Andrea Gambino

This trip was a dream of a lifetime. It was my first trip to Italy . Our friends recommended KimKim so we contacted your company. Best move we could have done here ! Andrea was attentive and detail oriented and always answered whatever questions we had . The trip was perfect. Rome, Florence , Venice and Milan. The individual guides were a huge benefit . It was a custom tour and they could not have been better. We were very impressed. We will back and plan on using you often in the future !

The entire trip could not have been better. Andrea worked with me through every detail prior to the beginning of the trip and checked in during the 11 days in October. He provided advice on keeping activities to an enjoyable level for our group of six - the right mix of sightseeing and relaxation. He also took special care in providing for a traveler with mobility restrictions. I worked with Andrea to organize the trip on behalf of our group and, with Andrea as close as a text, I could thoroughly enjoy myself too. We had no glitches whatsoever and Andrea was even able to coordinate some time changes in our itinerary that we requested along the way.

All accommodations exceeded our expectations. While all hotel staff were helpful and friendly, the staff at Martis Palace Hotel was particularly warm and welcoming for all three days. Our experience at The Hotel Belvedere di San Leonino was exactly how I had pictured a stay in Tuscany, including dinner at their on-site restaurant. Corte dei Sogni Hotel, Hotel Nazionale and Hotel Palazzo Veneziano were equally enjoyable. All breakfasts provided far more than I am accustomed.

In Rome, the golf cart tour on our first day was a great way to see the city up-close and a good use of time. We enjoyed Mariapaola as our guide of the Vatican, Sistine Chapel and Basilica as she is knowledgeable, entertaining and passionate.

When driving in Tuscany, we especially enjoyed the cities of Bagnoregio, Orvieto and San Gimignano. Cooking class and wine tasting at La Marronaia Winery was very fun! "The wine was made from those grapevines right over there."

It only took the first train ride to figure out how to navigate the Cinque Terre trains with our hop on/off pass. They were clean, convenient and ran on schedule. All five villages were interesting to see. The Via dell'Amore trail is an easy and accessible walk along the cliff and sea and is, of course, beautiful. Hotel Nazionale was in the village of Levanto which we found to be less crowded and slower paced and is also available on the train pass. Due to weather, our boat tour was cancelled for which we received a full refund within just a couple days.

Everything about Venice is unique so I have no particular comments other than to say we are glad we chose to end our trip there as, at one time, we discussed skipping this city.

All guides and drivers were friendly and professional and on-time or usually early to meet us.

We indulged in the local wines, limoncello, chocolate, coffee, olives, oils, balsamics, meats and cheeses. It was all fantastico!

This was my first international trip. KimKim and Andrea set the bar high for the next adventure. I plan to use KimKim again if I get the chance.

Hotel Reviews

Belvedere di San Leonino

Castellina in Chianti

Scenery was beautiful. Dinner on-site was convenient and delicious. Many places to sit and relax including scattered tables and chairs, bar, pool and hot tub.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Corte dei Sogni Boutique Hotel & spa

Great hotel with wonderful rooms. Don't let the nearly hidden outside entrance and ground floor lobby fool you.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Palazzo Veneziano Venice

Venice

Amazing entrance. Comfortable outdoor courtyard. Nice bar and breakfast area. Rooms are beautiful. We also took advantage of the complimentary visit to a Murano glass factory.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Rome Private Golf Cart tour

Rome

A great way to see the city up-close. A good use of time, especially on your first day in Rome. Fredricko and Fabio were fun guides.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Colosseum & Roman Forum skip the line ticket

Rome

We chose a self-guided tour. We should have gotten a guide or headset as there was so much information to take in.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel skip the line ticket

Rome

Important to be able to skip the line.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel - private guide

Rome

So much to see. Guide was wonderful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Winery visit with wine tasting and cooking class

Italy

Fun class and learned a lot. Olive oil and balsamic tasting were bonuses that we didn't know we would be doing.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Cinque Terre Sunset cruise (Private)

Cinque Terre

Canceled due to inclement weather. We were informed during the entire day as to whether to cruise would take place. Received a full refund.

Accademia Gallery - skip the line entrance

Florence

Skip the line tickets were behind schedule which happened to put us in the middle of a downpour of rain. We waited it out and are glad we were still able to see "David." Amazing.

Quality of Experience

Venice exploration and Cicchetti on a water taxi

Italy

Guide was knowledgeable and weather was beautiful for this.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The experience with Andrea and the KimKim Team was absolutely wonderful. Our vacation was a trip of a lifetime because Andrea was truly effective and had all the big details and logistics taken care of. Thank you KimKim Team!!

Andrea was an absolute pleasure to work with, from start to finish. He is incredibly knowledgable, professional and flexible, offering different ideas of places to visit and tours to book. Andrea is also very kind and patient, which greatly enhanced our experience.

We thoroughly enjoyed our days in Rome, Siena and Florence and the side trips to Orvieto, Montepulciano, San Gimignano, Lucca and Pisa. We spent a full day traveling to Cinque Terre and found the coast and the trip there to be beautiful. The guides were very knowledgeable and interesting and shared much information we would not have otherwise known. The drivers were all professional and incredibly punctual.

The staff and accommodations at Palazzo Ripetta in Rome were spectacular. We received an upgrade to a lovely suite for our first four nights in Rome. Our suite at the Hotel Santa Maria Novella in Florence was lovely with an incredible view. Those hotels, as well as Relais degli Angeli in Siena, were in great locations.

One thing that stood out is how well regarded Andrea is by all of the people that work with him. It's quite a compliment when both your clients and the providers you book speak highly of you! Bravo Andrea!

It was a true pleasure to have such a stress free trip with all the transportation, accommodations and tours arranged and prepaid by Andrea so our only job was to show up. Everything was truly seamless. I'm afraid we are now spoiled and will not be able to travel any other way!

Hotel Reviews

Palazzo Ripetta

Rome

Beautiful hotel with professional and accommodating staff. Lovely breakfast and great location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It was in a great location, with many things within walking distance.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Santa Maria Novella

Florence

We had a beautiful suite with a view of Piazza Santa Maria Novella.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Walking distance to most things.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Guided walk at Piazza dei Miracoli and Leaning Tower in Pisa (2 hours)

Italy

Iurica Piccioli was a terrific guide, both knowledgable and entertaining!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Florence private guided walk including Accademia Gallery

Florence

Adored Elvira Politi! She was very knowledgeable, funny, professional and lovely!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had a wonderful time visiting Italy and Andrea was a wonderful resource and planner for us! He was detail oriented and always replied promptly with any questions we had! All our guides and drivers were prompt and courteous and the guides were very knowledgeable and informative. Skipping the large lines for the Vatican and Colliseum was wonderful . It made our first trip to Italy so easy! We would use Kimkim again in a heartbeat!

Our trip to Italy with KimKim was worth every single penny. We were a group of 4 travelers with a wide variety of preferences but Andrea managed to plan the most perfect time for us. Each hotel (and wow, the rooms we got!) was excellent in both service and location. Every driver and guide we had presented themselves with absolute most professionalism and knowledge in their areas. Our guide for Pompeii, Pasqualina, was the absolute star of the trip. Her story telling truly transported us in time, ensuring that we had a truly unforgettable experience. As for drives, Enzo also stood out with his friendliness and thoughtful routes throughout the trip. Our days were incredible from start to finish, no time was missed. Andrea exceeded all expectations by not only putting together an incredible itinerary but by also providing us with a roadbook with every details, amazing tips & recommendations, which made the trip truly stress free. We had everything we needed and as a result, had the most incredible trip.

Andrea did a wonderful job tailoring our perfect trip. He was readily available during our trip when we had some delays with our flight and always connected us with our drivers for the following days. Our most favorite part was exploring Pompeii with our fabulous guide and having a slower paced day exploring the beautiful city of Taormina. Each stop on the trip was better than the last. We did a pizza making class in which we will be making that recipe for many years to come, got to enjoy the beautiful Amalfi coastline by boat, hiked around Mt Vesuvius and Mt Etna, and meandered around Sicily. We were surprised at how crowded and congested Naples and Capri were and probably the part of the trip we enjoyed the least. Overall, it was an amazing 12 days packed full of everything we hoped to see, eat, and do. Thanks Andrea!

Hotel Reviews

Napoli Tree - Lungomare

Naples

Super cute B&B both a wonderful host.

Location

It was a short walk to everywhere we wanted to be

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Residence

Amalfi

Beautiful location and wonderful staff

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right on the coast

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Casa Adele

Taormina

Nice, comfortable room and excellent staff

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right near the Catania Port

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Palazzo Artemide

We wish we had more than one night in the gorgeous hotel!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Villa Elisio Hotel & Spa

Napoli

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Pizza Making class in Naples with lunch or dinner

Naples

Our interpreter did such a great job and our host was very patient in teaching us his craft. This was forever our most favorite pizza on our trip.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Naples guided tour on a bike

Italy

While we are decent bikers, we felt incredibly uncomfortable on this trip. Trying to balance on the wet cobblestones, on narrow roads full of people/vendors/scooters, and jumping in and out of cars, eventually just made us not feel safe. While our guide was knowledgeable and patient, and we saw a few neat things, it wasn’t worth it for us.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vesuvius entrance ticket

Naples

We were dropped off right at the entrance and got to take our time hiking up and exploring. We enjoyed the self-paced atmosphere while getting to stop at all of the beautiful overlooks.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Group Pompeii ruin visit

Italy

This was the highlight of our trip! Our guide was amazing and SO knowledgeable. She made the trip! There is so much that has been uncovered that gives great insight into what life was like back then. We were given ample opportunity to enjoy and learn about everything we saw.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day trip to Capri Island from The Amalfi Coast - small group

Italy

We thoroughly enjoyed the boat ride and our guide. He was knowledgeable and took us on a fun exploration along the coastline and around Capri. However, we had our vision of what Capri was going to be and it was too crowded for us (cruise ships kept dumping people by the hour) to enjoy. We felt we weren’t as informed about how to spend the best of our few hours on the island and wasted half of that time figuring it out.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ancient Theater of Taormina entrance ticket

Italy

Our guide was passionate and super knowledgeable about the history. The views were amazing and we were introduced to the best granita afterwards.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Mount Etna and Alcantara Gorge expedition - Small group

Italy

We thoroughly enjoyed this trip learning what makes Mt Etna special. The walk through the lava tube was fun and the hiking on Etna was a smooth, moderate walk. We were pretty disappointed with the gorge trek. Our thought going into it was that we would be suited up to walk through the gorge. Instead, we were taken to the water, told we had 45 minutes to explore, and meet back at the cars. We weren’t given any appropriate gear to walk in the water, nor a heads up to pack ahead of time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Syracuse Neapolis Archaeological Park - private guide

Italy

After seeing Pompeii, these ruins weren’t as impressive but we loved our guide. He took time to explain the history, we discussed OUR cultural similarities/differences, and it was just a good time. He knew a lot of little nuances that we likely wouldn’t have known about just doing the tour on our own.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip to Italy through Kimkim was flawless. Andrea did an amazing job with suggestions, drivers hotel, and tour reservations! Every detail was handled for us. He worked with us to make it just what we wanted. Having someone to reach out to while you’re there is so reassuring and he always got back to us quickly with any questions we had. I would highly recommend kimkim when planning any trip.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Eden Roc Positano

Positano

Great hotel with beautiful rooftop restaurants and pool. Amazing view. Very easy to walk to town

Authenticity & Character

Location

Could easily walk to restaurants and shops

Staff

Almost everyone was amazing. The rooftop bar service was slow. Lunch (salads) took an hour and not worth the wait

Cleanliness & Comfort

We had a suite with a great balcony. Hot tub, plus room for bistro table plus 2 lounge chairs

Hotel Athena Siena

Siena

Hotel Athena is a fine hotel. Just kind of basic. There aren’t a lot of options if you want to be within walking distance to town, which is amazing! The shower was awful! No room to move where the shower head is located and there’s only half a door that doesn’t go up very high so water literally gets all over the entire bathroom! The breakfast was included but was at most average. The staff was nice

Authenticity & Character

Location

Could walk everywhere

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

47 Boutique Hotel

Rome

Great hotel with nice rooftop bar/restaurant in a good location We had a nice room with a private terrace with lots of greenery. We were shocked at how quiet the room was considering being in the middle of a city with traffic and sirens. They had a small gym and a steam room and shower.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close enough to walk to the colosseum and Trevi Fountain. Vatican was 2 miles but walked along the Tiber river which was beautiful and quicker than Uber. (Lots of traffic)

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Half-day private boat exploration of the Amalfi Coast

Italy

The boat tour was great! Beautiful views and Franco was awesome. Brought us snacks and drinks and made the trip fun and special. We stopped and swam and also went to Amalfi for quick stop(very crowded and touristy). We stayed in Positano which is beautiful. Would highly recommend the private tour. The boat was amazing too!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Franco had a great personality and was interesting and fun

Transport

Andrea was extremely helpful and really understood our requirements. It was very beneficial to have someone in-country to provide immediate assistance, which we did require a few times throughout the trip. He was helpful, as were the drivers and the person people who managed the AirBNB's.

All in all, we had a wonderful trip!

Hotel Reviews

Colosseum Luxury View Apartment

Our family of 5 adults were very comfortable in this apartment and if was very close to the activities in Rome.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Casa Lucienne

The apartment was in a perfect location. The apartment was clean and well decorated. My only piece of feedback is that for a family of 5 adults, the bedroom with the trundle bed was too small for an adult and the mattress was just adequate. The room is large enough to have a double bed, or if you are going to keep a trundle, get a better mattress and then it should not have a footboard, as tall people do not fit comfortably.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Piazza Bellini & Apartments

Naples

The family style room and the room for 2 were very comfortable and spacious. Staff was friendly.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Rome Private Guided Walk

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel skip the line ticket

Rome

Guide was amazing! We truly enjoyed this tour!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel - private guide

Rome

Our guide was amazing!!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Colosseum & Roman Forum skip the line ticket

Rome

Good to skip the line.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Colosseum and Roman Forum - Private guide

Rome

Tour was good. The original guide was swapped out the last minute, so the meeting place was very confusing.....

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Naples guided walk

Italy

Betta was a wonderful guide! She really listened to what we wanted to do, and helped us to get around the city!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Winery visit and wine tasting in Pompeii area including light lunch

Italy

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pompeii ruin visit with a private guide

Italy

Knowledgeable and passionate guide! I had been there before, but he opened more doors, and we saw new items of interest.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day trip to Capri Island from The Amalfi Coast - small group

Italy

It was a very rough ride with Jolly Boats and the captain was by himself, so it's extremely difficult to stop, dock and man the boat with just one person. Definitely should have had 2 people managing this boat ride.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cooking Class *****

Italy

Chef was very good and the location was fantastic. There is very little cooking involved; we got to prepare the food, but we didn't get to cook it....

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport