Eastern Europe Explorer

Thank you kimkim. I had an amazing time in Russia.

The dealings I had with kimkim in planning my trip - 18 days encompassing Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Suzdal and Vladimir - were amazingly efficient. Their responses were quick and detailed. It was great being able to deal all the time with people in Moscow and Saint Petersburg who were on the ground and able to provide quick support in those very rare moments in a trip where something goes off the rails.

Beyond Saint Petersburg, I really had no idea what to expect of Russia, so I really appreciated the exciting options and ideas presented to me, and given I was travelling at the end of winter, choices which took account of the seasons, places being open and tourist numbers.

It was great having local guides. All were good English speakers and all were amenable to adjusting plans on the basis of the things I was really interested in. I particularly enjoyed the company of Victor, Natasha and Alex who were very passionate about their cities and ‘clicked’ with me.

One decision I made early in the planning was to use drivers only when absolutely necessary and, instead, to get around on public transport as much as possible, I think a really good decision to get to experience the surprises which you can get as you’re walking around a city.

As for highlights, there were so many. And it was so wonderful being “low season” to be at places like Catherine Palace and the Hermitage with very few other people. Imagine standing in front of Da Vinci’s Madonna and Child for five minutes - and you’re the only person in the room, or taking photos in one of the State rooms at Catherine Palace and there being no one else in the picture.
Very pleased Sean talked me into visiting Suzdal and Vladimir which were not initially on my list of places to go. It was great seeing some of the smaller medieval towns and experiencing the life outside of the big cities.

Our trip to Russia was amazing! What a beautiful and interesting country.
Our guide in Moscow, Sergei, was full of local knowledge and so friendly as were Darya(Vladimir Guide), Alexander (Suzdal Guide) and Irina (St Petersburg guide). The city of Moscow was very interesting and we were surprised by the beauty and splendour of the Kremlin. Vladimir was full of medieval history with beautiful churches. Suzdal was beautiful, had a very laid back vibe and some beautiful buildings/churches. St Petersburg was stunning in its grandeur with huge and beautiful palaces filled with paintings, statues and treasures. We would recommend the Faberge Museum and also taking a boat trip on the canal/river.
The WhatsApp group was also a stroke of genius and ensured we always had a point of contact.
We paid more for our personalised trip with guides and it was so worth it! We don't think we would have seen half as much without these wonderful guides. Thank you so much to everybody involved in organising our trip - it was truly amazing!

This was our first visit to Russia, and fist time we have traveled with Kimkim.
St. Petersburg was very impressive and turned up to better than expected. Thanks to our knowledgeable guide and his excellent language skills we were able to absorb lot's of historic information in quite short time. Thanks to Sean from KimKim team we could design our custom tour and it was possible to tune up wile being there as we have a local guide just for us. All recommendations were very useful and we have wonderful time with ability to experience Russian cosine and a visit to Mariinskiy Theatre on more than one occasion.
Booked accommodation was a good choice and walking distance to attractions and restaurants.
We consider the cost of our trip very reasonable and a indeed very good value as we did not have to queue for hours to get in, as we have a prepaid tickets and curator as a guide for 4 of us in The Gold Room in Hermitage.
The process of creating our itinerary with Kimkim's assistance was very easy.
I highly recommend the Kimkim to any body for their traveling needs, as they using people with local knowledge and can accommodate any interests.
Thanks KimKim
Andrew

We both enjoyed the trip immensely. Good support was given by both Sean and Ulyana. Problems were quickly resolved.

Our main interactions ere with the various tour guides. Most were either very good or excellent. I wish to make special commendations for the tour guides in Suzdal/Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Minsk, Kaliningrad and St Petersburg. All tuned in to what we wanted and all spoke very good or excellent English.

Sean was also great in Moscow but the first local guide didn't understand us. We first drove to a decrepit church out of town and then stayed in a central location. I was put off making efforts to isit some places. It was a wasted day. In fact although it was our first local tour guide, she did not set the standards for the others thankfully. The other Moscow tour guide was much better and we had a goodtime but her English was not so good.

Then there was Volgograd. The main guide was incredibly friendly and did what we wanted. He was also very eccentric (wonderfully and unintentionally entertaining) but his analysis of Stalingrad missed out an awful lot (that I have since found out by looing at YouTube documentaries). We expected the Soviet line to prevail but there was no analysis of what the Germans did wrong and an explanation of the successful Soviet tactics The commentary was all about evil German "Fascists" and clever and brave Soviet soldiers. He even criticised the German sht pronunciation of Stalingrad by saying they couldn't even be bothered saying it right. I explained that st in German is always pronounced sht for all words. I'm not sure he believed me. For all that, I would use him again as his pluses far outweigh the negatives but just don't trail him as an in-depth and objective analyst! (I am going to send him some Tottenham memorabilia for his son who enjoyed seeing Tottenham striker score twice for England in Volgograd during the World Cup last year).

The planning and execution of this trip was outstanding, as Sean (U.S. tour agent) and Ulyana (Russian tour agent) customized and coordinated a tour to meet my interests and exceed my expectations for the trip of a lifetime to Russia!

My itinerary included Moscow, Vladimir, Suzdal, and St. Petersburg. I was met/dropped off by an English-speaking assistant or tour guide and a driver at every airport and train station. I never had to worry about finding my hotel or catching the correct train on time. Not only was all my in-country major transportation covered, but rides to and from stations, as well as door-to-door pick up and drop off for every tour was provided 100% of the time.

Because of the personalized nature of the tour, I never had to "wait" for others to board a bus, eat in a restaurant that didn't suit my tastes, or visit a museum that was of little interest to me. Drivers and guides were always punctual, and I was always asked for input on pick-up times, what types of food I liked, and preferences in destinations. I always had a number I could call or text if I needed assistance.

The tour guides were all personable, knowledgeable, and qualified--Olga (Vladimir/Suzdal regional), the other Olga (Vladimir/Suzdal historical), Svetlana (Moscow), and Tatiana (St. Petersburg). Not only did they explain the sights, arrange the days to avoid traffic, and offer extra stops they knew I would find interesting, each guide was willing to have lunch with me every day, engage me in conversation, and answer my many questions. Though I was a solo traveler in Russia, it was as though I had a friend in each city. Even my regular transportation assistant in Moscow, Eugene, was very engaging and willing to discuss cultural topics as he drove me to or from my hotel or waited with me for a train.

Unlike group tours that would have merely "hit the high points" in each city, this tour was arranged specifically for my interests and tastes. From the planning stage, Sean and Ulyana made suggestions and changes to my itinerary to meet my requests and requirements. On the trip, the guides were willing to slow down and go into even more detail when I asked questions, stopping to address my inquiries. They were also willing to move on when they realized I was ready to go to the next site. Since I was a group of one, each day was tailored to the pace I chose to keep.

The cost of this personalized tour was a bit more than a standard group tour, but considering the number of sites I visited, the insights and perspectives I gained from guides, the customized schedule, the personalized touches, the privacy of my own hotel room, and the absolute peace of mind I had through the entire tour, it was a bargain!

I highly recommend this tour to a solo traveler, or to a small or large group of like-minded individuals who want to see and do more than the "standard tour of Russia", tailored to their tastes and interests.

We first used Kimkim for our trip to Morocco and because it was such a great experience, we decided to use Kimkim again for our trip to St. Petersburg, Russia. Once again, it was exactly the experience we were hoping for. Our local specialist, Sean, was very attentive to our needs and questions and was very responsive. The trip was exactly what we wanted and he made it happen. Once in St. Petersburg, just like Morocco, everything ran very smoothly. When we arrived, we were picked up at the airport and taken right to our hotel and it was great not having to worry about that. On the first day of our planned activities, Margarita (the manager of our tour in Russia) met us at our hotel because she wanted to officially welcome us to St. Petersburg and give us our tour the first day. She was right on time along with our driver for the week, Vasiliy. We went on a city tour of St. Petersburg and visited the Peter and Paul Fortress. She was very knowledgeable and made us feel really at ease and gave us an overall view of the city and what our next few days would be like and a great first impression to the kind of service and vibe we could expect. For the remainder of the week, our guide Dmitri, along with our driver, always arrived on time. Dmitri was a great guide. He was very knowledgeable and spoke excellent English. He was very easy going and open and was very patient with all of our questions. He was always willing to accommodate any requests and made sure that we always knew what the plan was and he always had any tickets we needed ready. It felt like we were being shown around by a friend (which is why we were a bit sad to say goodbye at the end since we had spent the whole week together). We visited many exquisite palaces and museums and learned a lot about history and culture. All in all, it was a great experience and it was what we paid for -- a well-planned tour where we could just relax and not have to worry about the logistics of everything. We know for sure that this will not be the last time we plan a trip with Kimkim.

We had a fantastic time thanks to Sean and his team. We always expected that it would be difficult travelling with Toddlers and not knowing the language but the guides we had made the holiday a lot easier and we had a great time.

A special thank you to our Moscow Guide, Helena. She's a very thorough historian, great with kids and incredibly proud of her country. Thank you so much Helena!