Kimkim Trip Reviews for Iceland

Rinolda helped us plan a great trip! She worked with us to design the right trip for our needs and abilities and found us tours that mixed adventure and education nicely. She also recommended wonderful restaurants.

The itinerary planned for us was tailored to our interests. The guided excursions included hikes that allowed us to see amazing landscapes that you can’t get from a highway pull off. Our guides Damion of Ice Explores and Omar of South Coast Adventures gave us insight to the ever changing Iceland landscape and the history of its population. The links included in the itinerary were very helpful. The driving plan link to google maps along with Apple car play made finding our way around Iceland stress free. our favorite hotel of the trip was the Magma. This trip qualified as a check mark on our bucket list. We walked on glacier, saw seals swimming around icebergs , soaked in a geothermal river, walked up to a lava field, hiked into canyons where scenes from The Game of thrones was filmed, watched 10pm sunsets, gagged on fermented shark and much more.

Will

Fantastic trip! Othman did a great job responding quickly and working with us to create the perfect trip that allowed us to enjoy every moment.

Activity Reviews

Crystal Blue Ice Cave

Iceland

Gorgeous place! Photos don’t do it justice. Just don’t go if you get carsick. The monster truck ride is wild! The whole trip was a little over 3 hours

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The car was a bit older than all the others at the lot

Crystal Blue Ice Cave

Iceland

Gorgeous place! Photos don’t do it justice. Just don’t go if you get carsick. The monster truck ride is wild! The whole trip was a little over 3 hours

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The car was a bit older than all the others at the lot but it did not detract from the experience

I was very happy I used kimkim to plan my trip to Iceland's South Coast. My specialist, Preeti, did a great job. She worked with us to come up with an itinerary that met our interests, had lots of great suggestions for things to see and do, restaurants, etc, and was very responsive to my many questions. During the trip,
a couple of minor problems were handled promptly. We'll definitely use kimkim and Preeti in the future.

Throughout the process of being assigned to Othman at the start of our use of KimKim, we had difficulty understanding what he was doing or saying. It should have been a sign for us to back out of using KimKim.
Othman carried out a plan for us that seemed to ignore some things that were most important to us and seemed scripted and geared toward his personal favorite things to tell tourists to see.
The first example of "The Othman Scripts" was his "Welcome to Reykjavík" and "So happy you enjoyed your day" message, which he posted about 4 weeks before we landed, and it was written for travelers who arrive early AM, not late PM (we arrived at 9:00 PM/21:00)- so his message was off-putting and irrelevant.
Our itinerary seemed to have been pre-written from other travelers' itineraries and often included places we had no interest in seeing and Othman often placed our personal stated goals into his "alternative ideas"- "if you have time" section.
Upon de-boarding and making our way to the transport service, our itinerary listed one company and our voucher listed another. Our voucher said drop-off at hotel and the actual drop off was at a church. Not that walking at 10:00 PM at night in Reykjavík is too dark as they days are long and we easily got to our self-booked hotel which was so charming and clean.
We were assigned to EuroCar for our vehicle and were assigne a similar model at the airport the evening of day 2. We spent several hours the next day driving to one of their stations in Akureyri and waiting as they located a SIM card and black box so we had wifi connection for our driving directions. (One has a 50-50 chance of dealing with a friendly hospitality specialists or a rude hospitality specialists in Iceland.) As never-been-to-Iceland-before tourists, we definitely got our first dose of rude hospitality at EuropCar in Akureyri. The initial male we experienced (after several minutes of ignoring our presence and then assisting a male customer who walking in after us) kept asking us to produce a black case from our vehicle which of course we did not have and was the reason we were there to begin with. Luckily the female who rented us the car at the airport arrived at this station and began to help us obtain the missing SIM card and routing case. After about an hour, a new SIM card was successfully activated. And we finally began our sight-seeing for the day.
Driving times did not seem to factor into Othman's planning so there was no way to both experience his suggestions and our personal interests (which were too-often listed as "alternative sites"). By day 3 we knew to research our personal interests and then focus on what mattered to us (what attracted us to Iceland in the first place).
Any tour that had issues due to weather was fine with us. On day 4 our Geothermal Spa tour was unpleasant because the hospitality experts there are rude. Othman did not think to add towels to our tour package and he did not warn us to bring towels from our hotel. So the hospitality staff took pleasure is insulting us for not knowing that our "basic tour" did not include a way to dry off. By this time in our tour, it was becoming clear that had we done everything ourselves, and not relied on KimKim's "self-guided tour", we would have had a smoother experience all the way around. Everything that we had booked ourselves was splendid, things that Othman booked were often incorrect or chaotic or poorly thought-out. Although in retrospect one of Othman's or KimKim's scripts may have said "make sure you follow Covid policies", it was not mentioned during our stay, nor were we reminded to check on need for Covid testing before going to the airport. It would have been a nice and helpful touch for KimKim/Othman to just check in on us and try to save us money and time by telling us about the Covid testing site on the way to the airport. Spending extra money and time on cabs and testing right before our departure after a less than stellar KimKim experience was not appreciated. We are happy we came and saw Iceland. We are not happy we were assigned to Othman or that we used KimKim.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Odinsve

Reykjavik

We booked this hotel ourselves and it was charming, clean, well-situated for sight-seeing and had super friendly staff!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Sveinbjarnargerdi

Svalbarðsstrandarhreppur

Although rooms are rustic, they are clean and get the job done. The food here was the best of all hotels booked by KimKim. The staff is generous and kind.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Although rooms are rustic, they are clean and get the job done. The food here was the best of all hotels booked by KimKim. The staff is generous and kind.

Húsavík Cape Hotel

Husavik

The two owners have been running this hotel for about three weeks. They are passionate about their unique gallery (Eurovision-themed) and this was an interesting, quirky, and fun bonus. The rooms was clean, the staff was friendly. The current cooks are from Naples so the pizza and tiramisu was delicious. The breakfast was the weak point. No yogurt (a specialty of Iceland), no hot food. Bread, meh. Cucumbers fresh and delicious. Heinrich was quick to honor local restaurants and gave an excellent recommendation for dinner. We are "foodies" and the suggested restaurant was a Win.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Grand Hotel Reykjavik

Reykjavik

We booked this hotel ourselves and it is a great find. Loved the gym, restaurant, locations was good good. Free parking was a Plus. Friendly staff and waiters. Delicious cuisine in the restaurant. One weird thing which we tried to fix ourselves. The air-draft beneath the door to the hallway is quite loud- like a continuous running loud vacuum. We placed a towel there to dampen the sound so we could sleep. It worked well-enough.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Laugarbakki

Hvammstangi

Food was nice. Staff very friendly and helpful. Rooms were very modern, minimalist, and clean. Very updated and pretty. Horses, ponies nearby and swing set for children. Outdoor hot tubs were popular.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Skutustadagigar Pseudocraters

Lake Mývatn

Cold snowy day. Not much to remember.

Quality of Experience

GeoSea Geothermal Baths

Iceland

The pools themselves were pretty and did overlook the ocean with land between the two. Of course it was snowing the day we were there so visibility was limited and our heads were exposed to the snow and cold as we did not have hair/head covers. Water was warm and relaxing from the shoulders down.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendliness, understanding that travelers using a travel company are not made aware of details odf what's included in the package purchased by the tour company.

Blue Lagoon

Iceland

The lagoon is very pretty and the hospitality staff were informative and friendly. A towel, silica face mask, and drink were included with the experience which was appreciated.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

self transport

Our trip to Iceland was nonstop fun & adventure! From the moment we stepped off the plane till the moment we departed our kimkim guide Rinolda had us covered. Day 1 we started off with a luxurious visit to The Blue Lagoon and a walking food tour in Reykjavik with our awesome guide Ben! After stuffing our faces we did some light shopping and headed north for the 1st hotel. Day 2 was a sightseeing / hiking while driving kind of day. We stopped for lunch in downtown Akureyri and visited their art gallery and cathedral before driving east towards Lake Myvatn area for 2 nights. Day 3 was JAM PACKED with a wake watching tour in Husavik then loop around the peninsula to see Dellfoss and other sites along the way, ending with a nice soak at the sulfur baths and steam rooms in Lake Myvatn. Day 4 was long but we visited the author Gunnar Gunnarson's farm and cultural house, hiked great heights to see beautiful waterfalls, drove off road to see basalt column formations, and traveled through the East Fjords before settling in for the night at a cute spot in Breiddalsvik. Day 5 poured so our original ATV tour was canceled, but thankfully Rinolda was able to reschedule it for Day 7. It was nice having her so we didn't have to worry about what we would do that day in it's place or finding a new time to slot it in. Day 6 we visited the Diamond Beach and Glacier lake as well as hiked on a glacier. That was strenuous and a little above my ability but the guides were gracious and we were able to make the best of the situation. Day 7 was probably my favorite day of the whole trip. After a great night in Vik, we started strong with a visit to Skool Beans Cafe run by ex pat Holly, then had a BLAST ATVing on the black sand beaches with our guide Max, ultimately ending the day in Gullfoss with their famous geyser and great waterfall. The Gullfoss Hotel staff was phenomenal! Day 8 we kicked things off with snowmobiling on a glacier, which was absolutely wild. We also stopped at Estaduir II family farm for the freshest burgers I've ever had and ended the night with a walk around downtown Reykjavik to see the viking boat sculpture and yellow lighthouse. Day 9 our final morning in Iceland Rinolda didn't disappoint. She gave us the option of a direct path to the airport or a 2.5 hour ride around the peninsula stopping at geothermal sites, lighthouses, and other natural wonders, before returning our car & heading to the airport. Well, I'm sure you guessed which route we took. So as the title proclaims - this was our Iceland on the go adventure! Jam packed with sites, hikes, activities and fun we won't forget!

Excellent trip planning from Fran. We enjoyed everything and the trip was seamless and easy to follow. My only concern is the price transparency. Hard to know what your getting is worthy of prices if you were booking alone. The price is all inclusive and you are not allowed to see receipts or know how much Kimkim is making for their services.

Hotel Review

Hotel Rangá

Hella

Beautiful location, restaurant was fabulous, and very friendly staff. Hot tubs in the country side was amazing too.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Amazing landscape views outside!

Staff

Front desk lady sang happy birthday to me in Icelandic language..made my day!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Thingvellir

Iceland

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Dive.IS did great

Fridheimar

Golden Circle

Expensive but worth it. Unique and delicious!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Solheimajokull Glacier Hike

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Horse Riding

Iceland

Amazing one on one experience. Rode out to several waterfalls.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Blue Lagoon

Iceland

Amazing

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Myvatn Nature Baths

Lake Mývatn

A bit smelly and locker rooms not as nice as other spas but worth it if your in Myvatn.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Whale Watching in Akureyri

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Grábók Crater

Iceland

We had a wonderful holiday.
Emanuela worked with us to plan a trip that was perfect for our needs, wants and time constraints. She was always responsive and regularly in touch before and during the trip. Logistically, the bookings she made for our trips all worked exactly as intended. We were particularly delighted with the company she chose for our two expeditions, the minibus and the guides were truly excellent.
In Reykjavik, Sky Lagoon was an absolute highlight and my favourite restaurant was Fiskfelagid although we sampled many and had lots of excellent food!

Emanuela was absolutely fantastic to work with on this trip. She helped plan a wonderful Iceland adventure and helped us keep our costs down while exploring all the beauty that Iceland has to offer. She made sure to include the 'must see' spots, while also taking us off the beaten path to explore in places like Varmaland. She was extremely communicative during the trip and helped answer all of our questions no matter how big or small. Would definitely use KimKim and work with Emanuela again! Snow mobiling is also definitely worth it :)

Terry and I emailed back and forth and she really got a good idea of what type of a vacation we were looking for. She wanted to know about us, what we liked to do, eat, etc. Then we had a nice long phone conversation to discuss further what we were looking for.
She listened and provided a few ideas and we revised and regrouped and tweaked the plan and the trip plan was fantastic. We stayed in 7 hotels over 10 nights. The selection of hotels were perfect. Exactly what we wanted.
The Iceland Yurt !! Wow what an experience. Loved it. It was the perfect way to begin our adventure. We wanted a variety and she delivered. We stayed in a cottage on the water in Fjarabyggd and it happened to be cold, windy, rainy and blustery. It was so perfect and we were able to keep our blinds open and watch the weather through the windows overlooking this amazing water - the view was amazing. Frost and Fire in Hveragerdi was awesome. Loved the town and so glad she chose this little gem for us to stay for two nights. Every hotel choice was perfect - we had fantastic variety and locations.
Excursions !! She hit the nail on the head. Every one of them was perfection. We had the perfect quite the variety; beer bath, Glacier Hike, Geo Spa geothermal pool, Ice Cave tour, Glacier Snowmobile.
Between our excursions we had outlines of the best things to see as we drove around the country.
The driving directions and itinerary was outstanding. Every night we checked the next days activities and picked the can't miss ones !!! We followed right along with the directions in our trip plan. We loved the way the trip plan was broken down with the driving directions, hints (ie: when to book our covid test, dont forget to pay for the toll for the tunnel, etc) accommodations and confirmations for our tours.
It was truly priceless. It allowed us to just enjoy the adventure and not stress about the little things. Thankful for Terry's work and diligence to help us plan the absolute best vacation of our lives.

Activity Reviews

GeoSea Geothermal Baths

Iceland

This was a great place to visit. We loved the baths, the swim up bar, etc. We ate in a lovely restaurant in the town. Be sure to bring clothes and be ready to shower before and after going into the pools. We brought a towel with us from our hotel. We didn't need a robe. I was shocked that i wasn't freezing getting in and out of the pools. The view of the mountains over the water in the distance does take your breath away.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Skaftafell Glacier Hike

Iceland

This hike was very educational . We didn't realize why the lava was on the glacier, etc I loved learning about it. The crampons are interesting to walk with. They will give you those, a helmet and you will wear a harness. Be prepared that you may get hot walking but the guides are so great. They realize that you may want to take off a layer or two. This is a straight hike. You hike from where you check in. There is not drive to the glacier.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guides were great. Super helpful

Fast Track Ice Cave Tour

Vík

The cave is beautiful. Our guide was great as well. The notes said that there was a bumpy ride to the cave. Just be prepared because whatever you think is bumpy times it by 10. It was super bumpy as you drive for about a half hour off road. Then you will hike about a half hour to the cave. It is an easy walk. It is gorgeous in the cave. Waterproof pants jackets and shoes really will make life easy.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Langjokull Glacier Snowmobiling

Iceland

This was our favorite excursion. You will meet at the meeting spot and drive for one hour up the mountain in ice and snow. Once you get to the hut they will put a complete snowsuit on you with helmet and buff. If you don't have waterproof shoes they have a bootie you can use. The day we went the winds were at least 50mph and it was hailing. Being a Florida girl never on a snowmobile I was second guessing my choice as I watched grown people fall over because the wind was so strong they couldn't even walk. Once we got on the snow mobile and drove for about 5 mintues we got out of the hail storm. It was the most beautiful sights from up there. Truly unforgettable .

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We were so happy with our trip to Iceland. Terry provided a very detailed and easy to follow itinerary. We so appreciated the convenience of having all of our reservations booked for us and easily accessible. The tours, hotels, and rental car were all perfect for our needs. Terry was excellent in communicating and providing helpful information. We will definitely recommend kimkim to those looking to travel to Iceland!

Activity Review

Silfra Snorkeling

Iceland

Our tour guide, AJ was fantastic. He helped us every step and let us know what to expect. The experience was amazing and even though seemed daunting at first was very surreal and easy if you listened to your guide’s tips.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Emanuela planned an amazing trip for us. I traveled with 3 kids and their grandmother. Everything was perfect for our group. The hotels were spectacular, the activities a lot of fun, and even the dinner recommendations were amazing. Our favorite dinner was in a small local restaurant in Vik that we never would have heard about if we didn't have Emanuela. Can't wait to take my husband to the Blue Lagoon!

We had such a wonderful trip in Iceland! It was our first time there and Emanuela was extremely helpful in communicating with us while we were there about any last minute confirmations or changes due to the weather! Everything was set up and very easy to follow, from the google maps to the daily itinerary. It was such a special trip and we would highly recommend Emanuela to anyone planning to travel to Iceland , especially for the first time! It was an unforgettable trip!

I have great things to say about Emanuela. We traveled to Iceland in March, which is not the typical or ideal time to travel there. We had originally signed up for a group tour but realized we wanted more flexibility and to travel just by ourselves. I had bought two different guide books but Emanuela was invaluable in telling me what would be appropriate for the season-- half the hikes and activities that I read about were snowed in or the roads were closed! She helped us pivot to do a fun winter trip with ice caving, snowmobiling, horseback riding on the beach, a Northern Lights tour, a premium Blue Lagoon experience, a Reykjavik food tour, and fantastic hotel recommendations. Some of the activities ended up being cancelled or rescheduled due to weather but we had enough going on we didn't feel any loss. She planned our whole trip out with great google map links and even set us up with a wireless internet hub for the whole trip through the rental car agency. The restaurant recommendations were always the best as well. She consistently checked in while we were in Iceland and also was very communicative about the changing covid protocols. I also switched the plans around quite a bit (dates, activities, hotels) and she was always patient and friendly. I know folks going to Iceland and I am recommending Emanuela for all their needs!

Our trip to Iceland was an absolute adventure. We experienced true Icelandic weather with a red storm warning on arrival and the whole range of possible conditions after that. This understandably affected our activities/planned tours but Jenny and the kimkim team did an excellent job communicating with us and updating our trip plan. We received very helpful and quick replies to our questions and felt very well supported throughout our trip. Jenny did a great job spacing out planned tours which made it possible to reschedule things as needed. This also gave us plenty of time to do our own hikes and dive into the Iceland landscape at our pace. I’m extremely glad we used kimkim and know that our experience was better because of the knowledge Jenny brought to our trip plan.

Hotel Review

Magma Hotel

Kirkjubæjarklaustur

We absolutely loved this hotel. The little cabins are more spacious than most hotel rooms. We also got lucky and we’re able to see the northern lights from here!

Tips for future travelers

Food options are limited at this location. There’s one restaurant in town that was excellent though!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Crystal Blue Ice Cave

Iceland

We loved seeing the ice cave. Our only frustration was with other tourists on the tour who delayed the hike and caused us to spend less time than expected at the location.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Blue Lagoon

Iceland

Overall we didn’t think the blue lagoon was worth the money. There are other smaller geothermal baths that are natural and not as crowded with tourists.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Everything Preeti did was amazing! We had enough time to explore on our own plus her suggestions of what to see and do made Everything manageable. I cannot recommend her enough!
I would book through her again. She knows this country! Iceland cannot disappoint, but having inside knowledge made it spectacular!

Emanuela was amazing she was informative helpful and was able to help pivot and adjust our schedule when asked and even worked through our flight delay to move bookings around on the fly. This enabled us to still see all of the sites we had desired without a hiccup. She listened so well to all of my questions, needs, and wants and created a trip of a lifetime for my children and I! All of the local nuances and recommendations she made were spot on. She gave us plenty of information and clearly communicated throughout our trip to keep us on track. I left in love with Iceland and long to come back to see more. I can’t thank Emanuela enough for putting together the trip of a lifetime!!

The February weather created a challenge as several of our booked tours were canceled or cut short due to storms. Our agent, Emanuela, was remarkable in rebooking tours, hotel rooms and reassuring us that she would take care of us!! We can't thank her enough for making our holiday a success! We visited the Katla Volcano, ice cave and and glacier; Víðgelmir Lava tube; Blue Lagoon water spa and enjoyed visiting the shops on Laugavegur in Reykjavik. We met so many nice people from Scotland, Ireland, England, Lithuania and even Brazil. To see Iceland in the winter was amazing!

Jenny was amazing to work with. Despite working with a shorter than ideal planning timeline she found us a truly memorable vacation experience. With a daughter on the autism spectrum our travel needs can sometimes be very specific with a lot of flexibility built in and Jenny found that perfect balance for us. I doubt I’ll ever plan my own vacations again now that I’ve experienced first hand how smooth this process was. She removed the stress of planning and potential travel challenges so all we had to do was enjoy our time as a family.

Activity Reviews

Horse Riding Tour

Iceland

We loved the horse riding experience through the snowy fields. Toni, our guide was great; friendly and knowledgeable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Crystal Blue Ice Cave

Iceland

This was a fun and informative trip. My kids were less than pleased with the distance we had to walk to get to the ice cave but our guide made it all worthwhile once we got there. He engaged the kids personally in some of the things he was showing all of us and made sure they were having fun. The cave itself was beautiful to see but sad to think about how the glacier keeps getting smaller each year. We were all glad we got a chance to see it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Neat to ride in the giant 4x4 but VERY bumpy. Almost like being in a boat so if you typically get motion sick you may want to plan accordingly.

Using KimKim was a fantastic overall experience and I’d definitely recommend using them to book another trip. We were able to pack a lot in during our visit to Iceland and our guides with Hidden Iceland with super friendly and knowledgeable. It was so helpful and easy having our schedule set in advance, with a detailed packet of all of our activities. Our travel concierge was responsive and helpful both before and during our trip as well. We had a great time and I look forward to visiting Iceland again!