Kimkim Trip Reviews for Iceland

We would like to thank Halldor for the last minute planning on our Iceland Vacation.

While searching for the Northern lights, he did a great job at moving us around for our best chances.
Our Itinerary also include some amazing scenic sites and recommendations.

Our trip to Iceland coincided with our 35th wedding anniversary and my two month recovery from hip replacement surgery. We had a slightly rocky start as the ride from the airport didn't drop us off at the hotel but instead at the bus depot, a 20 dollar ride to the hotel. Because it was a special time for us I booked the Icelandair Reykjavik Marina hotel for 4 nights so we could enjoy the city and its sights and cuisine. The hotel was fantastic and perfectly located. The room I booked came with a social hour that included free wine and beer and snacks which took a little of the edge off of the expense of Iceland. I hired the kimkim team to plan the next 4 days and they came through with a spectacular agenda in the Golden Circle and the South of Iceland. They arranged for the rental car, three hotels, and forwarded the agenda which included google map directions, vouchers for a zodiac boat tour of the ice lagoon, and an ice cave exploration. We were picked up in the morning to get the car. The car came with a wifi hot spot and a garmin nav device. Driving in Iceland is easy once you get the feel of the two lanes roads that become one lane over bridges. Our mapquest instructions broadcast through the radio and were perfect during our first days exploring through the glorious, sometimes strange landscape. Waterfalls and photo ops every few feet it seemed. We drove approximately 235 km on the Golden Circle and stopped at Thingvellir National Park, got drenched by an active Geyser but recovered with a mug of spectacular lamb soup, saw the magnificent Gullfoss waterfall. We ended our day at the Hotel Ranga. This was another beautiful hotel with rustic charm and amazing views, including one of the most productive Salmon rivers in Iceland right in their back yard. We continued on around the Island towards the east coast with more astonishing landscapes but at this point our mapquest couldn't find a network. Fortunately we had printed the itineraries and had the Garmin navigation device so we were ok. We visited black lava beaches, looked at seals and took photo's of icebergs on the beach before donning our survival suits and flotation devices for a zodiac ride on the lagoon. We were up close to a glacier that represents one 6th of the landmass of Iceland. The day was really wonderful but we were ready for a quiet night in our next Hotel, the Fosshotel Nupar. This was a bit of a disappointment as it was a little old and tired looking but since we booked late there were no better accommodations to be found. We were there for 2 nights. It did have a nice bar lounge that played some really great music. I should mention that all the hotels kimkim booked for us came with a full breakfast which again helped the budget from bleeding too much. The last day took us through the charming town of Vik with its lovely red and white church standing over the town and from which one had spectacular views of the ocean and the surrounding landscape. We drove through miles of lava fields, the largest in human history, that was other worldly! We took our time, visited the Bridge between the continents where the Euroasian and the American tectonic plates meet. I had to cancel the ice cave adventure as it involved some climbing which my new hip just wouldn't allow. Kimkim were gracious enough to refund that portion of the trip and we were very grateful. It gave us a little more time to drive to the most geothermal area of Iceland and feel the heat! We also at some point went to a waterfall that had a rainbow in front of it for hours and one that we walked behind. Our last night was at the Hotel Berg near the airport for our return flight the next day. Iceland is one extraordinarily beautiful country and we picked what must have been be nicest 8 days in the year. It was sunny every day with only one having a mild rain squall. Unfortunately it was cloudy at night so the only time we saw the Northern lights was on the plane as we approached Iceland. Just an excuse to return. So thank you Preeti, our kimkim travel coordinator, and her colleagues, and kimkim itself for helping us make memories.

Everyone I dealt with was absolutely wonderful! Very friendly and helpful. Chris did a great job!. Heimir was an excellent tour guide! It was so amazing to be greeted so warmly by everyone at the coffee break. Bjorg greeted all of us with a warm smile and a handshake. The tour was outstanding!!

The hotel accommodation arranged were overall good and the travel map was well marked with the route and locations of hotels and places of interest clearly indicated.

However the following negative experiences limited the extent and the peace of mind for us to fully enjoy the trip despite a well planned itinerary.

i) Upon arrival, to our surprised we were informed that Hong Kong currency (eventhough it is a major currency which is accepted internationally) was not accepted at the money changer at the airport; which led to some initial concerns and delays resulting in our arriving late to Reykjavik.. This was a disappointment as we had chosen the itinerary to spend an extra day in Klauster instead of Reykjavik and had planned to explore Reykjavik on day of arrival.

ii) The pickup by Enterprise Car Rental was late and we have to call a few times to chase them. We were also surprised that the pickup to their office was only for 2 instead of the group which meant that the rest had to wait at the hotel. This delay resulted in a rush to cover the place of visits and we only arrived at the hotel in Henna very late.

iii) The rental car developed some noise after we went off-road to visit some of the places of interest on the very first day which was a Saturday. Eventhough we managed to contact their helpline, we were unable to have it checked at a service centre since it was a weekend. This created a overhanging worry over us for the next 2 days as we were worried that the car may fail any time and in a remote location.

iv) We managed to send the car to a service centre in Klauster on Monday. The time spend waiting and checking again cause further unnecessary delays. We also had to pay for the maintenance in advance.

v) As we only reach back to Reykjavik after 5pm, we could only drop-off the car at the bus terminal parking area and email the claims for reimbursement as we had opted for a Zero access insurance coverage. To-date we have not received even a acknowledgement of my email nor reimbursement.

vi) There was an initial error in the number of pax (2pax instead of 4pax) stated on the voucher for the Flybus transport to airport. After we reported this, a replacement voucher was subsequently received via email. We only realized that the new voucher was issued with a wrong travel date when pointed out by the staff at the bus-station. Prior to that we had to endure suspense and worries of missing our flight as there was no pickup from Bus Stop at the designated time and repeated calls to enquire and chasing for a pickup. Eventhough it was our error to only check that the number of pax was correct and not double checking the travel date on replacement voucher, we had not expected an error since the first voucher had the correct date. Luckily the management at the bus terminal was kind enough to arrange for a taxi to send us to the airport at no extra cost so that we could be on time to catch our return flight.

Regrettably the above bad experiences soured what could otherwise had been a great holiday and tour for our family with what Iceland has to offer.

Regards

Had a great time in Iceland for a sort visit. Only 4-5 days but included Circle, South Coast and Food tour, all great.

I procrastinated my trip planning to Iceland until it was a week before my departure and I decided to try Kimkim. Chris was pleasant to work with and the process was seamless. It took less than 2 days to complete the planning as I wasn’t very picky on what I wanted to do and just let Chris do his work.

Zeynep helped plan our wonderful adventure. The map she provided was highlighted with sights to visit and was our bible.

Zeynep created a fantastic trip for us. The accommodations were all very nice; the detailed map was very, very helpful; and the suggested sights were mostly spectacular and unique. Our experience of Iceland was just fantabulous. I enjoyed most the west and south coasts. Although the 'golden circle' was nice, it was not as interesting and the west coast and the glaciers to the south.

I had spent weeks trying to plan a trip to maximize time in Iceland for 5 people. I stumbled across the kimkim site and was assigned Zeynep as our specialist. She crafted our trip the way we wanted and from there the arrangements fell into place (meaning Zeynep did all the work!). With my busy schedule, I did not have the time to investigate each selection - I trusted Zeynep and she did not let us down.

Everything about the trip from the moment we landed exceeded our expectations. We were pleasantly surprised that Zeynep had mapped out our route and hand wrote the particular sites that she thought we would want to see. Every day worked out perfectly. We even saw the Northern Lights which was the much hoped for point of the trip.

We especially appreciated the private transfers from the airport (Christian), the hotels (especially Skuggi - fantastic breakfast!), the car rental and the Blue Lagoon excursion. None of my group had any complaints and the only bad part of the trip was leaving Iceland. It is such a beautiful country and we were so happy with our experience there!

Jo Ann

Hello,
Our trip to Iceland was amazing! So well planned by Preeti and team. Everything on the itinerary was detailed and worked really well. The timing of drives and sightseeing was perfect. Also, the pre-booked tours were very interesting and provided us with an experience that we would have otherwise not had.
We were also very happy with the accommodation and included breakfasts which really saved us time each morning. Only Hotel Hilda in Reykjavík was a very tiny room. However, the location of the hotel was very convenient. We found driving in Iceland quite easy- even with many tourists on the roads.
Overall, we had good weather- particularly in the important places where clear skies was a benefit to most enjoy the scenery. We even saw the Northern Lights in Höfn which was such a bonus for us.
Thank you so much for organising this amazing trip for us. I have already recommended KimKim to some friends and family members and would definitely use your booking team again.
Thank you again
Ann & Thor Morris

Preeti did an excellent job tailoring our trip to our interests and responded quickly when we ran into snags.

I had never heard of KimKim prior to researching our trip to Iceland and I came upon it by accident. Nobody in my social circle has heard of KimKim either, so I wasn't sure what the experience would be like. We submitted a request for assistance and were immediately connected with Sveindis María who very patiently worked with us to perfect our trip. We booked about 9 months in advance and Sveindis remained available to us throughout the duration of that time, kindly answering any questions or concerns we had. Everything was like clock work from the moment we stepped off the plane. We did not have a single problem with any of the bookings and greatly enjoyed every single tour we went on. We feel that Sveindis perfectly selected the companies for our bookings and would highly recommend each one. We took a domestic flight from Reykjavík to Egilsstaðir which was exceptional, and picking up the rental car in Egilsstaðir was very easy. We drove from Egilsstaðir back to Reykjavík over 5 days and absolutely LOVED our time in Iceland. We were able to experience kayaking on Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, a glacier hike on Sólheimajökull, horseback riding at Eldhestar, and a trip to Blue Lagoon. My experience with KimKim and with Sveindis María far exceeded my expectations. I was honestly blown away by how lovely everything turned out and would very highly recommend them both. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for helping us create such an unforgettable trip. We will never forget it!

We had a truly memorable time in Iceland. Sveindis did a wonderful job helping to assure that we were able to make the very most of our time. From kayaking a glacier lagoon, hiking a glacier, and horseback riding, we had the time of our lives. We would definitely use Kimkim in the future.

Sotiria,
I can't thank her enough for all her help and kindness. She planned the perfect trip for us, just wish we could have stayed another 2 weeks.

So happy to meet Preeti, Halldor and their family! The itinerary was exactly what we wanted to do! Though some days were packed and we had to skip some things. But we got in plenty of hiking and excursions. We were very please with the hotels and guesthouses too! For the very few issues we had, they were so responsive and gave great service!

We loved all of the hotel choices except for FossHotel Lind. The shower smelled like sulphur and the room was too small to open your luggage anywhere.

Our favorite hotels were:
>Tungulending; loved the location and the novelty of it! We could have stayed here awhile!
>Hotel Hellnar was wonderful and we loved the costal walk to Arnarstapi
>Hotel Heydalur - we loved this place! It would be a great place to stay for a couple of nights! Nice pool, hot pots, horseback riding, hiking, and we loved the animals! (dogs and an arctic fox!)
Heydalur was hard to find.  The gps to a dilapidated building with broken windows! We were driving on a narrow dirt road. We went back to a sign for Heydalur. The only sign was “restaurant “ so we went in to ask and that was the place.
>Hotel Bork - we loved the large rooms and the location right by the small harbor with an easy walk to dinner on the harbor at KAFFI DUUS. The food was great!
>Glacier World hotel, loved the little glacier museum with the video explaining how the community built the walls to save their town from the melting glaciers

Our favorite Restaurants:
>Tjoruhusid in Isafjordur was fabulous! We talked about the food there the entire rest of the trip! We actually enjoyed going there for lunch when the price was cheaper and it wasn't so crowed.
>Sjavaborg restaurant in Hvammstangi - the lamb shank and cheese cake was fabulous
> Cafe Vogafjos in Mytvatn, food was great and it was neat it was attached to the cow barn
> Pakkhusid in Hornafjordur; the langoustine was soooo good! It was neat to see the boat that brought them in right out the window
>Efsti-Dalur, found this on our own on the way to the Secret Lagoon. A wonderful cow farm that makes their own ice cream. We stopped back here for dinner after the Secret Lagoon

Favorite Hikes:
>Hellnar costal walk to Arnarstapi
>Dynjandi waterfall - it took our breath away!
> Landmannalaugur! Quite a crazy road to get there, but that was my favorite place. It was so beautiful!
>Valagil gorge; loved the beautiful grass land, the blue berries and the "surprise" gorge and waterfall
> Dimmuborgir - Beautiful hiking trails through lava rock formations. The plants interspersed in the rocks were so pretty, they look like a garden.
>Seydisfjordur; we loved this little harbor town... so picturesque. We did a small hike to to the man made structure called the singing concrete.  It was a great view of the town from up there!
> westman island Heimeny

We loved this place! There were still some Puffins and the desk clerk at the hotel told us how to find them. We hiked around the cliffs near the golf course where we got a picture of some. We also enjoyed the aquarium and the volcano museum. We heard about the kids rescuing pufflings and ran across some caring a big box. Sure enough they had a puffling they were getting ready to release. It was so cool to share this experience with them.

Excursions:
>Hellulaug hot pot
We loved this little remote hot pot! The view was fabulous! We had a little trouble finding it. It was further up the road than we could figure out. Found someone walking down the road that helped us find it. Also, it would have been nice to know there was a restaurant right there. Based on the itinerary, the only place we saw for dinner was on the car ferry and that food was not good.
>Kayaying in Isafjordur
We loved the kayak excursion in Isafjordur. It would have helped to know a little more about the gear they were going to provide, but it worked out okay. It was also confusing on where to meet. The voucher was not correct.
> Inside the Volcano!!! We LOVED this! It might be helpful to warn people that it is about a 2 mile walk to the base camp and 1/4 mile up the side of the volcano. But it was so worth it! It would have been helpful to know they were going to feed us meat soup (or vegetarian version) afterward. It was so good, but didn't know and had brought sandwiches to eat.
> Husavik Whale tour was a bust, but I guess you can't always count on seeing whales. There was a beautiful sunset that evening and we would have rather eaten at Tungulending and enjoyed the sunset.
>Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon 
our kayak trip was cancelled because of wind and rain, but the lagoon was well worth seeing the beautiful blue ice

Helpful hints:
> 100Kr coins needed for many of the WC we stopped at along the way.
> The Driving plan link on Day 12 had the wrong starting point. We couldn't use it, but we loved the Driving plan links provided to us for the entire trip! FYI, you might let the customer know that link is in the itinerary, I didn't realize it was there until right before we left.

We had an absolutely wonderful time. The itinerary was perfect for us! Thank you!

We had a great time in Iceland. Our tours were thoughtfully planned out. In 5 days we got a really good look at all parts of Iceland. We did have a little problem with Luxury Minibus Tours but our agent, Sveindis, was helpful in solving that issue. Every tour we went on had knowledgeable, pleasant guides who really knew what they were doing. I really appreciated that on our Glacier Hike. Our guide, Renata, was fabulous!!!

Fantastic, couldn’t have asked for better planning or customer service. Thank you so much for all your great recommendations and we can’t wait to get back to Iceland! We will certainly be a returning customer.

Caroline was very responsive to our multiple requests. The hotels all met our need which included room enough for 2 adults and 2 teenagers . The costs for this trip were lower than some other travel agencies .

We had a great experience planning our 9 day self drive trip around Iceland August 2018 with Kimkim. Preeti was extremely helpful and easy to work with. We appreciated her personal input and planning. We loved the places we stayed at. They were modern, clean and each had a special touch of Iceland. All our activities were well planned other than the whale watching, which was the tour facilities fault. They forgot to put our name down on their list and created few hours of delay in our schedule. Other than that glitch, we had an absolutely great time and truly enjoyed our visit. Preeti had an excellent itinerary planned for us, and we got to see all the things we wanted to see and places we wanted to go to. Thanks Preeti for all your help. Our accommodations were great.

Our trip to Iceland was excellent! Christina made a wonderful itinerary for us and the entire experience was seamless. We felt like we received a great value for the price. Thanks! LC