Kimkim Trip Reviews for Thailand

I had done some web research on trips in SE Asia, and was hesitant to use a travel booking service like kimkim; however, I quickly leaned on kimkim to find the right trip for me. I was looking for a trip that would provide a challenge, but not an overwhelming one, and that would expose me to places and people I wouldn't meet otherwise. Through guided questions and back and forth questions, kimkim nailed it. I also appreciate the assistance with some last minute Visa issues.

Both the one day tour and the longer tour were very good. The one day tour suffered from going to two very touristy spots with a long drive for one day. I think it would be more advisable to recommend closer experiences if possible for a one day trip. The guide Bom was excellent.
The guide for the longer trip Apple was very personable, friendly and helpful but we did feel at times that her English language skills were below par particularly in vocabulary and fluency in passing on information eg the history of an area. The content of the trip was on the whole very good though could have been a little more imaginative in some areas - we found that we consulted our Lonely Planet guidebook regularly eg for hints on good museums, other sites not on the itinerary. For instance the Sukhothai Museum turned out to be excellent for those interested in the local history , we also found a very interesting ceramic workshop which ran interesting tours . A range of additional things should be able to be suggested by a good guide. Sukhothai was a highlight for us particularly as the Loy Krathong festival was so brilliant with the illuminated historical site - a piece of info which was not included in our itinerary nor particularly emphasised by the guide. The Loy Krathong dinner which we attended in Chiang Mai hotel was fine though somewhat overrated (and artificial compared to Sukhothai event) . It would have be useful to know we were paying such a large amount for that particular event - the buffet food was definitely not memorable.
Also I may have missed it in info provided but it would be good to have some guidance on tipping (for guides/drivers) in Thailand as each country has been different approach to this.

The rep greeting us at the airport was courteous.

Our guide Richard was very knowledgeable. He even bought us some delicious food treats. We had the best experience with him.

The Siam Niramit Show was great. But we wished the audience could be warned ahead of time about the "Hell" scene. Little children could have been scared.

The Food Tour on the last day was not very special, unfortunately.

We were so pleased we chose to use your services. Andy, our local specialist, was very attentive right from the beginning of planning our trip. We were undecided about the various places to travel while in Thailand, but knew we were flying into and out of Bangkok and knew we, at a minimum, would want to spend a day or two to visit the Grand Palace and other temples. Both my daughter and I agreed that had we not had a guide to go through the Temples we would not have benefited as much visiting them. Andy employed Mr. Peak to be our guide. Mr. Peak was wonderful! He was not only such a pleasant person, but was knowledgeable about the Temples and River, but also was hospitable and offered so many times to take our pictures at the various places that I believe he knew would capture in a picture wonderful memories for us. We are home and still saying to each other how lucky we were to have a guide, and that our guide was Mr. Peak!

Our transports to/from hotel and airports were punctual and easy to find and the instructions Andy gave us to do so were spot on!

Thanks for your assistance in our journey to Thailand!

After coming off a great trip with you guys in Myanmar I had the same expectations for the trip to Thailand but it couldn't be further from the truth. The biggest issue that I had was not having the items included in the list available upon arrival. The hotel was changed lat minute and when I arrived they had a sign out front that said cheap rooms with the price. Fair enough I went into the room and there was a sewage issue that made the room smell constantly. There was a gap under the door that let mosquitoes in at a constant rate but no mosquito net. These in themselves are not deal breakers but I paid $1,900 for 3 nights in a hotel and a guide for 3 1/2 days. The total for the hotel for the two nights that I was supposed to stay there would be $65 USD and the hotel on the last night would be $150 USD. That means that there was roughly $1,700 out there for a driver and a guide for 3 1/2 days. Since the room was unacceptable I went and paid for 2 more nights on my own and in my discussion with Holly I was never once offered a refund for the other night in the hotel. I then questioned the pricing and Holly gave me a breakdown which didn't actually add up tot he entire cost. When I responded back with questions there was never a response. I hate to say this but at the end of the day I feel that I was taken advantage of since its such a high tourist destination area. Feeling that I was taken advantage of did not help to the satisfaction of the trip even though the guide and driver were great. At the end of the day it is not hard to look at a menu or understand the cost of a hotel since they are right in front of you and then listen to the cost from the trip planner. I have no issue paying for value but there was no value added for this trip. I hope that the communications are reviewed and steps taken to make sure that others do not fall into the same situation. Again my trip t Myanmar though KimKim was awesome but the trip to Thailand has since changed my mind.