Exotic Voyages

I have always traveled with an established tour group, so this was my first venture into a personalized tour. The idea of this vague, on-line platform made me nervous. I was quite worried before the trip, but all my worries were for naught. It was an incredible tour from start to finish.

First, our specialist Lacey was beyond phenomenal. Even though we're half a world apart, she was so responsive to our questions and always replied quickly. We made numerous adjustments throughout the planning stages, but she was kind, courteous and upbeat from start to finish even though I'm sure we drove her crazy. She had excellent suggestions and followed through consistently on any of our questions or concerns. We also had the privilege of meeting her in Hanoi (her home base) during our visit (one of the highlights of the trip). I would like to add that she remained in touch with us throughout the tour and made sure everything went as planned. When the airlines switched our flight time, she made all the arrangements necessary to get us to the plane on time.

Were there a few glitches on this trip? Certainly. That's the nature of international travel. Would I have changed a few things in hind sight? Certainly. But overall, the trip was flawless. With the exception of 2 guides who were less than wonderful (one simply didn't feel good and probably should have requested a substitute and the other simply wasn't much of a guide -- more of an escort who got us to all the places we needed to be without any explanation).

But we also had two of the best guides I've ever had. Our Cambodian guide (Set) and driver (Buhan) were marvelous. They treated us like queens. I highly recommend them for anyone traveling to Cambodia. And the best of all was Ae in Bangkok. I don't think I have words to describe how incredibly wonderful she was. She wanted us to love her country as much as she did, and she succeeded. She had the most incredible smile always, was constantly handing us a new food or treat to try, and shared personal stories that allowed us to totally experience her culture. I've kept her photo because it makes me smile every time I see it.

So thank you Kimkim. To my great surprise, I would work with you again on another trip to somewhere else in this magnificent world we live in. Thank you for putting us in touch with a local travel specialist who would design a custom tour.

Our trip was fantastic. Hoa and Ashley (Phuong) from KimKim provided amazing service and support with planning the trip and making adjustments as needed. They were professional, helpful, friendly, and endlessly patient. We were very happy with everyone who helped us at each of our destinations, particularly our guide Sun Bunthoeum in Siem Reap, Cambodia; our guide Bach in Hanoi; and Diep, our driver in Hanoi. Bach and Diep make a great team and filled our time in Vietnam with laughter.

Hotel Reviews

Solitaire Bangkok Sukhumvit 11

Bangkok

The hotel was clean and comfortable in a great location. The gym and pool were quite nice.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Anjali by Syphon

Very nice hotel with lush gardens that create an oasis in the middle of Siem Reap.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tirant Hotel

Hoan Kiem, Hanoi

Fantastic location in the Old Quarter and within easy walking distance of the water puppet theatre and Hoan Kiem Lake. Rooms were clean but rather plain and ordinary.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The hotel was very clean, but the rooms were too plain and basic.

Mon Cheri Cruises

The ship was pleasant with clean, comfortable rooms. The cruise itself was disappointing. We would have liked to spend much more time underway to see the stunning scenery go by. Instead we spent too much time at anchor, for kayaking and a land excursion to a cave. Those two stops were interesting but not worth the time that could have otherwise been spent underway. Most of the sailing time happened during the night, when it was too dark to see the scenery. The staff was great, especially Ducky, our waiter, and Jasmine, the cruise director.

Authenticity & Character

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Emeralda Tam Coc Resort

Fantastic location right on the river and within easy walking distance of town, vendors, street food, etc. We upgraded to premium deluxe rooms, which were great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Bangkok Symbolic Temples

Bangkok

Amazing places: very interesting and well worth doing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was friendly, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable. However, his English was not the best, and he was often difficult to understand.

Transport

Hang Mua Viewpoint - Visit Tam Coc & Bich Dong Pagoda

Ninh Binh

Bich Dong Pagoda, which is built into the mountainside was well worth the hike up to see it. The Hang Mua Viewpoint has good views but was too crowded with tourists. The boat ride along the river was incredible, with rice fields on either side and mountains rising straight up out of the fields. That experience was definitely one of the best parts of our trip and featured some of the most unique and beautiful scenery we've ever seen.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Night Street Food Tour After Dark by Tuk Tuk

Bangkok

Super fun with lots of great food.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Back to The Glorious Days of Ayutthaya Kingdom

Bangkok

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide's less-than-great English was a limiting factor.

Transport

Nature Walk in Cuc Phuong National Park

Ninh Binh

We enjoyed our visit to the primate rescue center, and it was great to see the important work being done there. The turtle rescue center was less interesting. The hike through the jungle was a good way to get an up-close experience of the jungle but otherwise was unexceptional. This was a good outing, but I wouldn't do it again and don't necessarily recommend it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Apsara Dinner Show

Siem Reap

Good cultural experience, but some dances were more interesting than others. It would have been helpful to have a detailed program to explain the origin and meaning of the various dances. The food was unexceptional.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boarding Cruise - Halong Bay - Lan Ha Bay - Tra Bau (Mon Chéri Cruises)

Ha Long Bay

The ship was clean and comfortable, and the staff was great. The best part of the cruise was when we were underway, so we could see the beautiful scenery going by. Unfortunately, we did not spend that much time underway, which was disappointing. Much of the daytime was spent at anchor, for kayaking or a land excursion to visit a cave. Sailing seemed to mostly happen overnight, when people were sleeping and it was too dark to see the scenery anyway. I would definitely recommend a different cruise that skips land excursions, spends more time underway, and takes in more of the amazing scenery of Ha Long Bay.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Angkor Complex Discovery

Siem Reap

Absolutely worth seeing. Despite knowing that we were visiting ruins of great temples, it was still a bit shocking and disappointing to see the state of disrepair that the ruins have fallen into. We hope that over time Cambodia will be able to invest more into preservation and restoration. Ta Prohm, with trees growing directly out of the ruins, was amazing.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kulen Mountain Adventure by Jeep

Siem Reap

Somewhat interesting and fun to go by Jeep, but probably not worth an extra day in Siem Reap.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide and drivers (August, Sovann, and another driver whose name I don't know) were friendly and knowledgeable and spoke great English.

Transport

The Jeeps were fun, but be prepared to be very dirty after a long drive on dirt roads.

Siem Reap - Visit the floating villages of Tonlé Sap - Kompong Phluk

Siem Reap

Interesting experience. We were amazed by the vastness of Tonle Sap. This excursion has limited impact in the dry season, which is when we visited, but may be better in the rainy season. The houses do not actually float; they are built on stilts. In the dry season, you see the stilts rise dozens of feet above the water, because the lake level is so low. In the rainy season, the houses probably appear to float.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanoi Half Day Exploration

Hanoi

Great visit to the Temple of Literature and the Ho Chi Minh complex: well worth doing. It was great to see these two sites, but I wish we had seen more of Hanoi. A full-day tour probably would have been better for us.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide Bach and our driver Diep were terrific. They are a great team and made every outing lots of fun.

Transport

Water puppet show

Hanoi

Amazing show. We were a bit skeptical about it ahead of time but were so glad we did it. Don't miss this fantastic show!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Unfold The Secret of Hanoi Street Food

Hanoi

One of the highlights of the trip. Our guide Bach took us to some amazing spots and vendors and was willing to keep going for as long as we were able to keep eating!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

This was our first time using kimkim to plan travel, and the entire process, from defining the details of our trip to Thailand, to the actual visit, exceeded expectations. The intake process that kimkim uses was fun, aimed at quickly deciphering what a traveler is looking for. Better yet, it immediately connected us to a local travel planner, in this case a terrific woman in Vietnam named Hoa Tran, who really knew what the heck we wanted. Hoa easily offered up countless options for our consideration and quickly iterated until we landed on the kind of trip we aspired to take. Each iteration was clear and thorough and included lots of details and pricing as well...made it easy to get to an itinerary we liked.

Thailand was amazing! And we literally felt cared for by somebody that kimkim arranged to greet, tour and escort us around the country every step of the way (we are good independent travelers so don't need hand holding but kimkim got the balance right). Hoa picked amazing hotels in the three cities we visited (Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket); they were over the top lovely and not the usual picks a web search might spit out. And while hotel restaurants can be a risk, the food in all three of these hotels was excellent and the service was extraordinary (BTW, Thai people in general are the most caring and gracious we have ever met...we learned a thing or two about being more gentle human beings from them). Our hotel in Phuket, the Amanpuri, was over the top; it was one of the nicest places we have ever visited. Despite the care of our local guides, Hoa checked in with us at every stop of the journey...a nice and thoughtful touch.

Our days were full (maybe too much so, but that was our fault for insisting that we do something exciting every day). Our guide in Bangkok (Kirana) was the best...and so knowledgeable and funny. The elephant sanctuary visit and jungle hike in Chaing Mai were also great, but our four days in Phuket just relaxing in a stunning setting next to the Andaman Sea was the absolute highlight. Finally, our all-in package that included hotel, tours / guides and domestic air travel felt like a good value. We paid a pretty penny for the visit, but for an experience that was easy, seamless and fun, we felt we got more than our money's worth.

We will definitely uses kimkim again; we think their secret sauce might be connecting a traveler to a local planner who really knows the place you plan to visit. From the outset, we were dealing with a local (Hoa Tran), who knows Southeast Asia like the back of her hand, not some random clerk in a Chicago HQ. Based on our experience, our friends are using kimkim to plan a trip to Iceland. And if we head back to Thailand or Southeast Asia (we are definitely going back to the Amanpuri in Phuket), Hoa will again be our requested planner...she was just great.

Lacey was incredibly patient working with us to craft the trip of our dreams at the price we wanted to pay. When our flight to Siem Reap was changed, she arranged to get us from Halong Bay to the airport in Hanoi. That was the only blip in the schedule, and it was seamlessly handled without us having to do anything.

Overall, our guides and drivers were wonderful. A special call out of Ae, our guide in Bangkok, who we wanted to take with us. She made us fall in love not only with Bangkok, but her. She attended to our every need, and then some. She treated us to the foods of Thailand, and always was smiling. We also enjoyed Set and Buhaun in Cambodia. Set treated us as queens, and we loved the cool towels and water Buhaun had ready for us. We only spent half a day with Pookie in Chiang Mai, but we enjoyed the time with her. We were less impressed with Thom in Hanoi--he clearly was not feeling well--and Mr. Chaun in Chiang Rai was more of an escort than a guide. Instead of walking through our stops and sharing the history, he pointed us in the right direction and later met us to leave. He seemed impatient and eager to finish the job. We didn't get that sense from anyone else. They all were eager to share their knowledge with us. Because of his attitude, we wish we would have spent only one day (or none) with him. Other than that, we had a tremendous experience.

Highlights were dinners with families in Vietnam, Cambodia and Chiang Mai; Angkor Wat; Tonle Sap; everything with Ae (tuk tuk food tour, flower market, Grand Palace at night, railroad and floating markets, Ayutthaya), the White Temple, the elephant sanctuary and our two excursions in Phuket (Phi Phi Island sunrise speedboat tour and John Gray Sea Canoe trip).

The trip not only met, but exceeded, our expectations.

Lacey was amazing! So communicative and there when we had questions or had minor hiccups on our trip! We can’t thank her enough for all her help planning our dream honeymoon!

Hoa was caring and very helpful support all the time. Her planning was perfect.
Of all the guides we met Rodjana was outstanding. I believe she was hired by Exotic Voyages.

I found exotic voyages through the kimkim platform and I’m so glad I did. Although I enjoy travel planning, Thailand is a tricky trip to plan as there are planes, cars, trains and ferries to get you around. It is complicated! Lacey at EV had all our transfers lined up and organized, taking all the stress out of our travel days. Her people were terrific, always there on time with a smile- no snafus! That helped me make the most of our time in this beautiful country. Communication was always easy through Kimkim as Thailand is 13 hrs ahead! She also directed me to the best hotels for us, and arranged all our internal air. I couldn’t have done this trip without her!

Hotel Reviews

Hyatt Regency Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel (Ex: Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi)

Hotel is old and musty. Proximity to the airport is its strength.

Authenticity & Character

Needs complete renovation

Location

Close to airport

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room was clean and cold

LA VIDA Samui

Koh Samui

Room had a lovely balcony and view over pool to beach. I would not stay in any room except this highest level as they faced the run down neighboring properties. Room was clean, cold and quiet. Breakfast was wonderful. Exterior and hallways of this hotel are in terrible condition. Pretty beach, but beach vendors and weed smokers were overwhelming. Location was good for walking to restaurants, but the many weed stores attracted an unsavory crowd. I would stay in an area of koh samui different from Cheweng beach.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

SAii Phi Phi Island Village

Lovely hotel with rustic luxury bungalows. Please note that you arrive by boat and you must be able bodied enough to climb out of the speedboat, into the water and to walk through the water to the shore. The food is average, but there is a fun local village on the backside of the resort we enjoyed in the evenings. We scuba dived here at the resort and had a good experience. Pool is lovely.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Away from backpacking crowd

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Twin Lotus Resort

koh lanta

Our beachfront bungalow was quiet, clean and well appointed. The breakfast was lovely, and the beach stunning. We could walk to beachfront restaurants, or take a tuktuk to more local spots.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nysa Hotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 11

Bangkok

This hotel is even prettier in person. The decor is fresh and modern. Lovely breakfast, nice location. Pool area is a sanctuary from busy Bangkok

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Elephant Sanctuary Koh Samui - Afternoon visit - Joining activity

Ko Samui

We enjoyed this day. Some might find it objectionable that guests can feed, bathe and touch the elephants. Guide was very difficult to understand. Tie-dying and cooking activities were very fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Long drive around island to pick up and drop off many guest. Private taxi would have been better.

Bangkok Best Eats Midnight Food Tour by Tuk Tuk (Joining excursion)

Bangkok

Definitely do this! We saw parts of the city we wouldn’t have otherwise, and really experienced local food, restaurants and Bangkok culture. So fun to be with fellow travellers from other countries!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Healthy Samui Coco Life - Biking in Samui

Ko Samui

We really enjoyed getting out of Cheweng and seeing the countryside.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Koh Lanta Beach Stay

Ko Lanta

Beautiful beach free of beach vendors.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half day Klong Tour

Bangkok

We only had a 1 hour canal tour, and returned on the train.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport