Kimkim Trip Reviews for Australia

We loved every part of our trip to Sydney and Cairns! It was a breeze traveling around Australia with the private transfers and accommodations set up. We visited the Great Barrier Reef, the rainforest, the opera house, multiple beaches, museums, shopped, ate and drank our way down under on our free days. We never had to take an Uber or order a taxi as everything was within walking distance, our excursions picked us up directly or we had a private car to and from airports. The app Jon had has download after booking was amazing. Every trip was laid out with contact information and booking details. Recommendations for everything and assistance ready if needed. Jon was easy to reach and even called personally twice to confirm our wishes. 10/10 will work with KimKim again.

Overall a great 5 days! Special mention to Fred and John, our guides on Tiwi Islands. Also the small plane flight over Kakadu and rock pool swims in Litchfield were highlights. Possibly a little too much driving, particularly for my 10 year old son. There was one unfortunate snafu involving the car transfer from Darwin airport to the hotel but that was not the fault of Asko or KimKim.

We had an amazing time visiting Australia. Sabina was awesome to work with. She planned out an excellent itinerary and maximized our excursions to allow us to see as much of Australia in our limited time to visit. We were able to visit all the highlights - Sydney, Ayers Rock, and Cairns (Great Barrier Reef). Sabina made the travel within country and all our accommodations, transportation, and flights arrangements, and everything went perfect. When there was a change from JetStar to the flight times prior to our trip, she quickly reorganized the excursions to ensure we were still able to do everything we wanted to see. I highly recommend working with KimKim and if you are visiting Australia definitely ask for Sabina to help you set up your itinerary.

KimKim Australia Tours October 2023

First of all, Kerrie and Gary were great to work with to make our dream vacation to Australia a reality. My first contact was with Kerrie. Gary took over when Kerrie was not available. Their quick response to our needs and questions was great. Kerrie designed our vacation to encompass all the aspects of Australia we were looking for in a 9-day whirlwind vacation, most of which ended up being totally different from what we had in mind. Kerrie took what we wanted to experience and used a more user-friendly trip itinerary than we had envisioned. We had two hiccups with our transportation but they both worked out ok. The tours were all great, over all the transportation was what we needed, the hotels were great, everyone we encountered was helpful and friendly.
We used Uber to get from the cruise port to our hotel – Rendezvous Hotel Sydney, The Rocks. This was a quaint hotel about 2 blocks from the cruise port. The only bad thing about our first night there was getting to the room. They had us on the first floor – which sounds great except we had to pull our suitcases up 10 steps to the first floor, go down 2 steps in the hallway, up two more steps and immediately down 2 steps to get to the room. Same thing going back to reception at check out the next morning. This would not have been bad except we had 2 big suitcases and 2 carry-ons to get to the room. The room was more of an apartment – with a steep flight of stairs to the bedroom/bath. Since we were just staying the one night, we left our suitcases downstairs in the ‘living room’. – This was something Kerrie/Gary would not have known when booking the hotel and it was a nice change from the ship stateroom and regular hotel rooms.
In the afternoon of our arrival, we had a half day Panoramic Sydney Sights tour with our tour guide, Tom, with AEA Luxury Tours. This was a good overview of the city and Tom was great with the history of the city and what we saw.
Transport to Sydney airport was uneventful and though delayed, the flight from Sydney to Cairns was also uneventful. Our transport to Port Douglas from Cairns airport was uneventful.
Our stay at Meridian Port Douglas was delightful. Mini apartments surrounded the pool with walkouts to the pool. The staff at the Meridian was great, giving us information on the city, and the locations of different shops, restaurants and post office. Amanda was the main person at the Meridian that we talked with during our stay. She even showed us to our room and explained how the a/c worked and where the washer/dryer was. We did not have cell phone service while in Australia. Amanda arranged transportation for one of our excursions as well as helped us with our first mix-up with our scheduled transportation from Port Douglas to Cairns. Amanda contacted Hughes Chauffeured Cars, our scheduled transfer company, to inquire where our driver was. When, after an hour, our driver still had not come, Amanda contacted a transfer company the Meridian advertises to inquire about transportation for us to Cairns. Everyone at the Meridian was gracious and very helpful. The Meridian was very well situated for walking everywhere in Port Douglas and transportation. We were about 2 blocks from town and the beach. Our first tour in Port Douglas was to the Great Barrier Reef. We were picked up in front of the Meridian and driven to the dock. Everything we wanted to do – semi-submersible, mainly – was included in the tour price. The only things we had to pay for were drinks while on the tour and souvenirs. This was one of the highlights of our trip.
Our second tour ‘Ngana Julaymba Dungay’ – We all Going Daintree’ ended up being a full day tour instead of half day (which turned out to be great). We were picked up and dropped off in front of the Meridian. Once again a highlight of our trip. Our tour guide, Juan, a local Aboriginal of the Kuku Yalanji people, was great. He took us to a coastal region near Mossman where members of our group found a sand crab, mud crab, scallops and mud snails in the Mangroves on the beach. Juan cooked what we had found on the beach to go with the wraps and fresh fruit for lunch. He also explained the vegetation in the Mossman Gorge, showing us a tree that had been bent into a directional arrow. We learned a lot about the Kuku Yalanji people from Juan.
Our private tour of the Tropical Animal Rehabilitation Center in Port Douglas was another highlight of our trip as we were able to hold a Koala (for a picture) and feed kangaroos and wallabies. We even had 2 parrots join us for lunch. The information on wildlife and how they rehabilitate them was invaluable.
The Pacific Hotel Cairns was in a good spot for walking around the port area and getting transportation to the Outback for our tour. The hotel staff was good about getting us a taxi to the bus terminal for our tour as well as holding one of our bags until we returned.
We took a coach from the transit station in Cairns to Undara Experience Resort near Mount Surprise. This was a great experience for us as it was a ‘semi-local’ coach from Cairns to Mount Surprise so we were able to see different towns along the way.
The coach driver, Dave, asked if we had transport from the bus stop to the resort as it was a 15 KM road to the resort. Dave was kind enough to contact the resort to verify if we had transportation and arrange it for us. He was also the coach driver on our return to Cairns the next day and inquired about our stay there.
We went on the Wildlife at Sunset tour seeing lots of kangaroos on the property and bats at one of the lava tubes. The next morning, we went on the Archway Explorer tour which took us further into two different lava tubes in the Undara Volcanic National Park. Our accommodation was half of a train sleeper car, and the dining/bar area was made up of antique train cars.
Back to Sydney from Cairns with time to explore the Harbor. Dinner on the pier and another 2 nights at the Rendezvous Hotel Sydney the Rocks.
Our last tour was a day excursion to the Blue Mountains National Park with our guide Paul, with AEA Luxury Tours. Our first stop was at Calmsley Hill, a working farm home to farm animals, Kangaroos, Emus, and Koalas. We were able to pet the Koalas. We had several stops at lookout points of the Blue Mountains, including a beautiful waterfall at Govetts Leap and the last stop at Eaglehawk Lookout for a view of the 3 Sisters. Our final stop of the tour was at the Blue Mountains Botanic Gardens.
I can’t thank Kerrie and Gary enough for making our dream vacation to Australia a reality.

This trip was amazing. It was a 76 day trip to see both Australia and New Zealand. My Specialist Liz Neal was amazing and fantastic. She worked with me for almost a year to organize everywhere I was going to go and the day trips and I also wanted to make sure that I had drivers to pick me up from the Airport and for the daily outings and they were there. The booklets that she sent me with all the daily information of all the outings and plane information was a fantastic idea. I carried it everywhere and will use it when I do my photo album.

The only thing is that I need to keep some days off for myself. I was so excited about this trip and I wanted to see everything that I booked something every day. Liz tried to get me some time off from visiting but I just wanted to experience everything. In hindsight, some time off would have been good to actually do things I wanted to do but had no time like either sleep, shop or just walk around. Something to keep in mind for my next trip.

It is too bad that Liz is an expert only on Australia and Zew Zealand. I would love to have her as my agent for all my next trips.

Thank you for this amazing experience.

Our trip was absolutely amazing. The guides and drivers that we were pair with were all top notch. Our Local Specialist Connie was amazing, we had some last minute changes that were need for some things and she was able to take care of everything for us flawlessly.

Feedback Australia-Trip Annette and Michael Sereny

Breaking the long journey from Germany to Australia in Singapore (3 days/2 nights) to get used to the time difference was very helpful and extremely interesting.
Sydney offers the arriving traveller a wide range of sights and attractions to explore daily for more than a week if necessary.
After our one-week stay in Sydney (congress and on our own) our organised trip took us first by plane to Cairns, where we were already expected upon arrival. The arrival instructions in our travel description were helpful and accurate. The driver was extremely friendly and communicative and the drive to Port Douglas (1 hour) flew by, with the driver also making a short stop for some photos at our request. The car was spacious and clean and the driving style very pleasant.
We found the accommodation Villa San Michele very pleasant, the flat was clean and spacious and also very quiet at night. On arrival we were given very friendly and competent information. Due to the weather conditions, the receptionist also tried to reschedule our excursion to the Reef (a lot of wind, stormy sea) for another day, but this was not possible due to the travel time (holiday season Australia). There are many good restaurants and shops within walking distance.
The trip to the Reef was great and gave a lasting impression of the diversity and benefits of the Reef. However, with the stormy seas and lots of wind, the crossing was relatively long and sensitive people would probably be more comfortable with a shorter crossing from a port closer to the Reef (bus transfer).
The subsequent day of rest could easily be filled with sightseeing in and around the town on foot.
The small group excursion with "river drift snorkelling" and the guided tour through Mosman Gorge was also great and the guide was able to competently answer our every question and also give us an insight into the diversity and importance of the rainforest.
After another day of rest, we were again transferred on time and in an equally pleasant drive to the airport in Cairns for our onward flight to Brisbane. The pick-up at Brisbane airport also worked out very well and the driver took us to our hotel, the Crystalbrook Vincent. We were delighted with both the location and the design and facilities of the hotel room and could not imagine a more suitable one in Brisbane. We spent the day with rental bikes from the hotel on a tour along the river, which gave us a first, very good impression of this lively and interesting city. On the second day, we took public transport to the Koala Sanctuary, a slightly further but wonderful excursion, as well as more walking and sightseeing within the city.
Picking up the rental car at the Avis station in town was quite easy, the staff friendly and competent. However, the planned schedule: car pick-up, drive to Byron Bay and afternoon kayak tour, would not have been manageable, if only because of the time difference and the distance.
However, the communication with the organiser regarding the kayak tour turned out to be less than happy. The kayak tour was cancelled two days before it was due to take place due to the bad weather (waves/storm), which is completely okay, but we then received further emails with details about the tour, which were probably generated automatically and gave us the impression that the event was taking place after all. The organiser would have to improve his communication.
The accommodation in Byron Bay was well located and had the advantage of free parking in the underground car park. After the good accommodation in Port Douglas and the outstanding one in Brisbane, the flat in Byron Bay was much easier. It was clean and quiet, but there are other rooms there clearly affected by the kitchen smell of the pub below. The town of Byron Bay is very (too?) touristy; if we were to do another tour, we would personally prefer much smaller and more pleasant places on the coast. The Byron Bay Hinterland Tour was unfortunately cancelled at short notice due to cancellations of other participants, but our rental car gave us the opportunity to drive into the national park ourselves and do the hike to Minyon Falls on our own.
The accommodation in Coffs Harbour at the Pacific Bay Resort was okay, but clearly outside the town. If you are not playing golf, a smaller accommodation closer to the town would be more pleasant. Again, for a future trip or for other travellers with less need for tourist attractions, we would prefer smaller places in the area by the beach.
The Afternoon Giingan Cultural Walking Tour took place even though we were the only two participants, but this gave us an exclusive tour with a lot of information that was new to us and our excellent guide was able to answer all our questions competently. This also resulted in very interesting and further discussions.
The drive to the Hunter Valley, as we preferred roads close to the coast, was much longer than expected, but with beautiful views and wonderful stretches of road.
The accommodation at the Chateau Elan was fantastically located overlooking the golf course, clean, spacious, well-furnished and quiet. Unfortunately, however, the hotel's restaurant was closed for kitchen renovations and we had to settle for a rather mediocre bistro nearby. Breakfast, however, could be had on a very good scale.
The group tour to visit various wineries was very pleasant, entertaining, informative and also culinary. Our tour guide was able to accommodate our wine preferences for the tour at short notice in the morning, as we were the only guests with a full-day programme, the lunch package for midday was plentiful and delicious, and the afternoon part of the tour with other guests on board was also very worthwhile. We spent the second day cycling in the Hunter Valley. Unfortunately, the number of rental bikes at the hotel was limited, so we had to drive a short distance to the nearest bike rental. On the second evening, we were able to enjoy an excellent dinner in the restaurant of another, nearby hotel, but the final enjoyment of a local red wine we made in our hotel room due to the strict and reasonable alcohol restrictions when driving.
For the final drive back to Sydney and especially for the drop-off of the rental car, we would have wished for more detailed information from the car rental company (by email?). On the one hand, we did not realise that the car could only be dropped off until 4:30 p.m. (we had 5:00 p.m. on the schedule) and that the catastrophic traffic conditions in the one-way maze of Sydney, combined with the extremely poor signage of the Avis parking spaces to and in the car park, cost us so much time that we only found the Avis employee locking up the offices, but were able to hand in the keys and parking ticket at an adjacent hotel on his advice. Furthermore, it would have been very pleasant to be informed that there is no petrol station in the immediate vicinity of the drop-off point and that one should therefore fill up the tank in good time. We were therefore unable to return the car with a full tank. It was very positive that the car, a VW Tiguan, was almost new and that the road traffic in Australia is generally very pleasant and considerate. However, we have not yet received any feedback from the car rental company with the final invoice.
Overall, however, we did not regret spending the money for the trip. We saw and experienced a lot, which has a lasting and very positive impact on our image of Australia. It was clear to us that we could only travel part of Australia in the time available to us, and our progress so far has encouraged us to make further plans for Australia. The people are mostly friendly and sociable. However, we could not get used to the loudness in many pubs.
All we need now, as mentioned above, is the rental car bill, the refunds for the two cancelled activities (kayak tour and backcountry tour) have been advised in the meantime.

The total trip was very well organised by Gary and his team Jess and Kerrie.Especially I shoud thank Kerrie a lot,she was with me right from the start of planning ,suggesting the best activities,planning the minute details,answering my every query and concern in real quick time,even when she was on leave with some health issue ,Kerrie did a great job which made our total trip a great hit with smooth flow from one activity to another day after day.She is a definite asset to your team Gary.The Mount Kosi guide Rohan was amazing,the spear fishing guides Loretta were amazing ,the bridge climb ,the transfers and all others were perfectly planned.Very impressed with Kimkim that I started planning my trip to Japan in March with a Kimkim specialist now.Thanks Kimkim team for a great holiday

Hotel Reviews

A by Adina

Sydney

In the heart of cbd,walking distance to all the city s attractions

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rydges Horizons Snowy Mountains

Jindabyne

Great place to stay with lovely views of the lake

Authenticity & Character

Location

Scenic n picturesque locale

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vibe Canberra Airport

Canberra

Right next to airport 2mins walk

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Pick up your rental car at the Airport

Australia

Pick up was a breeze and enjoyed driving on Australian roads

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mt Kosciuszko professional guide to assist in summit climb - via Jindbyne

Jindabyne

Rohan our guide was very helpful and guided us well.Doug briefed us clearly a day before about the trek.Had a great trek

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Great Ocean Road Classic Tour

Melbourne

Very scenic drive,the guide was exceptional

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bike Tour - Classic Melbourne City

Melbourne

The tour guide took us on bikes to all the major attractions in Melbourne and explained about the history of Melbourne clearly.The place he took us for lunch was great- The najed Satan!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Phillip Island Penguin Parade Ultimate Eco tour

Melbourne

Loved the cute little penguins and their walk back to the island

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Reef Heli tour from Agincourt Reef

Port Douglas

Amazing aerial views of the reef from the chopper

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Outer Great Barrier Reef Cruise

Australia

Neatly organised trip,loved snorkelling in the reef

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Daintree Dreaming – Traditional Aboriginal Fishing

Australia

Was an amazing experience with Loretta and dont remember the name of the guy.He was very good with spear fishing ,fished few crabs ,fishes and even a sting ray which we left back into the waters .He took us to his place and cooked us a tasty meal with our catch,awsome guy

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

YOUR Wildlife Habitat

Australia

The guide was too good.His love for the birds and animals in the habitat was exceptional and explained about each bird very clearly

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

BridgeClimb Summit - Twilight

Australia

Amazing experience with Shannon our guide who took all the care for an enjoyable experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Oz Jetboat

Sydney

Experienced Adrenaline rush with jet boat

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Panoramic Sydney Sights & Sydney Harbour Lunch Cruise

Sydney

Covered the main sights of sidney,sort of orientation tour of the city

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sydney Opera House Tour

Australia

A special tour as both my wife and opera house were celebrating their 50th.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Connie Campos is awesome! She helped me plan and execute the most amazing trip. I loved all of the hotels we stayed at. I think my 7 year old grandson liked the Crown Metropol in Perth, with its grand lobby with the glass elevators, the best. All of the tours we went on were awesome: starting in Sydney with the bus trip around town the the private boat trip and lunch around the harbor (iDavid and Jason were splendid), in Uluru we met Silvia, she told us many stories of the Aboriginal people, I’m Perth the Rottness trip was so interesting and quokkas are so cute the Pinnacle ms Star gazing trip was very unique and interesting, in Darwin our guides to Litchfield were zTess and Greg, they gave Amy’s an awesome day that took us to the highlights of the park and pro us with a lovely vegetarian meal, next in Cairns we had a lovely outing to Kuranda and got pictures with Liz, a two year old koala. I think the best of all was the trip to the Great Barrier Reef with Down Under Cruise and Dive. The crew was awesome. Of special note was one of the rescue swimmers, Kanani, took special interest in my 7 year old grandson. A few days before we left on our trip he fractured his elbow, so his arm was in a cast to his shoulder. I wrapped it in a big ziplock bag and taped it, so it wouldn’t get wet. Kanani took Hunter on two private snorkeling tours around the reef. She was so cool.
New Zealand was so kick back Sky City was so fun. We had the family room that was huge and spacious. In Rotorua, On the Point, we had a 2 bedroom, 2 bath villa. The entire property was amazing, so very relaxing.
Back to Connie, she has a friend, that lives in Darwin, and it just so happened that at that time in our trip, it was time to have my grandson’s arm checked out. Do the two of them worked together to get an appointment set for my grandson to see a doctor. I can’t express how grateful I am for this going the extra mile service.
I think that it is evident that I am more than pleased with Connie and all the people I met on this Australian and New Zealand vacation.

Hotel Reviews

Rendezvous Hotel Sydney The Rocks

The Rocks

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Desert Gardens Hotel

Yulara

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Crown Metropol Perth

Perth

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mantra on the Esplanade

Darwin

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Crystalbrook Riley

Cairns

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

SkyCity Hotel

Auckland

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

On The Point

Rotorua

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Pinnacles Sunset & Stargazing Trip with Dinner

Perth

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Morning Panoramic Sydney Sights

Sydney

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Climb the Harbor Bridge

Sydney

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sydney Harbour Lunch Cruise

Sydney

David and Jason were awesome!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rottnest Island Day Trip

Perth

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Darwin

Darwin

Full Day Indigenous Litchfield Spectacular

Darwin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Cairns

Cairns

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full-Day Kuranda Rail & Skyrail - Gold Class

Australia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Marine World Outer Great Barrier Reef

Australia

Down Under Cruise and Dive crew were very helpful and kind.

Quality of Experience

P

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mitai Cultural Experience & Dinner

Rotorua

Quality of Experience

I’m

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Hobbiton (Rotorua Return)

Rotorua

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Waimangu Valley Nature Walk & Lake Rotomahana Boat Cruise

Rotorua

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Liz was amazing, helping make adjustments to the itinerary as needed.

Activity Reviews

Private Wildlife Habitat Experience

Port Douglas

The one on one tour gave hands on quality time with all the animals all the while learning about their habitats and how they are providing aid to these wonderful creatures.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

My guide was so knowledgeable and such a wonderfully kind person

Blue Mountains Day Trip with Hike

Sydney

Highly recommend the option to hike instead of the lunch. Beautiful, breath taking views

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We just got back from our 19 day adventure in Australia! We went from Sydney, Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, Ayers Rock and Port Douglas! Liz did an excellent job at planning everything for us! She planned all our hotels, flights and excursions! It was fantastic! We appreciate Liz and all her work towards our trip! We came out of the gate full speed ahead to see as much as we did so to end our trip in Port Douglas was awesome too as it was a beach town and more time to relax! Simply beautiful amazing trip! Thank you for all!

Hotel Reviews

Port Douglas Peninsula Boutique Hotel

Port Douglas

This hotel was the best! Perfect location to walk everywhere and the beach was 100ft away! Loved it

Authenticity & Character

Location

Perfect location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Perfect location to everything!!

PARKROYAL Darling Harbour

Sydney

Parkroyal was a nice hotel. Good breakfast that was included and better than we expected. The hotel staff was extremely nice and offered help when needed. We felt very safe walking around here and getting to places, even in the evening with restaurants near by. We would recommend staying there again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Grand Chancellor Adelaide

Adelaide

Hotel Grand in Adelaide was a nice hotel too. The bartender in the their bar was so friendly. We enjoyed a couple of drinks there with appetizers. Food was good. I have to say, the location across from the bar wasn’t the best. The bar across the street seems to go all hours until morning. Even at 630am bus pickup from our hotel for tour, the bus driver had issues with drunk folks trying to block the bus etc. I think I would pick a different hotel just due to the location. Otherwise, had really no issues with hotel itself.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Climb the Harbor Bridge

Sydney

This was a great and fun experience!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset Camel Ride

Uluru

So much fun to do in the Outback! I highly suggest it!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mackay Coral Cay Great Barrier Reef Day Trip

Port Douglas

Great Barrier Reef was amazing! Tour was great!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

River Drift Experience

Australia

This was a fun tour to do!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

2 day 1 night Kangaroo Island - Cruise / Cruise Day 2 (SL)

Australia

We loved Kangaroo Island. The tour was a 2 day and very busy tour. We were on a couch bus and the driver/guide did a great job for the 2 days. We felt in some places we wished we had long time but understood that to see “everything” they had to keep us moving. Definitely have to see the beauty of this Island!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Patji Outback Adventure - Afternoon

Uluru

Our tour guide was awesome. The Anangu host that rode along to “share” information was as informative that we all hoped for.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The Guide was fantastic, she loves her job. The Anangu host was fair. We hoped for more info from Tina to talk more than she did.

Transport

Dot Painting Workshop

Uluru

This was a nice tour to do to understand more of the set means and their story.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The host was good at her job

Transport

Vickie was incredibly responsive and planned our short trip in record time. She was patient with me as it took me time to review and consider and then commit to the trip. I loved the tours she set up for us in Cairns and Birsbane; they were remarkable! It would have been helpful to know what we needed to bring on the tours, such as a towel for the Great Barrier Reef, and it would have been good to know that some activities/opportunities sell out in advance, such as photos of us holding a koala.

The drivers who picked us up were prompt, kind and excellent drivers.

I wasn't thrilled with one of the hotel selections, but a family with young kids would have loved it more than me and a teenager who were there just to sleep.

The travel service, specifically Louise, was wonderful when we had to make last minute changes to our itinerary. She was terrific and efficient!

I would use Vickie, Louise and Kimkim again!

We have spent 4 fabulous weeks in New Zealand and Australia.
Such a long holiday cannot go without few issues but Connie was amazing. She has been in contact with us every single day and she has helped us above and beyond. Connie is a star!!!!

Hotel Reviews

QT Auckland

Auckland

Sofitel Queenstown

Queenstown

Four Seasons Sydney

Sydney

Taronga Zoo Wildlife Retreat

Sydney

Hyatt Regency Brisbane

Brisbane

Great location but the hotel is in desperate need of reconstruction

Treetops Lodge and Estate

Rotorua

The hotel is nice but way too far from any inhabited place.

Oaks Port Douglas Resort

Port Douglas

We ended up not staying there

Crown Towers

Melbourne

Activity Reviews

Phillip Island Wildlife Day Trip & Penguin Parade

Melbourne

Totally worth it!

Ecozip Adventure Tour Waiheke Island (Shared Tour)

New Zealand

Auckland to Roturua, Full Day Waitomo & Hobbiton Tour

Auckland

Waimangu Valley Nature Walk & Lake Rotomahana Boat Cruise

Rotorua

We did not have a lake cruise

Mitai Cultural Experience & Dinner

Rotorua

Kiwi Birdlife Park

Queenstown (NZ)

Morning Panoramic Sydney Sights

Sydney

A bit too much time in the car

Sydney Harbour Long Lunch Cruise (Private)

Sydney

The staff on the boat was amazing.

Climb the Harbor Bridge

Sydney

Australia Zoo Guided Tour - Full day

Brisbane

Best zoo ever!!!!

Private Scenic Rim Outback Trip

Brisbane

We ended up going to the waterfalls in Springbrook and it was great

Hartley's Crocodile Farm with Koala Breakfast

Port Douglas

Afternoon/Evening Rainforest and Nocturnal Wildlife Tour

Port Douglas

The rafts were great

Mackay Coral Cay Great Barrier Reef Day Trip

Port Douglas

What a perfect family vacation! Liz planned a wonderful trip that enabled us to experience the best of Australia and New Zealand. She was very responsive and worked well with us to put together a memorable trip for all!

Gary had some great advice on where to go to make the best use of our time. Our guide in Kangaroo Island was engaging, informative and pleasant to spend the whole day with. The snorkeling tour on the great barrier reef was memorable and our last days in Sydney a delight. The astro tour at Uluru was certainly one of the highlights. Truly a wonderful experience in all and the ease of travel with the car service helped. Jim and Carole

Hotel Review

The Reef Retreat

Palm Cove, QLD

Nice and quiet location, hotel management was very helpful and accommodating. Easy walk to restaurants etc.

Authenticity & Character

Location

easy walk to everything but off the main area so very quite

Staff

very accommodating and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

When we needed an extra towel or blanket it was there

Activity Review

Day trip to the Great Barrier Reef

Australia

It was so informative and the staff was so accommodating with all of our needs that it made it special.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

One of our party has some medical conditions and they were able to create a great experience for them

Transport

boat was very open but the seas were rough so some of the areas became crowded

We couldn't have been happier with the itinerary that Gary prepared for us. As someone who had never been to Australia before, he successfully translated our requests and lack of knowledge into a schedule that was easy to follow--and thoroughly enjoyable. The places he recommended and organized for our trip were mind-blowingly spectacular. The Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu, Litchfield, Alice Springs, Kings Canyon, and Uluru---our only complaint was that we didn't have enough time at any of these locations! Even more impressive is that he was able to pull together an itinerary with not much time to spare. We connected with him only 8 weeks before our trip (during peak travel season), so we were quite impressed that he managed to pack as much into our two week trip as he did. Thank you!

Activity Reviews

Day trip to the Great Barrier Reef

Australia

Seeing the GBR was an amazing experience, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to do so. The crew was high energy the entire time, and made the journey there and back a pleasant one. What I was expecting, but didn't get, was any information about the GBR. I had assumed there'd be some type of presentation about the plants and animals we'd be seeing during our 2 hour journey there, and how to maximize our snorkeling/diving experience. Even better would have been a discussion about the issues that the GBR is facing as the oceans warm. All we got was a disjointed, generalized slideshow AFTER we had done the snorkeling. In addition, I was given a wetsuit that was too large (never having worn a wetsuit before, I had no idea). Thus, for me, the snorkeling was uncomfortably cold, and I ended up with non-stop shivering even after back on the boat. Thankfully, a crew member noticed on the second round of snorkeling, so that dive was much more enjoyable. Lastly, I wasn't blown over by the food provided. Since I stayed out snorkeling until called in for lunch, most of the food was already gone, since others had come in early. What I had was fine, but cold (all the hot food was gone), and not particularly memorable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Classic Kuranda Tour

Australia

Another amazing experience. Thoroughly enjoyed visiting this area, and getting to see the tropical rainforest and learn a bit more about the original inhabitants, plants, and animals. The cable car up and train down were a fun way to get to the town. And I was thrilled the buffet lunch had food choices there was both healthy and tasty. My major critique is that the entire day was so tightly programmed, it did feel a bit rushed. I understand that this can be an occupational hazard of having a tight schedule, but in our case, we were dropped off at the cable car entrance and had to wait for an extended time (maybe 45 minutes?) for our guide to show up with our tickets. It wasn't exactly clear what was going on at the time. If it could be arranged, it would have been a better use of that time for us to have our tickets when we arrived at the cable car entrance, so we could have just immediately gone up. Even better, I'd recommend that the train be used to go up, and the cable car to go down. That would provide a bit more flexibility in heading back down, rather than having to be at a precise location at a precise time in order to leave.

Transport

As I mentioned above, there was a lot of waiting around on this trip. Also, it was very confusing finding our transport van at the end of the train trip. We were not picked up where all the other buses where loading, but had to walk over to a separate area. If someone had not directed to this location, I don't think we would have found it on our own.

Darwin City Sights

Darwin

This tour was probably the least favorite of the activities we did on this trip (of course, it's competing with some heavy hitters!). That being said, this overview of Darwin was pretty disjointed, and didn't give us much information about Darwin at all. Basically, it was a bus ride pointing out various buildings (and even that not done clearly), then trips to several locations. To be fair, the guide was also the driver (I don't know if this is normal), and she mentioned she hadn't done this tour in quite a while. Since I don't have much interest in aviation history, that museum wasn't a highlight for me, but I definitely enjoyed the trip to the Botanic Garden and the Museum and Art Gallery.

Yellow Water Cruise - Sunrise

Australia

This cruise was amazing! It shows what difference a good guide can make on a trip like this. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable, entertaining, and open to questions and discussions. If we had had the time, I would have booked the afternoon cruise with him. I felt like I learned so much about the area, and the plants and animals that inhabit it. And he was so good at spotting things!

Uluru Sunrise & Kata Tjuta

Uluru

For a large bus tour, it was pretty well organized. Clearly the tour operators have a clear system for their trips. It was a bit wild, how many people were lining up before dawn for multiple bus tours. We had an awesome guide, Glennon--very high energy, and very knowledgeable. I very much appreciated that he gave us commentary while we drove to the sites. I think we might have gotten off to a late start, however--there really wasn't enough time to do the breakfast, see Uluru, then get back on the bus. I think all of that had to occur within a 1/2 hour, which meant that we had to leave Uluru just 10 minutes after the sun rose. The walk in Kata Tjuta was amazing. I've never seen that type of unconsolidated amalgamation of rock before. I very much enjoyed the experience of being in that place, and I appreciated that Glennon had us all gather at the end and engage in a minute of silence so that we could fully be present in this space. The only critique--and I know this is so common with large groups--is that he stopped several times to make a presentation, but didn't wait for the entire group to catch up, so only a small percentage of the overall group got to hear it.

Sounds of Silence Dinner

Australia

Yet another event that I found tremendously moving. For a large group event (two buses worth of people), they did a fantastic job of making it feel special and more intimate. The setting is spectacular, the food was delicious, the didgeridoo player was phenomenal, and the star gazing was out of this world. And the time of silence was sublime. As a city dweller, I think that might be the first time I've ever seen the Milky Way! My suggestions for improvements are minor: I would have liked the star storytelling to be twice as long (at least). I so enjoyed it, but it seemed much too brief. A side note: the laser pointer he used was awesome! And they did something odd with the food service: we happened to be the first table that got served. (They ask each table to go up to the buffet line separately.) But then they reverse it for the desert, so we were the last to go up for desert. Thus we had a huge gap in our meal, and then only had 5 minutes to eat the desert before we had to depart. Not sure why the swap--it doesn't really make sense for the meal flow. And they need to provide a bit more time between when the last desert is served and the guests are asked to leave.

Gary put together an amazing trip for us with very little notice and during Australian school holidays, which I am sure made the puzzle of finding flights and hotel rooms to all the places we went even more challenging. He was incredibly patient with all our questions and steered us to some fantastic places that it turns out many Australians never get too. This I discovered during my week work at the end of the trip in talking to Australian colleagues. He was incredibly responsive as well during the trip to questions we had as we moved through our trip. A heartfelt thank you for an incredible trip!
Laura

Activity Review

Darwin City Sights

Darwin

This city tour was a bit of disappointment. We were expecting that we'd learn something about the history of Darwin etc. Essentially the driver (there was no separate guide on board) pointed out buildings and told us what they were.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had such a fabulous time and Liz made it so easy by planning things perfectly down to all the important details. Our 2 week trip went extremely smoothly and we really loved our itinerary. Liz was super knowledgeable about Australia and very supportive of our family's long wish list She struck a good balance between giving us advice and listening to our priorities. Scheduled flights, transportation, and accommodations all went smoothly without a hitch. We (including kids) all loved the variety of places we visited (Melbourne, Darwin, Port Douglas, Sydney).
We loved the tours she scheduled for us and she went out of her way to make last-minute tour adjustments when needed. All our tour guides were wonderful and gave us unique experiences.

Hotel Reviews

Adina Apartment Hotel Melbourne

Melbourne

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Argus Hotel Darwin

Darwin

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Silkari Lagoons Port Douglas

Port Douglas

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The York, by Swiss-Belhotel

Sydney

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Phillip Island Wildlife Day Trip & Penguin Parade

Melbourne

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Indigenous Litchfield Spectacular

Darwin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Flood Country - Northern Kakadu Experience

Darwin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Low Isles Day Trip

Port Douglas

Quality of Experience

no one's fault but it was very windy so rough boat ride and water was cloudy.

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Afternoon Kuranda Rail & Skyrail

Port Douglas

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Climb the Harbor Bridge

Sydney

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Blue Mountains Day Trip with Hike

Sydney

The farm stop was redundant for us as we had already been to many sanctuaries, so had great experiences already with the animals. If we didn't visit other wildlife habitats already then the farm would have been a more fun stop. Breakfast was less than expected. We loved the scenic drive and lookouts. The guide was awesome and very friendly and educational. My whole family unexpectedly all loved the hike. the views were beautiful, and the trail was challenging enough to have been fun for our 3 teens. I thought the Botanical garden was nice was didn't add to the experience of being in the Blue mountains, as the garden in Sydney was even bigger and nicer.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had an amazing trip to Australia! This is a great way to go if you are unfamiliar with the area you are visiting. Ruth was so knowledgeable and was able to book us on some great tours that were tailored to our interests. She also set us up in apartment-type accommodations in central locations, which was so convenient for our family. Our itinerary was printed out and waiting for us at our first apartment, and it was so much less stressful having all our rides and tour details arranged and written out for us. We also appreciated the emergency numbers and local agents who could answer questions if needed. Thankfully everything went very smoothly. Would highly recommend!

Hotel Reviews

The York, by Swiss-Belhotel

Sydney

Great location. Tastefully decorated. Loved the large bathroom with laundry.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Easy walk to everything.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Desert Gardens Hotel

Yulara

Updated rooms. Nice patio.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Southern Cross Atrium Apartments

Cairns

Great location. Pools were a bonus. Spacious rooms with nice balconies.

Authenticity & Character

Location

close to central station

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clarion Suites Gateway

Melbourne

Authenticity & Character

Location

View of water. Close to everything.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spacious rooms and comfortable beds

Activity Reviews

Private Taste of Sydney Experience

Sydney

Great history lessons and tour of significant areas of the city. Thought it could have included more ethnic foods and more of how the history related to the foods we were tasting.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Phillip Island Wildlife Day Trip & Penguin Parade

Melbourne

Very cool to see the island and its inhabitants.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sarah was awesome! Knowledgeable and fun.

Transport

Long day with lots of driving but broken up with stops.

Half Day Sydney Classic Tour (Bike)

Sydney

Great way to cover a lot of ground and learn about the city. A bit difficult in crowded areas with a large group, especially when some members were less skilled in biking than others.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sydney Opera House Tour

Sydney

Awesome to see the inner workings of the Opera House.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Blue Mountains Day Trip with Hike

Sydney

Something for everyone on this tour. Animals at the farm, hiking in the mountains, and exploring the botanical garden - we enjoyed it all.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A Night at Field of Light

Uluru

Amazing Amazing Amazing! Cannot say enough about this experience. From the sunset appetizers to the elaborate dinner to the stars and moonlit walk through the lights. It was truly one of the best highlights of our 2 week Australian vacation.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Morning Kata Tjuta Walk & Breakfast

Uluru

Beautiful views of the sunrise. Sylvia was fantastic! Enjoyed the hike into the Gorge and breakfast.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sylvia was so knowledgeable and really made the experience exceptional.

Transport

Afternoon Uluru Sunset

Uluru

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling Day Trip

Australia

Rough waters getting to and from the reef but the snorkeling was amazing. Beautiful fish and knowledgeable staff all contributed to making this a highlight of our vacation.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Cairns

Cairns

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Classic Kuranda

Australia

Loved the cable car ride and seeing the markets and learning more about the native people. Did not like having to ride a bus for an hour and half before we got to start our day (we were the first ones picked up and it took a long time to pick up people at 10+ stops). I would have like a smaller group pick-up (or have everyone meet in a central location?)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Not a fan of the bus ride to start the day. Cable car and train were great though.

Afternoon/Evening Adventure & Nocturnal Wildlife Tour

Australia

Loved seeing rare animals - platypus and various kangaroos and opossums. Dinner was great too. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate but even in the rain, it was a fun adventure.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

City Bike Trip

Melbourne

Paul was a great guide and he tailored the tour to what we wanted to see. Loved that we stopped for coffee and a snack!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tailored to us!

Transport

Afternoon Food & Culture Walk

Melbourne

Great variety of food and loved that Monique related the history and architecture around us to the food we were tasting. Very fun and filling!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Monique did an exceptional job!

Transport

Depart Australia

Australia

Left our hotel earlier than necessary. I understand you wanting to make sure we get to our flights on time but more than 2 hours on domestic and more than 3 hours international still left us with lots of downtime at the airports.

We really enjoyed our trip to Australia. I can not imagine the visit without the help of KimKim. First and foremost arranging drivers to meet at airports (we are Americans and really didn’t feel comfortable driving on the left).

Organizing our itinerary so that we we had time to do an appropriate amount of exploring at each of our stops.

Linking us up with appropriate guided tours and activities that picked us up right at our hotel or a short walk away.

Inevitably, when someone we met at a stop told us we MUST do X or see Y, it was something we had done the day before or were scheduled to do the next.

Definitely many of these activities were NOT something that would have occurred to us on our own.

Well Done, KimKim!!

Hotel Reviews

Mantra 2 Bond Street

Sydney

We loved staying at this hotel. 1. Perfect location near transportation, grocery, bottle shop. 2. Ability to fix our own meals. 3. Essential; washer and dryer in room. 4. Courteous knowledgeable staff that really worked hard to help.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Woolworth’s right across the (closed to traffic) street.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mantra Crown Towers Surfers Paradise

Surfers Paradise

In room laundry and kitchen. Close to ocean. Amazing.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort

Cairns

FANTASTIC breakfast buffet. Reasonably priced dinners. HUGE pool. Didn’t go in myself, but loved to see the families enjoying it.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sails In The Desert

Yulara

Three different restaurants in the hotel to choose from. Great Breakfast buffet!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Captain Cook Cruises - Hop On Hop Off Harbour Explorer 2-Day Pass

Sydney

A nice introduction to Sydney Harbor. Shark Island was on the list of stops , but the ship never stopped there. The ferry service would have suited us equally, as it turned out

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arrive Sydney

Sydney

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hunter Valley Food and Wine Lovers Tour

Sydney

The food and wine tour was pleasant. It was mostly about wine tasting, with some food involved. I enjoyed this tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset Dinner Cruise

Sydney

The dinner cruise was ok. The view from inside was not particularly good and most of the staff seemed disinterested. However, the food was good.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Down Under Cruise with Gold Class Lounge

Cairns

The Down Under Cruise was a good experience. My wife enjoyed snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef, but I got seasick. However, I still got to see the reef, which was cool!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Daintree, Cape Trib & Bloomfield Day Tour

Cairns

The Daintree day tour was fascinating. We got to see crocodiles during a pontoon boat ride on the Daintree River. The tour was way more extensive than just the boat ride.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Uluru Camel Tours - Sunset Camel Experience

Uluru

The camel ride was a unique and enjoyable experience. We rode atop the camel for an hour, with frequent pauses. The ride included some food and drinks, which was nice.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport