Elisa Sciabica

This was our 2nd time using kimkim; it's unlikely there will be a 3rd time.

We made clear when we planned this trip we wanted 4 rooms in Florence and 3 rooms in Rome (we were a group of 6 for 6 nights, and 5 for 3 nights). Kimkim only booked us 3 rooms in Florence, and we had to pay extra, at the last minute, for a fourth room which we were only able to secure for 2 of 4 nights in Florence. In Rome, we learned just before departing for Italy that kimkim had booked us only one room; thus, at the last minute, we had to pay way too much just to get a 2nd tiny room that three grown women had to share. This was a major error by kimkim.

In each Italian location, we had to pay an additional amount for "city taxes" about which kimkim never told us; they absolutely should have told us about this ahead of time.

Kimkim booked us on several tours. Some were very good, but too many of the booked tours were unsatisfactory because the guide was poor, the tour itself was just bad, or the audio quality was quite poor. There were instances where kimkim didn't provide detail where to go for the tour, told us incorrect start times, or provided incorrect travel times to get to the tour.

Given the money we paid, we didn't expect to take any tours with other people, but in two instances we were provided poor quality tours with at least 15 additional people. A tour of the Vatican was promoted as a 3 hour tour, but was only 2 hours, and we felt VERY rushed. Moreover, the guide failed to take us to St. Peter's Basilica, which we believe should be the highlight of any Vatican tour.

The driver Kimkim scheduled to take us to the Rome airport at 6:30 am failed to show up, causing us to scramble and squeeze into a tiny taxi. Multiple times during the trip, including when we attempted to figure out why the driver didn't show up, kimkim failed to answer its own after-hours "emergency line", which was absolutely inexcusable.

Bottom line ... for the substantial amount we paid, we expected a dramatically better experience.

We used KimKim for a trip to Croatia two years ago and had a wonderful experience. To the extent we had any issues, our Croatian kimkim travel agent gave us her phone number so that if/when we had issues, we had instant contact with her. Kimkim Italy did not provide us with similar information causing us much stress when we had issues.

Kimkim should be highly embarrassed about our experience. To make up for its errors, kimkim ultimately gave us about a 3% refund of the amount we paid ... ridiculously inadequate.

Truly the trip of a lifetime! Elisa was incredible. She listened to what we wanted, took care to plan every detail and was super responsive with any questions both before and during our trip.

Planning for 11 people across 3 families is a challenge, but Elisa and the KimKim team made it look easy!

Activity Reviews

Rialto Market & Cicchetti Food Tour

Venice

The food was spectacular and our guide Frederico was amazing! He had great stories, knew so much about the area and treated us to some of the most amazing dishes.

Quality of Experience

Milano Aperitivo Street Food Tour

Milan

Our tour guide genuinely went above and beyond!

Quality of Experience

Very well organized. Hotels were all located close to places we wanted to visit. Drivers were prompt and punctual. All of this added up to a fun and stress free trip. Definitely planning to use Kim Kim again in the near future

From the start of planning this trip, Elisa was always pleasant, punctual in her response, attune to the things we wanted to do while in Italy and made the trip with the transport to the various places we visited very easy. While we were in Italy when I had a question, she was always prompt in her responses and gave me assurances about aspects of the trip when needed.
We visited Milan, Lake Como, the QC Terme Spa which is a must when visiting Milan, Naples, Pompeii, Capri, Amalfi, Positano and Rome. Our local guide, Anna Maria, was wonderful in showing us the main areas of Milan and its history. We missed the Verona day trip as it was the first full day of our trip and we were quite jet lagged. It would've been better to have a free morning on that day and visit the QC Terme Spa that afternoon and visit Verona on the second full day. So switching those two days around would have been a better option. I loved Lake Como and would love to one day go back and perhaps stay overnight 1 or 2 nights to explore the lake and perhaps take a boat to Switzerland for the day. The local guide, Tatianna, was excellent in explaining the history of the town of Como. We were 4 nights in Milan and that seemed like the right amount of time.
We next traveled to Naples by train. It made everything so much easier to have the transport to the train station and the train tickets arranged ahead of time. We were 3 nights in Naples - a very different city than Milan - but nice in its own way. We especially enjoyed our pizza making class. Our driver, Francesco, was excellent. A pizza making class in Naples is a must. We took a day trip to Capri - another must do if visiting Italy. While there, be sure to take a boat ride to the Blue Grotto - so beautiful! And either walk up the steps or take the funicular up the higher level to see the beautiful views.
From Naples, we went to Amalfi, by private driver, again Francesco! We stopped on the way at Pompeii, where our local guide, Ivan, gave us an in depth tour of the ruins of Pompeii - an amazing place to see - and massive! The drive from Pompeii to Amalfi took a little longer than usual due to the overcast and rainy day. There were points in the ride where there was so much fog you could not see the car in front. Francesco was a careful and skillful driver and got us there safely.
We were 3 nights in Amalfi, but I think 2 nights would have been enough. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Elisa had arranged for a tour and lunch of Le Vigne di Raito, a small winery owned by two sisters. Alfonso gave us a tour of the winery and a short tour of the vineyard since the weather was not cooperating. Then we went us to the sisters' home where they had the veranda set for a lovely, delicious lunch as we sampled some of their delicious wine. So glad Elisa suggested this as part of the itinerary. It was a wonderful day! On the drive back, my driver, Ciro, made a stop at his family's cafe for the most delicious, he said the best, lemon cake. He was right - the best I've had so far! The next day, we took a day trip to Positano - beautiful, but, for us, a full day was too long a time to be there, so we booked an earlier ferry back to Amalfi.
Since our flight was from Rome in the early afternoon, we stayed one night in Rome - so we only had an afternoon in Rome. For me that was fine since I'd been there before. My son would have liked more time there. If I had thought about it a little and done a little bit of research, I would have stayed 2 nights in Amalfi and 2 or 3 nights in Rome.
The hotels we stayed at were nice.
In Milan - the Antica Locanda Leonardo - was an older hotel with a lot of charm. I especially liked that we had a small balcony that overlooked a lush courtyard where you could hear the birds chirping. It was centrally located, and I would recommend this hotel.
The hotel in Naples - Hotel Piazza Bellini - was a very nice, up-to-date, funky hotel - very comfortable rooms. We would've like to have a room with a nice view or even a balcony. We had a window that overlooked an alley and the back of other buildings. The hotel was very centrally located and the courtyard was very nice, so I would recommend it, but ask for a room with a balcony or view of the courtyard.
The hotel in Amalfi - Hotel Floridiana - had by far the largest room and largest bathroom. It had a very small balcony that overlooked the street and shops below. It was in the middle of the town and a short, 3-minute walk, to the water. Perfect location.
The hotel in Rome - Hotel Raffaello - was in a quiet part of Rome, outside the center of the city, but close to the train station - a 10-minute walk - which was ideal. The people there were very nice as was the breakfast there, as it was in all the other hotels at which we stayed. But - the hotel was under renovation - this was not ideal. The shower door in the bathroom did not seal properly so water would leak on the floor. I would've opted for a different hotel, but it was only one night, so it wasn't really a big deal.
It was a wonderful, easy trip, and I owe that to Kimkim.com and to Elisa for helping me plan it. I recommend Elisa and Kimkim.com and would use them for future trips overseas.

Hotel Reviews

Antica Locanda Leonardo

Milan

Loved this hotel! We had a room with a view of the lush, relaxing courtyard. Everyone was so friendly and the breakfast was amazing!

Authenticity & Character

lots of charm

Location

Centrally located

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Piazza Bellini & Apartments

Naples

Modern, funky hotel. Very unique. Courtyard was very relaxing. Breakfast was great. Ask for a room with a view or a balcony.

Authenticity & Character

Very unique and modern with interesting decorations - different on each floor.

Location

Centrally located

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Floridiana

Amalfi

Centrally located. Large room. Updated bathroom. Had a room with small balcony which was a plus. Breakfast was wonderful!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Raffaello Hotel Rome

Roma

Hotel was under renovation, but staff was very nice. Room was comfortable. Breakfast was excellent. Rooftop bar/lounge was very nice after an afternoon walking around.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Outside the busyness of Rome. Nice, quiet location.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Guided-walking tour

Milan

Anna Maria was excellent! She showed us all the highlights of Milan and shared some history of the Duomo. I highly recommend a tour by a local guide when visiting new cities.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

All the drivers and guides in Milan were excellent.

Transport

Como day trip and guided tour

Milan

Loved this trip. Very interesting history of Como that Tatianna shared. She was excellent.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Getting there by train was so easy. Tatianna met us right at the train station.

Pizza Cooking Class

Naples

This is a must do if traveling to Naples. So much fun learning about the history of pizza and that it originated in Naples.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Francesco was a great driver. Very personable and made sure we knew exactly where to go when we got there and picked us up on time.

Transport

Guided Tour of Pompeii

Italy

Amazing tour - amazing place.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our Guide, Ivan, was excellent - very knowledgeable and offered a lot of history of Pompeii. Our driver, Francesco, was excellent. Glad he was our driver again.

Transport

Wine Tasting and Lunch in Amalfi Coast

Italy

This was one of my favorite experiences. Learned a lot about the process of making wine.

Quality of Experience

The owners of the winery made such a delicious lunch to go with the different wines we tasted. The table settings and setting in general was elegant and beautiful!

Food

Delicioso!!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide, Alfonso, was excellent. It was an informative and fun experience.

Transport

Our driver, Ciro, was excellent and told me a little bit about the area.

We just came back from a 9 day trip to Italy and we had an amazing time. Elisa was the perfect trip planner and was an absolute pleasure to work with before the trip and when we were in Italy. She arranged for amazing tours while we were in Florence and Rome. We also took day trips to Tuscany and Tivoli which were fabulous suggestions. We had personal tour guides all throughout the trip which made the difference. We could see things at our own pace and got to ask a lot of questions to get a deeper sense of the history. As true of any trip, we had snafu with a tour, but Elisa was available to help us immediately. She emailed us on a Saturday night to make sure that everything was worked out. She went above and beyond to make sure that our trip was a fantastic one and we are so appreciative to Elisa for everything. We can't wait to plan another trip to Europe soon, and will definitely use Kim Kim again.