Turismo Milodon

Our local specialist, Jesse, did a wonderful job throughout! She was receptive to our ideas, chose locations and excursions that matched our interests, and was flexible and patient as we worked out the details for two couples--one pair of native Chilenos and one pair of English-speaking US citizens. She was available for last minute questions late at night and early in the morning. We felt well-taken care of the whole time. In terms of our experiences, our stay at Hotel Las Torres Patagonia was a splurge but was well worth it. The location inside the park was extraordinary, the rooms and food were exceptional, and the folks who worked there could not have been more welcoming. Two excursions stand out in our minds as experiences we will never forget. The first was the boat trip to Isla Magdalena to see the penguin colony there. Jesse reserved VIP tickets for us, which gave us an opportunity for good views, a nice snack, and personalized information from Guillermo, a guide from Fiordos del Sur. Another memorable tour was the day we spent hiking from Sarmiento to Amarga Lagoon in Torres del Paine National Park. Our guide, Pedro, with Patagonia Planet was fantastic! We appreciated his ability to speak both Spanish and English, the tour van with big windows that offered all of us a great view, and his patience and knowledge in answering the million questions we asked about the flora, fauna, geological features, and cultural history of the park. This trip really was the adventure of a lifetime, and we could not be more appreciative of the services Kimkim offered!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Costanera

Puerto Natales

New and modern accommodations, a nice breakfast, and a friendly, helpful staff. The hotel was a little off the beaten path, but we were able to walk to the center of town, though getting an Uber was often more convenient. The location on the water was nice!

Authenticity & Character

The women who worked the front desk were welcoming and helped us to make dining reservations each evening.

Location

Not in the center of town.

Staff

The women who cooked and served breakfast could not have been friendlier.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything was clean and comfortable.

Hotel Las Torres Patagonia

Torres del Paine

The hotel is certainly pricey, but its location in the park was well worth the money. We could walk out the front door and immediately start trekking. It was also a warm and welcoming place to rest after a long day of adventures! Our reservation was "half-board," and the breakfasts and dinners were exceptional. Every staff member we encountered went out of their way to be helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right in the park! We could hike to the base of the towers.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Great showers!

Activity Reviews

Penguin Colony on Magdalena Island

Chile

Seeing penguins up close was amazing! Although all visitors to the island are required to stay on the paved path, we never felt herded or rushed. The walk was self-paced, and a number of guides were spread out during the walk to answer questions and give more information.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide, Guillermo, who was assigned to the upper deck, set up a big map that helped us to visualize where we were and what made that route on the Straits of Magellan so special.

Transport

Safety was a primary concern of the staff, which we appreciated. The seating was comfortable, and the big windows allowed us to have clear views as we travelled.

Full-Day Tour of Torres del Paine National Park & Surroundings

Chile

This trip was disappointing. Our tour was for just the four of us, but the small SUV we rode in required that one of us sit up front with the driver, while the other three sat in the back, with someone in the middle seat. Not ideal for looking out the windows, which was a big part of this driving tour. Two of us were native Spanish speakers with good English, and two of us were native English speakers who know a little Spanish. Our guide was fluent in Spanish, but his English was definitely not fluent. The result was that he spent 90% of the time conversing with the Chileans, and much less time talking with the English speakers. It was frustrating when we had questions. That being said, we visited some beautiful parts of the park, places we never would have seen if we had been driving on our own.

Quality of Experience

Food

We had box lunches which were very good.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

A guide for English speakers who is truly fluent in English.

Transport

A larger vehicle with bigger windows.

Hike from Sarmiento Lake to Amarga Lagoon

Chile

The route was amazing and so was Pedro, our guide!

Quality of Experience

The route offered us extraordinary view of both Los Cuernos and Los Torres. Seeing guanacos and native birds was a thrill, as was seeing the cave paintings and imagining those who traveled this route before us.

Food

Box lunch was convenient and delicious.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Pedro was SO knowledgeable and shared his knowledge generously in both English and Spanish. He was also extremely responsive to our needs and abilities.

Transport

Nice big van with big, clean windows.

Boat Tour to Balmaceda & Serrano Glaciers

Chile

Full disclosure: The day we took this tour could not have been wetter. It poured rain the whole time, and everyone on the boat was soaking wet before we were finished. It limited the views of this incredibly scenic place. The windows were steamed up, and most people never went out on the decks because it was raining so hard.

Quality of Experience

Food

Everything. We stopped at an "estancia" for lunch. It seemed more like an event venue, a giant room filled with tables. The wait staff was insufficient for the number of people they were trying to serve. We waited forever to be served, making the lunch take hours. The food was poor. The specialty of the house--lamb--was dry and overcooked. What a disappointment! We would have preferred to have skipped this part of the experience altogether.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

There was little in terms of a guide. The narration came over a loud speaker, and because of the noise level of conversation on our deck, we could hardly hear what was being said.

Transport

Toda la organización, respuesta rápida, información, calidad de los hoteles, muy buena y muy recomendable.
Lo único que falló, fue el auto que nos fue a buscar a Pta. Arenas, no era para 4 pasajeros, viajamos apretados y algo incomodos. El guía aunque muy amable y servicial no tenía dominio del inglés lo que dificultó conocer los lugares visitados. Esto se hizo más evidente cuando nos tocó un guía muy instruido y con dominio de inglés en el último día de en Pto. Natales.

Jesse did a fantastic job coordinating my trip. It was easy to communicate with her in advance of the trip. When I got in country, everything ran smoothly. All of the guides and drivers showed up as expected in the right location and on time, the excursions were a lot of fun, and the hotels were as expected. I had no reason to be in contact with her while in country, which is exactly what one would hope to be the case. My only recommendation would be to let the traveler know in advance of the formal entry requirements/forms for Easter Island. I learned through the LATAM website that I needed some special documentation for Easter Island. That made me a little nervous and would have been niceto know in advance. Aside from that, flawless!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Director Vitacura

Santiago, Vitacura, Región Metropolitana

Easter Island Eco Lodge

Hanga Roa

Wasn't the best hotel but I intentionally skimped on this hotel to save money. So I got what I paid for.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Took a little bit to understand how to get hot water. Had a couple days of cold water at first. Had a broken light in my room that took a while to get fixed. I couldn't get the screen door in the back of my room to lock--not sure if it did. But again, as expected for a two-star hotel.

Holiday Inn Santiago - Airport Terminal

Santiago

Activity Reviews

Orongo Morning Tour and Ahu Akivi Afternoon Tour

Easter Island

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Easter Island Highlights Tour

Easter Island

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trekking in Easter Island

Easter Island

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Santiago City Tour - Private

Santiago

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This trip took a year to plan, though that time Lorena was so patient and communicated very well. The itinerary that she made for me was tweaked for my liking. Everything was to the T from pick up, tour, hotel, bus. The hotel that she picked was great. Lorena did an excellent job and her team was great.I was going to this trip knowing it's going to be a good trip but it exceeded my expectations it was great!!

Our guides, Lorena and Johnny; and our drivers, William, Ivan, and Carlos were excellent. The driver who took us to and from the Chilean/Bolivian border knew the procedure very well. The guides were exceptional, having very good local knowledge, cultural, political, geologic, archeological, etc. information. Their English language skills were very proficient and this was helpful for us non-Spanish speaking visitors.

The guides listened to our needs and wants and adjusted schedules accordingly. They understood that our group was photographically oriented and they readily accommodated our needs. They also were aware of good photo locations. They were customer-focused and attended to our needs. The afternoon snacks and beverages offered by the guides was a classy touch. Guides and drivers were on time.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel La Casa de Don Tomás

San Pedro de Atacama

Friendly and attentive staff. The restaurant served very good food a reasonable prices.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mallku Cueva

Villa Mar

Clean, quiet, nicely decorated. Simple meals. Friendly staff.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel de Sal Luna Salada

Uyuni

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Staff was unresponsive to our requests to control the noise made by 80 high school students running, yelling, etc. in the halls and rooms until 3:00 am on the two nights we stayed.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tayka Del Desierto

Ojo de Perdiz

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Noi Borde Loa

Calama

Authenticity & Character

Well appointed and decorated

Location

Convenient location to the airport

Staff

Staff was somewhat lackluster, especially with the dinner service.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tayka de Piedra

San Pedro de Quemes

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Ancestral Convoy with Llamas

San Pedro de Atacama

Quality of Experience

Competent local guide, just wasn't interesting for me.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledgable, competent, friendly, helpful

Transport

On time, clean vehicles, comfortable

Explore Yerbas Buenas & Rainbow Valley

San Pedro de Atacama

Good breakfast, nice scenary. Felt a bit rushed with the photography, as we were a private group.,

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We spent two great weeks on our trip, one in the Atacama Desert in Chile and one in Uyuni, Bolivia. Our guides in Chile, Lorena and JD, were so knowledgeable and fun. William, our driver, was very kind and patient. Our guide Jhonny and our drivers Carlos and Iván in Bolivia were equally as wonderful. We felt so well cared for during the entire time. Our guides and drivers even prepared delicious breakfasts and lunches for us while we were on the road. All we had to do was sit back, relax, and have fun! We didn't always sit back and relax; sometimes we did some hiking, too. We felt the whole trip was very successful. Thank you to Lorena at Kimkim for setting everything up for us and allowing us not to have to worry about anything. I was nervous about crossing the Bolivian border, but since we had prepared so thoroughly beforehand, it wasn't difficult at all. If you're an American, fill out paperwork online at Bolivian website and have it printed along with the USD cash to buy the VISA. I highly recommend this trip. So beautiful!

Hotel Review

Hotel La Casa de Don Tomás

San Pedro de Atacama

Our stay at the hotel in San Pedro de Atacama was mostly pleasant. While they occasionally had issues with hot water, they worked hard to resolve it. The restaurant was excellent, and the staff was very kind. The laundry service was a big plus as well.

Activity Reviews

Wildlife Photo Safari

San Pedro de Atacama

The Wildlife Photo Safari was an incredible experience, especially thanks to our guide JP. We even managed to see a puma, which was thrilling. JP was very knowledgeable and made the whole safari worthwhile.

Stargazing Tour

San Pedro de Atacama

The Stargazing Tour was an unexpected delight. JP gave a great presentation before the tour, and his wife Valeria was very knowledgeable during the telescope session. It exceeded our expectations. It was a very pleasant surprise that it was so interesting.

Discover the Salt Flats of Uyuni

Bolivia

Discovering the Salt Flats of Uyuni was a magical experience. The drivers made it fun with creative photography, and despite initial reluctance, we all participated and ended up with some fantastic photos.

Excellent, the guides were effectively national treasures, especially Hernaldo! Hernaldo was such a delight to be around and it was great to have him tag along with us on adventures. Ray was fun too but he had to focus on driving so his input was limited. The places we saw were beautiful and interesting, the food amazing! Only negative was the hotel, the staff was good but the actual rooms and hotel itself has this sense of water logging throughout. Granted Panama is really really wet but this hotel smelled of mold throughout.

Everything went so smoothly and as planned. Lorena L. listened to what we wanted out of the trip and the trip delivered. Our driver and guide for the Atacama, William and Lorena, were kind, patient, and knowledgeable and funny. Our drivers and guide for the Uyuni portion of the trip, Iván, Carlos, and Jhonny, were also kind, patient, knowledgeable, and funny. We had two cars in Uyuni since there were four of us. My husband and I only had the driver, Iván, who was great, so sweet and caring. He knows the area so well that he could be a guide except that he doesn’t speak English. (I speak Spanish so not a problem for us.) in Uyuni we went on miles and miles of dirt, sand, and salt. Some might find that grueling, but we loved it all. The three men I traveled with are all avid photographers and they were thrilled with the photos they got. We’re so glad we did this trip and used KimKim for the second time.