Espíritu Travel

Overall, our trip to Italy was wonderful! The information Marina gave us was for the most part very clear and timely and correct. We did experience a few glitches in communication which I will detail in a moment. But, again, overall, the drivers, guides, accommodations, and tours were really very good. The drivers were friendly and spoke English well enough for us to be able to communicate, and in many instances very well! The guides for the tours were well informed and passionate about what they were telling us. I am not good with names and was going to get back on the Trip Plans App to retrieve some of those names, but it won't let me. The Trip Plans App was also very helpful in keeping directions, train tickets, guide names etc all at our fingertips! I liked that very much!
Back to our drivers & guides: Coliseum tour: wonderful guide!! Very engaging! We saw her the next day at the Vatican and she came up to us and spoke for a while. Lovely woman! AnnaMarie may have been her name?
The food tour: Delightful young woman, who conveyed the different vibes of the different areas well!
The cooking class: This was a blast! The chef was a lot of fun even though he didn't speak English! He made himself known, and our translator was fun and engaging with the whole group! I may get a pasta maker because of this class!
Pompeii tour: She was so knowledgeable and interesting to talk with! She really knew the history, and conveyed it well to us. Again I'm so sorry I don't have any names!
Trip to Capri Island: She was wonderful as well! Knowledgeable and fun to chat with about life style and cultural things. I enjoyed her very much!
Florence tour with David: Very good as well. She was personable and informative. There was quite a bit of standing while she spoke and that was a little hard. She knew her stuff about Michelangelo and David though and that showed in the way she spoke about the statue!
Our driver and guide for the 3 Tuscan towns were good too. Friendly and informative! The driver was very accommodating. His name was Johnny! We were ready earlier and he was there and we just started out before the time and changed the order of the towns to be seen. It was a lovely day!
Wine tasting day! Fabulous! I think Matthew was our driver/guides name. Funny, informative, (a little opinionated, but that was ok! We understood where he was coming from even tho we may not have agreed on all his points!) He was a lot of fun and we learned A LOT from him!
Jacob was our driver/guide for what should have been our day to Cinque Terre. The rain kept us away from there which was a great disappointment for me as that was the place I was most looking forward to. We went instead to Lucca and Pisa. The day was sunny but I was sad about not being able to spend the day by the sea. Jacob was excellent as well. He was very knowledgeable about all kinds of things and funny too. Seeing the Marble mountains driving by Carrara was a treat we didn't expect. Very cool!
I think our guide in Venice was "Henry" or the Italian equivalent of Henry! He was delightful as well! Really knew the subject of St Marks Basilica and the Doges palace well. There again, we stood quite a bit and that made us tired. That wasn't his fault tho!
Accommodations were very nice! Capo d/Africa hotel: Lovely, friendly staff. Positano Art hotel: very nice! Concierge there was very helpful and personable! Olympia Hotel in Venice: Super friendly staff!! Very helpful! Mamo apartment was very nice as well. I did call for them to come and fix something in our closet, but they couldn't make that happen. We called for additional toilet paper & trash bags and someone decided that it would be good to deliver them at 22:30! We were all in bed! At first I thought it would be far from the Florence sites but the location grew on me! There were several good restaurants we enjoyed very close to the apartment! Good job! :)
Now the down side of the trip were the following: Communication while in Italy. For the most part it was fine but there were several times that the drivers or guides had my sister-in-law, Julie's number. Julie began the process of planning the trip but had to back out in April, so I took over planning. I don't think Marina communicated with Julie anytime past June, so her number should not have been part of the itinerary. When we booked and had to give all our final information I took Julie's name off the list so it wouldn't be confusing, but it was still in Marina's files. Julie ended up getting several calls from Italy (mainly in the middle of the night!). That was annoying for Julie and frustrating for me as I couldn't get to our guides in a timely fashion. This happened most notably on the Vatican tour. Our guide was late, I believe, to begin with, and didn't use a sign with our name on it. She looked up Julie on facebook to see what she looked like to be able to find us. That obviously didn't work. I don't look like my SIL! :)
The Vatican tour was disappointing too as I had requested going to the Rafael Rooms specifically, and that got overlooked.
The other disappointment was the final day in Rome. We didn't get to go on the Appian Way bike tour because of traffic to the airport hotel. And we didn't get any type of refund for this either.
I think this stemmed from the fact that I had no idea about drive times to and from places. I wish that Marina would have explained drive times to me better. It didn't affect too much of the trip, but this last day we may have changed things around had we know about how long it took to get from the train station to the airport and back to town to take the tour. All we did that day was travel, but it wore us out! Plus day light savings time had just ended so it was getting dark sooner than it had up until that point. That threw us off as well. If Marina had explained to us that, since we wanted to stay at the A/P hotel, that we may be taking on too much, we could have cancelled that activity and saved a little bit of money. We did have a nice relaxing evening together at the hotel on that last night!
Oh! One other suggestion! It would have been helpful to have the name of the tour companies for the tours we were on. We would have then been able to be proactive in finding our guides a little quicker. As it was we were completely dependent on them finding us. Just a thought!
So as you can see we had a "Fantastico" trip to Italy! There were some rough spots, but nothing that would dampen my memories of this trip! I have already recommended KimKim to others planning trips to Europe and Italy in particular! Thank you for listening to me!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Capo d'Africa—Colosseo

Rome

Good location, friendly staff and the breakfasts included in the stay were very tasty!

Authenticity & Character

rooftop breakfast and bar in the evenings!

Location

walkable to historic attractions

Staff

Very friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

No problems!

Art Hotel Pasitea

Positano

Lovely hotel! Concierge was super helpful in restaurant selection! He really seemed to enjoy seeing us when we'd come by the front desk!

Authenticity & Character

Fun artwork all over the place here!

Location

Beautiful views! Gorgeous

Staff

Very friendly staff and helpful. Spoke English well for us, which we appreciated!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lovely rooms. Could have had a few more hooks, shelves & storage cabinets. A mini frig would have been nice too!

Mamo Florence Apartment

Firenze

Not as far from the Florence attractions as I initially thought but we did have to do a good bit of walking, which isn't bad! The staff was mostly accommodating to some of our needs. They couldn't come fix a closet issue, and brought us extra toilet paper and trash bags at 22:30! That was late for us Americans! We were in bed already! I would suggest having instructions for things like the coffee maker, washer/dryer & dishwasher. Letting us know what the checkout process was, and what to do with the trash would have been helpful too. Maybe having an information sheet with restaurants, markets, pharmacies etc would have been nice too. The lock for the door was something none of us had ever seen so that was a challenge initially but we got used to it! Overall a nice place to stay!

Authenticity & Character

City feel

Location

Good . Maybe could have been a little closer to town.

Staff

22:30 for delivery? not the best.

Cleanliness & Comfort

It was fine and clean and comfortable!

Activity Reviews

Colosseum & Roman Forum Visit: Arena Access, Gladiators Gate & Ancient City

Rome

Learned a lot! Lovely guide

Quality of Experience

learned a lot

Guides, Drivers and Staff

she was very engaging

Transport

we walked there!

La Dolce Vita: Private Golf Cart in Rome

Rome

Loads of fun! Guide was great and drove us all over the place! He was very knowledgeable and explained a lot of history & culture to us! He was losing his voice and we felt bad about that. a microphone would have help us and him out a bunch!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

so fun and a little scary on the streets of Rome! We had a lot of fun!

Day Excursion to Capri Island and Anacapri

Italy

Started out rainy but turned into a lovely sunny day! Really enjoyed the Funicular and the chair lift to the top of Anacapri!

Quality of Experience

Our guide was very personable and helpful

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Enjoyed our guide very much

Transport

I thought we would get to ride a hover craft out but we didn't get to That was the only downside. Funicular, Chairlift,ride over the MamaMia bridge! Very memorable

Day Excursion to Pompeii & Hercolanum

Italy

Fascinating to learn all the details of these ancient cities!

Quality of Experience

very informative.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Excellent! She knew her stuff and could convey it well to us!

Transport

Our driver to and from Pompeii/Positano was very conversational!

Guided Visit: Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel

Rome

Interesting place. Lots of people. Didn't find our guide for about half an hour. It was beautiful but felt herded like cattle through the Sistine Chapel. Didn't get to see the Rafael Room which was on my list.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

She was passionate about the artwork she was telling us about

Transport

The driver to the Vatican was fine.

Italian Cooking Class with a Local

Rome

So fun! Loved this event! Made pasta and an appetizer and were served plenty of wine in the process! Friendly Chef, translator and staff too!

Quality of Experience

Engaging staff! Wine! Yummy food! Fun Chef!

Food

Great food! So fun!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Enthusiasm, outgoing personality!

Transport

the driver got us there! It was fine!

Guided Visit of Florence Including David and Duomo

Florence

Good tour. Lots of information. Lots of standing which is hard sometimes! We did walk a lot though too!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We walked and met her at the designated point.

Chianti Wine Half-Day Experience

Florence

So fun! Really enjoyed the wine, luncheon an both wineries! The guide was very friendly and talkative as well (I talked about him in my overall review

Quality of Experience

Food

Delicious! Italian lunch and olive oil and wine! Who could ask for anything more!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

friendly funny knowledgeable

Transport

driver was our guide! Good!

Day Trip to Siena, San Gimignano & Monteriggioni

Florence

Fun day driving through the Tuscan countryside!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver was super friendly and helpful! He told all sorts of things about the area. Our guide in Sienna was good too! She enjoyed her town and liked telling people about it!

Transport

Driver was great!

Day Excursion to Cinque Terre

Florence

Did not go to Cinque Terre because of rain. Very disappointing to me! We did go to Lucca and Pisa. It was sunny but didn't make up for not being able to see the sea!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver Jacob made the best of a bad situation. He was super friendly and explained a lot of things to us driving down the highways to our destinations!

Transport

Driver was excellent!

Everything was perfect. Your choice of hotels were perfectly located in the center of the activities that we wanted to see and do. Your choice of restaurants were great.
Thank you for all your support.

Marta from KimKim put together a perfect itinerary for our first trip to Spain and Portugal with two other couples. The itinerary was thoughtfully crafted, covering a blend of cultural, historical, and gastronomical experiences that brought out the true essence of each city. From the grand architecture of the Alhambra to the seaside charm of Lagos and Porto, every moment was enriched by the friendliness, knowledge and local expertise of our exceptional guides and the comfort provided by our dedicated drivers.

Hotels were perfectly selected for their comfort, location, and hospitality, making each stay a delight. I particularly liked that each boutique hotel had its own charm and reflected the local architecture - plus, every one was centrally located so we could easily walk to restaurants or catch a short Uber ride to an activity. And I can't say enough about the delicious food in both countries. The recommendations provided by Marta/KimKim were great and we especially appreciated the quick response when we didn't have any plans and I texted in the app "can you recommend 1-2 local seafood restaurants near our hotel" and got an instant response - even after normal business hours!

The activities, from the (super fun) cooking class at The Cooking Clubhouse and a Fado dinner to the scenic wine-tasting experience and lunch in the Douro Valley, were well-organized and immersive. Highlights like the Flamenco show in Seville and a visit to a hammam in Seville brought unique local color to our journey, making the trip unforgettable. The only disappointment was that our boat excursion to Benagil Caves was canceled due to weather (but that was unavoidable as we were in Spain the days there were terrible flash floods in Spain causing tragic fatalities in the north).

Overall, this itinerary was flawless in its execution. The attention to detail and seamless coordination ensured that we could simply enjoy each day without a worry. This is our second trip with KimKim and they've done a spectacular job each time customizing each tour to our interests, preferences and budget.

When we arrived in Lisbon, we went on a tour with Mariana and she was amazing and knowledgeable. She had map references for the kids and I to see/visualize and even sent us on a scavenger hunt (which I am sad to report that we were the 1% of her groups that were unable to complete the mission; we got a little lost).

On our Sintra Heritage Hike, Feliz told us remarkable stories, showed us where the Queen's throne was (the view was one of my favorites), took great pictures of/for us, and provided a wonderful picnic!

The train ride from Lisbon to Porto was easy and enjoyable and from there, we went on a food tour that also took us through the Mercado de Bolhao. Our tour guide (I forgot her name, but she was wonderful!) was prepared and considered for substitutions for the kids, such as fresh fruit juice in place of wine. In the evening, we took a private tuk tuk tour with Bonito who had a wealth of knowledge of Porto and showed us all over including the fishing village.

We went on a hiking excursion with Petito to Peneda-Geres National Park and he was patient and full of stories. The traditional lunch in the village restaurant was abundant and delicious and the kids had an exciting time seeing the cows, sheep, and dogs!

The next day, we went off to Evora with Diogo, who drove us for the 4-hour ride. He provided us with lots of information regarding landmarks and was a safe and courteous driver. Once we arrived in Evora, we met up with Joao for a tour of the city which also included one of our favorites, the Chapel of Bones. We also got to witness the freshmen initiation of the uniforms which is an annual tradition. The next day, we met up with Joao again for a delicious tasting tour of pastries, olive oil, and wine. And, of course, we ended the tour with a bifana (Portuguese pork sandwich). Joao never made us feel like we were on scheduled time and told us lots of stories and antidotes to tie everything to the richness of the culture and history of Evora.

Later in the afternoon, Paulo picked us up with a driver and took us on an Evora Cork and castle tour. We are now cork experts and I think would make Paulo proud of our knowledge of cork.

The day before we departed Portugal, Diogo picked us up again and asked if were on a schedule, which we were not. It was our only free day without any tours or schedules, and he asked if were interested in seeing a private zoo. Of course, the answer was “Yes!” so he took us to a private zoo, which sells cheese, bought us animal feed and walked us around the zoo. At no point did he ever make us feel rushed or that he was on the clock. And his stories never ceased to amaze.

A big thank you to Helena, from KimKim, on collaborating with us to plan the perfect itinerary and to leave a memorable impression of Portugal that will be remembered for years to come! I highly recommend KimKim, Helena, in addition to all our special guides, Mariana, Feliz, Petito, Diogo, Joao, and Paulo. Without them, this would not have been the same perfect experience.

It was a trip of a lifetime. Portugal had been on my list to visit for many years. It did not disappoint. The people were so welcoming. Everything was perfect the tour guides were knowledgeable and informative. My only regret is my time in Portugal was too short.

Hotel Review

Carvi Beach Hotel

Lagos

I would not recommend this hotel. The staff was rude and not welcoming. We did have dinner in the restaurant and it was excellent. The location was ideal. It was just the staff that was the issue.

Location

Easy access to beach and transportation

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Private Day Excursion: Sintra, Cascais & Estoril

Portugal

My favorite tour. I wish I could have spent more time in these quaint cities.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Helena and KimKim were amazing in helping us plan our first two week trip to Spain. The trip was wonderful and went seamlessly without a single hiccup. Helena gave us everything we asked for and more and was able to foresee details we would not have thought of. She found the perfect hotels, tours, activities and transportation for us and planned it in a way that flowed so well. She also provided multiple suggestions on the best things to do, places to eat etc. in our downtime. Our tour guides were well informed and friendly and made sure we got the most of the experience. They knew how to avoid the crowds without missing out on anything. We learned so much of the history and culture of Spain and saw beautiful scenery, cathedrals, palaces, fortresses, old towns, city streets and more. Our drivers were also friendly and fun to talk to. We loved the trip app that KimKim provided, giving us a very detailed outline of every day that Helena had organized - hotels, drivers and their contact number, tours and guides, train rides and tickets etc. Additionally it included information about each city and site, where to go, what to see and where to eat. We found it to be invaluable. Everywhere we went we were expected and welcomed warmly. We are very grateful for Helena and KimKim and will definitely use again and recommend to others.

Hotel Reviews

Urban

Madrid

Beautiful hotel in a great location. Staff were very friendly and helpful and the food was great! We enjoyed our stay here.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Colón Gran Meliá

Seville

We really enjoyed this hotel! The staff were friendly, it was a great location and the food was good. It was a pretty hotel and we enjoyed our stay here!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Meliá Granada

Granada

We loved our stay at the Melia. The rooftop had an amazing view of the city, our room was nice and the food was good! The staff were friendly and very helpful with every detail of our stay. The location was great too and we had no problem walking everywhere we needed to go.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Only YOU Hotel Malaga

Málaga

We loved the Only You hotel. The staff was very friendly and accommodating, the location was amazing, the views from the room and the top of the hotel (where we ate breakfast) were beautiful. We really enjoyed staying at the Only You in Malaga.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Tapas Culinary Experience

Madrid

We loved this tour! It was our first night in Madrid and the perfect introduction. Our guide was fun and very informative, the food and drinks were really good and we had a great group and met some cool people. We really loved this tour!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guided Visit of Madrid: History, Culture & Architecture of the Capital of Spain

Madrid

Wow! So many beautiful sights, cultural and history in Madrid. Our guide, Javi was great! He was very informative and friendly and took us to some neat places and a few out of the way shops in Old Town that we loved. We really enjoyed this tour!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Train Madrid to Toledo, Guided Visit of Toledo, Train Toledo to Madrid

Madrid

Wow! Toledo is such an amazing place full of history and cultural and very unique as well. We loved our guide Sonia. She taught us so much about Toledo and the history, art, architecture and so much more there. She knew. how to take the side roads to avoid the busy and more crowded areas and got us right up front for prime views of everything. She knew so much about every aspect of the city and all of its history. She was fun and went out of her way to give us additional suggestions of places to eat and see and even got us a taxi back to the train station. Toledo is a place where I wish we'd been able to stay longer.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Guided Visit of Seville

Seville

We loved our private tour of Seville with Lita! Wow, what a beautiful city with so much to see and so much history. Lita was so informative and we had a great tour with her. We learned so much about Seville and saw so many beautiful sights, history and buildings. It was a wonderful tour!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit an Andalusian Olive Oil Estate

Seville

We really loved this tour of the Olive Oil Estate. Alberto our driver to the estate was a lot of fun and taught us a lot as well. Sarah, who led our private tour of the estate was great! We learned so much that we didn't know about the types of olives and the process of making olive oil both in the present and the past. A bonus was the carriage collection that the owner had - it was amazing to see and we got to pet the horses. We also enjoyed the tasting at the end. Sarah made the tour a fun experience and we really enjoyed it!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Train Seville to Córdoba, Guided Visit of Córdoba, Train Córdoba to Seville

Seville

Wow! Cordoba is such a neat city with so much to see! We had a great tour with Jose who was so informative! We loved the old Roman bridge and of course the Mezquita, the enormous mosque-cathedral. That was pretty amazing and there was so much in there to take in! It is such an interesting history. We had an excellent lunch while there and some free time to explore.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Flamenco Show in a Sacromonte Cave

Granada

What a great Flamenco show in Granada! We even enjoyed the walk up the hill to the Sacromonte area where the Flamenco show was held in the cave. It was a lot of fun and the performers were so talented from the dancers to the singers to the guitar player. We had a great experience!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Visit: Alhambra & Generalife Gardens

Granada

Wow! The Alhambra and gardens are amazing! There was so much to see and it was beautiful! Christina was a great guide and very informative and made the tour fun. The views were incredible as well as the beautiful gardens and of course the palaces. The old fortress and the old roman aqueduct and ruins were very cool. There is a museum onsite that had some very neat artifacts. There were so many different parts to this tour and each part was spectacular! We really enjoyed this tour!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Transfer {{start_location}} to {{end_location}} via Ronda

Spain

We enjoyed the views of the countryside on this private drive with Rafael who was very nice to Rhonda and when we got there, WOW! What an amazing place! The views and cliff are just incredible and the town of Rhonda was fun too. We had an excellent lunch at a cafe in the city and enjoyed walking around. But really it's all about the views. Wow!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Privately Guided Visit of Málaga

Málaga

Malaga is another beautiful city in Spain and we had a great private tour with Nahuel. He was a great guide and very informative! We enjoyed this tour and learning the history of Malaga. The Roman Theater was very cool and we learned how the Cathedral of Malaga was unfinished but they are working on finishing it now. It was also at the time of Picasso's birthday which is the same day as mine and so we learned more about his history with Malaga. Nahuel also gave us some great suggestions for places to go eat and to see while we were there. This was a great tour!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Self Guided Day Trip to Marbella

Spain

We enjoyed the beautiful drive to Marbella with Angel who was informative and so friendly. Marbella old town was beautiful and really neat! We had a delicious lunch there and enjoyed looking at the pretty flower lined streets and visiting the shops. Overall we had a fun trip to Marbella.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport