Kimkim Trip Reviews for Greece

First of all, my apologies for this delayed response. Nothing to do with our pleasure about the Greece trip. It was delightful in all respects. I am delayed in communicating because there were just a great many chores to complete on our return to Connecticut and Rhode Island.
I have just completed annotating the photos from Greece and so many great memories surfaced. I feel really fortunate to have chosen your team for this planning. Without exception the accommodations could not have been better. Each was different and each had a charm all its own. Beginning with the Acropolis view from our room in Athens to the center of town situation and fine staff in Nafplion to the gracious and helpful staff (and amazing breakfast choices) and beautiful location in Naxos and ending with our superb cave house on Santorini. Fantastic, all of them.
The individual guides in each location were great, perfect English speakers, interesting personalities, extremely knowledgeable about local culture and history - I could go on and on. Our driver/guide/historian on the drive from Athens to Delphi was truly memorable. I would like to give each one a special commendation! And as to the actual planning of the trip, PERFECT. My granddaughter, Piper, is a very engaging and active 12 year old and loved all the water activities - swimming at the olive grove on the way to Delphi, sea kayaking while in Nafplion, SCUBA in Naxos (this is what Piper really loved), catamaran in Santorini! I loved all the ancient history and those tour people were terrific. Can't say enough positive about the whole experience. Thank you.
Rogene Gillmor and Piper Cameron

Terrofic all around. Christos helped put a great itinerary together: It was dense and ambitious but never hurried. Precisely what we like.

The welcome dinner with great Akropolis views, great guides for mytholoy tour and kayaking...a truly outstanding experience.

Was our second Kimkim experience, after Nepal: Another winner.

What's the best thing about travel? The Travel itself?
What's the worst thing about travel? Planning the trip.

KimKim took care of every detail from providing us with the hotels in the range we were looking for to dinner reservation on a rooftop restaurant with a perfect view of the acropolis. Harris was in touch every step of the way, checked in regularly. When we hit a snag with one of the hotels he got involved to straighten things out. The transfers were reliable, the places were lovely and I can't say enough nice things about Harris and his team.

One last tip: Our trip included Santorini, Naxos & Syros . The last island, only an hour or so on the ferry from Piraeus is a hidden gem of the Greek Isles. There was plenty to do, the island is mostly popular with locals, so food and accommodations are inexpensive, the water is crystal clear and the history of the island in incredible. Our tour guide there was unbelievable, drove us around, split our private tour into two days instead of one, and took us to tucked in coves for an unforgettable experience! Can not recommend Syros highly enough!

We had an amazing time in Greece. The organising of our trip was without fault. The places we enjoyed the most were Meteora, Athens, Nafplio and the tour of Pilio villages and of course the Greek Islands. We did some interesting walks and our guides were superb. Accommodation was excellent and we were very grateful that we could leave our bags in Athens whilst we did our trips away. Lampros was absolutely amazing - very professional and very friendly. We have nothing but positive comments for the entire trip.

Dimitris did an excellent job of combining my ideas with his knowledge of Greece. This was my
third time to Greece so there were areas I wanted to revisit and of course have new experiences. Dimitris incorporated some exciting adventures into our vacation. Meteora, Olympia & Monemvasia are a must see. To relax after two weeks of our cross country drive we relaxed at his suggestion in a wonderful Villa on Naxos. Dimitris was patient and always available for questions and quickly resolved any issues. We stayed in wonderful homes with gracious people and of course fabulous food!! We will definitely use KimKim and Dimitris again.

Thank you,

Alexis Savaros

We have a great experience working with Kim Kim and specially with Mario Fortini our guide. Mario went above and beyond, not only by booking and coordinating our trip to Italy and Greece, but also he follow up all the time in our transfers, connections and difference places we visited.

Mario is a true trusted travel advisor and very knowledgeable. He truly enjoyed that we got the best out our trip and experience fully the places we visited. Mario gave us very good advise all the time and work in advance every detail that allows us to really enjoy the trip with all the family.

Our trip was quite challenging, because we visited several places in the North of Italy (Milano, Torino, Portofino, Lago Di Como and the Swiss Alps) and also Greece (Athens, Mykonos and Santorini).

