Kimkim Trip Reviews for Italy

My wife & I, who live in suburb of Washington DC, took a two weeks trip to the beautiful Italy this month.
It was a wonderful trip in all the places we visited and stayed, including Rome, Venice, Florence, and the Amazing Amalfi coast . Italy is a fascinating and beautiful country and we are happy that we had a chance to explore it.

Thanks to wonderful Elena with KimKim Group, who arranged every step of our great trip, we had a lovely time.
All of our personal Tour guides were great, well educated and explained the museums, the cities and the rich Italian - no-wait-in-line tickets of historical sites. Several trips in high speed trains that were included in our package were amazing.

The majority of the hotels we stayed in, except maybe one, were great, in the center of the cities, and accessible to all planed destinations, including a couple of wine tasting beautiful sites. A day trip with a boat to and around the Island of Capri was just wonderful.
It was all an amazing experience that we'll never forget. Hope we will do it again soon.
Thank you Elena! Mr. & Mrs. Marham

(PS, travelers should closely guard their pockets, money, pouches, passports, etc.- but enjoy your trip)

Everything that Lorenzo coordinated for us was wonderful! The Hotel Doria Palace was in a great location. We had an easy walk to the Coliseum and to the Metro. Our tour guide MarioPaulo was very impressive. She had in depth historic knowledge of Rome. She was also very patient. I messed up my days and we ended up being very late for our Coliseum tour. She was able to get us a later entry. When we entered the Forum we came across a women who was in distress. MarioPaulo was very quick on her feet and was able to get emergency assistance. Last, she gave us great restaurant recommendations. All of our travel coordination, trains and drivers made the trip to easy. When we arrived in Pompeii we had a delicious lunch and again had a private tour by a very knowledgeable Alessandro. When we arrived in Amalfi it was a breeze. The Hotel Residenza Luce greeted us at the main square and provided assistance to get our bags up the hill and stairs to our rooms. Everyone at Residenza Luce was warm and inviting. I would highly recommend KimKim travel for your next adventure!!!

Hotel Reviews

Doria Palace Boutique Hotel

Rome

Great location, wonderful staff. Rooms were so comfortable and clean. Breakfast was superb. I would absolutely stay at this hotel again!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Walking distance to many historic sites.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Residenza Luce

Amalfi

Rooms are large, clean. Bathroom was extravagant with a huge soaking tub. The views from our room were breathtaking. The staff was so nice and accommodating, they made me feel like I was family. The hotel is located it a great location which made it easy for us to walk and see the sites. I would absolutely stay at Residenza Luce again!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

St. Peter's, Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter Basilica - private guide

Rome

What an incredible experience! It’s like visiting the worlds oldest museum. Getting to see masterpieces is something I will never forget.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Colosseum and Roman Forum - Private guide

Rome

WOW! We learned so much about the historical site. 4 hours is not enough.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Colosseum & Roman Forum skip the line ticket

Rome

The only way to go!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pompeii ruin visit with a private guide

Italy

We were there midday in Sept and it was very hot. Our tour guide made sure we had plenty of stops to rest.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

As a first time KimKim client, I didn’t know what to expect, however, I would highly recommend their service! Not only was the planning aspect easy and thorough; what really impressed me was the support we received while we were traveling, and how quickly we could access help when weather disrupted our plans. Additionally, the transportation vendors and guides they used were exceptionally prompt, kind and fun! Our Santorini drivers and especially our Amalfi coast driver, Rino, were some of the nicest people
we encountered! We especially appreciated our Botantical Garden tour and cooking lesson in Crete and the recommendation to go to Ergon in Athens…top notch experiences. Lina, our Knossos guide, stood out for her depth of knowledge and her ability to educate us so efficiently.
The Travel12 crew were at our fingertips via What’s App and also called me to make sure we had gotten and received messages. This was much appreciated.

Irene did a fabulous job introducing us to parts of the world we knew nothing about (Crete!) while incorporating some of the bucket list places we wanted to visit. We will use her again for any return visit to Greece!

Activity Review

Chania SUP Tour

Chania

Not to be missed!! This was a very special way to visit and experience the gorgeous waters and natural beauty of Crete. The guides were fun, caring and made everyone feel comfortable.

Our Travel Specialist- Chiara did a great job understanding our plan needs and then creating a plan than covered many needs before and after our cruise from Ravenna to our Milan departure.

Driver-specifically Stefano was excellent in meeting and welcoming us to Bologna and then being our driver for Parmesan Reggiano dairy and full day touring to Milan … he was on time and very professional with his driving.

Hotels — all were excellent and met our needs very well for being close to city centers, 3-4 stars and clean. We especially enjoyed the Bologna Hotel Metropolitan for the balcony/terrace on our room and then the rooftop lounge was wonderful evening spot. Milan Hotel De Spadari was outstanding for service and proximity to all of the key areas of Milan.

Guides— in Ravenna our guide Sylvia was very knowledgeable and comfortable to be with and was helpful about good restaurants in area.
Bologna- our walking food tour guide Mattea was great to walk us through the city area and provide explanations about food and traditions. We appreciated his concern about Gluten Free for Mary and providing options.
Parmesan Reggiano-Franseca was excellent in explaining and answering our questions about cheese making.
Modena Balsamic Vinegar-Magadelena did a wonderful job explaining and her best work was tasting/sampling Balsamic Vinegars.
Milan - Lara was our best guide because of her true passion for the history and helping us understand what and why are seeing the items. She was a genuine person that asked us questions and was enthusiastic along with being engaging.

We enjoyed our work with Storytelling and appreciated the daily check in’s. At first I was apprehensive not to have phone #’s for drivers and guides….but I let go of that concern after I saw how “on time” and drivers/guides show up where and when they were supposed to be!! Big point for us! We hope to use Kim Kim in the future for planning! Thank you!

Hotel Reviews

Palazzo Bezzi

Ravenna

Authenticity & Character

Clean

Location

Close to City Center

Staff

Helpful with restaurants and reservations

Cleanliness & Comfort

Metropolitan Hotel Bologna

Bologna

Excellent location, excellent balcony and great breakfast. Best of all was the Rooftop lounge and service

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Very helpful upon checkin

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean bathroom area

Hotel Spadari Al Duomo

Milan

Loved the decor and location. Great hotel close to the city center

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Helpful front desk

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Bologna Walking Tour - Food & Wine

Bologna

The food and wine tour in Bologna was fantastic. It was great to have those personal experiences and see everything firsthand. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Parmigiano Reggiano cheese tasting tour (private)

Italy

The cheese tasting tour was very cool. It was great to be part of it and see all the processes. I really enjoyed it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our guide Andrea was helpful throughout the panning process. He was responsive to last minute and on-the-ground changes to our itinerary. His knowledge of local attractions and restaurants was extremely helpful.

We had Emi as our agent and she was beyond amazing. First, she as patient with us as we had started our planning and we were figuring out our different options. Once we finalized that it looked like she found the best hotels for our needs. We have never gone to Europe and were hesitant about using and agent, but we are SO glad we did. We will be using KimKim for future travel!

We had a great time on our trip but there are a few things we feel should be addressed -As far as we knew all the hotel payments were pre-paid -However the first hotel we stayed at told us we never paid and wouldn’t let us leave until the matter was straightened out -finally that was resolved but we almost missed our pre-paid ferry . Each hotel charged us additional fees for city taxes-these should have been prepaid as well but we had to pay them-if we did owe that to them it should have been arranged earlier-Also the guides on our tour to Pompei and Naples were horrible-They spoke English poorly and we got very little out of them -it’s a shame because we may not be back here again and there was a lot to learn -also the limoncello Factory tour was 5 minutes of learning about limoncello and the rest was the owner who marketing his products- In addition our boat tour which highlighted the Blue Grato-should have taken place when the tide was low enough for us to see it-I realize you don’t control the tides but it is well known when low and high tide takes place- Also the boat was not fully equipped for snorkeling and had some but not enough portable floating devices for swimming.

Hotel Review

Hotel Palazzo Murat Positano

Positano

A beautiful hotel. Pool had a great view , breakfast was delicious and the staff was very eager to help.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Always friendly and eager to help

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean

Activity Review

Limoncello Experience & Tasting

Italy

Not much to it. Finished in a short amount of time and then was brought into the store to buy products

Quality of Experience

It’s difficult to know where to begin , since we had nothing but one excellent experience after another. From the first planning sessions with our specialist, Valeria, to each and every local guide, driver, recommendation and suggestion on ways to make our trip a lifetime’s experience.

Barbara in Milan was our first local contact on the ground and set the tone for the 9 days that followed with a wonderful tour that exuded her love for her work. She was then our daily contact who checked on with us each evening to make sure all was going well and to review the following day’s itinerary.

The cooking class in the Tuscan countryside was incredible. Alesia in Venice was fun and shared her love of her home city. Florence was a dream and our driver, Nath, made it a perfect 2 days there. Not that our guide, Lucia, should go without special mention. She had an incredible knowledge of art and architecture in a city that is steeped in centuries of beauty. Jaw dropping insights were continuously shared with us by her.

We loved the small towns of Pienza and Montepulciano, the vineyards, cheese tastings and exposure to small family owned businesses could never have happened without Kimkim resources and expertise.

And then there was Rome- perhaps the culmination of why we appreciate using Kimkim for our trip. Our tour of the Vatican could never be duplicated unless, of course, we had Francesco as a guide again. When I show people photos they marvel at how we were able to navigate such a popular attraction and yet seem to have been alone among the vast, treasure filled halls and rooms of the Vatican Museum. Truly a lifetime experience.

And we were able to share a wonderful goodbye walk with our original tour specialist, Valeria, through local neighborhoods and eat where the Romans eat along the way.

The greatest compliment we can give is the conversation at the conclusion of a vacation that centers around planning our next trip with Kimkim.

Best,
Brian and Melissa

Activity Reviews

Private tour of Milan Highlights (3 hours) with La Scala theatre

Milan

The tour was absolutely phenomenal. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable about the city, and we learned so much in just three hours. The highlight was definitely the La Scala Theatre. Our guide was passionate about Milan and gave us some restaurant recommendations that turned out to be fantastic.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private cooking class at Podere il Casale in Pienza

Italy

This was such a fun experience. The cooking class was a full five hours, but it flew by because we were having such a great time. It was hands-on, and we learned so much about Italian cuisine. The class was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Early morning private Vatican Tour

Rome

I can't tell you how impressive this tour was. Our guide, Francesco, was absolutely incredible. His knowledge about the Vatican was outstanding and he managed to guide us around the museum and the Sistine Chapel avoiding the crowd. His dedication and passion about his job and his hometown was palpable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had an amazing trip made possible by Stephania and her associates!! Stephania customized an itinerary that we requested within the budget we set and picked fabulous hotels and tours. The hotels were all perfectly located to walk anywhere we wanted and were classy, beautiful, with extraordinary staff. The three tours she selected were fun, informative, in spectacular settings. The most amazing part is the convenience of all our transfers and never experiencing any problems or delays. We met other travelers that complained of not being picked up or not being able to find their drivers. When we arrived in Italy, we were given a new set of travel associates (Travel12) to answer any questions or concerns we may have when we arrive. One of our tours changed a meeting point to which I received a text from that organization and within two minutes the travel 12 group texted me to inform me of the change as well! I really can’t say enough about Stephania and her team to be able to arrange a dream trip! The service is very affordable and worth every penny!

We had the best time on this trip through Italy, largely due to the excellent planning and coordination provided by the team at Your Custom Journey. The planning with Valeria was fairly simple to do via KimKim. Honestly, the hardest parts were choosing between all of the great city destinations/excursions and committing to a budget. Luckily Valeria was very patient with me as I tried to get my group to come to a consensus.

Our in-country contact, Barbara was fantastic at keeping us in the loop with possible itinerary changes, reminders for the upcoming day, transportation, and checking to make sure we were enjoying everything as we'd hoped. She even was our tour guide a few times in Venice. The other guides were great as well, particularly Gianni, who led our tour of the Palace of Caserta and Valeria, who took us on a walking food tour of Rome. All of the guides were local to the regions we were touring, and most of them were born and raised in Italy, and I think that really made the difference. Not having a lot of familiarity with the Italian language ourselves (despite studying all spring and summer), it was a relief not to have to worry as much about the language barrier since all of our guides were fluent English speakers. Plus, at all of the church and palace tours we were able to skip the long lines.

The excursions were interesting and thoughtfully prepared. Highlights included a lunch and wine tasting at a hillside winery on the Amalfi Coast, the Venice walking tour that ended with the Doge Palace and San Marco Basilica, seeing Pompeii and the Vatican, and the stunning views in Sorrento. This trip was everything to me and my family, and I'm so glad I had the help to plan it as well as the local support so that I could enjoy it as much as everyone else did.

Fantastic break in Italy ( Rome & Milan). From the start the car pick up went seamlessly and cars were all high quality Mercedes with very safe drivers. In Rome, we toured the Vatican (Museum, Sistine Chapel & St Peters Basilica) which was excellent but museum tour was very long ( 2.5 hrs plus) and far far too busy with some areas at a complete standstill. Our guide had encyclopedic knowledge, but even she was very surprised on the sheer amount of time the tour took 4.5 hrs).

The walking food tour in Rome was only average really with no real standout dishes, as we had tried a lot of the Italian dishes already. Tour guide was ok very enthusiastic but it would have been good to know where we were going next and how long the walk was, as it felt we were "walking blind" with no end in sight sometimes. Now this may have been as a direct result of all the walking we were doing in Rome anyhow and we had 20,000 steps in the tank already. Also we were asked to be early for the meet up, which we were but the guide showed up a little late and I was slightly concerned frankly.

Hotel was functional, clean and we only used it to sleep which was fine as the room was air conditoned ( Doria Palace Boutique Hotel). The list was so small it could only take a single case or just about fit one person, so folks with walking challenges be aware.

Train trip to Milan was fine and pick up seamless. Hotel was larger ( Una Hotel Cosani) and in a great location. The Last Supper tour was excellent and included a taxi ride ( less walking) to the Duomo. We asked the guide at the start the scope of the tour and we reduced the duration from 4 hours to 2.5 which was perfect. In contrast to the Vatican tour, the Last Supper groups were restricted to 15 people at a time and this really enhanced the experience. Our guide was excellent, very accommodating and knowledgable and even showed us a nice local coffee shop which was off the "tourist grid".

Moreno from KimKim was great to deal with, very efficient and knowledgable. Quick replies to questions and was there if we needed him.

Hotel Reviews

UNAHOTELS Cusani Milano

Milan

Nice modern hotel. Front desk staff not great though, particularly on check-in.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Doria Palace Boutique Hotel

Rome

Small, clean but lifts very small.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Vatican & Sistine Chapel Tour

Rome

Quality of Experience

way too busy

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rome food tour: A deliciously cultural tour for foodies

Rome

more visibility on what to expect ( walking time between venues particularly).

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Timely arrival at meeting point and info between venues.

Transport

timely and safe

Milan Vip Walking Tour and Da Vinci's Last Supper visit

Milan

Excellent guide, very flexible to our needs. Passionate about his subject.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Elena made it easy for my parents to navigate around Italy and enjoy a once in a lifetime trip

Ina helped us craft a perfect honeymoon. We had amazing excursion and experiences and as a result made beautiful memories. This trip was so convenient as a result of KimKims efforts. I've used this company in the past and as a result of this experience will continue to use them.

Our trip guide Alberto was great. He was interactive in both putting the trip together and identifying lodging and side trips which matched our interests and life style . Not only accommodations but side trips to wineries, points of interest
such as Pompey ,Vesuvius, and Mount Etna, Organic winery's.
Our driver would be waiting in a black ,clean late model car each morning to wisk us to our destination for the day.
he insured that the local guides understood our likes and dislikes!This was our second with KimKim and both times they exceeded our expectations!

Wonderful trip planned with Arianna! she made sure that the kids would also enjoy it as well.
Since it was our first trip to Milan and Como, everything as planned well in order to visit most of important and nice places to visit.
We also had amazing guides such as Larissa in Milan and Christina in Como.
Thank you to Arianna for her patience in planning the trip :)

Hotel Review

Apartment in Duomo Area -- Airbnb

Milan

Nice cozy and quiet place to stay with kids.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Express Milan Duomo Tour with Terrace Access

Milan

Larissa is an amazing guide. She had great patience handling our 3 young boys

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Best of Lake Como by Boat - Central Lake Private

Italy

We spent a great day with our guide Christina, and again great patience handling the young kids.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I can't remember all their names. Big momma was amazing. Fabio was great as well. Actually, everyone we encountered from our trip was fantastic and very accommodating. Irenes was so kind and helpful. Smoothest trip ever. Thank you for everything. We will definitely be using you again in the future

Hotel Reviews

Ottantotto Hotel Florence

Florence

Owners very accommodating

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Relais Le Clarisse Rome

Rome

Bed was a little uncomfortable however everything else was perfect.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Palazzo Tritone

Sorrento

Very nice.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sweet Home Hotel

Athens

They were so kind and accommodating. Beautiful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Chianti Wine & Olive Oil Tour from Florence

Florence

wonderful experience.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Vatican Guided Tour

Rome

Awesome. Big mamma was fantastic.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Aperitivo & Stroll around Sorrento

Sorrento

beautiful. So nice to have a guide show us around.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Amalfi Coast Driving Tour

Italy

Our driver was truly amazing. He went above and beyond to make our trip exciting.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Pompeii Tour & Mount Vesuvius visit with lunch and wine tasting

Pompeii

I think this was Fabio. He was fantastic. So helpful in explaining everything.

Food

Loved the entire wine experience and food.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We stayed at Ocelle Thermae and Spa in Sirmione Italy. We had asked for a room on Lake Garda. What we got was a room that had a lake view but the lake was across a busy street and the view was small as it was between 2 houses. The rest of the trip itinerary was top notch.

Activity Reviews

Private Boat Tour of Lake Como - Explore Bellagio

Italy

Very good private boat guide

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bernina train from Como

Italy

Bernina train is the best. Up close and personal to the alps.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bus needed to have a bathroom on board

Trip was amazing, and our local specialist, Elena, was fantastic. We even made some changes mid-trip, and it was not an issue at all. Elena handled it all. 5 stars!

Kim , Kim team was awesome. Martina, Deborah and Valeria made sure everything was on time and as expected. The scheduled drivers were always early for our destinations and were more than happy to communicate with the latest technology if the language barrier was an issue. The scheduled tours and coordination made our vacation truly effortless. We look forward to using them in the future. Thanks for the great memories! Betsy, Marilyn and Danny, Arizona U.S.A.

We loved it all! The drivers were on time and very hospitable. Our planned activities were all memorable. The accommodations were perfect! Ian had outdone herself to make sure that every detail had been tended to which made our trip easy logistically. The support team jumped in when Ian was out of the office. There was a rock slide on the Amalfi Coast so they rearranged our itinerary before we knew that there was an issue. I have been singing your praises to everyone!
We think we are either going to do Greece or another part of Italy next year and can't wait to work with you again!

Hotel Reviews

Grand Hotel De La Ville

Sorrento

We cannot say enough about this hotel. We have traveled alot and this was our absolute favorite hotel!

Authenticity & Character

Ever detailed has been tended to, to create a one of a kind experience.

Location

The rooms are gorgeous! The buffet with the outdoor dining area is amazing! The rooftop pool and bar were the perfect place to grab a drink and watch the sunset.

Staff

Everyone from the front desk staff to the cleaning woman were exceptionally kind and helpful. They went out of their way to ensure that our stay was perfect!

Cleanliness & Comfort

It was impeccably clean!

Hotel Modigliani

Roma

This hotel is located in an area that allows for easy access to the major attractions. The hotel was clean, elegant and hospitable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

You can walk to most tourist destinations.

Staff

They were very receptive to our needs.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The entire hotel is immaculate.

Hotel Orto de' Medici

Florence

We loved the buffet and outdoor dining area. The welcome beverage was a nice perk! We had an issue with our bill and they remedied it quickly. The staff was helpful and very kind!

Authenticity & Character

Location

The hotel was located in an area close to everything! There is no need for a car or driver.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Royal Continental Hotel Naples

Naples

Upon arrival the front desk upgraded us to an oceanview room. They were helpful answering any questions that we had and were interested in how we enjoyed Naples.

Authenticity & Character

Location

We loved being on the water and across from the marina. This is a lovely place to watch the sunset.

Staff

The woman at the check in desk greeted us with a beautiful smile every time that we had questions.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The bed was extremely comfortable and the facilities were pristine.

Activity Reviews

Florence Food Tour & Dinner

Florence

This one of the highlights of our trip. Our guide, Lorenzo, was animated and so knowledgeable about the local restaurants. He made us feel like we were family. We had a group that bonded and shared an evening of laughter.

Quality of Experience

Lorenzo and our wonderful group. We stayed together until 11:00.

Food

Everything we tasted was amazing and the wine was even better!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Lorenzo had grown up in Florence so he knew all of the authentic, local places to take us to.

Transport

We could walk everywhere.

Pizza Cooking Class in Napoli

Naples

We just enjoyed learning about the way to make authentic Italian pizza. The chef was friendly and readily answered all of our questions.

Quality of Experience

Our pizzas turned out to be delicious!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Pompeii Tour & Mount Vesuvius visit with light lunch

Pompeii

Having a private guide is the way to go. The area was extremely crowded and we got to by pass everyone as we toured Pompeii.

Quality of Experience

Our guide was extremely knowledgeable about every aspect of Pompeii and her English was excellent!

Food

The venue was lovely. We got a tour of the vineyard, a wine tasting and a delicious four course meal.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

She could answer any of our questions.

Transport

Our driver was prompt and shared lots of information about the area during our commute.

Private Amalfi Coast Driving Tour

Italy

On the that this was scheduled there was a rock slide blocking the road but our driver did manage to chauffeur us along part of the highway.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

He told us exactly how much time we had in each location and where to meet him. This young man made every concession to ensure that we had a memorable trip.

Transport

He was just a very kind, dependable person.

Capri Island & Grottos Boat Tour from Sorrento

Sorrento

We loved all of the friends we made on our tour.

Quality of Experience

We enjoyed taking the chairlift up to the top of Anacrapria and hiking down the trail.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The staff were constantly offering us drinks, hanging out with us and asking for our input to provide the ultimate adventure.

Transport