Kimkim Trip Reviews

Dimitrios was excellent to work with. Our trip was wonderful. Hotel staff, drivers and guides were courteous, prompt and welcoming.

Our KimKim local specialist, Gummi , put together a wonderful tour for us, that was comfortably paced. The hotels and restaurants were all enjoyable. I particularly liked the food at Hotel Kria in Vik and the Hotel Budir on the peninsula near Reykjavik.

Alphonso was responsive and informed and easy to work with. While in Spain, we had confidence that he or someone in the shop would respond in a timely way to our many questions. We had a great trip, which he helped us plan, including many different regions and experiences. We relied a great deal on his judgment and were amazed at how great the guides were. It took a lot of pressure off our backs.

Activity Reviews

Private Wonders of Girona Walk

Girona

Sasha was very knowledgeable, and we learned a lot. We were especially interested in the Jewish history, and she did not disappoint.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Not relevant (can't get rid of the star!!!!)

Private San Sebastián City Walk

Spain

Juan was terrific, one of the great guides in our history of guides. Smart and funny.

Quality of Experience

Cantabrian Sea Sunset Cruise

San Sebastián

The sunset cruise was fantastic. The captain and his wife made everyone feel welcome and cared for, and it was beautiful and even exciting, bouncing on the waves. Definitely would recommend it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guggenheim private visit

Bilbao

Susanna is an excellent guide. Totally open to questions, very generous with her time and expertise. She's wonderful, pure and simple!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Bilbao walking tour

Bilbao

An interesting, walkable city even without the Guggenheim.

In almost all ways working with Emily was an extremely positive experience: she is knowledgeable, responsive, and very gracious. All the aspects of planning the itinerary were handled thoughtfully and in a timely fashion. There were two hiccups that kept me from giving five stars both for the experience and Emily herself: the tour and hotel bookings were handled by another specialist, who put them in her (or possibly a third sub-contractor's) name, so we didn't receive important communication from the hotel (like the number of the apartment) and the tours didn't have our names when we arrived to register. Everyone was extremely responsive and resolved the issues quickly, but they shouldn't have happened in the first place. Second--and this relates to the KimKim experience--there's no transparency around the charges. I don't know what the upcharges were on your end--but once we found out the price of the individual tours and the cost of the hotel (by looking online) we realized that they are probably significant. I realize we are paying for the service--but I want to know what % of my costs were service charges. If it was any more than 20%, then I will look elsewhere before booking with KimKim again.

Anu was very patient answering all my questions with details and planned our trip in a considerate manner. We had a lot of fun and exp experienced almost all activities that the tourist resort can offer.

Hotel Review

Clarion Hotel Bergen Airport Terminal

Bergen

Very clean and looks brand new. Very welcoming too. Small breakfast was offered from 4:00 am and the big one starts at 6:00 am. Very thoughtful for early flight guests.

Authenticity & Character

Clean and welcoming. The design is unique and stylish.

Location

Walking distance to the airport.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Yes.

Activity Review

Waterfall hike and Stegastein Viewpoint in Spring/Autumn

Flåm

The guide Rose is very kind, thoughtful, experienced, and professional.

Quality of Experience

Rose is very experienced and made the entire trip very fun and she managed the time perfectly.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Rose is full of vitality too.

Transport

Rose planned the trip well so that we had fun and were also able to get back on time.

We had an amazing trip to Portugal. Giorgia, Karin, and Carmen were wonderful with helping to create the perfect trip. Communication was great and the trip went exactly as planned and exceeded expectations. We would definitely recommend using kimkim to anyone looking to take a trip.

Hotel Reviews

Lagos Avenida Hotel

Lagos

Authenticity & Character

Location

K

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Portugal Boutique Hotel

Lisbon

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Be Poet Baixa Hotel

Lisbon

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Fado Dinner Experience

Lisbon

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lisbon Roots, Food & Cultural Walk

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Day Excursion: Sintra, Cascais & Estoril

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Algarve Kayaking Trip to Benagil Caves

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wine Tasting & Lunch at a Portuguese Quinta

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pedro and his Team of Across Portugal were fantastic people to work with. I was impressed with the professionalism, responsiveness and attention to detail. Pedro was in constant communication with us to make sure every single detail was perfect. The transportation services were excellent. Hotels were extraordinary, It was a five star experience, and a very comprehensive and well planned trip.

Thank you Pedro for an amazing trip! Pedro and his team of Across Portugal are the best, I highly recommended them!

Overall a great experience. Trip was very thoughtfully planned out, and Majid was very accommodating and available. Special mention to our wonderful driver Moha, who went above and beyond in every sense. He was always punctual and well informed on the day’s activities. He made suggestions on revisions or alternatives (all of which were highly valuable) that him and Majid worked out with little involvement from us, and he was kind enough to welcome us into his home.
Would highly recommend for a once in a lifetime trip!

Activity Review

Hammam Spa & Massage in Marrakech 3 PM Session

Marrakesh

An absolute must!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I cannot say enough about the level of service, patience, detail and organization that Sandy, our contact at KimKim and Odynovo, provided. I changed my mind and plans so many times in the planning process and she always responded with cheer and a desire to help me achieve our goals. We had an extremely seamless vacation experience in Japan, and I credit this to her and her team's incredible organizational skills. We never had an issue checking into a hotel, meeting a guide, with a reservation or anything. I didn't realize until we got there how much arranging they had done in terms of reserving a time for us to canoe; meet our guides; planning out trains; etc. Sandy checked in on us many times during our stay in Japan and always wanted to make sure we were having the best experience. I am so pleased we worked with them. Some of our desires may have been difficult to achieve since we were travelling in a less touristed region but they made it happen. There are too many great details of our trip to list all, but I will add some highlights and then a few things that we (or mostly I) would do slightly differently next time. I do want to go back soon and I would definitely use KimKim and Odynovo again.
Highlights- our guides Kohmin, Tomoko and Chie were all so interesting and knowledgeable, and gave us so much insight into local culture and history. Chie in particular is a riot and very personable. We really enjoyed the tuna auction and fish market in Shiogama; those were very different and uncrowded experiences I can't imagine that most tourists get to experience. Matsushima was beautiful and we loved going to the little tea house with Kohmin and Tomoko. With Chie, we explored Yamadera, which is a beautiful mountaintop shrine where we climbed up for gorgeous views and we had a fun local lunch with her and took local trains. One of our most memorable stays that Odynovo booked for us was in the ryokan in Tendo; what a beautiful, soothing and fancy cultural experience with gorgeously served meals I will never forget. I would have liked a little more time in this area. Kakunodate was also very memorable; we loved the samurai district tours with Koh and he also took us to a nearby waterfall. We went back ourselves the next day before leaving for Tokyo and were going to go on a hike up the hill for a view of the town but there were bears in the area! Instead we walked around this lovely town more, had coffee in a little and interesting local place and lunch in the hotel. It would be amazing at cherry blossom time, I'm sure and is quite famous for that. I had found a farm stay called Midori No Kaze but couldn't get in touch with them; Sandy did and booked that for us. It isn't for everyone - very rustic and basic, just 2 roooms in a couple's house, but we really enjoyed being outside the town and walking around their rice fields. They are incredibly hospitable. From the reviews online I had thought we could participate in some farm activities; though that didn't happen, we still had a great time just staying over there. Kazuko, the owner, is Internet savvy and books guests from all over who want something a little different. We really liked her and she even was happy to speak very simple slow Japanese with me so that I could practice! Our other favorite activity which Odynovo booked for us was canoeing in a group in the submerged forest in Lake Ishikawa, an opportunity that only comes along a couple of months a year in the spring when the snows from Mt. Ide melt. A very unique opportunity and fun to be the only foreigners in the group at a beautiful spot. The guides always called ahead to let various activities and hotels know we were coming and make us feel welcome.
The only things I would have done differently are more my responsibility. For example, I would have liked more time to just wander by ourselves through some of the towns. Ginbekei Gorge was a disappointment and I should have read more about it before hand- I was mixing it up in my head with another gorge in the area. At Ginbekei, I thought we could hike and walk around a lot but there are no trails. The "flying dango" were fun to see but I could have skipped this place altogether if I had known more about it, and would have preferred doing something else outdoors in a more expansive natural area. I think that KimKim may want to let people know if a particular activity is not necessarily the best use of their time, but of course again this is something that I should have been aware of myself. The only other thing I would have done differently is upgrade my hotel in Tokyo to one with a slightly bigger room since we were there 5 days. The Knot staff is absolutely lovely, and breakfasts were delicious, and it is opposite a really nice park, so it was fine. The staff also helped me arrange a reservation at a local jazz club one night. However, while Japanese hotel rooms can be small, I know, the KNot's are REALLY small with no place to put our clothes during a longer stay. Also, had I researched it a bit more, while it is good to be near the station, but Shinjuku is really crowded and huge and a little exhausting, so next time I would maybe stay in a slightly quieter area such as Asakusa, or rent an Air BnB if I'm going to be somewhere for more than a few nights.
In Tokyo, Odynovo arranged a fabulous tea ceremony demonstration for us with Mariko, and we were the only people besides one other Japanese woman and we had the BEST time. Thank you! So interesting to learn about. It is right next to the Kabuki Theater so we bought tickets to a performance there ourselves. On our own, we took the bus to Lake Kawaguchi one day to see views of Mt. Fuji and walk around, and that was also a great experience and awe-inspiring. W

I'd also like to be able to speak on the phone with the agency more at the beginning of the planning stage next time although email/ KimKim platforms works very well. Sandy is incredibly responsive, knowledgeable and diplomatic and I really credit her with making our trip such an easy and memorable one!!! She is amazing.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Metropolitan Sendai East

Sendai

Great location, nice staff, amazing breakfast selections (Japanese and western). We enjoyed being above the lively and convenient station in Sendai. The room was very tiny, which is not unusual for hotels in Japanese cities though.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tsunagi Onsen Hotel Shion

We really enjoyed it but it's a little different. Feels kind of like a Japanese version of a Catskills hotel. There is a large banquet room for meals (food is great!). People go around the whole hotel in their yukatas. Mostly older people or families with young children. We were the only foreigners at the time which was enjoyable for us! Staff is very nice. There are some stores in the lobby and there was a dance show after dinner that we enjoyed. Beautiful view of the lake. We loved the futons and our tatami room which was really comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very pretty view of the lake. Hotel is outside Morioka. We didn't find Morioka all that interesting since it is after cherry blossom season.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Tuna Auction & Fish Market Breakfast in Shiogama

Sendai

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Encounter Splendid Nature: Matsushima Bay Cruise and Zuiganji Temple

Matsushima

Beautiful views of the bay and islands. Our guides were great in figuring out the best place to take the boat from and also took us to a lovely tea house in Matsushima.

Visit Yamadera, a Historic Mountain Temple

Yamagata

One of the highlights of our trip. It is a moderate climb up the mountain on steps and you get incredible views. Our intrepid and fun guide, Chie, also told us many great anecdotes and information about what we were seeing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We took local trains. We had our luggage with us, and while I was at first dismayed I had not arranged for luggage transport or been advised to do so earlier, Chie helped us figure out where to store our luggage in the train stations and it was very easy. I was glad we just had carry on size bags too. Not a problem.

Lake Shirakawa

Zao Onsen

Beautiful lake area! I would have liked to spend time hiking in this area but I didn't fully research it before going. The views from the lake of the Mt. Iwate are stunning and we had so much fun canoeing with a group in the submerged forest.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discover Hiraizumi: Chusonji Temple, Motsuji Temple, and Genbikei Gorge

Hiraizumi

Gorge was disappointing - no place to really hike or do much - it's pretty but limited - see main review. I could have spent this time elsewhere.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A little far for what we ended up doing there. The town seems kind of sad as well.

Delve into Samurai Culture in Kakunodate: Samurai Quarter and Sake Brewery Visit

Kakunodate machi

We loved Kakunodate - a lovely small town and it was great to just stroll the streets and learn about the bygone culture.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Learn about Miso and Soy Sauce Making: Ando Jozo Brewery Honten

Kakunodate machi

We ended up skipping these as we had already been to a whisky and sake factory and I thought this would be too much of the same. In general next time I would incorporate more free time to just walk around interesting towns or spend more time in nature walking or hiking. (Only gave the one star since we didn't do this)

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Just gave those

Tea Ceremony in Tokyo

Tokyo

A wonderful and interesting activity! Very intimate and enjoyable and Odynovo gave us great directions to get there.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We got there easily by public transportation.

Pedro was super knowledgeable, helpful, and responsive. An absolute pleasure to work with.

Very smooth trip to Lisbon!

We had a great time in Portugal- we only stayed in Lisbon, but had a wonderful day trip to Sintra as well. Pedro had everything organized for us so the trip was a breeze!

All of our guides were excellent. The experience felt like a land cruise. I never felt lost or uncomfortable. People were available to welcome us at each stop and bring us to our next location. Irving met us in Cusco. He gave us many good insights regarding what we could expect. He brought us to local restaurants and an animal sanctuary. Javier was our guide in Machu Picchu. He was extremely knowledgeable of the history and patient with my walking speed. He also helped us a great deal to get fantastic photos. Felix brought us through Puno. He also helped us navigate local customs. I learned so much about Peru. The views were breathtaking. I loved all of the trains. It was a wonderful way to experience the Andes. The food and service were also very good. We enjoyed the hotel accommodations. Next time, we will spend additional days in Cusco and Machu Picchu to truly take advantage of everything there is to learn. I wish I had planned more time. I will have to come back.

I cannot thank the Wildr.Africa team enough for the trip of a lifetime. South Africa was exquisite! Beautiful topography, animals, interiors (!!), fabulous food and wine.

I am thankful I found kimkim who connected me to a great team on the ground in my destination. There is literally no reason to pay a US front company when all the expertise comes from the local team.

Anne Marie and her team were excellent communicators both via the app and via what’s app despite the time difference. They kept the planning process moving and helped me make decisions without overwhelm.

They understood my priorities for the trip and worked within those parameters to create the perfect trip for us.

All drivers, guides, and accommodations were seamless, and they helped us work through any challenges that arose. We are so grateful!

Many fabulous people to mention:
Walkers beach: maya, jane
Robberg hike
Monkeyland
Peninsula tour
Earthstompers: Rachelle
Babylonstoren
La Cotte farm
Pearl valley golf and spa
Walkers plain: James, roan, Clarence, zoli
… and of course Debra, Anne- marie and Cornelia without whom none of this would have happened.

My daughter and granddaughter and I took a self drive trip in Ireland. We chose to experience the West coast from the Dingle Peninsula north to Galway. We flew into Shannon which was the perfect airport for us American drivers to start. We used the GPS on my iPhone for navigation. Used ApplePlay instead of Google, although Google works too, and was spot on everywhere we wanted to go. We went off the beaten path many times. Planning was great, until it was not. My original contact listened to what I wanted the trip to look like, planned an itinerary that was not the normal cookie cutter trip, found lodging where we had a triple rom, sent her a glowing review, made final payment then she went silent. I had a question that went unanswered, finally called Kim Kim to get my question answered also had to call the get my vouchers and tickets 10 days before we left. At that point I was put in contact with Svetlana and she was amazing. I understand life happens and things get off track. All my correspondence was going thru the company system, and when my original travel agent was not longer doing her job, I should have been assigned a new contact not my having to make phone calls asking for help. I chose KimKim because I had a great experience planning a trip to Nepal then Covid hit and cancelled the trip. Yes I would use Kimkim again but could not give a 5 star review.

Activity Review

Farewell

Ireland

Hi Luigi,

Thank you for planning a wonderful trip for us. Overall, working with you was great and we had a wonderful time with a couple of exceptions that I mention later. Your itinerary gave us a Scotland experience we would never have come up with on our own. Your daily updates during the trip helped set the context for the day, and our guides were knowledgeable, personable, and accommodating. We feel like we came away with wonderful memories and a more tangible feel for Scottish history, culture, and the landscape.

All the scheduled activities and sites were amazing, and I could write about each one. In the interest of brevity, I’ll keep it to a couple.

The Farm of Kinaldy Shetland and Valais sheep was a highlight. Julie was a wonderful host and was happy to answer any and all questions. She let us interact with the sheep, wander around her field to take as many photos as we like, and even try our hands at sheering. The sheep are very people-friendly. We also got to see two highland cows she acquired recently. I would recommend this experience to anyone interested in sheep if they don’t mind getting their shoes a bit muddy.

Cawdor Castle was another highlight. The gardens, in particular, were spectacular, bursting with spring colors. Given all the blooming flowers, we spent more time than I expected in gardens during this trip. I recommend people intentionally allocate time for gardens when touring in late May.

The main issues we had during the trip were with two hotels. The first was Inverlochy Castle. A pipe broke and flooded our room around midnight. We had to call the front desk multiple times before they sent anyone to help us because the night porter could not reach the manager. After much insistence from me, they moved us to two other rooms. This process took about an hour because we had to dress, pack, and move to rooms across the site in the main building (our original room was in the old guard house by the road). We did not sleep well that night. When we checked out the next morning, I thought they would compensate us somehow, but the manager did not even mention the incident. When I brought it up, they said they had moved us to new rooms, so they viewed that as sufficient. This was a shocking response from a supposedly 5-star hotel, given what had happened. I would not recommend this hotel.

The second hotel issue was more minor. Our breakfast was not included in the Waldorf stay, and we had to pay for it, even though the itinerary said it was included.

If there is a way for us to be compensated for either of the hotel issues, please let us know.

I hope this information is helpful. Again, thank you for helping us with a wonderful trip.

Sincerely,
Jack, Pei, and Nolan

Our recent journey through Spain and Portugal was nothing short of magical, starting with the vibrant city of Madrid. Our guide, Hector, provided a fantastic 3-hour tour of Madrid's charming neighborhoods. One of the highlights was discovering a hidden gem in Plaza del Conde de Miranda: the Monasterio del Corpus Christi. Here, we got a delightful surprise—delicious cookies baked by cloistered nuns who are forbidden to communicate with the outside world. This monastery, in operation since 1607, now shares its sweet treats with the public. This unique and delicious experience is a must-see!

Next, we journeyed to the historic city of Toledo, where the Gothic cathedrals left us in awe. We then headed south to Seville, indulging in tapas for days and soaking in the passionate rhythms of a mesmerizing flamenco show.

Crossing into Portugal, we found ourselves in the coastal paradise of Lagos, where relaxation by the pool and rooftop drinks became our daily routine. Our adventure concluded in Lisbon, a city that captivated us with its stunning palaces, bustling sounds, and a heartfelt fado show. One of the highlights was an exhilarating off-road trip to the high mountaintops, offering breathtaking views of Portugal’s natural beauty.

From the bustling streets of Madrid to the serene landscapes of Portugal, this trip was an unforgettable blend of history, culture, and relaxation. Thank you Rita and the KimKim team for taking what could have been a very time-consuming process to organize and made it easy to enjoy.

Activity Reviews

Tapas Culinary Experience

Madrid

Quality of Experience

Food

Flamenco Experience

Spain

Quality of Experience

Guided Visit of Madrid: History, Culture & Architecture of the Capital of Spain

Madrid

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guided Visit of Seville

Seville

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Discover Rural Algarve

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tuk-Tuk Tour

Spain

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Fado Dinner Experience

Lisbon

Quality of Experience

Food

Private Day Excursion: Sintra, Cascais & Estoril

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We just came back from a 9 day trip to Italy and we had an amazing time. Elisa was the perfect trip planner and was an absolute pleasure to work with before the trip and when we were in Italy. She arranged for amazing tours while we were in Florence and Rome. We also took day trips to Tuscany and Tivoli which were fabulous suggestions. We had personal tour guides all throughout the trip which made the difference. We could see things at our own pace and got to ask a lot of questions to get a deeper sense of the history. As true of any trip, we had snafu with a tour, but Elisa was available to help us immediately. She emailed us on a Saturday night to make sure that everything was worked out. She went above and beyond to make sure that our trip was a fantastic one and we are so appreciative to Elisa for everything. We can't wait to plan another trip to Europe soon, and will definitely use Kim Kim again.

We loved our time in Morroco and have memories for a lifetime. We met some wonderful people along the way and thought everyone introduced to us by KimKim was very nice. However, I would not recommend using this service. We are easygoing travelers and can roll with imperfections, but this was just not worth the money. We totally understand they are offering a service and have to mark everything up, but the service wasn't good enough to justify what we paid. One tour guide out of three was stellar (Youseff in Rabat was phenomenal!). One hotel out of three was really lovely. For the hotel in Casablanca, we were put on one of the floors that had not been remodeled. The carpet smelled terrible, the furnishings were old and the room was small. I asked the front desk if some floors were better than others and she said yes but for the "level" we had been booked at we were not being given a premium room. They moved us to another floor with a bigger room and while the smell was better, it wasn't newly renovated. We're not sure what happened with that. Our driver was SO nice, and we liked him a lot, but he barely spoke English, so we couldn't ask him questions about anything we were seeing along the way which felt like such a shame. We only found out the driver wouldn't speak English after we booked and we received more details about the trip. Again, we're easygoing and we're certainly not mad at anyone for not speaking English well (as an American, I'm embarrassed for not speaking any other languages), but since we were paying so much, we figured we'd be really taken care of. Aside from that, one of the tour guides we had admitted to us that our driver was nice but didn't seem experienced and should have handled a couple of things differently with coordination and knowing where to go. We still tipped him well and liked him, we just didn't feel the service matched up to what we paid (which was a LOT). Long story short, we could have booked this trip for about 1/3rd of the price and hired a local driver and tour guide directly and been just as well off. It's our fault for booking last minute and doing it too quickly without asking more questions. So I'm mad at myself more than anything. Just do yourself a favor and really dive in and understand what you're booking so you can feel good about your purchase. We certainly did not.

Activity Review

Guided Tour in Fes

Fes

Youseff was phenomenal! He spoke English really well, which was helpful to us and he was super knowledgeable and personable. We'd HIGHLY recommend him to anyone. Our tour was only 3 hours, though, so I am not sure why this description says 6 hours. But all the same, we really liked him.

Kimkim meshed their two week portion of our trip to Venice, Florence and Rome with our four existing Airbnb reservations and our 8-day Vermont Biking Tour in the Alpine Valleys of Slovenia, Austria, and Italy that ended in Salzburg .

Most useful was Kimkim problem solving when the unexpected occurred and when we needed to alter our schedule due to unforeseen events.

We were able to maximize our vacation and reduce stress as Kimkim provided daily communication and support.

Rene was prompt, clear and professional in attending to my questions prior to the trip. This is consistent with other travel agents that I have used for other countries. I found out quite late that one of the hotels did not have air-conditioning and hence wanted a change. We ended up cancelling the hotel booking by Rene and I booking the hotel myself using Booking.com. Rene refunded me the "cost"of the hotel but refused to provide a breakdown of how he arrive at the refund amount which I thought was a bit on the low side.

Things also didn't go so well with the 'Trip Support' (the Rutopia team) during the trip itself. The team have to check with 3rd party providers most of the time and takes a while to respond to changing situations or questions. Some examples of areas that definitely needs improvement:

1) Drivers were late on 3 instances. Once by 0.5hr (we woke up early to be picked up at 5am for the hot air ballon tour but the driver came at 5.30am) and a second time by 10mins (we had landed at Cancun airport but the driver only showed up later) and a third time by almost 1hr (after we took the ferry from Holbox back to Chiquila). In the 3rd instance, my family was left standing in the open at the entrance of the jetty waiting for the driver for 1hr. To escape the hot sunny weather, we had to seek shelter at a nearby public toilet! When the driver eventually showed up, he expected us to go find his van which was supposedly parked in front of some restaurant instead of coming directly to our location at the entrance of the jetty. The driver also picked up an additional passenger along the way without explaining why (is this appropriate for safety reasons?)!

2) I reminded 'Trip Support' before the trip and a few times during the trip that we are a family of 4 adults with big luggages. However, they still arrange for small cars to pick us up on a few occasions. We were told that this is what the 'package' provides for which I am very surprised given that this is not a budget tour package! We have to spend time figuring how to fit all the luggage into the car as well as squeeze 4 adults into a small car for long journeys. I find it most unacceptable when there are no shortage of vans or big SUVs in Mexico and other travellers in smaller groups are travelling in comfort in larger SUVs and vans. I have used travel agents in the US, South America, Europe and Asia and they are all able to ensure that my family travels in comfort when it comes to transportation but the experience in Mexico is definitely below par.

3) We were booked into Ventus Ha Resort at Puerto Morelos for 1 night. However, we were not told beforehand that we were booked into 1 room instead of 2 rooms. We only found out when we checked in at the resort. Although the room at Ventus Ha are a little bit bigger, it will be normal expectation for us to be given 2 rooms which is the arrangement for all our other hotels during the trip. As we were given 1 room, the resort only provided 2 complimentary wifi access and we can't even share the access as they are fixed to 1 person each! The 4 of us have to squeeze into 2 double beds for the night and a single toilet. It's a beautify resort but our experience was sub-par due to the arrangements.

4) There were huge demonstrations along the main streets of Mexico City and in Zocalo Square due to the elections but the travel agent did not give us any warning or advise beforehand or did not do anything to adjust the itinerary to help us avoid the crowds or disruptions. During the tour of historic Mexico City on May 19, the tour guide did her best to navigate through the rowdy crowd in Zocalo Square and the surrounding streets but I feel that the travel agent should have switched the tour to another day given that we had multiple days in Mexico City and the date of the political rally in Zocalo Square on May 19 is known beforehand. When I requested to stay 1 more night in Mexico City on May 29 in a hotel next to Zocalo Square, the tour agent also didn't advise me that there will be a big political rally at the square on that day and the roads surrounding the square will be closed. We had to walk 45mins out from our hotel in order to get an Uber to travel out of the area. In fact, our hotel had to roll down the metal shutters in its front entrance in order to protect the premise from the rowdy crowd. For basic security and safety reasons, these are things which I expect the travel agent to discuss with me in advance and help me avoid them rather than leave it to me to figure things out myself on the spot!

Overall, I find the tour arrangements to be sub-par for the price that I paid. This is the first time I used Kim-Kim for my travel arrangements and I had high expectations. However, I have to say that given the sub-par experience, I will think twice in using Kim-Kim again.