The Eco-Travel Boutique

When we landed on the soils of “The Mother City” we were greeted by the KimKim team to welcome us to “The Motherland” and to make sure we had access to transportation that got us to our first destination in Cape Town. The small touches of wine and treats really made this a special time to celebrate our milestone birthdays. What a beautiful couple of days we would have exploring CT, Robben Island, and Table Mountain. Before heading off to Hoedspruit, where we would then stay at Unembeza and tour the panorama views of with Titus who was great. The lodge where we stayed was other worldly — we never expected waking up to a giraffe right outside of our bedroom window, we didn’t anticipate the views of the African Sky, and the delicious meals we had cooked and prepared for us daily. It was the true essence of being cared for. And our tour guide for the panorama views was exceptional we think he was an actual historian or professor shadowing moonlighting as a tour guide. Titus was so knowledgeable and impressive with his info sharing. It was intoxicating the amount of knowledge he shared about the views, the history of the land, and the people and villages we passed. It was like being on a private tour of some of the most hidden gems of South Africa. Again, the lodge and Nokuthula had delightful small touches to make us feel special.

Then we were off to the Bush for Safari which was STUNNING to say the least. We did have a small issue with our housing (please prepare for camp style living if you are going on safari) after we were upgraded to the suites housing got better thanks to Nokuthula. But other than that the public amenities of our safari lodge was warm, comfortable, and tasty food. Our safari guide Michaela and watcher were I think the best. We got to see ALL of the BIG 5 during our (4 nights 5 day safari). Low key we didn’t want to leave the once in a lifetime views and animal crossing but had to be on our way to Johannesburg which was part of the tour that we planned ourselves in terms of excursions. Yet the parts that KimKim planned was exactly what we needed.

If you’ve never been to the Mother Land I urge you to Go!! But most importantly if you’re looking for talented individuals who actually live on the continent to help your planning you must start with the talents of KimKim and Nokuthula. We will certainly return to now one of our favorite places on EARTH South Africa and it’s largely due to the time we had during this our first journey home.

Esther was great to work with and organized a very customized trip for us that included lots of time with our local family while we were in South Africa, while also suggesting places to stay or visit that we wouldn't have known about. She helped find accommodations that our family of 6 were comfortable in and was super responsive and accessible throughout the planning process and the trip itself. She managed to keep us within budget, and when there were small hiccups a few places we went, her team was able to troubleshoot to get us the best outcome possible.

We had a magical experience with our family of 4 teen and pre-teen boys, and I know it was in no small part due to Esther's help, ideas, creativity, and resourcefulness.

Everyone who our local specialist Nokuthula put us in contact with was amazing. Our guide to hike up Table Mountain, Fatima was very knowledgeable and helpful as well. Everything about the trip was very planned out and outlined in the details. We were in constant communication with everyone if anything came up or if we had any questions during our stay. Couldn’t recommend them any higher.

On the front end of this trip, Esther did a great job of responding to our questions and concerns and suggesting solutions to potential problems. In country Charlie was a great guide. He was responsive, concerned, knowledgeable, connected. Our best experiences with KimKim connected trips are when the local guide is plugged in and knowledgeable. Our marginal experiences were when the local guide was not directly connected to the community we were touring. Charlie was connected throughout Madagascar and it made a big difference.

Some general observations: There were more meals provided to us during the trip than we were expecting. Not sure why there were discrepancies between our itinerary and our experiences, but it happened several times. On a personal note, sandwiches and snacks would be preferred to a big more formal lunch. Breakfast, light lunch, and nice dinner would be our preferred model.

We very much appreciated having the charter flight arranged for us to successfully complete our tour. Perhaps this should be offered during the planning of the trip as a more reliable way of transportation. We had "padded" a day on the end of the trip to make sure we were back in time for our international flight, but the charter was a better option. The flight itself was enjoyable, smooth, high wing enabling great views. Good option for people who are willing to fly single engine charter.

Being able to do a late checkout on our last day in Antananarivo made a huge difference in our comfort. It should be built into the itinerary. We were able to have a last large dinner (more revenue for the hotel) relax, get a shower before heading for 28 hours of continuous travel. Build this into all or your customers travel plans who are leaving around midnight.

Madagascar is a fascinating country, filled with many "natural world" things to explore from lemurs and chameleons to hiking beautiful forests. It also has a rich cultural heritage which we were able to explore as well.
Our guide, Charlie was one of the best we have encountered on our many Kimkim trips. He drove us many miles on difficult roads safely, he is very knowledgeable about his country and culture and has many contacts throughout the country. He was eager to please us , and he did!
Esther put together a trip that highlighted all we wanted to see and do. We are thankful for her help. As an extra bonus we were actually able to meet her in person as she was traveling in Madagascar the same time we were!

Activity Reviews

Arrival in Antananarivo & Transfer to your accommodation

Antananarivo

Charlie was there waiting despite our flight being delayed 2 hours!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Andasibe-Mantadia National Park

Andasibe

Roger was an excellent guide in this park. We saw lots of lemurs! It's a busy /popular park.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Roger the guide

Transport

We have recently returned from a 16 day adventure in Madagascar, booked through KimKim and planned, booked and organised through Esther in South Africa.

We had an amazing time. Everything pretty much went to plan, apart from Air France losing our luggage on both our inward and outward journey and my needing a doctor after a bad reaction to malaria tablets. Esther remained in contact throughout and did an amazing job planning an unforgettable holiday for us. Everything about it was spot on and special occasions were made very special.
Our in-country driver and guide, Dolly, was an amazingly calm, kind, friendly and knowledgeable individual who taught us so much about the country as we travelled round. We really did enjoy his company, and his mastery of the extremely difficult roads. He always planned and timed our stops carefully (for banks, western toilets and ‘safe’ food) and discussed each day with us the evening before.
All our accommodation was fantastic. We had our favourites of course! If anything, I think some of the activities and locations were undersold, which made them all the more exciting. Camp Catta , Isalo Rock ( amazing food), and Nosy Be Hotel were our favourite places to stay.
Our main requirement was to see ring tailed lemurs, and other lemurs along the way. The different reserves (national and community) provided amazing opportunities to see different lemurs, frogs, birds, chameleons, lizards and more in different environments. All the while we seemed to secure the services of the most knowledgeable, friendly and enthusiastic local guides.
We found the Malagasy people warm and welcoming. Even those in great hardship seem to smile. However, it is a country of extreme poverty, awful roads, and chaotic traffic-filled cities so people must be prepared that everything might not go to plan.
Our trip was an unforgettable combination of impressive scenery, abundant wildlife, lovely people, great food and accommodation combined with scenes of everyday life. It was well planned and organised throughout. We would encourage everyone to take some time to chill on the coast before leaving and to enjoy the marine wildlife too
This is our second time booking through KimKim and we will certainly use them again.

Special thanks to Esther and Dolly.

Hotel Reviews

AU BOIS VERT

Antananarivo

Very close to the airport, good food and friendly staff. Lovely, secure grounds and comfortable rustic room. No mosquito net but we didn’t see any. Sun goes of the pool fairly early in the afternoon as the trees shade it .

Authenticity & Character

Interesting rustic room

Location

Close to the airport, quiet. Lovely wooded area with lots of birds

Staff

Staff were all very smiley and English wasn’t a problem

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bed was very comfy

Camp Catta

We loved this place and really weren’t expecting to from the photos! Views are fantastic. The pool is amazing. The food is good, despite the hotel being in the middle of nowhere. The room is fairly basic but has everything you need including a mosquito net. The camp is home to ring tail lemurs who happily roam around and jump up and down on your roof at 6am. I loved being able to fit and watch them for hours.

Authenticity & Character

Location, lemurs, light

Location

Tricky journey to get here in that the road to the hotel is essentially a track - takes at least an hour from the nearest awful road . Views of the chameleon mountain are superb. Great for climbers

Staff

My French!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Isalo Rock Lodge

Ranohira

Wow. Amazing view, amazing room , amazing staff and amazing food. The best food we ate anywhere- delicious and stylish presentation . Congratulations to the chefs.

Authenticity & Character

Modern luxury

Location

What views. We’d have happily stayed longer.

Staff

Always smiling

Cleanliness & Comfort

Eco Lodge Les Chambres Du Voyageur

Antsirabe

We only stayed here one night and they weren’t doing food that evening. We found the room cramped and dark, with lots of mosquitoes. I did swim in the murky pool but half expected a creature to emerge from the deep! clean and adequate gor a night in the road.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean but cramped and dark accommodation. Lovely floral touches, nice balcony and tea and coffee facilities.

Hotel Thermal Ranomafana

Ranomafana

Lovely hotel in. spectacular and extensive grounds adjacent to the river . Modern comfortable room and en-suite. Good and well used outdoor bar area. Natural thermal spa pools are worth booking. This is a really interesting and beautiful town to wander around with an outdoor swimming pool, riverside walks etc . A great base for the national park. We also visited Setam Lodge for lunch - amazing zebu steak.

Authenticity & Character

Provide an indoor bar area

Location

Staff

My French and their smiles . Also asked not to be disturbed until 10am as I wasn’t well, but we were constantly harassed by cleaners.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nice bed, good shower

Relais des Plateaux & Spa

Standard rooms but comfortable. Good food with availability through the day and evening - obviously popular with locals who leave their kids in the pool while they eat. Also used by airline crews. Great pool, good service - we were impressed as it had everything we needed to relax before travelling home.

Authenticity & Character

Everything goes on around the pool . Be plenty of bar and restaurant space.

Location

Close to airport

Staff

Very friendly and helpful on reception

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bakuba Lodge

We only stayed here one night and arrived mid afternoon so the sun had gone of the pool and we didn’t get to enjoy our whacky outdoor space. Accommodating staff who were very kind when I wasn’t well. Cash only for settling up for food and drinks. Amazing huge room and bathroom which was lovely, but poor sound proofing! Sadly I didn’t try the menu

Authenticity & Character

Probably deserved a 5 but we weren’t there long enough

Location

Close to airport and beach resorts

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nosy Be Hotel

Great hotel. Beautiful room, location, facilities, grounds, staff, pool, beach and bar. Only thing that stops this being a 5 is the food which we found disappointing. Breakfast was fabulous and breakfast staff lovely we found the evening menu largely disappointing and there were obvious tensions amongst the staff . We would still recommend this hotel for everything else.

Authenticity & Character

Really well laid out, comfortable and relaxed

Location

Right on the beach

Staff

Most were special, one we found to be rude to us and the staff she managed

Cleanliness & Comfort

The comfy bar sofas really made a difference!

Activity Reviews

Arrival in Antananarivo & Transfer to your accommodation

Antananarivo

Air France left our luggage in Paris, and that of a number of other travellers who had originally boarded a connection in London. The flight arrived late in Madagascar so the extra hassle after a long flight was particularly unwelcome. Luckily we weren’t leaving the capital straight away but I’m sure it caused real issues for people departing early next day. We were met and transferred perfectly and our driver was very patient whist we tried to sort things out. The airport staff were also very helpful. Note: luggage not arriving on this route is not unusual . There is no Friday flight, so if you travel on a Thursday and your bags don’t arrive then they will come out on Saturday night - and if you’re not there at the airport to pick them up they are unlikely to follow you until Sunday or Monday. Transfer itself was perfect.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Patient and helpful despite very late hour

Transport

Antsirabe City Tour

Antsirabe

We chose not to do this . Spent time chilling after late night and shopping to find essentials until our luggage arrived

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day excursion to Nosy Komba & Tanikely

Nosy Be

Great day seeing the islands. Our boat driver and guides were fantastic. Lunch was cooked for us and was one of the best meals we had all holiday. We hadn’t appreciated how much shopping was part of the experience at Nosy Komba so would probably have taken more cash with us . The shopping and stalls leading up to the nature park were colourful and interesting - but be prepared for pressure to buy. (although please do buy to support the community)The reserve was busy but our guide was knowledgeable and had a great sense of humour and the plants and creatures we saw made it really worthwhile. The black lemurs are attracted and fed with bananas to encourage them on to visitors shoulders for photos . And yes, you can expect poos! An interesting island, this contrasted well with Tanikely which we loved. Beautiful beach , snorkelling over coral, tropical fish and turtles. This is a protected island - we saw bee eaters too.

Quality of Experience

A really well planned day offering a range of experiences

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guides were so knowledgeable and keen to talk and share that knowledge

Transport

Stargazing

Ranohira

We didn’t do this activity . We live in a dark sky area of the UK!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport