Kimkim Trip Reviews for Jordan

Lena is an amazing trip organiser!

We worked closely together to create the perfect 3 day tour beginning in Amman and finishing in Aqaba. Lena is an amazing communicator and made sure all of our requests were met.
After I stuffed up some of the dates, Lena was quick to re-book everything smoothly without too many excess costs - seriously amazing!
We had a fantastic time in Jordan thanks to Lena and the convenience of Kim Kim personalized tours.
Great value, great service... I couldn’t recommend it enough!

Had a great trip, everything from planning, preparation and changes during the trip worked very well. We had a great driver who had a pleasant driving style and provided us with a lot of background info about Jordan.

I had a great time in Jordan. The driver's personalities were great and love what they do. I can't say that what we got was different than what another tour company could have provided though. I booked my own hotels so it was essentially boiled down to a car service. Sarah was incredibly responsive. The drivers were on time 100% of the time. It would have been nice to have a SIM card provided like my Egypt tour gave. Or provided A Jordanian delicacy on arrival as a welcome gift. Or something more to make it stand out. But everything went swimmingly from the transfers and planning.

Highly professional and extremely organized company. Tamara arranged a seamless 5 day trip with very short notice (last minute trip) and accommodated all my requests. I spent one night in Amman, a day in Jarash/Madaba/Mt Nebo, a day in Petra, and my final day visiting a crusader castle in Karak. My driver Mohamed Ali Hilalat was exceptional. He went out of his way to make sure my stay was as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. Always on time, a great conversationalist with a wealth of knowledge about the history, geography and culture of the region. Mohamed is a live embodiment of the famous Jordanian hospitality and kindness. Jordan is full of beautiful natural hiking trails, inter-twined with historically significant areas and natural reserves. If you’re interested in an authentic Jordanian experience and not just a cookie-cutter tourist attractions trip, Mohamed is your man. Went on a “backdoor” trail to see Petra and my Bedouin guide Mua’az did a phenomenal job showing me “off the beaten path” areas that made Petra more mesmerizing.
It’s obvious that this company’s owner takes great pride in his work and strives to show customers what’s special about Jordan.

Sarah was amazing through this whole process from beginning to end! She mentioned doing 2 extra things while visiting Petra. We had dinner with a local family which was quite nice. We also went to Petra at night. Petra during the day was amazing too. We took full advantage of both days. On the first afternoon we saw the treasury for the first time. We took pictures from a scenic overlook. Then explored a little further and would up at the high place of sacrifice. Day 2 we started super early and went to the monastery. On the way back we went to see some of those other tombs on the hill and saw a sign for a trail to go see the treasury from the highest point. This was so worth the extra couple miles of walking. On the first day, the tour of Amman and Jerash...I had no idea what to expect of the sites we would see. The biggest surprise was the Aljoun Castle. On our way to Wadi Musa our driver, Ahmad, took us to “little Petra” and joked about a surprise and it was a stop to see a boulder formation that looked like an elephant. Ahmad had snacks for us in the car along with water. That was fun. Both drivers stopped at rest areas so we could get out, use the restrooms, grab a snack, and maybe a souvenir. The short stay in Wadi Rum was great. We had a desert tour (also suggested by Sarah) that was so much fun. Our guide for this was fun with his driving and taking us on a route that gave us quiet time from other tourists at some of the stops. Mt Nebo and the Baptism site were well worth it also. For the Dead Sea day, Sarah has booked us a room at a hotel that had a private beach and that made everything so easy. This was the thing I had been looking forward to the most. I have been intrigued by the Dead Sea since I was a small child when I saw it in a book of natural wonders of the world. I know I missed a thing or two, but Jordan, our drivers, the locals, and the sites we saw all exceeded our expectations. This was an absolutely amazing experience!!

Easy to navigate and packed with highlights. Sarah and my driver Hasan were awesome :)

Overall experiente was fine; both Amanha and the driver (unfortunatelly I forgot his name) were always helpful. Hotels were also good most of the time, though I've experienced a major disappointment with Memories Aicha Luxury Camp: how do they put a panoramic tent in the middle of the camp facing others and killing privacy? The whole experience there was almost useless.

Another issue was the store I was brought to buy souvenirs next to Mount Nebo (the usual touristic shop who happens to be "friends" with guides) where I bought this mosaic for FIVE TIMES the price I happened to find a few minutes later in another place (not sure if it is the exact same thing but it seemed quite similar).

Jordan is a beautiful and expensive country. Not sure if I would ever visit again but I've enjoyed it.

Carmen organised our trip and took into consideration the amount of activities we wanted to do and managed to arrange the perfect itinerary. She was easy to communicate with and get a hold of whenever we had any queries. The mobile app with all the information provided exceeded my expectations and really made a difference as I was able to keep track of the trips itinerary with the added bonus of extra info on Jordan e.g. tipping etc which was really useful to have. Our drivers throughout were safe which I was really pleased about, we felt comfortable with them and appreciate their professionalism throughout.

We feel our money was well spent and we would definitely recommend Carmen and her team.

The only downside is that we wish we would have more time in Jordan 🇯🇴

Thank you for your wonderful and professional service

We arranged a five day, four night trip to Jordan. We saw the Dead Sea, Little Petra, Petra for a full day, Mt. Nebo, Kerak, Madaba, and a half day in Jerash before returning to the airport. Our driver, Badr, was incredible. He was very flexible with leave times and helped to tweak times at the destinations if needed. He was prompt and extremely courteous. The hotels Carmen had booked were perfect for the trip. Carmen was also prompt with responses and easily walked us through all of the details of the trip. If I had an email question, she was always there with an answer. I would highly recommend using Kimkim to book a trip.

What a fantastic trip! Carmen put a perfect plan together for our family of four, accommodating for all that we had asked for. We had an incredible guide, Khadra, take us through Bethlehem and Jerusalem. She made the trip so much more valuable than we could have done on our own. She gave us personal stories, histories, and my kids (ages 6 and 8) loved her so very much--she was able to make it adult AND kid friendly (not an easy task). The country of Israel/Palestine is beautiful and full of rich heritages. We enjoyed terrific food at Black Pepper in Bethlehem and we also enjoyed a wonderful lunch at an Austrian joint in the Old City. The tour buses in the area were no issue for our guide as she knew her way through the cities and through the lines! We were able to see and visit all the holy sites as well as many other sites (like Banksy's paintings). We highly recommend KimKim travel and Carmen as a specialist. We were able to check this amazing experience off our bucket list and have all the pictures to remember this special place because of KimKim travel. Thank you all so much!

Hamzah my guide was super punctual and helpful.
Petra was the highlight and the whole 6 hours I spent there was tremendous
The Dead Sea was extraordinary 30% salt! Just dont get it in your eyes!
The Holiday Inn resort was well chosen
Wadi Rum spectacular - like Monument Valley but 10 times bigger!
BBG Lunch in the desert shade allowed time to reflect on my trip.

Right from the booking of the trip, the ease of visa on arrival formalities at Amman airport, the hotel suggestions and till the time we were dropped at the Jordan - Israel land border, everything was excellent and well executed.

Our driver & guide Ismail was very courteous & professional. He definitely made our trip even better.

Tamara , our local specialist made sure that everything was perfectly planned and executed well.

Great job done by Tamara, Ismail & Team Kim Kim.

We flew into Amman, and then had the long ish drive to Petra. Our driver, Midhat, was great and we didn’t ever feel unsafe, as the roads can be abit chaotic at times! In fact, we had a tyre blow out at one point, and his skilful driving, without wanting to sound dramatic, probably saved our lives as it was at speed.
He stopped at a Resturant for us to get some lunch, and then we went onto Little Petra, which was well worth the visit.
Our over night hotel was the Petra Marriott, it was nice although it was a few miles outside of Petra itself.
The next morning was an early start to meet our guide at Petra. It was very worth while having him, as his knowledge was outstanding.
We left to head to the Wadi desert and stayed at Aicha Memories luxury camp. This was lovely. There is no WiFi, and to be able to switch off from the pressures of business and day to day life was fantastic. We had a drive through the desert to see the sunset, and at night a walk into the desert to star gaze.
We left early the next day, the original plan was to go to Jerash. However, the afore mentioned tyre blow out, along with myself being ill, made us change our plans and we went into Amman. Midhat took us to the Citadel and Ampitheatre, both well worth visiting. The views from the Citadel over Amman city are very good.
We stayed at the Intercontinental hotel, and that was also very good.
We will, I’m sure, be back as this was too fleeting a visit to see it all!

Our driver Hasan was friendly, a good communicator and was always prompt at any rendezvous and gave us clear directions and meeting points. He was generous with advice and information.
Amanda our trip organiser was helpful and insightful, giving useful advice on trip creation and sights not to miss along the way.
We felt looked after from the meeting at airport arrivals to the return to departures.

Our driver in Jordan was Hassan, but I don't know his last name, He was an excellent driver and a thoroughly nice fellow. Our driver in Israel was also very nice and accommodating, even walking us through the exciting towns of Caesarea and Akko - his name was Rami, but again, I don't know his last name. I'd recommend both of them. Our guide in Jerusalem was called Jacob, but he also has a Palestinian name. Fantastic, and super knowledgeable about all the places we went. I have his name to recommend to anyone I know who will be coming to Jordan.

The hotels were all fine, the best ones being in Jerusalem and Haifa. That said, the food in general in Jordan and Israel was not fabulous. Maybe we should have asked for better hotels, but that is certainly not your fault. We realize that hotels have to consider that their guests come from all over the world and it's impossible to please everyone. The best restaurant in Jordan was the one Hassan took us to in Jerash, owned by someone he knew. It was lovely with fountains and a great menu. The food in Wadi Rum at the place we stayed was also good. The neighborhood in Haifa was delightful and lots of good restaurants nearby, I wish we'd spent another day there. Next time...

I will certainly recommend your company if I have any friends who are traveling to your region. I also see that you do tours in other parts of the world, too, and will keep that in mind for the future, as I still plan on traveling even after both of us got sick and had such a long, agonizing trip home with lots of layovers, etc. Again, not your fault, just bad luck. Thanks again for your kind and helpful suggestions and we have great memories of Jerash, Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea, Dana,and of course Petra. Our guides at Dana and Petra back door were also excellent. Your country has so much history and stark beauty I think your tourism numbers will improve. Jordan seemed very safe while being surrounded by turmoil in all directions. Good luck in the future, and thanks again, Lena!

Sincerely,
Kim and Bob McGregor

Everything was terrific, Lena did an excellent job planning this, the accommodations, food, people, experiences were all terrific. Everyone went over and above the call of duty. We loved our drivers Ziad Qaryti and Ahmad Alsuwi and Osama Manaseer! My wife and I had an excellent down to earth, home cooking lesson experience with Nesreen Ali, Osama's wife with their family in their home. Sherrin's review of the cooking lesson is below:

"My cooking lesson was an A+ !
It was a pleasure to have dinner with Nesreen and Osama and their beautiful, sweet children. They provided not just a generous and warm example of Jordanian hospitality, but also an enjoyable loving, family experience. I learned how to cook traditional Maglouba with Nesreen who is a force of nature with a stunning smile. She exudes joy, happiness and the essence of motherhood. My cooking lesson was decorated with cardamom brewed coffee, family experiences and Arabic lessons. Eight year old Zain smiled shyly and helped when asked to and one and a half year old mischief maker Cadi (whose name means white flower on the mountain) pushed the kitchen chair around, walked around in my shoes and enjoyed herself dancing while mommy sang and clapped. Dave and I had a priceless experience and I learned to watch Nesreen’s left hand fold and tuck the parsley and mint as she chopped and about a new vegetable Jarjeel, water lettuce! I recommend this cooking lesson experience highly." Sherrin Bernstein

All pretty special. Hasan, our driver for all our longer trips was fantastic. Helpful, informative and very safe driver.

I cannot fault the quality of service provided by Amanda.
Planning a trip to Jordan is quite a daunting task. It was also going to be our honeymoon so the pressure was on!

My partner and I aren't the most organised people in the world, so we only started to look into planning our trip a couple of months before our wedding. Unsurprisingly, this was a very busy time for us...!

As soon as got in touch via kimkim, Amanda immediately took on the burden of honeymoon planning. She was efficient, and it comforted me to know that she was based in Jordan. She listened and delivered on our requirements, always with a great attitude. What's more, when she found out it was our honeymoon, she seemed genuinely enthused and motivated to make sure our trip was extra special.

We also found all the documentation super helpful - the detailed schedules, the maps etc.

Her attentiveness did not stop once we arrived in Jordan. Amanda made a point of checking in with us at all the right times. Each time we spoke, she was not only professional, she was friendly and personable. Thanks to her, we even managed to get a hotel room upgrade at our hotel in Amman (House Boutique Suites) - the room was HUGE!

5 days into our trip we had some issues with the owner of the Wadi Rum Bubble Luxotel. The owner was extremely rude to us, which was particularly disappointing as we were really looking forward to this experience. However, Amanda handled the situation perfectly. As promised, she was available on Whatsapp at all hours, and immediately responded when we got in touch with her to explain the situation. It didn't go unnoticed that this all unfolded outside of office hours on a Thursday evening (start of the weekend in Jordan). She said and did all the right things within her control, which meant that we were quickly appeased despite the unfortunate situation.

Outside of this one negative experience, I must say that everyone else - from the upgrade at The House Boutique Suites, to the surprise flowers and cake gifted to us at the Petra Bubble Luxotel - were truly hospitable and thanks to Amanda, gave us special attention knowing that we were honeymooners.

Special mentions must also go to Ahmad, our driver, who was brilliant. He was a smooth driver, and his knowledge of all the roads throughout Petra was nothing short of impressive. Ahmad also went the extra mile - he bought us some personalised honeymoon gifts in Jerash, he provided us with cold water and snacks throughout our journey, and really made the effort to make us feel that he was at our service the whole time.

Our personal guide in Petra, Mahmoud (I hope I have the correct spelling!) was phenomenal. He really knew his stuff, and despite the fact he must conduct the same tour several times a day/week, he was so knowledgeable and sincerely passionate in recounting his stories and in educating us on the history of this amazing place.

All in all, we couldn't be happier. Thank you Amanda for making this an experience that will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Thank you and your team for putting together a wonderful experience for Fiona and I through Jordan and Lebanon. There were so many memories made that will recall for years to come. Jeita Grotto Limestone Caves in Lebanon, Jerash, Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead See in Jordan are great examples of what these countries uniquely offer.

Our drivers were very good and conversed well with us about life in Jordan and Lebanon.

Jordanian food was excellent and we tried everything. The “mansaf” that our driver Jamal arranged for us to try was outstanding; plus the lots of hummus, falafel, salads and local delicacies that we tried as well. We will be making at home “lemon juice with mint” this Australian summer, now that we the traditional recipe.

The time that we spent with Farris, our Bedouin guide at Wadi Rum, was undoubtedly the highlight of our trip. He was just amazing! Our 'back door' hike in to the Petra monastery with our Bedouin guide was also a memorable experience and not too difficult / stressful a climb; perhaps it was actually easier that the walk up the stairs to the monastery!!!

The 'float' in the Dead Sea was also a unique experience.

We cannot recommend highly enough the countries of Lebanon and Jordan to visit and based upon our personal experiences with Lena, we would encourage people to book their tailor-made trip through KimKim Travel.

Stuart & Fiona
Australia
October 2019

Super easy process, Sarah was wonderful in accommodating all my questions and changes, giving me information on different options available for me at my budget, and very supportive while I was on the trip. As a single woman traveling alone, this was the best value for money I found, a completely tailored trip for me, very professional service from the drivers and Sarah, and a great experience overall.