Kimkim Trip Reviews for Iceland

We had an absolutely fantastic vacation and really enjoyed experiencing Iceland. There are a few questions that I should have asked in retrospect, but nothing that detracted from our experience.

The Silfra snorkeling tour was incredible! Our tour guide, Johnna was excellent. She took us through every step giving us confidence that we would have a wonderful experience. Even her underwater photography skills were amazing!.
Our trek on the glacier was exhilarating! Wei, our tour guide, was quite competent and offered both technical knowledge as well as a great deal of information about how the glaciers are reacting to the environmental impact of global warming.

Our experiences are too many to list, however, the weather was perfect and our hikes along the coast as well as to various waterfalls were exceptional. A bonus was our opportunity to see the northern lights! We had that opportunity on two occasions! Our only disappointment was it was too late in the season to see the puffins. I guess that will be a good excuse to return earlier in the summer.

We enjoyed clean, modern accommodations and the breakfasts were typical of European hotels with a plethora of options to meet anyone’s dietary desires. I cannot recommend enough this wonderful opportunity to see this beautiful country. The Kim Kim staff was exceptional in providing us with great accommodations, wonderful tour guides, and they even found beautiful weather for us to experience this amazing country!

Hotel Review

Árnanes Country Hotel

Höfn

This was a quaint accommodation with a warm feeling provided by wood paneling and a modern bathroom facility. This group of small cabins were placed just off of the main road and easy to find. The continental breakfast was exceptional with a full array of breakfast foods.

Authenticity & Character

This was a quaint accommodation with a warm feeling provided by wood paneling and a modern bathroom facility. This group of small cabins were placed just off of the main road and easy to find. The continental breakfast was exceptional with a full array of breakfast foods.

Location

Very convenient as it was roadside

Staff

Very convenient as it was roadside

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Silfra Snorkeling

Iceland

The dry suits for first class and kept us nice and warm. Our guide was excellent and prepared as well for the experience. The sunny day allowed lots of light in to chasm and made our experience that much more memorable!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

With plenty of time to get to this venue as the GPS was not as accurate as we would’ve liked it to have been.

Jokulsarlon Glacier Kayaking Adventure

Iceland

Although somewhat overcast skies, the weather provided great opportunity for photographs amongst the icebergs and seals. Our tandem kayaks were stable and easy to operate. Our tour around the lagoon was relaxed and we enjoyed our tour guide thoroughly!

Vatnshellir Lava Cave Tour

Snæfellsnes Peninsula

Our tour guide was informative and provide us with a safe and pleasurable experience. He was great at answering our questions and was very knowledgeable about the geology of the area. He did not rushes through and we had plenty of time to take photographs.

Duncan was an amazingly responsive and intuitive specialist, understanding the types of adventures & experiences, places of both common and unusual interest, and level of difficulty (hiking) that we sought for our first trip to Iceland. Given that we were traveling in fall, we had to make a few "audibles" given the weather, and he was able to redirect our itinerary without missing a beat. He checked in on us during our trip (which was a positively wonderful touch), and made some additional recommendations during our trip to compensate for poor weather. The accommodations and restaurant recommendations were spot on, and honestly, we could not have had a better trip! Most memorable places were the Blue Lagoon, the challenge (given conditions) of the Glymer waterfall hike, the Reykajadalur Valley (and corresponding hike), the fantastic Skaftafell Glacier Hike (spectacular!), and the Jokusarlon Glacier. Every day was full of new adventures, beautiful landscapes and amazing experiences. The digital platform worked out beautifully and made navigating the country as easy as could be!

Hotel Review

Hotel Geysir

Bláskógabyggd

This is a beautiful hotel in the middle of a geothermal wonder. The staff and amenities are amazing, and the food is wonderful. It is a perfect choice!

Authenticity & Character

Loved the "sustainability" emphasis, and natural beauty respected by the hotel

Location

convenience for traveling to/from other locations

Staff

Genuinely wonderful, polite and helpful staff.

Cleanliness & Comfort

everything was perfectly clean and comfortable.

