Trips SouthAmerica

My son and I took a 11 day trip to Peru and Ecuador and it was outstanding.  The planning process with Kimkim was excellent and Anahi did a great job for us.  We made some custom changes and everything was handled smoothly. All of our pickups, transportation and logistics ran perfectly and we were safe and comfortable every step of the way . 

The Peru portion started with a visit to Lima and our guide Sylvie was wonderful. From there, we went to Cusco which was our launch point to 3 places - Machu Picchu, Humantay Lake and Rainbow Mountain and we did 3 hikes on 3 consecutive days by design as we wanted an active trip.  All 3 destinations were stunning and Machu Picchu is a special place. Lot's of llamas and alpacas too! Our guide Leo out of Cusco was amazing and we made a new local friend spending 5 days with him. 

We went on to Ecuador and visited the Galapagos Islands. Truly amazing place and the conservation work they are doing there is inspiring (as are the tortoises).  Our trip ended in Quito and our guide Pablo did a wonderful job walking with us in the city and showing us the sights. 

Overall, the trip was very special for us with lots of great memories. This was our second trip in 6 months to South America with Kimkim and they have both been special. My thanks to Kimkim and all the wonderful people that we met along the way!

Hotel Reviews

Belmond Miraflores Park

Lima

Inkaterra Hacienda Urubamba

Urubamba

JW Marriott El Convento Cusco

Cusco

Authenticity & Character

Location

Ikala Galapagos

Puerto Ayora

Very nice staff!

Location

Staff

Activity Reviews

Lima: City Tour + Visit to Larco Museum 🕍

Peru

Sylvie is an amazing guide -- she gave us a lot of great information and was very kind. Loved walking through the downtown streets in Lima.

Quality of Experience

Sylvie was excellent!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Planetarium

Cusco

Great visit. We enjoyed the presentation and also looking at the stars outside. They guides there was very energetic!

Quality of Experience

Transport

Sacred Valley Inmersion

Sacred Valley

Enjoyable day! We drove for about 2 - 3 hours with Leo and stopped in a few places along the way. The llama experience was incredible where we stopped and got a close up encounter feeding the llamas, vicunas and alpacas. Many thanks to Leo for doing that and for giving us clever photos we could take to make the visit memorable. Also enjoyed the Sacred valley tour and going up the structures. It was incredible and a great preview of Machu Picchu which was the next day.

Quality of Experience

Closeup with the animals and feeding them!

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Excursion to Machu Picchu - return to Cusco

Peru

Spectacular day! I've always known that Machu Picchu is one of the seven wonders of the world and I can see why. It was truly stunning. The travel logistics were very smooth with a car ride, train ride and then bus ride. Train ride with Peru Rail was very comfortable. We really enjoyed the tour with Leo and he gave us detailed explanations of Machu Picchu, Temple of the Sun, Temple for Pachamama etc. He showed us the detail of how the blocks align so well, the irrigation systems etc. -- it was so great to hear the stories from him. Return to Cusco was smooth.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Leo was amazing as always.

Transport

Full day to Huamantay Lagoon

Cusco

Another great day. The drive to the lake was very smooth and it was fun to stop at a local place to eat in the morning and taste the local food. The hike itself was very nice - Leo was very kind as I was a bit slow (I am 58) and we took our time to get there. Enjoyed chatting with Leo about life, philosophy and our dreams for our families in the future. The lake itself was spectacular.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome dinner at Huaca Pucllana 🍽️🍷

Lima

Cusco: City Tour + Nearby Archaeological Centre

Cusco

Leo did a wonderful job giving us a lot of the history and background of the Incas and pre-Inca times. We really enjoyed listening to him as we wanted an immersive experience in the local culture which he provided for us.

Quality of Experience

Excellent!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Leo was amazing!!

Transport

Beto did a great job driving.

Rainbow Mountain

Cusco

This was a special day. Our drive to Rainbow Mountain was great -- it was great to drive through the Andes, see the local villages and people living on the hills. Lots of llamas! Life in the hills is not easy but people seem to be happy and it was nice to see lots of smiles. Rainbow Mountain is 16,000 feet above sea level so it is a low oxygen environment. Having said that, it was great to hike and we took it nice and slow and it was a pleasant experience. The mountain is amazing and the colors are so beautiful - really worth visiting! We got some amazing pictures with llamas up there.

Quality of Experience

Food

Local food stops were great

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Another great day with Leo

Transport

Beto did a great job driving through the windy roads with lot of potholes.

Explore Bartolomé Island & Sullivan Bay: Snorkeling and Sightseeing 🏝️🐠

Isla Santa Cruz, Galápagos

Great boat ride and seeing all the animals.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Quito: Quito City Tour & Museum or Equator Line

Quito

Enjoyed meeting Pablo and the walking tour was excellent. Really enjoyed the stop at the chocolate tasting place. Due to timing of our flights, our tour ended up in the late afternoon which was great because we got to see the city at night and it's beautiful!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Great job by Pablo.

Transport

This is my first time to Chile, Argentina and Bolivia and was excited because we travel to many of our bucket list destinations, such as San Pedro de Atacama, Uyuni, Santiago, Patagonia, El Cafalate, Buenos Aires and Mendoza. The planning process was smooth and Flor was given many local excursions for me to choose. Most of the local guides that were either picking us up or for taking us on a tour were very knowledgable and helpful. But Julio and Willie (the driver) for the 3 days tour in Uyuni are the best. They are knowledgable, caring (very important when travelling at 4700m elevation) and flexible in the plan. Our city tour guide in Buenos Aires was also very good. The local excursions included a combination of private and small group tour. Private tour was definitely more intimate and flexible. But the small group tours especially in San Pedro de Atacama were great too because we had an opportunity to interact with other tourists and had make many new friends. Before we this trip started, we were contacted by Kim Kim's operating team Julian that he would be assisting us 24/7. When we arrived in different stops, the local tour organizers would check on us and provide assistance. As for the accommodations, the hotels in El Cafalate and Mendoza are below our expectations. The staff were helpful but the facilities were dated. Overall, we are glad that we have Kim Kim planning our trip.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel La Casa de Don Tomás

San Pedro de Atacama

The hotel is off 5 mins walk to the centre. The room we had was quite small. Due to the design of the hotel, the room is quite hot and we had to open the door to allow air circulation. The hotel is a bite dated but the staff is great and helpful. The best thing of the hotel is its restaurant. The food is very good and priced very reasonable (actually, it is cheaper than the restaurants in the centre).

Authenticity & Character

Location

It is away from the busy centre

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tayka del Desierto

Ojo de Perdiz, Potosi

This hotel is in the middle of nowhere but perhaps there are not a lot of choices in the hight desert. It is dated and cold. It is cold because the hotel turn on and off the heat at certain time. They even shut off the power at night (without informing the guests). So you will not have light or wifi. Most rooms have a window facing the common corridor, when people talking in the corridor, you can hear everything. The hotel should have advised all guests to be quiet in the corridor. The dinner on the other hand is quite good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel de Sal Luna Salada

Uyuni

We were staying there for 2 nights. It is supposed to be very highly rate hotel. Obviously, we are disappointed. The facilities are dated and you can see many things were fallen apart. The wifi doesn't work and there is no closet space in the room. The food in the restaurant is disappointed. The only saving grace is the staff. They are very helpful and nice.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Patagonia Camp

Torres del Paine

The hotel/camp is very unique because the room is a yurt connected by walk ways to the main reception and restaurant. The best part is that you feel that you are in the nature and not being disturbed by other hotel guests. But since it is a yurt. you are subject to the nature as well because you will hear the rain and the wind (it is quite windy in Patagonia). All the staff are fantastic and helpful. The food for breakfast, lunch and dinner are very good. Many people chose not to go for activities to enjoy the facilities and lunch. In addition, the guides of the activities are also very wonderful. The only draw back for us is that we were waiting an hour at the airport for pickup even though they were informed of the plane arrival time. There is only 2 flights flying in Puerto Nateles everyday.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Sierra Nevada

El Calafate

The hotel is dated and service is average. The breakfast is sad too.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Argentino Hotel

Mendoza

We are staying in Hotel Mod, not Argentino because we were advised that Hotel Mod is better. Hotel Mod is about 6 blocks from the centre in a safe neighbourhood. The hotel is big but the service can be improved. The staff is good and helpful. The check in service is lengthy because you need to download the key app to your phone to open the room door. The restaurant in the hotel only provide breakfast and the breakfast is disappointed. They served a lot of canned fruit.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Evening Astronomy Tour

San Pedro de Atacama

We were picked up from the hotel to a location not far away. We were provided with a translator to explain what we would see. It was a great experience because the guide provided a lot of information and answered all our questions through the translator. Unfortunately, we had a full moon and we could't see a lot of stars. At the end of the tour, we were provided with drinks and snacks.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Planning was easy, responsive team and would highly recommend

Ana and her team were excellent in helping us plan and complete our awesome trip to Chilean and Argentinan Patagonia. I appreciate how proactive and attentive to detail they were in every phase, including helping us stay on budget. At one point our flight was cancelled because of a nationwide airline strike and they quickly arranged for a new itinerary and helped us file a travel insurance claim with a third party. I highly recommend kimkim for their professional service.

Our holiday in Chile and Patagonia was outstanding. It started in Santiago, we then went down to Punta Arenas. Punta Arenas is the gateway to Patagonia. The trip to Tierra Del Fuego to see the King Penguins was one of the highlights of the trip. Our guide throughout the day long visit was professional and kept us informed all through the journey. It was well organized. We then went to Puerto Natales to visit Torres Del Paine. The hike to the base of Torres Del Paine though arduous was certainly well worth the effort. Key pointers hike up the mountain with water snacks and I phone. Limit the load that you carry up the mountain. Our guides Vicente and Marcos were outstanding. Visiting the Balmaceda and Serrano glaciers was once again one of the highlights of the trip. The final leg of our trip was in Atacama. One of kind place. Lots to see there. We would need at least a week to explore Atacama. The hotels picked by Florencia were quite good. We had a great time. Would definitely do this trip again.

Flor was extremely available and accommodating. She listened to what the 4 of us expressed we wanted and really put together a wonderful itinerary. She responded to our questions immediately and was readily available to speak with us if necessary. Our problem was not realizing that the last 6 days were essentially 1 all day travel alternating with1 day at a fantastic location. We didn’t realize just how long the travel times between areas would be. My only suggestion is including that in the proposed itinerary. But everywhere we went, as well as the accommodations, were perfect. The guides at Remota and Mallin Colorado were amazing. Thank you for such a wonderful trip

All of three of the all-inclusive hotels provided great service, food, and amenities. Jaime the chief of activities at Remota did a great job of explaining options and booking suitable activities. His staff, particular Renota, was great. The second resort, Mallin Colorado, had fewer amenities, but the guide they used Andreas, who took us to all our activities, was responsible and fun to be with. At Puyhuhuapi, the last resort, the staff, again, was excellent. It is a beautiful and unique hotel that is a great place to relax as well as to hike.
The hotel in Punta Arenas, Carpa Manzano, where we spend just one night, was suitable. Staff was quite helpful.

The only problem with the trip was that we did not understand the driving times between Balmaceda airport and Mallin Colorado or from Mallin Colorado to Puyhuhuapi. On a map the distances suggested about 3 hours and 4-5 hours, respectively, but a large portion of the roads were dirt, so the actual times were nearly double. It took more than 5 hours for the first trip from the airport and nearly 8 hours for the second trip to Puyhuhuapi. That meant that 2 of the 8 vacation days (excluding the arrival and departure days) were just travel. In a pickup truck and then a van, the drives were not scenic enough to compensate for the very long and uncomfortable drives. I am not sure of the solution. Both spots were beautiful and we are happy we saw both, but we felt that