Giulia Bonati

Starting on April 30th Giulia of Liberty Travel of Liberty Travel in Padua was wonderful adjusting our travel wishes repeatedly as she helped us customize our Italian vacation. It was all set during the first week of August. Then after August 9, when we had paid the balance of our trip, the first problem started.

Problem #1- Internet Glitch: KimKim trip chat notifications stopped. The trip chat messages from Giulia appeared to us to simply stop. We assumed that meant there were no issues to discuss. In fact KimKim just suddenly and unexpectedly stopped sending us her many trip chat comments. Up to then we had always answered her within a day. We don’t knowwhy she didn’t think there might have been a notification problem.

Problem #2- A scheduled tour 'DaVinci' was canceled by the tour operator.. Unbeknownst to us Giulia asked via the non-functional notification system for a replacement tour. Getting no response she signed us up for a tour we had previously told her we did not want. I became suspicious at the apparent silence from Giulia and logged into kimkim chat and discovered the lack of notifications (from then on I logged in daily to the kimkim trip chat because I did not trust the performance).
When we reminded her that we did not want the Chianti tour she promised a refund which was done.

Problem #3- Our driver for our Siena/San Gimignano tour failed to arrive. The tour operator told us over the phone that she had no replacement drivers available to us. It was agreed with the Liberty Travel agent that we would receive a refund for the failed all-day tour. We made alternate plans. An hour later around 10AM a woman called and identified herself as the manager of Liberty Travel saying she had a driver who would be available in maybe an hour or hour and a half... to begin the ‘all-day” tour. We didn't believe her over the tour operator we just talked with and we wondered how she could still call it an all-day tour when it would not depart for Siena until 11-11:30 AM (instead of 8:30 AM). We had to hang up on her because she would not stop repeating the unaccepted offer and in the end tried to say we were choosing not to take the tour and implied at first we would not qualify for a refund.

While we received refunds for the two cancelled tours and enjoyed the tours that weren’t canceled we will not use KimKim or recommend it to other travelers. Between the KimKim communication issues before the trip and the tendency of the Liberty Travel agents to be defensive we would rather use a service that supplies small-group tours with a dedicated, onboard travel guide, e.g., Road Scholar, where problems are more quickly seen, anticipated and resolved.

We had a great time in Italy and would not have been able to navigate the transportation without the help of KimKim. Our trip consisted of Naples, Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast, Positano, and Capri. KimKim took care of booking taxis, accommodations, and ferries. This was a much lower-stress way to travel and we were able to see and do more thanks to their help! Late September was the perfect time to go to Southern Italy and we had beautiful weather! The hotels were even better than expected. Unfortunately, our travel specialist was not available during our trip and we ran into a couple hiccups with the ferry tickets, but we we able to sort it out. We will definitely be using Kimkim for future travel planning and appreciate their assistance with a wonderful vacation, thank you!

Evening bicycle tour of Rome was incredible. The trip was very well planned and organized. The drivers that were scheduled were always courteous and and on time. Giulia is extremely knowledgeable and responsive.

Our hotel accommodations were good for the most part. We loved the hotel in Rome and the villa in Tuscany was more than acceptable. The Cinque Terre hotel location was excellent, especially the view we had from our room. I would have enjoyed a 4 star facility but believe one was not avalable.

Overall, Giulia and Kimkim did an outstanding job. We will not only use them again but will recommend them to friends.

Activity Reviews

Guided Visit to the Colosseum & Roman Forum

Rome

Heavy rain hindered our tour but that wasn't the fault of the guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vatican & Sistine Chapel Tour

Rome

Very crowded and the "front of the line pass" didn't appear to do much good. Sistine Chapple was so crowded you could hardly move.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rome: E-Bike Evening Tour with Italian Dinner

Rome

The view of Rome in the evening provides a different perspective of the historic sites. It was absolutely beautiful and our guide was not only knowledgeable, but extremely friendly and courteous.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our much anticipated trip to Italy lived up to our expectations! Giulia, our travel expert, handled our requests and worked with us throughout the planning process to provide a finished product that was wonderful. This was our first trip abroad and we relied upon her to provide all recommendations for guides, tours, accommodations and transportation throughout Italy. We could not have done this on our own! Each driver was prompt, each tour guide was excellent! Our hotel in Rome was beautiful and top notch, walking distance to the sights in Ancient Rome and local dining spots. Beautifuly renovated, it provided a wonderful breakfast and rooftop bar with an amazing view of Ancient Rome. The location in Chianti was beautiful! While the hotel was not the most modern it provided what we were looking for in a traditional rustic Tuscan inn with a wonderful breakfast and comfortable accommodations surrounded by the beauty of Tuscany. It was nestled in wine country within driving distance to several Hill Towns for us to explore. We enjoyed returning each day to relax on our terrace to reflect on the day. While we loved the convenience of our hotel in Cinque Terre, it was our least comfotable due to the sparseness of the space and small bathroom/shower. This was most likely due to booking too late to secure the original hotel. However, the staff was friendly and the location and direct view overlooking the Ligurian Sea was amazing!

Hotel Reviews

H10 Palazzo Galla

Rome

Excellent! We loved the convenience of the location within walking distance to the sights of Ancient Rome and the availability of so many choices for dining. Beautiful rooms, rooftop bar and wonderful breakfast!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Borgo San Luigi

Monteriggioni

Beautiful setting and grounds. Amazing breakfast. Staff was very friendly and accommodating. The rooms were comfortable and clean however showing their age. The good far outweighed the bad in this case. We enjoyed returning from our daily exploration to relax on our terrace to take in the beautiful surroundings.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bathroom was very traditional which Very clean but not as modern in bathroom fixtures. Still, it met our needs.

Hotel La Spiaggia

Monterosso al Mare

Location, location, location! The room was very sparse, bed not as comfortable, bathroom and shower very tight but we enjoyed the balcony overlooking the sea. Amazing views! Breakfast was very good as well!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean, bed not comfortable and sparsely furnished.

Activity Reviews

Rome: E-Bike Evening Tour with Italian Dinner

Rome

Excellent! The highlight of our time in Rome. Wish we had scheduled this for our first day.

Quality of Experience

Food

Very lovely spot and food was adequate

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was fabulous. Made sure that we received the time we needed at each stop and was attentive to our comfort and safety!

Transport

We walked to the location and our guide called a cab for us at the end since it was later in the evening.

Guided Visit to the Colosseum & Roman Forum

Rome

The downsides were the weather, Rained most of the day and the crowds. Can't control either of these.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Vatican & Sistine Chapel Tour

Rome

Our guide was wonderful but the crowds were huge. Sistine Chapel was wall to wall people and could not really be enjoyed.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bye Bye, Italy!

Italy

Fabulous experience!

Guilia from KimKim did an excellent job arranging our trip plan to suit our likes and all the travel details went without a hitch...would highly recommend using this service. Rome, Tuscany, Cinque Terre in 12 days was just right.

Everything was truly perfect! Giulia put together a great 15 day trip for us and we truly did not have 1 issue the entire trip. From private transfers on all arrivals, tickets, hotels, etc, etc.....this was a trip of a lifetime for our family. Highly recommend Giulia and the kimkim team for your next or first trip to Italy. I can't believe it is over though! Time to plan a return trip?

Thank you Giulia for all you've done to make this a trip of a lifetime. Florence was magical, and we enjoyed the Sorrento area, especially the nature aspects.

The excursions were great, and the fact that you arranged all the travel logistics throughout the trip removed the stress of traveling! Also, it was very helpful to have a contact in Italy.

I've already told a number of friends about Kimkim, and will continue to!

Giulia was very responsive but I was not very happy with my trip.

- shuttles only run once an hour to/from the hotel, the shuttles stopped running at 23:30 so we had to pay 50+ euros if we wanted to enjoy a full night out. One morning our travel agency booked excursion was booked at an early morning time and the shuttles were not running yet so we had to pay for transportation
- the hotel itself catered to an much older crowd (average age was about 70 years old) this wasn’t ideal for two women in their 30s and I really wish there was more thought put into that since we relied on the travel agency to have a better idea of the ideal place based on what I shared with the company (this was the biggest point of frustration for us)
- the path of the gods were very far and I wish we knew how difficult and costly it would be just to get to the start of the path. It was mentioned that this would be a “half day” excursion but getting there and back plus the hike would have been 8+ hours.
- the boat excursion to Capri only shared a limited amount of alcohol. I could understand wanting to ensure no one was drunk or unsafe while swimming but there shouldn’t have been any limitations on the way back to Sorrento. If there is a set amount of drinks allowed per person with the excursion then that should be laid out beforehand.

From start to finish, working with the KimKim team was easy and personalized. Giulia was so incredibly informative, responsive, and helpful every step of the way. Once we were actually on the trip, Marta and Valentina were available 24/7 via WhatsApp and helped us with a couple of small issues that arose. Both were due to things that arose on our end and nothing to do with any problems with the travel plan. They helped us make some adjustments and correct some mistakes we made allowing us to enjoy our trip stress free. Every hotel Giulia booked for us was absolutely perfect. We wanted boutique style accommodations and each hotel was unique and intimate. The hotels were each staffed with attentive, friendly, and helpful people as well as being immaculate in their cleanliness. The private drivers were absolutely indulgent, allowing us to travel the new country from the back seat of a luxury car with zero concern. Each one was timely, professional, and hospitable. The tours Giulia selected for us were exactly what we wanted and skipping the lines at incredibly busy places helped us make the most of our time. The train tickets and other travel arrangements were perfectly plotted and explained in our paperwork making our transitions from one destination to the next exceptionally smooth. This was a first class experience. I have only one tiny wish and that is for an itemized invoice when booking. Even so, I would recommend KimKim to anyone asking for a luxurious and pampering travel experience!