Activity Review

Skaftafell Glacier Hike

Iceland

Beyond the pure beauty, adventure and unique experience that this hike offers, we were impressed with the level of expertise and knowledge of the guides, as well as the attention to "safety". This was one of the best experiences we had..purely awe inspiring and breathtaking!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Othamn tried to work with in our parameters and did a great job with the sudden change to the schedule in the end. He and the local people were able to fix the issue with the dive group in a quick manner. The over all trip was great and was thoroughly enjoyed. If I were to do it over, I would have suggested an extra day or two in Reykjavík instead of the day on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula as the time of the year we were there was not the high time for the wildlife in that area.

Our Iceland trip was amazing. Terry did a great job of putting together a great itinerary with a good mix of planned and optional activities. Some of my favorite things were: Vatnshellir Lava Cave Tour, Husafell Canyon Baths and Jokulsarlon & Diamond Beach. The Geldingadalir volcano hike was really interesting.

The best meal we had on the trip was Narfeyrarstofa in Stykkishólmur. Amazing scallops. The food was presented interestingly and it was all very tasty. We also enjoyed Englendingavik in Borgarnes.

On our day back to Reykjavik we discovered Rósakaffi, a restaurant in an old greenhouse. We had a very nice snack here.

When there was a question about whether breakfast was included at one of our stays, the local KimKim staff was quick to help us resolve it.

There were easily enough activities to do and things to see that we could have stayed for several more days.

Activity Reviews

Vatnshellir Lava Cave Tour

Snæfellsnes Peninsula

I found it really interesting to compare a lava cave to a limestone cave. Our guide, Andre, did a very nice job of explaining what we were seeing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Husafell Canyon Baths

Iceland

I really enjoyed being down in the canyon and the baths were lovely.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Terry did a great job of managing things we wanted to see, downtime and our route. We enjoyed having a couple things planned the first few days then relaxed into our own schedule and our own pace for a few days. It was perfect!

What a wonderful trip to Iceland!

It’s hard to believe how effortless it was - my group of friends regularly commented on how well thought out our days were and we can’t thank Lisbet enough for her expertise and patience.

Overall, I found the KimKim site & service modern, simple and extremely convenient. It was just so easy to plan and communicate with our agent, Lisbet.

Lisbet is an Iceland guru. Beyond the detailed itinerary, pre-planned Google Map and reservation documents, she had some seriously amazing recommendations on where to eat in Iceland. Our favorite was the Tapas restaurant in Reykjavik - moody, vibrant and some of the best tapas I’ve had in the world. Our favorite activity was the glacier hike near Vik -the expert guides helped us feel confident so we could take the full experience in!

Because the service was so magnificent, our group we were able to focus on connecting and build ing our friendships - thank you Lisbet & KimKim

This has been an amazing trip, Duncan has been extremely efficient in always providing responses very quickly and in great detail. I would not hesitate to work with Kimkim again!!! Special thanks to Duncan for all the support he has provided to us.

Nhung made many mistakes with the dates and desired activities. We told her many times we were not picking up/dropping off our 3d friend, Talya, at the airport. But Nhung messed that up so our first and fourth day activities were decreased to do the airport. We emailed her repeatedly to change it but she didn't. I feel we lost 25% of our trip potential itinerary. She also messed up the payments which I am still waiting for a refund

Our previous rep Sotiria was much more on top of things.

My husband and I went to the Golden Circle, Snaefelsness Peninsula and the Westfjords on a self-driving trip arranged by Terry Stanley. Terry was amazing from start to finish and our trip was wonderful and went very smoothly. I strongly recommend a self-driving trip with access to Wifi in your car as you can balance between having an itinerary with some flexibility. We went from 9/6-9/13 and were lucky to have had excellent weather. We loved the scenery, especially in the Westfjords and highlights included stopping at various 'hot pots', snorkeling in Silfra and the Inside the Volcano Tour. I would recommend purchasing a gas card as we had trouble using a credit card, even with a PIN.

Activity Reviews

Silfra Snorkeling

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

NA

Transport

We did not use but it is forcing me to rate it

Inside the Volcano Tour

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Lamb stew was excellent!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Joanna, guide with our Silfra Snorkeling, Dive.IS was fun, informative and lead us through an underwater adventure. Our glacier trek with Mei was well done, he assessed the group and geared his walk accordingly. Lots of great information about our changing environment. Our kayak guide on the lagoon was really comfortable with his skills and knowledge of this area; horseback leadership, was skillful and knowledgeable of horses, the guide in the lava cave was also an expert with people and geology!

The trip was very well planned out. The itinerary was easy to follow and the WiFi device in the car was excellent. It not only helped us follow the planned routes but gave us the ability to fine other attractions and restaurants. All the excursions we booked went smoothly and were exactly what we expected. The tour guides were excellent. All the hotels were nice. Most were remote and suggestions of restaurants within 20 miles would have been helpful.

I would highly recommend kimkim to other travelers.

Joe Ditta

Jenny organized an unforgettable journey around the Golden Circle and Ring Road...waterfalls, glaciers, lava fields, craters, geothermal pools, geysers, black sand beaches, unique landscapes, wildlife (birds, sheep, horses, whales). As a bonus, we also saw the Northern Lights! We had enough activities to compensate for time in the car. Suggested points of interest and accommodations did not disappoint. I can't imagine a better experience!

Hotel Review

Skuggi Hotel Reykjavík by Keahotels

Reykjavík

Nice spacious rooms with fans! Staff was friendly and helpful. Breakfast options did not disappoint. Perfect location for walking Reykjavík.

Authenticity & Character

Location

walkability

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Thingvellir

Iceland

Beautiful views!

Quality of Experience

Gullfoss

Iceland

Impressive waterfall!

Quality of Experience

Solheimajokull Glacier Hike

Iceland

Our guide, Wei, shared interesting and useful information about the glacier.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide, Wei.

Jokulsarlon Glacier Kayaking Adventure

Iceland

Once in a lifetime experience - kayaking in a glacier lagoon! With seals!

Quality of Experience

Vatnshellir Lava Cave Tour

Snæfellsnes Peninsula

One of my favorite activities! Our guide was not only informative but very entertaining.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide.

Iceland is one jaw-dropping moment after another. The diversity and uniqueness of the landscapes are unmatched. We were so glad that we spent the time to do the ring road, and quite a few side trips, and not just spend the vacation in Reykjavik and the Golden Circle. Our favorite moments were away from the crowds and out and about in the countryside just soaking in the beauty and exploring trails, F-roads and black sand beaches.

Our trip specialist, Jenny, was incredibly responsive and helpful in the planning phase and we especially appreciated all the detailed directions ahead of time as this was mostly a self-guided trip. This is our 3rd kimkim trip and we'll be back for more.

Activity Reviews

Jokulsarlon Glacier Kayaking Adventure

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Icelandic horse riding tour

Vík

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Forest ATV Tour

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

My husband and I had an amazing trip to Ieland. We loved this way to travel. We had the expertise of a travel agent and the autonomy of traveling alone. Jen had highlighted the best attractions and gave options so we could make the trip our own style as well as judging how we were feeling each day. I have to say the guest house exceeded our expectations.
All in all one of the best way to travel I have found I would definitely have KimKim plan another trip for me anytime.

We had an amazing trip to Iceland. Rinolda, our KimKim specialist was super helpful and responsive, and created a plan that was perfect for us, even though we started planning really late.
Everything worked perfectly, the hotels were very good, and the whole process was very simple and straight forward. Best of all, we got to Iceland, got in the car, hooked up our phone - and off we went.
Rinolda sent us to some amazing spots and incorporated our interests into the plan perfectly.

Thank you Kimkim and Rinolda!

We have returned to London after a trip of a lifetime in Iceland. We wanted to say a huge thank you to Lisbet and the team for such an unforgettable holiday. Iceland is so breathtakingly beautiful and unique; we were lucky to have your experience and guidance to help us enjoy it! We’re both well-travelled but had never used a service like Kim Kim’s until now and we know that without your expert guidance, planning and speedy assistance, we wouldn’t have gotten as much out of Iceland had we planned the trip on our own. Your help in planning the days so we got the most out of it was excellent. Every day was packed with lots of activities and options yet felt nicely balanced. You also adapted quickly when we asked for adjustments or when we felt like we needed a break.

Asking us to pick the most memorable spots is probably like asking someone to pick a favourite child, but off the top of our heads our favourites were: Studlagil Hike, Reykladur Hike + warm river, glacier kayaking, glacier hiking, and Myvatn Nature Baths. The driving was also amazing, but like I say too many places to list!

