Kimkim Trip Reviews for Patagonia

We had a wonderful trip to Chile. All the flight conne tions were seamless, pickups and transportation always on time, and very nice. We loved the red rocks tour and valley of the moon tours in Atacama. Shout out to Marta who was an outstanding first guide in Chile! The geyser tour a as fine but the 430 am pickup was too early for two vacationing families with teens especially since it was still dark when we got to the geysers so couldn't see a lot of detail. Pablo our driver in Puerto Natales was kind and welcoming. Paulina and Heme were patient guides with 4 middle aged Americans and 4 teens! We felt safe and well served and the view for the base of the Towers was amazing. Our teens saw a puma and the adults survived the walk. The glacier tour was wonderful and a nice down day between two active hiking days. Our rental house was amazing with outstanding views! We loved our time in Chile!

Outstanding experience working with Erin and Nara to plan an extended several week trip to Patagonia - Chile and Argentina.
The Kim Kim team offered exceptional communication and responsiveness in addition to detailed local knowledge regarding travel destinations and experience excursions.
They offered several suggestions that aligned with the interests that we expressed.
All details regarding numerous location transfers, local guide service and transportation were very well planned by Erin and Nara.
Great recommendations for local things to do at each stop along with great restaurant suggestions.
Very responsive support for questions that we had while in Patagonia on travel.
Overall, a great travel experience thanks to the efforts of the Kim Kim team we worked with.

Great trip! Well organized by KimKim, especially the guides who were all knowledgeable, friendly and spoke English, which was very helpful. The Perido Merino glacier was especially memorable.

Hotel Review

Hosteria Senderos

El Chalten

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Perito Moreno Boat & Walking Tour

El Calafate

The Hosteria Senderos was a wonderful Inn. The food was amazing. Design Suites in Calafate is beautiful with great views and rooms, however the dinner we had there was poor at best. The breakfast bar was good. We did find an excellent Restaurant, Morrison, and ate there twice. The W Trek was fun. The food was decent and we had good weather. Overall things were smooth and we enjoyed it. Thanks Erin and Nora.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Las Torres Patagonia

Torres del Paine

Outstanding Service, Food and accommodations.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Location

Nestled between Streams and Mountains.

Staff

Outstanding Front Desk Help!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pristine

Hosteria Senderos

El Chalten

Quaint and Perfect for trailside convenience.

Authenticity & Character

Mountain Town

Location

Closest to some of the most challenging Mountains in the World.

Staff

Superbly Gracious!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rustic but clean.

Activity Review

Perito Moreno Boat & Walking Tour

El Calafate

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

It was a very well planned trip by Erin to southern and central Chile. She was able to accommodate changes in our plans and was able to customize the trip based on what we wanted to do. She was very responsive and super helpful throughout the entire process. Nara made sure we didn't have any hiccups during our travel. She was able to help out with minor requests on a day-to-day basis and was super helpful too. The hotels that Erin selected for us were nice and conveniently located. Overall, it was a well planned trip by the team and they made sure it went hassle free and made extra efforts to help out whenever possible.

Activity Reviews

Visit the Isla Magdalena Penguin Colony

Punta Arenas

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rafting the Petrohué River

Puerto Varas

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Hike to "Mirador Base Las Torres"

Puerto Natales

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boat Tour to Bernardo O Higgins National Park, Serrano & Balmaceda Glaciers

Puerto Natales

Quality of Experience

Food

Transport

Trekking to Osorno Volcano & Paso Desolación

Puerto Varas

Quality of Experience

Food

Transport

had a fantastic time and everything was perfectly organised from start to finish. Jimena and Nara replied to all our questions before the trip the day we sent them. Chileno camp site is wonderful - ignore the bad reviews of the camp - I just do NOT understand some people. Hotel Lago grey and the grey glacier were simply awesome
The trek to the towers was tough, but worth it. Bear in mind that Kim Kim’s estimate of the time needed was not generous enough in my opinion - I would allow 8 hours from camp back to the pickup at the welcome site to be safe. Also the bus station is a little more than 25 minutes from Hotel Big Sur
These are just minor details of course and I would recommend this trip to anyone
Ps we are both over 60 and did it - no problem
Thank you Kimkim! 😀

Hotel Reviews

Camping Chileno

Torres del Paine

The campsite at Refugio & Camping Chileno was brilliant. I don't understand why there are so many negative reviews online. We had a great big tent, comfy sleeping bags, and the site had a bar and a restaurant with friendly staff. It exceeded our expectations, and we were very satisfied with our stay there.