We built beautiful memories as family and all the places are must see, but we specially enjoy Portofino, Lago Di Como, Belagio, St. Moritz (Swiss Alps, Bernina Express Rail Tour, highly recommended!), Mykonos and the memorables Phira and Oia in Santorini. Among many other good things, Mario booked for us a catamaran cruise day in Santorini, highly recommended, since you enjoy the view of the cylades islands from the see, plus the captain gave us a great history lesson of Santorini and its myths, plus you are able to enjoy the great Greece cuisine on board.

Thank you Mario and Kim Kim team, our trip to Italy and Greece was a blast!

Incredible. That's the only word I have for it. This was, by far, the best vacation the family has ever had. Tasos and the team at Travel 12 did an outstanding job of customizing every step of the way to meet exactly what we were looking for. It's hard to call out the places that were most memorable because the entire trip was fantastic.

Thank you Kimkim and the team at Travel 12 for making this such an outstanding adventure through Greece.

We loved our trip to Greece planned by Chris, especially our sea view hotels in both Naxos and Santorini and our hotel in Athens. We really appreciated having a driver to pick us up and drop us off at the airports, Lampros was exceptional he was professional, efficient, and well dressed. The Kimkim team was quick, professional, and responsive on WhatsApp when we had questions and or concerns. There were only a couple of hiccups: we were promised double beds in each hotel, this only happened at Athens Gate. And at the end of our trip, we were expected to take a hotel van but we’re expecting a private driver as planned. Because of this we ended up at the airport until after midnight and only spent 3 hours at our last hotel before an early morning flight. Chris was expedient in correcting the situation though and was able to reach Lampros who coordinated our pick up that night and drop off a couple of hours later. All and all in was a great trip, and for the most part smooth sailing. We are happy with the Kimkim team and services provided and would travel with them again! Many Thanks, and warm Regards, Janelle Miconi

We had an exceptional experience in Greece! We were a group of 11, arriving in Athens and excursions to Mykonos and Santorini. Our travel to and from these islands was thoroughly enjoyable. Our hotels were exquisite, as well as our catamaran trip in Mykonos and wine tour in Santorini. Chris gave us the most memorable experience we could have imagined! Bravo Chris!
Cynthia and Grace Moriarty

We had a fabulous trip in Greece thanks to all the coordination and expert guiding from the folks that kimkim ser up for us. Andreas was excellent for our all-day excursion to Delphi — very friendly and knowledgeable. The guide we had at the Delphi museum was also excellent.

The mythological tour with Vicky was very good—she has a background in archaeology and anthropology and was lively and funny. On such a hot day our younger travelers ran out of energy before we managed to see most of the Agora, but we managed to get the highlights of the Acropolis, and on our last day in Greece we returned to the museum of the Acropolis for a cooler and more detailed visit of the artifacts.

Our time in Naxos was relaxing and cooler after the heat and go-go-go of Athens. The beach hotel was perfect because it was both quiet and lovely. Our hike with Matina was a highlight because she was also very relaxed and able to respond to all our questions on the trail. We were lucky to visit an old Byzantine church when archaeologists were working the site and got to speak with them a bit about their work.

Santorini was next and the crew of our catamaran cruise was delightful. The captain engaged my mom in long conversation and the sights from the water were absolutely stunning. The only issue was that the pasta prepared for the group ran out before my niece could get some — and she eats very few things. It was mainly an issue with one family whose kids took giant portions, but the cook apologized and was seemed stunned to see that the item had vanished before everyone had a chance to sample it. We enjoyed the beach at Kamari and arranged an afternoon trip to Oía. We watched the US women win the World Cup title at an Irish Bar with an attentive staff, and that was fun.

Back at Athens for Laura & Claire’s departure we rented our car and headed for Corinth and the Peloponnese. Such a great choice! Nafpaktos was charming and we especially enjoyed Dimitris’s recommendation for a restaurant there — Captain Cook. Adela and I swam in the sea and climbed to the fortress.

En route to Olympia we enjoyed the countryside and ended up at the wrong Amalia hotel, but we were able to correct in time for our tour with Antonia. She was my favorite guide of the trip—so attentive to our questions and my mom’s pace in the heat. Nafplio proved to be a charming place to spend three nights and at that leg of the journey we were glad not to be moving every day to a new spot. Ilias was an excellent guide as well—maybe surprised with our level of knowledge and interest in the history and happy to go deeper when we asked questions. Mycanae and Epidaurus are very interesting places.

The evening performance of Oedipus Rex was definitely a highlight for me—my mom and I reread the play the day before we saw it, and it sprang to life in the theater as I hoped it would—creating a mythical moment as we considered how Greeks in ancient times may have experienced the brilliance of Greek tragedy.

The kayaking outing was soooo beautiful and George & Nico were excellent guides. George in particular has a zest for life and sharing outdoor experiences that inspire and connect people with natural beauty. Our coordinator at Grecopaths was lovely — helping us pick up our laundry in town and gifting us homemade preserves. Wish we had had more time with her!

The travel back to Athens was smooth and arriving back on a Sunday with little to no traffic was a bonus. Our Pi Athens staff welcomed us back for the third time and Lampros took us to the airport the next day. He’s a gem — so attentive and professional.

You and your team organized a trip we’ll never forget. You’ve earned our trust and stellar recommendation to others. Honestly, my mom was hesitant to go with an agency we knew little about, but everyone had a great time. Thank you for being so responsive to our queries! It instilled a lot of confidence as we went from place to place that we were in good hands.

We were very satisfied with Angeliki and the team at travel12 for having organized a great 11-day vacation in Greece that included Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini. 5 years ago, we used an online travel agency/service for a trip to Southern Africa, but this was our first experience using kimkim. We were left with a very good impression of the organization.

After exchanging a few emails and itineraries with Angeliki in Athens, we managed to create a full and interesting itinerary that managed to meet our requirements. My wife and I appreciated having the team arrange our ground and inter-island transportation from the time we arrived at Athens International Airport until it was time to depart. All arranged tours and guides were interesting and informative, and all the hospitality people at the hotels were friendly and helpful. The late-afternoon visit to Delos was unfortunately a bit rushed since we needed to catch the last ferry of the day back to Mykonos. Along the way, we had some great experiences, met warm, friendly people, ate lots of good food, and saw some beautiful sunsets.

We had a wonderful vacation in Greece and a large part of that positive experience can be attributed to kimkim and to Angeliki and the team at travel12.

Where do I begin? Greece was more magical and beautiful than I could imagine and the entire KimKim Team was wonderful to us! The entire trip was planned for us which included some of the most incredible excursions that we never would have thought of choosing. The best part was having the team coordinate drivers to pick us up from the airport, ferries and hotels and take us to the next destination. Every hotel was gorgeous and the entire team was gracious. We were able to communicate seamlessly using whatsapp which was so nice! We began working with Tasos and the rest of the team (Maria, Dimitris and Christos) joined in during our trip. They are the Dream Team! We had some hiccups on our end prior to the trip and Maria went above and beyond to ensure that we didn't skip a beat - Dimitris also stepped in and made magic happen! They truly made me feel as if we had been friends for years and it felt like one big happy family! I was so lucky to have met Sophia and Costadinos as well during the Santorini portion, they were my tour guides for the excursion and work alongside KimKim. Every single hotel we stayed at was breathtaking and every driver we had was incredibly warm - KimKim is definitely loved by everyone that we had the pleasure of working with. I fell head over heels in love with Greece and plan on going back next year - of course I will be booking with KimKim because there is no one else better!

Hi: all in- wonderful trip.

Tour highlights: tour of Naxos. I would have shortened tour of Naxos (drop the water mill portion with snack) but it was all very well done.
George and Anna were great.

Wooden boat: Jazz soloist was a nice surprise. It was good to be out on water to escape heat. A little more info on tour would be great. Like you have to swim to thermal spring (my mom could not do that), and tell people to bring a towel and a change of clothes. Maybe explain difficulty of volcano hike (my mom could not do that either). But in all it was an amazing tour and day.

The farm to table was nice. I thought it was an olive tour but it was more winery. Which was also nice. It was just a bit different than expected.
Lovely family.

Alternativ Athens was not a great start. You all should take the tour yourself if you haven’t in awhile. We had to leave it was so bad. The tour guide got lost in his script and spent way too much time playing truth and dare. We really just wanted someone to share history with us. This tour was a bit awkward as the people on it did not seem into it at all. This is more appropriate for children.

The hotels: foundry was perfect.

The hotel Nafplio was way too small for Kevin and myself. At 6 foot 4 the shower was a problem! The hotel in Naxos was also a problem. The shower was comical- Kevin simply did not fit. It would have been better to stay elsewhere (the hotel behind looked nice) and walk to beach. But all 3 hotels had a lovely breakfast.

Makris was a nice hotel.

Thanks for everything:
Jen

We traveled to Greece early June 2019. Harris was our Kim Kim local specialist who helped us plan the trip. He was always responsive and helped us refine the trip down to each detail. He was in touch with us throughout the trip as well, providing tips and suggestions , making sure everything was going as planned and problem solving as needed. Our trip was in two parts. The first part was just two of us traveling in the Peloponnese Peninsula with a car rental. The boutique hotels we stayed in were perfectly comfortable and friendly, with a lovely breakfast . The breakfast at the hotel in Napflio (Amymone and Andiande suites) included everything fresh from the owner's farm. In Mystra, ( Mazaraki Guest House) our breakfast was served in a basket delivered to our room so we could eat on our balcony overlooking the beautiful valley. All historical sites and tours with private guides were impressive and fascinating to say the least. We toured Olympia with our excellent guide Antonia , and Mycenae and Epidaurus with the knowledgeable guide Ilias. In Olympia we had a very charming meal at the Bacchus Inn which if we had more time we would have stayed there over night along with enjoying their hillside pool and excellent house wines. The food and wine everywhere was always outstanding especially the remarkable seaside village of Limeni where we feasted on FRESH seafood that was caught and grilled very near to our waterside table. Nafplio was also a wonderful seaside town with many outside dining spots and unlimited fun small boutiques. Another highlight was our visit to Monemvasia, which was an ancient island village on the Aegean sea, one of a kind, with soaring views of the turquoise blue water. Our auto rental was an Audi 3 which was perfect for the winding sometimes narrow Greek roads and on the perfectly engineered smooth highways.
The second part of our trip was returning to Athens to meet with our three adult children. Our welcome dinner at Mauro Provato ( Black Sheep) was excellent. We toured the remarkable Acropolis. It was extremely crowded. I had been there 38 years ago and at that time was on the rock with myself and a traveling companion and not another soul! Such a difference!! We visited the market place named Monestraki where the shopping was exciting and very worthwhile. We traveled on to the islands of Mykonos, Naxos and Santorini by high speed ferry. The ferries were a wonderful way to travel, very comfortable and fast! We enjoyed a "strawberry moon" festival in Mykonos, a wonderful hike with our brilliant guide Matina and a Greek night of dancing and plate smashing at the Flamingo on the water front in Naxos. On Santorini, we enjoyed the breathtaking views of the caldera, shopping, an ebike tour at sunset (with guide Dimitri) and a catamaran sunset cruise and barbecue, our favorite event . We sailed to three different beaches and could swim off the boat at each location. The cliffs and colors were amazing. Thanks to Harris and Kim Kim for helping us plan this wonderful journey.

My 16 year old daughter and I had the trip of a lifetime, thanks to KimKim and Tasos' planning! Firstly, Tasos was incredibly patient and helpful as we tailored the trip to fit my budget and my daughters dreams (there were several incarnations of this trip before we finalized the best version). And we were not disappointed! It was the perfect mix of tours (private, small group and large group), down-time and free-time. So glad we made a two nights stay in Athens to take in the sights with a super cool semi-private "Mythogical Tour". On Santorini, our hike from Fia to Oia with Georges was a definite highlight. What an excellent guide; funny, interesting and knowledgeable. He definitely had the inside scoop and helped us avoid the crowds and see some really beautiful sights. Throughout the trip our lodging was excellent. The Agean Gem, on Santorini was above and beyond expectations. The hotel is impeccably clean, beautifully decorated and in an amazing location, very close to the beach, beautiful hiking and within walking distance to the outdoor cinema (which I highly recommend).

Our trip to Greece was lovely. The guides were wonderful, and the itinerary covered what we had asked for - archeology, mythology, and some family relaxation time. The visit to the family farm / vineyard was especially memorable for our entire family. Hercules, a guide that we had in Nafplio, was also wonderful interacting with the kids- teaching my youngest all about the local plants, and talking to my older two about Scouting in Greece.
The primary reason that I am giving 4 stars instead of 5 for our local specialist was that I didn't receive the confirmation numbers - particularly for our car and hotel until just a few days before our departure. I believe they were booked beforehand, and would have appreciated having those numbers "in hand" for my own comfort.

It was a great trip - and I would use Kimkim again!

Overall Dimitris did a great job in helping us plan our family Greece trip. With so many amazing sites to see and islands to visit, it can be overwhelming knowing what would be good for our family and Dimitris took care of everything. We communicated through the trip and he quickly answered any/all questions that I had. We even met him in Athens and he handed us our ferry tickets and helped us buy an extra ticket that we needed when one of my kids joined us at the last minute.

We were also able to stay in apartments and houses that I didn't see on-line when I was doing my own research, which worked great for our family.

My only recommendation for people who are going to use kimkim services is to truly think about what you want your vacation to be and then kimkim can help you plan it. Review your itinerary very closely day by day to think about what that day will look like. Understand exactly where you will be staying (does it have a pool, is it close enough to walk to the beach, can you walk to places for dinner or will you need a car/taxi etc), if you have a free day you will then need to plan your own day/transportation etc., How will you get to/from the airport or ferry to the place that you are staying? Kimkim can set up all of your transportation or you can find a taxi/Uber if you want. If you do a tour do you want a private tour or a group tour? Overall it was a great trip and I would highly recommend Dimitris and kimkim. Thanks!

Christos arranged a wonderful itinerary for our family of four, to Athens, Mykonos, Naxos and Santorini. The accommodations were modern and hospitable, not sure we could have found them on our own! We had several terrific excursions, including a Greek history/mythology tour in Athens with Athens Insiders, a visit to a Mykonian farm with a traditional dinner afterward, a bike tour of Naxos' beautiful coastline (local guide Reno is fantastic!), and a boat tour of the caldera/volcano region in Santorini. Only caveat I would add is to be specific in your requests to the agency - e.g., hotel walkable to beach or town, etc. The Travel12 team was extraordinarily professional and responsive to all of our needs, particularly when issues cropped up with delayed planes etc as happens with travel. Much appreciation! We recommend Christos and the team without reservation.

It was a fantastic trip for our family. Greece was beautiful and the people we met were all so wonderful. All transfers were smooth except the ferries. The assigned seats on our tickets didn't work and we got bumped to a different ferry, which was confusing, but all in all we made it to Santorini and Crete. The guides, and I wish i could remember all of their names, were so all wonderful. Especially for our tour in Athens (Maria??), Delphi (Kristoff??), Akrotiri, Heraklion (George) and Vamos (George??). I'm so bad with names, sorry. The accommodations were great, especially in Santorini and Athens. The lodging in Chania... I personally wouldn't recommend, but my husband liked it. :)

As for Harris and the Travel 12 Team - fantastic job as well. Harris was always so quick to respond and really understood the importance of good food and lodging that my husband described. He truly listened and was very helpful. And that "Welcome to Greece" dinner at Manh Manh was simply INCREDIBLE!!! We only wished we could have gotten back to that restaurant.

Thank you again for everything
Stacey Bland

Christos was very helpful with the planning of our trip to Greece. He was prompt with his responses and he listened and adjusted the itinerary according to our needs and requests. Everything went exactly as scheduled and when we had an issue with one of the excursions, he was understanding and did his best to handle things expeditiously. We visited Athens, Aegina, Hydra and Spetses. We thoroughly enjoyed each place, but the Hotel Rastoni in Aegina was especially beautiful. I would not hesitate to use kimkim again!