Kimkim Trip Reviews for Patagonia

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.

Had a really great time on my trip to Patagonia! In particular, I enjoyed my time in Puerto Natales, Torres del Paine National Park, El Chalten, and Tierra del Fuego National Park. It was also a lot of fun to see some huge glaciers and beautiful wildlife (especially penguins in Beagle Channel). My hike to Cuernos del Paine with Daniel and Sebastian as guides was amazing, as was my kayaking experience with Jorge in Eberhard Fjord. Weskar Lodge in Puerto Natales and Los Acebos Hotel in Ushuaia were amazing places to stay, in particular. Overall I think the trip was quite expensive, and would have been a lot cheaper if I had taken care of the arrangements on my own - I would've appreciated more transparency into what items in particular were driving the price of the experiences and had more of this in my past Kimkim trips. That being said, I really appreciated very much having the help from Marcela and Kimkim overall in arranging things so I didn't have to think about logistics. Would highly recommend Patagonia to anyone who enjoys outdoor trekking and adventures, one of my favorite trips.

Activity Reviews

Kayaking in Eberhard Fjord

Puerto Natales

Fantastic experience with Jorge. He's a great guide, and the private kayaking tour and hike were amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Base Torres Hike

Chile

Amazing hike. Very intense, over a period of 10 hours with lots of ups and downs and temperature changes, but really lovely.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Trekking Torres del Paine Active

Chile

Had a really fantastic experience with Daniel and Sebastian, being taken around Torres del Paine national park, with the Cuernos del Paine hike in particular

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Day of Leisure in El Chalten

El Chaltén

El Chalten was perhaps my favorite location on the entire trip - doing the hikes solo of Laguna Torre and Laguna de los Tres was amazing.

Quality of Experience

Perito Moreno Glacier Mini-trekking

El Calafate

Hiking on the glaciers was surreal - really wonderful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Overall it’s a great trip experience. We appreciate Anahi for her service and help.

Paul from Calafate is an excellent guide. Besides his English is excellent and no communication issue, his caring and attentiveness to the group is perfect.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Lago Grey

Torres del Paine

The room view was spectacular. Room was clean and bed was comfortable. All staffs including front desk, housekeeper, bell boy and the Resturant staff were wonderful and friendly and courteous. Love the Resturant food and services. Lots of wine selection. The only complaint is no WiFi in the room and we all need to go to the lobby area to get WiFi, but then there’s an opportunity to meet and chat with other hotel guests

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Sierra Nevada

El Calafate

The location of the hotel is very convenient. The room needs to be remodel or upgrade a bit. It was a warm days when we stayed in the hotel so we tried to open windows to get some fresh air. There were no screens for the window and lots of mosquitoes came in. We ended up with closing all windows and it was hard to sleep. And the breakfast did not have good selection. Very little choice. We stayed for dinner for the first night and the food was not good, needs improvement

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Weskar Lodge

Puerto Natales

Good location has good views from each room. We ate in the Resturant twice and one night was good and one night was bad, so inconsistent. Wonder if there were different chefs! The waiter/waitress in the Resturant need to have more training. Room is clean and bed is comfy. Each room has different unique design as I compared the rooms with other people in my group.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Poincenot

El Chalten

Location is excellent for some of us wanted to hike at Lago. Plus easy to walk to the supermarket and restaurants. We had the downstairs room and it faced the parking lot. Think it feels safer if there’s a fence built in between. We had to have the shade down and the window closed for the entire time. The breakfast was good. Staff was nice. We got to leave early like 430am and thanks for the breakfast last to take care of us before leaving. Big thanks

Authenticity & Character

Location

Convenient

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Explore the Wildlife of the Magellan Strait

Punta Arenas

Love the breakfast Resturant environment. Suggest they should reduce the limit of people in the boat. We have over 20 people in the boat and not much room to move around. 15/16 CAP based on the boat size. The boat ride was very rough that day and hardly saw any creatures. Everyone was all wet and some got seasick. Special kudos to the owner to make a stop for bathroom run. It wasn’t easy to park on shores and we were appreciated

