Kimkim Trip Reviews for Ireland

Planning our trip to Ireland was a breeze. Our specialist, Dean, included all of the aspects we were looking for in this trip. He made sure we understood our itinerary and readily responded to any questioned we had. We scheduled an elopement ceremony after we booked our trip and Dean made it very easy to make changes to our itinerary so we could squeeze this special day in. I would definitely book with KimKim again.

Hotel Review

Ballyseede Castle

Tralee

Staying here was a night of luxury. We got dinner at the bar and it was one of the best meals we had in Ireland. I would love to stay here again if I am ever back in the country.

Authenticity & Character

There is a long walking trail connected to the property and there are friendly animals roaming the property.

Location

Secluded oasis with dogs!

Staff

Staff was very friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Large rooms and comfortable bed/pillows.

Activity Review

Ring of Kerry Guided Bus tour

Ireland

Informative and a great way to see a lot in a little amount of time.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The hotels, car rental and planned activities were great. On the other hand, we received a very long document before our trip that just listed *all* of the options of things to do at each place - there was no priority or added information about timing, booking in advance, or attempts to tailor recommendations to our preferences. This document was generally not useful and we ended up having to use a travel book to figure out what to do in each place.

We had KimKim ( and Julia and Sara) make ALL the arragnemtns for our Ireland trip. though I typically enjoy and do my own planning, I got busy with other things and had KimKim do it all. Amazing job.

Great tours arranged, and all the personal touches worked out perfectly. The ONLY issue we had was we could not do more. Our days were packed! We wish we had added more days to the southern and western coasts. but just could not.

Fantastic trip, couldn't have done it without KimKim, and Justine and Fanny were terrific!
First two days in Dublin were great, loved Number 59, the food and drink tour was so fun and informative, and our guide, Collum was great. Guinness Factory is a must!
Don't let the car rental people talk you into a bigger car! As you know, when we arrived at the Maldron in Cork, my husband stood in a hotel parking spot while I went to get the car; the hotel only has like 10 spaces out front. As he stood there, a gentleman (local to Ireland) pulled in the spot, hitting my husband in the knees, demanding him to move, saying, 'we don't do that here". My husband moved but was very angry as was I when I returned seconds later with our rental. Anyway, the hotel was very busy and didn't give great directions to the parking garage 3 minutes away, I was flustered and drove down a very narrow street, hitting a concrete ballast on the left bumper as I was making a left turn. I finally made it back to the hotel and found a spot to park, but the damage was done. We ended up getting very drunk at the bar hotel and didn't do anything in Cork.
The next morning Europcar said they were bringing us a replacement car when I finally reached them to make the report, and I got a reference number. A tow truck came and picked up the wrecked rental. After several hours of waiting, I called Europcar and got passed around a phone chain, no one could find the reference number or report of my accident, and told me it would be 24 hours before I was given a replacement. Upset at this news, as we had already extended our check out time at the Maldron, we took a taxi to the airport. We were able to secure another rental after putting down a $2000 deposit with the threat that if ANYTHING happened to this car we would lose our money. This put quite the damper on the day and overall experience as the Europcar people were a nightmare to deal with.
Anyway, on to Killarney which we absolutely fell in love with. The Dromhall was really nice. It was such a pleasure to meet Richard and take the hike around the National Forest after our experience in Cork, and the weather was beautiful. Unfortunately because of the accident we were late arriving to Killarney and did not get to take our boat tour. In speaking with Richard, he recommended not driving the Ring of Kerry after hearing about our driving ordeal, as well as we really didn't have time. He recommended we just go to Kenmare, which I really wanted to do, but we again were a little shy of driving due to the threat of losing our money. We had a beautiful evening in Killarney at the Killarney Brewing Company and did some shopping.
On to Dingle, which was delightful. An Capall Dubh was a great place to stay, we went on a boat tour of the cliffs, had fish and chips at Harrington's, dinner at Paidi O Se's. The next morning was our anniversary and we lit a candle at St. Mary's and walked the labrynth. It was awesome to be on the coast. We stopped in Adare Village on our way to Doolin and had lunch at The Arches, which was delicious.
Doolin was gorgeous! Our accommodations were beautiful and Ceol na dTonnta was great.
We really enjoyed our talk with Peter Curtin. Such a fascinating man! However, his pubs are not open on Mondays and Tuesdays, and we almost missed him because his assistant changed the time but didn't tell him! We had him all to ourselves. After the talk we had a good dinner and some Irish music at McGann's pub.
The Cliffs of Moher are breathtaking and that was amazing. We did not hire a celebrant to renew our vows, that was really expensive! It was special nonetheless. We went back to Peter's Roadside Tavern that night for dinner and also heard some live music.
Galway was wonderful as well as the Hardiman Hotel, probably our favorite accommodation, They had valet parking too! Very helpful. I really enjoyed the shopping and we had a great meal in a pub around the corner.
When flying out of Dublin, you should probably start the morning there. The drive from Galway (and my planning) got us to the airport too late to make it through customs to catch our flight home on Friday; Delta said we needed to be there 3 hours in advance. We were lucky enough to get a room at the Camden Court Hotel and had another fun night in Dublin. We had lunch at the Bleeding Horse and dinner at the hotel restaurant Ivey, which was really nice for our last night!
No problems flying out the next day, Delta worked hard to get us home. Aer Lingus was striking so the airlines were busier than usual, which added to the long customs lines.
We had a wonderful adventure and will totally book our next trip through Kim Kim. Justine was awesome and Fanny was really kind and helpful with me during the car rental accident!

