Kimkim Trip Reviews for Colombia

Best vacation ever! Many thanks to Natalia for planning us a wonderful tour of Colombia. We went to Medellin, Bogota, and the Zona Cafetera over one week. Everything was so smooth and seamless. All of our guides and drivers were on time (or early) to pick us up and were absolutely fabulous. We loved all of the hotels that Natalia selected for us, especially Patio del Mundo in Medellin. I can't recommend this trip, and Natalia, highly enough. Thank you!!!

What a fantastic experience from beginning to end!

In the initial stages I was connected with Nathalie, and after discussing my specific interests in Colombia via correspondence, she got back to me with an itinerary including additional suggestions that were welcomed and encouraged! After a little tweaking we had created a fantastic adventure through Bogotá and Antioquia!

Nathalie was always swift to respond with answers to my questions and even a couple weeks before the trip, she notified me that she’d be out of the office for a few days and put me in touch with Laura in her stead and Laura was equally as helpful!

Nathalie arranged all my transportation including airport transfers which was incredibly helpful and one less thing to worry about!

In Bogotá, I spent the day with Balthazar (a very smart and funny Rolo) starting at the Paloquemao market sampling a myriad of wonderful and delicious local produce and experiencing the calm chaos of one of Colombia’s largest markets. Ducked out of the rain into Cafe de la Fonda for some coffee and mate de coca and learned a little about coffee production in Colombia before ascending Monserrate and taking in the incredible view of Bogotá and beyond!

The following day was spent with Michael, owner of Bogotá Bike Tours in La Candelaria. We mounted up and traversed the city viewing some of the most incredible street art I’ve ever seen and Michael’s vast knowledge of history, politics and pop-culture and how it could be interpreted through the murals we were seeing was eye-opening on multiple levels!

Onto Antioquia! My first day was spent with Germán exploring Santa Fe de Antioquia including the historic Puente de Occidente bridge over the Cauca River! The beautiful churches and plazas of Santa Fe with it’s cobbled streets was a fantastic getaway from the city and Germán was knowledgeable and eager to show me it’s history and charm.

The following days I explored El Peñol, Guatapé, a coffee finca in Fredonia, Comuna 13 and downtown Medellín with Andrea. She was equally as knowledgeable and excited to share the highlights and history of Colombia with me. Climbing the 700+ stairs of Piedra del Peñol was exhilarating and the view from the top was incredible! I loved wandering through the vibrantly lined streets of Guatapé and seeing all the wonderful zócalos (bas reliefs) decorating each of the colorful houses!

We then traveled out to Cafe Luna Llena, a coffee finca in Fredonia, southern Antioquia. Where Gustavo Palacio completely schooled me on the coffee process in Colombia! From seed to cup, we walked the hillside noting coffee plants in various stages of maturity, I even planted one and picked some coffee beans myself! He covered the various drying processes and exported coffee versus the “Tinto” that is consumed by the majority of Colombians and how drastic the difference in quality is. So informative and interesting, this was was one of my favorite days in Colombia!

The next day we ventured to Comuna 13 and Andrea explained how the neighborhood has blossomed into the welcoming and colorful area it is today from a very poor and violent past. Vivid murals tell the story of its history and triumph with sweeping walkways and little cafés, peddlers selling handmade goods, ice cream and fresh juice it was a very cool experience!

We hopped a metrocable to get a nice aerial view of the cascading neighborhoods and jumped on the metro into downtown Medellín to see the hustle and bustle of it’s core and view the 23 sculptures of Fernando Botero in Plaza Botero!

This was such a wonderful adventure! Nathalie kept in touch throughout the whole trip and would check-in often to see how I was doing. All the drivers and guides were on time if not early and incredibly friendly and warmly welcomed me to their wonderful country!

I have nothing but good things to say about this country and it’s people and it’s all due to Nathalie! Thank you so much!

¡Hasta pronto!
Trevor

Communication with kimkim was easy. I receiver replays to my messages quickly and together we cooked up the best plan. The adventure to Colombia's Zona Cafetera turned out very nice, everything happened as planned.

Great trip that KimKim and the local team in Colombia managed to fit into my tight schedule. I had been worried that my short amount of time available would hinder my experience, but with the help of Laura and the whole Colombia team, I felt that I got a great view of the country in even just a few days. Everyone made my trip easy, smooth, and full of activities, even when a last-minute change had to be made. Great job! I plan to use KimKim for another trip in the future!

Me and my wife had a 12 days trip in Colombia, more specifically in the coffee region (Cauca Valley / Quindio), Medellin, Cartagena and Isla Grande. It was a lot to pack into 12 days, but Jess, our local expert from KimKim, managed to strike the perfect balance; it was a great mix of the things we asked for: adventure, coffee and food tasting as well as a bit of relax! We also had some bumps along the way (such as forgetting our mobile phone in a taxi), but Jess and her team managed to help us and fix things!

A few highlights:
1) Do visit the Cauca Valley and Quindio areas: beautiful villages, nature and obviously coffee. Also, if you plan to hire a tour guide you should really ask of David: he was the best guide we ever had, incredibly passionate and knowledgeable, as well as super friendly and fun.
2) If you love food, ask for a cooking class: Colombian food is superb, we did one in Cartagena at Oh La La and it was amazing.
3) If you love history, and want to know more about Colombia's own history, visit Medellin: Real City Tours and the Memorial Museum are a must.
4) If you love sea life, go to the coral reef around Isla Grande and ask for snorkelling or diving, there will be plenty of opportunities.

Thanks again to KimKim and all people involved in this great trip!

Jess did a great job adapting to our requests and providing great suggestions. We made some changes on the fly and Jess was able to roll with it and make our trip a delight. Jess even booked us restaurant reservation and was always available.
A couple of comments and suggestions.
The city tour in Bogata really works better if you start by going up to Monsarrat then venturing into the city.
A ceviche tour in Cartagena, which we heard about from other travelers at our hotel, sounds great and we suggest you folks add it to your options.
Medellin tour to Guatapa was great .
The rum tasting was a highlight, Abraham is a great guide to the world of rum. All of our guides, while all very different were great, informative and adaptable, not going from a script.
The transportation options were good, we never waited for a driver.
We handled most of our own hotel options, we liked both the Bastion in Cartagena and the Charlee in Medillin and would recommend both hotels.

Thank you Jess we had a great time.

Best Brian and Terri

I travel ninety-nine percent of the time independently and without the assistance of any organization or agency of any kind. I forgot how I stumbled upon Kim Kim but I thought the services looked so interesting and beneficial that I decided to take advantage of them.
Jess was very helpful and responsive to my inquiries. We also spoke by phone as necessary which was very helpful. The day she was not available, one of her colleagues was in touch with me by phone when my plane was delayed. I also appreciated someone keeping track of my trip.

I would have been curious to know what the breakdown of my expenses was. I know you get special rates but I would have liked to have known what they say are. The only breakdown was for the flights within Colombia.

I ended up needing a refund for one of my hotels since I was downgraded from a mini Suite to a standard room. That was taken care of very quickly so I'm pleased about that.

Just a minor comment about the website, I would suggest putting the countries you work in an alphabetical order.

I also was contacted by phone once from headquarters in Palo Alto. I forget why but I appreciated being able to talk to somebody there.

I've already shared with several people that I used Kim Kim to help plan my trip so I'm spreading the word about you and would definitely consider using you again.

And a personal kind regards to Jess!

One of the most memorable highlights of Bogotá was our trip to the market with German. We sampled some spectacular fresh fruit juices and ate delectable Lechones (whole pork stuffed with rice, peas and spices). We enjoyed the views of Bogotá from the vantage point of Monserrate. The food throughout Bogotá was varied and delicious.

In the Coffee Region, Jorge Sánchez expertly guided us along the trails of Corcoran Valley, Salento and a coffee plantation. The landscapes and cloud forests of Corcoran Valley were world-class. We were fortunate to see the Andean Condor, Colombia's national bird, gliding above the wax palms during our hike. What a treat!

We loved Cartagena and its vibrant culture. Alvaro toured us through the most important sites in the area and provided us with expert commentary and restaurant recommendations.

The hotels were all excellent and our guides were knowledgeable of the areas we visited. Kimkim really took the stress out of traveling. We'll definitely use them again!

We had a great trip to Colombia. Natalia was a very good coordinator. She was very attentive to our requests for changes to the itinerary, very responsive to requests we had before and during our trip, and very accessible when we needed her to both answer questions and to arrange transportation when our itinerary changed abruptly due to bad weather on Islas Rosario.

Our first guide in Bogota, Juan was also very good. He connected well with everyone in the family. We especially loved the tour he led us on through the market, tasting may different fruits and foods. That was a highlight.

Our second guide, David in Pereira, was equally good. He also connected with the whole family and was easy to talk to. He gave us a lot of insight into modern Colombia. We really enjoyed the hike among the Wax Palms.

We had a little less time with our third guide, Sergio in Cartagena but he too was excellent. He showed us places and offered us information and opinions about Cartagena and Colombia that we would not have gotten on our own. We even ran into a Colombian soccer great, Carlos Valderrama and Sergio was able to get him to take a photo with my soccer loving son!

Our transportation was always very punctual and comfortable. The drivers were generally good.

Our hotels were also mostly excellent. The Hotel de la Opera in Bogota figured out it was my wife's birthday and left a nice piece of cake in our room. A very nice touch. WE loved the setting of the Hotel Sazagua, we loved the location of the Hotel Bantu, and we felt the service at all these hotels was excellent. The only hotel we didn't just love was the hotel Majagua on Isla Rosario. It was a bit expensive, the service was okay but it felt like we were being sold something the minute we stepped off the boat. It was also very windy. I did appreciate that they got us back to the mainland safely because the weather turned bad and it threatened to keep us there and possibly miss our plane the next day.

All in all, it was a memorable trip. Thank you.

Kimkim made my trip to Colombia so memorable! I spent 12 days there, and everyday went smoothly & I had great experiences with all guides/tours. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. The local guides were very knowledgeable & friendly, tours were super fun & organized and the hotel provided by Kimkim was exceptional. I would trust Kimkim to plan any of my future trips. They really take the stress and anxiety out of planning trips so you can just enjoy and relax. My favorite parts of Colombia were definitely hiking the cloud forest in Salento, the city bike tour & hiking Monserrate in Bogota, the walking tour of Medellin, and roaming the streets of Cartagena. Would definitely return. Thank you :)

The trip we experienced had some wonderful highlights. However, the hiking on the second and third days, was not properly described. This created a dangerous situation in which my wife was hurt. She had to stop hiking. The only way she got out was on horseback. Luckily, she has experience riding and the farmer who owns Jordan finca was skilled at guiding the horse down 10k of extremely steep, rocky paths and then through 5k more of just wet, slippery paths to safety.
Specifically, the description of the second day: from Petosi to Jordan is very misleading. The description says: "you will arrive at Jordan farm by "mid-afternoon." The hike is 22K! The second half starts with slippery, muddy trails and quickly turns into steep rocky pathway for about 5 miles. It took us 11.5 hours to complete. A group of younger hikers did it in 10 hours. What's so crazy is that the third day continues with 6.2 more miles of steep, slippery rocky paths. So no way could Carol, who twisted her knee on the 22k leg complete the hike back to the road.I have hiked 100s of miles. Really (Wonderland Trail completely in 8 days, the Superior Hiking Trail, Pukasqua, etc.) If this trail had an accurate description I would not have taken my wife (who I clearly described as 73 years old and normal fitness) on this trail. I'm not asking for a refund, but days 3 and 4 were a frightening and extremely unpleasant experience for me and bad for Carol too, because the safety of my wife was at risk.
If you do not change the descriptions of these days, I will spend time and effort to expose the carelessness of your agency. Check with the guide Freddy if you think any of this is innacurate.
GOOD STUFF: Our guide Freddie Cardona (I will check on his last name) was excellent and was invaluable in getting Carol through this dangerous situation. The bike riding day was great fun. The Cocorra valey was beautiful. The packaging lists were accurately and helpful. Both hotels were nice, with Quo in Manizales having an excellent room and exceptionally helpful staff.
The score for Cami is based on the description of the hike, not on her being helpful.
I guess the bottom line is that what could have been a great trip was ruined by an innacurate description of the risks. Fortunately Carol got by with a very sore knee. Take the hike yourself, then write the description. Explain that this hike is appropriate for experienced hikers who can handle 22K of steep, rocky, muddy pathways that can be trecherously slick, at altitudes over 10000 feet.
Finca Jordan is lovely. Finca Petosi is a pit. Dirty, toilets withot seats that are barely clean. The owners of both fincas were friendly but Mary Luz at Jordan is an exceptional host, as was her husband Mario.

We had a great 4-day trip the Amazon region of Colombia. Our full-time guide for our trip was Odin and he was simply amazing. He was very attentive to our bilingual needs, since half our group only spoke English and the other part spoke mostly Spanish. Odin and every other guide was extremely professional and punctual for both the walking tours and the tours that required a boat ride. The Calanoa lodges where amazingly comfortable and well surpassed our expectations. The food was delicious, we tried a variety of local fruits and dishes that would compete with anything served from a high end restaurant. Booking with Jess from kimkim.com was smooth sailing. We simply gave her our information and the activities we where interested in doing and she booked everything from the pickup at the airport till the drop off at our final destination. Will definitely be using this service too book future trips.

Mairesol was our guide both days - to Guatape and the coffee plantation. Both days were great!
We loved climbing the stairs of El Penol and it was followed by a great meal, away from other tourists too!. The visit to the coffee farm was great. The views were tremendous and the food and coffee was tops.

Hi Jess,
Sorry it took me so long to get to providing feedback.
All round I had a really great trip - an unforgettable experience.
Starting with exploring various options through an internet search - your website struck me as really professional and the co-branding with well-known brands gave me the confidence to go with kimkim. Your responses to my initial inquiries about possible options were prompt, friendly and efficient - I felt the same about the booking process and your subsequent follow-up notices.
We received a very warm and friendly welcome from the agency team in Leticia - it was immediately obvious that it was a professional and experienced outfit. We were well briefed and looked after.
The guide was fantastic - knowledgeable, caring and supportive and really good at keeping us well fed. The translators (we had 2) were also great - really friendly and helpful.
The hike offered a good mix of variety of activities - walking (or battling at times) through the forest, staying with the local population, sleeping high up in the canopy and camping overnight, kayaking and crossing the Amazon into Peru, and then exploring the jungle further via boat.
All the meals and stays along the way were very enjoyable.
A final observation from a marketing point of view (and please take it coming from a 63 year old man - BTW the guide told me I was the oldest person walked with) - I would rate the hike on the "extreme adventure" spectrum (6-7.5 out of 10) rather than "for those looking for something a little more adventurous". The terrain is very challenging and while you don't need to be super fit, you need to be firm very firm footed with solid muscle strength. And you need to be comfortable with heights and about crossing streams and pools on tree trunks (in the dark at times).
Notwithstanding, it was a truly wonderful experience. Thanks to you and please pass on our thanks to the crew in Leticia. All the best Deon

The arrangements for flights and hotels all worked perfectly. The guide we had for Bogota was extremely knolegeable about history, archaeology and art. In Villa de Leyva we had a thunderstorm but the guide substituted a talk on history and politics of Colombia. I didn't find the salt cathedral interesting. Guatavita was very beautiful but unfortunately there was no English speaking tour. San Agostin was particularly interesting, and the guide was very knowledgeable and helpful. Tatacoa was very interesting but much too hot for the hike we did. We particularly enjoyed Cartagena's beautiful architecture. The hotel and service were gracious. Our trip to fishing village and boat tour were fun, and we enjoyed the guide's explanation of the biology.

We enjoyed all of the trip. Our personal guides were all really informative, authentically and genuinely interested and passionate about their environments and willing to share their culture and lifestyle with us. To us, that is one of the best things about this sort of trip, and we were happy with your choices. It was a long trip, so there is much to recommend, and if I don't mention something, it doesn't mean we didn't love it! - I'm thinking of you Medellin with our great guide Marcello---

We always enjoyed the special heritage Colombian towns like Villa de Leyva, Jardin, Barichara... We won't ever forget visiting the Kogi in their village and our picnic by the river there.

There were a couple of odd things which I'd like to mention, just to keep you all in the loop. The driver at the airport in Medellin picked up the wrong travellers, so wasn't there when we arrived. A call to the agent who's number you provided soon sorted it out.

Our trip to Jardin was interesting. We noticed that most of your drive times are a bit optimistic... We expected a three hour drive or something, but about half way there we found the road between Medellin and Jardin is closed. We had to travel back quite a ways and then take the awful road down to Jardin, turning this into i think a 5-1/2 hour trip. We were surprised that the driver didn't know anything about it, because we are under the impression that this is a long term road project and the driver says you drive there all the time. Anyway, it was an awfully long trip, because it was at least as long back to the airport the next day and maybe longer.... just for a short one night visit. I would re-think your Jardin approach. Before we asked for an overnight, I think you had us going there on a day trip, which Obviously can not be! The rest of the day's description was out the window too.. We didn't see a museum, or taste any award winning sweets, and I can assure you, that cable car hasn't run in quite some time, although we did walk around the town and enjoy it! The itinerary indicated Dinner was included that day, but I don't know where! We had cervezas with the locals around the square and went out for Pad Thai later. So, we enjoyed Jardin, but we didn't seem to have had an experience as outlined in an itinerary.... When we left Jardin we went directly to the airport and flew from Medellin to Bogota at 6pm, then Bogota to Santa Marta at 8 pm. Of course we got into the Hotel Villa Maria quite late after dinner, and the bar were closed. We were wondering why we weren't on any of the direct flights from Medellin to Santa Marta that evening? Perhaps they were sold out, but they could have been booked two months in advance?

We particularly enjoyed the guides and the visits around Tayrona. The guides were all so enthusiastic and knowledgable, thank you. Christian brought a couple of books and props to discuss in depth the history and lifestlye of the local indigenous group, which we enjoyed at the nice picnic site set up for us. That day was a little "off script" too... we definitely went to a different village. We drove to Rio Ancho, then took a 4x4 up as far as the road went, then walked in the heat and dust about an hour and a half to the Kogi Village. We didn't meet anybody besides the kids there, but it was good, and the picnic spot on the River Ancho was awesome. We were pooped from this dusty day so much that the next day, we mostly sat in the shade and talked philosophy with the guide Juan. He had lots to tell us about Indigenous beliefs.

Barranquilla Carnival was a blast. Those people really know how to party, and we get why you picked the spot for our viewing (bathrooms, thanks!). We drank enough beer to need them. Luckily we were able to pick up our Fiesta tickets right in the hotel lobby upon our arrival. That, and a new hat to boot.

Finishing up in Cartagena was great. We enjoyed the shopping and dining scene there with many memorable food experiences. Unfortunately, on the last morning at 4:30 am, our last driver was no where in sight. We gave up shortly after 5 and hailed a ride with the help of our hotel.

All in all, these small things are just details, and our trip was long and varied, so everything can't be perfect! We had a wonderful time in Colombia and feel like we learned a lot and enjoyed quite a few different experiences. It takes a lot of patience to plan this type of holiday and the pre-booking questions and emails takes a certain about of patience and follow though. Nicolas did a pretty good job with all of that, Thank you Nicolas.

Kate and Mike

Natalia, and Kimkim, worked together with our group point person to facilitate our visiting many wonderful places in Colombia. We stayed in very comfortable hotels, were the staff made us feel at home.

Our guides added great interest to our visits to so many wonderful sites. In addition, the guides were really fun people to spend time with.

Everything went flawlessly, all of our check ins, check outs, getting picked up, getting dropped off, making connections.

For me this was a wonderful introduction to South America.

The experience:
Our visit to Amazonas felt like a real adventure!
We were met in bustling Leticia by Darwin, our English-speaking guide, and spent the next 90 minutes awe-struck by the immensity of the river and the expertise of the boatman, who skilfully navigated past tree trunks and other floating debris as we sped our way upstream to Callanoa.
Our ‘home’ at the ecolodge was a beautifully designed 2-storey casita (more than just a cabin). Surrounded by a garden of heliconias and other floral delights, we were immersed in the sounds of birds in the secondary forest – the crested oropendolas with their liquid ‘glopping’ call, yellow-rumped caciques, and a multitude of diverse tanagers - with a rhythmic backing of frogs and cicadas.
We spent three comfortable nights here on the banks of the river Amazon as the river was rising at the start of its annual flood.
Each day started with a tasty breakfast –often in the company of a visiting troupe of squirrel monkeys or black-mantled tamarins. Then we would be hailed by the enthusiastic Darwin and taken off for a visit to the neighbouring village or, further afield, by boat, to flooded forests and islands, where we cruised amongst the trees spotting birds, sloths, pink dolphins and other wildlife. We will never forget the huge horizons and looming cloudscapes (nor the tremendous downpour that caught us midriver).
Going back to the lodge each day for lunch and supper –usually fish (always locally caught) and always delicious - provided opportunities to relax and rehydrate with a beer or exotic fruit juice.
We would love to return to the Amazonas wilderness in the future and, after a blessing from the local shaman at Callanoa, who knows, maybe in spirit at least...
The people who helped to make the trip so good:
-Darwin, a cheerful and knowledgeable guide. He appeared to know the area and the people and interacted well with the local guides to enable us to get the most out of our visit.
-The owner of the ecolodge, Diego. He was often present at meals when he was willing to answer our questions and to explain the ideas behind the Callanoa project. He aims to develop sustainable tourism as a way of restoring the natural forest and to provide the local people with employment and a cash income.

Thank you Nathalie for your attention to detail and personable approach to organising our holiday. We had a fabulous time and have fallen in love with Colombia. The tour guides and transport alway arrived early or on time. A thank you to Laura who was able to help when you were off. She was well informed concerning our trip and able to assist when we had a concern. Our tour guide in Medellin deserves a special mention. Andreas was wonderful. Such a lovely young women. We would love to return to Santa Marta and Cartegena. I would recommend the trek to The Lost City. The highlight of the trip. Once again thank you.

We had an amazing trip organized by Nicolás to Cartagena, Minca, and Tayrona National Park. One of our favorite experiences was touring the Bazurto in Cartagena with Chef Mely, since we were able to taste and explore the local cuisine with the help of an experienced guide. We also loved bird watching in Minca, and we even got to see a Toucan! It was so relaxing to have all of our transportation arranged ahead of time, and Nicolás was always available with a quick response whenever we needed to make adjustments to the schedule. The most difficult day of our trip was when we were driving from Tayrona to Cartagena due to heavy traffic caused by protests. The local Colombians were protesting because they did not currently have electricity or clean water. This obviously could not have been prevented, but I do recommend that other travelers plan for a whole day of travel if they are also making this drive. Overall, we were very happy with Nicolás and the entire Kimkim experience!