Kimkim Trip Reviews

Yassine was amazing. Super attentive and always available to help. Including restaurant advice.

I cannot recommend Lorenza and my experience with kimkim enough! Lorenza planned an exceptional dream vacation for my husband and I for our 20th wedding anniversary in Italy. Lorenza took the time to first understand what we were looking for in a vacation, what our interests were and what level of service we required. Armed with that information she carefully curated an experience that surpassed our wildest expectations. From every detail of our transport to carefully selected hotels to knowledgeable and friendly guides, each experience was thoughtful and detailed. We particularly enjoyed our time in Cinque Terre and the lovely couple who operated the Hotel Marina Piccola. We were also charmed by the Tuscan countryside where we stayed at the beautiful Relais Osteria dell'Orcia and relished our tour of Montepulciano and Pienza with our outstanding local guide Serena! In addition we treasured the truffle hunt and cooking class operated by three generations of the Loghi family. If I sound like I'm gushing, its because I am! If you are interested in visiting Italy, you absolutely will not regret using Lorenza. 10 out of 10!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Spadari Al Duomo

Milan

The rooms were very large, the breakfast was outstanding and the location was central.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Marina Piccola

Manarola

This hotel was a treasure. The couple who owns and operates it are so kind and welcoming. We really enjoyed the delicious breakfast spread each morning which included eggs or pancakes made fresh to order. The location was great and the people even better!

Authenticity & Character

Location

In the heart of Cinque Terre

Staff

Some of the most welcoming and kind people we met in all of Italy

Cleanliness & Comfort

Corte dei Sogni Boutique Hotel & spa

The rooms are nice and very spacious. The location is in the heart of the city and cant be beat. The morning breakfast was a plus.

Authenticity & Character

Location

In the middle of all the sites and a quick walk to the train station or rental cars.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Wine and food tour in Florence

Florence

This was a fun experience that enabled us to try so much delicious local fare.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Florence private guided walk

Florence

Our guide was very intelligent and knowledgeable. She was a native to the community and offered a very in depth and personal perspective.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pienza and Montepulciano guided tour

Italy

We loved our guide Serena and appreciated how connected she was with the community. This was by far one of the best tours we went on in Italy and cannot recommend it more highly.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Serena was a local and introduced us to so many lovely people, traditions and customs. She knows her stuff!

Transport

Truffle Hunt and Cooking Class in Tuscany Countryside

Italy

We had a wonderful experience with the Loghi family. It was such a treat to meet all 3 generations working the land. The truffle hunt was fun and informative and the cooking class after was delicious and informative. The entire team was welcoming and hospitable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

It's a little tough to find but the directions provided by Lorenza our travel agent were spot on

Spa in Bagno Vignoni hot springs

Italy

A unique experience to vacation like a local! The hot springs were divine, the grounds stunning and the people kind.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cooking Class

Italy

This was a neat experience. It began with a walk to the local market to shop for the food we will cook. The guide grew up in the neighborhood and so you feel like a part of the community. We were then welcomed back into their home where we engaged in a cooking class and delicious meal. We really enjoyed spending time with locals in their home and learning about their customs, beliefs and ideas.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We benefitted greatly using Kimkim to plan such a big trip. Bruno was a tremendous help with all of the details (hotels, restaurants, drivers, car rental, walking tour guides and activities). He was also available and responded quickly to texts/questions via email before the trip, and using WhatsApp during the trip. Our drivers/guides were very friendly and, once they understood our sincere interest in the history and life in their country, were so interesting and informative. Mario and Oliver were great! While we drove ourselves a couple of days, having drivers and walking tour guides made such a difference to our experience since this was our first time to both Croatia and Slovenia. I feel like we learned more from them than just touring on our own. All of the hotels were very clean and conveniently located to where we wanted to explore. Besides breakfast each day at our hotels, we ate at restaurants for lunch and dinner. They were all very good (thanks Bruno!).

Activity Reviews

Private Guided Walking Tour of Dubrovnik Old Town

Dubrovnik

Quality of Experience

We started the day with a walking tour which was helpful in making our plans for the rest of our stay.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our tour guide, Marianna, was very personable and knowledgeable. She shared personal stories when we asked about her family and we learned a lot about the history of Dubrovnik and Croatia.

One-day trip to the Alps

Croatia

Our guide stopped at the most beautiful spots.

Quality of Experience

What a beautiful drive!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Oliver was a fantastic driver/guide. He chose beautiful spots to stop where we took great pictures. He picked a great place for us to explore and have lunch as well.

Transport

The vehicle was large and comfortable for the 4 of us (and our luggage).

Leaving Plitvice lakes - Rastoke visit- Zagreb

Plitvice Lakes

Plitvice Lakes are not to be missed. Even with some rain, we loved this park.

Quality of Experience

Gummi was amazing on our 10 day Ring road tour. More than once he handled unexpected hiccups in our plan. When a restaurant cancelled dinner for our 21 person group he found us a new restaurant within 24 hours. He also had to get us back a hotel room that was cancelled without notice. He achieved that perfect balance between stopping at all the impressive natural wonders and allowing us time to appreciate the beauty we seeing. His great planning was exceeded only by his outstanding execution - he is a good driver, as well as funny and informative.

