Tasos Mylonas

The trip was extraordinary thanks to Tasos and his team really listening to what we wanted (and making recommendations for things we wouldn't even know about). We ticked off all the touristy spots my kids insisted on - but with Tasos' help did them at times and with tour guides that limited crowds and other headaches - and then we enjoyed really unique experiences I never would have found on my own. When we had hiccups (which is to be expected on a 16 day excursion across multiple locations with a family of five) Tasos and team were immediately responsive and helped to resolve the issue. They were available 24x7 and extremely responsive the entire time. I have referred KimKim and Tasos specifically to several friends who want to go to Greece or Italy (and he was referred to me by a happy customer). That says it all.

Our trip to Greece was amazing! As recommended by Tasos we went at the beginning of October. The temperature was perfect and the crowds were less. We were impressed by how smoothly all the details such as transfers, guides, and hotels went. Everyone was right on time exactly as planned in our itinerary. Tasos planned the perfect itinerary for us with just the right amount of tours and relaxing free time. I love how he picked tours that were off the beaten path of the typical tourist spots. We particularly liked the food and wine tour in Santorini. We learned a lot about farming and wine making and we all really enjoyed getting to cook a meal. We also really enjoyed the suggested hike from Fria to Oia at sunset - spectacular views and amazing sunset! In Athens our personal guide to the Acropolis was very knowledgeable and had interesting stories she even gave us a coffee ground reading which was quite fun. The free breakfasts were wonderful at the hotels and generally liked our accommodations. Our only complaint would be the double beds for couples - we would have preferred a single double bed versus two singles pushed together.

This trip was an absolute dream come true and for the most part was completely seamless, very minor mishaps that were easily cleared up. All of our hotels were very nice and centrally located to lots of activities and areas we could walk to. All of our excursions were fabulous and the guides we had were incredible, informative and hands on. It's really hard to pick a most memorable moment as each day had its highlights. The catamaran sailing cruise as well as the sunset cruise were definitely favorites but everything was incredible. Our guide Maria for the food and wine tour was so nice and helpful and she was incredibly patient about the mixup with the meetup and we still had an amazing day with her and took all of her suggestions and had fantastic experiences during the rest of our stay in Naxos. Our captain (Yanni?) on the catamaran Rena was so amazing, fun, outgoing and made the whole day a complete blast. The 2 transfer drivers we had to and from Oia in Santorini went above and beyond just dropping us off and picking us up and each one took us to a special known spot to take incredible pictures and gave us lots of history and recommendations for the island. The only regret is that we didn't get more time in Santorini but Naxos was a huge surprise and we both loved it very much!
Overall I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this trip and everything was put together so seamlessly and was pretty easy to follow and when there was a small issue, the agents were ready and able to fix the issue!

My head is still reeling from our amazing trip to Greece, due in large part to the excellent planning by the Kimkim team. Every aspect of the vacation was taken care of, including the drivers, tours and hotels. Page and I went to Athens and three islands, Tinos, Paros and Santorini. I especially enjoyed our six hour driving tour on Tinos, highlighted by a visit to a marble sculpture studio in Pirgos. Our guide, Sophia, shared a lot of information in a relaxed and personable way.

Thanks to all the professional people who contributed to this most memorable vacation!

Hotel Review

Makris Beach Hotel Santorini

Kamari

Santorini is a very beautiful island, but it is also very crowded. We spent many hours exploring the hidden pathways in Oia and Fira. The Markis Beach Hotel in Kamari was the perfect getaway, far from the crowds. Our room was bright and cheerful; the lounge, restaurant and beach made us feel as if we were in paradise. Thanks to Kimkim, we had the most memorable vacation.

Authenticity & Character

The hotel was comfortable and beautifully maintained.

Location

Right on the beach, away from the crowds.

Staff

The staff was extremely attentive and ready to answer all our questions.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Our room was decorated in a simple and tasteful manner.

Activity Review

Sunset Santorini: Cooking & Wine

Santorini

Wine, wine and even more wine. The chef for our cooking lesson was knowledgeable and entertaining. Our small group learned to make several delicious recipes and we enjoyed the fruits of our labor in a splendid luncheon. Constantine, our driver and tour guide, was lively and enthusiastic. He shared several unique wine varieties and the bottle never seemed to be empty. After the cooking lesson and wine tastings, Constantine drove off to a special spot to see the sunset. He didn't seem to want the tour to end. His exuberance and kindness showed us a lovable side of the Greek people.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We could not have asked for a more perfect vacation thanks to KimKim. Everything that we had planned and scheduled for us ran extremely smoothly and really gave us the picture of Italy we had hoped to discover. The transportation between locations (trains, private cars, etc) all ran as well as you could expect even with some delays.

All of the private tours we got to go on were incredible, and led by the perfect people! Suzy and Valerio in Venice, Paola and Semonetta (?) leading our cooking class in Chianti, Massimo and Marco doing our colosseum and Ape tours in Rome, and Christian as our skipper for our boat ride in Sorrento. Everybody was welcoming and excited to share the rich history and culture of all the parts of Italy with us, it really helped us get immersed and lose ourselves in the beauty of it all.

An added bonus of course was having the travel team available pretty much all day every day when we had hiccups come up. It was always a quick response to get us back on track, and options when things started to go awry.

And the most thank you to Tasos for setting up this perfect trip and all of his recommendations as we were trying to decide what to do and where to go. He even left us an anniversary present at our 2nd accommodation which was very sweet!

All in all, we got to explore all over Italy without having to worry about any tiny details. We got to go at our own pace and when we did have tours events planned, we could just show up to places when we needed to and get taken care of. We will use KimKim on our next international vacation and any trips that come up in the future!

We thoroughly enjoyed our guides especially Mateo, Barbara, Francisco, Antonio (and his team), and Will.