Habiba Mohamed

It was difficult to connect with my trip planner in Cairo. Only working through the KimKim website worked well. Phone calls were difficult to connect and difficult to understand. Not enough information is included in the .pdf provided with the itinerary. It is provided too late not giving us time to check on company names. There was no listed company providing the “Luxury Dinner Cruise of Dubai”. Our guide pulled a switch on us and we had an inferior experience. We did not recognize that we had been put on a different boat because we had no name for the company. By the time we realized what happened it was over. The trip planner said we should have reported it right away but if someone is speaking another language and it just “seems” wrong how could I report it. It was also after work hours. We missed out on what was probably a $100/person dinner with hotel transfer for a lousy pontoon boat with cold food and music loud enough for hearing damage. I feel cheated on that one.
Our tour of Abu Dhabi went well until our guide wanted to end the day before we saw two things we had tickets for: The Presidential Palace and the Etihad Tower. He said we didn’t have time. I texted our trip planner immediately and she made sure we got what we paid for. We got back to Dubai at 8:30 pm. The guide substituted a tour of Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental Abu Dhabi instead thinking I wouldn’t notice one palace for another. A hotel is a hotel not a palace.
The hotel upon check in had our name wrong from the agent. We got twin beds instead of a King as they were fully booked and only assigned on check in. Our agent never said this. We assumed we would get what we paid for. The hotel said the room prices were the same. If it’s the policy of the hotel to assign rooms on check in I should have been told ahead of time. On the whole I felt we overpaid for the experience

Hotel Review

DoubleTree by Hilton Dubai Al Jadaf

Dubai

Type of bed only assigned on check in. If you want a King bed for certain pick another place. Otherwise the hotel was nice.

Authenticity & Character

Modern

Location

Staff

No complaints

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very good

Activity Reviews

Dubai Heritage Land Rover Desert Safari with Traditional Dinner

Dubai

The experience was great and lots of fun. A good view of desert culture. I did not like that my only water source was a gift thermos. They were filled from a big wrapped container. I made a mistake in drinking from it or eating food from the Luxury cruise. One or the other made me ill.

Quality of Experience

The atmosphere of the desert

Food

Better water please

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dubai full day tour with Entry ticket to Burj Khalifa at the Top

Dubai

Please be aware that the line to get into the tour was 1 hour 45 minutes long with no where to sit. I’ve been told it can be longer. The view took all of 15 minutes long to see then a 20 min. Line to go back down. It was interesting but not essential.

Quality of Experience

Offer the premium entry

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Driver's English not great. Looked up facts to tell us while driving

Transport

Dubai Luxury Canal Dinner Cruise

Dubai

This was a disaster. We think our guide did a switch on us changing our ticket for a lesser boat. ( or not buying it at all). We were on a two deck pontoon boat with plastic garden chairs, warm water and inferior food that did not even keep up with the local women and kids who attacked it like the last meal. The music was deafening and I had to cover my ears waiting for the food line. The entertainment was a Disney style LED lighted Sufi dancer that shames the religion. The GI issues I got in Dubai probably came from this lukewarm food buffer. We didn’t realize we were being taken to the wrong boat. The guide lied multiple times. He gave it away at the end contradicting himself. We felt cheated of this experience. The company name was not on the .pdf given to us nor a photo of the boat we should have been on. It’s like going to a party with no address

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guides who take you where you are supposed to go

Transport

Abu Dhabi Full-Day Sightseeing Tour from Dubai

Dubai

This was amazing because we fought to see the Presidential Palace that we paid for. Our guide substituted the Emirates Palace and was going to skip the Etihad Tower. This time I was more careful about our itinerary and contacted my trip planner. She had the guide take us to the two sites we had paid for. We got back to Dubai late but we were glad not to miss the real Presidential Palace which was spectacular. The Etihad Tower had no line. This was a better experience than in Dubai

Quality of Experience

Food

Only a mall fast food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Fine until he tried to bring us back to the hotel without completing the itinerary we paid for.

Transport

Timing of events was not ideal even though we gave our information ahead of time. We had to pay for additional items that were supposed to be included. Tour guides were great and reliable.

I have planned several trips through kimkim and this by far was the worst. the communication was poor. here are some examples
1. we never got an updated itinerary with exact times
2. we did not received contact info about the driver or tour guides
3. the tour described by the agent were not the same as what was provided
4. we were supposed to go directly to the dessert from the airport. instead we were taken to the hotel through dense traffic and one hour late for our tour
5. our trip to burj khalifa was booked during a scheduled dinner
6. we ended up paying for several things which were supposed to be provided: burj khalifa and monorail tickets

based on this experience, we are not sure if we willl use kimkim again

Hotel Review

JW Marriott Marquis

Dubai

love the hotel

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Red dune Desert safari without dinner & with camel ride

Dubai

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dubai full day tour with Entry ticket to Burj Khalifa at the Top

Dubai

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My family’s experience with Dubai left us with some good memories but not a place we would revisit. It started off with me telling our Kim Kim agent, Habiba, the wrong arrival date. This lead to her scrambling to rebook everything which is credit to her and my fault.
The booked events left something to be desired with a combination of tourist traps that were often backed by cold service.
Mr Zain gave us the city tour our first day and it felt very canned with short stops to pop out and snap a picture, then move on to the next spot. It didn't factor our personal interests and showed poor use of time. We got swindled by a vendor he personally took us to which was a head scratcher.
The safari experience epitomized tourist traps with a super lame quad ride on the dunes which we upgraded to side by sides at a significant expense. We had to follow a guide around who drove a quad on a path through the dunes making us feel like….tourists. The SUV trip our driver/guide took us on the reach the dinner spot was the highlight showing some very skilled and daring driving giving us a thrill. At the dinner location was a camel ride that amounted to one circle about 50’ in diameter. Every step along the way this evening provided opportunities to pay for pictures that were constantly being snapped throughout the desert safari embodying the tourist trap vibe.
We got to see the Burj Khalifa on another event which was worthy.
Durgesh (worked directly for Navita tours like Mr Zain) drove us to several events displaying a great personality and genuine interest in us having a quality experience. He personalized some unscheduled detours once he knew our interests.
My summary: Dubai has some pretty amazing food, especially Indian, a super conservative culture (good luck getting alcohol at a store on New Years Eve), and lots of mind boggling wealth. It felt like a combo of Vegas, Scottsdale, and Salt Lake City with a super conservative and mostly cold Middle East-Arabian/Muslim twist.

Activity Reviews

Dubai Marina Yacht Guided Tour with Breakfast or BBQ & Sunset

Dubai

Nice Indian guys who drove us around the protected inside water offering a great unique very of the city. The captain shared his personal beer when they saw my disappointment there was no alcohol served.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dubai full day tour with Entry ticket to Burj Khalifa at the Top

Dubai

We separated the Burj experience on a different day than the city tour. Burj great, city tour not so much.

Quality of Experience

Our driver on the city tour (Mr Zain) was cold and condescending.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Great driver to Burj, lousy city tour guide.

Transport

Two different drivers leaving contrasting experiences.

Desert Safari, Quad Bike, Camel Ride & Al Khayma Camp

Dubai

Tourist trap.

I had a great experience working with Habiba! They were very responsive and always willing to be flexible when it came to adjusting plans, which I really appreciated. It made the entire process much easier and less stressful. However, there were a few moments where the itinerary seemed to lack some details, and I had to reach out for clarification. Despite that, the agent was quick to respond and provide the information I needed. Overall, I would still recommend their services for their responsiveness and adaptability.

Activity Reviews

Trip Hot Air Balloon Ride in Luxor, Egypt

Luxor

The hot air balloon ride over Luxor was absolutely breathtaking and magical - the stunning views of the Nile River, ancient temples, and the Valley of the Kings below were simply unforgettable. Watching the sun rise over such a historic and beautiful landscape was an experience like no other. I highly recommend this experience to anyone visiting Luxor – it’s truly a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that will leave you with memories to treasure forever.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bedouin Safari and Star Gazing Tour

Sharm el-Sheikh

The Bedouin safari did not meet expectations. It wasn’t quite as advertised, and several aspects of the tour were lacking. The majority of the tour was an ATV ride, so if you choose to do this, be sure to bring a scarf or wear something you don’t mind getting dusty. The camel ride was only about 5 minutes long, just a quick trip towards the mountain and back, and the person taking photos for you will ask for a tip even though the pictures weren’t particularly great. The stargazing was pretty interesting, the astronomer discussed a few of the constellations and pointed out a few planets that we then used the telescope to look at - Saturn was the best. The dinner was as expected, but the show felt more like a random collection of acts. After the dinner and the show, you then drive the ATV back to where you started. Most importantly, it definitely didn't offer that romantic "under the stars, tent" Arabian night feeling we were hoping for. While you can still appreciate the experience for what it is, it didn’t quite live up to the magical atmosphere we envisioned. Overall, I would suggest managing expectations for the Bedouin safari.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had an amazing trip to Cairo, Luxor and Alexandria. The tour guides were very knowledgeable and Mariam the Cairo guide was very caring and generous. We just loved her. I recommend this tour and specially working with Habiba and the people who made this trip a fantastic journey.

Hotel Reviews

Steigenberger Pyramids Cairo

Cairo

Loved everything about this hotel. Very clean and spacious roooms. The breakfast amazing and the people from the hotel as well.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Because it is near the most important pyramides and the great Egyptian Museum.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Iberotel Luxor Jaz Hotel

Luxor

The rooms were not very clean. The hall ways smell is not pleasant as well. The hotel in general is extremely old but the location and view is great. They really need to change their carpets and remodel everything. The people from the hotel are very nice and polite.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

They are very nice and helpful but could improve.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The rooms were not properly clean plus this is a very old hotel. The location is great and the view.

Activity Reviews

Pyramids and Cairo Sightseeing

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Food

The quality of the food could be better.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Tour to Alexandria from Cairo by Car

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Food

The quality of the food is not good.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour to National Museum, Islamic Cairo and Khan El-Khalili

Cairo

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sound and Light Show at the Pyramids

Cairo

I do not recommend this experience. It is very outdated the sound and there is nothing appealing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Check out to Luxor West Bank

Luxor

Quality of Experience

Food

This was the best food but nothing out of this world.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour to The East Bank of the Nile

Luxor

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Felucca Ride on the Nile in Luxor

Luxor

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The country of so many world records was very interesting! We had a blast doing the X Line Zipline (which we added to our itinerary a couple of days before we arrived)! Definitely recommend for those on the more adventurous side!

We would also recommend going up to the top of the Burj Khalifa! Great views from that high!

We also really enjoyed the desert safari and paid extra for a more adventurous ride on the quad bikes which was worth the experience! Our guide for the evening was great! And the desert dinner and entertainment was enjoyable.

While the canal luxury cruise offered us awesome views of Dubai and great photos, we thought the food was just average, and was expecting a little better quality.
Our hotel, the Revier Dubai Hotel, was great! Very nice room and amenities. Loved to fitness center and the breakfast buffet was awesome! Wide variety and very good!

For things we felt needed improvement, real time communication had been a little difficult. Responses to questions or communication regarding pickup times came in when we were sleeping and because of that, we didn’t receive the change of plans/timing until the morning which threw us off a bit. Also, confirmation on adding additional itinerary items (example: adding the zip line) was a little slow. And, there seemed to be issues between the drivers and the tour office on pickup times, etc. We also arrived way too early in the evening for the dinner cruise, and had to just walk around in the heat which we did not enjoy. I would have preferred to be dropped off closer to our departure time. Finally, while a lot of things were air-conditioned, if we had had flexibility in our travel dates, I would have not wanted to visit in the middle of August when the temperatures were extremely high and made our trip more exhausting. I would definitely recommend visiting when it’s cooler! Unfortunately for this trip we didn’t have that flexibility.

All in all, our experiences in Dubai made it a memorable trip!

Hotel Review

Revier Dubai Hotel

Dubai

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Dubai full day tour with Entry ticket to Burj Khalifa at the Top

Dubai

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Zip Line across the Marina

Dubai

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Desert Safari, Quad Bike, Camel Ride & Al Khayma Camp

Dubai

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Food Tour

Dubai

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dubai Luxury Canal Dinner Cruise

Dubai

Awesome views of the city at night. Relaxing. Food could have been better.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Very easy planning and booking process on kimkim... Everything happens through messaging which provides history but also an opportunity to respond whenever we have time. Planning recap and comments are useful features in the planning stages. I will use this service again!