The 11-day trip was well planned and offered us an overview of Morocco, it's major cities (except for Tangier), and a view of its customs and culture. There were tours in each of the cities and we enjoyed meeting with our guides and driver.

Our driver, Said, was very helpful and informative. We expected only the driver would just take us from city to city and might speak only limited English. Instead, Said was more of a guide than just a driver, explaining about the areas we were passing through, helping us get to our riads or to restaurants, serving as a translator on occasion, and helping us understand some of the customs, such as amounts to tip and how to bargain (which we didn't do very well). He seemed genuinely concerned for our welfare and needs.

We had eight guides in all. Two stand out in my memory: Ibrahim in Rabat and Bouchra in Meknes. Both were excellent, providing more than just a city tour. One complaint about the tours is that some were overly long and tiring. A six-hour tour is exhausting, even if part is walking and part driving. Another is that the tours focused on visiting the bazaars in several cities. Walking through a bazaar for two to three hours is overwhelming. Doing this in three different cities is overkill. While there may be differences between the bazaars in different places, there's also a lot of similarity. In particular, it felt like the only part of Marakkech which we saw was the bazaar, rather than seeing more of this large city.

There were some communication issues. The driver made stops along the route between cities, sometimes to just take a break, sometimes for a visit that we might find interesting, like to a ceramics factory or argon oil cooperative. These were not on the itineray we were provided and I asked the tour operator for details while en route so that we would have a better understanding of what the daily plan was and allow us to decide what we wanted to see and what we did not. The reply was unresponsive, saying that they don't provide this to "take stress off traveler's shoulders", when obviously the lack of information had caused us additional stress.

The riads and hotels which we stayed at on our trip (with one exception) were well appointed and comfortable. All of the hosts were very accommodating and the breakfasts were extensive. In particular, we liked the Riad El Yacout where we stayed two nights. The manager (son of the owner) offered us the plush Ambassador Suite when we asked for a room on the first floor. Our waiter, Marco, was charming, attentive, and engaging. We enjoyed talking with him about his family and more.

The hotel which was booked in Casablanca for our last night in Morocco, the Kenzi Sisi Maarouf, was a business class hotel situated near the airport, with nothing of interest nearby. Our driver took us to and from a restaurant the city center, about a half hour drive, on the night before we left. We had a late afternoon flight the next day and did not need an early transfer to the airport. Instead of seeing the downtown Casablanca area in our last morning in Morocco, we sat for three hours in our hotel room and looked out at the back side of a Coca-Cola sign, before leaving early for the airport. The tour operator's response to our complaint about being booked into an unsatisfactory airport hotel was that they booked us into a hotel near the airport.

We had an excellent tour of Morocco. I would have given the tour specialist five stars except for the poor response to our request for more details on the itinerary and the poor selection of our final hotel.

Really appreciated the thoughtful planning, flexibility and communication provided by Neil. He was great to work with and the trip was fantastic. The electronic trip plan with all necessary details and tickets embedded made it all very easy and enjoyable. Thank you!

Mieke did an outstanding job of listening to our wants and needs as she assembled and refined our Netherlands trip plan to address both our preferences, as well as those of our daughter and son-in-law who travelled with us. The finalized trip plan we received was extremely detailed and thorough, including turn-by-turn directions to orient us upon arrival in each city.

Our hotels were clean, comfortable and centrally located. We were pleased to discover that they had period charm and/or amenities that made them much more special. As they had requested, our daughter and son-in-law even had balcony rooms in two cities!

Traveling in and between cities was simple because Mieke provided us with OV-chip cards for public transportation which made hopping on trains, buses, subways and water taxis quick and convenient.

Additionally, Mieke scheduled some activities for us with private guides. One of the highlights of our trip was our driver, Maarten who took us to the flower auction at Aalsmeer and then drove us into the country to see tulips in the fields. He was absolutely delightful and provided us with many helpful observations and suggestions. Another trip highlight was our guide, Tamara who led us on a 3-hour private cycling tour in Rotterdam. Not only was she informative, but she had a wonderful sense of humor!

In Amsterdam, Mieke arranged tickets for us to visit the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. In Rotterdam, Mieke not only included the Cube Houses but also the Markthal. We marveled at the architecture of both. Our boat cruise of the Rotterdam harbor enabled us to have a unique view of the one of the world's busiest ports.

No visit to the Netherlands would be complete with a visit to windmills - Mieke arranged for us to see both the mills in Schiedam and those in Kinderdijk.

Besides our scheduled activities, Mieke provided us with numerous tips and suggestions of places to eat and explore in each city.

We cannot than Mieke enough for a wonderful trip to the Netherlands! Her thoroughness and attention to even the smallest detail was simply amazing!

Hotel Reviews

Singel hotel

Amsterdam

This hotel is conveniently located near the central train station. The staff was helpful and our room was clean and comfortable. The only drawback was that our stay coincided with a very warm spring day and the window in our room opened to another building only 6-7 feet away. As such, airflow was greatly reduced and our room was quite warm. Other than that, we would defintely recommend the Singel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Corps de Garde

Groningen

The Hotel Corps de Garde is a charming, characterful small hotel conveniently located just on the edge of the city center just opposite a canal. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful and provided exceptional service. Our room had beams and a window overlooking the canal. Air conditioning as a welcome bonus. Best of all was the breakfast each morning served in the pleasant dining room overlooking the canal. Breakfast included eggs prepared to order, sliced meats and cheeses, a variety of breads and croissants, as well as cereals, fruit, juice and coffee or tea.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Leonardo Hotel Utrecht City Center

Utrecht

This is a large hotel located in the city center. Our room was on the ground floor with a door to a courtyard seating area. Unfortunately, this proved to be quite noisy in the evening. Additionally, the men in the room next to us were easily heard through the wall which kept us awake until 2 a.m. While the bathroom was spacious and clean, the rest of the room looked "tired" and in need of updating. The carpet was not clean. The redeeming aspect of this hotel was the breakfast buffet that provided a wide variety in a top-floor dining room with a commanding view of the city.

Authenticity & Character

Please see above.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Please see above.

The James Hotel Rotterdam

Rotterdam

We had asked to have a room no higher than the third floor since we do not use elevators. Upon our arrival we were informed that our room was on the sixth floor. Although the hotel was fully booked, they were able to accommodate us on the fourth floor and even upgraded us to a comfort room. We were amazed at the size of the room - large by American standards, but positively palatial for Europe! Our room had a king-sized bed, a seating area with tv, a refrigerator, and a spacious bathroom. Breakfast was included for which we were provided 10 euro vouchers per person with which we could select a variety of breakfast pastries, juice, smoothies, cereal, coffee, tea, yogurt, and miscellaneous. The hotel staff were friendly and accommodating. We greatly enjoyed our time at The James.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

CitizenM Schiphol

Amsterdam

Although this appears to be a somewhat non-descript hotel from the exterior, the interior is a highly polished with a modern, clean design. Many of the ground floor furnishings appear to be Herman Miller Eames design. Our hotel room was "pocket-size" but well-appointed with an i-Pad to operate the window shades and even the color of the lighting! Fun and funky decor and our room was spotlessly clean. Breakfast the next morning was buffet-style and included a wide variety of both hot and convenient grab & go options.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Within walking distance of the terminal.

Staff

Helpful and efficient.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spotlessly clean!

Activity Reviews

Public Transport Pass Amsterdam

The Netherlands

It allowed us to hop on and off busses, trains, subways and even a water taxi.

Aalsmeer Flower Auction

Amsterdam

The sheer volume of flowers that are moved through this huge facility in a highly orchestrated fashion is nothing short of amazing. And the flowers were varied and beautiful!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our private driver to this attraction was a highlight of our trip!

Transport

Rotterdam - Private Guided Cycle Tour

The Netherlands

Tamara, our guide, was informative and had a lively sense of humor. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with her!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rotterdam - harbor boat tour

The Netherlands

The tour gave us the opportunity to see one of the world's busiest ports in action from a vantage point that we would not otherwise have had.

Mathilde did a fabulous job planning and booking our trip to the South of France, Annecy and Paris! Her knowledge and experience was invaluable, and all of the bookings and directions were seamless. I have worked with other travel advisors in the past, and, hands down, the KimKim platform and Mathilde's expertise were far superior.

All of our hotels were in a great location. Mathilde also recommended staying a night in Moustiers-Saint-Marie, which was not on my radar, and ended up being our favorite part of the trip. We visited the lake (rented the hotel's electric boat) and thoroughly enjoyed visiting the town and shopping for beautiful, artisanal ceramics. It is a true "hidden gem."

Some of our favorite tours included the Cezanne Wine tour that departed from Aix (with guide, Greg); kayaking in the Calanques with (Rafaelle, aka Ellie); cooking class in Annecy with Sibyelle; and a private tour of the Musee D'Orsay with Fabio. Having Mathilde handpick our tours/companies took so much pressure off of us, and they were truly wonderful. We also really appreciated having our transportation (rental car, train tickets, airport transfers) taken care of--it made everything a breeze.

Lastly, Mathilde provided restaurant and "things to do" recommendations in each place during our free days, and we did as many as possible, as time allowed.

I thoroughly enjoyed using the KimKim platform and being able to make small changes and ask questions throughout the planning process...it was so much fun!

Overall, I would highly recommend both Mathilde and KimKim...so much so that we are already planning a second trip with Mathilde's guidance!

Thank you!

Hotel Reviews

Splendid Hotel Lac d'Annecy - Handwritten Collection

Annecy

Completely adequate, great location. Very modern decor.

Authenticity & Character

very modern

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Villa Nice Victor Hugo

Nice

Great location. 3 star hotel. Completely adequate. Only complaint was the shower--had half glass and floor was the same level as the rest of the bathroom, making it difficult not to get water everywhere while showering. Solid breakfast. 10 minute walk to train station, 15 minutes to the Cours Saleya Market, less than 10 minutes walk to Promenade des Anglais.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

shower was a bit challenging. no extra pillows. minimal furnishings.

La Bastide de Moustiers

Moustiers-Sainte-Marie

I cannot recommend this hotel enough. It was our favorite of the entire trip. We were so sad to leave and wished we had stayed several days. We will be back!

Authenticity & Character

16th century chateau, beautiful grounds

Location

can walk up to the village, 10 minutes to the lake

Staff

truly, the most incredible hospitality

Cleanliness & Comfort

they provided "sleep shirts" at turn down service (which you can purchase in the boutique to take home--we should have!). The restaurant is incredible.

Grand Hôtel Roi René Aix-en-Provence Centre – MGallery

Aix-en-Provence

Completely adequate. Good location. Large breakfast buffet.

Authenticity & Character

large, corporate hotel

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Chateau des Alpilles

Highly recommend. Very serene setting! The most incredible restaurant for breakfast and dinner (I'm sure lunch is great too, but we only had breakfast x2 and dinner x2). We actually made a reservation for dinner the next night while dining, because it was that good!

Authenticity & Character

Location

peaceful, just outside of town

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

was very warm our first night, despite opening the window all night, as air conditioning had not yet been turned on for the season. Second night was much more comfortable as AC had been turned on. Beautiful pool. Definitely plan to make this our "vacation from the vacation" hotel and relax at the hotel for the day.

Hôtel Bastille Speria 3*

Paris

Great hotel, liked the superior room--good amount of space for Paris. Bathroom was huge! Very close to Bastille metro stop.

Authenticity & Character

Location

close to metro, close to Place de Vosges and shopping. Were excited to stay in a different area than we had before...not our favorite, and will likely choose something close to Rue Cler/Eiffel Tower next trip.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Welcome to Moustiers-Sainte-Marie !

Moustiers-Sainte-Marie

A hidden gem that many of our guides on different excursions had not heard of before! The most wonderful town, with beautiful, artisanal ceramics. Natural beauty with Verdon Gorge and lake nearby.

Quality of Experience

Free time in the Verdon Canyon and Moustiers Sainte Marie

Moustiers-Sainte-Marie

Absolutely loved the canyon and the lake. We rented the hotel's electric boat, but could have easily rented one at the lake. The hotel's boat was lovely. We had a little difficulty finding where to meet the boat.

The French Art of Seduction

Paris

Very enjoyable stroll through the Montmarte. Wish I had a map of our route and what we saw. Tour was about 2.5 hours, ended with drinks together. Roberto was a joy to spend time with.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Pont du Gard - Entrance tickets to the discovery area

France

Morning Wine Tour in Cezanne Countryside (Group Tour/3h30)

Aix-en-Provence

Enjoyed the wine tour on Cezanne's wine route! Meets at tourist information center--easy to find.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Guided Visit of Orsay Museum

Paris

Fabio is an amazing guide, and we plan to coordinate with him on future trips so we can go to the Louvre together! Incredibly knowledgeable but also fun. Fabio had our tickets pulled up and guided us quickly into the museum through the priority lane. So efficient.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Welcome to La Ciotat

La Ciotat

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Calanques National Park Sea Kayaking Tour from La Ciotat

France

Loved our private sea kayaking tour with Ellie! She was fabulous and we felt very safe. We went all the way around green island. Ellie also recommended going to the port for lunch, which we enjoyed.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Highly recommend expenature and Ellie (Rafaelle)! She was so kind and took photos of us throughout the experience.

French Dessert Cooking Class

Paris

Semi private experience. Would have been more relaxed with larger group or private class. Enjoyed chef Dominique and the recipes we baked.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Olive Groves & Vineyards

France

Very enjoyable. Beautiful estate.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

At leisure: Château de Menthon-Saint-Bernard

Annecy

Beautiful. Can only see 5-6 rooms. Inside castle with tour only. Unfortunately rained heavily during our visit.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Annecy market visit & cooking class

Annecy

Amazing experience. We loved our day with Sibyelle.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

fabulous!!!

Transport

The trip was amazing and we had the best time. Marvin and I got lost in Paris, but we flagged down a police officers and they took us back to our hotel. Overall Marisnna did an amazing job and I will refer Kimkim to my friends. Thanks

Our 10 day trip to Japan was beyond amazing
It was perfect ! Each day seemed to got better and better . We traveler with our 21 year old son .Sandy was so easy to work with and responded promptly to every inquiry ensuring our free days were also well planned with recommended activities
Team Labs , Saki and going to the food markets. We also recommend Shibuya Sky .
Sandy put together an incredible itinerary and everything was according to schedule !
Every guide was knowledgeable , personable and each tour was informative and varied .
Hiro went out of his way to ensure our 2 days with him in Kyoto were perfectly planned to the Bamboo Grove and Monkey Forest and the Insight on Religion Temples.
We loved the day we did the Authentic Sumo Experience and Tokyo Bar Hopping in Shinjuku .
Miyajima Island was so special and then Horoshima sobering but we recommend this tour for anyone going to Japan .
Thank you Sandy for your expertise in assisting with us with such special memories that will be with us forever.
We loved the temples and fortunes , the culture and small alleys in Tokyo and Kyoto.
We will definitely use Kim Kim again for future trip planning.
Sincerely ,
Rhonda , Jes and Jaden

Hotel Review

The Royal Park Iconic Tokyo Shiodome

Tokyo

Great hotel big room nice bar

Authenticity & Character

Modern

Location

Near train station

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Authentic Sumo Experience in Tokyo: Enter the Sanctuary

Tokyo

We loved this tour !

Quality of Experience

The wrestlers were so nice ! The lunch delicious We received a souvenir hand print picture and were able to wear wrestling clothes and then kimonos

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Tokyo City Tour with Skytree

Tokyo

Wonderful full day Kevin our guide was so great and a delicious lunch at the fish market

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tokyo Bar Hopping Night Tour in Shinjuku

Tokyo

So much fun especially the whiskey bar at the end! Shinjuku is so lively with the bright lights and small alleys

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove and Monkey Park Tour

Kyoto

Loved the monkeys

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

An Insight into Local Religion: Fushimi Inari-Taisha, Nijo Castle and Kinkaku-ji

Japan

Hiro is the best guide in Kyoto

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Hiro

Transport

Great having a driver and car

One Day Miyajima Island and Hiroshima Tour

Japan

Loved Miyjama Island

Quality of Experience

Food

Excellent curry lunch

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We loved our trip to Croatia and Slovenia! Bruno made it all easy, suggested great things to do, and touched base with us daily. I highly recommend working with him!
Highlights of our trip: Dubrovnik-what a charming, beautiful town; I would definitely go back; walking the city wall was amazing. Winery tour and wine tasting at Milos Vineyard-lots of fun. Plitvice Lakes-incredible scenery! Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj-so beautiful, like a fairy tale. Driving through the Alps-amazing vistas and our driver provided so much interesting information.
Marijana in Dubrovnik, Mia in Split and Irena in Zagreb were wonderful walking tour guides. They each knew so much history-both ancient and recent-about their country and respective cities.
Mario drove us from Zagreb to Bled and spent the day with us touring Bled and the castle, and hiking at Lake Bohinj; he was really interesting and shared stories, history and current information about Croatia and Slovenia.
Oliver spent the day with us, driving us through the Alps and ending the day in Ljublijana. He showed us not only the typical well-known places, but often took us off the beaten path to beautiful less visited sights. He shared so much history and current event information which we found so interesting.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Degenija

Rakovica

The hotel is well-maintained, beautifully landscaped and the food was wonderful. Probably one of our favorite dinners during our trip. The rooms are simple and basic, but the setting more than makes up for the basic rooms. We enjoyed sitting in the gazebo, sipping wine, and looking out at the amazing landscape.

Authenticity & Character

Location

rural setting...nice to get out of the city; amazing scenery

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bastion Heritage Hotel—Relais & Châteaux

Zadar

Such friendly staff! Definitely a highlight. Nice hotel with some "character"-felt quaint and cozy. Clean and comfortable.

Esplanade Zagreb Hotel

Zagreb

An incredible hotel! Beautiful and elegant. One of the nicest hotels we've stayed in. Very friendly staff. Nice outdoor terrace where we spent the evening with a glass of wine.

Grand Hotel Toplice

Bled

What an amazing setting! Looking out at the castle and the island in Lake Bled. By far the best view of any hotel on our trip. The hotel was clean and comfortable.

Hilton Imperial Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik

The most "American" of all the hotels in which we stayed. Very comfortable. Great breakfast with friendly staff and nice outdoor seating available.

Activity Reviews

Private Guided Walking Tour of Dubrovnik Old Town

Dubrovnik

Marijana gave us a wonderful tour. I highly recommend her. She gave us so much information about the city and the history of the area. She also recommended restaurants which were very good. We felt that we learned a lot! Dubrovnik is a beautiful town.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Pelješac penisula and Ston + wine tasting

Dubrovnik

Highlight was the wine tasting. It was relaxing and interesting. Stopping in Ston for a bit is definitely worth it-we walked the wall, it doesn't take long, viewed the salt fields, and had lunch.

Split Walking Tour with a visit to Diocletian Palace

Split

Our guide, Mia, made this day. She was fun, full of knowledge, and entertaining. We were glad we had a day in Split, although we spent 2 nights (just because of logistics) and we all agreed that a shorter time would be enough.

Krka National Park - Zadar

Croatia

So pretty! Definitely worth the stop!

Leaving Plitvice lakes - Rastoke visit- Zagreb

Plitvice Lakes

Plitvice Lakes was in our top 3 favorite days of our trip. Although we had some rain during our hike, it was still worth it. The most incredible scenery! Rastoke was a fun stop along the way. A pretty stroll around the falls and river.

Private guided walking tour of Zagreb

Zagreb

Irena was such a great tour guide. There are many sights to see in the city and so much interesting history. Irena spent an extra 1/2 hour with us beyond our alloted tour time...she was willing to answer all our many questions!

Bled and Bohinj.

Croatia

Wow such a beautiful place! Mario drove us from Zagreb and provided so much interesting information about the region. We visited the castle, then he hiked with us at Lake Bohinj-just beautiful. That afternoon we visited the island on our own. While I think everyone should visit the island once, I would not go back should I visit the area again. The best part of the island is viewing it (and the church) from afar, it's fairy-tale beautiful.

One-day trip to the Alps

Croatia

Wow! Amazing, jaw-dropping scenery. Every turn revealed more and more beautiful vistas. Oliver was our excellent driver and he showed us not only the typical tourist scenes, but also took us off the beaten path to less visited areas. He pointed out a local restaurant for our lunch which was fun, and he shared so much ancient and recent history of the area.

Walking City Tour of Ljubljana

Ljubljana

This was the only activity on our whole trip which was disappointing. We all left the tour agreeing that our knowledge of Ljublijana was no greater than when we began. Our tour guide, Claudia, was not able to answer basic questions such as "what's the history of the castle?" She continually asked us where we'd like to go and what we'd like to do, rather than leading us and providing information. Our tour was to last 2 hours, but after wandering about for 1.5 hours, she acted like there was nothing left for us to do, and our tour ended early.

Ljubljana - Departure

Ljubljana

This was the first time I have used KimKim for travel and it was great. All hotels were good other than the last night in Reykjavik (the hotel was under construction, self check in only, did not have 3 separate beds as requested). All of the suggestions on our itineraries were most helpful. My favorite activities were the glacier hike and ice cave, the lava cave, and especially the PUFFINS! I expected to see them on a cliff via binoculars but they were just feet away from us and it was fabulous!

Unforgettable anniversary trip to Athens & Santorini! Thanks to Antonis, Dimitrios and the whole Be a Greek team. We enjoyed being able to create a custom itinerary and the planning and booking process on kim kim was easy. We'd never done private tours before but we loved it--no waiting in lines, waiting for others, or navigating transportation! The guides were excellent, friendly and very knowledgeable. The drivers were timely, helpful, and did a great job navigating the traffic, especially in Athens. Excellent communication from the whole team made our vacation from planning to on-site so fun and stress free. The two hotels we stayed at, Eli Ermou (Athens) and Asha Suites (Santorini) were great choices, recommend both. Greece is a beautiful...the place, the people , the history...the trip exceeded our expectations and we would highly recommend to others.

Hotel Reviews

Elia Ermou Athens Hotel

Athina

Perfect location and very comfortable rooms, a great place to stay in Athens! The staff were friendly and helpful and we loved having breaking every morning looking out at the Acropolis.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to many attractions, restaurants, shopping!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Asha Suites

Fira

Beautiful hotel with sunset views just outside your door! Great location in Fira, near shopping, restaurants.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to restaurants/shopping but just outside room is a beautiful view for watching the world go by.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

The Acropolis & Acropolis Museum Private Guided Tour

Athens

A must-see in Athens! We had an excellent guide and learned so much about the history.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Goulandris Contemporary Art Museum Private Guided Tour

Athens

Amazing collection of art unlike the typical art museum...so cool!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Guided Day Trip to Argolis Region

Athens

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Santorini Cultural Highlights Guided Tour with Wine Tasting

Santorini

So fun checking out various parts of Santorini and the wine tour was awesome!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Santorini's Past Private Guided Tour

Santorini

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

It was an amazing experience!! Entire trip was awesome. A well organized tour by true professionals.. Friendly, dedicated and well experienced guides and drivers.. Special mention on Mr. Mauricio Carrasco and Ms. Ana Tobar. Awesome guides. Transport team were also very caring and punctual! Special salute to Team KIMKIM and TURISMO MILODON.

Gummi was an absolute gem. Nothing was too much trouble for him and he made sure that each and every person in the group was comfortable with the excursions that we had. His wife Vara came with us too as we were a big group and she added another dimension and took care of the admin.
Gummi's knowledge of Iceland was great and we enjoyed his Trolls and Elves stories on long segments of our travels although I'm not sure we believed all his tales!
Gummi's passion for Iceland was evident as was his pride in his country. That came through loud and clear on many occaisions.
A busy trip but a wonderful one.
Thank you to the Kim Kim team and especially thanks to Vara and Gummi
Gill and Maurice

Hotel Review

Hótel Kría

Vík

Excellent food and helpful staff

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Lunar Landscapes & Healing Waters – Blue Lagoon Immersion

Iceland

Much better than I was expecting! It was busy but didn't feel crowded. The drinks from the swim up bar were great!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Katla Ice Cave

Iceland

Quite a long walk to the cave but the staff made sure that I was ok. I have two knee replacements so I am not as agile as i used to be! Cave was good but with our large group was a bit full of people

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a very wonderful trip to Morocco. Majid was our original contact and responded to our requests regarding what we wanted to see and where we wanted to go. He was amazingly responsive and worked very hard to make arrangements for us. His selections of local guides and Riads was excellent. And Majid made himself available throughout the trip; at first in person, and then after we left Fez, he could be reached via What's Ap. if needed. Mostaph was our excellent driver. He too made every attempt to meet our needs and he was an amazing navigator and driver. We could not have had this trip without him. He was always in fine spirits and again, expert at his job. Moushine could not have been kinder and considerate of all of our needs. He is a lovely man who worked very hard to make certain that we had what we needed. His command of English could have been stronger and sometimes it was difficult for him to explain things to us. All of our local guides were excellent. They all had a strong command of English and of the history and culture of the city. My favorite guides were our Fes, Marrakesh and Essaouira guides. We also had a very lovely and knowledgable female guide in Meknes. I'm sorry that I do not remember their names.

I do have one recommendation. On other group tours I've been on, the guides joined us with many of our meals. Clearly, when we'd go off to restaurants on our own, this would be more difficult. But whenever possible it is very nice to have them join us, rather than go off on their own. Meal time is often an opportunity to engage in informal conversation and share.
Another suggestion..... I understand that guides and support staff deserve to be tipped. It would have been helpful if we could have been more prepared or "tutored" on how much to pay what service. We spent over $800. in tips on this trip. Again, the service fee was worthwhile. I wish I had know ahead of time.
Thank you Kim Kim, Majid, Moustaph and Moushine for the trip of a lifetime.
Linda Glick and Elliot Landes

Hotel Reviews

Dar Laman

Chefchaouen

Beautiful spaces. incredible view from the rooftop. Amazing spot to hang out for a view of the city and mountains. Breakfast was wonderful. Staff very kind and available to help out. lots of stairs to climb

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right in the Medina. Stairs

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Farouzi Fes

Fes

The Riad was amazing. And the staff was very accommodating and lovely. We enjoyed our stay immensely. This was our introduction to Moroccan hospitality at its finist! Abundance of food fro breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Tile work and decor were beautiful clearly authentic Moroccan works.

Location

Easy walk to the Medina

Staff

Could not have been nicer.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Yacout

meknes

Beautiful Riad. I wish we had more than one night to spend in Meknes.

Authenticity & Character

beautiful Riad

Location

much construction around the hotel made it difficult to. navigate.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

borj-des-cascades-ouzoud

ouzoud

Absolutely beautiful and luxurious spot and hotel. Pools and accommodation were outstanding. Brand new hotel with many features

Authenticity & Character

Just loved it

Location

Easy access to the Falls

Staff

so nice

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Mimouna

Essaouira

our favorite! Beautiful rooms with amazing view of the ocean. Loved every minute

Authenticity & Character

This Riad had it ALL

Location

Could not have been better

Staff

Soooo nice

Cleanliness & Comfort

Beautiful

Riad Touda

Marrakech

Simply lovely

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Le Village du Toubkal

Imlil

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Chefchaouen Walk and Sunset

Chefchaouen

Our local guid was knowledgable but was very rushed and only spent a few hours with us in the morning

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arrive in Fes

Morocco

Perfect!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very expert at their job and very engaging

Transport

Guided Tour of Fes' Jewish Quarter and Medina

Fes

AMazing guide

Quality of Experience

Food

We had a fabulous home visit with a family. We cooked and laughed and had a delightful experience.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pottery & Mosaïc workshop

Morocco

Very delightful visit

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dinner with a local Family in Fes

Fes

outstanding!!! everyone should do this!

Quality of Experience

family was lovely and so welcoming

Food

delicious

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private tranfer from Fes To Chefchaouen

Morocco

we love Moustaph....he was an amazing driver and we could not have had the trip without him

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Family Hike to Akchour Waterfall Lunch by the river

Chefchaouen

This was probably the most unfortunate part of our trip. We were totally not prepared for the hike and our local guide, although lovely, spoke no English at all. This is probably the most dangerous hike I have ever gone on. The waterfall and the streams are exquisite. But the hike was on slippery sharp stones and no clear path. We hiked over slippery waterways. And it was unclear exactly where we were being taken ( to the Bridge? or to the Waterfall?) We were lucky that no one got seriously injured. Only a few of our very experienced hikers did the entire hike. Three of us stopped along the way and waited by the stream for the others to return. One of our party was guided back and waited by the van

Quality of Experience

Very beautiful, but scary

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour of Volubilis

Morocco

knowledgable guide. not very friendly or engaging. He seemed like he was tire of giving this tour

Quality of Experience

This is an amazing site

Transport

Guided tour of Meknes

Meknes

excellent local guide. She was so charming and adorable. And a wealth of informatin.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Meknes – Azrou – Beni Mellal – Ouzoud Waterfall (6 Hours Drive)

Morocco

Very long, beautiful and dangerous twists and turns on the road. Wow! our driver is a magician! So skilled! It was a long ride

Quality of Experience

I don't know how we could have broken it up. But it was a long day driving

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Ouzoud Waterfalls hike for 2 hours

Ouzoud

It was a must see. Beautiful spot.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

. Afternoon Visit Demnat Jewish town in the Atals Mountains.

Ouzoud

Loved this stop. Our guide was awesome and so very knowledgable about the history

Quality of Experience

Just the right amount of time for our visit

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Marrakech – Visit Of The City ( No Drive).

Morocco

Excellent guide and food tour. Awesome

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Essaouira Jewish Heritage Tour

Essaouira

loved this city and loved this guide

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Marrakech Food Tour

Marrakesh

Great!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Marrakech – Essaouira ( 2 Hours And A Half Drive)

Morocco

awesome drive

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Hike in Imlil Valley

Imlil

awesome! loved this challenging yet very do-able hike. Thank you Mou

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

From the first moment I interacted with Tiago while planning the trip, I knew I was in good hands. The same was true with our larger-than-life guide, Gustavo.

Both were knowledgeable, experienced, and authentic locals, fully committed to ensuring we had the best experience possible.

My uncle and I were very specific in our wants for the trip, and Tiago and Gustavo were always available at a moment’s notice to accommodate us.

Horseback riding along the beach in Comporta was an absolute highlight for me.

I wish both Gustavo and Tiago every success, as they truly deserve it, and I look forward to working with them again in the future.

Thank you, guys!

All of our guides exceeded expectations!!

We had a much better experience than I could have ever hoped for by having local guides take us to the highlights of Rome and Naples. Our guide in Rome for the first two days, Mariapaula, was trained as an archeologist, her knowledge helped us appreciate the history (and her English was easy for us to understand!). We had skip the line tickets for the pantheon and the Vatican. After talking to other tourists who went through the Vatican, a guide and skip the line tickets are really worth it! I added an ebike ride in Frascati, outside of Rome. Our biker is a local and showed us amazing archeological sites..while not strenuous, it’s best if you’ve mountained biked before. We ended the ride with a wine tasting, then lunch at a gorgeous palazzo. Our final day was again in Rome with a private tour of the colosseum. Other tourists we talked to had a hard time figuring out how to get into the colosseum but our guide whisked us in and then took us to the palatine hill where she interpreted the ruins for us. Our hotel in Rome, the antico Albergo del pantheon was our favorite hotel of the trip!
Again we had a great private guide, Lydia, for Pompeii then spent the night in Naples. Walk the pedestrian only street, it’s so vibrant and full of life! Our private guide took us down interesting alleyways and to one of the best pizza places that I’d heard about!
We spent 4 nights in amalfi on the amalfi coast. Amalfi was good for us because it was an easy walk from our hotel to the central piazza, but if you’re willing to walk the stairs there are other beautiful towns to stay at. Our driver, Vincenzo drove us to ravello and Positano, two must-see areas. His English was very easy to understand and he was like a private guide as he was so knowledgeable about his home town. He made a lunch reservation for us at the Garden restaurant which had a picturesque view. We were recommended to go to the isle of Capri. It was our only disappointment. The boat ride stopped at 3 grottos which were not that enjoyable because you’re in line with other boats and all the drivers are vying for spots, plus it was too crowded for the blue grotto ( but no worries, we saw two later- see below). Once on the island we had less than 4 hours to explore. If you don't know beforehand how to get transported away from the hoards of crowds to the other side of the island, it can cost valuable time. We took a half hour walk uphill to the closest piazza, which was a beautiful walk but once in the piazza it was more of the same hoards of people so we didn’t enjoy that. The boat ride back was more enjoyable because we didn’t stop and the driver had Prosecco and aperitivi for us! Our last day I opted for kayaking out of minori. We had a charming guide who took us to the Pandora’s box grotto- amazing! Then limoncello spritzers on the beach! The other grotto that we saw , the emerald grotto was with our driver Vincenzo.
We got home less than 24 hours ago so it’s been fun to write about the highlights and I hope some of this info is helpful!

Activity Reviews

Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel skip the line ticket

Rome

Definitely worth it to skip the line

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel - private guide

Rome

A private guide helps you see what’s important and you can also go at a pace that is comfortable for you.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Pompeii ruin visit with a private guide

Italy

Best way to see Pompeii. We had two hours which was a good amount of time

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Colosseum & Roman Forum skip the line ticket

Rome

Best way to see the colosseum and Roman forum!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

E-Bike ride in the Roman Castles area with winery - Frascati (Private)

Italy

If you’ve mountained or e-bikes biked before you’ll be ready to go on this amazing tour of gorgeous palazzos, views, and ruins of an ancient city. Our guide/bike rider was fun. At the end of our bike ride, the winery and restaurant were a real treat, Tenuta di Pietra Porzia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Nick was quick to respond and always available.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Grandis Kota Kinabalu

Kota Kinabalu

Very central to market and restaurants. Good food available poolside.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Central

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kinabalu Pine Resort

Beautiful views

Authenticity & Character

Location

Isolated area with great views

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Halal hotel so no alcohol allowed in restaurant.

Sepilok Jungle Resort

Sandakan

Beautiful grounds. Older accommodations.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

AC struggled to cool. Older.

Borneo Natural Sukau Bilit Resort

Beautiful grounds

Authenticity & Character

Grounds

Location

Staff

Guides

Cleanliness & Comfort

Older. Termites.

Mabul Beach Resort

Mabul Island

Great food. Everything included. Snorkel/dive on site.

Authenticity & Character

Beach vibe

Location

Beach but trash on beach and in water.

Staff

Snorkel guides

Cleanliness & Comfort

Springs felt in bed

Activity Reviews

Coral Island & Snorkeling Excursion

Kota Kinabalu

Crowded. Very limited area to snorkel. Reef did not look healthy.

Kinabalu National Park & Poring Hot Springs

Kundasang

Chose waterfall rather than hot springs. Hot springs were housed in man made area also it’s so hot you wouldn’t want to soak. Hike to waterfall was great.

Sepilok Orangutan Centre & Sunbear Centre

Sandakan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Yan was amazing guide

Afternoon Wildlife River Cruise

Kinabatangan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kinabatangan River Exploration (River Cruises)

Kinabatangan

Fun. Unfortunately didn’t see any Pygmy elephants. Lots of monkeys, birds.

Mabul to Tawau Airport Departure

Mabul Island

Nick arranged earlier boat for us which we needed or we would have missed our flight. Driver met us at dock and quickly delivered us to the airport.