Dat Nguyen

We had a wonderful trip and planning it was super easy! We had 4 different drafts before we settled on one we loved. Dat was great about communicating the changes and answering questions as we planned. He even made sure the visas we got for both countries were correct.

Transfers: All pickups and drops off went smoothly! It was so nine knowing those logistics were taken care of. It was great to have the domestic airline tickets booked as well. We simply had to show up at the right time and be transported to the next spot.

Highlights
Hanoi: Tam Coc River tour was amazing! I would suggest people bring a hat or umbrella as it was super hot!
Bahn Mi 25 - best sandwich we have had! We went two times!
Dal Vostro Hotel - this was the best hotel we stayed at and the best breakfast we had on the whole trip. The rooms were great and the staff was so incredibly helpful and kind!

Sapa: trekking is a must! I do wish we would have realized how muddy it got on parts of the trail. I would have brought shoes that I did not care about ruining. Thankfully we were able to get them washed for $2 in town! This was such a beautiful place and the people we met along the way were lovely. We had an amazing lunch at red Dzao house and got a foot massage after trekking for $6. We did not do the part of the itinerary about spending time in the Dzay village. Once we arrived there, we got in the car and left. It was disappointing. Hotel was great - not as friendly as the one in Hanoi.

Ha Long Bay - AMAZING! Doris cruises were so wonderful! The rooms are huge and the lunch they served upon arriving was outstanding. We got to kayak and swim. I was stunned by the scenery and the small cruise made the experience personal.

Ho Chi Minh - we learned so much while we were here. The War Museum and Cu Chi Tunnels - while hard, were well worth the time. Johnathan our tour guide was great! Dinner at Propaganda was a highlight! The hotel was ok. It was right across from a nightclub, so the first night was really loud. The breakfast was ok - nothing special.
Mekong Delta was awesome! Again, we learned so much! Watching the coconut candy get made was fun. We brought some home to share. The set lunch was not good at all. It was a lot of food that didn't taste that great.

Phnom Penh - The Killing Fields and S-21 were really heavy places to visit, but also necessary. Our guide was helpful. It was really special to meet 4 of the survivors of S-21. We had an amazing dinner at Eleven - one & at The Titanic. Our hotel was great! Getting a tuk tuk was easy and able to walk to restaurants!

Siem Reap - We LOVED our guide - Narong! He was so funny, helpful and taught us a lot! He is also a sharp dresser! He and the driver took such good care of us with cold water and cold wipes, especially after a hot day at Angor Wat. The hotel was lovely - and the massages are heavenly! We had a wonderful dinner at Haven and at Mesa. Lunch was supposed to be included on the Angor Wat day - but our guide said it wasn't. The lunch place was good!

Overall it was an amazing trip! Here are a few things we felt could be improved upon:
1. The lunches on the group tours (private tours was great) were disappointing. It just wasn't good food.
2. There were 2 things on our itinerary we did not do - one in Sapa and one in Tam Coc - disappointing.
3. Be clear about what meals are included.
4. It was hard to communicate with Dat once we were in country. There were times we reached out via whatsapp and had to follow up because we didn't hear back from him. There was also an urgent matter he had to attend to which is fine, but it would have been nice to have a back up number.
5. I might chose a different hotel in Ho Chi Minh City - because of the nightclub.

We had a wonderful trip to Central and North Vietnam. Originally we planned on two days in Ho Chi Minh City but due to a traveling companion’s illness we missed the first two days of our trip. Kim Kim was very helpful in rearranging our itinerary so that we could fly into DaNang and start the trip from that point. Kim Kim even got us a few refunds on some of our missed activities.

Our two days in Hoi An were delightful. Our guide David Hau was fantastic. He went over and beyond in arranging for pick up of an item left on the plane. Can’t thank him enough.

Halong Bay was also a must see.

Dear DAT
We wish you a fast recovery;
Note that we keep a great memory, much appreciated from all:
the program, the guides, the drivers, the choice of excursions, the activities, the hotels and restaurants were perfect.

Thanks again
Gilbo, Rolana, Jimmy, Carol, André & Paula

Hotel Reviews

Hôtel des Arts Saigon - MGallery Collection

Ho Chi Minh City

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Anantara Hoi An Resort

Hoi An City, Quang Nam Province

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

Hanoi

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

bathroom need to be refreshed, bathtub tight and difficult to access

Avana Retreat

magical, amazing resort, amazing staff,

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Stellar of the Seas

quảng ninh

fantastic organisation, staff, food, security & clean

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Dinner at Anan Saigon (Michelin Star Restaurant)

Ho Chi Minh City

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vespa Insider Tour - Half Day

Ho Chi Minh City

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset Dinner On Saigon Princess Cruise

Ho Chi Minh City

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cu Chi Tunnels tour by luxury speedboat

Ho Chi Minh City

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

What a trip! From the very beginning Dat took into account all our requests for our trip with our 2 daughters. Communication was excellent throughout, quick responses to any questions, itinerary was updated and all information needed was clear and easy to follow. Ha took over from Dat when we arrived in Vietnam, she met us with a welcoming smile and was amazing with any questions I had, checked in with us frequently and was really helpful. The whole trip was absolutely fantastic, all ran so smoothly with pick ups, tours and accommodation, which made it so relaxed and enjoyable. Would highly recommend KimKim to anyone looking to travel. Brilliant experience!

Hotel Reviews

Dal Vostro Hotel & Spa

Hanoi

Hotel is really central in Hanoi and so easy to find. Rooms are spacious and comfortable. Breakfast was varied. Unfortunately for us the spa was closed and they were renovating the hotel when we were there, so lots of noise from that, but we were out most of the time so didn’t really bother us, but would have been helpful to have been pre-warned - their website didn’t even note anything about the renovations. I would still recommend as I think once complete is still a great hotel in the city centre.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Located right near the lake, and close to the night market too.

Staff

Super friendly staff that were really helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Queen Ann Hotel Saigon

This hotel was in a good location close to the food night market. The rooms are spacious and comfortable. We were on the 11th floor and with only one lift was a bit painful. The breakfast was ok, very busy in the mornings with everyone being there at the same time due to tour pick ups which sometimes could be hard to get a table. Staff were friendly and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Pandora Boutique Cruise

Great boat that is comfortable, clean, good food and friendly staff.

Authenticity & Character

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Showers needed a bit of an upgrade.

Hoi An Riverside Villas & Apartments

Loved this place. Just outside the main centre of Hoi An, lovely rooms with balcony overlooking the pool. Spacious and comfortable. Breakfast was good and varied. Nice pool that was kept clean throughout the day. Staff were lovely and friendly. Bikes were available to use, but we just caught a taxi to the centre. We were there only one day but would recommend this place to stay.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Thanh Kieu Beach resort

Kien Gianh

A little gem of relaxation! Had four nights here in the family bungalow. Lovely, spacious, comfortable which a view of the beach. Good quiet location right on the sandy beach. Staff were helpful and friendly. Beach restaurant food was varied and tasty. Only negative is in the evening, beach restaurant area was super quiet, no music (even just low level chilled music) and bar closes at 9pm, which was a shame as in such a lovely location and just felt it lacked a little atmosphere.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Was on a really lovely part of a long beach, palm trees, plenty of beds to use and a massage area too!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Ha Long Bay - Lan Ha Bay (La Pandora)

Vietnam

Very beautiful area to visit. The boat trip was superb, enjoyed the kayaking and swimming was good fun too. Karaoke was hilarious in the evening!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ho Chi Minh city tour - Cu Chi tunnels - Joint in tour

Ho Chi Minh City

This was a really good day, very informative, interesting and interactive. Highly recommend to give an insight to Vietnam’s history.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ninh Binh Day Trip ( Hoa Lu - Trang An) - Join In Tour

Vietnam

Loved this trip, such a beautiful area to visit and see.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mekong Delta Group Tour (My Tho) - Joint in tour

Ho Chi Minh City

Fantastic day out, seeing how coconut candy is made, lovely boat trip through the Mekong and a short fun bike ride. Even got to try Snake wine…

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dark and Bright Cave - Ha Long Bay (La Pandora)

Vietnam

After getting up very early to no sunrise, we found this a little disappointing compared to the caves we saw in the Ninh Binh province.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our guides were wonderful. Charming, informative and flexible. The whole team created an unforgettable experience.

Our trip to Vietnam was well planned and executed by Dat and his team mates. The guides in Hanoi, Sapa, and HMC (Saigon) were excellent and highly knowledgeable. The team made us feel at ease throughout. They were punctual and filled our days with sightseeing at a relaxed pace when needed and hectic when required. We couldn't have done this on our own and having English speaking local guides along with all local travel arrangements that were carefully designed to accommodate our wish list made it easy on us. Highly recommend KimKim for anyone planning a trip to Vietnam.

Our tour started with a evening walking food tour with Ms. Hang. We had many delicious dishes and visited a local market. After leaving Hanoi we visited beautiful Ha Long Bay - Bai Tu Long. The Indochina Junk ship was really fun to stay on and had really comfortable rooms.
We were picked up after the boat trip by our guide Toun and driver Chien. We spent the next 6 days with them exploring Ninh Binh and Mai Chau. We did biking , trekking and visited Unesco world heritage sites. Tuon was very knowledgeable about the areas and new the best places to eat and see.
We were really impressed with the customer service, the transfers were always on time and Dat was always available to answer any questions we had while on the trip.
I recommend using KimKim for planning trips, especially to areas that are more remote.

Hotel Reviews

Mai Chau Ecolodge

This lodge was comfortable with all rooms having views of the rice paddies. The food was just alright and the pool area/bar is not that comfortable to relax at after a day of activities. I think I would consider looking into a homestay for this area. The staff at the lodge were incredible helpful and kind. The bikes could use an upgrade, many of the bikes were slightly to small.

Authenticity & Character

Each bungalow had a nice deck for sitting on , the chairs were somewhat uncomfortable.

Location

You border the main trail systems where you can ride or walk to enjoy the valley.

Staff

Very kind and helpful staff.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The property is nice but feels a little old. For those with any issues with walking it may be difficult to move around the property.

Prince Junk (from Indochina Junk)

The boat was fun, and the cabins were comfortable. The outside space is also great, but unfortunately the weather was not nice during our trip.

Authenticity & Character

It is a very authentic boat, one of their newer ones.

Location

It is a boat that cruises thru the bay.

Staff

Super helpful and kind.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The cabins were all spotless

Tam Coc Garden Resort

Ninh Binh

We did not stay here we stayed and Ninh Village resort which was incredible.

L’ Heritage

Hanoi

Nice hotel in the Old Quarter

Authenticity & Character

Classic hotel well maintained

Location

Good location for the Old Quarter, we later stayed near the Lake and found that location better.

Staff

Staff was attentive and kind

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hanoi Evening Walking Street Food Tour

Hanoi

We sampled many delicious and diverse foods. The problem with a food tour in Vietnam is that the portions of the dishes are large, so you get full quickly.

Quality of Experience

Food

The food was all great, when we did the evening food tour most stalls in the markets were closed.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had a great guide who was very knowledgeable about the foods and their history.

Transport

We walked, which I always enjoy

Mai Chau - Xa Linh Village trekking

Mai Chau

Unfortunately the air quality was poor and obscured all the views while trekking. It was fun going thru the village.

Mai Chau - Pu Luong - Trekking to Kho Muong and Uoi Villages

Vietnam

Pu Luong was a beautiful area. The villages were really interesting to walk thru, as where the water wheels and the terraced rice fields. Really beautiful.

Quality of Experience

Really beautiful area.

Food

Our guide always took us to good local spots

Guides, Drivers and Staff

They were excellent

Transport

Comfortable

Boat Trip Exploring The Natural Beauty of Trang An & Visit Hoa Lu Ancient Capital

Vietnam

Very beautiful boat ride thru a world heritage site. It is a popular trip so best to go in the morning.

Quality of Experience

Very pleasant in a boat with a village women doing the rowing. They are really skilled.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cycling in Mai Chau

Mai Chau

We really love to cycle and these paths were very cool. Very scenic.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boat trip to Thien Ha Cave & Thung Nham Bird Garden (Ninh Binh)

Ninh Binh

We ended up splitting this activity due to weather. We did the cave as part of a cycling portion. It was really great not as touristy as the other caves. We visited the Thun Nham Bird Garden, and it is a very busy place. I would recommend skipping this experience.

Quality of Experience

It is a really busy area

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ha Long Bay - Bai Tu Long - Thien Canh Son Cave (Indochina Junk)

Ha Long Bay

Great trip, just wish we would have had good weather. Still beautiful but couldn't enjoy all the activities.

Quality of Experience

Great company, great activities

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Loved the boat!

Cycling And Farming In Tho Ha Village And Boating To The Galaxy Groto

Vietnam

This was a fun day. Enjoyed the cycling thru the villages, very scenic. The farming activities were fun, I was a bit skeptical, but it is worth doing. Galaxy Groto was very cool, much better than the bird park.

Quality of Experience

Fun to get in the rice fields with some locals. It is hard work planting rice and hard work walking in the mud. Even caught some fish.

Food

A cooking class is part of the experience, it was alright.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mai Chau Cycling and Hiking Day

Vietnam

Loved the cycling in this area. Hiking is mostly in the jungle so not a lot of views. Most enjoyable day.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cap La - Vung Dang - Cong Dam (Indochina Junk)

Vietnam

We did not do this part of the trip due to weather

Vung Vieng Fishing Village - Halong Harbor (Indochina Junk)

Ha Long Bay

Loved the boating experience. The fishing village was interesting.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

First time using a platform like this, or a travel agent of any kind, and it worked out well. Dat was a very responsive travel planner who provided us with lots of ideas and options for tours, day trips, activities, hotels, everything. Overall everything went incredibly smoothly and was a lot of fun! The airport transfers, random pickups and drives were all very timely and comfortable. We focused on food and did a lot of related activities, the standout being Chef Ai's cooking class in her home kitchen in Hanoi, which started with a morning market walk and included plenty of cooking and eating but also really good discussion about Vietnamese food, culture, history, and the future! We also had city-specific guides with us for multiple days and I have to give kudos to Cuong (our honest and incredibly informative guide in Hanoi and Ninh Binh), Trinh (our foodie guide in Hue) and Nam (our comical and friendly guide in Saigon). They were full of information and insight, spoke English very well, provided us with great recommendations for things to do when we had free time, and were just pleasant people to spend time and chat with.

If I have anything critical to say it's that we spent too much time in Hoi An (4 days) and not enough in Hue (1 full day), but that's personal preference. Overall we hit many of the main sights and cities of Vietnam and for our first visit to the country it was a great introduction and overview. I want to return to spend more time in the mountains and do some trekking.

Overall highly recommended!

Activity Reviews

Hanoi Evening Walking Street Food Tour

Hanoi

Our guide Cuong walked us around the old quarter for various dishes, snacks, and drinks. It was pleasant, well-paced, and delicious!

Quality of Experience

Food

The banh cuon and beef pho were standout but it was all good!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Home Cooking Class with Chef Ai & Local Market Experience

Hanoi

One of our best experiences in Vietnam! Chef Ai and her niece were engaging, pleasant, and skillful. From the market walk to food prep to sharing a meal together, it was a really special and comfortable experience in Chef Ai's home.

Quality of Experience

Food

The flambeed shrimp and pomelo salad was excellent, the fried fish was perfect, and the fish sauce pyramid was educational in the best way!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Real Taste of Hue food

Hue

Trinh guided us around her hometown of Hue for an amazing night of food. She's a foodie herself so it was fun to chat, ask all sorts of questions about how central Vietnamese food differs from the rest of the country, and to learn about the history of the area at the same time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Trinh was a truly amazing guide, in all aspects, but particularly for this food tour.

Transport

The cyclo drivers were professional and pleasant.

Hoi An Local Market, Basket Boat, Fishing & Cooking Experience

Hoi An

This tour is interesting but felt a bit rushed and ultimately very touristy. The cooking experience was actually really well-done and interactive, but the rest of it was not our cup of tea in that it was very touristy. Chef Hai, our guide for the day works hard and was at his best in the kitchen, he made the experience better in every way.

Quality of Experience

Food

Cooking experience and Chef Hai were the highlight of this actvity/tour.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Chef Hai is working hard and made the cooking experience a lot of fun!

Transport

Hoi An Sightseeing and Food Tour

Hoi An

Hoi An is a cute town and seeing it in the morning was a very different (and pleasant) experience compared to the chaos of the evening. Our guide however seemed mostly disinterested and didn't volunteer much info, preferring to walk hastily from place to place and look at his phone while we were eating.

Quality of Experience

Food

The food, as always, was good, particularly the cau lo and banh mi.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide James seemed disinterested an distracted.

Transport

our guides in Saigon and siem Reep were better than the ones in Hanoi and Hoiann.

We had trouble understanding the first 2 guides, their English could be better. Jade was a little low energy, lacked dynamism and did not have much commentary for us.

Hotel Review

Angkor Miracle

The Angkor Miracle hotel was below our expectations for a five-star hotel. The rooms felt dated and lacked the luxury feel we were expecting. Despite the staff's efforts to make up for these issues, we would not recommend this hotel for future travelers.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hoa Lo Prison - Huu Tiep Lake - Vietnam Military History Museum - Ho Chi Minh Complex (S)

Hanoi

These activities were quite well organized and enjoyable. However, there was a bit of a language barrier as our guides had a strong accent which made it difficult to understand them. This made it challenging to fully engage and enjoy the activities.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Siem Reap – Angkor Wat morning visit (S)

Siem Reap

While the Angkor Wat morning visit was visually stunning, the day felt long and hectic. We felt that our guides could have offered more flexibility in the schedule to accommodate our needs and preferences.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hoa Lu - Tam Coc - Mua Cave

Vietnam