we would be traveling was quite appealing so I gave them a chance. I was very glad I did.

From the very beginning it was a personal experience. I worked with Ingrid and Hilde, who both were very responsive and worked quite hard to create a custom trip for us. Their communication was excellent, and I especially appreciated their attention to emergency contacts in case anything went wrong. Unfortunately we arrived in Bodø to gale force winds, which immediately threw a wrench into our itinerary since the ferries were canceled. Hilde immediately rebooked our hotels and suggested an alternative and completely worthy itinerary. I expect that a lot of travel agents would let you down in circumstances like this, but not Kimkim. This "above and beyond" service convinced me to use them again for any of my future travel plans.

The trip itself was exceptional, and had many highlights:

- Northern lights. Even though we had poor weather, our guide in Tromsø managed to find the one spot with clear skies and we were rewarded with an amazing display
- Dogsledding. We really appreciated that it was much more than a glorified ride at Trapper's Farm, which has been our past experience with other sledding opportunities
- The people. The staff at every hotel, shop, guided tour, and museum were knowledgeable, friendly, and exceptionally welcoming.
- The sights. Lafoten in particular was extraordinarily beautiful
- The museums. The Bodø aviation museum, and the Tromsø polar and WWII museums were particular highlights. Honorable mention also goes to the science center and planetarium in Tromsø, where we went to ensure at least one sighting of the northern lights.
- The meals. We ate like kings and loved the food!

All in all I can't recommend the Norway tours more highly. There are plenty of sample itineraries to choose from, but the Kimkim agents are perfectly happy to customize one of the tours to your needs. You won't regret it - we certainly didn't!

This is a long overdue review of our fabulous November 2019 trip to Colombia.
Despite a prolonged wait to clear customs, we were greeted by Lina who graciously made sure we were safely transported to our destination. For the next two days she provided an energetic and welcoming introduction to Bogota. In Villa de Leyva Mauricio was a delightful guide, providing a personal and entertaining opportunity to explore area. We really enjoyed his musical background and knowledge.
Natalia brought the Cocora Valley to life despite rain and mud! She is passionate about the flora and fauna and a great ambassador for nature lovers. We enjoyed Salento and Filandia with her and a very special stop at Finca Divisa de Don Juan (coffee farm)
Daniel was our special personality in Medellin. His walking tour and history lesson were amazing. We were appreciative of his attention during our visit to Penol Rock and Guatape making for two rewarding experiences.
Juan was our steady, patient and knowledgable guide in Tayrona Park. We very much enjoyed learning about the area as well as his family background. It was a strenuous excursion and he timed the pace and experiences beautifully to match our requests.
David helped us enjoy Los Pinos. His familiarity with the area diminished our concerns with the muddy, rutted roads to arrive safely at our destination. Again, this guide's love of the area made for a special day.
A highlight of the trip was a visit to Bazurto Market with Carolina. The market was incredibly interesting, and Carolina's presentation, interaction, and selections were memorable. Her class was extraordinary.
Ending our trip in Cartagena, we were entertained by Ingrid - an insightful and fun-loving personality that enriched our time there.
Chio and team were responsive and supportive throughout. We were especially appreciative of their flexibility when our departure coincided with national protests. They made sure our transport got us to the airport with time to spare.
Colombia is filled with beauty, architectural charm, intriguing history and welcoming nationalities.
Thank you for a trip that will not be forgotten!

The trip was beautiful. We saw amazing places and were very happy with location, activity and settings. However going from Manuel Antonio to Arenal takes 5h and might be too ambitious for those on shorter trips

Carlos was very responsive.

This was an excellent trip not only for Jordan but all the facilities extended to us by the Kimkim team. The guides, drivers were all excellent.
Thanks a lot
Ram & Madhu Addanki

Hassan was fantastic booking this trip. I decided to go two weeks before I left. He was able to make all the my requests happen and more! The day before I left I slipped on the sidewalk and fractured my knee. I thought for sure I wasn’t going to be able to go but the doctor cleared me for the trip and I was so excited. He helped me get a better seat on the plane and wheelchair assistance at the airport which was much appreciated. He made sure I was well taken care of throughout my trip.

My driver Abdul took fantastic care of me from the time I arrived until I left! He taught me so much about Morocco’s culture and history while taking me to beautiful places and views along our drive around the country. I've traveled solo a lot but never had a driver before. I wouldn't see Morocco any other way. I felt safe as a solo female traveler and truly got to have best experience from the best driver!

I truly fell in love with Morocco! This trip was my 21st country outside of the USA and first time in Africa. It was above and beyond my expectations. Traveling over 1600 miles by car from Casablanca to Meknes to Fes to Chefchaouen to the Sahara to Rose’s Valley to Marrakesh, and all the stops in between I would do it again in a heartbeat. There is so much to do and see but I truly loved spending time in the desert and exploring everything each stop and city had to offer.

I’ve been humbled by the Berber way of life, by their culture and by their hospitality. Having worked in hospitality for 20 years and living in NYC working tireless hours you can loose site of anything outside of your of day-to-day. I truly found the meaning of hospitality and happiness again in Morocco. Having tea with the nomads really changed my perspective. Seeing a family actually live in a cave in 2020 invite me for tea to provide a stranger hospitality with just enough means to live was so easy for them. It’s hard to imagine they have never read a book, watched tv, surfed the internet or used a cellphone, yet they wanted to have basic human connection over tea. We should all live a little more like the Nomadic Berbers and the world may just feel a little less complicated and more welcoming to everyone. Morocco you have my ❤️!

What an unbelievable trip! I’m not sure what was better; Costa Rica or Carlos! This was my first time using KimKim and it won’t be my last. Carlos planned the perfect trip. From starting out in the rustic Corcovado national park to the cloud forests and then ending at one of the nicest/relaxing hot spring resorts in Arenal. The trip had everything; rainforests, jungles, wildlife, zip lines, bungee jumping, volcanos, delicious food, amazing resorts, beaches, 6 seater airplanes, snakes, night hikes, monkeys, birds, hanging bridges...I could go on and on. The best part was it was all planned by Carlos. We didn’t have to worry about anything. Pickups, transfers, logistics, all the boring stuff no one wants to take care of but needs to be done/planned for trips, Carlos did it. Whatever KimKim is paying Carlos, they should double it. What an amazing trip, all thanks to KimKim and Carlos. Pura Vida!!!!

We had an enjoyable time in Buenos Aires and the Iquazu Falls. Emilce had done a wonderful job for all the transfers between places and the pick ups were on time. Also thank Federico who was so wonderful in guiding us thru the city of Buenos Aires. We learnt a lot about the political background, history and cultures of Argentina. We really appreciate his service. The hotel which Emilce arranged in BA was really good. However we were not very happy about EcoIguazu's tour on the Argintina side. I was not sure about it was the S American Trip's role or the EcoIguazu's role. The guide for the Iguazu Falls on the Argentina side was not good. His didn't understand our questions very well and was not organized at all. Wasting time in making decision what we should do next. I felt so sorry for the tour members who had paid for the boat ride but no seats for them after all. I still wonder how it can happen if they have arranged the boat ride few months ago and still no room for them on the day. Other than that, I enjoyed my trip in Argentina very much. Oh, I forgot to mention about the tango show and the Argentine Experience. Both events were excellent. We enjoyed them very much. Thank you Emilce again for the arrangement. Will recomment KimKim to my friends.

My husband and I did a 10 day Highlights of Morocco tour and it was one of the best trips we’ve ever taken! The booking experience with Megan was quick and easy and she was able to customize the tour to suit our interests and budget. Our driver, Brahim, was absolutely superb! He was a fantastic guide and took care of us from the moment we were picked up at the airport. He was always courteous, timely, and very helpful. During our time in Merzouga, his family had a lovely surprise for us and it was one of the absolute highlights of our trip. Our riads were beautiful and the local guides were very informative and showed us quite a bit during our tours. Our favorite spots were the Sahara Desert and the beautiful medinas in Fes. Our private trip with Wanderlust Voyages was the perfect way to explore the country. Morocco is a beautiful place and the people are so kind and welcoming - we’ll be back again!

My wife and I booked a private 13-day Chefchaouen to Sahara and Beyond trip with Wanderlust.  We had the excellent fortune of being assigned Said Attioui as our driver.  Said went up and beyond to make our trip an incredible experience.  He was knowledgable about every location we visited and made our two weeks in Morocco seamlessly comfortable.  Even though it wasn't on the itinerary, Said made time to help us find and visit the grave of my great grandmother in Casablanca.
Seriously, request Said if you can.  You wont regret it!

Over 13 days, we visited Casablanca, Rabat, Chefchaouen, Volubilis, Fes, Meknes, Merzouga, the Erg Chebbi Dunes, Boumalne Dades, Ouarzazate, Ait Benhaddou, and Marrakech.  Trip highlights included hiking in the High Atlas Mountains, staying in a tented camp in the Sahara desert, being guided to incredible handcrafted goods in the medinas of Fes and Marrakech, and having tea with Said's family in Erfoud.  We were able to see and learn so much but never felt rushed or pressed for time.

While planning the trip, we worked with Megan who used our preferences re must-see sites, trip pacing and budget to create our ideal vacation.  We were especially happy with (1) Megan's hotel picks for us and (2) the fact that she was able to put together our vacation in such a short period of time (I think we first contacted her 3 weeks before our departure date).  We also had wonderful experiences with the site-specific guides we met for day tours in Fes, Meknes, Merzouga, the Toudgha Gorge, the Ourika Valley, and Marrakech.

Many thanks to the Wanderlust team (and especially Said) for enabling us to have such a wonderful experience!

We couldn't have had a better experience than we did in Vietnam and Cambodia thanks to Kimkim. All of our travels went smoothly with people meeting us at the airports and transferring us to our hotels. The local guides were all fantastic with good English skills and great knowledge to share. We especially loved Hui in Hoi An and Se Vannesak in Siem Reap. The accomodations were wonderful and very well located so we could walk to city centers for dinners. We had a great five weeks on the road thanks to Kimkim. Much thanks and appreciation to Will for setting it all up.

This is a great way to plan and book a vacation. Will worked us to put together a wonderful 4 week trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. Our accommodations were perfect- beautiful hotels every one with great staff and morning buffets. Our guides and drivers were always punctual, knowledgeable, and fun to be with. The activities were interesting and fun as well. Everything went as planned and we could just relax and enjoy the trip knowing every detail was well taken care of. We will likely never plan our own international trips again.

Truly the best trip ever!! From planning to execution everything was flawless. 10 days 2 teens and a single Mom not a single argument, PRICELESS!!. Every excursion was amazing. Waterfall rappelling was our adventure highlight. Relaxing in Manuel Antonio was the cherry on top. Between the high end accommodation, fabulous food, wildlife and beaches couldn’t have asked for anything better. Can’t wait to book our next trip.

Isabel Fernandez worked so hard to make our trip to Ecuador so memorable. Every part of the trip was smooth. No hassles in terms of pick ups and transportation. Our guide, Christian was fantastic. We told Isabel what we loved to do as travellers (hiking, nature, etc.) and she worked with us to plan a perfect vacation. She made great suggestions and we worked together to make our Ecuadorian experience so memorable. Rich and Melissa

I had pretty much planned out my trip to Egypt and Jordan on my own, when I decided to contact kimkim to see what assistance might be available. I had used kimkim to help plan a trip to Myanmar which was incredible -far beyond my expectations - and so I decided to use kimkim again for on the ground support in Egypt and Jordan.

I am so glad I did - everything went like clockwork. From the moment we were picked up at the airport in Luxor until we were deposited at the airport in Amman at the end of the trip, it was an incredible journey. Our guide for the Luxor to Aswan portion of the trip, Mahmoud, was terrific. His vast knowledge of Egyptian mythology and history was inspiring and we very much appreciated his guidance and willingness to share with us what life in Egypt is like today for the people who live here.

Likewise with our guide Hisham in Cairo - and here I would like to put in special thanks for Hisham and the other support staff in Cairo. I managed to contract the dreaded TD for a couple of days in Cairo and the support I received was fantastic, from constant checking in to make sure I was okay, help in obtaining antibiotics and the like. Egypt was far more interesting and exciting with the support of Ibrahim and his colleagues than it would have been on our own.

We then flew to Amman, also with the help of Ibrahim. We were met at the Amman airport and whisked through border control like celebrities. The next morning, we met our guide and driver, Abou, whose support was priceless. We talked about what we wanted to do and he strongly suggested that we alter our plans to include an overnight stay in Petra, which we were able to do and which greatly enhanced that experience. Again, Abou's willingness to share with us his life, and what it is like to be Jordanian, greatly enhanced our experience.

Thanks to everyone who helped us along our two weeks in Egypt and Jordan - it was exactly what we wanted, and more.

Pissa was the best guide and the insight and cultural history I learned from the inside was invaluable. High highly recommend KimKim and, if possible, a solo tour with one of their guides.

Every aspect of the trip that Patricia planned for us was flawless. The guides and drivers, particularly Miguel, Daniel, and Inma were so knowledgeable and concerned with our experience and comfort. I have travelled extensively in Europe, individually, as the leader of student groups, and as part of a travel group, and I can say unequivocally that this was the best trip I have taken. I loved meeting Patricia and I especially thank her for her terrific work.

First of all, I want to say thank you to Lena for sticking with us! We took months to plan and finalize our trip, and she was with us through it all, changing our itinerary multiple times and answering our seemingly endless questions promptly!

Jordan was full of natural beauty and we LOVED our hike in Dana and our guide Mohammed. Will never forget having Bedouin tea and freshly warmed pitas with him over lunch. Equally lovely was Wadi Rum. Aicha Camp was gorgeous (and they upgraded us to a panoramic tent - superb!), and our driver on our Jeep tour, Adam, was wonderful. We loved our driver for the first portion of our Jordan trip, Hasan. Always on time and very kind! The only thing I wish we had done differently is make sure that we had transportation arranged for our day at Petra, as our hotel was a bit off the main Tourism Street (Petra Quattro). It was easy to hire our own guide for Petra at the Visitor's Center, but I'm sure Lena could have arranged this for us in advance had we wanted! I also want to note that we loved our cooking lesson at Beit Sitti in Amman our first evening!

Lena was very helpful in prepping us on what to expect during the border crossing at King Hussein Bridge. We were a little nervous, but it went smoothly and our driver Awas was waiting for us on the other side.

Jerusalem was an overwhelming city, but we had the most wondeful guide two days in a row for it and Bethlehem (I loved that we got the same guide as it really allowed you to make a connection). Ibrahim was one of my favorite tour guides ever, anywhere. If I am back in Jerusalem, I know who I am calling. He even checked in on us a few days later to make sure we were okay and ask if he could help us with anything more! The location of our hotel was pretty great too (Gloria on Latin Patriarchate Street near Jaffa Gate). It was definitely older (the dining area is currently being remodeled), but the location makes that worth it.

I thought the price we paid for the trip was quite fair, and appreciated the flexibility Lena showed in booking everything for us.

Thank you again for an unforgettable trip!

Overall we had a really positive experience using KimKim. As two people who don't speak much Spanish, we found their services to arrange tours and transportation to be a huge benefit in making our travel throughout Argentina easier. We were thankful for Virginia's responsiveness and recommendations.
We especially loved El Chalten and Los Glaciares National Park. We only had one small tour/transportation hiccup but Virginia responded right away and came up with a solution quickly.

Amanda planned for my travel companion and I a 8-days, 7-nights trip to Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara. It was both of our first trip to Nepal and I must say it was an eye-opening experience!

Here's what I liked and did not like about the trip:

The positives

- The planning was generally good and made sense. We arrived on late night of 20 February right before the Maha Shivatri festival on 21 February. Instead of planning for us to visit Pasupatinath temple that day (which would have been exploding with millions of worshipers and impossible to get in), Amanda and team planned it on the following day, 22 February, when we still got to experience remnants of the festivities and the crowd, but still be able to get around the temple

- Being flexible in terms of our asks and requirements, e.g.: planning two separate hikes for us when we stated that we wanted to experience a bit of hiking during our trip, and planning a really enjoyable white-water rafting session for us even though we were not in the season for white-water rafting yet. (The rest of the crew had to be made up by other members of the rafting team, but we were good to go with two pax).

- Special mention goes to Ritesh from the Operations team, who has been extremely responsive throughout the trip and helping us whenever things did not go as planned. Due to weather conditions, our Everest scenic flight was cancelled twice, our hot air balloon and helicopter flight to Annapurna base camp were also all cancelled, and he was very diligent and fast in helping us liaise with the respective provider companies, and in helping us get our refunds. The trip would have been quite dreary if not for his help, with so many things being cancelled! So I must really thank him for being there (via text) for us

- Keshab as a guide for Pokhara - He is really young but he made up for it by his boundless energy. He doubled up as both a tour guide and as our trekking guide up the World Peace Pagoda, and was really helpful to us especially throughout our hikes, helping to carry not just one but both our bags as we made the journey up the steps. He also told us interesting stories of the attractions we were in, and made jokes and riddles along the way to liven up the atmosphere, and make sure both of us were well taken care of

- The guesthouses that were booked were really charming and full of the flavours of local Nepali architecture. I especially liked Milla Guesthouse in Bhaktapur and Thamel Villa in Kathmandu. The former felt really cozy with a lady owner who was so friendly and accommodating, and specially prepared our breakfast (baked our bread and made jam for us) late into the night! Whereas the latter was a bit more European in its architecture / chandeliers, but still really charming, and it tied up with a restaurant across the road for breakfast that was really delicious.

The (slight) negatives

- Amanda, while being fairly responsive, regrettably had a slightly different communication style from me. The itinerary she planned was a little high level and vague, and I realised I needed to be very specific when communicating with her, if not her responses may still not really answer the crux of the question. Also, there were some errors in what she communicated with us vis-a-vis what eventually panned out: E.g.: there was no heater in our hotel in Patan - Swotha Traditional Homes, even though she sounded pretty sure there were heaters in all our hotels; Or that after whitewater rafting, as we were enroute from Kathmandu to Pokhara, there were no shower facilities and only a small room for changing (we were of the impression from her there were shower facilities). I had also requested for her to try to put some of the information that she mentioned in our fairly long interactions on KimKim into the final itinerary, e.g.: estimated start and end time every day, emergency contacts, etc. But that was eventually not added into our itinerary and only passed to us on a handwritten paper that could have been easily misplaced on the 2nd day. Again, I acknowledge most of my frustrations could be attributed to a difference in communication styles, but at the amount we were paying: ~USD1.8K per pax for 8 days of mostly 3-star guesthouse accommodation, I believe I was justified to expect a little more

- Our guide in Kathmandu Valley, Pratikshya. She was very comprehensive, fluent in English and detailed in her explanations to us, which I agree with some of the other reviews written here. However, I felt there was still a little room for improvement. Throughout the few days in Kathmandu valley when we visited the various UNESCO world heritage sites, other than Pashupatinath temple, I felt she was a little bit rushed, and I did not have enough time to fully explore the various places or imbibe in the local culture and vibe. This was especially the case in the Bhaktapur Durbar Square, which was really pretty. We just briefly walked into the palace for a very short while (and wasn't sure if there were any other buildings in the square to explore), and then continued on our walk to the hotel. Granted, she did give us our Durbar Square tickets so that we could come back if we wanted to. But in the case of some of the venues, like Bhaktapur, it was a very long walk from our hotel and very difficult for two females to come back all the way in the dark. Also, we were travelling in a very small group of two. However, most of the time, she was walking ahead with my other travel companion and explaining to her, leaving me trailing behind and not knowing what is happening. I think the trip would have been more enjoyable if she made a bit more effort to involve both of us (given it is such a small group). Last but not least, on our hike up to Namobuddha, we were given the choice of two places to eat for lunch - the Namobuddha resort that served farm-to-table organic vegetarian meals, and the monastery restaurant. The former needed to be booked half an hour before we arrived. She briefly mentioned the choices the night before and I opted to decide on the day itself. She asked us for our choice again midway through our hike. However, as the information was incomplete / erroneous and my travel companion was extremely strong-minded, I was compelled to make a decision I did not want at a time I was feeling very exhausted - Pratikshya told us that the resort only had a fixed vegetarian menu every day (without telling us what is the menu that day) whereas the monastery restaurant had an ala carte menu where we can order whatever we want. Also, we could drink beer in the monastery restaurant but not at the resort (something I wanted to do to celebrate our achievement of completing the hike). The impression I got was that the resort was more touristy whereas the monastery restaurant was more authentic. But when we finally made the hike up I realised it was anything but! The monastery restaurant had only a menu handwritten on the board of 7 dishes (most of them included things I could find in my local country like Fried Rice and Fried Noodles), was full of tourists, and last but most importantly, could not serve beer because it was a restaurant owned by the monastery. I had to go the the restaurant opposite if I wanted beer. I felt a little cheated because I might have enjoyed it a little better if I went to the Namobuddha Resort and tried food that was actually grown locally. But there was no more time to try or change my decision after the hike, as we could not afford a slightly longer lunch and had to drive down to Bhaktapur, for which she rushed through anyway.

- Kimkim's payment policy: We were a little uncomfortable having to pay 100% of our trip costs even before the trip commenced, and were worried that Himalayan Trails would not be incentivised to put in good service as a result. Thankfully it turned out OK, but it would be good if kimkim can review its payment policy to leave some percentage (perhaps 10% or so) to be paid at the end of the trip.

Overall the trekking was very well organised with excellent commumication leading up to the trek itself. The rice terraces of Ifugao were truly amazing and better that I expected. Loved the villages and the warm welcome we received throughout our journey. Our guide Marvin was very friendly and led us through well, and has a superb knowledge of the local area, the environment, its people and its customs.

We had to make some initial route adjustmenst due the poor weather and track conditions, and the unforeseen eco-tourism shutdown at Sagada was well covered by the alternative day to the Hapao valley and hot springs. Marvin made it all happen without any stress or fuss.

I would also recommend that hikers be made aware of the need to negotiate the many narrow walls in the rice terraces, some of which are quite high and slippery in places. We had one or two close calls!

For adventurous hikers, this area is a must-do