Charmed by Spain

Our trip to Spain including Madrid, Seville, Granada, Málaga and Barcelona was out of this world fantastic. Raquel is an empathic, loving and expert travel specialist that our family appreciates beyond words. She worked with us to personalize our choices, destinations, hotels, costs and needs while we were on the vacation. She has been there at every turn when we are planning, traveling and having questions during the whole process. I would recommend her to everyone and anyone that is planning a trip to Europe in the areas she covers. Please treat her with respect and kindness and she deserves these in full measure. I can only say thank you Raquel and KimKim for their expert assistance. She is like family to us.

This was certainly one of the best planned trips my wife and I have ever taken. This was our second time using Kimkim. Our journey consisted of 6 cities with 3 hotels, high-speed trains on two occasions as well as a personal driver in one instance. We went to Southern Spain for the culture and the history. Our itinerary, which was set up by Raquel and her team as well as their expert tour guides was just what we were looking for. Raquel remained in contact while we were traveling and was always available with questions or requested changes, and provided a reminder of our next day activities the evenings prior, which was greatly appreciated. We really counted on her and she came through! The guides she found for us were top notch - highly educated, very personable, always accommodating to our wishes to tweak the itinerary, and some we feel will be lifelong friends!

We would highly recommend Kimkim for those that want to explore the culture and history of this area. We are now using them for our trip to Japan.
Many thanks to Kimkim and Raquel and her team!

Juao Berta Miquel every guide and driver were fabulous. Our trip to Portugal and Barcelona were 10 days to remember.

Hotel Reviews

H10 Duque de Loule

Lisboa

Great location..small boutique hotel with an amazing rooftop bar. Comfortable rooms and walkable to all the great shopping on Lisbon.

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The Yeatman Hotel

Vila Nova de Gaia

One of the nicest hotels you will find. Spacious rooms with incredible patios. Michlin dining!!

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Activity Reviews

Dinner and Fado

Lisbon

A must do!!!

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Daytrip to Sintra

Lisbon

Fabulous...love our guide and driver

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Day-trip to Setúbal and the Arrábida

Lisbon

Visited a local tile maker...an incredible exoerience

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Lisbon to Porto via Coimbra and Aveiro

Spain

Miguel was so fun. Loved seeing the university and Aviara.

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Porto city tour

Porto

Another wonderful day with Miquel. Saw everything and topped off with a local favorite for lunch!@

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Wine tour in the Douro Valley

Porto

A wonderful experience!! We all bought Port. Of course!

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Sidecar tapas tour

Barcelona

So glad we did this!!! Beyond fun.

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Day-trip to Girona and Figueres

Barcelona

This trip is a must for anyone visiting Barcelona. It's a little bit of a drive, but so worth it!

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Gaudí Highlights tour

Barcelona

Another must do...pictures do not do justice to what we saw! Fabulous day.

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We cannot begin to express our appreciation to Raquel and her team for planning a fabulous trip for us to Lisbon, Porto, and Barcelona. There were absolutely no hidden surprises and tour, guides and drivers were always on-time and the hotels, H-10 in Lisbon and Yeatman in Porto and Le Meridian in Barcelona were wonderful. Guides and drivers, Kaoa, Berta, Miguel, Jasper, Craig, Jordi, and Mickael were fun and extremely knowledge! We were a parry of 4 family members. Booking a trip like this requires a lot of trust in your travel agent. Raquel was beyond our expectations!

Activity Reviews

Lisbon city tour

Lisbon

An amazing day ...we kearney so much about the history of Lisbon.

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Dinner and Fado

Lisbon

A must do event

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Daytrip to Sintra

Lisbon

Wine tasting and beautiful beaches. Because of the heat and fire danger we could not see the main castle.

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Lisbon to Porto via Coimbra and Aveiro

Spain

University was a wonderful experience. Aviary was an added trip and it was lovely.

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Porto city tour

Porto

Porto was very special and we all could have stayed longer. Miguel was a world of knowledge and we all enjoyed our time with him.

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Wine tour in the Douro Valley

Porto

A must see to appreciate! Learning about Port and tasting was fun and we had a great lunch at the winery.

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Sidecar tapas tour

Barcelona

So fun!!

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Day-trip to Girona and Figueres

Barcelona

Another major highlight of our trip!!!

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Gaudí Highlights tour

Barcelona

Another amazing day learning about Gaudi. The Sagrada Familia is something everyone should see in person. Our guide Jordi was fabulous!

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Every city we visited was scheduled well, with four star hotels or wine resorts or a farmhouse run by a local family. We loved the accommodations but mores loved the personal attention given by Raquel and Eugenia. When we had any question or issue, they were responsive at every turn. The personal tours were all memorable and each guide was unique and interesting. Wine and champagne tours were all fun and the explanations of the champagne making and wine making process, visiting the cellars and touring the wineries was fantastic. Raquel and Eugenia helped us book museums and the history and art was overwhelming and fascinating. Even when we could not get a reservation at a famous restaurant, Botin in Madrid, they were able to get us in. They were so kind and helpful. We would HIGHLY recommend them and the Kim Kim Website to anyone looking for excellent service and planning for a trip to Europe. We would use them again anyway we want to go on another European Vacation.

Hotel Reviews

Tenuta La Santissima

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Hotel Intur Palacio San Martin

Madrid

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Sometimes preoccupied, but responsive when asked.

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Altarocca Wine Resort

Orvieto

Beautiful setting. Peaceful and serene with country setting and very nice accomodations.

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Arte' Boutique Hotel

Firenze

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Staff was extremely attentive and helpful.

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Activity Reviews

Tapas tour and Old Town walking tour

Madrid

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Prado and Retiro tour

Madrid

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Gaudí Highlights tour

Barcelona

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Datrip to Montserrat and Penedes wine region

Barcelona

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Half day orientation tour in Paris

Paris

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Versailles and Giverny small group

Paris

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Daytrip to Reims and the wine region of Champagne

Paris

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Montalcino: visit and wine tasting

Spain

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Siena city tour

Siena

Our tour guide, Claudia, was so knowledgeable and sweet. Asked for our questions and left time for us to think about what we wanted to know. Listened and interacted so well. Showed interest in us and was very responsive.

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Claudia was awesome.

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Orientation tour of Florence with visit to the Accademia

Florence

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Wine tour in Chianti

Spain

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If you go to Southern Spain and are adventurous, get on the internet and do your thing for 5 or 10 hours and hope you got it right. If not, hire Raquel and Kimkim. It costs a little more but you get the best location of 4 star hotels, great local guides, meet and greet at airports and train stations and great advice on travel matters.
I can't say enough about the destination hotels that Raquel selected. Hotels in Cordoba, Seville, Malaga, and other cites were in "Centro" locations making most sites walkable for the city tour Raquel arranged or even when we were on our own. These Andalusia cities have "Old Town" districts formed many centuries ago that I think you would want to be near so you can enjoy all they have to offer. You may never have a chance to get back so enjoy it!
We traveled Southern Spain for 2 weeks and Kimkim set everything up. Raquel recommended cities (don't miss Ronda), arranged a 9 course set menu lunch (we could only get to #6) and made the trip fun and exciting.

We then we explored Paris (Kimkim arranged the flight) for 6 days on our own (Airbnb) then back to Madrid for an additional week (Airbnb).

Best trip to start our retirement years and we'll be back to Kimkim the next time we travel.

Raquel was the most amazing travel consultant. She took care of absolutely every detail, many that we didn't even think of ourselves, to make our trip run smoothly. The private tours with Sarah and Clara were perfect and the sunset cruise on Mallorca was wonderful. Raquel kept in touch with us throughout our trip via What's App and helped us with dinner reservations and late check out in Seville and cabs into Soller. She was indispensible!

Hotel Reviews

Sa Tanqueta de Fornalutx—Adults Only

Fornalutx

Sa Tanqueta is beautiful, relaxing, spacious, accommodating.....I can't say enough good things about it. We can't wait until we can return!

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful buildings, plantings, decor.

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It was great to be up in the mountains, away from the crowds of Palma.

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Everyone was super friendly and helpful.

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Soho Boutique Catedral

Seville

This hotel is in a perfect location to hit all of the hot spots of Seville. The breakfast buffet is extensive and the hotel management are very accommodating. We really enjoyed our stay.

Authenticity & Character

This is a nicely appointed hotel, very urban and chic.

Location

Perfect location for visiting the cathedral, palace, and other important sites.

Staff

Very helpful and accommodating.

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Madrid Marriott Auditorium Hotel & Conference Center

Madrid

This hotel served it's purpose for us as a place to stay near the airport so we could more easily make our early morning flight home. I strenuously object to their "free airport shuttle". It is first come, first served. The hotel houses about 800 guests, yet their shuttles (which run only every half hour) carry about 25 people at maximum. When the shuttle is at maximum it is extremely unsafe as there are enough seats for about 12 people and luggage. That means that the other thirteen people are standing in the aisles with suitcases piled up 4 and 5 high. It was awful! I don't understand how Marriott could condone such a practice in a hotel that caters to the airport trade.

Authenticity & Character

It's a huge Marriott, very impersonal

Location

Good for accessing the airport

Staff

The check-in people were pretty cold, not at all helpful as far as how to get on the shuttle. The breakfast people and luggage storage people were friendlier.

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Activity Reviews

Free day in Seville

Seville

Always nice to explore on your own. Our guide from the previous day, Clara, gave us some great suggestions.

Sevilla tapas and flamenco tour

Seville

Clara, our guide, went above and beyond, stopping the taxi to show us a local religious parade and taking us to another interesting part of the city before the actual tour. The flamenco dancing was really interesting and beautiful in a small, intimate setting and the tapas were varied and delicious.

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Private sailing Mallorca

Mallorca

Our captain was very skilled, the boat was clean and comfortable, the trip was great.

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Seville highlights tour

Seville

Clara had all of the tickets and knew exactly how to tour the highlights. She is very knowledgeable and made everything interesting.

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Daytrip to Palma, Deia and Valldemossa

Mallorca

Our guide, Sara, was wonderful. She knows so much about the island and how to get around. She geared the entire tour around our needs and capabilities and we enjoyed every minute!

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Free time in Mallorca

Mallorca

Always nice to explore on your own.

Upon finding great online reviews about KimKim, we decided to go with them for our family trip to Spain. From the first contact to the last interaction, everything went smoothly.

We got excellent advise when planning our trip (it was our first time in Spain so this was important). Raquel -our local specialist- is very knowledgeable and, after making sure she understood our interests, she helped us design the perfect itinerary: Malaga, Granada, Sevilla and Madrid (including visits to Ronda, Setenil and Valencia) in 11 days.

The hotels were all very unique and -as per our request- historic or representative of the Spanish culture. They were all perfectly located in the historic centre, so we could easily walk to all the interesting places, and stay late for shows or drinks and walk back to the hotel easily. The service was excellent and the buffet breakfasts were superb.

Raquel also assisted us in choosing the right tours and activities to keep all the family happy and booking everything for us. We had the perfect mix of cultural, gastronomic and fun activities.

Raquel was also very diligent in making sure everything was properly booked (hotel, drivers, guides, tickets, etc.) and that each evening we had the relevant information/tickets for the next day.

The drivers were always very polite and helpful, and on time every single time. The tour guides were very knowledgeable and friendly. We could ask them all sorts of questions and they made each visit extremely interesting and informative. Bea -our tour guide in Seville- helped us have one of the best days during the trip. Federico was a wealth of knowledge when visiting La Alhambra, Tino was the best guide we could have had in El Prado museum, and Jaume in Valencia was a delight to spend the day with, just to name some, but all were fantastic.

I would definitely recommend planning and booking your next trip with KimKim. They took all the hassle and the stress of planning and travelling from us, we feel we made the most of our time in Spain, and we felt treated like royalty all the time.

Can’t wait until the next trip!