Saves me so much headache!
Spain
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Feb 16 - Feb 23, 2025
Booking a trip via a travel agent is something new to us as we’ve been the type who like to book flights and hotels only and keep the day flexible.
Boy was I glad I gave kimkim a try mainly because:
- it’s a bit last minute and I didn’t have a lot of time to do research
- we have a teenager son and it’s getting to a point where a successful trip means letting him bring a friend along (which tend to be super hard to coordinate a multi-family trip), or involving more local guides and planned activities so I can delegate shepherding him along to the tour guides
- I was also hoping he can practice the Spanish he learned in school in a safe space 1:1 with a local guide on private tours.
- Helena and team took care of all the hotel and train bookings saving me a lot of hassle entering passport info and lining up train and hotel logistics
- Helena was able to recommend activities based on our interests and timing of arrival, as well as lead time for heading to train stations and airport which was super helpful (googlemap timings doesn’t take into account for time for getting lost/not knowing exactly where to turn/going through security etc)
Helena went through iterations of planning and also identified a bug in the system with pricing (I got a little suspicious when updating the itinerary didn’t change the price) and got everything resolved in a timely fashion.
We are super happy with the cooking class (the food was some of the best we has while in Spain! And the guide to the market took a lot of stress out which stall to pick to get our shopping done!)
Our next favorite was our Seville tour, our guide was superb exposing us not only to history and architecture, but also fun facts and hidden gems. She’s also a great listener and made helpful recommendations from dining to shopping.
I am so glad Helena recommended the Segovia tour (such a dreamy historical town!) and our tour guides was very knowledgeable.
Our Madrid local guide was awesome trying to speak a little Spanish slowly with my son, and gave us recommendations which areas he wouldn’t recommend for tourists and where to eat if we want the local experience.
It was also helpful the espiritu local agents checked in with us during the trip and was super responsive when we had questions, even on a Saturday!
Highly recommend if you want to pamper yourself saving time on research/comparing tour options and pricing, yet still want a tailored experience (instead of big group bus tours where you are just rushed along).
Hotel Review
Location was perfect in a trendy area, yet still close to a lot of the tourist activities as well as museums and Retiro park. Staff was courteous and helpful, and breakfast variety was great. I took off one star mainly because of: 1) the hotel should really invest in renovating the bathrooms to include ventilation- otherwise the steam and smell is just permanently trapped which wasn’t pleasant 2) if you are staying on a Fri or Sat night the noise from nearby bars at night can be quite loud.
Activity Review
Going around the Triana market for specialty stores and products was awesome! Very fun to learn about local foods and spices. Instructions for cooking class was clear and great pacing. Chef also kept things entertaining and very informative. And the best spinach with chickpeas dish and chicken paella I have tastes!