Hotel Reviews

The Greenhouse Hotel

Hveragerdi

Superb spot to spend our first two nights in Icleand, and the favourite of the bunch for one of the two travellers. Especially appreciated the roominess, staff, and location. Very stylish, too!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Super convenient - one of the few places that was proper walking distance to useful things like a bakery, other restaurants, etc.

Staff

Just wonderful - even gave us free sandwiches when were at a loss where to get dinner one night!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hótel Klaustur

Kirkjubæjarklaustur

Great all around. The room was perhaps not as full of character as the other places we stayed, but very comfortable and clean. Probably the best breakfast of the lot of hotels we stayed at :D Also had cool design in the reception/lobby area.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Fine - close enough to the ring road and nothing much we were going to see in the nearby town anyway, so proximity to highway was what really mattered here.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Berjaya Hotel Myvatn

Myvatn

The favourite hotel of the bunch of one of the two travellers. Loved just how stylish everything was, the breakfast was superb, and the room to me just felt like it had the most style/character of the bunch. Only wish is that it was perhaps slightly bigger.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Great - very easy and quick drive to all of the main points of interest in the area.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Duus

Reykjanesbær

This was a lovely place to stay and, relative to the other places we stayed, had the bonus of having a couple of "airport hotel" amenities, such as a shuttle to the airport (which we did not use) and breakfast from as early as 4 am (which we definitely did use, as our flight was at 8:30 am). Also liked having the adjacent cafe as our own breakfast room for the early breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Room definitely felt like it was converted from areas initially made for other purposes, so the layout was a bit strange, but there's nothing really of substance to fault here!

Location

Very quick drive to the airport as well as main points of interest in Keflavik.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Brunnhóll Country Guesthouse

Höfn

A lovely spot full of character and with great amenities. Great service from staff and nearby to some small baths facilities !

Authenticity & Character

One can tell that this place grew up as a family-run business. Felt very homely, yet stylish and without sacrificing anything on the amenities front.

Location

Just off the ring road, but might be better if it was slightly closer to Hofn. We found we had to backtrack to the hotel after visiting Hofn.

Staff

Extra bonus points for telling us where to find a particular kind of beer in Hofn !

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Laugarbakki

Hvammstangi

Great all around, loved the very large room and windows to be able to take in the views outside! Useful as a kind of halfway point between Akuyreri and Reykjavik

Authenticity & Character

Location

Nearest we could tell, this place largely trades on being halfway between Akuyreri and Reykjavik. That was useful for us as a stopping off point!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Hallormsstadur

Egilsstadir

Great place all around!

Authenticity & Character

Room lacked a bit of character but was very comfortable!

Location

Added bonus here - forest walks possible right from the hotel!

Staff

Receptionist and restaurant staff were the loveliest, most helpful people!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Jokulsarlon Glacier Kayaking Adventure

Iceland

One of the absolute highlights of the journey and something I have never experienced elsewhere. Just an amazing experience coupled with top-notch service.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Nothing to improve! Guide was very clear, witty, and informative.

Transport

Not much to comment on here, as we drove ourselves to the activity and there was a walk from the check-in to the kayaking jumping off point.

Solheimajokull Glacier Hike

Iceland

Amazing experience and unique to be able to hike a glacier also covered with volcanic ash/dirt! Unforgettable stuff :)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Provided a lot of great information around what made this glacier experience unique

Transport

Nothing much to comment on here - we drove ourselves to the starting point and otherwise it was a walk from the check-in to the glacier.

Myvatn Nature Baths

Lake Mývatn

We did this at the end of a long, wonderful day and it was just spectacular. So many delightful moments, from getting a beer from a bar on the lagoon itself, to resting while leaning on a rock (putting beer on said rock) and admiring the sunset over the lake in the distance. Totally dreamy.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had the most incredible trip to Iceland. 10/10, i can't really imagine anything going better. The process of working with Terry was super smooth and easy. I have never used any kind of agency or travel service before and think of myself as a good trip planner, but having the whole trip so thoughtfully planned with excellent, vetted services, hotels and guides saved us a ton of time and metal bandwidth. It totally exceeded my expectations. Terry was great about working within our budget to get us the best possible trip. Hiking around Skogafoss on a beautiful, rainbow filled day i think was my favorite experience, and we also loved our guided adventures snorkeling in Sifra and glacier hiking. We will definitely recommend KimKim to our friends and we hope to use it and work with Terry again for a future family trip to Iceland and other trips as well.

Hotel Reviews

Guesthouse Flúðir - Grund

Hrunamannahreppur

Clean, comfortable and very quiet. Good location and great coffee in the AM.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hótel Klaustur

Kirkjubæjarklaustur

Clean and quiet rooms, daily housekeeping, friendly staff. Luxurious breakfast buffet. We really enjoyed it. We also used to hot tub at the city pool next door which was a nice amenity.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fosshotel Baron

Reykjavík

Small room but well decorated, quiet and in a great location downtown. we appreciated the free parking and another great icelandic breakfast. this was the only hotel we stayed at that had an in-room safe, which was nice for passports.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

The Secret Lagoon

Iceland

this was an awesome first afternoon in iceland activity to relax after jetlag.

Quality of Experience

Silfra Snorkeling

Iceland

truly magical experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

our guide, lorenzo, was great

Breidamerkurjokull Glacier Walk, Ice Cave, Super Jeep

Iceland

incredible weather, incredible views. our guide Damian was helpful, safety conscious and knowledgeable. We even got to go into an ice cave early in the season.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Damian was great

Transport

super jeep ride was bumpy and wild but safe

Blue Lagoon

Iceland

classic, amazing, lives up to the hype. Perfect ending before traveling home.

Quality of Experience

Sigurður did a fantastic job in planning our 2-week trip! After communicating with him via kimkim site, he knew exactly what we wanted, including activities and accommodations. He designed a perfect itinerary for us. We loved all the accommodations (I am very picky with accommodations ). He nailed them to perfection even though we started planning our trip only 3 months prior. He was also easy to access during the trip when we needed his expertise, so it was a big plus for us. When Sigurður wasn't available on the phone, his colleague, Michele kindly and promptly assisted us. Furthermore, Sigurður contacted us one night around 11:00 pm telling us to go outside to see the northern lights. We were already in bed, but we got dressed and went outside, then we saw beautiful northern lights! He really went out of his way to make our trip extraordinarily special!! We couldn't thank him enough. Thanks to him, my daughter, a photographer, could see the northern lights on her 21st birthday and captured the beautiful image with her camera. Thank you, Sigurður! You are the best!!!

Rinolda knows her home country well. We enjoyed the driving route that she created for us, and the hotels she selected on our behalf were nice. Restaurant recommendations she made were helpful.

I would have preferred separate bookings for each couple traveling together, rather than the lead traveler having all bookings in his name.

When creating a travel itinerary, I would recommend that she include the tour providers name, phone number, and time and location for meeting with the guide. In addition, advance notification of trip cancellations would be helpful.

Our rental car was not equipped with a GPS. A portable GPS was provided at an alternate Eurocar rental site, but the GPS was out-dated. It was challenging to navigate due to the lack of road signs, and a GPS with newer technology would have been beneficial.

The hiking guide and fishing guide were outstanding. They both knew their profession extremely well and were a pleasure to be with.

Hotel Reviews

Hótel Laxá

Myvatn

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Laugarbakki

Hvammstangi

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Isafjordur Torg

Ísafjörður

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fosshotel Westfjords

Patreksfjörður

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hótel Fransiskus Stykkishólmi

Stykkishólmur

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

The young man at the front desk was especially kind and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lambastadir Guesthouse

Selfoss

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Skuggi Hotel Reykjavík by Keahotels

Reykjavík

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Geysir Geothermal Area

Golden Circle

Quality of Experience

Mývatn Nature Baths

Lake Mývatn

Quality of Experience

Viti Crater

Lake Mývatn

Quality of Experience

Kaldbakur Mountain hike

Iceland

Our guide was great and highly professional. He was a wealth of information about the country and culture of Iceland.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Saxholar Crater

Snæfellsnes Peninsula

Quality of Experience

Djupalonsandur Black Sand Beach

Snæfellsnes Peninsula

Quality of Experience

Gullfoss

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Fly Fishing in Golden Circle

Golden Circle

Ari was great and fun to be with. We caught plenty of fish and he handled them carefully and safely released all to the water.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport