Jenny Booth

Our Icelandic guide for our glacier walk was very informative and helpful. That tour was operated by Blue Iceland.
Tomas with City Walk Reykjavík was outstanding.
We were fortunate to see the Northern Lights during a period of high activity! We recommend the Lava Show. There are so many amazing waterfalls, it’s hard to pick a favorite.
Take a dip in the Blue Lagoon.

This review is a little complicated because our original planner left of after the majority of the planning was completed. Jenny finished up and then we worked with another person (Michele?) who helped with some issues during actual travel.

I would say this:
1. Do your own homework. Most things worked out but some went frustratingly poorly. For one of our overnight stays, we were provided the wrong address of the apartment. It was only by luck that the owner of the "wrong place" was able to help us find the correct place. Otherwise, we would have been stuck without boarding for the night.

2. On another occasion, an excursion was canceled. No problem - it happens - but the KimKim team repeatedly told us it was a different outing that was canceled. It took longer than it should have to sort that out.

3. At the beginning of the planning, we asked for the most high-end stay in Reykjavik. We were booked into a hotel and, to be fair, did not check it out on our own. After we arrived in the city, it was very clear there were more upscale options available.

4. At one hotel, we stayed in a room - the ONLY ROOM! - that did not have a private bath. It was located in a common hallway. We specifically asked about this ahead of time (based on reviews) and was told it was "all good." It was not. We wrote to the KimKim team and the responder, Michele (Iceland Off Beat, maybe?), could not have been more rude in their reply. To be frank - even if theythought we were to blame (ridiculous), its just not ok to take such a hostile position.

Those issues aside - great trip and good planning. But folks need to do their homework to confirm every detail.

Activity Reviews

Arctic Fox Center

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

East Glacial River Whitewater Rafting

Iceland

A real highlight. So much fun!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Puffin watching tour at the Ingolfshofdi cape

Iceland

As advertised. It was a great experience and our driver/guide was awesome.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Katla Ice Cave Superjeep tour

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Silfra Snorkeling

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Skaftafell Glacier Hike

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Puffin watching boat tour from Grundarfjörður

Iceland

Trip was cancelled.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Inside the Volcano Tour

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Calm Water Kayaking

Iceland

Skipped it, due to terrible experience with the same company the day prior.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon Zodiac boat tour

Iceland

Actually, we skipped this. We visited the lagoon and walked around but decided - mainly based on time - to not do the zodiac tour. The glacier is really cool and worth seeing. I don't know how much more the zodiac tour would have added.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wildlife and Arctic Foxes tour in Hornstrandir

Iceland

This was undoubtedly the lowlight of the trip. To be clear – we did not see any foxes but that is not the reason for the poor review. It’s nature, and you get what you get. The main reason is that we were given extremely little time to see them. What was billed as a day looking for them turned out to be a very different experience. We were actively looking for them for perhaps 90 minutes or so, after a hike to old whale processing plant, lunch and then an early break for dinner. We had two guides. One, to be fair, tried to be engaging and helpful. The other, named Frosti, was completely disengaged, unhelpful and even expressed agitation towards the group when we asked questions about looking in different places, etc. He did not want to look for the foxes before low tide (even though he wasn’t sure when that was, saying just “sometime in the afternoon.”). He did not want to leave the beach area because “they come here to eat.” Yes, we suggested, but they are coming from SOMEWHERE, so can we walk about to different places? He just sat down and literally started picking flowers. All in all, I’d say two things: (1) be up front about the experience. It’s not a day looking for foxes. It’s not even half a day. It’s a small part of the day; and (2) the company needs to better train its guides. Again, the woman (Lara, I think) at least provided some information and engaged with the group, and led us on a hike before lunch. And even though we all would have preferred spending that time looking for foxes, Frosti could not have cared less about us or our experience. He just sat on the bench and said, in essence, do what you want but be back for lunch. I’m curious to see what other kinds of reviews show up elsewhere, because our group (about 10 of us overall) were all clearly annoyed by it all. Some specifically came to Iceland for this experience and were very disappointed.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jenny did a superb job of personalizing our trip — the logistics, the points of interest, the accommodations.

Iceland was amazing, and the bookings made it really smooth and hassle free for us as busy parents. The accommodations for our needs were excellent in great locations that with our unique needs (two parents, two children and an au pair) would have been very difficult to find on our own, and almost certainly would have resulted in less ideal locations than we had.

Activity Reviews

Glacier Super Jeep Tour

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Whale Watching Tour

Reykjavík

Quality of Experience

The trip was spectacular and would only have been better if the weather had cooperated. We did almost all the activities including the optional ones that Jenny included in our trip plan and had a lot of fun. The accommodations were very good and typically nicer than expected with clean rooms and friendly staff. We especially enjoyed the Glacier Hike and the Glacier Lagoon zodiac ride. Plan to take advantage of the many hot spring spas throughout Iceland. We really liked the GeoSea spa but also some of the smaller ones like the Secret Lagoon were also nice. Be prepared for driving in the Westfjords, the roads can sometimes be harrowing. If we changed anything about the trip it would be to trim some of the optional items as doing almost all of them we ended up driving over 2000 miles. In addition to the Iceland weather and road conditions sites I would highly recommend downloading the Parka.Is app to make paying parking fees easier. We hardly used any cash as virtually everywhere took our Visa with tap-n-go convenience. You MUST also have a debit or other card that has a PIN code for buying gasoline as most stations are automated and won’t take credit cards. The KimKim team was awesome and very responsive to changes we needed to make on the fly. Our trip advisor Jenny was incredible and put together an amazing Iceland experience for us that included all the things we were interested in.

Some tips we learned: be prepared for changeable weather and wind and have lots of layers that you can mix and match. We were there in late September and my typical apparel was long underwear, long sleeve T-shirt, medium to heavy weight hiking pants. long sleeve shirt, fiberfill shell jacket and a knit cap. If there was rain or high winds I’d add a rain shell and zip-on pants rain proof pants. Good waterproof hiking shoes, gloves and a scarf or neck warmer are important also.

Lastly, our rental car came with a plug in WiFi access point with an internal battery. It had unlimited data so we used it in the car, in our room at night ( often better than the hotel WiFi) and even walking around with it in a pocket. As long as it could connect to the cell service It allowed us full internet access, WiFi calling, texts, etc. without using our own cellular data. I highly recommend this add on. Cell service is pretty good even in relatively remote areas but wifi can be very spotty.

Activity Reviews

Glacier Hike

Iceland

Grab your crampons, harness, helmet and ice axe and go glacier stomping.!! Very fun and educational and a bit strenuous. A must do in Iceland!

Quality of Experience

Such a unique experience to actually walk on the glacier ice

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledge and helpfulness on the ice

Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon Zodiac boat tour

Iceland

The glaciers floating in the lagoon were spectacular! Especially some that had recently flipped to expose the deep blue ice that hadn’t been exposed to the air. Large stable zodiac with a great skipper took us right among the ice.

Quality of Experience

Seeing the ice bergs up close was great

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very friendly, helpful and safety conscious

Transport

GeoSea Geothermal Baths

Iceland

You haven’t had a real hot springs experience until you try salt water. It’s an incredible feeling on your skin. The walk up bar at the far pool was very convenient 😁

Quality of Experience

The organization was run by another member of our group, but we were cc’d on everything and the response was quick
Out tour guide for the Laugevegar, Emma, was fantastic. The only concern was the guide to client ration, 16:1. On the first day one of our group suffered from a near sun opal episode and could not continue- only Emma’s quick thinking and the luck of her knowing another guide avoided the need for our entire group to abort our trip- this is not ver safe and also does not represent the cost of the trip-which was not budget ( nor consistent-different people paid different prices-up to an $800 difference. It worked out, but not because of any system for safety built into the system. Also, trh amount of work born by a single guide cooking and cleaning for 16 people made Emma’s job more difficult and longer than was reasonable. A lot of participation in meal prep and cleaning was not consistent with the marketing for the guide service. I cannot express enough how commentary is not a reflection of the actual guide, Emma. She was outstanding: knowledgeable, positive, attentive, and a boundless source of energy. The ratio was not safe and made for a more rustic experience of cooking and cleaning for ourselves ( with alarmingly variable participation by other hikers, which is not a great situation) than was expected.
I just want to let KimKim know what went on with the tour, as they seem to outsource things and Kimkim seems very focused on outstanding service. The trip was great because there were some great folks and the country is beautiful. But that 16:1 experience makes me rethink any group trips in the future. This is my first guides group tour and I thought it would be easier/cheaper than a private guide or sled planning (both of which I have done fairly extensively). It ended up not being easier and honestly not much cheaper either
I gave the stars for KimKim. I wrote
The review for the trek. I do not need to see the written review in public-it was written strictly for informational reasons, not to publicly air grievances. Everything is a learning experience in life. I learned this type of tour is not in my sweet spot. Thank you

Jenny from Kimkim was amazing. From start to finish revert aspect of our trip was flawless. Jenny was patient and attentive and got us everything we wanted in this trip. Emma from Icelandic Mountain Guides was a true hero on our hiking trip along with Antoine and Eythor of Icebikes for our gravel biking adventure.
I can’t recommend these folks enough. Trust in them to provide you with a truly memorable and rewarding experience
Ernie Johnson.

I started working with Jenny from KimKim a year ago to plan a trip to Iceland to celebrate my 50th birthday with four of my dearest friends. Jenny took special care to include all the activities and sights we wanted to see and do during our 9 day trip. Her planning and communication was flawless. We were able to navigate our way through the itinerary and had the best experiences with all the activities planned. This trip lived up to all my dreams and expectations, we couldn't have done it without Jenny's suggestions and thoughtful planning, no detail was left out. Everyone in our group commented on how they would use KimKim's services for their future travel plans.
We especially loved our first guesthouse Stundarfriour in the Snaefellnes Peninsula. This charming little guesthouse was the perfect way to spend our first days in Iceland. The staff was friendly and gracious, we were even greeted by a beautiful dog that roamed freely throughout the property. We had some of the best meals here and would come back to stay in the future.
Our excursions with Jokulsarlon Glacier Kayaking Adventure and the Solheimajokull Glacier Hike were once in a lifetime experiences that will hold a special place in our memories of this trip. Plume from the glacier kayaking experience was cheerful and made us feel comfortable, some members of our group had never kayaked before. Emmy from the glacier hike was knowledgable and taught us so much about glaciers and spoke about climate change. Seeing how climate change affects the glaciers firsthand is an experience that our whole group will continue to share with others.
Thank you Jenny for such a memorable trip and all your thoughtful planning.
Warmly,
Ann Gilbert

Hotel Review

Stundarfriður

Stykkisholmur

This guesthouse is warm, charming and a great way to experience Icelandic hospitality. The food was amazing and the customer service was exceptional.

Authenticity & Character

Sweet and comfortable place to stay.

Location

The location is set in a remote area with beautiful views. It's quiet and cozy.

Staff

Everyone we came across was polite and caring.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Comfortable and clean space. The sweet embellishments on the duvet covers were so beautiful.

Activity Reviews

Jokulsarlon Glacier Kayaking Adventure

Iceland

One of the best experiences I've ever had. Kayaking amongst glaciers in this beautiful and peaceful space is an experience that I will never forget. Plume, my guide was professional, easy going, and very knowledgeable. He eased the nervousness of a few of my group members that had zero kayaking experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Solheimajokull Glacier Hike

Iceland

We loved the whole experience of exploring a glacier. Our guide Emmy made it especially wonderful with her knowledge of glaciers and climate change. She went above and beyond to answer questions and ensured everyone was safe.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Reykjavik Food Walk

Reykjavík

Bardi our guide was charming and sweet. We really enjoyed speaking with him and learned so much about Iceland's history and folklore. I would recommend this adventure to anyone that would like to speak with a local and learn about Iceland.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jenny was fantastic and did a great job of putting together our Iceland vacation. The trip itself went off without a hitch. It was easier than I could have dreamed to rent a car and get around in a country none of us had been in before. Our guest houses were so hospitable, it felt like we were saying goodbye to old friends when we checked out. The hotels were comfortable and safe. Our only tour guide was Bardi from Your Friend in Reykjavik. He was our guide on the walking food tour and he was so knowledgeable about the city, the food, and the history of Iceland in general it created a unique and unforgettable experience. We started out the tour with the Krauma geothermal baths and ended it with the Blue Lagoon private retreat experience and did so much hiking and adventuring in between, it truly was an unforgettable experience. When I return with my husband and son, I'll definitely go through KimKim again!

Jenny did an excellent job! I told her that I need to plan a trip to accommodate my husband, a professor of geology and my son, a thrill-seeking teenager. She totally did it!

Her itinerary was very logical, the accommodations at the guesthouses were lovely and the food was delicious.

Our trip began with a crisis, as our flight leaving out of Minnesota was cancelled due to the pilot being in a car accident on his way to the airport. I worked with Sigurour Jokusson to make sure that we didn't lose any of our reservations. He was very helpful and calming during this bit of crisis. I greatly appreciated him and his insights.