Hotel Big Sur

Puerto Natales

Hotel Big Sur was really good. We really enjoyed it, and the room was great. The staff were friendly, and it was conveniently close to everything, including the waterfront. The breakfasts were also good. The only downside was the walking distance to the bus station for a trip out to Torres del Paine. The walk was uphill and definitely took more than the 25 minutes stated in the itinerary.

Activity Reviews

Grey Glacier Boat Tour

Chile

The Grey Glacier Boat Tour was absolutely wonderful. The scenery was stunning, and I was impressed by the overall experience. It was a bit choppy, and my husband felt a bit seasick, as did a few other people. But it was still an incredible experience, and the glacier was amazing.

Self Guided hike to Las Torres lookout [Chileno - Base - Central]

Torres del Paine

The hike to Las Torres lookout was long but worthwhile. The itinerary underestimated the time it would take. We expected to spend about two hours at the top, but we only managed about ten to fifteen minutes before having to head back. It took us about eight to nine hours in total, without stopping much at the summit. Future travelers, especially those not accustomed to hiking extensively, should plan more time for this activity.

I decided to plan a trip to Patagonia at the last minute.
Carolina was extremely helpful in suggesting and putting together our accommodations as well as itinerary together.
Laura also was really amazing in coordinating the trip when we were in Argentina.
All the tours picked out were great!
Loved all our tour guides, enjoyed the trek to Esmeralda lagoon.
The tour guide were very healing taking us to a rental store as soon as we landed so that we had appropriate clothing.
The highlight in Ushuaia was the penguin tour, Gavi the guide was amazing!
In Buenos Aires, Andrea and Walter were amazing with our airport transport and a great city tour.
Tango show and dinner was a great experience!
The last day we thoroughly enjoyed the trip to the gauchos ranch, Sabrina was an amazing guide!
Overall 11/10 stars for KimKim!

Hotel Reviews

Savoy Hotel

Buenos Aires

We took a single room for 4 of us, the first room was smaller, second room was bigger

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cilene del Faro Suites

Ushuaia

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Personalized City Tour 🏛️ ⭐

Buenos Aires

Quality of Experience

Andrea was great!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Walter the driver was amazing

Trekking to Emerald Lagoon 🚶‍♀️🏕️

Ushuaia

The guide helped us to get to a rental place for trekking clothing which definitely helped in us enjoying the trip

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

🔎 General Information about Ushuaia 🔎

Ushuaia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Extremely helpful in getting us rentals for trekking on the way to the hotel

Walking with Penguins 🐧

Ushuaia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Gavi the guide was very knowledgeable!

Transport

Tierra del Fuego National Park (Half day visit) 🌲🌿

Ushuaia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Navigation: Sea Lions, Birds and Lighthouse 🦭(On Catamarán)

Ushuaia

Good views , decent sighting of sea lions, not much other wildlife

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dinner Tango Show at Café de los Angelitos 🍷🎶

Buenos Aires

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Country Day - Let's go to Ombú de Areco Ranch 🚗

Buenos Aires

Quality of Experience

Food

Best food!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sabrina was awesome!

Transport

See you later Argentina!

Patagonia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We generally research and plan our own travel; this was the first time we used an agency, and it was well worth it. Since we had not been to South America previously, having the expertise Anahi provided was part of what made our trip go so smoothly. She gave us excellent advice, made last minute changes to add an extra stop in Ushuaia (so glad we did this!), and she set up excellent excursions and guides for the days we requested them. When there was a minor issue (had to reschedule an excursion due to weather), they responded quickly, and everything was taken care of. It really was seamless without the frustrations that can sometimes occur when traveling. Every guide and driver we had was professional, knowledgeable and personable.
We would use KimKim again!

Hotel Reviews

Tierra Patagonia Hotel & Spa

Torres del Paine

Hotel Intersur Recoleta

Recoleta, Buenos Aires

InterContinental Santiago Hotel

Santiago

Esplendor by Wyndham El Calafate

El Calafate, Santa Cruz

Activity Reviews

Santiago: Half Day Concha y Toro Winery - PRIVATE

Santiago

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Perito Moreno Glacier Excursion 🗻

El Calafate

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Minitrekking in "Los Glaciares National Park"

El Calafate

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tango Show & Dinner

Buenos Aires

Santiago, Chile and Argentina’s Patagonia region is beautiful and we had a wonderful time, but KimKim’s support overall did not meet our expectations for the trip.

Major issues
– Detailed itinerary was not provided to us until we were already at the airport for the trip preventing us from reviewing and possibly identifying issues.
– The car rental was an open pickup truck. While it met the needs of having 4x4 drive and room for 5 adults, having a vehicle where luggage is in an unsecured area opened to the elements should not be offered or explicitly disclosed upfront. We discussed this with Flor at the beginning of the planning and told her we were not interested in having a truck. When we landed in Punta Arenas, with a long drive in front of us and it raining outside, we had to drive 30 minutes the opposite direction into town to find trash bags, which we had to use every time we changed locations throughout the trip.

Minor issues
- We were prepared for travel and had a car rented, but each activity included us to get picked up by a new vendor to drive us to a nearby site which we could have easily done (Repeated in Calafate for the Glacier boat, Chalten for the white water rafting, boat trip in Ushuaia, Penguin visit in Porvenir). We could of easily driven ourselves to these activities and two time these pickups potentially negatively impacted the experience (see below) and probably increased our cost.
- Pickup to Glacier boat ride in Calafate was almost 30 minutes late and as a result we were one of the last people boarding onto the boat and were sat in the worst seats possible (we were facing a wall where most had a window). We could of easily driven ourselves to the activity.
- Penguino National Park visit in Tierra del Fuego: KimKim was aware we were staying in Porvenir the night prior and Ushuaia the next night, and with the penguin exhibit approximately 1.5 hours on the way to Ushuaia, why did we hire a guide that didn’t even go into the exhibit, and was contracted to drive us back in the opposite direction of our day’s itinerary? BTW, the guide was good at sharing history about the region

We had a wonderful trip with so many various experiences. Jesse did a fabulous job setting up all the tours, transportation , hotels. All of our local guides were amazing and made our trip so special.

I had a great trip. Everything went as planned, and there were only good surprises. I worked with Jimena and she suggested some excursions that I would not have known about that turned out to be amazing. All of the logistics were great and made traveling from place to place easy.

Activity Reviews

Ice Hike on Glacier Grey

Chile

It was like being on another planet. Amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Walk with Penguins on Isla Martillo

Ushuaia

This was so much fun. Highly recommended.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I'm 66 years old and recently retired. My husband and I are well traveled and I usually plan our trips. There were so many moving parts to visiting Patagonia that I searched for help with the plans. I was lucky enough to stumble upon Dittmar/KimKim and even luckier to work with Erin. Erin was very help from the moment I reached out and I was happy to know that she lived in Chile!! Erin and I had many conversations regarding what we wanted and she always came back with suggestions or follow-ups. I told her that I was very picky about hotels and she stayed with me and found places I liked. As far as the trip is concerned, everything we agreed on came off without a hitch. I found our guides and drivers to be very friendly, helpful and cared that we were having a good time. I am so happy that I found Dittmar/KimKim and I will use them in the future.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Boutique La Yegua Loca

Punta Arenas

so charming....

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

I left my apple earbuds in the safe of our room....discovered it days later and they found them!!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hosteria El Puma

El Chalten

Our favorite hotel on the entire trip.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms are large and modern. Just loved it here.

NOI Indigo Patagonia

Puerto Natales

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Lago Grey

Torres del Paine

love love love

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Design Suites Calafate

El Calafate

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mine Hotel Boutique

Buenos Aires

Authenticity & Character

Location

Great location in Palermo area of Buenos Aires

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Day Trip to a Patagonian Estancia

Patagonia

The day trip to the Patagonian Estancia was a standout experience. Horseback riding on the ranch followed by a wonderful lunch was beautiful and perfectly done. Everything met our expectations and style of travel. It was just perfection and beautiful.

Torres del Paine Full Day Private Tour

Patagonia

The Torres del Paine full day private tour was good despite the rainy weather. Our guide was very nice, helpful, and answered many of our questions. Though we only stayed at the hotel for one night, it was nice and added to the experience.

This is an absolutely excellent vacation/adventure planning service and I would use them again and again and would highly recommend them for those who want to travel 1/2 self-guided & 1/2 with pre-arranged services to make travel more comfortable and predictable. I'm am sure they are wonderful at organizing ANY type of vacation you want. But I enjoy planning some things and not having to worry about other things like transportation, early hotel check-ins, etc.

Planning a trip to Patagonia requires a bit of organization and knowledge. Working full time, I did not have the time to do all the research that I needed to stitch everything together seamlessly. I simply knew what we as a couple wanted to do and how we wanted to do it. Sooooo, enter Carolina! She was an amazing travel specialist with excellent communication skills.

KimKim used local guides and agents which (most likely) made it cost effective and gave a personalized feeling to the trip. Everything worked perfectly. (But then again the weather DID cooperative for us during our time there. Patagonia weather can be very unpredictable.) But even if it our itinerary wouldn't have worked out perfectly, the local agents and the KimKim team were always available and very responsive. If I wanted to add or deduct anything to the trip, an updated trip cost was given promptly. Their online portal was also very easy to use and convenient.

I have no regrets using their service. And would 100 percent use them again.

Activity Review

Full Day Fly Fishing Excursion🐟🚤

Patagonia

These guys know what they are doing and are extremely passionate about fishing, specifically fly fishing. They do a great job of providing a personalized trip. Most of all they know the area well, when and where the fish will run, and they won't waste your time and money. My husband and I have only taken 1 fly fishing lesson in the past. Using our time to learn fly fishing wasn't our goal; my husband wanted to catch a river king salmon. And he did! 42-44lbs. I did not catch anything but had a great time chatting with the guide and owner, who was incredibly knowledgeable about the history, culture and environment of Patagonia as well as Chile as a whole. I learned a lot (which made me happy) and my husband caught a king (which made him happy). Now, it IS called fishing, people, not "catching." We were fully aware there are no guarantees of catching fish, but we did see many trout and king salmon jumping out of the water which was reassuring that they were at least there!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jimena was a pleasure to work with. She was quick and thoughtful in all her communications and did a great job listening and working to accommodate our requests. The planning was efficient and thorough. The materials we got in the portal and in advance of the trip were detailed and accurate. The on the ground experience was seemless. Everything happened as expected with the local transportation providers and guides.

All around this experience was nearly perfect and I'd highly recommend planning a trip with Kimkim and Jimena and the team in Patagonia.

Activity Reviews

Guided Hike to Laguna de los Tres

El Chaltén

This is a great hike and a must do in El Chalten. We got lucky with the weather which was a bit touch and go over the week. Our guide (Lihue) supplied by Walk Patagonia was excellent. She was knowledgeable, personably, great at setting an appropriate pace and keeping us hydrated and fueled. Great experience.

Quality of Experience

Food

box lunches were quite large/substantial and full of goodies. sandwich, sweet treat, apple, nuts and hard candies.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Hike to Laguna Torre

El Chaltén

a much easier hike than Laguna de los tres, but a bit longer. this trek requires clearer skies to see the Torre as it sits much further away in the mountain range than some others. we didn't have perfect weather but we can't really complain considering how variable the weather is from day to day in Patagonia.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We overall had an excellent time with KimKim and we loved how we could customize our itinerary to suit our needs. KimKim is a great in-between of planning our own trip with the highlights we want to do, but without the hassle of planning minute details or having to travel for weeks with a group without flexibility. We were able to add a few days on the front and tail end of our trip to explore on our own. Our favorite experiences were hiking in Torres del Paine and seeing Petito Moreno Glacier. The Latitud Ushaia team and Andrea from Buenos Aires went above and beyond to make our trip special. Overall the communication went well and we always had a source to contact. We did have some difficulty communicating with our local specialist, Carolina, at the beginning, but her communication overall was good and she ultimately ended up being a pleasant local specialist. I would recommend KimKim to others!

We visited Patagonia in Chile and Argentina. Undoubtedly, Patagonia is the most spectacular environment I have ever visited. Biodiversity is still noticeable in that part of the world and I hope it will be forever preserved that way. The Andean Condor, Uppland geese, culpeos and guanacos are still common sight. I wish I had seen the timid armadillo!

It was suggested by Lorena that we rented a car to travel within North Patagonia and then Punta Arenas to Torres del Paine. The roads from Balmaceda Airport to Puerto Guadal and around Torres del Paine were unpaved or filled with craters in the paved roads, which made the driving conditions dangerous and so it became necessary to drive between 20 - 60 km/h. Nevertheless, the scenery in those areas were breathtaking! Also, petrol stations are hard to come by and we needed to make that planning ourselves. We were not given this information beforehand. A bus trip from Puerto Natales to El Calafate was added to our itinerary and it was not the 4 h stated on our itinerary, but 6 h. It was the most uncomfortable part of the trip, as we were crammed in like sardines.

In the plus side, all hotels suggested were excellent. My top picks were Lago Grey Hotel and Mirador Puerto Guadal, plus the food at the Yegua Loca restaurant. The best boat trip was to Spegazzini glacier.

Lorena was always very prompt at helping us when needed, even when we were still in Santiago. We felt safe under her care and she sorted issues very quickly. On the improvement side, the itineraries could have been checked a few hours in advance to avoid some of the issues.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Mirador del Guadal

Puerto Guadal

Stephan was an amazing host, always checking in with us to provide us with local tips on what to do or just have a friendly chat. The local chef was excellent and we enjoyed the quality of the breakfast and dinners. The best of all was the superb view from the cabin and the amazing nature surrounding us.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Spectacular nature

Staff

Friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Lago Grey

Torres del Paine

Incredible location! We could still see the glacier from our room. We saw so many wild animals, like the caracara, culpeo zorro and Magellanic woodpecker. It is a walking distance to easy walks in the forest through Rio Pingo and Grey Glacier. Restaurant staff were very friendly.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Kosten Aike

El Calafate

Good location and good facilities. A hotel working towards environmental sustainability.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Marble Caves Boat Tour

Patagonia

The marble caves are really worthwhile a visit! The guide gave some good basic scientific background as to how they were formed and those not listening could still take some amazing photos of the beautiful geological formations.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was knowledgeable and had good sense of humour. Staff back in the office were a bit rude.

Transport

Penguin Colony on Magdalena Island

Patagonia

The guide was excellent at covering the information in both Spanish and English. It was good to see the park rangers on watch on the island to protest the welfare of the animals. We saw other bird species, like the Upland Geese and Seagull. The trip to the Marta island was shorter than to observe the penguins, because we needed to stay on the boat not to upset the sea lions, which was sensible.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wildlife Photo Safari in Patagonia

Punta Arenas

The guide was exceptional! She knew so much about the birds in the area. We observed several species and watched several condors fly!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Perito Moreno Blue Safari

El Calafate

When we reached the National Park, we could view the glacier from the wooden platforms from the yellow and blue trails. This was also during the time allocated for lunch break. After that, we took the boat to enjoy a walk closer to the glacier where we could touch it and even ‘drink’ a piece of ice from it. It is a real shame that these beautiful glaciers are disappearing as a result of anthropogenic climate change.

Quality of Experience

Food

The sandwich was too dry.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour from El Calafate to El Chaltén

El Calafate

The guide was wonderful! She had great knowledge of the area and very happy to answer extra questions in English. Before we reached El Chalten, we stopped at the Hotel Las Leonas for a coffee, photo, souvenir opportunity and/or toilet break. And she stopped for two other photo opportunities on the way. There was only one hike going up but not for that long. The second walk was at ground level towards the waterfall.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boat Tour Through The Glaciers

El Calafate

This is a must tour! We loved it! The catamaran was really modern. We loved the iceberg sculptures. It is a real shame that these beautiful glaciers are disappearing as a result of anthropogenic climate change.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Iguazú Falls (Argentine Side) & Great Adventure

Patagonia

The trails were great but we were rushed throghout the whole experience. It was very busy with lots of tourists queuing everywhere. We also did the Great Adventure in the boat where we soaked from being underneath some of the falls! We loved that part of the day. Beautiful place and it would be great to do it without a guide rushing through, so that we can enjoy the natural surroundings. The guide should have also spoken in Spanish to the group member who did not speak English but he ignored her most of the time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Iguazú Falls (Brazilian Side)

Patagonia

We only spent two hours on the Park and we were hoping for at least 4 h. We felt rushed again and could not enjoy the beautiful sight standing before us for long enough. We stayed in the Argentinian side so had to travel to the Brazilian side and be subjected to passport control, but we stayed inside the van and the guide handled everything. We also stayed in the van to enter the park as opposed to take their double decker bus.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had great time in Patagonia, enjoying the beautiful landscapes and nationsl parks and the good logistic of the trip thanks to Marcela . Absolutely stunning and the highlight in the trip was the Mini trekking in Perito Moreno. Brilliant recommendation for a hotel was Arakur in Ushuaia, Rest of the hotels / Xelena in El Calafate and Hotel Lago Grey in Torres del Paine/ were middle range hotels although I can not hide the magnificent view to Grey Glacier from the restaurant of the hotel, but not from the rooms. Our first trip with Kim Kim was to Colombia where we experienced exclusive service and guides from Aracanto agency there. We expected similar with the budget we spent here but maybe there are different standards between the countries. Anyway I would recommend Patagonia to everyone who enjoys outdoor and sceneries that you could see on very few places on the Earth.

If I had to summarize our experience with the travel company contracted through kimkim. I would describe it with one sentence – our trip appeared to be outside of their scope of expertise.
• We did not receive the detailed itinerary until we were already at the airport for the trip preventing us from reviewing and possibly identifying issues.
• The car rental was an open pickup truck. While it met the needs of having 4x4 drive and room for 5 adults, having a vehicle where luggage was extremely problematic. Furthermore, we discussed this with the travel agent at the beginning of the planning and told her we were not interested in having a truck. This was an explicit discussion point. Instead, when we picked up the vehicle, it was a truck with an uncovered truck bed. We had a long drive that day and it was raining outside, we had to drive 30 minutes in the opposite direction into town to find trash bags into which we packed our luggage - every time we changed locations throughout the trip. As a side note, our guidance from the travel agent included repeated warnings that the Chilean border closed at 16:00. The border did not close until much later. This resulted in unnecessary stress on our first day after we landed in Punta Arenas, dealt with the issues with our rental car, traveled into town to purchase bags for our luggage, and then drove to El Calafate.
• The trip plan that we approved on the kimkim website did not mention pick up and drop off being included for the planned activities. There were many instances where what we approved via the kimkim chat was not ultimately what we experienced. I can only conclude this resulted in extra expenses for us.
o For example, on December 24, we had an excursion via boat to view glaciers. The description on the kimkim chat indicated that we would have lunch at the reserve and the departure time. That is what we approved. The day before the excursion we were contacted by another company who was picking us up. They let us know we needed to be ready to go at 8:00. At 8:30 they finally arrived and then we had three other stops to pick up other individuals. We were the last to arrive at the boat dock. As a result, we were provided with less-than-ideal seating on the boat. We also learned that the company that picked us up had included lunch. All of these were unnecessary expenses. We had a vehicle. We did not need to be picked up. We also did not need to have a provided lunch.
o This was also the situation with the rafting excursion we did in El Chaltén. We had a rental car. The rafting company picked us up and dropped us off. Likely that increased our cost.
o This happened again with our excursion to the penguin reserve. The travel agent knew after the penguin reserve we would be driving to Ushuaia. In the kimkim chat on December 6, I indicated that we would like the itinerary updated to reflect that we would arrive at the reserve at 10 and then drive to Ushuaia. We were not informed until two days beforehand that a tour company would pick us up, drive us to the reserve, and then return us to Porvenir. However, it was VERY clear in our kimkim chat that we did not need a ride, nor did we need a ride back to Porvenir. A company was hired to travel via ferry from Punt Arenas in a large van and then drive us to the reserve. We had a car. Again we were paying for an unnecessary expense. Also, we were told that would include lunch and we were not provided with lunch. Ultimately, three of us drove with the tour company and the other two drove our vehicle. Our next destination was Ushuaia. Returning to Porvenir would have resulted in an extra 3 hours of travel for an already long day.
o The final boat activity in Ushuaia also included a pickup and drop off. We did not need that, we had a car.
Upon arrival, In Santiago on our final night in Chile. Our travel companion who was included in our trip itinerary did not have a room reserved for him. After a very long travel day, we contacted the company emergency line and it was resolved. However, it was one more issue in a long line of issues
Chile and Argentina’s Patagonia region is beautiful, and we had a wonderful time, but kimkim’s contracted travel agency did not meet our expectations for the trip.

Within just 13 days of our trip to Patagonia, there're already two incidents that could have serious consequences:

1) On the day trip to Upsala Glacier, we first took the boat to Estancia Cristina. Soon after onboard, the local tour guide distributed the coloured bracelets for indication of the tour we were going when arriving Estancia Cristina. We logically thought that it was going to the Upsala Glacier Lookout by 4x4 vehicle, as clearly stated in Kimkim's itinerary. We then moved around and took photos on the boat as normal tourists would do. Incidentally, one of our group had casual chat with the guide, and was shocked when the guide told him that the tour booked by Kimkim was just hiking around Estancia Cristina, and for going to the Lookout, each one had to pay USD50 extra. She also cautioned that 4x4 vehicle might be hard to arrange at such late stage, and it was the only means to see the Glacier. As there's no wifi on boat nor mobile signal, it was difficult for us to contact Kimkim to clarify. Rather than a relaxing voyage, our time on boat was turned to be worrying and anxious. At very late moment we could get the the signal to contact Kimkim but was told that we had to pay by ourselves first. After some negotiations, Kimkim finally managed to pay directly and luckily the vehicle could be arranged. If there was no chatting with the guide, or the guide did not say more about the tour when arriving, or seats in 4x4 vehicles were fully booked, or extra 4x4 vehicle was not stationed in this remote area, or the driver with the skill to drive 4x4 vehicle in the difficult terran had gone elsewhere, we would have missed this major attraction, which any amount of money cannot compensate. Therefore, it was purely by luck we could see the glacier as planned.

2) As our flight to return home was rescheduled to later time, the pickup vehicle should arrive at 8am, instead of previously scheduled 6:30am, which we confirmed with Kimkim again on the day before departure. At 7am on the day of departure, when we came to hotel restaurant to have breakfast, we learned that the driver had been waiting since 6:30am. Furthermore, the hotel staff also got the information that we would depart at 6:30am and prepared packed breakfast for us. Even after we had told the staff about the correct time to leave, she still insisted that we could only take the packed breakfast to eat outside, not in the restaurant. Such miscommunication between Kimkim and partners not only embarrassed us and deprived our enjoyment of a relaxing dine-in breakfast, but could have serious consequences if our flight schedule was changed the other way, i.e. changed to earlier time, as the driver might arrive at the original scheduled later time and we could have missed the flight.

Overall, without a tour guide to follow through, we were more like travel on our own. If you can spend more time to do some research on the internet, and take the trouble to book the hotels, day tours and transport by yourself, you can already get exactly the same kind of tour experience, at a much lower cost. If you already have some knowledge about the place to visit, it's absolutely not necessary to arrange the tour though Kimkim.

This was amazing. Such a thoughtful itinerary with nothing but great guides, hotels, and experiences all throughout. I highly recommend for a trip like this.