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit the Isla Magdalena Penguin Colony

Punta Arenas

Just okay. We basically just arrived to the island and walked in the circle to look at all these penguins in the island. Not much action

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore the La Leona Petrified Forest, Transfer to El Chalten

Patagonia

We didn’t think watching the stones can be so informative and interesting. Thanks to our tour guide Paul is an experienced and excellent tour guide. He brings the tour very interesting. Kudos to him.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Flor was great about helping us narrow the immense list of options in Patagonia to give us the trip we were looking for. She suggested many different types of hotels and helped us find really unique and fun places to stay that were off the beaten trail that helped us have a truly authentic trip. Her team arranged all transfers, gave guidance about places to eat and excursions, and even made dinner reservations for us while we were in country. Throughout, she was responsive, supportive, and accommodating as we changed our minds many times and moved around our budgets and dates. We would happily work with her again.

I am very happy in general with the arrangements KimKim made for our self guided tour to Patagonia. Hotels, activity providers were adequate. There were some hiccups and miscommunications that caused us some trouble and were rectified and we completed all the activities as planned.

Regarding the activite I liked the least was "Wild Life Tour on Megellan Strait" in Punta Arenas. Our group shared with others on a small boat that was a little bit overbooked and we have difficulty sitting down comfortably. We were warned that "we might get wet" but the warning should have been "You will get wet" . We were soaped, so put on your waterproof clothes underneath the semi dry suit they provide if you so choose this acitivity.

Since there was no guide, you were your own guide, you had to know every acitivy and how they connected each other, including transfers, where to get lunch, what food to bring, ensure walking time to activities are reasonable etc. The travel document is a bit complex and took a lot of concentration and careful reading to see if everything matched up correctly. So if you are joining a Kimkim tour, I urge you to take the time reading them carefully to cross check everything.

Anyway I like my local specialist Erin and Nara, they did a good job to accomdate our needs and helped us a great deal with our trip. Thank you.

Erin & Nara were so easy to work with in planning our W Trek. A very complicated trip to plan on your own: buses, border crossings, lodging in the park, hotel in Puerto Natales, etc. It was all done for us, and our itinerary was very detailed & planned to perfection. Our group of 4 really appreciated the pre-trek meeting with Nara. She answered lot of our questions. As a bonus, in addition to our W Trek, they were able to book us on a Walk with the Penguins tour in Ushuaia! Very responsive. Tolerated all our questions! :) I will be using KimKim again!

Patagonia was a trip of a lifetime. My husband and I decided to celebrate our 50th Anniversary with a trip to Patagonia. We were interested in the beautiful landscapes; Patagonia and Erin did not disappoint. An important detail that was so crucial to us was the land transportation. Transportation to and from airports, hotel, excursions etc. was all arranged in advance. Dittmar Adventures provided "coupons" for each transport, hotel, excursion etc. These coupons were very helpful as many taxi drivers did not understand my level 3 Duolingo Spanish *). I could verify with them that we were going to right place by handing them the coupon with hotel address. etc. I learned to have these coupons at hand, and then it was always clear which excursion we were to be on. We started in Puerto Varas with a private tour to Mt Osorno. Loved the private tours we took through out as they allowed us to go at our own pace. Each tour guide was very knowledgeable about the flowers, trees and birds of the area. We loved hanging back and letting a tour bus load of people go in front of us, then we could just enjoying the trails and views to ourselves with our guide, staying as long as we liked drinking in the gorgeous scenery. I had two favorite places. Pumalin National Park was the 1st. We were blessed to stay in one of the very few cottages at the park. Our guide Marco was amazing. I loved touring the garden and information center at the park. Marco also arranged for a private boat up the "fiord" past sea lion colonies that was very interesting. Pumalin is a rain forest, so had those amazing giant rainforest ferns and trees. Trees, some of which are older than the Giant Sequoias in California. Marco pointed out the differences in the trees of Pumalin to the pines of North America. He also shared Mate with us at lunch, what an interesting tradition! I regret that we did not have more time on the trails at Pumalin. Punta Arenas was our next stop. Erin arranged a private tour out to the Nao Victoria Museum that has a replica of Magellan's ship, and a replica of the Beagle, the ship that Darwin was on, as well as other replicas. You can climb up into the ships and get a sense of the size and understand the bravery of the men that sailed the world in such vessels. There was time for a brief stop at the cemetery in Punta Arenas. I did not realize that it was so beautiful, and would have planned for more time there. On to Puerto Natales and the Bernardo O Higgins National Park and Torres del Paine Park, Stunning, breathtaking... words cannot describe. We stayed at Hotel Lago Grey. Our room had an incredible view!! This area is exactly what we came to Patagonia to see, it was my most favorite favorite place. Next was El Chaltén and then Laguna Condor Lodge. There are plenty of hiking trails right from town in El Chaltén. The Laguna Condor Lodge is a ways out of town with cute little cabins. Mt FitzRoy dominates the view from the lodge at breakfast. We enjoyed a couple of days rest away from hustle of travel and just relaxed or walked along the glacial river. The last days were spent in Terra Del Fuego, then home. Erin and her staff were very responsive to our wishes. Penguins? Yes. Hikes requiring tents? No. Large cities, museums, wine tastings? No. Outdoors, mountains, lakes, waterfalls, glaciers? Yes, yes, yes! Tour buses? No. Private tours? Yes!!! Chain hotels? No. Boutique hotels and cabins? Yes. The only things I would change is more time on the trails at Pumalin and another hour at the Punta Arenas cemetery. Dittmar Adventures included with their very detailed itinerary, maps of each town marking location of lodging and nearby restaurants. There was a very nice mix of cute little downtown hotels for exploring the locale to upscale hotels with stunning views. We have not traveled extensively outside the English speaking world, so I was very worried about taking taxis with my poor Spanish capabilities. Dittmar arranged prepaid taxi drivers who had my name on a card, to and from every airport. Sometimes this transportation was 20 minutes. Sometimes it was closer to 3 hours. The team was responsive to my questions. Checked with drivers then changed times when I was worried about connection time. Checked with tour guides when I had not checked the What's App and did not realize the tour time had been changed by half and hour. Airline strike in Buenos Aires... Ack!! They said they would keep tabs on that and help me where needed. (Strike was avoided at the last minute) The tour that Erin and Nara planned was exactly what we wanted. The trip went as planned. Thank you Erin, Nara and Dittmar Adventures!!!!

Hotel Reviews

Lodge Caleta Gonzalo

Staying at the Lodge Caleta Gonzalo was wonderful. The cabins were cozy and fit perfectly with the surroundings of Pumalín National Park. The hospitality and location added greatly to the experience of being in the stunning natural landscape.

Hotel Lago Grey

Torres del Paine

Hotel Lago Grey was simply fantastic. Our room had a breathtaking view of the water, glacier, and mountains. Even though I missed out on the glacier tour due to being sick, sitting and enjoying the view was a perfect experience. The setting in Torres del Paine is exactly why we came to Patagonia.

Hotel Albatros

Punta Arenas

Our stay at Hotel Albatros was disrupted by noise from construction work. In the windy city of Punta Arenas, the noise from corrugated metal roofing kept us up at night. Though I appreciate that they were working on it the next day, the timing was unfortunate as it hindered our nap to make for the sleep lost the night before. Once the construction is completed, I'm sure the experience would be better.

Laguna Condor Mountain Lodge

El Chalten

Laguna Condor Mountain Lodge in El Chaltén was simply beautiful. The lodge was perfectly situated and elegantly designed, offering a serene and stunning mountain retreat.

Activity Review

Multi-day Fly-in Hiking Tour of Pumalín National Park

Pumalín National Park

I absolutely loved the multi-day hiking tour at Pumalín National Park. The little cabin we stayed in was fantastic, and Marco, our guide, was amazing. We explored a small activity center about the volcano and the history of the area, which was fascinating. This part of the trip was truly one of my favorites.

Let me preface this by saying we take pride in planning our own trips - we like the challenge and the adventure. But when my wife decided our next destination would be Argentina, we knew we would need some help. Enter Flor - the trip magician. Flor took all of our ideas and made them a reality - and gave us ideas we didn't even know we wanted. She was endlessly patient as we made multiple tweaks to the itinerary, getting the balance just right.

We had a delightful time in Buenos Aires, but the magic really got underway when we arrived in Patagonia - first stop, Calafate. Flor's plan to get us onto the Perito Moreno glacier was flawless - we even got to see the glacier calve a large iceberg up close!

Our private transfer to El Chalten was led by the most wonderful guide, Florencia. She brought the Argentinian culture alive, sharing Yerba mate and homemade treats with us. She is a wealth of knowledge and passion, and made us feel so welcome.

But by far the biggest highlight was visiting Estancia Bonanza - outside El Chalten. Flor suggested this stay for us, and it was pure heaven. Majestic views of Mt. Fitzroy, generous hospitality, delicious food, and comfortable accommodations nestled in a remote valley surrounded by the Andes.

Without a doubt, we will be using KimKim again. They made our trip smooth and simple - all we had to do was enjoy!

Hotel Review

Estancia Bonanza

El Chaltén

Our stay at Estancia Bonanza was pure heaven - nestled in a remote valley with majestic views of Mt. Fitzroy, we loved every minute of our stay. From tea and breakfast with Lili who welcomed us as if she were welcoming a friend into her own kitchen, to wine on the porch outside the dining room, to beautifully served dinners, we felt at home at every turn. We traveled with our adult children, and everyone was able to choose his or her level of challenge on the excursions, including a beautiful horseback ride along the river. We will find our way back to this extraordinary place!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full day tour to Parque Nacional Los Glaciares and Minitrekking

El Calafate

What a wonderful day in a remarkable place! Our guides for the trek were knowledgeable and friendly, and the drink and chocolate at the end were the icing on the cake.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Estancia "La Bonanza" - Enjoy the activities of the countryside 🐎🌲

El Chaltén

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My wife and I used Kimkim to arrange an 8 day tour of Punta Arenas, Puerto Natales, and Torres Del Paines. From the initial planning of the itinerary to the first airport pickup to the last airport dropoff everything exceeded our expectations. My wife and I had never been to Chile, and Angel was extremely patient in going over the options to help us set up a terrific itinerary. The hotels were exactly what we were hoping for, and the activities - penguin watching, dolphin watching, glacier hiking, car rental - were incredibly memorable. Our local guide Jose was passionate and knowledgeable about Torres Del Paines, and the day he spent driving us through the park was a the highlight of the trip. Jose was also always available via Whatsapp to assist with any questions and recommendations.

Thanks to Angel, Jose, and the good folks at Kimkim for terrific and memorable vacation!

Erin and Nara were fabulous to work with in planning our trip to Patagonia. We found them very organized and quick to respond to any requests or questions. They provided us with a complete itinerary with every detail spelled out. We had an unforgettable experience hiking the W trek. Without their expertise and guidance I’m not sure how successful and enjoyable the trip would have been. We are KimKim fans we used them last year for a Spain/ Portugal trip also. We will definitely use their services again.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Costaustralis

Puerto Natales

Excellent hotel for a stay in Porto Natales. The location is perfect for exploring town on foot. The view from the front of hotel is beautiful. The staff and breakfast buffet were fabulous. Because it is located on a busy street it can be a bit noisy. The rooms facing the road have the best views but if noise is a concern, ask for a room not facing the road.

Authenticity & Character

Charming lobby and seating areas.

Location

Central location for walking around town.

Staff

Staff was very efficient and friendly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms were very clean and spacious.

Refugio Torre Central

Parque Nacional Torres del Paine Pedro Montt

This was our first experience in a true Refugio. What a great vibe and place to spend the night.

Authenticity & Character

True Refugio experience with shared bunk rooms and dining. Great place to meet other hikers.

Location

Perfect location to start W trek.

Staff

Everyone was friendly and attentive.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean bunk rooms, bathrooms, and dining areas.

Cabaña Los Cuernos

Puerto Natales

We stayed in the cabanas. They were very nice with two twin beds, great views of the night sky, pretty waterfall nearby.

Authenticity & Character

Fun Refugio vibe. Smaller group of people staying there.

Location

Great place to spend 2 nd night on W trek.

Staff

Friendly staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms and bathrooms were very clean.

Refugio Paine Grande

Puerto Natales, Chile

This is the biggest and busiest Refugio we stayed in. The dining room is large and can easily accommodate more people. Loved the bar area and ability to order a beer and pizza after a very long day of hiking.

Authenticity & Character

Fun Refugio. Lots of energy.

Location

Great location to spend our last night and hike to Grey Glacier to finish our trek.

Staff

Everyone was super friendly especially front desk staff.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean rooms and bathrooms.

Activity Reviews

Discover the Beagle Channel - Full Day Penguins + Beagle Channel Navigation

Ushuaia

We enjoyed this experience and especially loved seeing the penguins. The Beagle Channel tour was informative. We feel that it would have been enough to just spend one day in Ushuaia since this seems to be mostly a port for Antarctica trips.

Quality of Experience

The penguins of course! So cute.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The tour guide was fun and informative.

Transport

Clean bus transfer to penguins colony. It was a long dirt road to get there which we weren’t expecting.

Trip Briefing at Dittmar Adventures

Puerto Natales

Nara was detailed and informative in her briefing. She answered all our questions.

Quality of Experience

We received all the information needed to make our trip stress free.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Shuttle transfers were on time and friendly drivers.

Transport

Grey Glacier Boat Tour

Patagonia

This was a great way to end our W trek. The glacier has to been seen in person. Words don’t do it justice.

Quality of Experience

Smooth boat ride with informative guide on board.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Planning has been painless thanks to the local team. Very reactive and able to change the plans in a short amount of time.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Big Sur

Puerto Natales

It does the work required. Breakfasts are early and work with our timing. Nice bathrooms. Noise: average.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Camping Central

Torres de Paine, Chile

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Camping Cuernos

Torres del Paine - W trek Circuit Reserva Cerro Paine

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Refugio Paine Grande

Puerto Natales, Chile

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Refugio Grey

Torres del Paine National Park

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Aquaterra

Natales

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Visit the Isla Magdalena Penguin Colony

Punta Arenas

Excellent

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trip Briefing at Dittmar Adventures

Puerto Natales

Short and sweet

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ice Hike on Glacier Grey

Chile

We were only made aware of the cancellation in the morning while one of the guys told us it would happen late afternoon the day before. Quite disappointing. (same impression from the entire group supposed to participate)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Grey Glacier Boat Tour

Chile

Excellent view and tour despite a challenging wind.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Trip to a Patagonian Estancia

Chile

Excellent time there. Highly recommended. We were not sure what to expect. The time spent horse riding was great and our host was amazing. She knew a lot of things about the place and the biology. Great time. And yes, the lamb was just amazingly good.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Planning and execution of the itinerary was flawless. Glad we trusted kimkim and their partners in making the trip hassle free and all we had to worry about was how to enjoy it. Our Buenos Aires chauffer Leo was exceptional. Felipe and Florencia kept in touch in making sure our trip prep and arrival are going as planned. They gave many helpful tips in navigating Argentina. We loved our Glacier tour guide Pablo very informative and made the 50ish km trip entertaining!Our favorite was the Penguin island tour. We were running late but they waited for us for extra 5mins and so glad we did not miss it. Mery our trip planner was very patient with me as I kept changing my mind about the itinerary but once we got it together she organized everything and I did not have to worry a bit. Thank you very much Kimkim!

Amazing trip. Kimkim tailored an exceptional experience with an excellent mix of local small group and large group tours.
The rapid response of the local teams via phone or chat was reassuring and allowed for some minor last minute adjustments while on the trip.

Our trip to Chile was a bucket list trip that lived up to our expectations, and exceeded several times! We particularly loved our time in the Patagonia region, the hiking in Torres del Paine & our trip to the Murrano glacier was unbelievable. All our local guides in those regions were exceptional! So knowledgeable! We learned a lot & had very memorable experiences.
Our visit to Easter Island was also unforgettable. Totally different culture & weather, it felt more like Tahiti or Hawaii. Worth the long flight if time allows.

Our 10 day trip to Patagonia was amazing. Thanks Erin who was very responsive and patient to consider my requests and planned the trip to fit our needs and made all the arrangements Nara who met us when we got there and be very helpful during our trip. All the drivers and guides were very friendly and helpful. Especially our guide Carlos at Torres del Paine who was very knowledgeable, patient, professional, friendly. He showed us how beautiful and special the park is and we really enjoyed our time with him. Our guide Mica at Fitz Roy hike was very professional and friendly who made our hike a wonderful experience even though it was a very challenging hike. We loved the Patagonia Parks but the people who helped us during the trip left a huge impression on us. What a beautiful place with wonderful people. Thanks Kimkim to make my trip amazing. Michelle

The itinerary was well thought out and the reservations with lodging and tours went very smoothly. The places that we visited and the people that we ecountered were wonderful, and I believe that we experienced a great deal of what Torres del Paine and Santiago have to offer.
However, some of the tickets for buses were not shared, leading to confusion once we arrived in Punta Arenas. Additionally some of the pick-up and drop-off times often differed by an hour or more, causing us to miss dinner reservations (incurring cancellation fees) and to miss out on other opportuntinues. These errors may fall on the tranportation vendors that were used (CL Mundo, Patagonia Planet), but there seemed to be communication lapses between them and Say Haeque.
Overall, this was a wonderful experience in a beautiful/welcoming country, but there appeared to be a lack of attention to detail that caused us temporrary frustration while in Chile.

Activity Review

Full Day Visit to two wineries in the Colchagua Valley

Santiago

Great wine tour in two scenic locations and the wine was awesome! However, the drop off time at our hotel was much later than expected, causing us to miss dinner reservations and incur cancellation fees. We were told that we would be home between 8-9 PM, but were actually dropped off at 10:15 PM.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pick up and drop off times

We loved our trip and were very pleased with our accommodations. Logistics were executed very well and we felt that we had an amazing trip handcrafted by the KimKim team. Our contact during the trip gave us immediate and responsive communication.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Rio Serrano

Torres del Paine

Overall this is a great accommodation and I'd highly recommend it to anyone staying near Torres Del Paine. The staff was very friendly and helpful, the views were out of this world, and the overall presentation of the hotel was on point. We only had a couple of hang ups. One was that we stayed on the first floor, and the insulation/sound-proofing is not great. We were at the mercy of the people above us stomping around and could hear every footstep. Also, there was one morning where we were supposed to leave at 11am for an excursion (our travel company and the Massif specialist both confirmed this the day before), yet that morning we get a call at 8am asking why we weren't at the pickup point at the front desk area. That turned our one chill morning into a frantic dash to get ready in 5 minutes, and we were never given a clear explanation for the mixup, especially when we had confirmed it with the Massif the night before. The other issue with the Massif schedule is that they like to do their briefings at 8pm the night before. Please get rid of that or change the time! It is an extremely inconvenient time that is right in the middle of the prime dinner stretch. One night we had to wait until 8:45 to eat, and the other night we had to ask the waiting staff to hold our table for 15 min so we could come back. Either do it at 7pm so people can eat right after, or wait until 9pm so people can finish dinner prior. 8pm is the worst possible time to pick. Or just have people meet 15 min prior to departure the morning of. The last recommendation would be to have to the fitness room open at 6am. The staff was friendly and unlocked the door for me, but it seems very unnecessary to make people wait until 9am to exercise, especially when people have leave to go on an excursion or catch a transportation by that time. Again, overall we loved this hotel and would stay there again in a heartbeat, and I feel like a few minor tweaks/improvements would make it perfect.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

very friendly and helpful, only note would be for the waiting staff to be a little more responsive/aware of the customers status

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Boutique Le Reve

Santiago

Loved this hotel! In a great part of the city. Quiet/botique vibe. Staff was over-the-top friendly and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Cabo De Hornos

Punta Arenas

Activity Review

Navigation to Isla Madgalena 🐧❄️

Punta Arenas