Kimkim Trip Reviews for Iceland

Amazing trip
Preethi was so responsive and wonderful. Michele was great.
We cannot wait to go back.
They were able to help us with switching the booking for one activity and making it later immediately. Preethi was ready with suggestions for a rainy day. Overall I highly recommend this entire South coast trip

The entire trip was well planned in an excellent, courteous, collaborative working relationship with Preeti. She sought to meet our desires and wishes for the trip and incorporated them into the itinerary. We accomplished ALL the elements of the itinerary and in addition, a few of the suggested options. We also added a few of our own after reading books about options in touring Iceland. One was the Fridheimar Tomato Farm and Restaurant -geothermal greenhouses for growing tomatoes and other vegetables. Of course all the major waterfalls were amazing and the trip up to Husavik where we had outstanding steamed mussels at Naustid. We arrived for lunch at 2:30pm, they were open, but said the mussels were only on the menu for dinner. When we said we came from the U.S. to have mussels...the chef said. "They're on the way" for lunch, and they were better than the mussels we had in Bruges Belgieum. All interactions with staff in hotels and restaurants were very good. No language problem. Bakkagerdi old harbor was an excellent experience viewing puffins up close and personal along with the puffins tour at Ingolfshofdi arranged by Preeti. Overall the trip exceeded our expectations and KimKim and Preeti did an excellent job planning a trip that takes the hassle out of travel. Blessings to you all!
We offer a suggestion when planning for seniors - consider hotels with elevators or first floor accommodations. We did have help with moving luggage when requested. Overall we are very pleased with the results and will represent KimKim well to others to wish to plan for non-group travel. It was refreshing to stop the car whenever we wanted to check on birds in the lakes, take advantage of a good photo op and watch the buses and vans whiz by. Thank you very much! The only regret is that we now have over 1000 pics to sort out. Smiles and happy memories!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Laugarbakki

Laugarbakki

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Berjaya Hérað Hotel

Egilsstadir

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

All services done well including excellent breakfast offering

Hotel Örk

Hveragerði

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hótel Klaustur

Kirkjubæjarklaustur

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The provide an excellent breakfast

Milk Factory

Höfn

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Minimal breakfast offering

Berjaya Hotel Mývatn

Mývatn

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Again, Icelandair hotels have excellent breakfasts

Vogur Country Lodge

Deildarey

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Owner was personal and engaging on arrival, at dinner, breakfast and on departure.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel West

Patreksfjörður

Authenticity & Character

very small rooms for accommodating luggage for 2 persons

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Búdir

Búðir

The BEST we experienced - hotel, breakfast, dinner, room...

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Skuggi Hotel Reykjavík by Keahotels

Reykjavík

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Puffin watching tour at the Ingolfshofdi cape

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Personal knowledge of staff and allowing time to take in the awesome experience

Terry planned a fantastic trip for us!

My partner just finished 12 years of medical training,
and this trip was to celebrate his amazing accomplishment. I wanted it to be special.

We went to Iceland for the first time and decided to use KimKim to alleviate some travel stress. Terry created a detailed itinerary, respected our budget, and crafted a well-organized and efficient trip plan that considered our likes and dislikes for activities, hotels, and even restaurants!

Terry's notes on our itinerary, such as suggested places to make dinner reservations, were so helpful. We are both vegetarian, and a few weeks before the trip, Terry sent us a list of vegan/vegetarian restaurants in each location, which was very considerate.

All the details, the communication, and the accommodations were excellent. We are so happy with the trip.

It was a very smooth trip, and because of Terry, we focused on just having fun. No stress. We will definitely use kimkim again!

Amazing trip!
Iceland is a magical place full of kind people, great food, and incredible landscapes. We will come back some day is there is still so much to see and do. Thanks to kimkim for their services.

Terry was terrific -- responsive, kept us up to date on possible changes with respect to covid tests, advised us correctly about driving too much, etc. I would like her to plan every trip for us. The maps and instructions were first rate. I mean we are talking about really being on top of every detail over which she had control.
There is one problem. Terry seems to arrange everything and somewhere along the line the people in Iceland get involved. The hotel choices on that end were great in some cases and not as great in others. Whoever arranged for our car did so with an agency that was closed when we arrived. There was a kiosk that you could use but somehow it did not work for us. Consequently, we spend a couple of cold hours after a long flight dealing with the problem. Eventually, we took an expensive taxi ride to the first hotel and came back -- another expensive taxi ride -- in the morning to get the car, We were told to keep the receipts and we would be reimbursed but we are waiting for instructions on how to make this happen.

Preeti arranged a fabulous itinerary for our trip to Iceland. We loved the Seljalandsfoss waterfall, the Jokulsarlon amphibian boat ride in the spectacular glacial lagoon fed by the Breidamerkurjokull glacier, our walk on black sands of the Breidamerkursandur (Diamond Beach), our ferry excursion to the Westman Islands, where we enjoyed an exhilarating rib ride around the island to caves and puffin colonies, the amazing Elhraun moss covered lava fields dating from the might Laki eruption in 1783-1784, and walking the streets of enchanting Reykjavik including our stay at the upscale Hotel Borg.

Activity Reviews

Activity options for the South West Coast

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rental car pick up

Activity options for the South East Coast

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Everything was good. Recommended place were very good.

The best: Waterfalls, Whale watching in Husavik, the canyons, Iceberg Lagoon, Jeep tour (terrific.) Also -- the Blue Lagoon. Touristy? Yes. But fun and worth seeing. Good experiene. Good way to start the trip. And.... Rejkavic restaurants..... Pricy, but very good. Skal, in partcular. Very good.

The not so good: Geysir: Touristy and boring. Skip it. IcelandAir hotel by Rejkavik marina. Noisy and not so good.

Service from Andres Ulfur: 5-star. Super. Responsive. Always available.

Overall: Very good. Expensive. But, if you can afford it, worth it.

Andres Ulfur service.

Hotel Reviews

Alda Hotel Reykjavík

Reykjavík

Tips for future travelers

Don't go there if you have a car! Otherwise, hotel is good.

Authenticity & Character

Hotel staff friendly, talkative, and helpful.

Location

Hotel is good. Location great. Could improve or make available PARKING. Many guests have cars!!

Staff

Hotel staff great. "Happy hour" staff terrible. Didn't know drinks. Came across as stupid and non-caring. Hostile, which was so unlike the normally friendly and helpful Icelander. The "hostess" should instead clean rooms. Job as a maid may be too difficult for such a person, but it may be only job she's qualified for.

Cleanliness & Comfort

"Happy hour." Overpriced crap. Poor service. So bad that hotel management should do something about it.

Fosshótel Mývatn

Myvatn

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fosshotel Núpar

Kálfafell

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Non-caring staff.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hótel Lækur

Hella

Small, funky hotel with great staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Breakfast and overall service.

Staff

Staff talkative and friendly. Accomodating.

Cleanliness & Comfort

small rooms. But breakfast space good.

Reykjavík Marina - Berjaya Iceland Hotels

Reykjavík

Noisy, no parking. TV didn't work! Staff no help.

Authenticity & Character

Location

The bar.

Staff

No TV!!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Blow it up and start again.

Activity Review

Fjallabak Nature Reserve- Superjeep tour in the highlands

Iceland

Jeep driver and guide.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The driver was great. "Tate" Ulfarsson. Friendly, knowledgeable, and brought us to unusual and awesome places. Only a Jeep could get there. Snow, waterfalls, hot springs. etc. Great day. Picked us up and dropped us off at hotel. From 9:30 to 4.. One of the highlights of the whole trip.

Transport

$-wheel drive vehicle with 48 inch wheels. Necessary for the places we went.

Rinolda at KimKim did a great job in planning our trip. We had a wonderful trip because of the suggestions and the itinerary that Rinolda did for us, Hikes, restaurants, fjords, hot baths, ice lagoon in zodiac all were excellent. thank you Rinolda!

Our trip was amazing! I cannot thank Jenny enough for not only picking great destinations but really listening to what we are interested in a building an itinerary that we didn’t miss a single suggested stop!
What I also loved was how it was created in order so you didn’t have to figure out which was a priority or not along.

Her consistent communication and follow up was great.

Ok-now for our trip experience. Unbelievable!!
We could have stayed 2 extra days in Snaefellsnesd(sp) as well as an extra day in the Golden Circle.
The accommodations were great, nice staff and our last night had to be modified but I think resulted an amazing upgrade! We tried to hit all restaurants suggestions and they were spot on!
Our checkin for hotel and excursions were seamless.

Thank you for putting an 8 day trip together that was absolutely seamless

If you can at least try to see all the stops given, it’s worth it!!

Preeti was excellent.... everything was memorable couldn't ask for better person to handle everything

My daughter and I just completed an epic 15 day tour of Iceland thanks to Francesca, our dedicated kimkim specialist.

Francesca delivered a flawless, personalized adventure that we will never forget.

As a seasoned traveler and past travel agent, I knew better than to try to curate this trip. I needed someone who knew where to go, how long it would take to get there, yet also have the insider information to direct us to off the beaten track sights and special gems.

Of the tour operators I contacted, kimkim was the only one that asked me for more information before recommending a general tour. Once Francesca assessed and understood our interests, activity level and expectations, she cooked up a highly personalized itinerary that met our needs and exceeded said expectations.

Glad we upgraded to an automatic AWD as the car was our home for some 1800 miles and the heated seats made a BIG difference. The car wifi also came in handy multiple times.

We truly loved our time at the different thermal spas we visited, the endless views, the constantly changing scenery and weather. Diamond beach was a favorite stop and driving the Western Fjords felt like playing a video game! Not for the faint of heart.

Thank you Francesca for a trip we will never forget. Thank you for your instant responses to my emails, your knowledge and expertise, your handholding and your availability for suggestions while we were traveling.

We loved every minute and mile of our trip to this enchanting country of fire and ice.

Activity Reviews

Blue Lagoon

Iceland

Great place to start your trip...especially after a long overnight flight!

Quality of Experience

Myvatn Nature Baths

Lake Mývatn

Go jump in the lake!

Quality of Experience

The Geothermal Vok Baths

Iceland

Go jump in the lake!

Quality of Experience

Not one thing went wrong. Nothing.

We spent 10+ days in Iceland, staying in 8 hotels, rented a car, visited dozens and dozens of destinations, participated in some for-pay activities (whale watching, glacier lagoon boat, hot springs, etc.) and it was flawless. That rarely happens when I book my own trip.

On top of this we had detailed maps for every day (that were based Google maps, with each destination laid out), optional activities, local insights, restaurant suggestions. The hotels were all very good, the driving rimes reasonable, and the trip was AMAZING.

During the planning process Preeti communicated at each step, really worked to understand what we wanted (small groups, boutique hotels, off the beaten path destinations) and she tailored the trip for us, asking for feedback, adjusting and delivered a great adventure for the four of us.

I feel like I need to mention one more thing: we had originally planned on taking this trip in 2021 and Preeti had helped us put a trip together (to the point of us only having to put down a deposit) and then we had a medical emergency and, by necessity, stopped responding. Preeti was so very understanding when we finally did connect a few weeks later and was hugely enthusiastic when we reached out to plan our 2022 trip.

Hotel Reviews

Fosshotel Hellnar

Hellnar

This is a very basic hotel. Nice location, isolated, good restaurant.

Tips for future travelers

There is an on-site restaurant (that was very good) with limited offerings. There is another town a few KM away that has broader and less expensive offerings.

Authenticity & Character

Very simple hotel, nothing fancy.

Location

Great views, access to nature.

Staff

Excellent, prompt help.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean.

Hotel Laugarbakki

Laugarbakki

This hotel was really remote. The restaurant was fine. The rooms are modern and updated.

Authenticity & Character

Location

The hotel is really not located near anything, but stopped a long day of driving from being longer.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fosshótel Mývatn

Myvatn

Stunning hotel, amazing views, amazing location. Great rooms.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful design, beautiful location.

Location

Location & views.

Staff

Very friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Hallormsstadur

Egilsstadir

This was our least favorite hotel. The hotel is dated, the rooms are VERY hot, it seems to be very popular with bus rides and the restaurants were not great (and the hotel was so remote that the nearest options were about a 20 minute drive). The hotel was fine, just not at the same caliber of the other 9 hotels we visited.

Authenticity & Character

The hotel is dated.

Location

It's remote, but in a beautiful woodland.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The rooms were extremely hot and one small window.

Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon

Hnappavellir

Another beautifully designed hotel, modern, clean and stunning location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hótel Kría

Vík

Beautiful, modern hotel with nice rooms, solid restaurant and located in a town with breweries, pizzerias and great views and access to nature.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

ION Adventure Hotel

Nesjavellir

This place is incredible. The location is remote, but the hotel is so unique and the pool is an incredible treat. Food is solid, bars are fun.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Exeter Hotel by Keahotels

Reykjavík

This is a fine hotel in a very touristy area. Parking is hard (garage is near impossible for a SUV). Close to other sites (we walked everywhere aside from our visit to Sky Lagoon). In house restaurants for street food, lots of options around.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Fairly busy tourist area.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

The Geothermal Vok Baths

Iceland

This is an amazing facility. Truly one of the best we've visited. Do not miss.

Quality of Experience

Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon Zodiac boat tour

Iceland

A truly remarkable, small group tour. Boat pilot was knowledgable, funny and engaging.

Quality of Experience

Katla Ice Cave

Iceland

Don't set your expectations on seeing a cave -- we did and it was fine. The best part is being in an incredibly remote part of the tackier, no crowds and incredible beauty. Our driver was sarcastic and funny and gave us a great overview.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

It was a bumpy ride, but was great!

Iceland Thermal Bath Experience

Iceland

This is such a great alternative to the blue lagoon. The seven step ritual is worth the extra money. Modern, clean, great experience.

Quality of Experience

Myvatn Nature Baths

Lake Mývatn

Stunning pools, modern facility (and they are remodeling).

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Husavik Whale Watching

Iceland

An old oak boat, dolphins, whales and incredible views. We learned a ton as well.

Quality of Experience

Agent did an amazing job booking a tour exactly how we wanted it. Everything went off without a hitch and it was an unforgettable experience that I will always cherish! I would highly recommend Emanuela

My husband and I were scheduled to take a circumnavigation cruise of Iceland that was canceled with just a few weeks notice. We already had airline tickets and activities planned for two days in Reykjavik when I contacted Terry in a panic with a request to fill the remaining ten days with a Ring Road tour. She asked about our interests and did an amazing job! The car rental, hotel accommodations, and pacing suited us very well. Our daily plan was so easy to follow and included absolutely everything we could have wanted. The activities were well-chosen and included things that I would never have thought of, like a tour of a lava cave. I’ve always wanted to see puffins so she suggested a trip to Grimsey Island and made all of the arrangements. It was the highlight of out trip! There were puffins, arctic terns, kittiwakes and guillemots everywhere! We loved it!
My husband and I love to travel and prior to Covid spent at least 25% of our time away from home. I did all of the planning and always enjoyed doing it. KimKim and Terry made this trip so easy and delightful that I have decided to retire as our family travel agent!

Overall this was a fantastic trip. Accommodations were very nice and the trips took us to places that helped my kids and I form some amazing memories. Planning was easy, Jenny was always accessible before the trip and responded quickly to my inquiries, I would definitely work with her and Kimkim again. The last hotel did not have our booking (or really just couldn't find it) and Michele from Kimkim resolved the matter quickly.

The only thing that was disappointing is that there was no way we were awake enough after traveling for almost 24 hours to do the first event that was planned for us. We were really looking forward to snorkeling but having almost fallen asleep behind the wheel on the way there, it was not possible. I take some responsibility in not really thinking this through, however I'm also not sure how many people would be up for snorkeling after being awake/traveling through the night.

Of note: Google maps, was unreliable in some pretty significant ways. Make sure the option "rerouting to save time" is off on your preferences, but even when that is off, double check your destination with Waze or some other mapping program. There were at least 5 instances (that I can think of right now) where google took us the wrong way. Once, it actually put us in a somewhat dangerous situation that would have been very problematic had I continued on the road it recommended. I loved having the destinations mapped out, but after the first wrong directions I was constantly checking Waze. One time it literally had us turn right when we should have turned left and because there's often not a convenient/safe place to turn around, we had to travel 20 minutes in the wrong direction which again, is no one's fault but terribly annoying.

Despite these issues, this was a fantastic trip and I would work with Kimkim again.

Othman was great to work with! He planned an amazing itinerary and we had the best trip ever! Othman really understands Iceland and tailored our trip perfectly with our family's needs and interests in mind. We especially loved the glacier lagoon tour, glacier hike, and horseback riding. In addition, he set us up with the perfect accommodations. Othman was always responsive to my questions, and answered in a timely manner. If you are planning a trip to Iceland, Othman is the man to help!

Hotel Reviews

Stay Apartments Einholt

Reykjavik

Pros: great space and the beds were comfy Cons: run down, laundry facility in other building, and water really, really smelled like rotten eggs. Location was ok but would have preferred being closer to downtown area.

Tips for future travelers

basic accommodation - if you just need a place to sleep, this place will be fine.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hestheimar

Hella

Beautiful location. Friendly staff. Loved the horses! We could have stayed here forever.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dalshöfði Guesthouse

Kirkjubaejarklaustur

Unique location, surprisingly modern accommodations. Very comfortable beds.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Garður Apartments

Gardur

Quaint seaside village, walking distance to restaurant. Quiet neighborhood. Comfy beds.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Blue Lagoon

Iceland

Loved the Blue Lagoon!

Quality of Experience

Horses and Hot Springs

Iceland

Fun to ride Icelandic horses, however some of our horses did not seem interested in following the commands given. Staff seemed on autopilot. Not super enthusiastic. Would maybe try a different horse riding experience next time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Þingvellir National Park

Iceland

Interesting, although other sights were more amazing.

Quality of Experience

Kerið Crater

Iceland

Cool site!

Geysir Geothermal Area

Golden Circle

Amazing!

Gullfoss Waterfall

Iceland

Loved this!

Solheimajokull glacier hike & ice climbing

Iceland

Super fun!

Skaftafell Nature Preserve

Iceland

Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon Zodiac boat tour

Iceland

This was a family fave!

Jenny and the team made our bucket list trip a reality. I can’t say enough good things about the entire experience. Beforehand, Jenny was responsive to all my many questions, and patient with several trip iterations. During the trip, the itinerary was seamless. Everything was where she said, when she said, and so conveniently laid out. When one hotel didn’t have our reservation, we called the KimKim number and it was resolved in minutes. And best of all, the itinerary perfectly captured what we had asked for and what we had hoped for. Using Jenny and KimKim saved me hours and hours of planning, and gave us peace of mind in turbulent travel times. I’m so so happy we went with Jenny and KimKim, and I would use them again in a heartbeat.

WOW! What a Magical trip! A big thank you to Janel for the excellent service and putting together a stunning itinerary! An unforgettable adventure!

Activity Reviews

Activity options for Reykjavik

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Activity options for Snaefellsnes

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Blue Lagoon

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Activity options for the Eastfjords

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Activity options for Lake Myvatn & Husavik

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Activity options for North West Iceland & Akureyri

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Activity options for the Golden Circle

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Activity options for the South West Coast

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Activity options for the South East Coast

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I really enjoyed working with Othman. He helped me create an itinerary that worked with my requirements- no driving more than 4 hours a day - he provided advice on restaurants and other activities. We really appreciated the step-by-step driving directions, too. Othman responded quickly to all my questions both before and during the trip. Excellent service that I hope to use again!

Janel and team were great. I had a few changes during the trip and they were there to help and coordinate. The trip was well thought out. We had a lot of coordination/ hotel accommodations to make and I felt everything went according to plan.

Hotel Reviews

Berjaya Hotel Mývatn

Mývatn

Great place-

Tips for future travelers

Restaurant was ok- there is a bar / pub right next to it which actually shares the same kitchen but food prices are lower. I would just go there for dinner. Same menu...just less expensive.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Borg by Keahotels

Reykjavik

Great location. Very central to the active part of Reykjavik. Hotel was well appointed and the rooms were typical European style (smaller - which is to be expected in a city) and nice.

Tips for future travelers

Parking and can be tricky- there is a parking garage maybe two blacks away. I didn't feel 100% comfortable leaving the car on the street so I used the garage. The garage was more expensive but probably worth it.

Authenticity & Character

Great character - fit in with the city/ area

Location

Proximity to city center / activity

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Laugarbakki

Laugarbakki

The outside needs a little care but it looks like the interior was update not too long ago. I think this structure was an old dormitory Al that was converted over. The rooms were fine.

Tips for future travelers

Give it a try and I don't think there are many other options (better options) in the area.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Vík í Mýrdal

Vík

I think this is part of a chain of hotels - I saw at least three different hotels with the same brand name. This one was "earthy". It was well done And very nice

Tips for future travelers

Restaurant was great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Grimsborgir Luxury Rooms and Apartments

Ásborgir

Great place. My son and I shared a 2 bedroom suite which was perfect. A little outside of town but great.

Tips for future travelers

I would definitely upgrade to a suite / apartment if traveling with family or just need a little extra room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Blue Lagoon

Iceland

Great - it is worth a few hours of your time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Grábók Crater

Iceland

Great but all the sights in Iceland are great - not sure I would make a special trip for this but it was cool.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Katla Ice Cave

Iceland

It was ok- thought it might be a bit bigger and longer in the ice cave- it was more of a mountain trip than a cave trip but it was good to see - wouldn't do it again but glad I did it-

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport