Kimkim Trip Reviews for Chile

Really fantastic experience booking my trip to Chile with KimKim. Oxana was very knowledgeable and helped me plan the perfect trip and every detail seemed to be taken care of. The transportation services were excellent and I was able to experience all the parts of Chile I had hoped to visit. I was even automatically checked in for domestic flights I had while in Chile, which was super convenient. The accommodations were also superb. My only quibble would be that some of the tours I was on were with people that were about twice my age (I’m 29 and the median age of a lot of my fellow tourists seemed to be about 60). I would have enjoyed being around those more my own age, but also realize that as a solo traveler, I am being accommodated by tour groups that are able to take me and it’s not necessarily within KimKim’s control as to what age group I end up touring with, and it didn’t negatively impact my experience- just something for others to bear in mind. And in some instances I was the only person signed up for a tour and the tours still went, which was really appreciated as I know some tours won’t go if they don’t get enough participants. Overall excellent experience and service and I will definitely consider traveling with KimKim again in the future!

Marina was very tentative from the very beginning. She’s very responsive and explained very details to us. At first I was a bit nervous using online travel agent since we didn’t have any in person interaction but after a while Marina made us feel very comfortable. I would recommend Kimkim to my friends and our future adventures.

Overall we had a great holiday. Chile is a diverse, amazing and civilised place. Everywhere we went people were friendly and we didn't feel threatened at all. Highlights were the Atacama Desert and the trips run by Rutas Andinas (especially Andreas); they were very laid back and informative. We also loved Torres Del Paine and had the bonus of being on all inclusive, which we didn't realise until we were on the transfer from Punta Arenas. We did a number of trips from the hotel - Grey Glacier, Base of the Tower, Patagon and Laguna Azul, and all of the guides were excellent. If we were to go again I would probably give the Lake District a miss - Puerto Varas is really nice but the Chiloe Island trip, although there is nothing wrong with it, is a long way (400 km round trip) for not that much return. Osorno Volcano trip was good.
We spent 5 nights (in 3 blocks in Santiago) and the Ismael Hotel is in a great position. Lots of positives about the hotel - staff, atmosphere, breakfast, comfortable bed and pillow but be aware there is not much sound proofing in the glazing, so if you are in a room that is low down and either on the noisy side (back of hotel is on a busy street) or in room 413 (next to apartment that has all night parties on a Saturday - till 0700), try to get moved higher. Walking tour of Santiago was good and the Valpariso/Wine Tour was great. Felipe is a good guy. We also went on a Colchagua Wine Tour, which was the only one where we felt we were pushed along by the guide (Vivi). The vineyards were excellent and we had plenty of wine and a good lunch but we kept being told 'we need to move on in 8 minutes; 5 minutes etc', which isn't great considering how expensive it is.
Oxana (supported by Marina) was excellent and planned the whole thing around our wishes. Also, when we had a couple of scheduling issues with transfers they were resolved immediately. One other thing to mention, throughout the tour, regardless of operator, all of the drivers were good and we both felt safe on all trips (bus drivers in Cambodia please note!!).
An excellent trip and I would use KimKim and EcoChile again.

THE BEST
* Advance planning with Erin was very good and was personalized. Enjoyed working with her
*Ohmar was very good and was an excellent guide with excellent park history and knowledge.
Enjoyed being with him.
*The two transfer drivers were good. Carlos was particularly helpful in getting us to an earlier bus
departure back to Punta Arenas. He was very pleasant.
*The Aquaterra accommodations were good.
*The Grey Glacier Hotel and later glacier boat tour were both very good.
*The day tour of the park was very good.
*The Refugio Torre Central was a good staging point for the long hike, but there were some other
lodging options one might have considered to shorten hike a little.
*Even though we only had one clear and one partially clear day of the three, the views were
spectacular and what we came to see.
THE OTHER
*Two boat rides are unnecessary; the Grey Glacier tour was much better.
*The two options provided because of the last minute zodiac cancellation wee not good; like take a
chance on another company which may not go, or take an all day boat ride for a 1 hour walk. A
better option would have been to go head and do park tour or have a extra day in the park. Still
had to pay for transfer even though luggage would have been transferred under original plans.
*During the tour day, the hike was a pretty serious climb, considering the long hike to next day.
Might have considered another hike considering our ages and experience.
*For someone my age, a stay at the refugio 2/3 of the way up the Torres Base hike would have
been better. Also provides a weather option.
*The Patagonia B&B was very basic and would not be recommended.
*Lodging in Punta Arenas could have been nearer the penguin boat dock and airport. It was a 50
minute ride from town and back plus long boat ride for 1 hour with penguins at the end of the
season.
*Other than the lost day with the boat ride, the trip was a success.

Really enjoyed the trip that Mery coordinated. Drivers were very professional (some spoke only Spanish and some were fluent in English- all were fabulous and went out of their way to make sure we had the best experience). Note, be very specific with your wishes if you don’t want to take a long (South American style) lunch and would rather finish up earlier in the day. Sometimes a late afternoon vineyard tour and tasting makes for a sleepy evening. We had some last minute schedule changes and the team went above and beyond to accommodate our requests. Would definitely go through kimkim again!

Patagonia was a trip of a lifetime!
Argentina experience:
The Perito Moreno Glacier ice trek was a truly unbelievably experience. I have never seen anything like it, definitely a trip highlight. Our time spent in El Chalten/Fitzroy was magical. The hotel was very nice and accommodating. Oscar the bartender/ server/ host was our favorite. The scheduled hikes were perfect, tough but perfect. It was the perfect amount of time to spend there.
Chile experience:
The glacier cruise out of Puerto Natales was canceled due to wind and we weren't sure what to do. The people at Ditmarr/kimkim helped us quickly change our plans. We had a guided trip to explore the caves. Juan was our guide and we thoroughly enjoyed him and the cave experience.
The "W" hike was outstanding! Patagonia is so vast and diverse. The hiking is challenging with a lot of bouldering. We hiked in the perfect direction, I wouldn't do it the opposite way. Torres del Paine was full of people but the rest of the hike was less so. The refugios were a bit rough with the exception of the domes in Frances which we LOVED! You will get tired of bread, I suggest bringing some protein supplements along. Bring earplugs you will need them to sleep. The "staff" at Refugio Chileno were up until 2:30 AM playing loud music and partying...plus tired snoring hikers can happen. Hot showers are hard to come by so bring wipes etc, also suggest to bring a towel. The weather is unpredictable so bring layers for hot and cold. If you don't want to carry a really big pack you can rent sleeping bags. I would recommend that option. I can't remember if we were offered that. They do give you pillows. All the bus arrangements etc went smoothly.
We loved our trip!!! Patagonia is awesome. Kimkim and Dittmar were great to work with.

Everything was well organized. Erin always responded quickly with answers to our questions. The hotel staff at El Chatan and Portas Natales were exceptional. I learned a few things 1. Pack as light as possible for "W" hike. 2. I have a little difficulty sleeping in small dark places. 2 of the Refugios were very small. Hiking in Patagonia is amazing and challenging. Its beauty unmatched, it is wild and rugged. The lakes and streams every color of blue, greens and greys. So happy i completed this bucket list dream.

These guys, and gals, are great. It was our first time using a tour company, Patagonia has so much to do and see that I needed some help connecting the dots. Erin was super easy to work with and got back to me promptly whenever I had a question. It was a treat not to have to figure out the hotel/hostel piece as well as the bus schedule, they did it all. The tours were great, my favorite tour was the Estancia La Peninsula, an incredible day spent on the Estancia. Paula, our guide in Torres, was top notch too, she was a wealth of information and I felt that getting the full scope of the park was really valuable. Emily also lent a hand with final logistics. The entire crew was knowledgeable and easy to work with , the entire trip was way beyond our expectations and I highly recommend Dittmar Adventures if you are planning a trip to Patagonia. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

We had a great trip to the Santa Rita Wine Estate - thoroughly recommended for a two night stay - the Atacama Desert, Lake District and Patagonia (Punta Arenas and Torres del Paine).
The Atacama was just after their first heavy rainfall in years, which added extra beauty as the salts emerging from the ground gave the effect of a light sprinkling of snow. The mountains around were also topped with snow. The NOI Casa Atacama was good, apart from some oddities like the worst faucets of the trip but the best shower. Despite a small mosquito and fly problem in the room, the staff couldn't supply any fly spray, which we thought was unhelpful.
The Cumbres hotel in Puerto Varas was good, but I wouldn't recommend spending the extra cost of a room with full mountain view, as the clouds were down over the mountains most of the time! It's a great area for hiring a car and exploring yourself.
Punta Arenas and Torres del Paine were amazing, and fantastic weather most of the time too. I'd recommend booking at least the Full Paine tour well before you arrive, rather than at the last minute.
Avoid connections at Santiago airport with less than a couple of hours. A delayed arrival on one flight meant that we were stranded overnight in a cheap airport hotel, which lost us most of one day.
Oxana was very helpful in the plannning stage, with good suggestions and good choices of hotels, and in monitoring our progress through the trip, and gave us all the help we needed in rebooking flights after disprutions, and making changes to the programme.
I can't remember all the names of the guides and drivers, but they were excellent throughout, and everyone turned up preceisely when and where they were needed!

Would be very happy to come to Chile with Eco Chile again, or to use Kim Kim for other trips.

Andrew Dakin

The Dittmar team went above and beyond for our adventure. Erin really took the time to understand the type of trip we were seeking from the very beginning. She brought to the table amazing suggestions on how to incorporate both the Cerro Castillo trail with Fitz Roy and a classic road trip. They made logistics easy as pie for our small group. Even when we blew two car tires on the classic Carrera Austral, their team jumped in with support immediately. The four day through hike for Cerro Castillo was my favorite trail to date. It lived up to all of the expectations that the Dittmar team provided. I'd highly recommend using their team if you are looking for a laid back, self-guided adventure through Patagonia!

Great trip. Expensive for what you got. Most tents and sites were available and empty. Had been , prepaid for by guide companies, who monopolize the park. Locals would not let anyone stay in open sites if they did not have a reservation. Everyone we talked to had great difficulty getting reservation on their own. Drove the cost up exponentially. Kimkim was great to work with and tried to help with costs. Tent sites were the best vs. Made beds in dorms and snorers. Dittmar was ok. The sandwich they gave us the day before at orientation was bad by the next day. Totally soggy with tomatoes,cucumbers. Transportation in the park was not always on time as stated. Buses didn't run sometimes and neither did the ferry. A lot of standing around and waiting for it.

Everything was fantastic, we did the W trek, it went flawlessly. Would highly recommend this service.

We are one couple that were from a group of 10 but we did not have any part of the planning we simply were part of the group, others in our group did the planning and therefore had all the interactions with the team.
We were greeted at the departure from the cruise ship by Mauricio Masserano and spent the majority of 4 days with him touring the wineries of Chile. His English is impeccable and he has a very broad understanding of the wineries. He took us to lots of wineries that had different and unique places for example each day would be at least three wineries that had totally different ways of making wines. We visited some really great wineries and Mauricio chose different luncheons at very unique places that were all very delicious.
He and the driver left us at our hotel and the next day we had a father and son that gave us a tour of Santiago and took us to the airport for our flights home. They were both very knowledgeable with the City of Santiago and we enjoyed our day immensely. They also chose a very unique restaurant that was truly a great experience.

Thanks to Kimkim our W trek was amazing. Diana was fantastic in all sense. She responded promptly and made changes to our itinerary as required.

Only one suggestion, which is for fantastic sur, on day we could have stayed in Frances, day 3 Paine Grande which would have made things a bit better in terms of covering more.

We will definitely come back to Kimkim for our next Chilean and Argentina adventure

Thanks,
Pre and Elisabeth

I found the web platform and payment method a bit challenging as I was travelling with a group. Marie-Lou was generally prompt in responding to me. It would have been better if we could have talked directly to Mauricio, our guide for the wine tours as he had a plan that would have involved less driving. We went the way I requested but that was because I really didn’t understand the driving times/traffic etc. However, we did enjoy driving up the coast from San Antonio to Valparaíso as we were able to see where Chileans spend their summer holidays.
Mauricio was very good - he was always striving to give us a good experience. The wineries he chose were so diverse that we were always surprised that we were learning something new. Mateo and Leo were our guides for touring Santiago, were very good at answering questions and giving us options (such as walking or driving through the city center). Going up the gondola for the city view was a highlight.
The hotels - Hotel 17 in Valparaíso - great location, beautiful rooms with amazing views, Good breakfast, but a little run down and it could have been a little cleaner. Inca Hotel in Los Andes, Great pool area, good location, good breakfast, modern looking but moldy showers! Hotel Torremayor Lyon - nice neighbourhood, very good breakfast but this once very beautiful hotel needs renovations - it wouldn’t even look that bad if the floors were cleaner and stains removed from upholstery and carpets. The pool was very grubby.
Our guides and drivers definitely made this trip enjoyable and informative and I would recommend them to anyone. I would also use Kimkim in the future as it is a good way to find customized, unique travel experiences.

How do I even begin to review our 21 day Patagonia trip? It was incredible. After trying and failing to figure out the logistics of what we wanted to do, we found Ditmar Adventures and worked with Erin via KimKim. After the intro phone call, we felt like Erin had a really solid idea of what we were looking for and had nothing but faith that her and her team would put together something that we would be pleased with. That was an understatement. She worked with our group in the planning phases and was able to make the trip everything we were looking for and within our price point despite varying numbers on participants. Ahead of the trip, she was super helpful in our preparation and packing (bringing our own food and snacks was a lifesaver).

Once we arrived in Chile, everything was handled - a luxury that we have never experienced. All of the lodging selections were wonderful and fit perfectly with what we were looking for in the way of being affordable without doing the hostel thing. Each destination that we stayed at was exceptional in its own way and Erin anticipated the amount of time that we needed in each location very well. While trekking the Cerro Castillo circuit was something that we added in ourselves, it proved to be an amazing addition to the trip and the Ditmar team's support of that sub-trip was excellent. David meeting us in person before we embarked was also a treat. He had so much insight to share on where to eat and things to see along the route. The tips in the itinerary on where to get gas and money along the route were invaluable as well.

Overall, everything we had asked for, all of the activities that we wanted to take in as a group were accounted for. We saw craggy peaks and hiked a lot, drove through some of the prettiest (and ugliest) landscapes I've seen, saw the marble caves, rock climbed, fished, drank all the red wine, ate all of the delicious food, sat on front porches and watched sunsets, stood in wide valleys with snow kissing our cheeks, sat in hot tubs with mountains of bubbles, and savored every moment of it. While the hours saved in planning such an adventure were worth every penny, the most vital element of their service was that it afforded us all the opportunity to be free and present in the moment, something we all desperately needed and are very much grateful for. Aside from a few flat tires (which as Clayton mentioned were a blessing in disguise), everything exceeded any expectation I could have had. I can't recommend this route enough for adventure-loving folks and Ditmar enough for making it possible. Cheers!

Hi Erin

We have recently returned from our travels, which included our W trek co-ordinated by your team from 31 December – 5th January 2019.

Overall – we thoroughly enjoyed our opportunity to experience Patagonia and the wonderful places we visited during our time in Puerta Natales and Torres Del Paine National Park.

We would particularly like to give mention our guide Sophia. She was simply outstanding. Her experience, and the knowledge she could share with us ensured that we had the best possible time on the trek. She is clearly very well-known and respected by her peers that we met along the way as well, and certainly we cannot recommend her highly enough for her skills, humour, practical sensibilities and care she took to ensure we had the best possible time. Sophia was also not advised that one of our group had a Cheese allergy.

We experienced many different weather scenarios along the way – snow on the walk to the towers and blazing sun on our way to Frances. Wind in the French Valley and gale force 80+kmh gusts heading to Glacier Grey. Throughout our entire time we felt confident that Sophia had our back and put our safety first.

On day 4 – we were meant to walk to Refugio Grey and catch the boat to go to the Glacier before return to the bus pick up point. This could not occur due to the fierce wind on that day, and indeed we watched the ferry turnaround as it was unable to continue on the lake in the extreme weather that was in play that day. As such, we returned to Paine Grande and caught the ferry across Lake Pehoe to pick up the bus transfer there. We assume as a result there is a refund due to us for the Grey Glacier boat tour that we unfortunately could not enjoy. Can you please advise details on the likely refund for this portion of our travels.

On a more serious note, we also need to provide feedback on the planning and execution of our trek. What we had discussed with us prior to departing NZ, and also during our briefing with Emily in Puerta Natales was not the trek experience we had and as such we planned poorly for some aspects of our trip which could have mitigated had the correct information been provided. As travellers, we are all very experienced and well rounded people who can manage what is required through careful research and planning. We are not a group of people who try to wing-it. We like to be sure we are careful and well informed on what we need to have with us to ensure our safety.

During our time corresponding with you, we started out with a plan to stay in the Refugios during our time on the trek. As there was limited space available – you suggested an alternative itinerary which saw us camping – the first night out of the park, an hours bus ride away at a camping site, then camping Frances on night 2, camping at Paine Grande night 3. We had expectations that this indeed was our itinerary until we received our paperwork and itinerary from Emily late Nov/Early December before we departed NZ. This shows that instead we were back on track with the original plan – that we would be in refugios, we would be staying at Los Torres on night one, Cuerno on night two, and Paine Grande night three. We queried this as we wanted to be sure we packed appropriately for camping versus refugios, and it was confirmed that we would have beds as per the itinerary. We met with Emily and had a detailed briefing with her upon arrival in Puerta Natales on Dec 30th – again querying our accommodation details, and having it confirmed that we were in Refugio accommodation as per the itinerary. So no need for camping style preparations, we would be in the refugios.

The morning of departure we met Sophia, and embarked on our journey in the bus. She mentioned our camping arrangements prior to departure, and we met Daniel our lovely driver as he would be driving us to the offsite location etc. You can imagine we were all quite shocked to hear that now we are back to the Camping plan as per our previous correspondence with you. Mentally and indeed from a gear perspective – we had all prepared for our time in refugios. During the first hour of our journey to the national park, we all took time to reflect on this new development, and indeed at our coffee stop – we sat Sophia down and explained that we are quite taken aback by the news that we are camping as only 36 hours prior – we had sat with Emily, in the Dittmar offices, and confirmed a completely different itinerary. Sophia could see we were all a little concerned about what we were doing, so took the time and went through step by step with us, the camping plan, the fact Rodriguez would be cooking for us on the first two nights and breakfast mornings, and ensured we had all the details about what were actually booked for.

Our first day was particularly long, in part due to the snow and cold, and the fact we were prepared for a day of around 18km, when in fact it was more like 23km. We arrived at our camping site on night one, and there were no tents for us. It was 10:30pm, we were freezing cold, the shower block had no power, and potentially we had no bed. With no power, we showered in the dark, in the hope we would warm up a little. Thankfully Sophia clearly managed to call in some favours for us and was able to get two domes for us to sleep in, and we squeezed our party of 7 into domes designed for 2 people each and through exhaustion all slept fitfully on night one. The team at this camping site found some sleeping bags, but due to their thin-ness, also rustled up some blankets and cushions as make shift pillows, and found some sleeping matts for the extra bodies that needed to camp on the floor. It wasn’t a great start to our trip, as we are sure you can appreicted. But at his point we realised how invaluable having our guide Sophia would be. Night 2 and 3 – tents were ready for us when we arrived so that was reassuring to us all.

As a group of travellers, we are resilient and we will roll with the punches. Indeed this is what we did during our time. We had to make the best of our situation. And we did, and so did Sophia.

However as far as the organisational skills that went in to preparing us for this guided tour experience, we would like to express our abject disappointment. We were not prepared for the trek as well as we should have been. We paid well for a guided all-inclusive experience, as we wanted to do our best to have no surprises (within all reasonableness). The team at Dittmar let us down by being ill prepared with the wrong itinerary. It was potentially dangerous as we did not necessarily pack the right level of clothing and accessories for the camping accommodation we ended up with.

As such we feel that it’s very important that we bring this to your attention, to try and eliminate this kind of error for your future travellers. We would be interested to hear about Dittmar’s willingness for some compensation for the group as well, as I am sure you can appreciate where we are coming from around what we felt we paid for versus what we ended up being delivered.

Finally, we would like to reiterate that Sophia made our time on the W trek, special and memorable for us all – and for that we are eternally grateful to her. She was the consummate professional always and it is a credit to her for her ability to assess and manage every day and we absolutely enjoyed the scenic splendour. Our thanks to Rodriguez too for looking after our cooking for us(very tasty and muchly needed!), and to Daniel for looking after our transportation.

We look forward to hearing back from you with you feedback.

Kind regards

Gabrielle Satherley and friends

CBF. It was an amazing trip.

This trip was exceptional. We were travelling for about 9 weeks throughout southern Chile and Argentina. Everything ran smoothly. Accommodation was delightful, guides were awesome, especially Inti in Puerto Varas, and Eduardo in Puerto Natales. I have no hesitation in recommending the team at Terra, especially Marie and Emily, they went way beyond what we expected. Our thanks go out to them for a hassle free trip.

We enjoyed the trip very much. Marie-Lou was very attentive to our needs, and was very helpful. One complaint was we basically lost a day in Santiago because all the museums were closed on Monday. We should have done Valspario on Monday instead of Tuesday.
Anyway, Easter Island and the Atacoma desert were a lot of fun and we enjoyed our stay in Chile.
Thanks.
Steve & Julie