Bruno Madeira

We recently used Kimkim for our trip to Rio de Janeiro and Foz do Iguazu. What a great experience! Bruno was our trip coordinator and did an excellent job putting together an itinerary that met all of our needs and interests. Lines of communication were open before, during and after the trip, and he was always responsive. When we arrived in Rio, our guide Luiz was waiting at the airport for us. He then took us on an amazing tour of the city over the next few days. Our first day was spent taking a relaxing afternoon and sunset boat ride around the bay. Fun drinks on board and beautiful sights to see! We of course went the next day up to Sugarloaf Mountain and then up to Christ the Redeemer, both offering beautiful views of the city. We then spent time in the Santa Teresa neighborhood visiting some sites. This neighborhood had a very cool vibe. We had lunch at the Aprazivel restaurant (which we highly recommend), and then continued on to see some local churches and the Metropolitan Cathedral which is designed like a Mayan pyramid! Another day was spent visiting the factory where they assemble the floats for Carnival. There, we also had fun trying on Carnival outfits and were entertained by a Samba dancer! Our trip, as well, to the tiled steps in Santa Teresa was a must see. These steps contain tiles from all over the world, which were very cool to look closely at. Get there early, as it's a tourist attraction! Walking around the city with Luiz was great. He was full of historical and cultural information, which we loved. It provided us great insight into what we were seeing and gave us a better appreciation for the Brazilian culture! He took us to another restaurant in town; I can't remember the name, but the food was excellent! We fell in love with the cuisine, and Luiz had plenty of recommendations on what to try! Our last day in Rio was free time, which we spent on Copacabana Beach (where we were staying right across the street at the Miramar Hotel), and we walked down to see Ipanema Beach, where we had lunch at an Italian restaurant called Il Piccolo. Rio of course has plenty of Brazilian restaurants, but also offers many other cuisines! Hanging on the beach was a lot of fun. There are plenty of vendors selling things, but they are not pushy. It was actually convenient having them there, as there was no need to bring food or drink to the beach. They brought it to you! The beach was full of tourists and locals all sitting together. It was a fun experience. One thing that we took notice of was how health conscious the locals are. Walking up the main path along the beach early in the morning, we were impressed to see the great number of joggers and cyclists going up and down the road, and the beach full of pickleball and volleyball games along with yoga classes, swimming classes and surfing classes. It was great to see!

The second half of our trip was then flying to Foz do Iguazu where we were met by our guide Edson at the airport. Edson was wonderful (just like Luiz) and provided us much information about that section of Brazil which borders Argentina and Paraguay. Seeing the falls was a very different experience than being in the city of Rio. You were out in nature (which we love) and hiked many miles on the trails around the falls. The first day was spent visiting the Argentinian side. Iguazu is the largest waterfall system in the world and should not be missed. The views are spectacular! We also did the boat ride which takes you almost under one of the falls. Bring a change of clothes with you, as you will be soaked to the skin, but it was so much fun!! The next day we toured the Brazilian side of the falls. Again, the views were incredible. We then went to Parque das Aves (the bird park) which is a beautiful sanctuary for so many colorful birds! We really loved walking around and seeing such beautiful birds living in their natural habitat. Well worth the trip! By the way, we stayed at the Bourbon Cataratas do Iguazu Thermas Eco Resort. Great selection by Bruno! After a long day of hiking around the falls, the hotel was a great place to relax poolside and have a cocktail! The food there was awesome. We highly recommend the buffet (which was high end). One night the cuisine had a pan-Asian theme. The next night was Mediterranean. Both delicious!

Overall, I think this trip to Brazil well exceeded our expectations. This is our second time using Kimkim. Last year it was Morocco. We have loved using Kimkim so much that we have booked another trip next month to Peru! We are very grateful to Bruno, Luiz and Edson. They gave us such a memorable trip, and we have been telling all our friends they need to go see Brazil (and of course use Kimkim!).

So we just got back from Brazil and I want to let everyone know that KimKim is legit! We've never planned a trip through a website before, or with an agent we'd never met who lived on another continent. It all made my wife and I a bit nervous. We won't be next time.

We (me, my wife and our 23-yr old son) wanted to visit Rio and Iguazu Falls, and Bruno planned a great experience. The hotels he arranged for us were lovely - especially the Miramar in Rio (on the beach in Copacabana with a rooftop bar and infinity pool, a great breakfast buffet, and a really great team of people - from the Bell Cap to the roof staff).

We had a private tour guide in both places and they enriched the experience tremendously. We spent two days with Jefferson in Rio, going to the top of Sugarloaf and Corcovado (Christ the Redeemer statue), and a ton of other expected and unexpected spots. He was warm, friendly and full of facts, history and stories. His English was fluent. And another benefit of having a guide is you get to bypass many (not all) lines at the various attractions.

Jorge was our guide at Iguazu, and while the experience of seeing those falls doesn't call for nearly the commentary as the Rio tours, Jorge was friendly and knowledgable as well. On the second day, our son almost got heat exhaustion at the falls and Jorge convinced the policeman to let us cut the line to get my son quickly up to the concession stand (water) and shade. He was really looking out for us. That was cool.

Side note, if you go to Iguazu, you HAVE to do both sides. They each offer their own perspectives and experiences. And riding a boat up into the falls (literally, we drove under falls) is better in Argentina than in Brazil because the Brazilian boats aren't allowed to go to all the falls (the one's in Argentina. I know, it sounds stupid, but that's international relations for you.) One of the most incredible experiences of my life!

Our transfers and tickets were seamless - to and from the airport on each leg, the trip to Iguazu and back (a two hour flight), our tickets for parks, trains or gondolas, dinner reservations. This helps helps when you can't seem to get past please, thank you and where's the bathroom (thank you Google Translate).

Bruno grew up in Rio but lives in Portugal. Even so, he was available when we needed him and was ready to help if our son's condition deteriorated. Happily, it did not.

I don't know about anyone else's experience, but we will definitely be using KimKim again. They connect you with an independent agent who specializes in the area you want to visit. They facilitate the interaction, handle the payments. I'm happy to give them a fee for this. And I'm happy to pay a fee to Bruno, who I know spent considerable time making sure our trip was a success, from idea to the flight home.