Kimkim Trip Reviews for Italy

Being as this was the first time to travel to Italy, I was at the mercy of a travel agency to help me set up and arrange certain aspects of our trip. My husband and I did not want the typical tour group travel as we like to travel at our own pace. I reached out to KimKim as they offered services for independent travel. I felt as if our specialist just threw some stuff together and changes that we wanted made was a struggle, because the reply at the other end was always, well we are here and we know what is best or what works best. One change that I am so glad I fought with was getting the specialist to change a Pizza Making class in Florence to a Pizza Baking and Limoncello Making in Sorrento, which was a highlight of our trip. I wanted a Pizza Baking Class in a Farmhouse.
Another issue we had was travel documents are suppose to be sent to you within 3 weeks of travel, we had to reach out several times to get all of our official documents. We had missing documents and it took until few days before our trip to get everything correct and in-hand, the first time being agency related and the second due to lack of my use of technology.
Keep in mind is in the US we are 6-9 hours behind so communicating with your specialist will be hard, as you are getting out of bed they are going to bed and if you work a day job an accepting phone calls are challenging for you at times this will be frustrating, even with the use of email.
We had KimKim to arrange hotels, train travel, a few VIP tours, three group tours, travel to and from hotels between train travel and travel to and from airports for us for our journey from Venice, Florence, Sorrento, and Rome.
I loved the suggest of the specialist to extend our stay in Venice so we could take a day trip to Verona as that gave us more time in Venice and not have to worry about keeping up with luggage for our day trip to Verona. I did not like the hotel that our specialist chose for us in Venice and once again this was something I tried to change, but the specialist said he had actually stayed at this hotel and that we would love it. I even went as far to state that I read tripadvisor reviews and room 103 was the worse and guess which room we received??? Room 103 and the desk clerk said the hotel is full so no room changes! I am allergic to mold so those 3 nights were a big struggle to me. Also we were quoted a double room with a balcony and guess what this resort doesn't even have balconies!! This hotel like all but one we stayed at was far off the beaten path, but it was convenient to the private water taxi for our luggage due to their dock on main canal. Our resort in Rome was so far off the beaten path that a taxi ride to any attraction was $10.00 to $15.00 bucks each way! But, as far as the employees at all resorts they were outstanding and went over the top to help with any of our needs!
The location of our Florence hotel was the best of our hotel stays. The second being Sorrento, but once again I asked the specialist to upgrade our room to a balcony with a full ocean view and he immediately stated it was not available, without even researching, but we were happy with our partial side view room once there.
Another issue was once we received our travel documents I noticed we failed to arrange transportation from our hotel to the train station for a day trip to Verona and when I asked the specialist how much it would cost for him to arrange for us, now keep in mind our vacation package was over $10,000.00, his reply was it would be to expensive for him to arrange, but it would be easy for us to do on our own.
In Rome I became ill and wasn't able to make the group tour to the Sistine Chapel and Vatican the specialist had arranged for us, we did receive a call from the specialist wondering if maybe we were lost which was very nice, and I stated no I was ill and maybe we could reschedule and his answer was no, no offer to help us set up a new tour, but my husband and I were able to set up a private one on our own which was very nice.
Also, two of our private drivers between trains and hotels did not speak English and one driver even told us that it was mandatory for all new drivers and guides to speak English.
We did like the fact that we had a travel agency to help us set up a few things, to take the some of the burden off of us, I just wish the communication was better and more emphasis was focused on our needs and wants.

Exceptional

I took my 12 years old daughter to her Bat Mitzvah wish trip.. I was worried it’s just the two of us and couldn’t really find an organized tour that was right for us. We wanted to start in Milan and end it in Amalfi Coast in two full weeks. Carmelo was super helpful from day one.. I started clueless about where and how I’m going to tour Italy and I left the States confident with a fabulous, detailed trip plan! He helped me through step by step. If it’s to get private transportation when it’s more needed or to get the right train ticket from city to city!!! He booked me private tours in Venice and Rome which were so important since we would have had to wait the crazy long lines for hours in the hot water!! I must say that everything he booked for me was top quality! In between our trip we had a few changes and Carmelo was there to assist me. On the weekend when he was out of the office Alexandra was in touch with me and was great help!
To summarize this experience, I’m so grateful I chose Kimkim to assist with this once in a lifetime tour of great Italy!!!

Who knew Sicily was so amazing?

We did Ischia, Procida, Palermo, Ortigia, Taormina and Valletta.
Also had some other highlights en route to those locations.
All in all--amazing cities, each with their own personalities.
I would recommend Taormina and Ortigia the most--since they were most authentic, less touristy (except Taormina does have a cruise ship terminal which makes the city swell at midday.)

Our guides were all terrific. Salvatore showed us around a gorge that is north of the Noto area, as well as Taormina, and was incredibly knowledgeable and personable.
Francesco was our guide for a boat tour around the islands of Ischia and Procida and he was amazing. Friendly, down to earth, un-rushed.

We did have some miscommunications with one of our drivers being late to pick us up from airport, but Mario from BellaRoma Vacations made up for it and comped us the value. Mario was also always available via Whatsapp/phone, so that helped as well to keep things running smoothly.

Would recommend and return to Sicily in a heartbeat--who needs to go to the overcrowded Rome, Venice, Florence when you've got Sicilia!

I had a nice time in Salerno. My drivers were on time and helpful, my guide Anna in Salerno was excellent - she new her history and showed me the old part which I found interesting and even showed me street art which I love to see. It was nice to try some local fare as well and the host was lovely. Everything went well without a problem. The accommodation in Salerno was great - a small boutique hotel next to the train station and not too far from the ferry was perfect.
Well done Emi you did your job as requested. I'll use you again.

Wonderful knowledgeable guides. All drivers were professional, courteous and responsive. Francisco in Bologna was exceptional.

We did an unguided tour of the Dolomites. In general, we felt the distances of the hikes did not match what my Garmin recorded. There was not enough time allotted meet up with our guided portion of the tour. Our luggage transfer service, Taxi Rizzo, was excellent and very complementary of Allibert Trekking. The accommodations, travel books, maps, bus/train information and phone app were good. The choice of destinations and accommodations were excellent. Tre Cime is breathtaking and all the alpine huts had spectacular views.

Mario was extremely helpful in suggesting places to go for our 3 week holiday in Italy.
He was invaluable while we were away and was on call the whole time. Of course, problems occur when you are overseas, and Mario was there to translate and fix problems for us..... which included a flight delay that meant we missed a tour!
Thank you Mario for all your help!

No one can predict the weather, but even with half the trails covered in slow, we were able to navigate with very little worry. Olivier was great to deal with, and we look forward to planning another trip some day.

We had a wonderful 17 days in Sicily. Marianne and Alexandra where great. Communication while in Sicily was immediate. The guides they booked for us were knowledgeable and made our tours interesting. Each place we went to were memorable in different ways. Palermo, was the capital. We spent 3 days there which was enough. Had a great food tour with Streaty Tours. Trapani was a great little Port Town with lots to see and do near by. We cycled to the Salt pans, went to a winery ‘Baguio Soria’. The service was not very good, as we waited for well over an hour for our tasting and when we went to buy wine, there was no one to sell us the wine. However we meet some really nice people at the wine tasting and decided to join them for a tasty lunch. One of our highlights was taking the ferry to Panarea and Stromboli. Two of the Aeolian Islands. On Stromboli there is an active volcano which we hiked part way up. Upon leaving, from the boat, we saw it shooting up lava. The captain waited along time for us to watch this. Amazing!! We also had a fun time at our cooking class in Taormina, at Ristorante Porta Messina. We loved!!! Taormina. We spent 4 days at Grand Hotel Miramare. The views from our room were spectacular! The itinerary that Marianne put together was very detailed. It was helpful to included how long, time wise and distance one place was from the next. Most of the accommodations were as expected. The tours we requested, had great guides. And if I had a question during our trip. A quick text via what’s app worked perfectly. I would definitely book with KimKim tours again. Thanks for planning our fun trip to Sicily Marianne.

Our trip to Italy and Greece was amazing! The local tour guide, Bartholomew, really made Pompeii and Mt. Vesevius come to life. His knowledge and expertise of the area and the ancient history were fantastic. Dino, our guide in Rome, was also exceptional, he found so many unique and interesting places throughout Rome that made the experience delightful. He knew all the great places to go and how to avoid the crowds. Dionysus, was our guide in Athens and out to the Sanctuary of Artemis, which was a spectacular place to visit, was incredibly knowledgeable and toured us around with a wonderful ability to engage with history. Effie, our guide to Delphi, was also amazing and told such great stories about the Oracle's cunning ways. Outside of our tour guides the places we stayed and recommendations from Veronica were truly fabulous and we loved all the amazing places we were able to see and go to while seeing Italy and Greece.

The planning portion with Edmondo and Valentina were great and a huge relief. They worked very hard and efficiently to answer my questions and address my needs. It was nice to have the trains all booked ahead of time. We weren't too excited about our hotel choices, we felt as though they weren't really 4 stars, and the hotel in Florence was out of the way.

During the actual trip, we hit a few snags and we think it may be a miscommunication between KimKim and the tour groups chosen.
In Rome, we went to our meeting spot for the Skip the Line Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and Roman Forum tour at the designated time (15 minutes prior) as directed on the final itinerary. When we arrived there at Romaround, the desk worker told us that we needed to be there 30 minutes earlier and pushed us to the next tour that was 2 hours later. After killing time, we came back and another couple experienced the same issue. When they asked to be put on an earlier tour, their request was granted...meanwhile, my husband and I sat there with no offer of jumping into that tour. After I spoke to the desk worker, he said at first that we couldn't move up, yet another worker was able to make it happen.
For our Vatican Tour the following day, we experienced the same issue. We were given a choice of 10am or 11:30am, the only requirement being that we show up to the tour agency a half hour early. My husband and I showed up an HOUR early for the 11:30am tour and we were immediately told we had to go on the 12:30pm tour because other people had walked in earlier and took our spots. We feel that an easy solution could be put in place at this particular agency; simply hold the spot for visitors who went through a planning agency (like KimKim), tell walk-ins that there are possible spots available but they need to wait, and if they don't show up, then give those spots to walk-ins.
Giving walk-ins priority over people who made weeks in advance was upsetting. This was also frustrating because we knew we were in a time crunch with a later activity.

Again, I greatly appreciate the time my specialists put into my trip, tailoring it to what we wanted. The timing and level of expertise was above and beyond what I expected. However, I was greatly disappointed in the tour agencies chosen in Rome (Florence and Venice tour agencies were awesome) -- hopefully there are other Rome tour guides you can consult with.

Mario did a great job with our trip! His planning took all the stress out of our visit. From the transfers, to the guides, to the trains, everything was perfect. We loved our guide, Julia in Florence. She was very informative and catered our tour to our tastes.
David in Venice was extremely knowledgeable and again, catered the tour to where and what we wanted to see.
Our Murano, Burano and Torcello tour out of Venice was awesome. A great way to explore the islands.
Loved our tour of Pompeii. Enrico was a wonderful tour guide. Had so many interesting facts and made the tour one of the highlights of our trip.
In Sorrento, we had a wonderful private boat tour to the Blue Grotto, Capri, and the coast off Sorrento. Our boat guides were Nello and Francesca. They were absolutely amazing and so much fun. Would highly recommend them.
In Rome, Paulo showed us around Ancient Rome. Again, very informative and interesting. Loved learning about Ancient Rome and all of the history there. We were then treated to a wonderful dinner in Rome. Amazing.
Would HIGHLY recommend Mario and Veronica for any travel plans!!

The whole trip !
Edmondo
Valentina
Andreas
Boris
5 stars for for all

* all of them adjusted to our needs...

Overall, the expectation for this experience was met, however I expected more service from the concierge and better coordination between the planner and concierge for each location I got a concierge.

The concept of having a digital travel agent was very appealing especially since the planning is performed by people locally and helps for my busy schedule. I felt during the planning process I got the service I expected. However, I felt that I was not attended too as much as I thought I would when I actually traveled. I felt a little alone out there which is why I used your services.

On the days I had off, I was not offered any advice or suggestions. When it came to the activities that was planned, it felt like the concierge was just checking off a box on a list then moving on to the next thing. I felt things could be more personable, like visiting a family or friend who makes sure everything is okay and offer up some local information to create a better experience.

Carmelo was absolutely INSTRUMENTAL in the booking of my vacation package. Everything was taken care of, from the reservations to the transfers between airports and hotels, and even the transfer from hotel to rental car pickup. He even revised the plan about 4 times cause I wasn't sure. The places were incredible, to say the least. Catania is worth a couple more days than I was able to be there, but I was strapped for time. The farmhouses (Agriturismo) I stayed in were more than accommodating, and I was able to survive with my limited Italian! My group and I got to feel like real locals, staying in these places. In the end, highly recommended service. Thanks for everything Carmelo!

The more i absorb the beautiful vacation i just completed i have come to realize the fantastic job done by Ottavia and the kimkim organization. The rides that Ottavia designed were exactly what i had in mind. It's as though we had ridden them together beforehand. Sweeping vistas through vineyards and olive groves, challenging terrain ( for sure ) and great weather provided a side of Italy i was imagining . The lodging at Pieve a Salti was comfortable, the entire staff gracious, the food excellent, and the massage by Fabrizza at the beauty farm was one to remember.

The self guided bike directions were 95 percent spot on and the few missed turns turned into small alternate adventures . The bicycle was well adjusted and experienced no issues.

Certainly i will recommend kimkim to all who ask about my journey. Thank you for the great trip.

Dan

This was a wonderful tour. Any glitches that came up were quickly resolved through the kimkim site. The guide for our tour in Naples was outstanding and our hotel in Maori was simply gorgeous. We did get stuck in a small elevator for about 10 minutes, perhaps the kind of thing that might happen in a three star hotel. The hotel in Naples was ok but not terrific. On the whole, a wonderful experience. I suggest that you add advice about taking the ferry from Amalfi to Positano, which is more expensive than the bus, but much less nerve- wracking. Overall, 8.5 out of 10.

All the guides were first rate , the gentleman who walked us round Palermo and the guide at Syracuse we’re particularly good , the latter was very knowledgeable on horticultural matters as well as history and archaeology. We had a series of excellent drivers who took us around the island. They were immensely helpful anddrovewithgreat care.

Carmelo, our tour organiser was excellent , we were delighted to meet up with him in Catania where we could thank him in person. He had enormous patience especially when our friend who was going to drive us had to dropout. He rearranged transport quite brilliantly. His command of English and his care and attention to detail as well as his kindness and thoughtfulness were remarkable. When he was engaged in examinations his supervisorMarianne was equally helpful.

As to memorable places , there really are too many to list ! Sicily is a treasurehouse of history and Archaeology with so many groups and civilisations leaving their mark. I was particularly interested in the Norman influence but theGreek , Roman and Arab civilisations were also very special and remarkable.

This first trip to Sicily was a truly wonderful experience for us. The suggestions of sites and locations to visit as well as the selection of accommodations throughout the trip have been great experiences, thank you Carmelo. We really liked the small accommodations in the rural country side (especially the Terra des Mezzo near Riposto) as well the amazing hotel Palazzo Failla in Modica. The food was truly amazing. It was always a pleasure to talk to people (most could speak English and we also understood a bit of Italian) and get their perspectives, tips and advice (about the excursion to Etna for example which we did ourselves). All local guides were fantastic: Katia di Dio in Piazza Armerina; Eva Greco in Syracuse; and Ambra in Catania who showed us around the markets and other special places and introduced us to a variety of local street foods. All three guides were very approachable, easy to talk to and full of insight of their topics. We can highly recommend them all. Through them we were able to get a deeper insight of history, local customs and food culture, so important for understanding a new country and their people. Thank you Carmelo!