We had a great trip to Ireland -- and a great collaboration with our specialist Justine. We did not want to go on a tour and we wanted to tailor the travel to our preferences. Justine helped us explore scenarios, and then bring the plan to life with excellent suggestions for both places to stay and memorable activities. Having support with accommodations and travel took the stress out of planning and also let us spend our planning and research time on the fun activities we wanted to do. Justine suggested two of our favorite actives on the trip -- a tour of Slea Head with Mossie and a walk through the Gap of Dunloe. It was also nice to know we had KimKim's help if our plans were thrown off by any disruptions - especially since the airline we were flying was on strike. It was our first time working with KimKim, but I would definitely do it again -- the perfect level of support for how we like to travel. Thank you Justine for all your wonderful help and responsiveness!

Hotel Reviews

Pax Guest House

Dingle

It would be hard to improve on anything at Pax House - the location is beautiful, the service is excellent and the breakfast was a highlight of our trip. We loved it!

Authenticity & Character

Location

The beautiful view of the harbor is so lovely and peaceful!

Staff

We particularly enjoyed meeting Michelle -- she was so kind and helpful and made our experience very special.

Cleanliness & Comfort

George Hotel Limerick City

Limerick

Wilder Townhouse

Dublin

Excellent location and service! We loved it.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Nice quiet location -- and the prettiest neighbor we encountered in Dublin

Staff

Great service from people who were kind and fun to interact with.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Fairview Boutique Hotel

Killarney

The Fairview has a great location and the rooms were nice. The service was not at the super high level we experienced elsewhere -- but we enjoyed our stay.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Dingle Distillery Tour

Ireland

We enjoyed the tour - but our guide talked so much it went from 60 minutes to 90 minutes which felt a bit dragged out.

Guided Killarney National Park Walking Tour

Killarney

Richard is a knowledgeable and relaxed host - like having a friend in Killarney. We enjoyed two hours of exploring the park, learning about some of the history and the natural environment and Richard also gave us great recommendations on pubs and other places to check out in Killarney.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Gap of Dunloe & Lakes of Killlarney Boat Tour

Ireland

This was one of our highlights of the trip. We got very lucky with a cool, sunny morning - perfect for enjoying the incredibly beautiful surroundings. While we did see other people and, of course, the jaunting carts, we were mostly on our own and to enjoy the peace and beauty around us. The board ride back to Killarney was another highlight -- a perfect way to appreciate the National Park from the water.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our boat driver did a nice job of highlighting some of the nature, history and beautiful views on the way back through the lakes.

Transport

A Private Half-Day Tour of the Dingle Peninsula

Ireland

We had a wonderful morning with Mossie. He is a very experienced guide -- funny, knowledgeable, great conversationalist and kept a relaxed pace with lots of time for us to enjoy each stop. He showed us lots of beautiful places that we enjoyed all the more for not having to worry about driving the narrow roads. We loved touring with Mossie and very highly recommend!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Claire and her team were wonderful! We had a delightful time in Ireland and they were there every step of the way. Highly recommend.

The guides and drivers provided were excellent. There were some scheduling problems with getting the car and attending the tea. Many in the group were unable to attend tea as they were picking up cars. The tea was just okay, a little stuffy and didn’t seem very Scottish (what ever that is). Also the car return schedule was unrealistic as there was not enough time allowed. This wasn’t a big problem and we worked it out. The Highland tour guides were very nice, but this was not very interesting. I don’t think going to the cliffs of Moher by boat was a good idea. The seas were very rough and many people were very sick. Arran island was very fun. The best was the Irish house party. I wish we had more time in a small village with traditional Irish music. We may have to return. All in all, or trip was well organized and you did a good job trying to meet our varied wishes. Thanks Carol

Hotel Reviews

Skeffington Arms Hotel

Galway

Interesting hotel. They do have a problem with unpleasant odors in the hallway. Breakfast was just okay, location was good for the boat trip.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fonab Castle

Pitlochry

Authenticity & Character

I expected an older castle.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Eden Locke

Edinburgh

Lovely, very modern and clean.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Argyll Guest House

Glasgow

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Belvedere Hotel

Dublin

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Free time in Inishmore ( Aran Island)

Ireland

Renting bicycles and touring the island was a definite treat. The scenery is so unusual and beautiful that we were spellbound the entire time.

Edinburgh Castle Tickets

Edinburgh

Very interesting, I would have enjoyed a guided tour.

Quality of Experience

Loch Lomond Cruise

Ireland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Irish Dancing - The Irish House Party (Dinner & Show)

Dublin

The meal was ho=hum and took way too long to be served. Fortunately, the Irish music after was awesome!

Quality of Experience

It was great to be exposed to the local history. We have nothing to compare in America.

Food

We ate fish and chips until we could take no more. We tried, but, haggis and blood pudding are definitely an acquired taste.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Their open friendliness.

Transport

The drivers were friendly and knowledgeable.

Private transfer in town

Ireland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Walking Tour of Glasgow

Glasgow

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Walking Tour of Edinburgh with a Top Local Guide

Edinburgh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Afternoon Tea at The Signet Library

Edinburgh

With our short time I would have preferred to do something with more Scottish influence.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Cairngorms National Park Wildlife Tour with a Specialist

Ireland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Blair Atholl Castle Entrance tickets

Pitlochry

Quality of Experience

Blair Athol Distillery's Whisky Connoisseur Experience

Pitlochry

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

My family and I flew to Dublin, Ireland. From there we traveled to Galway, Cork, Limerick, Cork, Cashel, and then back to Dublin-via Kildare.

Our travel specialist Svetlana planned our trip perfectly-in that we didn't move through the countryside to slowly or to fast and our accomodations were fantastic.

Further, the stops Svetlana planned for us, (sometimes ones that we would not have chosen for ourselves) turned out to be reals gems-the Kilbeggan Distellery and the Irish National Stud & Gardens-and we treasure the visits. Not to mention the usual stops: Cashel, The Book of Kells, The Cliffs of Moher, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Blarney Castle ... almost too many to mention.

Needless to say, my family loved Ireland, loved the Irish and had a wonderful time!

Svetlana planned a perfect trip for us - the hotels were wonderful and the travel plan hit all of the highlights of Ireland without feeling rushed. We particularly liked having much of the trip booked and paid for prior to our arrival. It was the trip of a lifetime and we will absolutely be using KimKim for our next adventure.

I found Kimkim after some internet research for our two week trip to Ireland. I didn't know where to start in planning our trip. Last year, we had an experience with a travel agent that didn't work very well, but we learned more about what we wanted for this trip.
We worked with Claire personally and she took the time to understand our unique needs. She curated a wonderful trip that gave us special experiences, wonderful locations and hotels, as well as time to be free. It was really convenient to have the itinerary, maps and local numbers all in one place. It also gave us peace of mind to know that we could reach out with any problems if we needed to. We did that a couple of times and always received a timely response. I recommend working with Claire and Kimkim for your next vacation.

From the start of planning with our guide Svetlana to the end of the trip, everything came together with ease. We did not have a lot of time (8 days including to and from Canada) to explore Ireland, but Svetlana helped me hone in on what was most important to us and how best to travel while there. It was our first time travelling with our youngest son and we were thrilled to share this adventure with him. Our hotels were very comfortable and welcoming - our favourite was The Salthouse Lodge in Ballycastle, where we stayed for 3 nights to allow us to explore the area. The Beresford Hotel in Dublin was our first stop and Robert at the front desk was both entertaining and extremely helpful. There was the right amount of tours - the Titanic Experience and Black Cab tour in Belfast and the Guiness Tour in Dublin. The itinerary was flexible enough that we could add or subtract experiences as we wanted, so ended up doing Bushmills Distillery visit and a tour in Londonderry, as well as high tea at the Merchant Hotel in Belfast. When there was a glitch in the Black Cab tour timing, Svetlana was easily contacted and she sorted everything out very quickly. It was very helpful to have the breakfasts included each day and it was never difficult to find wonderful places for the other meals. We are already thinking about our next visit to Ireland and other adventures in the world and would definitely use KimKim again to be able to design the best experience with professional and skilled guidance helping every step of the way. We were able to relax in a way we have not done on past tours with other companies. Many thanks to Svetlana for helping to make this a memorable trip.

The food tour in Galway was fantastic as well as our guide!

We planned our hiking trip in Ireland using KimKim and the local representative, Dean from Ireland Walk Hike Bike, arranged a terrific self-guided trip for us in the Southwest of Ireland. Every day was memorable. We particularly appreciated their responsiveness when there were questions. Twice we needed to change plans and they responded in minutes, updating our itinerary info and GPS. Loved the accommodations they arranged at Ashling Hotel, the Old Weir Lodge and Tower View B&B and the people at all of them. Had wonderful drivers too. Cannot recommend highly enough!

Hotel Reviews

Ashling Hotel Dublin

Dublin

Terrific hotel. Great location, particularly if you are taking the train, as the station is across the street. Most restaurants an easy 15-20 minute walk, but some close as well. Three blocks from one of the largest parks in Europe. Also close to Guinness brewery if you are going there. Very good breakfast and super friendly host, who spontaneously started leading us in traditional Irish song! Loved it!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tower View

Dingle

Loved the Tower View B&B! Aiden, Helen and the staff made us feel so welcome. Very friendly and welcoming. Breakfasts were terrific. A big part of why we had such a wonderful trip to Southwestern Ireland!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Old Weir Lodge

Killarney

Felt so welcomed by the O’Donoghue family at the Old Weir Lodge! Small hotel/Inn with the feel of a B&B. Felt so welcomed. It was a plus that father and son run the boat tour we took in the park as well. Excellent breakfast and service. Highly recommend!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

FALCONRY KERRY

Ireland

Had some time on our last day in Killarney before getting our train and this was a perfect way to spend the morning. Highly recommend!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had a really great itinerary. Our local guide, Joe O'Donnell was very knowledgeable in both historical and current sights to see. He filled us in as we travelled on current, recent, and ancient events in Ireland. He also had a knack for finding good establishments for eating. It was very interactive and Joe always made sure we were happy with the activities we engaged in.

Dean with KimKim laid out the perfect vacation for us. He asked us what we wanted to do, and then made it happen. Our guide Joe was personable and just an all around great guy. Knowledgeable about the areas and history, and got us where we needed to be on time. Will defiinitely use KimKim again.

Most of the drivers/guides we had were amazing. One of them was lackluster, and did not seem to know what we had planned for the day. He also told us that he was called out as a last resort, which we thought was weird. John, the guide we had in Donegal was personable, knowledgable, and clearly loved meeting new people and teaching about Ireland. We took 2 walking tours in Dublin, and they were really fun. We got a great overview of the city, and got to eat and drink some Irish specialties. Overall the trip was very fun

This was a great trip planned by Claire and her team. They planned a great itinerary, pairing interesting tours with plenty of time to roam the countryside. We appreciated the detailed information throughout, such as map links to make driving easy.

Highlights were the Middleton Distillery visit, the food tour in Kinsale, driving the Dingle Penninsula (definitely stop at the Fish Box and Murphy's Ice Cream), walking the full Cliffs of Moher (have good walking shoes!), and the Ballymaloe House! We also loved listening to live music at pubs throughout all the towns we visited.

Overall a wonderful and relaxing trip. 10 days simply wasn't enough!

Claire put together a great couple days for us in Ireland. After talking through the experience we were looking for, Claire's initial itinerary was right on. She set us up with a mix of different locations and feels - got us into the heart to Cork (which exceeded expectations) and beautiful coastal villages. Great mix of hotels which were destinations themselves. Biking a greenway, exploring a rocky coast, finding small village pubs - and of course she connected us with great traditional music.

Our trip was amazing great working with Alex who planned a great vacation for us. Our driver Michael was great always punctual always accommodating and a great source of information we loved all our hotels except for the Ballyseede Castle we were looking forward to staying there but their service was terrible and so was the food big disappointment on the other hand the Wilder in Dublin and Sheen Falls were amazing places to stay with amazing service and staff. The recommendation to have dinner at 35 in Kenmare should be given to all travelers it was the best dinner we had in Ireland. Good star limo service picked us up and dropped us off at the airport it was truly a good star service

Wolfgang was incredibly responsive throughout our trip. Whenever an issue came up (and in a 5 week tour, this was expected) he was able to take care of it very quickly. Superlative service.

Hotel Reviews

Dakota Manchester

Manchester

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Bonham

Edinburgh

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mansewood Country House

Lochearnhead

Authenticity & Character

Location

Make certain to advise guests to make make dinner reservations in advance, because of the limited options nearby.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Guisachan Guesthouse

Fort William

We were not provided with the room that was booked and confirmed when we arrived. We were also not in the main guesthouse, but in a separate outlying building ('the annex') in a room over a garage.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cleanliness was a '5', Comfort was a '1'. The average is a '3'

Ullinish House

Isle of Skye

Note that there is no cooked breakfast available, and this B & B is a long way from any restaurant or other services, as it is very remote. If you are looking for a remote, quiet, serene location, however, this is a perfect spot.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ronas House B&B

Inverness

One of the best stays out of 17 individual hotels/B & Bs on our trip.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Superb breakfasts.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Just an amazing room, with a sitting area overlooking the town.

The Marcliffe Hotel & Spa

Pitfodels Aberdeen

Overall, a wonderful hotel. Have your dinner elsewhere.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

We left an electronic device behind and the staff were wonderful in assisting us having it shipped home.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ivybank Lodge

Rattray, Blairgowrie

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Acorn Hotel

Glasgow

One level above hostel in room size and amenities.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cleanliness was excellent. The assessment is based on Comfort.

Hyatt Centric The Liberties Dublin

Dublin

If you have a car, be aware that there is limited hotel parking which cannot be reserved, and that the hotel is on a very busy street. The restaurant food and service was just average, and on mornings was somewhat over-capacity due to catering to large tour groups.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sea Breeze Lodge B&B

Salthill, Galway

Fabulous breakfasts, great location, and wonderful hosts.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kathleens Country House

Killarney

An older, unremarkable, small hotel with owners who try hard to offer a pleasant stay.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cleanliness was excellent. Evaluation based on the comfort of the room.

Eccles Hotel & Spa

Glengarriff

An older, somewhat worn (in common areas) hotel. Nothing was objectionable, but other than location, nothing stands out either. An excellent choice for folks looking for a stay with historical significance and character.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Staff at the front desk could be a bit more friendly and welcoming.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lyrath Estate

Kilkenny

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Granville Hotel

The only caution with this property is that there is no hotel parking. The parking is down and across the street in a parking lot that may or may not be available. Outside of this issue, would highly recommend staying here.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bedford House

Balbriggan, Co. Dublin

VERY limited parking. Note that you check in at the music venue (concert hall), but our room was in a building above a restaurant a few doors down the street. The room was a bit more funky than boutique.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Never really interacted with any staff after we checked in.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clear glass windows in the door separating the bathroom (toilet) and bedroom should really be opaque at the least.

Activity Reviews

Strathisla Distillery

Keith

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Glamis Castle

forfar

Quality of Experience

Johnnie Walker Experience

Edinburgh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park

Balquhidder

Fabulous scenery through the park.

Quality of Experience

Stirling Castle

Stirling

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Clydeside Distillery Experience: Unveiling the Art of Spirit Crafting

Glasgow

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Kilbeggan Distillery

Kilbeggan

If you visit only one distillery, make it this one.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Cong - The Quiet Man

Cong Co Mayo

One of the highlights of our trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Smithwick's Experience

Kilkenny

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Farewell

Ireland

Would recommend never using Hertz at the Dublin airport.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Try running a shuttle bus that will accommodate all of your customers, and at a greater frequency. Awful experience.

Charles Fort

Kinsale

Quality of Experience

Waterford Crystal

Waterford

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Prehistoric Newgrange & Knowth

Ireland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff