Kimkim Trip Reviews for Vietnam

Our trip to Vietnam exceeded our expectations in every way. Victor put together an itinerary that was perfect for our group. He answered all of our enquiries promptly and was very flexible to suit any request we made.
Our English speaking guides were very friendly and more than willing to share their knowledge of Vietnam, its history and way of life. Our transport was comfortable and always on time.

The highlights of northern Vietnam were the evening street food tour of Hanoi by Vespa, trekking in the Pu Luong Nature Reserve and the overnight Junk on Ha Long Bay.

Our accommodation in Ho Chi Minh City was very central and comfortable . Our day trips to Cu Chi tunnels and the Mekong Delta were interesting and well managed.

We cannot recommend KimKim and Victor highly enough.

Thanks for planning a wonderful trip for my wife, daughter and me to Vietnam and Cambodia. The itinerary provided a number of diverse experiences, ranging from visits to historical sites, such as the Hoa Lo prison in Hanoi; introduction to the varying geography of northern Vietnam, ranging from rice fields to hill villages in Mai Chau to coastal areas to the river and caves of Trang An Eco-Tourism Complex; visits to cultural sites, such as Angkor in Cambodia, Hoa Lu, the ancient capital of Vietnam, and the old city of Hoi An; fun tourist sites, such as Ha Long Bay, and the hiking, biking and kayaking along the way. The itinerary was paced just right, with a number of sites and activities, but also including down time. Our guides were the best: Si in Hanoi and its environs, Rati in Angkor, and Nina in Phnom Penh were all highly qualified and in addition to explaining the sites to us, allowed us to get to know them as individuals and friends. The hotels were all comfortable, with staff who went out of their way to see to our needs. The three most memorable highlights of the trip were spending the night on the boat in Ha Long bay (along with the swimming and kayaking), experiencing Angkor Wat and its nearby temples, and touring the genocide museum in Phnom Penh. Without exception, we found the people of Vietnam and Cambodia to be welcoming and friendly and would love to return to these wonderful countries.

We had an amazing time exploring different areas of the country. Even though our stay was short, we thought we experienced a lot of variety and interesting parts of the countries. Thank you for showing us your amazing country!!

The trip is well prepared. I like going around Sapa and even though it was really hot on that day. Ha Long bay is the most memorable trip of Vietnam. Thanks Kim Kim and Will for arranging this trip.

We booked 2 trips with Victor. The first was a 3 day trip to Cat Tien and then transport on to Dalat. The driver was great, the car very comfortable. We did choose to upgrade our accommodations at Cat Tien due to the extreme heat and humidity and felt we needed to have air conditioning. He arranged for several events in the park, which went well. Overall, we were pleased with his planning!!

Our other trip was a 10 day tour of North Vietnam beginning in Hanoi, and traveling up along the Chinese border. Both our guide, Doan, and our driver were excellent. Doan’s knowledge was broad, including history, topography and his ability to identify flora, including medicinal uses. Given his experience guiding in the north, he knew lots of people and introduced us to multiple cultures. He also has a great sense of humor and we got to know him and really like him, which made the 10 days very special. We stayed in homestays much of the time, and met very interesting families that opened their homes to us. This trip left us with awe and amazement, at times, given the beauty and vastness of the mountain regions we visited. We can highly recommend this trip, the guide and driver and Victor’s attentiveness to our needs.

The overall experience was excellent. The guides chosen were knowledgable and the trip was organized very well. The accommodations were excellent.

Alex was excellent overall. She communicated well and on time. The only glitch we encountered, was we missed our pick up to Halong Bay. This cost us additional fees. We would have appreciated 10-15 minutes to go over the entire itinerary upon arrival with confirmation of times etc., or daily updates/ reminders by email.

In summary, our expectations were met and we found the whole experience excellent. I would not hesitate to book with Alex again.

On many of the locations that we visited the detailed information could show that walking in gravel and dirt pathways should be know so as to not ware your best footwear. Asking us if we had out swimwear when in-route to the Delta was not good. That river is very dirty and to swim for someone from the US is not even a question to ask. Also the car travel time to locations should be included so that trips to areas are not booked without reason. Many of the things advertised to tour in the City were not gone to Post Office were not done. When people come from cold areas to Hot they do not have that much energy to be marched around all day. We paid a lot of money for taxi to and from the airport and some trips to the Market.

Wonderful experience and I felt taken care of . Traveling as a single woman I felt very safe.

Working with Victor was excellent and he was always super responsive. We were very happy with his services. We probably did too much travelling in the course of our 2 weeks, our fault as we wanted to see a lot. We had little time to plan our trip so more guidance on how much we could realistically see would have been useful. Overall we could have concentrated our trip in North Vietnam and the Central zone, leaving out the Mekong delta. To get to the delta we travelled for 1 day, by car and plane to basically do a 2.5 hour morning visit the next day to the floating market and leave immediately for HCMC (a 5 hour drive). The market was lovely to see, but I felt guilty travelling by plane for such a short visit. Our time would have been better spent with a few more days at the beach near HoiAn, with day trips to some cultural sights in the mornings. Looking at our trip plan day 12 and 13 were not really done. There was a pick up from the airport, lunch and onto hotel. No time given to visit Can Tho. Next day, boat trip, a visit to a small fruit farm and on the road to HCMC. Our guide seemed more keen to get us back to the the city than show us anything more in the delta. A bike ride on an island as described in your other tours would have been nice.
Our stay in the Eco Lodge near Sapa was wonderful and the highlight of the trip. A really beautiful location and a great place to stay. Halong bay was also a beautiful place.
The KimKim service makes it easy to plan a trip. This is the first time we have ever used a service like this. I would use the service again, but want a more flexible option. Travelling independently gives you a lot of flexibility to change your plans and I missed that on the trip. We did end up cutting a couple of guided trips short as we preferred to do things ourselves and just sometimes had done too much travelling to want to be out a whole day on a sight seeing tour.
All our travel arrangements, pick ups at airports, hotels, etc. were perfect and there was always someone there to greet us. Execution was well done.

Thank you for crafting a once-in-a-lifetime experience for my son and stepson. We had an amazing time in Vietnam under the care of Sens.
I’ve traveled to many places around the world, and I think Vietnam may very well be my favorite place. The food is wonderful, the scenery is gorgeous, and above all, the people are so kind and optimistic.

Regarding the tour. Mr. Khoa was an outstanding guide. He was pleasant, patient, and knowledgeable. He went out of his way to make sure we stopped at interesting places and beautiful views.

Our accommodations were great. The hotel in Hanoi was very well located, and the staff was attentive. The rooms were very spacious and clean. Our visit to Mai Chau was outstanding. Our lunch was tasty, and the “homestay” was a fun and delicious experience. We very much enjoyed biking through the villages. I hadn’t been on a bike for 20 years, but it’s true that you don’t forget how, and it was so much fun! Again, Khoa made sure to stop at interesting places and explain what was going on. Our driver was excellent. I always felt that we were in safe hands as he navigated the crazy streets of Hanoi, and the winding roads in the country.

Our visit to the school in Mai Chau was wonderful. We’d bought some soccer balls and badminton sets in Hanoi under Khoa’s recommendation, and they went over very well with the staff and students. We were warmly greeted by all of the staff/teachers, and were treated to oranges and conversation before we got a tour of the school. There was one young student in particular who was a wonderful conversationalist in English. He is a particularly fond memory.

I’m glad that you convinced us to go to Bai Tu Long Bay. It was stunning. The host on the Swan Cruise, Marcus (Minh) was very engaging and fun. I liked the size of the group on the cruise—being somewhat small.

I have only two disappointments I would like to convey. The first was the lunch at Mother’s Kitchen in Hanoi. The food was very good, but I would much rather have gone to a true local spot for some Pho or Cha Ca. Similarly, the lunch in Ninh Binh was another tourist spot I would like to have avoided. I recall the food being just “okay.”

While on the Swan Cruise we met a Vietnamese woman from Hanoi who was traveling alone for the first time, and rounded out our table of three to a table of four at mealtimes. In such a short time, we became friends, and continue to communicate!

None of this could have happened without the fantastic work that Linh and Ha did to pull this all together for us. Gam un!

I hope to visit Vietnam again one day, and look forward to you helping plan a trip to visit the South! In the meantime, I wish you all the very best.

Dear Victor,

the trip was amazing and we were well looked after throughout! Especially the Tu Lan cave-trip was absolutely stunning and amongst the best I have ever experienced. The kids were completely in awe and we will all never forget the trip, the many friends we made and the many experiences we made. It is impossible to list all the other experiences but clearly, each component had its own value and exceeded our expectations.

Our guide for the food tour was very good, friendly, knowledgable and explained a lot.

Hung, our guide from Oxalis was amazing. He adapted the tour for us, added an additional cave (which required a lot more climbing), and was full of energy and fun.

Ni was an excellent guide with lots of energy making sure we always get the best out of it. She adapted the programme perfectly around the weather (rain, rain, rain) and our interests.

I have a few areas were changes could be possible (not to be regarded as criticism, just for future planning):
1.) Swimming in Ha Long is not allowed. Should be taken out of the description
2.) The hotel in Phong Nha (I think we were in a different than in the programme) was not the greatest. I would suggest two possible improvements: a) IF staying in this hotel it should be highlighted that they can wash the clothes from the treck but the laundry should be handed in before 6pm to avoid express charges - this could then be in the programme and used to plan packing and getting things clean and dry again after the treck. b) It would also be good to allow for a late breakfast. After the trek we were super-tired and a sleep-in, then breakfast, then cartrip would have been appreciated. b) Alternatively, rather than staying overnight in the Phong Nha area the car trip to Hue could be done immediately afterwards. This would allow us to sleep in the car but gain a whole day.
3.) The hotel in Hue was quite loud with lots of party across the road.
4.) In Hoi An the first fisherman experience was superb. Friendly, happy and "off the beaten path". The second fisherman village was then very touristy and a bit of a shock. The basket boat row could well have been done with the first fishermen (or skipped). Maybe alternatively, one could learn about local ways to grow crop and harvest and process it.
5.) The Mekong trip was interesting, but somehow less exciting than the previous parts of the trip. I had expected more nature and was a bit disappointed. In total we spent too much time driving relative to the experiences made. While it is important to understand that various religious groups live together in harmony (and I think it reached the kids that this is by no means the standard), the visit to the Cham village was rather disappointing. It also feels wrong to walk along a street and look at people. The floating market was nice but the number of tourists outnumbers the locals. Tra Su made up for it (but only lasted for about 1 hour).... We had fun in the evenings though, eating locally, strolling around and enjoying the locals (who enjoyed us...). If a "Mekong Experience" could be organised from HCM - maybe in combination with the tunnels it would save two days and a lot of driving. I would then rather spend another day or two in the Tu Lan area. Alternatively one could try to save a day and use the time to see Angkor What. It would also be nice if the car had internet for the long drives (the car from Pho Nah to Hue to Hoi An to Danang had internet which was very welcomed).

As said, these comments are not a criticism, we thoroughly enjoyed our journey, were exhausted from all the input (and still are), and thank you again for the great organisation and putting such a dense and exciting programme together.

Best wishes,

Eike.

I would, and have recommended Kimkim to help plan any trip. We used them for the first time to help plan our trip to Croatia and had such a good experience we used them again for Vietnam. Victor made planning so easy, from helping with the itinerary, booking hotels and internal flights, private tours with great guides, transfers and getting our visa letters. He was always available if we had any questions while in Vietnam.
Khai was a great guide in Ho Chi Minh City and thanks to him we made our flights to Danang when there was a small problem at the airport with our names. The Vespa tour we went on one evening with Linda and her team was one our favorite things.
In Hoi An, we were well taken care of by our guide Than. Our hotel there, Golden Holiday, was the best and Hoi An was amazing.
Last but not least, our guide Anh in Hanoi was fantastic. She is energetic and loved telling us all sorts things about Vietnam life.
Needless to say thanks to Victor and his team we had one of the best trips we have ever taken and loved every minute of Vietnam.

Linh and Ha were great trip advisors. They put together a great travel plan and stayed in touch our entire trip to ensure all was going well. They even booked a last minute trip during a very busy season that turned out to be a highlight
I highly recommend them

Had a great holidays in Hanoi and Sapa. Fortunate to be blessed with good weather in both locations, although the cloud was a bit too low when we were in Sapa. Hence, missed the beutiful view of the valley from the Heavens Gate. On the whole, it was a good programme planned by Alex. The local guides were good and helpful.

We had an amazing experience . Alex was very helpful and helped me set up everything from a-z .

If you want a tailored trip that will go beyond your expectations Kim Kim is the way to go

My trip to Vietnam was packed with highlights. Here are the tops:

1) My first few days in Hanoi were great. I really enjoyed Kien and his historical perspective that he was able to provide about Hanoi and Vietnam. It was clear that he studied history at the university, and had many interesting stories and perspectives to share. I walked away with a very rich view of Hanoi and Vietnam, both historically and present day. Kien also let me take my time and come back to him with questions which I really appreciated.

2) The third guide Ngoc was equally excellent. He provided a great perspective of Ninh Binh, Hoa Lu, Tam Coc, the many religions of Vietnam, and daily life in Vietnam. He provided a great cultural perspective that gave me a real picture of what it was like to be Vietnamese. He also shared great personal anecdotes. Our boat ride on Tam Coc was a beautiful highlight!!

3) All hotel accommodations were excellent. The staff were professional and welcoming, the rooms were very clean and well- appointed, and the breakfasts delicious. Each hotel was comfortable and relaxing, including the cruise on Halong Bay. Each night I was able to sleep very peacefully.

4) Transportation was also excellent. All drivers were on time, courteous, and drove safely. This was a great feature for sightseeing!

My only feedback is on the second guide Sang in Sapa. Compared to Kien and Ngoc, she was not as engaged. She didn't share any stories or anecdotes about the region. I would ask her questions, and her answers were very limited. I eventually gave up and starting asking other tribal women we encountered hiking. I bought something from another tribal woman and gave her a big tip since she was more informative and interesting; I talked with this woman more than I talked with Sang.

Sang also made me feel very stressed out about the train back to Hanoi on November 20. She wasn't sure how to get my ticket for the train, and kept asking me for details. Eventually, she figured it out but I'm not sure why she panicked. This was the first and only time that I was concerned about logistics and my itinerary.

Despite my interaction with Sang, the trip was still unbelievable. Vietnam is a special and beautiful place that I hope to visit again.

We spent 18 days in Vietnam and Cambodia. Lovely places to visit.
I could not fault Kimkim tours. It was so well organized. They really want you to have a great experience. Alex is a huge asset to the company. English was perfect. Alex looked after us from start to finish. She responded to our text right away, whenever we needed her.
We had a problem with our visa (completely our fault) Alex helped us all the way.
If there was one thing I would like to see improved, would be some of the guides English wasn’t great, so it was sometimes tough to understand. But They were all very enthusiastic.
Very well done.

Our trip was fantastic. we were in Vietnam for 2 weeks total but 8 days were with the Grasshopper tour and they were definitely the best days of the trip. I especially loved being in the villages and meeting the people and seeing the details of community life. We passed by many towns and stopped to meet the villagers that were working in their homes, making baskets, cleaning rice, creating machetes, etc. the villagers were warm and welcoming.
The food on the trip was fantastic; the accommodations were excellent everywhere we went.
Our guides were excellent in both countries, An in VietNam and Hiang in Cambodia.
Hiang in particular really shared from his heart and included us in his personal world in a very special way. He was very knowledgeable about his country and spoke honestly and lovingly about all aspects of Cambodian life and history. I fell in love with the country.
Our final hotel nights in Siem Reap at the Jaya House were incredible. In my wildest dreams I did not expect a finish like that!
Regarding planning and communication in preparation for the trip I was not heavily involved, but from what I know our chief organizer Howard Schubiner found working with Adam very easy and helpful.

It was simply amazing! From the early planning to the quick response to our pre visit questions, Adam and Ging we’re wonderful. We couldn’t have asked for more.
Both our Vietnam crew and Cambodian crew were fabulous. We fell in love with both countries because of them and had an truly authentic experience. I could write for hours about how great each guide, mechanic and driver were. They were kind, funny, unbelievably helpful and knowledgeable!
We can’t wait to recommend them to others!
Thank you so much to all of them!

We were a bit worried with two families of four going to Vietnam for the first time but I have to say, after the experience, I’m already looking for our next destination with kimkim! We have traveled extensively on our own but sometimes you want to de-stress and let someone do the figuring for you. That’s why this was perfect! Alex had us set up with everything we wanted to do from start to finish and LaLa (our guide) took us to places we never would have gone to on our own - hidden eateries tucked away down almost invisible streets, only known by locals and served the most amazing food and local fare. Monuments and pagodas along with the stories behind them, made it educational as well. In the end, I will say, if you have any reservations about traveling, alone or with a group, kimkim is the way to go:)