Cecilia Ventura

My wife and I just returned from thirteen days in Italy with our two kids, (ages 13 and 10) and had a trip that created memories for a lifetime.

I can’t say enough about Cecilia and how great she was in designing a trip for a family who had never been to Italy before and making sure that our itinerary met our needs. She found us great hotels that were both convenient location wise but also rooms that were comfortable for the whole family. Cecilia was very responsive leading up to our trip and made sure we were well educated on everything we needed to know before we left and provided us all of our necessary travel documents in one easy to use location that made our days travelling easy to follow. While on our trip Cecilia also made herself available for us to ask questions and was quick to respond if we weren’t sure if we were in a proper location for a tour or had a travel question as we moved from one place to the next.

We spent three days in Venice, three in Florence, four in Sorrento and ended with three days in Rome. Sorrento was the highlight destination for the whole family with our boat tour of the Amalfi Coast as our favourite day of the whole trip.

Thank you for everything Cecilia, your talent, your work and your dedication to our happiness is appreciated more than we can tell you!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Ca' Marinella

Venice

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Paris

Florence

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Il Faro 3* Sorrento

Sorrento

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

HOTEL CECIL

ROME

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

MURANO, BURANO AND TORCELLO EXCURSION

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Gondola Ride

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pizza and gelato making class

Florence

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half day tour Pisa and the leaning tower

Florence

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Accademia Gallery Tour

Florence

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Truffle hunting and tasting in Valdichiana

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day at leisure in Sorrento

Sorrento

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

AMALFI AND POSITANO DISCOVERY BOAT TOUR - SEMI PRIVATE (max 12)

Sorrento

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pompeii Excavations half-day Tour

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

GOLF CART TOUR ROME

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rome - 2h Gladiator School

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Colosseum, Roman Forums and Palatine Hill

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vatican & Sistine Chapel - Small Group Tour

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Overall it was a great trip. The hotel on Tuscany was not what we expected. The staff, one person, was not friendly or welcoming. We had to figure out a scooter tour on our one. There was no concierge and no shuttle. The pick up in Sorrento was a mess. A driver showed up with a sedan and not a van. He was rude and unhelpful. We had to wait over an hour for a van and our train ride to Rome was delayed by an hour. We arrived to Tome later than expected which impacted my last day with my cousins.

We had a great time with no issues at any event! The only hiccup was when we first arrived and the driver was a couple of minutes late and not behind pole three. The Concept hotel had a lovely woman who checked us in and another lovely woman who made breakfast. It was an easy walk to the Spanish steps from there and when we returned for the last night felt like returning home! There was only one outlet in the room which made charging our devices challenging.
Our walking tour of Roma was great as it was just us so we could see what we wanted, linger for photos, and got into the collesium.
The hotel in Venice was also in a great location! The breakfast there was typical best western, meh. I am not in Italy to drink lousy coffee! We enjoyed the boat tour- the second island had little to offer on a cold cloudy day, but Murano and Burano were awesome.
The gondola ride was as expected- on a quiet night actually felt kind of creepy…
The Joy Hotel in Florence was close to the train station, and easy walk to everything, although the neighborhood itself felt sketchy. Joy hotel hands down had the best breakfast!! We truly enjoyed the street food tour. Would do that again !
To top off a wonderful trip, we were able to see the Christmas Eve Mass at the Vatican our last night.

The entire trip was the best vacation my family has ever been on. The WhatsApp group really help us with last minute questions.

Hotel Reviews

Grand Hotel Europa Palace

Sorrento

The hotel is in walking distance of everything. The entire staff was excellent. The view from the room was magical.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bettoja Hotel Massimo D'Azeglio

Rome

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Castello di Gargonza

Arezzo

I highly suggest staying here.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Liassidi Palace

VENEZIA

the view was not good from the room. Also, there was no A/C which should have been ok if the weather was different, but it was still very warm every day which made the room hot at night. We were told to open the windows, but the mosquitos were so bad that we had to sleep with the sheets over our face to prevent.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Day at leisure in Sorrento

Sorrento

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pompeii Excavations half-day Tour

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Gondola Ride

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

MURANO, BURANO AND TORCELLO EXCURSION

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

PRIORITY ACCESS TO DOGE'S PALACE TICKETS

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rome - 2h Gladiator School

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

DISCOVER CHRISTIAN CATACOMBS AND ANCIENT BASILICAS

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private tour of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and Saint Peters Basilica

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private tour of Colosseum, Roman Forums and Palatine Hill

Rome

The tour guide was very knowledgably and made it the best of all of our tours

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Rome Walking Tour

Rome

He had a great since of humor and made the tour very fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Day At leisure in your castel

Arezzo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Private Venice Walking Tour

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

AMALFI AND POSITANO DISCOVERY BOAT TOUR - SEMI PRIVATE (max 12)

Sorrento

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cecilia made planning a trip to Italy so EASY. She was helpful with everything and SO patient with all my questions. The transfers, trains, tours and experiences were all planned so well and made traveling so nice to have things in place. The hotel we stayed in was exactly what we were looking for. Wonderfull cooking class in Florence. I hope when we are ready to plan our next trip we can have Cecilia!

We had an amazing trip to Italy! From start to finish it was so easy working with kimkim! Cecilia was great! She literally took basic information on things we wanted to see/do and areas we thought we'd like to go and she mapped out the entire trip! She sent us a full itinerary including the stops along our trip, area info for each stop, hotel info, transports, train info, all our excursions, and additional recommendations for each location! It was awesome! We made little to no changes in the itinerary. And every step along the way was exactly as described! And we were a group of 10 so not an easy feat to move 10 people around in another country we weren't familiar with at all lol! It all went smoothly. We loved each place, all the hotels, and every excursion! kimkim was knowledgeable on the areas, was in contact with us while in Italy, and responded to us timely before and during the trip. And our guides for each excursion were wonderful~ highly recommend the guided tours :) We have already said we are going to use kimkim again for future trips! And we definitely recommend kimkim to others! Thank you!

Hotel Reviews

Liassidi Palace

VENEZIA

Hotel Roma

Florence

La Tonnarella

Sorrento

Absolutely Beautiful~ the views are stunning!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Republic

Roma

Activity Reviews

Private Gondola Ride

Venice

MURANO, BURANO AND TORCELLO EXCURSION

Venice

Pasta and Tiramisù lovers workshop

Rome

Chef Jess was awesome! They also accommodated one in our party who needed a meal that was gluten free and vegan... so that person made the pasta and dessert but was able to order something off the menu that they could eat for dinner!

Private tour of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and Saint Peters Basilica

Rome

Our guide Barbara was great!

Pompeii Excavations half-day Tour

Italy

Our guide Umberto was great!

SMALL GROUP TUSCANY WINE AND OLIVE OIL TOUR

Florence

Our tour guide Antonella was Great! And the girls at the wineries who guided us at each of the 3 wineries we went to were awesome too!

Private tour of Colosseum, Roman Forums and Palatine Hill

Rome

Our tour guide was great~ Her name started with an R... Rosalina maybe? Having a hard time remembering it now as we had lots of different tour guides along the way of our trip, but she was wonderful!

We just finished a ten day family trip to Italy. The 10 of us could not be any happier or satisfied from our experience. From the first days in Venice, then to Florence, and down to Sorrento, and finishing in Rome. Just wow. Every city brought to it, it's own beauty and character. Team Kimkim did an absolutely awesome job in every facet. Through booking and scheduling our tours, and trains to recommendations, and having everything so perfectly timed out. Any questions we had were answered almost immediately. We had so many great tour guides from Marica on our tour in Florence, from Umberto in Pompeii, to Jess our chef in Rome( who taught us all the perfect pasta and Tiramisu), to Barbara who led us so professionally through The Vatican and Sistine Chapel. I will most assuredly use Kimkim for future travel. Cecilia was our main contact through out the planning process and she went above and beyond. She matched everything we requested perfectly. She was incredible. I look forward to our next adventure and I will no doubt look to Kim Kim first. Thanks so much. The Smith Family

Hotel Reviews

Liassidi Palace

VENEZIA

Excellent. Great location. Friendly Staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Roma

Florence

Great Location, Incredible Staff, Lovely comfortable rooms.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Tonnarella

Sorrento

Speechless. The views are infinite. The staff very helpful. The town was spectacular. Just an amazing place.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Republic

Roma

Very nice Hotel in a very convenient location. Staff was excellent. Could not have asked for a better experience. It helped create a home like feel while walking the streets of Rome

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

MURANO, BURANO AND TORCELLO EXCURSION

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Gondola Ride

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

SMALL GROUP TUSCANY WINE AND OLIVE OIL TOUR

Florence

Just Incredible. A must do for sure. Antonia was awesome.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pompeii Excavations half-day Tour

Italy

Umberto was so passionate and knowledgeable. The tour was very moving

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pasta and Tiramisù lovers workshop

Rome

Chef Jess was the best. What a great time with family. A must do.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private tour of the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and Saint Peters Basilica

Rome

Our tour guide Barbara was amazing and just so knowledgeable. Honestly without her it just would not have been the same.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private tour of Colosseum, Roman Forums and Palatine Hill

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Worked with KimKim and specifically Cecilia at a local Italian travel agency to plan our honeymoon to Italy in Fall of 2022. It was a breeze to plan, and Cecilia made sure to work in all our requests while still helping us find experiences with best local guides for things we were not sure about. Can't beat the ease, safety, value, and guaranteed high quality experience that kimkim ensures your vacation will be. This was our 3rd trip in different parts of the world that we booked through them and we will definitely be back!

Activity Reviews

Pizza and gelato making class

Florence

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Best of Venice guided walking tour with gondola ride

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

SMALL GROUP TUSCANY WINE AND OLIVE OIL TOUR

Florence

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Walking tour with the Accademia Gallery

Florence

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

SEMI PRIVATE - FLORENCE: PISA, SIENA, SAN GIMIGNANO, CHIANTI TOUR

Florence

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vatican & Sistine Chapel - Small Group Tour

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Capri Day Trip from Sorrento

Sorrento

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

MURANO, BURANO AND TORCELLO EXCURSION

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

COOKING CLASS IN ROME

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Colosseum, Roman Forums and Palatine Hill

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Amalfi Coast experience from Sorrento

Sorrento

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

PRIVATE VISIT TO THE SORRENTINE HILLS AND A FARM WITH LOCAL TASTINGS

Sorrento

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Highlight of the experience:
- Meet & Greet responded fastly and efficiently when I needed to cancel and then shortly after rebook the whole trip because of a personal accident I suffered on the day I was supposed to fly to Italy. They were very understanding of the situation and reacted to my input as quickly as possible. Rosanna was the contact through all this challenge an she was very good.

Points for improvement:
- Cecilia took too long to disclose the names of the hotels for my appraisal. I became uncomfortable and decided to do my own research. I picked hotels for Rome and for Taormina, but when I communicated these to her she told me the hotels had already been selected and I would have to pay a penalty fee for changing hotels (even though she had not disclosed which hotels she picked at that time).
- In the Rome hotel, I asked Cecilia to make sure breakfast was added to the booking. After the booking was made I asked her to reconfirm breakfast had been added, which she did. When I finally received the detailed itinerary I discovered the breakfast had not been added after all. On the upside, after having been informed what happened (Cecilia was on holiday), Rosanna agreed that Meet & Greet would include breakfast and take care of the associated costs as compensation for Cecilia's mistake.
- The hotel in Sorrento was too far away from city center - I suppose this was intentional in order to provide the guest with a privileged view of the city, which in my case was not nearly worth it. I tried to walk to city center but the way there is not safe as there are no sidewalks and the pedestrians need to dispute space with cars on the road.
- Once again I felt that the travel plan was made by putting together pre-packaged activities, but apparently, there was no concern to see how these pieces would fit together, and how would the final product impact the user experience. As an example, for some activities hotel pick-up was included, while for others it was not. Because of the issue around the location of the hotel, transfers from and back to the hotel were important. I asked Meet & Greet and they said the reason for the disparity was the fact that the hotel pick-up was already included by a supplier of a certain activity, but the same did not happen in other activities. They therefore took no ownership of the user experience as if it were not their problem, just a matter of supplier selection.