Kimkim Trip Reviews for Iceland

We enjoyed the guest house. First opportunity to see northern light. Also diamond beach. And glacier. And black sand beach. Everyone was helpful. And all accommodations where great.

Preeti did an excellent job putting together our 6 day trip to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula and Southern Iceland. Her itinerary and suggested activities were spot-on, and she and her team were very responsive to questions and changes that we submitted. So glad we enlisted her help!

Our trip to Iceland was incredible. The places to stay were a wonderful and except for the last night way exceeded our expectations. The last night was fine it was just a smaller room than all the others we stayed at so had grown accustomed to the beautiful rooms and locations along the way. The hints of things to see and do were very helpful. The food was fabulous and enjoyed the breakfast offered at each hotel. Appreciated Caroline's suggestion to go clockwise around the island. It worked out perfectly and we saw the northern lights 6 nights. Fosshotel Nupier was the best for them and wish we could've stayed their 2 nights. Mostly wish we had more time and could've had more days to explore areas. Just gives a reason to come back. Fosshotel Siglo and Fosshotel Eastjords were my favorite hotels. Didn't get the opportunity to use the pool at Ork but so was planning on it just something came up that changed the plans. Since it was a self tour we could adjust our plans based on what happened each day. 4 of the hotels I would have like 2 nights to explore those areas more, included Siglufjdur, one more further north of Mytvan and also be able to take a whale tour, East Fjords, and Skafatfel. Highlights besides the countryside and drives with stops along the way, numerous waterfalls (breathtaking and each unique), sheep, and birds was the Diamond Beach, Petras stone museum, helping herd sheep, Vatnsnes cave tour, hiking in Dimmuborgir and Dynjandi falls. The people were friendly. The guide at the Cave people tour, Hermann was awesome as well as the guide Max at the into the glacier tour.

This is the third time we have used Kimkim to plan a trip and it was, as usual, extremely helpful. We wouldn’t have had such an interesting and easy time of it without their assistance. The local agency, Iceland Offbeat, arranged for a rental car, provided us with route information and booked all our hotels/guest houses. They also gave us good recommendations for things to do/see and some places to eat. They booked some specific activities that we requested such as a glacier hike, whale watching, and horse back riding and we were impressed with the quality of the outfits they booked us with. In addition, we also made a reservation for the Viking Sushi Adventure that goes out of Stykkisholmur, which we really enjoyed. We loved being on our own schedule, traveling independently.

We had two weeks to drive the entire ring road around the coast and I can’t imagine doing it in less time although some people do. The roads are narrow and windy and the scenery is spectacular so you have to take your time. Also, we were on dirt roads at times that had a lot of potholes. If you rent a car be sure to get something with good suspension and tires. They originally reserved an economy car for us but we upgraded to an SUV with 4x4 and all season tires and we were glad of it - the extra expense was worth it. The wi-fi coverage throughout the country is amazing. We had one of those wi-fi gizmos that plug into the car and were able to follow the google map directions they provided quite easily. Although, I do recommend that you also purchase a full road map of Iceland so you can cross check names and numbers of the roads - the signage is sometimes confusing.

The only glitches we ran into were because we had a couple of changes in our itinerary during the planning process. Two of the guest houses that were originally reserved didn’t provide breakfast so the reservations were changed for us. We got a revised itinerary with the new locations and vouchers, however, the changes didn’t get made in the google map directions so one night we drove up to the wrong place. Fortunately, the correct guest house was only a few km away and we were alert to that problem for the future and didn’t make that mistake again. Also, at one place, there was some confusion about payment but they were able to phone the contact number on the voucher and it got worked out fairly quickly.

All in all, we had a fantastic trip to a unique and amazing country thanks to the kimkim team.

We enjoyed the route through the Snaefellsnes Penninsula and remote areas Westfjords, We were able to snag a reservation at Tjorhusid in Isafjordur which was a real treat. Driving through the snow in the mountains on a gravel road was a real adventure. We liked the Malarhorn guesthouse and suggest taking route 68 from beyond Holmavik on the way back to Reykjavík for wild beauty and staggering views. It was the only time we ventured off the route planned by Pauline and it was well worth it. Pauline was able to develop an amazing 7 day trip for us with very little lead time.

Our trip was great. Itineraries were created thoughtfully to match our interests and were packed. The first day was very tough because we had been awake all night, maybe a more low key day would have been nice. We loved all the local recommendations and the restaurant recommendations were amazing! All the recommendations exceeded everything that we found on our own.

It was a trip of our lifetime and we were so happy to have found Preeti and her team to help us enjoy their country. I can't wait to use kimkim for our next adventure.

Bubble tents were great. Could of had a bit more info on what to take in regards to luggage and also didn’t realise we were going to secret lagoon Pick up on last day wasn’t clearly explained we thought the bus was taking us straight to airport that’s why we had been given a later time But took us to depot where we had to wait 30 minutes. Not much time for check in But rest of trip was amazing. Thank you

My week in the Westfjords was beautiful. I felt comfortable navigating all the roads knowing I had the KimKim team within reach in case I needed help. Being someone who does not drive much in New York, driving through the steep gravel mountains of Iceland became more daunting as the week approached. As usual it was the most breathtaking scenery. I also met with Preeti who compiled my itinerary and answered all my neurotic New Yorker questions. 10/10 would use KimKim again for future travels.

With only 8 days before departure Emanuela put together a great trip to Iceland. Before contacting KimKim, I had an idea of where in Iceland I wanted to go and some must do activities. After finalizing the details, such as driving distance for each day and the type of accommodations that I wanted I received a detailed itinerary for the trip. The trip was fantastic. I always book my own vacations unless I am doing a specialized tour (photography tour etc). Due to timing logistics I reached out to KimKim. It was the best decision for this trip. All my accommodations were great. Most of the hotels where smaller with maybe only 10-20 rooms except for one that catered to tour buses. That hotel was good except for the pushing and shoving at breakfast as the tour groups dominated the breakfast. I received a detailed itinerary with suggestions for each day in terms of what to see along with a detailed driving map and restaurant recommendations. I knew exactly what order I would come across the sights and what side roads to take. Emanuela also had some suggestions for hikes and other natural wonders that I had not come across in my research. During the trip Emanuela reached out to me to ensure everything was going ok. The tours she booked were all first class. Good guides who truly enjoyed their job and offered us a wonderful experience. I did three different tours and there were never more than 10 people in my group. I did a glacier hike with Icelandic Mountain Guides lucking in with only one other person on the tour. We were able to cover a lot of terrain and get quite close to the fissures. This along with our guide Brook, who is a geology master's student added to the experience. Every day had detailed suggestions such as the history of a street, or inclusion of a site in literature, or additional museums to visit made for a wonderful trip. On my last day I stayed at the hotel at the Blue Lagoon, all details where taken care of to ensure I could check in and enjoy the lagoon. If you are able to go to Iceland and have Emanuela organize your self drive trip you will have an enjoyable time. From kayaking in Jokulsarlon lagoon amongst the ice, to hiking a glacier, seeing the beautiful colors of Landmandalauger, hiking to Gylmur waterfall, discovering gorges and seeing the beauty of Snaefellsnes Pennisula, lounging in geothermal pools as I shed a winter jacket for a bikini, and viewing Kredid Crater the trip offered beauty, nature and new discoveries every day. I would not hesitate to use Emanuela, or KimKim again.

The trip plan was totally customized to our needs, with all activities and routes organized on a convenient itinerary including clickable planned routes on Google maps. It couldn’t have been easier!

This is our first time using KimKim and we will be sure to recommend to anyone looking for a customized travel experience. We too will be back! :)

Positives:
+I appreciated having places to stay arranged for us for our long trip around Iceland
+ The places which were arranged were all very nice, definitely nicer than if I had tried to plan it myself.
+For the most part, the staff was pretty responsive to questions while we were on our trip.
+ The itinerary given was pretty good for ideas and suggestions within most of the things I had expressed interest in
+ Everything was provided in a good, organized manner

Negatives:
-There were a few parts in the itinerary where it was out of order so I would have to make sure ahead of time that we were able to go to all the places without backtracking
-There were a few places that I feel were recommended that could have been missed and there were a few that were not mentioned that I felt could have been on the places recommended, so even with the provided itinerary, I did spend extra time to make modifications.
- A little flexibility or a little more heads up about things may have been helpful? One of the unfortunate things with our trip and completely not the fault of the Kimkim staff, is that we had a bit of not good weather which significantly altered some of our activity plans. It would have been nice if offerings for alternatives or even if they had a notice about weather and could have switched a day's activity with another day's activity. As it was, we had 3 days in a row where we scrambled to find alternative plans due to weather.
-There was a least one time where some questions were left unanswered for a very long time.
-There were a few parts on our itinerary and vouchers that were not complete and needed clarification

Overall, I am glad that I used kimkim to plan our trip. There were some things that could have been better but then again, i usually don't book with multi-day tours, especially self-guided ones. I would definitely consider kimkim again for future travel possibilities.

We thoroughly enjoyed our 14 day self driving tour of Iceland. The itinerary prepared by Preeti enabled us to see much of Iceland and much more than if we just followed highway 1. The accommodation and vehicle were both quite satisfactory - we had no mishaps whatsoever. And Preeti was immediately responsive on our few queries.
I would recommend Kim Kim to anyone wanting to tour Iceland.

The clockwise direction around Iceland and detour onto Snaefellsness peninsula were perfect. We saw far more cars heading in the opposite direction which made for a much smoother driving. Given the extra time it was a real treat to have some of the island’s most beautiful attractions to share with a relatively small crowd of visitors . It was shocking to encounter large caravans of cars and campers by the time we reached glacier lagoon. The golden circle was almost anti-climactic. Cases in point: Krafla crater lake was much more impressive than Kerid; and the Myvatn nature bath was very enjoyable ( skipped blue lagoon ).

Judith was great we have to change or alter our plans many times and she was super helpful and cool. All communications were very professional and prompt everyone was on time;

Favorite memories of our early August 2019 trip to Iceland include the low sunlight illuminating the horses in a field near Hofn and lighting the cliffs behind Hotel Kria as we got into our rooms that night.

August 10 was a 5 star day: beautiful shirt sleeve weather, ice cave tour -- just out of Vik-- with Katlatrack, followed by puffin shots, followed by rainbow shots at Skogafoss, followed by Frost and Fire restaurant. Try their chocolate cake and Pine-smoked Arctic Char!

Our ice cave guide gave us lots of insider information and gave constant cheerful helping hands so Jen could tour the cave with a bum ankle.

Thanks to KimKim who took tons of planning off our shoulders!

As a family who has self toured to 30+ countries, we were reluctant to use a travel service for our 6 day trip to Iceland. However, with limited time to see the country, I sought help from KimKim for guidance. They connected me to a local specialist, Preeti, who organized an amazing 6 day trip to remember. Leading up to the trip, we communicated via email on several occasions to work out the schedule and the package she delivered was well before the trip, giving our family plenty of time to study the route and plan for added stops, meals, etc.. We enjoyed an amazing week along the southern part of Iceland starting with the Blue Lagoon and a night in Reykjavik and stops and hikes along multiple waterfalls and other beautiful vistas. Tours included a zipline tour from the activity hub of Vik, a Zodiac Glacier Lagoon Tour in Jokulsaron, and an ice cave tour. The other days were spent stopping at spots such as Diamond Beach near Jokulsaron, Geysir to see the Stokkur geyser, plane wreck on Solheimasandur, hikes around glorious waterfalls, driving off the main roads through farmlands and on drivable beaches. Every turn along the way was a beautiful surprise and we loved every minute of our time in the majestic country. On our final day, we detoured to the Rekjadalur Hot Springs near the town of Hveragerdi where you hike about an hour to a delightful hot springs river for a delightful and relaxing reward! We finished with a great pizza dinner at Olverk Pizza and Brewery before driving back to Keflavik for the night before flying out the next morning.
Everything was well coordinated with plenty or room for detours and spontaneous stops and we without a doubt would recommend both Preeti and KimKim to others!

Thank you Preeti and also Pauline for your assistance in setting this up

Overall the drive/trip went very well

A couple of caveats for your awareness
1) The Google maps driving instructions were not always the most accurate; sometimes off by multiple kilometers (this is not your fault; but something to be aware of... not sure if there is a better way to map these trips) which did create some confusion

2) I would not stay in the Hotel West again; very very small room, no TV, no coffee, cold only breakfast, etc... I would barely consider this a two star hotel

Our guide Kristjan was knowledgeable, efficient, and tremendously flexible. All necessary attributes in dealing with our family!

I wanted to thank Preeti for being such a patient and helpful travel specialist. She always answered my questions in a timely matter and was very flexible. She really tried her best to accommodate us and I appreciate that. It was a pleasure working with her, she was fantastic.

We had and AWESOME trip. Everything was planned so well and we were able to see and do all the things we wanted to do. All the guides were super friendly and helpful. I would recommend this trip to anyone thinking of going to Iceland. They will help you plan a fantastic trip.

What an experience! Our family thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Iceland. No one, from the youngest to the oldest (ages 4 to 77), has had any negative comment.
We were there almost twelve days and really needed more time. Well, I suppose that will have to happen in a subsequent trip. We were pretty much seeing the southwest quadrant of the island, doing all the activities requested and then some. Halldor was an excellent tourist agent. It must have been quite a feat to pull together such a nice trip following our (probably strange) requests that included the interests of every individual in this family. He succeeded in doing so. He even made certain that the vehicle in which we would be traveling would be booster seat compliant for the children. Kimkim, your organization has a real treasure in this local specialist!
The lodging was very nice, family-friendly, with nice dining facilities and delightful breakfasts. I was particularly impressed by the fact that most places had an area for young children to entertain themselves while still in sight of their parents.
Our guide, Mr. S, was most accommodating to the various members of our family. He was a good choice! I never heard one complaint, even from the four-year old. Mr. S came up with activities to supplement our experiences, from the requests and questions we asked. There was plenty of participation from the oldest to the youngest. If a question arose concerning our reservations at any previously-scheduled part of our trip, Mr. S got it straightened out. He directed us when, mid-trip, we needed to have our laundry done, locate a postal facility or a bank, etc.

One person had a birthday during the trip. Mr. S oversaw the request of the two children to pick berries, and he prepared a cake to celebrate using those berries. It was delicious! He also recommended museums, eateries, woolen/gift/souvenir shops, and all of the things that one likes to become acquainted with when traveling. I thought that perhaps there would be too much time allotted to rest in the afternoons, but that was definitely not the case.
Everything we did was memorable because of the planning and direction of Halldor and the suggestions of Mr. S. We chased sheep, pointed out "dead" horses, climber a crater, fed retired horses, rode horses, took a sled-on-wheels ride pulled by huskies, counted seals, relaxed in various geothermally heated pools, watched geysers, identified birds, hiked lava fields into a lava cave, saw mushroom production before eating probably the best mushroom soup any of us had ever had, ate hot dogs and more hot dogs, walked to a waterfall, straddled a rift in the tectonic plates of North America and Eurasia, visited a museum a day I think, trolls, history of this country, Vikings, and the list goes on . This is not a trip any of us will ever forget, nor do we wish to do so; therefore, Get ready Kimkim, Halldor, and Mr. S. It may take awhile, but this family will probably be back! Thank you for everything you did to make our trip memorable.