Personalized trips to Switzerland
for independent travelers

This is our second KimKim trip. We requested a train tour through the Swiss Alps, and that is exactly what we got — “in spades”! 👍👍 The itinerary was well organized, very detailed, and all vouchers were included. We also received guidance during the trip when needed. The train schedule was easy to follow, alpine sites were beautiful, accommodations were very, very nice, and we thoroughly enjoyed every moment. Special thanks to Emilie and all the staff at Kimkim.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Central Luzern

Luzern

Modern hotel that is VERY convenient for train travel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Only five Minutes to the train station

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Parkhotel Schoenegg

Grindelwald

A lovely hotel with a balcony and view of the mountains. There is a shuttle that will deliver to the train station upon departure, it will probably pick you up as well if requested. We walked through town so we could get the lay of the land.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Jägerhof

Zermatt

The location and overall ambience of this hotel is very nice. The view is a fantastic and it’s an extremely convenient location.

Authenticity & Character

There was a lovely balcony

Location

Beautiful view of Matterhorn. The hotel offers a shuttle from the train station upon arrival and departure.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tralala Hotel Montreux

Montreux

Excellent staff and a very convenient location to the train station. There are a few food options, but since they don’t have their own kitchen, it’s better to go to an actual restaurant.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Front desk staff is very helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Swiss Travel Pass

Switzerland

Essential to have!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jungfraujoch, Top of Europe (tickets and seat reservation)

Switzerland

Thank goodness for the detailed write-up for all the transport to the top!

Quality of Experience

A fantastic day. (We didn’t think it was worth the trip to Lauterbrunnen. It was very busy and not especially scenic.)

Transport

It’s a little confusing about which ticket to scan for access to the various gondolas but we just kept them all handy and scanned until we got to the right one.

Lucerne Private Guided Walking Tour

Lucerne

Beatrice was lovely.

Quality of Experience

A lot was covered in 1.5 hours.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Excellent communication and knowledge of Luzerne

Transport

An easy walk around the city.

Matterhorn Glacier Paradise (Round-trip Tickets)

Zermatt

This was our favorite activity.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wine tasting with Swiss Cheese & Charcuterie in Chexbres Lavaux vineyards domain (30min by train from Montreux)

Switzerland

This was quite enjoyable. They provided a large charcuterie board along with six wine tastings. It was easy to get there.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Zurich:
Hotel Central Plaza was a great choice. It was not only well-appointed, but it was the perfect location. Access to the amazing Hauptbahnhof made it extra fun.
Vanessa was an excellent guide. We wish we had booked more time - it was that good.
The suggestions were very helpful - museums etc. helped on a rainy day.

Trains: We cannot say enough about the itinerary planning, timing, and guidance on connections. We LOVED them..

Colmar: Great choice for our Alsace stop.
Hotel Turenne was lovely, new, fresh, great service, and very well located.
Louie, our Epicurean guide was excellent, friendly, and very attentive. The amount of cycling (15 miles) was perfect for us, and itinerary was well curated.

Lucerne: (not feedback for KimKim) My nostalgic choice of a key stop. In retrospect, now knowing all of the Alps we were going to experience - would now probably skip Lucerne.
Hotel Wilden Mann was a great location, and in retrospect was very well-managed for an ancient and historic building.
The guide Sarjon (sp?) for our tour was knowledgable, but very soft-spoken, did not make sure that we could both hear, and did not volunteer information while walking from information point to point. He would answer question in a low conversational way with Maria, and I could not hear at all. It was a difficult, and bad experience.

Locarno: The trip to Locarno was beautiful, and a lovely experience on its own.
Hotel Lago Maggiore was perhaps the best hotel throughout our trip. Location was superb; room and balcony fresh, spacious and beautiful. Breakfast service was the best. Service people excellent.
Rafaella, our guide was phenomenal. Could have spent the entire day with her. Great suggestions as well.
Valentine's suggestions for restaurants and hikes etc. were very helpful.

Zermatt: Wonderful trip through the Centovalli to Domodossola and on to Zermatt - based on Rafaella's suggestion.
Hotel Julen was a cute hotel, nice view, AC, and an amazing restaurant, the Schaferstube. The staff was unfriendly, and their breakfast service staff was uneven, from OK to terrible.
Valentine's suggestions for other activities were as always excellent.
We enjoyed all of our time in Zermatt, and were literally sad to leave so soon.

Montreux:
Hotel Golf Rene Cape was a beautiful location with spectacular views, access to the promenade, and transportation. The staff was lovely, the service excellent, but the accommodations were sub-par, especially the bathroom. It was also hot due to no air conditioning. We realized that our late change from Glion to Montreux put Valentine in a difficult situation trying to find us a hotel in town - and she did well considering.
E-Bike tour in the Lavaux vineyards: Our guide Yves was just terrific. He was super-knowledgeable. He rode a bit ahead of us, not realizing that when we get on bikes, we do not want an easy ride. We are seeking not only a tour, but a good work-out as well - and he never quite "read the room" on that. So, we didn't feel connected in a way that we could carry on a conversation, and ask questions while pedaling. When we stopped, he inundated us (almost overloaded) with amazing geological, agricultural, and historical information. (We would rather have too much, than not enough.) We were a bit surprised that the entire riding portion of the tour was only 56 minutes total. We expected 2-3 hours, like the Alsace tour. The vineyards and the visit to Chapuis vineyard was magical, and tasty. We realized after that we could have contracted Yves for as long as we wanted. That perhaps should be a question to be asked prior to booking.
We so wanted to spend more time on bikes that the next day we traveled to Chatel St Denis to rent bikes from Alexandre at E-Bike Plaisir, (who Yves contracts with). He provided us a custom itinerary based on our request for 40+ Km, and we had a delightful afternoon that took us through farm country, Mt Pellerin, the Lavaux vineyards etc. We got our fix.
Loved our time in Montreux - the people were friendly and welcoming, the Freddy Mercury Days vibe was fun. It lived up the its reputation as the Swiss Riviera.

Grindelwald: The Golden Pass trip was a lovely experience. We had no idea what to expect in Grindelwald, but it was awe inspiring, in the spectacle, the infrastructure, the options, everything.
Sunstar Hotel: Crazy beautiful view, modern, fresh, well-appointed. Only down-side was dealing with the multitudes of bus tours pouring in, and constant navigating through crowds. The room was warm, again no air conditioning - and buggy. We had to get bug spray to handle it. No screens as always.
The bike tour out of Interlaken was an early morning - but the tour was excellent, actually amazing - and Marceau our guide was delightful and knowledgeable.
Valentine's suggestion to change from Wengen to Grindelwald was a great decision. We visited Wengen, and it was a bit too sleepy for us. Her Grindelwald suggestions were perfect as always.
We could have spent more time there - it was that good.

Zurich:
Central Plaza Hotel - again, would not hesitate to stay there if we return. The rooms, the staff and the breakfast service were excellent.

Car Transfers: Probably did not need the transfers from central Plaza to the Hauptbahnhof They were unnecessary.
Luggage Transfers: We hated them - then loved them. For our situation using only a carry-on suitcase and a backpack - it made it quite difficult because everything we needed for the morning rituals went in our suitcases. They were (necessarily) too early for that reason - it forced 5:30 wake-up - not ideal when on vacation. That's when we hated them. BUT, when navigating stairs at the train stations and making connections - we loved them, because even a carry-on fully-packed suitcase is heavy - and we were able to avoid any potential for a fall or injury amidst the throngs of people dragging their huge bags down and up flights of stairs. Would we do it again? Yes - just for the safety factor at our ages.

We loved having lovingly pre-planned excursions (bike trips, tours) as well as days when we could choose what to do. On those days Valentine gave us detailed and amazing suggestions, most of which we happily did!

Valentine was available to us day and night 7 days a week during this trip, answering questions and helping us navigate any uncertain parts. We've never had a travel company provide such on-the-ground assistance at a moment's notice. Valentine gave her heart and soul to us and shared her knowledge of this beautiful area so generously. We are already recommending her and KimKim without reservation to our friends!

Hotel Reviews

Sunstar Hotel & SPA Grindelwald

Grindelwald

The view was exceptional. No air conditioning which meant leaving the door with no screens open all night, resulting in bugs coming in and crawling all over us all night. The staff gave us a can of bug spray which seemed to help. This hotel hosts bus groups of 40 coming and going at all times, so busy. We liked the restaurant quite a bit! Staff was very helpful

Tradition Julen Hotel

Zermatt

AMAZING view of Mt Matterhorn! Excellent restaurant downstairs for authentic and local food. The staff ranged from inattentive to rude, with one exception Coco who was extremely helpful.

Hotel Golf René Capt

Montreux

Amazing view. Restaurant was ridiculously expensive. No air conditioning, hot sweaty nights. Bathroom rather inconvenient, a lovely garden area in the back yard: we had several evenings there relaxing. Right on the walking promenade which takes you into the center of town, as well as to the Castle.

Hotel Lago Maggiore

Locarno-Muralto

You won't believe the views. Wonderful breakfast, fitness center, perfect location.

Romantik Hotel Wilden Mann

Lucerne

Great job managing such an old building. The air conditioning was wonky, loud. Great location, kind and thoughtful staff.

Hotel Turenne

Colmar

Chic, walking distance to Little Venice and the Old Village area, responsive staff, great breakfast.

Central Plaza Hotel

Zürich

Perfect location, small rooms, good air conditioning, excellent staff

Activity Reviews

Guided City Tour of Lucerne

Lucerne

Not great, only due to our guide not being a skilled communicator. We were glad to see the sights we saw, but couldn't hear him very well (there were only 2 of us) and we had to continually ask questions to get him to talk.

Mount Pilatus, Silver Round Trip (Tickets)

Lucerne

Wow! Cog wheel train, gondola, chairlift, AND restaurants at the top! A singing group was performing when we arrived and we felt like we were in a movie. We hiked at the top for a couple of hours: strenuous and wonderful. Also fun to watch the paragliders take off up close.

Chillon Castle (Entrance tickets)

Switzerland

Way more interesting than we thought it would be!! We got the audio tour receivers and this made all the difference (6 ch).

Zürich City Card (72h) : the whole city with one card!

Zürich

Helpful

E-bike tour Lauterbrunnen & Valley of 72 Waterfalls

Switzerland

We loved our guide Marceau and the other travelers who were on this tour (8 of us in all). The cycling was through forests and small villages and delightful! (about 22 miles). This is NOT a beginner bike ride, as some of the gravel paths are very steep and have sharp turns. The lunch our guide prepared was absolutely delightful, and the waterfalls were amazing. Highly recommend.

Jungfraujoch, Top of Europe (tickets and seat reservation)

Switzerland

Unbelievable views, very crowded. We chose to hike down and leave from another train station, which really gave us a feel for the area.

E-bike tour in the UNESCO Lavaux vineyards

Montreux

The views on this ride were life-changing. We wished we could have had more time mainly because we wanted more bike time to actually work out. Yves' knowledge of the history and geology of the vineyards and of the wine was amazing. The wine tasting was personal and fun! We learned a lot!!

Gornergrat panoramic train (return day-ticket & Priority boarding)

Switzerland

Awe inspiring, everything worked like clockwork. For some reason we had a hard time finding the train station for this particular train, but locals helped us out! We hiked up toward the top as well and this was literally breathtaking!

Locarno walking tour and panoramic boat ride

Locarno

Rafaella was a fantastic guide for us, gave us so many ideas and suggestions. She was a delight and we wished we had more time with her!

E-bike: The Epicurean Tour

Colmar

We loved our guide Louie for this private bike and winery tour. Lunch was okay, not much choice. The wine tasting at Cattin was fantastic!

At Leisure : Stein Am Rhein

Switzerland

super crowded.

Private Walking Tour - History & Mystery of Zurich

Zürich

Vanessa was amazing! We had a rainy day walk with her and we were sad when the tour was over. She recommended local restaurants.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Valentine was a pleasure to work with. The itinerary she curated for us was well planned with thoughtful touches. Her communication before and during the trip was prompt and knowledgeable—she answered all of our questions and helped us make some changes on the fly which made our trip feel seamless. We really couldn’t have asked for a better family vacation—the accommodations, activities, and recommendations for things to do were all nicely tailored to ensure our young kids had a great time. Because of Valentine’s efforts, we were able to just kick back, relax, and focus on having a great time in Switzerland!