Kimkim Trip Reviews for Bhutan

Wow where to even start. Our time in Bhutan was so incredible we are still dreaming about it, and it would not have been the same without the amazing care from Vishal and Sonam.

They put in so much attention to customize the perfect trip for your needs. (They even know which room in the hotel has the best views!) Vishal and Sonam will go out of their way to ensure your stay in Bhutan is comfortable.

Our guide, Tek, was very accommodating. My boyfriend and I were doing our first multi-day backpacking trip, and Tek was supportive through the whole journey. He gave us the perfect balance of personal attentiveness and space, had answers to all our questions, and also was very easy to get along with.

I am definitely coming to Trophel tours for our next trip to Bhutan- :)

Bhutan has a special place in my heart, not least due to the superb, seamless organisational efforts of Vishal and Sonam at Trophel Tours, and the excellent, informative and gracious care of our "walking encyclopaedia" guide UT. Pre-trip communications built an impression of courteous, lovely people who know their country intricately, and I felt in capable hands before we even set foot in beautiful Bhutan. Such a relief to have all the administrative intricacies of permits and visas dealt with fully and efficiently on our behalf. All t's crossed and all i's dotted. Given our relatively short time there (only 5 days of activity), we packed in a huge amount without feeling squeezed and rushed - many thanks for all the suggestions and working them into a terrific short itinerary. Bumdra Camp, "sky burial", the wonderful hot stone bath (what a lodge!), CheLa Pass, the forest/rhododendron walk to the nunnery and the exhilarating downhill cycle were unforgettable, ditto the visit to Tigers Nest monastery, without which no trip to Bhutan is really complete! So lucky also to be there for the final of the national archery competition. The cultural visits and museum are fabulous (and I'm not generally a museum person). UT's knowledge brought everything alive - a big thanks to him, and for the careful driving by our lovely driver in a superbly comfortable vehicle. The food - well, yum! I would happily travel with Trophel Tours again; many thanks to all concerned.
On a general note, I hope that Bhutan develops a strong policy to take care of its pristine environment well at this relatively early stage in its touristic development - it was sad to see a large quantity of toilet paper and human waste scattered amongst the trees and bushes around Bumdra. Could something be done about this by the local and tourism authorities so it doesn't become a huge problem like on Mt Everest and parts of Nepal? I hope so!

Overall, the trip was fantastic and I am truly grateful that you suggested India before Bhutan. However, the hotel in Delhi was superb. They upgraded us to a fabulous room the the 2nd and 3rd times that we were there which was lovely. Our guides in India were fine. I do have a couple of suggestions....I think we could have done with 1 night in Rathombore. We saw 1 tiger on all our safaris, although others saw many more...just lucky. We really liked Jaipur and maybe should have had 2 nights there instead. Darjeeling. Bhutan was really spectacular...we loved it. But there are some suggestions...It was a long drive to the Probjika Valley and we were not excited about it. The hotel was pretty bad and after we hiked a bit and saw Karma the crane, we were ready to leave. We thus stayed only 1 night and went back to Thimphu and stopped for a long hike en route. This was fine. We enjoyed trekking around Paro. However, our trip to Tigernest on May 29 was the same day as a major Buddhist holiday. Could not stand the idea of hiking in the crowds so we convinced out guide to substitute another trek We went to Tigernest about 3PM and started walking up as hordes of Indians were descending. Our guide tried to convince us to stop...turned out he and driver did not have a hotel to stay in and I think they were mostly worried about where they would be. The previous night they had to stay in Thimphu and I think they were anxious about getting back....Not clear to me why they had not booked their own rooms when they new the schedule. They did try to be accommodating to us and were very concerned that we were "happy," although there is no question that they would have preferred we just look at the Tigernest from the highway rather than climbing up. I had a difficult time separating what was convenient for them from what was in our interest. As an example, they left us at Paro airport at 7AM for the 9:30 flight. I realize that it is important to be early but that was really very early...we were the first to check in.

We could not have been better paired with our guide and driver - Yenten and MigMar. Yenten was excellent company throughout the trip and was able to explain complicated subjects clearly and easily to us.

OK. Firstly Bhutan. ..... What an Amazing country.
Our trip was very well designed by Vishal. I gave him information on What exactly I wanted to do & he designed a wonderful 10 day journey which included more than I expected......
Our Guide & Driver (Younten & Migma) were the most beautiful souls one could ever want to share time with....
Our guide was well extremely well informed about the Bhutanese Buddhist Culture & also a very experienced Mountain Guide.... They both gave us a humbled , interesting & heart warming experience of Bhutan.
Every day we were exposed to new, unexpected & intersting experiences. The programme was well designed , with unexpected extra experiences added.
Our Tour designers (Vishal & Sonam) gave us first class attention, from meeting us at the airport on arrival to inviting us to dinner with them .
They were friendly & helpful making sure that our Bhutan Experience was the best it could possibly be.

Our group of 4 just returned from a 7 day tour of Bhutan. From the beginning of my contact with Bas, to touring the amazing countryside of Bhutan with Sonam and Tawa (guides from Bhutan). My experience was phenomenal, two thumbs up for the curtosy, kindness and professionalism of all the staff.

Working with Vishal and Sonam in planning, booking and enjoying this trip was great from start to finish. They provided good advice on what to do and see during the given time of year and the duration of our trip. We had to chop and change the trip as we had some members of our party drop out and some new people enter during the planning portion. They were very patient and flexible during the whole process and were consistent in their expert professionalism. Our guide, Tek, was very knowledgeable, punctual, and had the bonus of being fun to be around. Vishal and Sonam actually took to the time to check in with us personally multiple times during the extent of our trip, to ensure that everything was to standard and to see if there were any reasonable ways to improve the trip. Bhutan is an extraordinary place and Vishal/Sonam's exceptional customer service made it easy and comfortable the whole way through. I was dubious of the guided nature of this trip as I usually travel freestyle, however Tek and the team made this one of the best trips I have ever embarked on!

I have traveled a lot--around 130 countries--and I almost never use an organized tour. I thought I didn't like them. But this trip changed my mind. Mr. Pema, my guide, was impeccable, as was my driver, Mr. Ugee. They anticipated my every need, were beautifully friendly and polite and quite interesting people. I felt like I was traveling with friends. Mr. Pema was very skillful and knowledgeable as a guide to both the sites and the culture, and we had philosophical as well as historical conversations of some depth. Windhorse made all the arrangements painless, kept in touch just enough, and everything, top to bottom, was perfectly done. The wifi in hotel rooms, as it is in many countries with a similar economic base, left something to be desired, but that was outside their control, and I'm sure it will continue to improve as the tourist infrastructure continues to grow. My only wish was that I had been able to stay longer and go further into the country.

Great. Tek was an amazing guide out in the mountains and in the cultural tour too.

All was great-both the driver (Nema) and the guild(Lobzang) did as I asked. I like to see the real world so I tend to travel to places off the beaten path. They showed me the back places of your lovely country. Plan to return. The only mess up was the amount charged per day but Vishal explained the situation and all was straighten out. Well done to all that welcomed be to Bhutan.

Our journey in the mountains of Bhutan was richly rewarding. A gift not wrapped in paper but bound instead in the thread of discovery and the characters we were blessed to encounter along the way. A journey of reflection and life in focus - so generously mentored by the welcoming will and inspiring talents of the Bhutanese people, Like our fabulous guides Yonten and Pema, who helped us climb higher..beyond....as each new step took our breath further away. Thank you!

And also thank you to all our amazing crew and the nine ponies ... especially camera pony!
Everyone we encountered helped make our expedition an experience that will long be remembered as an outstanding example of living in the moment..

Thanks to Bas at Kimkim for making the arrangements so easy and to Wind Horse for organising everything on the ground. Thoroughly enjoyed this Bhut-Camp!

Trip was better than we could have ever expected. The entire process from the first messages with Bas till the fairwell hugs with tashi and Jigme at the airport and everything in between was beyond words! Tashi as a guide is phenomenal, can’t fault him. And Jigme was his perfect side kick. Nothing was too hard for the boys. Thank you for a wonderful trip!

My 6 days in Bhutan were amazing . My guide Sonam was so wonderful , full of knowledge and patience. I loved talking to him and I learned so much about the country , the people and the culture . My hike up to Tiger’s Nest was the biggest highlight of the trip. I didn’t think I could hike all that way , but Sonam had confidence in me and I did it! I am so proud . Thank you for a trip of a lifetime!

Our guide Sangay went out of his way to provide us with the additional activities that we requested. This included visiting the Faculty of Traditional Medicine in Thiumpu, walking accross a suspension bridge, purchasing certain meditation items and some of Bhutan’s products (honey). This he managed despite our very full and busy schedule. The flight times were out of the control of the tour operators. The time of our booking was late due to a previous tour falling through and this restricted the available flights at the optimal times. The flight times to and from Bhutan restricted the time and activities possible on the first and last day. This was disappointing because the other days were full of interesting and enjoyable activities and left us longing for more time.

Mads managed to put together a tour which packed in a lot despite the late notice. He was very responsive to requests and extremely prompt and thorough with communication and information.
Mads choice of accommodation suited us perfectly. He also organised, at very short notice, to swap a vesper for a Royal Enfield motorcycle when one of our group expressed a desire to ride one! I would not hesitate to use Mads again for a trip/holiday or to recommend him to others (which I have already done)

The first thing is that I had never done an organised tour before. Of course with the regulations in Bhutan it is the only way to see the country that I had wanted to visit for so long.  In my early exchanges with Vishal he made me extremely comfortable that a tour did not mean bus rides with many people; controlled timings on visits to places; and having to ensure we experienced the country at the pace of the slowest person in the group. Vishal carefully asked me what it was I wanted to see in Bhutan, which Places drew me to the county, and what kind of experience I wanted to take away.  He built an itinerary that combined my need to experience the history, the landmarks, the culture and the trekking, suggesting timeframes that would encompass all of these things without needing to rush, and giving me options throughout the itinerary that gave complete flexibility for us to enjoy. The planning became an exciting part of the trip (as it should be) and was an excellent experience.