Melanie Rapuano

We've settled in after our return home and wanted to thank our specialist Melanie and the team for all the work you did to make our family trip a memorable experience!

In case it's helpful to you for future trip planning, here are some notes:

We thought the Condominio Monti was in a good location and it was pretty cool to see the Colosseo right down the street. The breakfasts were a good value and the breakfast location on the rooftop terrace was especially nice with good staff.

Our golf cart tour and guide Lorenzo was terrific, thank you for searching for a golf cart tour that would allow a 6 year old. We felt safe and Lorenzo was very knowledgeable and even recommended restaurants nearby that we visited and enjoyed.

The walking street food tour was also a good experience and we're glad you recommended transportation back to the hotel-- between our son and his grandma, it would have been too much walking, We liked the places we went to and went back to one on our own.

The Vatican tour guide was informative and friendly. It was definitely crowded and louder in the Sistine Chapel than we remembered. Also, the prices to the Dome have changed, it's now 10 Euros for stairs only and 15 for elevator.

The pizza and gelato class was a favorite of everyone in our group. They were already prepared for our son's egg allergy and even though our group was messy the staff handled it with no problem.

Our transportation to/around Sorrento and back was ok, the driver was great but we would have appreciated a van where we could have all faced forward.

We liked our small hotel, La Casa dell'Orologio and would recommend it. It only has 6 rooms but they were well appointed and in a great location. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if breakfast was included but there were several options along Piazza Tasso.

The mozzarella experience was lovely and it was fun for all ages in our group. We were glad it was part of our itinerary. It was amazing that it had been in the same family for 6 generations.

We enjoyed the Ercolano tour and our guide Sasha was knowledgeable and personable. The scale of the site was better suited to our son and his grandma, too. There were portions open that my husband and I don't recall being available when we were there in 2017 so that was a nice experience for us as well.

Everyone enjoyed the Amalfi Coast, our group liked Positano the most. We found Amalfi crowded though beautiful. Ravello felt different than the other two and we toured Villa Rufolo. On the way back our driver stopped at Ceramiche Casola and I bought 2 platters personalized with our names, which felt like a special way to remember our trip, plus I spent enough that they will ship it to us.

On the way from Sorrento back to Rome we had to walk maybe 3 blocks with our luggage to bus parking since the driver was not allowed to load in Piazza Tasso, maybe because it was Monday morning. That was a bit of a haul on cobblestone sidewalks that we weren't anticipating.

We think the guides for our Colosseo tour might have been the best guides of our trip. They did a phenomenal job of incorporating history, archeology, and architecture in an interesting way. Plus King Charles and Queen Camilla were there that day and they did a great job of being flexible with the various security closures. There was a slight hiccup when we got to the meeting point outside the Colosseo, we didn't see anyone from City Walkers until about 9am and were getting nervous, but that was the only snag.

Overall we had a wonderful time. Thank you again for putting our itinerary together with your expertise and also as a mom, your perspective was quite helpful.

We had a wonderful time on our trip to Italy. Melanie did a great job planning a “Comfortable Trip” for my mom. My mom can walk but not long distances so we needed an electric wheelchair for this trip. Melanie was able to find one for us to rent and had it waiting for us at the hotel. After talking w/ friends from the USA and reading reviews online, I was led to believe that Italy was not a wheelchair friendly place and we were going to have difficulty using it. Fortunately that was not the case. Yes, there were some narrow streets and steep hills but we were able to work around the obstacles and my mom did not have to miss out on any of our Italy experiences. Very happy that Melanie listened to our requests and planned the trip accordingly. She was also very accessible on what’s app during the trip and checked in with us regularly. Highly recommend her company. The only negative was that I had to postpone the trip a year and the price ended up increasing by about $1k a person. Not sure if that was because of inflation or because there was originally going to be 5 of us and it only ended up being 4.

Activity Reviews

Chianti Wine & Olive Oil Tour and Village of Siena

Italy

Food and wine were great - the gnocchi was AMAZING! Family was very friendly. The only negative is that if u place an order it takes about 30 days to receive it which is fine because they tell you that upfront. However, I live in Atlanta and was having the wine shipped to San Diego for a party that I am attending Nov 9. The some said that he would ship the Monday after our tour. Unfortunately, totally dropped the ball on this and as of Nov 4th the order still hasn’t shipped. Had I know. That they weren’t going to follow through, then I would have just had it sent to Atlanta. I spent a lot of money on wine, olive oil, and vinegar that I won’t be able to enjoy.

Quality of Experience

Wish a tour of the vineyard was part of the experience. Maybe it wasn’t because the grapes had already been picked for the season??

Food

Gnocchi and tomato’s were so yummy!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Rey friendly but son didn’t follow through on shipping my order in a timely manner

Transport

The driver was very friendly

Pizza Cooking Class in Sorrento

Sorrento

So much fun. The chef was so funny. We really had a great time and the pizza was yummy. We met another group from the US on this experience. When we left, someone from the group forgot something at the restaurant and the chef chased us down on his motorcycle to return it to him.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Capri and the Amalfi coast boat tour with the Blu Grotto

Italy

Really fun day. The driver was very friendly.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Pompeii Walking Tour

Italy

Loved Pompeii. Our guide was very knowledgeable and it was very interesting hearing the history of the city.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Andrew was very knowledgeable and nice. He made the tour interesting. Only thing is that he often walked far ahead of us and was on his phone a lot. There was one time when he took my mom by elevator and we took the stairs and met him. He said do t worry, I will stay with her. When we met up with them he was walking far ahead of her.

Transport

Driver was nice but not a very good driver. His van was a lot older than the other vans we had taken. He drove fast and passed other cars in traffic. This was the only day that my niece got car sick during any of our tours.

Melanie was absolutely amazing. She was great to work with, very attentive, and responded very quickly. She was available to us throughout the whole trip and made the trip seamless. Would highly recommend without any hesitation.

Hotel Reviews

Vanity Hotel Navona

Rome

Great location. Very nice and friendly staff. The room and some of the amenities could use a little updating, but overall a great place to stay.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Olimpia

Venice

Great hotel. The location, staff, and amenities were all outstanding.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ambrosio Relais

Sorrento

This is not a hotel, but more of a bed and breakfast. The location is very far from the city center. It is located on a main road which is very loud throughout the night and the owner's dog barked all night on one of the nights. Although everything was clean, the towels were very old and rough and the bed not very comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Venice Walking and Gondola Tour

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vatican & Sistine Chapel Tour

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boat tour along the Amalfi Coast

Sorrento

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Colosseo and Roman forums adventure

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore St. Mark's Basilica and The Doge's Palace

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Overall I was decently happy with the KimKim experience. I think that the platform and agents as a whole are not really geared towards someone who is a first time user. There were many many things that I either missed or was not informed about that seemed to be "common sense" for the platform/agent, but were just never communicated. These are things that I will know for next time, but would have appreciated being informed about this time.
One example is the installments. I asked for 3 (maybe 4, can't remember.. not important) installments for the payment. When I was told yes and that this was no problem, I took this at face-value and with the standard accepted definition of an installment. The payment is divided up and due at interval due dates. This is how a car payment works, how a credit card payment works, how literally every industry in the world defines an "installment payment". I checked the site, and the next due date was XX/XX/XXXX. Great. I would have my next installment to pay on that date. Given that I have the ability to make random partial payments at anytime through the site on my own (without it being "called" an installment), it makes absolutely no sense that "offering installments" wasn't actually offering to let me pay in installments, it was just the agent doing the math to calculate the total cost divided by 4. I could have done that myself and made partial payments.... that was not helpful. What was also not helpful, was being told that I had to come up with $13k in four days because "oh your installments aren't actually installments and you have to pay everything by the first installment date". What I expected was divided payments due at staggered due dates. What I got was the agent telling me that I had to figure out how to get $13k in four days... and only because I asked, not because I was informed.
I get that this is a budget platform and that it is my responsibility to read/study everything, but a little communication would have been helpful.
Another example.... we had private transfers for nearly everything. I asked about the car for the lemon tour about an hour before, and was told "ohh we think it's a nice walk so I planned for you guys to walk to that". Yes, I should have read the plan a little more carefully and realized that. But if you are "planning on us having a nice little walk"... maybe tell us?
There was some kind of taxi strike issue so it took us 45 minutes of trying to get a cab before we gave up and walked, and missed the tour entirely.
Not the agents fault we missed the tour, that was our fault for not reading and studying the plan more carefully, it just would have been nice to be informed that this particular outing had a different game plan when every outing so far had a driver.

All this to say- Melanie was nice, the trip was awesome, and the vendors she set us up with were lovely. I wish a bit more focus was put on communicating the little things that were "assumed" we would know, but again I just didn't realize I needed to be that vigilant in combing through all the fine print.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Conca Park 4* Sorrento

Sorrento

Incredible hotel, loved it. By far the most uncomfortable beds I've ever slept on in a hotel, BUT the room-service food was awesome.

Authenticity & Character

awesome art, cool entryway

Location

very walkable

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

very clean but the beds were wildly uncomfortable. I think we all need a massage after those beds

Hotel Le Meridien Visconti - Marriott

Rome

Clean, nice staff, helpful, awesome family room (s)

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Renaissance Naples Hotel Mediterraneo - Marriott Naples

Naples

Stunning views while eating breakfast. Loved this hotel. Kinda felt like the toilet was going to fall out of the wall every time we sat on it, but might just be old

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

little rickety, but nice overall and awesome views

Activity Reviews

City Tour of Naples

Italy

It was fine. Exactly what it says it is, nothing negative to say but also nothing crazy outstanding. It was a good way to see the city.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

N/A

Full day excursion along the Amalfi coast with private driver

Italy

Good excursion

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lemon tour and lunch (or dinner) in Sorrento

Sorrento

Didn't make the tour but my husband said it was fine. Not super interesting for the kids, but short enough that it didn't matter too much. Broke my molar on the ravioli, but that could have happened in any restaurant. human error.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had the most amazing two weeks in Italy. Melanie listened to what was important to us and what activities we liked and planned the perfect trip. She kept us fully informed in the months leading up to the trip but even more important was the support she gave us during the trip. She took the time to send us a welcome message, offer her services while we were travelling around and even sent through an outline of the day every morning with all the vouchers and timelines that we needed for that day. This extra service ensured that we had everything at hand that we needed and nothing was left to chance. She suggested restaurants and other activities that we might be interested in, she checked ferry timetables for us and sent us best wishes/farewell messages when we were leaving. Melanie was an integral part of what made our short time in Italy so enjoyable - we can't recommend her enough!

Hotel Reviews

Portacatena Suite

Salerno

We stayed at the Portacatena Suite in Salerno for five nights and it was fantastic! The little apartment in the old town was spacious and the host was very obliging. The location was perfect, and I'd highly recommend staying here.

La Corte dell'Astore - Wild in Style Resort

Alberobello

In Alberobello, we stayed at the La Corte dell'Astore - Wild in Style Resort. It was an awesome experience staying in a trullo. I have nothing but good things to say about it; truly memorable.

Sextantio le Grotte della Civita

Matera

The cave accommodation we stayed at, Sextantio le Grotte della Civita in Matera, was possibly the best place I've ever stayed. It was a really special experience with fantastic staff and gorgeous breakfast. A unique and unforgettable stay.

Hotel Mozart Rome

Roma

The Hotel Mozart in Rome was in a great location. However, the room was quite tight and lacked space. It would have been better to have a bit more room.

Activity Reviews

Lemon tour and cooking class

Italy

The Lemon tour and cooking class was fantastic. It was a relaxing and fun activity, and the hosts picked us up from our accommodation and dropped us back.

Vatican & Sistine Chapel Tour

Rome

The Vatican and Sistine Chapel Tour was very good despite us arriving a bit late. It's definitely a must-visit place and worth the experience.

Rome food tour: A deliciously cultural tour for foodies

Rome

The Rome food tour was lots of fun. Really enjoyed it and it made for a great day out.

Melanie was so knowledgeable and helpful during all phases of our trip. The tours she selected all turned out wonderful, all our tour guides were welcoming, friendly, and highly knowledgeable in the local history. Highlights included Klaas for the e-bike tour of the aqueducts and our guide Elissabetta for our colosseum tour. Our hike for the path of the gods included a great stop at a shepherds farm for a cliff top meal which was an amazing experience!

Our trip to Italy was FABULOUS!! Melanie did an outstanding job planning our 40th anniversary trip. She was always available and right on top of things. She had wonderful recommendations and worked very hard to make our dream trip come true!!
Our tour guides were very knowledgeable, most especially Claudia at the Vatican, Katie at Pompei and Mina? in Venice. Each tour guide brought the specifics of Italy alive and left us wanting MORE. All of our guides and drives were friendly and accommodating, helping us manage a new experience. We loved sharing stories with them and hearing about how they ended up as guides or drivers
We will be recommending this company to friends and family in hopes that they have the same experience.
Thank you for a trip we will always remember and we WILL be back
Nina and Bob

Hotel Reviews

Ambrosio Relais

Sorrento

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Navona Colors

Rome

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Vatican & Sistine Chapel Tour

Rome

Claudia was a wonderful guide, my anticipation of the Vatican experience was lessened just a bit by the crowds. Rather loud and too many. Maybe less people in the groups

Pasta & Tiramisù class

Rome

Outstanding, it was a wonderful learning experience and lots of fun. Friendly staff and the group number was perfect.

Special Colosseum tour: Colosseum, Arena Floor, Underground, Roman Forum

Rome

Katie did an outstanding job explaining the past history up to the present, like an enjoyable history class. :) The undergroud tour was amazing!! Thank you Melanie for making that happen.

Ravello, Amalfi & Positano

Sorrento

Could have used more time in each area to enjoy and investigate this beautiful area.

Olive and Wine Tasting in Tuscany Countryside

Italy

We very much enjoyed tasting at 3 different wineries. Lunch was delicious and our tour guide Chechi? did a fabulous job keeping us interested and entertained.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Venice Walking and Gondola Tour

Venice

Again, the tour guide was outstanding, very knowledgeable and entertaining.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Melanie was a huge help planning our trip to Italy. All her suggestions and tips were super helpful.
The transfers were all on time and comfortable and the excursions and guides were amazing, especially our Wine Tour in Tuscany.
Planning our trip with KimKim took a lot of pressure and worries out of the process and made our trip that much more enjoyable. During the trip, if we had any questions, Melanie was always just a text away and she always responded immediately.
I would definitely use KimKim again or recommend them to anyone planning a first time trip to Italy.

Activity Reviews

Ferrari Museum Tour

Italy

The Ferrari museum tour is a fun experience for any car lover. You can take as much time as you like and there are options to do the simulator for an extra cost. I didn’t do it but it looked super fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Accademia Gallery and Uffizi Masterclass Experience

Florence

The Accademia and Uffizi gallery tours were excellent. I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy them but I’m so glad we added it to our trip. We had the best guide for the Uffizi tour and I couldn’t imagine going through that gallery without one. There is so much to see but our tour guide gave us all the history behind the museum and showed us all the most important paintings and exhibits. Seeing David in person was surprisingly emotional and he is amazing!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Olive and Wine Tasting in Tuscany Countryside

Italy

This was one of my favourite experiences of our trip. We had such a great group of people on our tour and the 3 wineries we visited were beautiful. We had a great driver and the whole day was amazing. Highly recommend!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boat tour along the Amalfi Coast

Sorrento

We had a private cruise along the Amalfi coast. Our driver spoke little English so he was a little difficult to communicate with but we managed. The itinerary was a little different than what was listed. I wish we got to actually get off the boat in Positano but we just cruised by. We only got 20 mins in Amalfi but we had an amazing lunch in Priano at this restaurant called Il Pirata which the company booked for us in advance. We ended up asking to stay there for an extra hour to swim on a Little Rock beach that was so cute otherwise we weren’t sure if we were going to get to swim at all.

Quality of Experience

I wish the tour had more stops and the boating time was at a quicker pace.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Colosseo and Roman forums adventure

Rome

This was a great tour and our guide was amazing. She had a lot of knowledge and made the tour very interesting. It was so cool to learn of all the history behind the Colosseum and the Forum.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The trip was planned amazingly. The guides and personal drivers were so informative and friendly. I enjoyed every tour we attended. Melanie was amazing at helping us to plan our trip to our specifications. Thank you for all your help in planning our dream trip to Italy with our father.

Activity Reviews

The Accademia Gallery and Uffizi Masterclass Experience

Florence

The tour guide was so knowledgeable about the artwork and made the tour so interesting.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Colosseo and Roman forums adventure

Rome

Again the tour guide was so knowledgeable and made the tour very memorable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Olive and Wine Tasting in Tuscany Countryside

Italy

This was an amazing day with a small group of people and enjoyed the countryside and wine and olive oil of three different winery’s. Very well planned and was not rushed. One of my favorite days.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boat tour along the Amalfi Coast

Sorrento

Was a beautiful boat ride but did not get to do all the activities that were listed with this tour. Felt as though we were rushed through parts of the day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport